Bow staterooms

[spindrift]

Can someone please shed some light on the Oceania bow staterooms, size compared to side concierge rooms, comfort, ability to use verandah, general overall comments and opinions. Would you believe I’ve over 126 cruises in my lifetime and none have been at the bow. I’d really appreciate your input. Thanks

[LHT28]

Brenda

There may have been a good reason not to be in a bow facing cabin 😉

If you suffer from the "motion of the ocean" you may want  a different location

 

That said  I believe  inside the cabin is the same space  as the other Concierge  cabins

the balcony will be a bit deeper depending on the deck you are on ..lower deck -more room

Lyn

[spindrift]

Thanks LHT28. Don’t have an issue with sea sickness, fortunately. 
I’ve heard pros and cons, more about verandah use while ship is moving.

[1985rz1]

33 minutes ago, spindrift said:

 

I think you need to be more specific about which ship (O or R) and clarify whether you are asking about the Vista suites when referring to bow staterooms or some other set of staterooms.

Edited December 4, 2022 by 1985rz1

[Norseh2o]

In 2023 we travelled on the Regatta, Insignia and the Sirena. We stayed in bow cabins on the Regatta and Insignia and on the Sirena we changed from a port side cabin to a bow cabin as we were unable to book the bow cabin for the first part of the back to back trip.  The cabin sizes seem to be the same.  On the Insignia and the Sirena, we experienced rocking and rolling seas and woke often during the nights.

 

We spend a lot of time on the water & have never been seasick - if we were prone to seasickness or uneasiness while at sea, we would not choose a bow cabin. 

[spindrift]

Interesting. Most seem to have experienced seasickness. That I don’t have, at least so far. My issue is I have trigeminal neuralgia, and wind sets it off. Can the verandah be used during sea days?  
I was lucky to have gotten a booking in the new single for the inaugural; however that cruise was cancelled. I was on a wait list and I learned with an assignment to 8001. I had a choice on a port side, but I was told those bow staterooms are coveted. Since I’ve never had a bow staterooms in my cruise history, I have nothing to base my assignment on. 

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, spindrift said:

Interesting. Most seem to have experienced seasickness. That I don’t have, at least so far. My issue is I have trigeminal neuralgia, and wind sets it off. Can the verandah be used during sea days?  
 

What ship are you sailing on??

 

If the ship is underway  you will have more wind at the front

They probably have the solid steel railings  so it may reduce  some of the wind as well as the view

JMO

[mexicobob]

I have never had a cabin on the bow of the ship. But........most, if not every time, that I ventured towards the bow of the ship while underway the wind was very strong. One time blew the ice cream out of my daughters cone. I would think the view from a bow cabin would be spectacular but the balcony would be unusable while at sea.  

[DrHemlock]

8 hours ago, mexicobob said:

I would think the view from a bow cabin would be spectacular but the balcony would be unusable while at sea.  

We are among those who covet the forward-facing cabins on R ships because we love seeing what the captain sees.  We use our balcony frequently at sea -- though certainly not always.  

Various factors contribute to the balcony's utility on any given day.  For one, the ship's speed, which is only as fast as it needs to be in order to reach the next port on time (slower speed saves fuel, same as your car).  Island hopping in the Caribbean, port-hopping in the Med or sailing the inside passage in Canada/Alaska usually don't require pouring on the coal.  

Also, the ambient wind direction contributes.  Sailing into a headwind makes the forward balcony less pleasant -- not only because of your hair getting messed up or your hat blowing away, but also because of the wind-chill factor -- while that effect is lessened when the ship has a following wind.

For us, there's nothing like looking forward, especially when sailing into a new port with basically a 200° view.  Still, as others have pointed out, you gotta be okay with the motion of the ocean while at sea.  We find it exciting to watch the bow plowing through the waves and, occasionally, having to be careful to maintain our balance -- always shower in port! -- but that's because we're lucky never to have been affected by seasickness.  If you're "iffy" in that regard, then it's probably better to follow the usual guidelines for center-ship cabin location.

[bbwex]

On 12/4/2022 at 4:24 PM, spindrift said:

Can someone please shed some light on the Oceania bow staterooms, size compared to side concierge rooms, comfort, ability to use verandah, general overall comments and opinions. Would you believe I’ve over 126 cruises in my lifetime and none have been at the bow. I’d really appreciate your input. Thanks

We stayed in one of the bow staterooms the first time we were on O -- we were on REGATTA.  This was my first non-military cruise, and at the time, I did not fully trust the crew of a cruise ship, so I wanted to watch.  Likely foolish, but there you go.

 

If you have no issue with seasickness, there are still a couple of issues.  Number 1, as someone has said, it is windy on the veranda up front.  You have the wind and the ship's movement which may increase the wind, and nothing to block it.  There is a high wall, so there is some shelter from the wind, but you will not be able to really enjoy sitting out there on a sea day.  Number 2, you cannot let any white light shine out of your windows at night.  The curtains must be fully closed.  If you want to be crazy as I was on that first cruise, you have to have red lights inside, or turn off all of the lights before you open the curtains at night.

 

On a positive note, we enjoyed watching the deck crew handle the lines as we came in, and you do get a good view entering ports each, or most, mornings.

[spindrift]

Interesting input. Thanks folks. This is on the new Vista ship. I was originally booked in a new solo stateroom but the inaugural was cancelled, and I was put on a waitlist thus the assignment to 8001 for the TA. 
I’d not thought of the light issue . I ALWAYS Sleep with my drapes open. Don’t like missing anything 🤩

[GeezerCouple]

21 minutes ago, spindrift said:

Interesting input. Thanks folks. This is on the new Vista ship. I was originally booked in a new solo stateroom but the inaugural was cancelled, and I was put on a waitlist thus the assignment to 8001 for the TA. 
I’d not thought of the light issue . I ALWAYS Sleep with my drapes open. Don’t like missing anything 🤩

 

We also LOVE forward-facing!

 

We just keep the lights off at night so we can keep the drapes open, even when all that is visible is the sky (maybe a nice moon?) and the sea!

We also keep lights off usually later in the evening so we can "see" the view, unless we need serious lights on, such as for reading.

 

I hadn't heard/thought about red lights.

 

GC

 

 

Edited December 8, 2022 by GeezerCouple

[JeffElizabeth]

We had a bow room on the Marina, one below owner's level and loved all the space. Didn't have issues with seasickness even in a very windy March that had us canceling port stops in the Atlantic.  What we did not like was we had to blackout at night on the deck so we didn't disturb the navigation deck above us, and it was too windy while underway. 

I don't think we would book that room again.