L shaped cabin vs aft balcony

[gypsyrose]

I thought I was sold on the aft balcony, and may be still, but so many talk about the lack of privacy, the dirt that ends up on your balcony and how hot they can be. So, next thought, how does it compare to the L shaped rooms?? I know the balcony will not be as deep but it will be extra long. What about the weird configuration of the room? Trying to decide....I definitely want to book something other than just a plain balcony like we have always had (don't suggest the 9A, not ready to splurge that much;) ) Just don't want to be sitting on the aft balcony w/ everyone watching while we are sweating bullets. Is that just an exaggeration on some peoples experience or is it really that bad? And so many complain about the noise. I love the sound of the waves crashing on the side of the ship. What kind of noise do you get from the aft?

 

Sorry for all the ???? Just being a little indecisive this time! Thanks!!!!

[Honeybear1974]

Sailed on the Conquest back in 12/07 and had stateroom 7451...an aft cabin.....never had any issues with garbage being thrown on our balcony.......we had plenty of privacy........we also had a lovely breeze out there......I noticed the excessive heat only when we docked at Progresso, I would never book anything other than an aft balcony.....as a matter of fact we have one booked for 03/2009 and cannot wait. :cool:

[gottacruisesoon]

We loved the aft balcony. Sitting there looking out at that beautiful blue water is so relaxing. We didn't have any dirt like some talk about. We did experience noise but got used to it. The noise (for us) was a low rumble that turned out to be from the motors of the ship. We were on the 9th floor and didn't hear it until laying down for bed. Actually dh was not bothered at all. I have extremely sensitive hearing so I was bothered the first night while trying to sleep. I got used to it though and no more problems the rest of the week. We prefer to be more central in the ship though due to motion issues that I have. We did notice though that it is much more private because you don't have people running up and down the halls as much since they don't need to really go back that far. All in all though, we really enjoyed it.

[cruising forever]

gypsyrose:

 

We have done aft and "L" shaped cabins......we prefer the aft for the awesome views of the wake and panoramic sunset views that you own't get on the side. Actually, the time we got the "L" shaped cabin was because all of the aft ones were gone. It was fine,but we prefer the aft by far.

 

We had an "L" shaped cabin on the Victory and there was a queen bed with no split in the middle and I'm pretty sure we didn't have a sofa due to the configuration. The bathroom door was near he foot of the bed, so it was all pretty cozy, if ya catch my drift! LOL

 

That said, keep in mind that some things that may be important to me may not make a hill of beans to you, so set your priorities and then set sail and enjoy your cruise :)

[bills blasters]

WE also love the aft cabins. Have had them on our last 3 cruises. I have never had trouble with dirt or garbage. Plus the noise has not been a problem at all. We love to sit and watch the wake of the ship. The views are fantastic. Much better than a side balcony. Plus the balcony is about twice as deep, so you have plenty of room. I didn't really feel there was any privacy issues. Yes, if you are standing at the railing, people will see you and you will be able to see them. Depends on how much privacy you need. If you are just sitting on the balcony, people above will not be able to see you.

We only go aft now.

[jayscore]

Long story short, we wound up with an extended aft on the Triumph last year and loved it! Do your homework and you'll see some, not all, next to the 9A,s are 1/3 wider as well as deeper than the regular balconies. This is what we got, and liked it so much, we booked a similar cabin on the Valor for our next cruise. (If you book way ahead and don't mind paying a big difference from a BL, that is!);)

[gypsyrose]

Thanks to everyone for your prompt replies. I feel better about booking an aft now. As for privacy, I just mainly want to be able to sit on the balcony in the am w/ our coffee and croissants in our robe and not have people looking down on us or over at us. I realize if they PEEP over they can see, if they won't to be that nosey;) I just didn't want the people above to be able to look down all the time. If they will only see us while we're at the railing I can live w/ that.

 

Another ??? if you don't mind.......which is the best cabin? I know to get the deck sandwiched between cabins. Do I want to try to get the middle cabin to be in the middle of the wake or one of the end ones so I will have a little more view to one side? I had read somewhere that the middle cabins were a little smaller because of some pole or something. I am looking at the Valor for 2010 if that helps any.

