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Aft cabins

slyfox0113

By slyfox0113,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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slyfox0113

slyfox0113

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I just returned from a cruise on the Gem in March. We are thinking of repeating the cruise next March and were given a pretty good deal on an aft penthouse. The square footage is quite significant compared to the balcony we just had as well the balcony is much larger. My question and concern is I have been on four cruises but never been at the rear of the ship which is where cabins are. I would like some input if anyone has stayed in one were they pleased with their decision. My other option was a mini suite on Deck 11. Any comments would be appreciated.

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Wineshipper

Wineshipper

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We just had our 1st aft penthouse cabin. It was so relaxing and additional privacy. Would do it again without a second thought.

Penthouse will also give you additional space and should also get yoiu the suite perks. Breakfast at Cagney's is wonderful. Been back 2 weeks from the Star and still cannot get DW to make me filet mingon and eggs for breakfast.

 

I vote YES on the aft penthouse.

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Arwenmark

Arwenmark

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Those stern cabins are some of the PRIME real estate on the ship and everyone tries to bag them, I just got one of the stern AE suites on the Star with the side wrap balcony.

They are a bit of a hike to stuff and sometimes you feel a bit more motion or vibration but most people love Stern cabins.

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fieldmom35215

fieldmom35215

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We just had our 1st aft penthouse cabin. It was so relaxing and additional privacy. Would do it again without a second thought.

Penthouse will also give you additional space and should also get yoiu the suite perks. Breakfast at Cagney's is wonderful. Been back 2 weeks from the Star and still cannot get DW to make me filet mingon and eggs for breakfast.

 

I vote YES on the aft penthouse.

Wineshipper - I was just on another thread asking about Star minis / penthouse. I am on the Star in June - aft BA. I'm so hoping we'll get an upsell call and if so, I think we'll opt for penthouse over minisuite. Which deck were you on? I definitely want to stay AFT and don't want to get had by NCL and their so-called upsells.

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MikeNJ1109

MikeNJ1109

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Agreed with the previous postings ... all things being equal, we prefer the Aft cabins for any number of reasons, objective and subjective.

 

The one ... ONE ... exception that I might take to that rule would be a cruise from NYC to Bermuda during early spring or into the autumn, when the Atlantic tends to be a bit more choppy. For that, my own preference would be mid-ship. Now, I've heard anecdotal reports that the "shimmy-ing" in the aft is not that bad, but knowing my wife can get a tad ill in non-calm waters, we err on the side of caution.

 

Michael

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Wineshipper

Wineshipper

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We where in 9732 (deck 9). Also a corner with the wrap around balcony.

 

I can only offer my opinion on your questions. If it where me in an aft BA and offered a mini somewhere other than aft, I would pass and stay with the BA. Mini does not offer enough to give up the aft.

Second, have read so many times here. Do not count on the upsell, book what you will be happy with, upsell should be an unexpected bonus (but we still dream of them).

 

Really had a great time on the Star, staff was wonderful and very friendly. Ship was great. Only downside was the buffet could have been designed better.

 

Also want to thank Marcell Puzsar, he is the photo manager on the Star. We went on the Zodiac whale watching excursion. Had the amazing experience of seeing a baby whale jumping out of the water over and over. Our camera did not get the action. As it turned out, Marcell was also in our Zodiac. He did get some AMAZING shoots and shared them with us.

Please go to the photo shop and ask to see these pictures taken in Cabo March 23rd. Please say hello to Marcell from Nelson and Karen Howard. This pictures will be framed and treasured forever.

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Cruise_More_Often

Cruise_More_Often

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Slyfox, we have been in an AE penthouse suite (aft) on the Jewel (Caribbean) and a minisuite aft on the Sun (Alaska), and on neither one did we feel any motion at all, nor vibration. Just smooth, wonderful sailing in those two locations. We've booked aft minisuites for both of our upcoming cruises. For us, it's the place to be.

 

Wineshipper - I was just on another thread asking about Star minis / penthouse. I am on the Star in June - aft BA. I'm so hoping we'll get an upsell call and if so, I think we'll opt for penthouse over minisuite. Which deck were you on? I definitely want to stay AFT and don't want to get had by NCL and their so-called upsells.
fieldmom35215, I may have missed theads discussing the upsell fairy giving you an option of either a minisuite or a penthouse. That would be great, but I haven't seen where that's happened. We did take an upsell from an aft BA like yours on the Star to an AB penthouse suite on the starboard side. I'm curious to know what you mean when you say you don't want to get had. Can you explain, please? We've taken 4 upsells, and we've never felt like we've "been had."
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fieldmom35215

fieldmom35215

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fieldmom35215, I may have missed theads discussing the upsell fairy giving you an option of either a minisuite or a penthouse. That would be great, but I haven't seen where that's happened. We did take an upsell from an aft BA like yours on the Star to an AB penthouse suite on the starboard side. I'm curious to know what you mean when you say you don't want to get had. Can you explain, please? We've taken 4 upsells, and we've never felt like we've "been had."

 

I don't know that they do. Not sure how all of it works which is why I'm pounding these threads with all my silly questions :o. I've read so much here some good some bad. I got the impression that when they call, they make you an offer. I read where some OPs were so excited by upsells that they accepted only to find out that they would have been better off staying put. We are newbies and don't want to accept something that might SOUND good and be sorry later. We love our BA for no other reason but the Alaska scenery. I just don't want to goof up. Does this make sense?

