M-Class Aft Balconies on 9th Deck

[wesp]

OK. Time to clarify the issues of noise and available sunshine for the aft FV cabins with a poll.

 

Thanks.

 

Wesley

[CaribbeanBound]

You left out: "Never been there, don't know".

I like to vote too.

[canderson]

All from personal experience, and another FV stay coming up on the Summit in less than 2 weeks (I'M READY!)... And I'll point out that you did specify FV cabins on Millenium Class ships. There's a distinction between these and how they're set up on Century Class ships where the FV cabins have no balconies and their windows are open to Deck 10 foot traffic.

 

Let there be no doubt about it -- every one of Celebrity's ships have "sleeper" cabins, and if you're willing to take out tha magnifying glass to those itsy bitsy deck plans here on the web, you'll find the anomolies that can add some extra value to your cruise.

 

I almost hate to say these things, because all it's going to do is make my own attempts to snag one of these just that much harder!!! But here's the score, a selfless act for the benefit of my fellow Cruise Critics.

 

1) There can be little question of the value of the FV cabins on the M class ships. For less $ than a Sky Suite, you get 20 more square feet of space than a Sky Suite. Do you REALLY need a butler?

 

2) The veranda space, ESPECIALLY in the 6 FV cabins in the corners of the ship, is massive. Look at any pic of the stern of an M class ship -- there are substantial projections in the corners of decks 7/8/9. Those, folks, are your FV verandas. That said, the other 6 FV cabins toward the center of the ship also have very nice verandas as well, just not as big.

 

3) IF you get one of those corner FV cabins, you not only get the added benefit of the great outdoor space, you have (GEEZ I hate telling this) an entire internal corridor between the ship's main corridor and your room. After you insert that cabin key, you go down your own little hallway and slide it into the door that actually gets into your cabin. You OWN that hallway. It's sufficiently wide to stack your suitecases, golf clubs, baby stroller (folded) and a host of other crap that you really don't need or want in your cabin. Add that to the existing 20 sq foot extra square advantage over a Sky Suite, and now you'Ve really got a space/$ bargain.

 

4) These cabins do sleep 4, and there's still plenty of room over by the door of the head to put a crib and not really get into anyone's way in either that door or the closet space opposite. That said, there's one queen bed, and the other two are sleeper sofas located toward the door to the veranda. While there's a slider between these two "compartments", anyone needing to get up in the middle of the night is going to have to open it and pass through the first compartment space to get to the head. And while the slider provides some visual privacy, it doesn't do anything for sound. If you were thinking of putting the "snorers" on one side, this isn't going to help.

 

5) The FV and CC cabins on Deck 9 are right under the rear deck area that is used for entertainment each night. I actually found this to be a plus. You could sit out on your veranda and enjoy some acoustic guitar and vocals. But if you go to bed really early, you may not want to leave your door to the outside open, and you may hear them shuffling the chairs and tables around as they close up for the night. If that might bother you, stick with Decks 7 or 8. If not, enjoy the free (and typically very mellow) concerts every night from the comfort of your own private seating.

 

6) I've heard it said that X won't let you book these for 2 people. That simply isn't true, or certainly wasn't in the past. My wife and I have booked these a couple of times when we could, and have booked the CC rooms in between these FV's when we couldn't. That's another story and are cabins well worth your consideration... but I gotta keep some secrets to myself!

 

I could say more, but if that isn't enough to explain it ---

[canderson]

Ah, I forgot to directly address the issue of sun. You could infer this from the previous post, but let me make this clear. There is no question that the corner FV cabins have much larger verandas, and as a consequence, you can get more square footage of sun space out from under the overhang than you can with the other 6 FV cabins. But you get your choice of plenty of space in the sun/shade either way.

 

A large part of the availability of sun on any cruise is simply the orientation of the ship and the time of day anyway. If you're northbound, do you expect sun on the starboard side of the ship in the afternoons, or port side in the mornings? Since so much time is spent in more or less N/S travel in the Caribbean, these aft cabins give you a better shot at sun at any time of the day than other cabins located up and down the sides of the boat. Hard to gripe about that.

[Cruise Junky]

You made me feel absolutely wonderful about us (only two of us) having 7199 for our 12 day Med. Cruise. I'm so excited about this cabin.

[canderson]

You made me feel absolutely wonderful about us (only two of us) having 7199 for our 12 day Med. Cruise. I'm so excited about this cabin.