 

And again.....Thanks to everyone who replied so promptly. I love this site and everyone on it:D

[tximprov]

I will be staying in an L shape room on my upcoming conquest voyage, rm 6481. If anyone has pictures of an L shape room, I know the balcony is huge. Drove past the conquest on my last visit to galveston. Also waht about opening the dividers between the balconies...I know they only open a certian number and to get there early. whcih aft rooms would be best (when booking two) to be able to open the dividers and not cover a door to your room.

[gypsyrose]

Long story short, we wound up with an extended aft on the Triumph last year and loved it! Do your homework and you'll see some, not all, next to the 9A,s are 1/3 wider as well as deeper than the regular balconies. This is what we got, and liked it so much, we booked a similar cabin on the Valor for our next cruise. (If you book way ahead and don't mind paying a big difference from a BL, that is!);)

 

 

OMG! I just checked the Valor. IF my eyes are not deceiving me, it looks like the upper and verandah decks have a deeper balcony than the empress, which is what I was gonna book since it is between cabin decks. What cabin did you have?? It looks like it makes the cabin a little smaller in order to have the deeper balcony.

[yst347]

Another ??? if you don't mind.......which is the best cabin? I know to get the deck sandwiched between cabins. Do I want to try to get the middle cabin to be in the middle of the wake or one of the end ones so I will have a little more view to one side? I had read somewhere that the middle cabins were a little smaller because of some pole or something. I am looking at the Valor for 2010 if that helps any.

 

The cabins with the wider balconies jayscore mentioned are only on deck 8. they are cabins 8450 and 8457. Some people say they hear chairs scrapping from the Lido above but these two cabins look very nice to me.

 

On all three decks you should avoid the center two cabins if possible as they are narrower than the others. On deck seven, if you want a sofa in your room you should avoid cabins 7442 and 7447 as these do not have the sofa, just a chair.

[yst347]

OMG! I just checked the Valor. IF my eyes are not deceiving me, it looks like the upper and verandah decks have a deeper balcony than the empress, which is what I was gonna book since it is between cabin decks. What cabin did you have?? It looks like it makes the cabin a little smaller in order to have the deeper balcony.

 

Your eyes are deceiving you, they balcony depth is the same on all three decks.

[mattmdv]

We also have booked the "L" shaped cabins on the Glory for our upcoming cruise. DW & I and brother and his son right next door, so hopefully, we can get the dividers opened too.

 

Matt

[robtx100]

We had 7448 on the Conquest last year. It was one of the narrow ones with no sofa. The hallway was so narrow, the bathroom door did not open all the way. We did have an occasional drink umbrella and cigarette butt on the balcony. That being said, we loved being back there so much, we recently booked 4 afts on the Conquest for March 1st. I'm lucky enough to get 6485, which is next to the 9A, so hopefully will be more room.

 

Honeybear1974, are you going on the Conquest again? What date in March?

[MO Cruzin]

We just got off the Conquest 5-18 and had an aft wrap 8455 it was great we heard just a little chair scrape every now and then but not that bad I think that there was 1 or 2 cig buts the whole week we found and no trash the worst part was when they washed the windows early in the morning everything on the balcony got soaked and we had a large puddle of water right in front of our balcony door every morning Keep in mind that the aft wraps are not the same room layout from floor to floor our balcony looked to be about 3 foot longer than the ones below us and the rooms are very different ours looked to be smaller than the aft wrap we visited on the 6 floor upperdeck after looking at the roomlayout when we got back you can see a little differance but all the picts on carnival website show them to be the same we have another aft wrap booked for our next cruise :D

[afcj1]

Since another thread was started...I figured that I'd ask...

 

I have a mid-ship balcony room for our Pride sailing on the Panorama deck, though there's an aft room, next to a 9A wrap, that remains available on the same deck. It looks like a long balcony, so based on everyone's expert knowledge, what do you think?

 

Mid-ship or aft??

 

Thanks.

