Porthole balcony cabin on Beyond- good or bad?

[ISABELLA]

We are considering a cruise on Beyond, but we don't like IV, so I was looking on booking what they have Porthole veranda. 

Anyone with experience in sailing one, please share your opinions. I think we will prefer aft cabin.

Thank you very much.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

This may not help you, but an acquaintance took his four year old son on an Edge Class ship and had a porthole balcony. He really liked it because he felt it was a safer option for the child  than a standard railing design. he said he'd choose that again for that reason. If you are not traveling with children this advice won't help you. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

We have one booked on Ascent for the very reason you said...not a fan of the IV concept.  I looked at a few videos on line of the space...it seems perfectly fine for our needs.  I like that the balcony, though porthole style, offers what appears to be plenty of shade.    

[kabmab]

We've had the same aft porthole veranda twice last year on the Apex.  Not a lot of space and we never spent much time out there, but it was okay.  Next year on Ascent TA we trying an infinite veranda.  We'll have third Apex cruise in SV in January 2024, booked quite a while ago but going forward too pricey.  Edited to note there may be slight obstruction, at least aft, due to window washing equipment.

Edited October 30, 2023 by kabmab
Additional information

[PTC DAWG]

I have friends who sailed in one, they liked it…70 or so, active folks..Celebrity fans.  

[LeeW]

Have done many cruises on balconies that are not glass.  And we have one on Beyond booked for next year.  The biggest advantage of these cabins is that you are really shielded from the wind.  Disadvantage is the glass area is smaller, but we usually find glass has so much salt on it you can't see much through it anyway.  Same problem with regular balconies.

[dreamer321]

The biggest downside of the porthole balcony is they are extreme forward or aft. You will feel more motion if seas are rough. Also extreme forward cabins may be noisy when anchoring. I don't have first hand experience with these but those are the thoughts that come to mind in general.

 

[Random Cruizer]

I had one forward on Apex and loved it.  Very narrow, works better for 1 person than 2, but at least it's a real balcony.

[cruisestitch]

Here was mine on Edge

[Georgia_Peaches]

@cruisestitch did you feel motion or hear more noise than normal?  And is the interior size the same as a traditional verandah room on S class?

Edited October 30, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[cruisestitch]

No particular motion or noises.  Different shape from S class so hard to equate the two

[doghog]

3 hours ago, ISABELLA said:

We are considering a cruise on Beyond, but we don't like IV, so I was looking on booking what they have Porthole veranda. 

Anyone with experience in sailing one, please share your opinions. I think we will prefer aft cabin.

Thank you very much.

We had a DVP stateroom on the Apex (7118) that and had no issues with it. We have a future cruise (September 2024) booked on the Edge and have a DPV (7118) for that cruise.