You lucky dogs! You picked well. And mark my words, you will be very happy to have all that "secret" storage space in your own private hallway. And as you point out, the idea that X llimits these rooms to >2 people is evidently still just a myth. Their web site DOES preferentially bounce you for that, but if one is sharp enough to just ask for "No Preference", up come the FV cabins, regardless of the number in your party, and they're perfectly happy (as we have both discovered) to sell it to you for a twosome.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Chris

(Infinity #9197, Infinity #8166, Summit (soon!) #8168 (not quite as lucky, but I'll take it!)

[Cruise Junky]

very very happy about that cabin and we've already been voluntold ;) that we're holding the sail away party for our roll call on our deck ! We've had aft before, but never anything that big...kind of a shame that we don't have too many sea days in the Med...but we'll live :)

[kated]

I just booked the Constellation for next December and was told by celebrity that I could not book an FV cabin with only two people. The woman wouldnt even tell me if any were available :( I guess I should call back and see if i different agent might say differently.

Kate

[Cruise Junky]

I've heard rumblings that they had started cracking down during peak periods. Are you going anywhere close to Christmas? When the kids are out of school apparently they're restricting them.

[canderson]

I've heard rumblings that they had started cracking down during peak periods. Are you going anywhere close to Christmas? When the kids are out of school apparently they're restricting them.

Perhaps they limit these during periods like Christmas week, but my original reservation for 6 December~17 December was for two, just as it was last year. As noted elsewhere, cruises in that time frame never seem to be sold out. We did get one that lapped over Thanksgiving one year, however.

 

Having made a conscious decision to avoid travel directly within the Christmas / New Year period, I can't say what happens to reservations then. I just know the cabin stewards and dining room staff don't look forward to it. They look truly sorry to see those of us in the prior cruise go!

[NnJ2010]

I just booked the Constellation for next December and was told by celebrity that I could not book an FV cabin with only two people. The woman wouldnt even tell me if any were available :( I guess I should call back and see if i different agent might say differently.

Kate

Try a different person or an agency. We had the amazing good fortune to find out that one of the corner aft rooms (happened to be looking at the right place at the right time as we were already booked into a concierge room) had been let go and we were able to grab it. It's just my husband and I. We board a week from Monday! :)

[degarr]

Similar story, Had a balcony on Deck 8 for the 4/17 Panama Canal cruise on Infinity and then looked at the TA site 3 - 4 weeks ago picking "No preference " to see how booked the cruise appeared and "bingo" a corner FV 9156 Woo Hoo! no problem swapping booking for just 2 of us, Celebrity had to move deposit monies etc but we will now have a great room and spectacular balcony. NB No one has mentioned the apparent 270 degree views from the corner. I cannot from experience as I have never FV'd before.

[canderson]

Similar story, Had a balcony on Deck 8 for the 4/17 Panama Canal cruise on Infinity and then looked at the TA site 3 - 4 weeks ago picking "No preference " to see how booked the cruise appeared and "bingo" a corner FV 9156 Woo Hoo! no problem swapping booking for just 2 of us, Celebrity had to move deposit monies etc but we will now have a great room and spectacular balcony. NB No one has mentioned the apparent 270 degree views from the corner. I cannot from experience as I have never FV'd before.

I certainly would like to see the TA site right now for next week's Summit run. If you took a peek for me, it would be most appreciated. Just trying to get a feel for overall level of booking vs. what I see on the public web site -- it doesn't really provide much of a clue, and I think we're going to need to pick up another cabin once we get on board... long story. We're in a FV now but we may want to split us up.

 

Enjoy 9156. I've always been in the other corner (9197), but they're mirror images, and you're going to love it. When you get back, let us know what you thought of all of the storage space the extra hallway provided. Imagine, not a single piece of luggage in your cabin!

 

The view really is 270. As I noted earlier, if you happen to look at an exterior pic of the ship, you can see just how far out those corner verandas jut out from the end of the boat. Positively fantastic for the Alaska trips with the continous scenery. It's impossible to beat it anywhere on the ship for the money they ask for them. Keep the SS and the butler on a Millenium class ship -- give me a FV any day.

 

Don't know if you've been on the Century class ships, but the FV cabins there, while large, have no veranda. On those, you'd be better off with the SS on the Sky deck. I have no idea where the sweets spots are on the two smaller ships. Anyone know?