[Pistol Packin Mama]

Just got off the Vision last week. Although not as big as other ships our aft cabin was great #7156. It was the first time we booked aft and I wouldn't really want anything else. Privacy was not an issue, neither was anything being thrown on our deck. We were just off center and the view was great. I didn't notice any undue noise, but did keep the cabin door open all night to hear the waves and water. I am trying what I think you are refering to as an Lshape room on the Voyager in February. It is #1388 on the end with a balcony that is 205 sq feet. Not sure how much we lose on the room, but as long as there are enough closets I'm happy. Although if the airlines keep up the baggage limits, I won't need all those closets.:D :D

[madge57]

When we went on the Valor in 07 we had the L-shaped room. We loved it!!! There is no sofa but we really didn't need it. On the balcony we had two chairs a table and a lounge chair. Friends of ours had an aft balcony they liked it but said that they wouldn't get another one because of the heat and the soot that was on the furniture. I know some don't get the soot but this time they did. When we go on the Freedom again we booked the L-shaped cabin because we like it so much. I'm sure what ever you pick will make you happy!!!:)

[gypsyrose]

The upper deck is above the karaoke lounge on the Valor. Has anyone had any noise problems w/ this? Wondering if we will hear them singing while we are on the balcony or in our cabin.

[cruzcrazy!]

Your eyes are deceiving you, they balcony depth is the same on all three decks.

 

No, actually your eyes are not deceiving you. I am going on the Valor in May of 2009 and I'm booked for an aft of the upper deck, and the balconies on the upper are a lot deeper than the ones on the empress and verandah.

[gypsyrose]

Be sure to come back and tell me all about your aft balcony. Take and post pictures if you don't mind.

[yst347]

Here's a picture, sorry to disappoint but they all have the same depth. ;)

 

 

[Bases5]

On all three decks you should avoid the center two cabins if possible as they are narrower than the others. On deck seven, if you want a sofa in your room you should avoid cabins 7442 and 7447 as these do not have the sofa, just a chair.

 

On the Destiny there are 8 aft cabins across deck 7 and 8. Deck 6 only has 6 across. I wonder if the 2 middle cabins on deck 6 are smaller since there are 2 fewer cabins. I know on deck plans, it states Chair and table for deck 7 and 8 but says sofa and table on deck 6.

 

If you had a choice between a skinny aft balcony or a regular side balcony which would you choose.

[loveJake]

Long story short, we wound up with an extended aft on the Triumph last year and loved it! Do your homework and you'll see some, not all, next to the 9A,s are 1/3 wider as well as deeper than the regular balconies. This is what we got, and liked it so much, we booked a similar cabin on the Valor for our next cruise. (If you book way ahead and don't mind paying a big difference from a BL, that is!);)

 

We love the aft, only have 1 princess corner wrap under our belts but now will not sail in any other spot. The Emerald Princess has the suites in the center and the regular balcony wraps on the ends, it was pure heaven. Two recliners, foot rests and a regular size table. I know the Glory will not be as great, but we have 7447 next to the 7445 9A. Does that mean we will have a little more room according to your post?

[yst347]

On the Destiny there are 8 aft cabins across deck 7 and 8. Deck 6 only has 6 across. I wonder if the 2 middle cabins on deck 6 are smaller since there are 2 fewer cabins. I know on deck plans, it states Chair and table for deck 7 and 8 but says sofa and table on deck 6.If you had a choice between a skinny aft balcony or a regular side balcony which would you choose.

 

 

 

 

 

The aft hull structure of the Destiny is identical to the later versions (Triumph, Conquest, Splendor class) as this photo shows; decks 6 and 8 have six cat.8 cabins across, while deck 7 has 8 across. The last cabin on each side of deck 8 has a wider balcony as visible in this picture. The center two cabins on all three decks are narrower than the others. Look at the dividers that separate the center two cabins from the others. Notice how it is a brighter white? This is because it is solid steel superstructure. The space occupied by the center two cabins is fixed between these solid steel ribs.

 

Steel Superstructure separating a center cabin

 

 

I love aft cabins. I would gladly choose one of the center cabins over a side balcony any day. I have done so on the Conquest where we had 7453. The main difference between a center cabin and a standard cabin is the layout. This photo of 7453 shows the TV at a 90 degree angle from the bed, a bit awkward but the thinner room doesn't allow for the vanity along the side wall. The hall between the closet and bathroom is also narrower than normal cabins.

 

Cabin 7453 on Conquest

 

 

Standard Aft balcony layout on Victory

 

[yst347]

I know the Glory will not be as great, but we have 7447 next to the 7445 9A. Does that mean we will have a little more room according to your post?

 

No, the cabins with the larger balconies are on the deck

above you. Your cabins are the standard size. The two will be the same with one major exception; 7447 will have a sofa but 7445 will not. In the space where the sofa would go you will have a table and either one or two chairs. You should have two chairs but sometimes they get moved.