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ecclectic-eccentric

ecclectic-eccentric

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I don't know that they do. Not sure how all of it works which is why I'm pounding these threads with all my silly questions :o. I've read so much here some good some bad. I got the impression that when they call, they make you an offer. I read where some OPs were so excited by upsells that they accepted only to find out that they would have been better off staying put. We are newbies and don't want to accept something that might SOUND good and be sorry later. We love our BA for no other reason but the Alaska scenery. I just don't want to goof up. Does this make sense?

 

Here's my two cents...

 

I've never been fortunate enough to have an upsell offered to me, but I do my homework in advance so that, if they call, I know what I am interested in and how much I'm willing to spend. A few weeks before sailing, I do mock bookings to see just exactly what a straight up price for each suite would be, then subtract what I've already paid. I make a list and keep it handy, that way if I get a call to upgrade to Suite XYZ for $800 I can know that it would have actually cost me $1400 or $850 or whatever, and I know whether or not I'm actually getting a deal.

 

Also, I know in advance where these suites may be in the ship. We love aft facing cabins, and I don't know that I'd want to upgrade to something mid-ship or even fore facing (I've heard that sometimes there is too much wind to enjoy the balcony if you're in the bow). I've also noticed that some balconies are more private than others, something that's important to us.

 

By the way, if I were doing an Alaskan cruise, I wouldn't go if I couldn't have an aft facing cabin so that I could see what was going by us on both sides of the ship. I'd hate to be limited to one view. (I know, I'm horribly spoiled...and I blame it all on Cruise Critic where I got turned on to the joys of aft balconies!)

 

Happy cruising!

ee

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Mrs. H.

Mrs. H.

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I don't know that they do. Not sure how all of it works which is why I'm pounding these threads with all my silly questions :o. I've read so much here some good some bad. I got the impression that when they call, they make you an offer. I read where some OPs were so excited by upsells that they accepted only to find out that they would have been better off staying put. We are newbies and don't want to accept something that might SOUND good and be sorry later. We love our BA for no other reason but the Alaska scenery. I just don't want to goof up. Does this make sense?

 

Here's my two cents...

 

I've never been fortunate enough to have an upsell offered to me, but I do my homework in advance so that, if they call, I know what I am interested in and how much I'm willing to spend. A few weeks before sailing, I do mock bookings to see just exactly what a straight up price for each suite would be, then subtract what I've already paid. I make a list and keep it handy, that way if I get a call to upgrade to Suite XYZ for $800 I can know that it would have actually cost me $1400 or $850 or whatever, and I know whether or not I'm actually getting a deal.

 

Also, I know in advance where these suites may be in the ship. We love aft facing cabins, and I don't know that I'd want to upgrade to something mid-ship or even fore facing (I've heard that sometimes there is too much wind to enjoy the balcony if you're in the bow). I've also noticed that some balconies are more private than others, something that's important to us.

 

By the way, if I were doing an Alaskan cruise, I wouldn't go if I couldn't have an aft facing cabin so that I could see what was going by us on both sides of the ship. I'd hate to be limited to one view. (I know, I'm horribly spoiled...and I blame it all on Cruise Critic where I got turned on to the joys of aft balconies!)

 

Happy cruising!

ee

 

 

I'm going to enjoy my first aft in a few weeks. Can't wait.

 

FYI. I agree 100% about getting the aft for Alaska. When I do that cruise I again I know I will. I went on cruise to Alaska with my mom and sister and didn't know any better back then. We did have a balcony mid ship and the great thing the ship did was turn around and around. AWESOME!!

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Cruise_More_Often

Cruise_More_Often

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I don't know that they do. Not sure how all of it works which is why I'm pounding these threads with all my silly questions :o. I've read so much here some good some bad. I got the impression that when they call, they make you an offer. I read where some OPs were so excited by upsells that they accepted only to find out that they would have been better off staying put. We are newbies and don't want to accept something that might SOUND good and be sorry later. We love our BA for no other reason but the Alaska scenery. I just don't want to goof up. Does this make sense?
Makes perfect sense. Have your deck plans handy, and make sure you know exactly where an upsell cabin is located. Talk to the fairy about the cabin. We've never been offered anything we'd have turned down. And we've never haggled with her either, although I hear plenty of people have.

 

Good luck!

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rsohn65820

rsohn65820

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Does anyone think that having an Aft BA booked gives you a slight edge of getting a call from the Upsell Fairy? This is our first time cruising and we have an aft BA booked on the Star to Mexico in October. I don't know that I would take an upsell even if one was offered because I am really looking forward to the cabin we have booked. They probally would want a large amount of money to upsell from a balcony to a suite anyway, and from reading all that I have here on CC I know upsells are few are far between. I was just wondering if since a BA aft seems to be a sought after cabin if anyone thought it gives you a better chance of a upsell?

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slyfox0113

slyfox0113

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Just a thanks to everyone for your replies. I am sold on the AE penthouse on deck 9. I was also happy to see the comment about Bermuda. I was reading some reviews of sailings to Bermuda and did not realize it would be choppy seas in spring.

 

Tomorrow I will book my AE penthouse. Appreciate the input from all, greatly.

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hmk012

hmk012

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We were in a AFT cabin deck 11 in March. We loved the view...it really was amazing. We did feel more of the movement in the book back there. We were on a 5 night and 2 of the days was pretty rough. Honestly we will think twice before getting a cabin in the back again. If the water wasn't rough it wouldn't of been an issue! We loved leaving our door open at night and hearing the ocean without having a breeze come into the room. The location was also perfect for us by being in the back of the ship! Good luck

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Illinitrvlr

Illinitrvlr

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We had a BA Aft on the Dawn and while I loved the cabin, the balcony and the view there was way too much movement for me. I do have a slight tendency to get motion sick and except for when I was laying down I was constantly nauseous while in our cabin. I am sad that I will probably never book another aft cabin:(

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