Aft Cabins

Please could somebody explain the pros and cons of aft balcony cabins.

We thought may try one but not sure if the pros outdo the cons.

At the moment we do not know ship we would be going on.

Many thanks.

We love them.

You cannot beat sitting on the balcony, drink in hand, looking at the wake and watching the land disappear into the distance. Especially great in the Fjords.

They are cabins some will either love or hate. Personally I like being on the stern.

We booked our first aft balcony on Azura this winter; from memory I think it was B749. We loved it. The balcony was slighter larger than usual as it curved around the stern. Also as it was the last cabin along the corridor, there was no footflow of any other passengers. We almost felt like we had the ship to ourselves as it was so quiet in the corridor approach. We would book that cabin again in a heartbeat.

They sound great, thanks Scorpio41 and Nauticalmiss.

The disadvantages are that they are a long way from the theater, and that in rough seas you'll certainly feel the ship movement a lot more. There have been occasions when trying not to fall off the bed has been an interesting challange...

VP

We always have an aft cabin if we can. We've had aft cabins on Oceana, Azura and Arcadia. We've never had a problem with juddering - the only time we've felt anything was when the thrusters were in use when the ship was docking. You do hear the noise of the wake - and it can be quite noisy - but we love it - being out on the balcony with a glass in hand is wondeful.

We came through quite rough seas on Oceana recently when in an aft suite and yes there was movement but then there was movement all over the ship - the Captain told us there were Force 12 winds but luckily it didn't last too long!

Thanks for all your replies, I will certainly be booking an aft balcony for my next cruise if possible.

What category ie colour code is B749, nautical miss. It sounds delightful.

PS just found it. HD for the record.

Thanks for posing this question.

We are looking at Azura at the moment and as we want 2 balcony cabins next to each other I have been doing some research.

I noticed that some have an obstruction of a large girder panel. On photos it takes up some space but I wondered if it impacts on anything. Ie access to the door, if it's possible to put a chair on the balcony in front of the panel. We hadn't realised they were so noticeable.

Been on the aft of Oceana, wonderful cabin and sitting watching the wake is special for me ever since. Only noise was heard on manoeuvring into berths as others have said.

I would never book an aft high up cabin. The movement is always worse and on our last cruise, we were very glad to be just forward of midships!

I have booked an aft cabin on both of my Ventura cruises this year. Hope I haven't made a mistake.:eek:

We booked our first aft balcony on Azura this winter; from memory I think it was B749. We loved it. The balcony was slighter larger than usual as it curved around the stern. Also as it was the last cabin along the corridor, there was no footflow of any other passengers. We almost felt like we had the ship to ourselves as it was so quiet in the corridor approach. We would book that cabin again in a heartbeat.

We also stayed in B749 for our transatlantic trip to the Caribbean in October/November last year ....loved this cabin....although the toilet leaked all over the floor into the wardrobe and we had to move out for one night whilst they dried the carpet out :-/

We have always fancied an aft balcony cabin so we went ahead and booked C732 for Britannia maiden cruise and although we were very happy with the cabin and sitting on the balcony watching the wake of the ship we have decided we will never book another one. Reasons for this mainly the vibration at the aft and I should imagine the front when the bow thrusters are used when docking early in the morning. It not only vibrated the whole cabin but if you are not awake by 8am and ship docks before that you will be and finally even though not very serious but one that did affect us is that they have not solved the problem of soot on aft cabins like they have suffered on Royal/Regal Princess, same design, and even after the cabin steward cleaned balcony every morning still had soot on chairs and rails.

I have booked an aft cabin on both of my Ventura cruises this year. Hope I haven't made a mistake.:eek:

We've had various aft cabins on Azura and as you know they're sister ships and we have not been disappointed. Be prepared for a bit of noise from the wake but it really gives you a sense of being at sea. Anyway that is easily outweighed by the size of the balconies and the amazing views. The corner ones are definitely the best and biggest but they're all great. We've had some of the balconies which P&O say are obstructed but the balconies are big so it's never been a problem to us. We've had numerous rough seas but never felt it at all in these cabins- it's such a big ship with great stabilisers. I would agree, however, that the aft can be a bit noisy when docking but I find that in many cabins

We also stayed in B749 for our transatlantic trip to the Caribbean in October/November last year ....loved this cabin....although the toilet leaked all over the floor into the wardrobe and we had to move out for one night whilst they dried the carpet out :-/

Funny! We had the same problem in that cabin in 2013.

