MSC Orchestra - Any new reviews on Aft Cabins

Have you had afts on other cruise ships and if so was this one that much worse?

We have always cruised in the centre. We had been warned about this from others that had cruised on other ships but we thought we'd try it out considering it was the only room with a balcany that became available. We never expected it to be as bad as it was. Chesneygirl had written about a similar experience in her review but I just thought she was sensitive, believe me she wasn't, and maybe some weeks in the aft cabins are worse than others and if so we certainly had one of the worst. My experience with the cabin has no reflection towards the actual cruise which was fabulous and we will definately cruise with MSC again.

I had previously sailed on the starboard aft side for 9 straight days on the Caribbean Princess and LOVED everything about it. We had some rough seas and high winds from NYC to Bermuda for a day and half. The ship was really "moving" and when the thrusters were on the ship really shook. Having said all that, we loved everything about that location.

So much so that we purposely booked in the aft for the Orchestra...

I am not in the least bit sensitive to sea sickness so that was not the problem. The issue was just as Sashasasha wrote about. It was a constant creaking/rumbling/vibration that never stopped.

It was not as noticeable during the daytime because we were busy and did not spend much time in the room.

It drove me "crazy" at night when I was laying in bed.

The walls and ceiling and the sliding balcony door never stopped creaking.

The room itself never stopped shaking or vibrating.

We had 2 seperate incidents with glasses shattering. One just shattered on the dresser from the vibration and the other vibrated itself off the dresser onto the floor and shattered. Both times it happened during the night while at sea.

When the thrusters were on it was not much different then our previous experience on Princess. The only issue I had with that was when we pulled into port in St Martin at 4AM instead of 7AM. After laying in bed awake for most of the night and finally having dozed off to sleep only to be awakened at 4AM to the thrusters was not good for me. :eek:

In the defense for the Orchestra, our seas for the 7 days were quite rough and there was high winds. This could of been a contributing factor.

Knowing what I know now, I would of booked a cabin mid ship on this ship.

Aside from our cabin location, everything else was wonderful.

I have lots of GREAT memories from our cruise onboard the Orchestra.:)

I had previously sailed on the starboard aft side for 9 straight days on the Caribbean Princess and LOVED everything about it. We had some rough seas and high winds from NYC to Bermuda for a day and half. The ship was really "moving" and when the thrusters were on the ship really shook. Having said all that, we loved everything about that location.

 

So much so that we purposely booked in the aft for the Orchestra...

 

I am not in the least bit sensitive to sea sickness so that was not the problem. The issue was just as Sashasasha wrote about. It was a constant creaking/rumbling/vibration that never stopped.

 

It was not as noticeable during the daytime because we were busy and did not spend much time in the room.

 

It drove me "crazy" at night when I was laying in bed.

The walls and ceiling and the sliding balcony door never stopped creaking.

The room itself never stopped shaking or vibrating.

 

We had 2 seperate incidents with glasses shattering. One just shattered on the dresser from the vibration and the other vibrated itself off the dresser onto the floor and shattered. Both times it happened during the night while at sea.

 

When the thrusters were on it was not much different then our previous experience on Princess. The only issue I had with that was when we pulled into port in St Martin at 4AM instead of 7AM. After laying in bed awake for most of the night and finally having dozed off to sleep only to be awakened at 4AM to the thrusters was not good for me. :eek:

 

In the defense for the Orchestra, our seas for the 7 days were quite rough and there was high winds. This could of been a contributing factor.

 

Knowing what I know now, I would of booked a cabin mid ship on this ship.

 

Aside from our cabin location, everything else was wonderful.

I have lots of GREAT memories from our cruise onboard the Orchestra.:)

Thanks Chesneygirl. I appreciate your added comments I just wish I had taken your review a bit more serious before giving up my inside cabin on the 14th floor mid ship. But no use crying over spilled milk, we still have wonderful memories of our vacation. As they say, not everything can be perfect.

Thanks Chesneygirl. I appreciate your added comments I just wish I had taken your review a bit more serious before giving up my inside cabin on the 14th floor mid ship. But no use crying over spilled milk, we still have wonderful memories of our vacation. As they say, not everything can be perfect.

I would never go out of my way to purposely book a room in this area of the ship again BUT.....

If my only choices were between an inside room or an aft balcony room, I would do the aft balcony again. I LOVE having a balcony and that would be my trade off for putting up with the noises and rumblings.

You are right, nothing is perfect and sometimes we just need to live and learn. :)

Just returned from the April 11 sailing and had an aft cabin on the 8th deck. Yes, I could feel the vibrations, but quickly became accustomed to them and they didn't bother me at all. As others have written, the only time it is truly bumpy is when the side thrusters are on... pulling in or out of port...and that is usually mid-day, not in the middle of sleep time! Suggest spending a little time in your cabin on the first day to get used to the feeling rather than experiencing it for the first time when you're ready to go to bed. As others have also written, just look out for things like the fruit bowl or objects that may rattle from the vibrations... Have a great cruise!

I knew there was something I forgot to mention on my Orchestra review. Yes, we did experience vibrations - we were on deck 8, , aft, inside cabin on the April 4th cruise.

As others have said, we noticed the vibrations mainly early in the am (when pulling into ports) - obviously engine-related. I wore ear plugs to bed and that helped with noise (I'm a light sleeper and I was afraid the cabin walls would be thin).

Honestly, we were so tired each night, that when the vibrations started in the early mornings - we were not too bothered - just from shear exhaustion. But then again, we're the "go with the flo" family - there wasn't much we could have done!

We were in 9225 for the 4/11-18 cruise. Yes, you could feel vibrations. Yes, you occasionally felt a shaking (due to thrusters). But the vibration was like "white noise." It never really bothered me. And the trade-off of having the beautiful view off the back of the ship made it well worthwhile.

Just my 2-cents worth.

Every person is different. We also had room 8220 on the Orchestra for the 4/4/09 sailing. While I admit that the vibrations were quite noticeable, especially pulling into ports, we became pretty immune to it after the first night. But the difference is that I've been boating since I was a little kid. Vibrations, waves, rocking... doesn't bother me, my wife, or my two 10 year olds. It seemed to me like there were two types of vibrations. The low rumble that is constant throughout the whole trip , and the pretty noticeable rumbling/shaking that happens for a few seconds or two when pulling in or out of port. The balcony was priceless though. :D

I booked this cabin as well...how large is the balcony? I've gotten aft cabins before, and it really doesn't bother me...I consider the times that the ship is pulling into ports as my wake up call.:D