Question - Aft Balcony

[oceanbeau10]

We are considering an aft balcony, what are your opinions?  My husband has allergies and is concern about smelling fumes.  Thank you in advance for your input.

[DesertRat46]

We've been in an aft balcony cabin on 3 different cruise lines and 5 different ships and have never smelled exhaust fumes. Did have an issue 1 time with a smoker next door.

[Mary229]

If I am getting a balcony, it is aft.  I have never smelled fumes.  I think it may be a problem on certain ships so once you decide on the ship perhaps ask your question again. 

[auntmeg]

3 hours ago, oceanbeau10 said:

We are considering an aft balcony, what are your opinions?  My husband has allergies and is concern about smelling fumes.  Thank you in advance for your input.

Allergies and smelling fumes seem like they are unrelated. Does he have a reaction to diesel fuel? Allergies typically would be triggered by organic irritants, right?

[sciencewonk]

34 days in an aft cabin and never smelled diesel fumes.  On two occasions we could smell slight cigarette smoke for about 15 minutes.  We were on Deck 6 below the smoking section on the Lido.  We never saw smokers on a balcony, so I think that's were it was coming from.

[0106]

An aft  balcony is what we always book if available.  The ability to see both sides of the ship adds to our pleasure.  We have never smelled exhaust.

[CNSJ]

Only issue depending on ship is that folks can look down on your balcony from the aft pool.  So don't go out naked, unless you don't care!

[Crew News]

In my many cruises, I have had an aft stateroom on nearly all of them.  As a photographer, I enjoy seeing and photographing what is on both sides of the ship.  On the Vista class ships (except Noordam), the aft Deck 5 balconies are fully covered.  All aft staterooms will have no balcony wind so you can enjoy it even when the ship is moving.  Aft staterooms are just a short ride from the MDR and LIdo Market.  Being just a short elevator from the Room Service kitchen, means hot breakfast. 

 

I have no memory fumes or soot on my balcony.

 

There are many who would never sail in an aft stateroom which improves my probability of booking one for my cruises.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I have been aft on one Signature, one Pinnacle and three of the four Vistas and never had an issue with soot or smells. 

[dog]

Oosterdam aft balcony Navigator deck —- not again. Noisy from Lido above& older ship- very noisy, but no fumes, so far.

[0106]

I have stayed in an aft balcony on the Navigation (deck 8 ) of the Oosterdam. The Lido is not above you; the chair area of the Seaview pool is above you.  The only time I heard noise was if I happened to be in the cabin when they were putting the chairs down in the morning but I was usually at breakfast.  In the evening they picked the chairs up and cleaned the deck but I was usually at dinner.  The noise was never a problem for me.

[terrydtx]

We love aft facing cabins when we can find one, our next is on the Koingsdam in November. I have never had any problem with smoke or soot from the ship.

[dog]

5 hours ago, dog said:

Oosterdam aft balcony Navigator deck —- not again. Noisy from Lido above& older ship- very noisy, but no fumes, so far.

Deck 9 is the Lido Deck.

The Seaview Pool- chairs & tables are above my cabin. Starting at 7 am until 10 pm I hear noise.

 

My experience!

[0106]

@dog Sorry for misunderstanding, I thought you were referring to the Lido buffet.  I had a Signature Suite on the Oosterdam under the Lido buffet that was much louder than the aft cabin.  It was the carts of food rolling across the tile floor as they prepared for breakfast, lunch and dinner; however, once I realized what it was it didn’t bother me.  My DH snores, I guess I can sleep through anything🤣

[shipshape sam]

Assuming there is no difference in cost, we would take an aft facing cabin.  If there is a higher cost (an assumption for this thread) then I would most likely NOT pay the additional fee.  Obviously $10 more is the same cost  to me and not sure where my line is.  I do not think I would pay $100 more. DW would have to weigh in.

 

My reason is that, we are out and about the ship.  My motto is our cabin is for storing our stuff, cleaning up and sleeping.

 

Just got off Rotterdam in March 2023 and had an aft cabin on deck 6. We had to be deliberate in our effort to sit out there and watch the wake.  I like to do it, just was doing other things including going aft to the stern on lido deck 9 to watch it from that vantage point. This is by the Sea View bar and pool on Rotterdam.

 

Reflecting on our use this past cruise of 11 days, we spent (I did) a lot of time out on balcony when coming into and leaving our ports of call and also while docked or tendered.

 

What I would suggest is as everyone has opinions, that you try it out.  Then you will be better informed if an aft cabin is for you and what you like to do on a cruise.  There will be potentially more walking.  When not sailing in an aft cabin, we still try to get a cabin close to aft elevators.  Food is by aft cabins, both main dining areas  and buffet area. 🙂

 

We have never had soot or a smoke smell.  We did comment this past cruise that the noise level was higher that we remember, but it was not loud enough to be a distraction.

 

Whatever you do, have a great cruise!