We've had various aft cabins on Azura and as you know they're sister ships and we have not been disappointed. Be prepared for a bit of noise from the wake but it really gives you a sense of being at sea. Anyway that is easily outweighed by the size of the balconies and the amazing views. The corner ones are definitely the best and biggest but they're all great. We've had some of the balconies which P&O say are obstructed but the balconies are big so it's never been a problem to us. We've had numerous rough seas but never felt it at all in these cabins- it's such a big ship with great stabilisers. I would agree, however, that the aft can be a bit noisy when docking but I find that in many cabins

 

 

 

Funny! We had the same problem in that cabin in 2013.

Yikes! This has given me a right chuckle this morning!! Not laughing at your poor misfortune, but with relief at our own good fortune! I guess nobody considers the 'history' that a cabin has experienced before they arrive. I would still book that cabin again though.

We had an aft cabin on a Celebrity ship and enjoyed it. Not rough or too noisy, but there was a fine mist of ash present at times from the funnel which made a bit of a mess on the balcony in the morning but the steward seemed used to cleaning it up. We've looked carefully at a few others and you do need to be careful that the structure of the ship doesn't create obstructions or limit your view. We'd go aft again (and they sell out quickly - there's your answer).

We have always fancied an aft balcony cabin so we went ahead and booked C732 for Britannia maiden cruise and although we were very happy with the cabin and sitting on the balcony watching the wake of the ship we have decided we will never book another one. Reasons for this mainly the vibration at the aft and I should imagine the front when the bow thrusters are used when docking early in the morning. It not only vibrated the whole cabin but if you are not awake by 8am and ship docks before that you will be and finally even though not very serious but one that did affect us is that they have not solved the problem of soot on aft cabins like they have suffered on Royal/Regal Princess, same design, and even after the cabin steward cleaned balcony every morning still had soot on chairs and rails.

Happy to report we had no soot problems on Azura B Deck, Aft. I had been concerned but no evidence at all. Is it something to do with the design of the aft decks, do you think?

Happy to report we had no soot problems on Azura B Deck, Aft. I had been concerned but no evidence at all. Is it something to do with the design of the aft decks, do you think?[/quote

 

Think its more to do with the design of Britannia/Royal and Regal Princess perhaps the funnel is a bit further back than on Azura/Ventura or perhaps its just to do with all balconies on Britannia at the aft are open and overlooked.

We have had aft facing cabins on Arcadia, Azura amd Queen Victoria, close to 150 nights in all, including all the way back from HK on Arcadia. We have never found any problem with movement and the only vibration was when berthing - a small price to pay for the fabulous uninterrupted views. They are also a great sun trap, particularly if on the corner - which we have mostly been.

I would DEFINITELY say go for it!

Do the aft Suites or Cabins on E deck on Azura suffer from noise from the Manhatten Lounge / Bar below? Especially E732 as I believe the stage is underneath this cabin?

Cheers

Sounds good. Our cabin is on the corner on Ventura.:cool:

Sounds good. Our cabin is on the corner on Ventura.:cool:

We had B749 on Azura twice for me there is no better cabin aft all the way for us!

Do the aft Suites or Cabins on E deck on Azura suffer from noise from the Manhatten Lounge / Bar below? Especially E732 as I believe the stage is underneath this cabin?

 

Cheers

We had C749, one of the aft suites in the middle, so no obstruction. I would thoroughly recommend that one.

I'm going to be in C637 Ventura balcony cabin which is towards the aft of the ship. I'll be doing a full review when I go on my cruise in 2.5 weeks so I'll tell you when I get back.

As I understand it the aft is better if you're in rough seas although I'm not sure how rough the seas have to be to feel them on Ventura

I've never had an aft cabin, but I'd imagine that an advantage would be that when the ship is underway the balcony would be sheltered from the wind (unless there's a very strong crosswind).