Edited April 15, 2023 by shipshape sam

[JeffElizabeth]

19 hours ago, Mary229 said:

If I am getting a balcony, it is aft.  I have never smelled fumes.  I think it may be a problem on certain ships so once you decide on the ship perhaps ask your question again. 

We had the fumes issue on a Princess ship many years, but really only was bad on days we were docked and we were always off the ship then. The balcony space was huge! Had more issues with our next door neighbor who spent 50% of the cruise on the balcony conducting business on his phone. What a vacation for him! 

[dog]

I do not recommend deck 8 aft facing- see comments above.

chairs scraping, rattling against back of ship( yes we went up at night to move them), garbage from above on our balcony.

 

we love aft facing cabins on Caribe, princess ships-.

[HappyInVan]

I was on the Koningsdam to Alaska in May 2022. I was very pleased with the rear cabin 7192. Much larger than the normal veranda, little wind, and great views. I was not bothered by fumes or noise.

 

Back on topic, The Ko seemed to burn its fuel cleanly, The photo below shows the funnel emitting yellowish sulphur. But, it dispersed quickly while the ship was moving. Did not detect sulphur in my veranda. On the other hand, the NCL Bliss (launched 2018) was following the Ko, and emitted a thick column of smoke.

Edited April 15, 2023 by HappyInVan

[Heartgrove]

If you do a search on the CC forum for soot on aft cabin decks you will find quite a few threads. I can personally recall being on the Nieuw Statendam in 2019 when the Engineering Dpartment needed to run the emergency generator on Deck 11. The soot was so bad that the captain later came on the PA/Tannoy to appologize to those onboard.

[bvocruise]

We booked an aft balcony, 5186 for our Alaska cruise. We were going to get a mid ship one but decided for the aft port side sailing from Alaska.

[kickboxrca]

We always book a balcony guarantee cabin, and feel like we hit the jackpot when assigned an aft cabin.  The balconies have been bigger, so we get lovely loungers, and as many posters have mentioned, the view is exceptional.  I've never smelled fumes, and I have (lucky I guess) never been right below the pool deck, so haven't had the noise.  The only negative (and I really believe the only) is that it is the longest walk from the stairs/elevators.

 

We are waiting on our cabin assignment for our cruise leaving in two weeks - will be thrilled if we get an aft balcony!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

21 hours ago, Crew News said:

In my many cruises, I have had an aft stateroom on nearly all of them.  As a photographer, I enjoy seeing and photographing what is on both sides of the ship.  On the Vista class ships (except Noordam), the aft Deck 5 balconies are fully covered.  All aft staterooms will have no balcony wind so you can enjoy it even when the ship is moving.  Aft staterooms are just a short ride from the MDR and LIdo Market.  Being just a short elevator from the Room Service kitchen, means hot breakfast. 

 

I have no memory fumes or soot on my balcony.

 

There are many who would never sail in an aft stateroom which improves my probability of booking one for my cruises.

We are looking forward to 5191 in September on the Westerdam which I know you have been in several times as well. Many years ago 5191 on the Oosterdam use to be called the Laffnvegas Suite lol because we were in that one so often. I totally agree that deck 5 is the best for aft cabins on Zuiderdam, Oosterdam and Westerdam.

[Crew News]

1 hour ago, LAFFNVEGAS said:

We are looking forward to 5191 in September on the Westerdam which I know you have been in several times as well. Many years ago 5191 on the Oosterdam use to be called the Laffnvegas Suite lol because we were in that one so often. I totally agree that deck 5 is the best for aft cabins on Zuiderdam, Oosterdam and Westerdam.

After checking my cruise records, I have been in many of the Deck 5, 6, and 7 aft corners on the Vista-class ships.  The huge aft corner staterooms have been the ideal locations for entertaining, Panama Canal viewing, balcony dining, and great photo opportunities. 

[terrydtx]

22 hours ago, 0106 said:

@dog Sorry for misunderstanding, I thought you were referring to the Lido buffet.  I had a Signature Suite on the Oosterdam under the Lido buffet that was much louder than the aft cabin.  It was the carts of food rolling across the tile floor as they prepared for breakfast, lunch and dinner; however, once I realized what it was it didn’t bother me.  My DH snores, I guess I can sleep through anything🤣

That is why we book Signatures Suites only on deck 6 on Vista Class ships, it costs a little more but worth it. We sailed for 14 days last August in SS 6061 and never heard a sound. We have an aft cabin booked on the Koingsdam in November.

[seaoma]

Our recent cruise on the NA experienced quite a bit of soot on our aft cabin balcony, along with the slight smell of cigarette smoke and diesel fumes on occasion.  Our balcony floor was actually very dirty and we didn't go outside without shoes.

 

The worst situation was the afternoon leaving Half Moon Cay when some moron above us decided to shake sand from all of their belongings over their aft balcony. The deck railing was covered and it blew into about 1/3 of the balcony, even onto our footstools. First time I've ever experienced that in my cruising career.