Pros and Cons of an Aft-Facing Cabin.

We have a Concierge guarantee cabin on an upcoming cruise on Equinox. Lo and behold, we were assigned a cabin facing the wake! I thought they were nearly impossible to get. We certainly never have tried. Anyway, now that we have this cabin, I wonder if those of you who have had a rear-facing cabin could pass on your advice about it. Is it mostly good or is there a downside?

My sister had one on Norwegian and she said smoke stack soot settled on her veranda furniture, so she had to keep wiping it down. That was her only compliant, though.

Soot is a possible downside but that depends on a variety of factors as to whether or not it will be an issue for you. I've personally not had issues on Celebrity. The stateroom attendant should clean your balcony daily. If you're wearing light-colored clothes, it wouldn't hurt to wipe down the railing if you're going to lean against it.

The S-Class ships don't have an aft elevator or stairs that are accessible to guests, so you'll spend a lot of time walking to the mid-ship elevators to get anywhere. This is good for burning calories but can be annoying if you leave something in your room. There tends to be more motion at the aft of the ship. If you're prone to seasickness, take something starting the day before your cruise. Conversely, some people like the way it rocks.

You really cannot beat the view of the wake, which is why I book aft rooms. It also tends to be quieter since not many people walk that far back.

I'm sailing on Equinox next month with a group of 18; we have had this planned since 2015 and all booked aft facing rooms side by side. I haven't stayed in an aft-facing room yet, but when we booked this on board in 2015; quite a few in the group had aft-facing rooms. I was on their deck for the sail away and periodically through the cruise, and it was really nice. We are looking forward to it. If you are sailing in an S or M class ship, look for the postings at the top of the Celebrity board for cabin information. Open the excel spreadsheet and search for your room number. Comments about the room and notes about soot are sometimes reported for specific cabins. Good Luck and Enjoy!

We have had aft facing staterooms a few times. We had minor problems with soot on Norwegian but not on Celebrity ships. Between the view and the larger balcony, it is definitely a preferred location. Yes, we have had to walk the hallway to get to an elevator but the exercise helped balance the food/beverage intake.

We had an aft facing cabin on the Silhouette a few years ago. On the S class the balcony is no larger than others. The view is outstanding, my only issue was a lack of shade as there is no cover to the balcony. I found it too hot to enjoy sitting out there when we were in port.

We have done the aft balcony on two cruises. The last one was Alaska and was great. We were on the NCL Sun and having an aft balcony avoids the cold wind that you get elsewhere on the ship. It was cold in Alaska in early September. It was a great place to view Glacier Bay and the Hubbard Glacier.

We did an aft on the Celebrity Century on our Singapore to Dubai cruise in 2015. That was a mistake. It is HOT near the equator and in Southern India in early April. The balcony was nearly fully exposed to the sun and it was too hot to use.

If you are cruising where the temps are under 90 degrees, it might work, for sure under 80 degrees. If cruising in the heat, book a regular balcony were the breeze and cover will help you handle the heat.

The aft balconies on the M-class ships are very large. Check out the corner FV cabins.

The wraparound PH verandas are mostly shaded; and almost 1100sqft. I will miss that in 2018 when I'm on Silhouette. The PH is midship, and the veranda is small. I also won't be able to see the ship's wake; pooh!

We had an aft facing balcony on Silhouette and we loved it. No soot at all on our balcony, no more movement than anywhere else. The view is fabulous, and you can see the sunset any evening instead of just when it sets on your side of the ship. I would be very pleased if I were you.

As mentioned - the lack of shade could be an issue at times on the balcony but we just moved our chairs back and to the corners and were fine. Occasional smell of fuel burning if the conditions were just right (or wrong as it were).

Loved the view and the walk made me feel as if I was burning off at least a bit of those pastries.

There is a bit more movement at the back of the ship. And this may sound weird but for me when I feel rocking from side to side I can get a bit sea sick. In the aft cabins the beds are in an orientation that if the ship rocks it is more of a motion like a rocking chair (if that makes sense) and I don't have any motion sickness with that. As I said a bit strange :)

We had an aft facing balcony on Silhouette and we loved it. No soot at all on our balcony, no more movement than anywhere else. The view is fabulous, and you can see the sunset any evening instead of just when it sets on your side of the ship. I would be very pleased if I were you.

I had a Sunset (aft) Verandah stateroom on Solstice last year...it was amazing. I had the middle stateroom so the balcony was wider than most. There was no soot whatsoever. And I was grateful for the long walk from the stairs; it helped "walk-off" the gelato and other treats. I would book this cabin again in a heartbeat.

Enjoy!

Thank you all for your informative replies. The lack of overhead cover could be a frustration because I am very sensitive to the sun, but night times should be wonderful. I like the advice to wipe down the railing for possible soot. The extra long walk will be a welcome challenge because it forces us to exercise and work off all the tempting treats on board.

All in all, it seems we were very fortunate to be assigned this cabin with guarantee pricing and late booking. It will be an adventure to try this new locale (for us).

Again, thanks to each of you for taking the time to comment. Your answers are a great help.

I had an aft balcony once and was very excited that I had managed to snag one. But I'm one of the few people who didn't really enjoy it. No problems with soot, or the walk to the elevators, or exhaust/fuel smells, or too much sun...I just found it bothered me that I couldn't see where the ship was going! I guess I am a backseat helmsman!

Been on Sunset balcony once on S class and decided it was not worth extra cost. May be worth it if spectacular scenery such as Panama Canal but I would rather see that from the sunset bar with a large G & T or back of buffet restaurant!

Stayed on Silhouette recently in a corner aft (1405 S1 suite on deck 10 port side). Long walk from central elevators but ok for burning the calories! The corner aft has a larger balcony but not much protection from the sun - which of course depends on the direction of the ship and time of day. Quiet cabin and very nice. Great views. On this deck on Silhouette there is window washing equipment on one side of the balcony but not really a problem with the view. The wake at night is lighted and very cool looking. We had no soot. In general modern diesel powered ships do not produce soot routinely but occasionally they do at start up or when they go through a brief cleaning cycle (usually at night). I guess there is a slight chance that you might see some on your balcony if the wind conditions are right when these events occur.

We were very excited to try our first AFT facing cabin last spring on the Equinox. I get why everyone enjoys the wake view. However been there, done that for us. We constantly had issues with soot - so every time you went out on the deck you had to be concerned if you were dressed for dinner or light colored clothes that you would stand up and have a black seat! And just leaning against the railing caused issues. Also we had an afternoon rain so therefore you couldn't sit on the deck and read because it wasn't covered. And of course the LONG walk from the elevator. All in all glad I tried it - but not for me.

I had an aft facing cabin on Deck 7 on Silhouette late last year. It was mostly a positive experience, but we had an issue with a diesel odor while underway, and the cabin was unusually warm. The long walk to the elevators was not a problem, but was a fact. I had no privacy issues because if you sit deep on the balcony, meaning near the doors, the view from above is blocked. One point that I wasn't aware of is that not every balcony is larger in size. Mine was, but they alternated between normal width and larger. Larger wasn't a whole lot larger either.

We had an aft cabin on Solstice in New Zealand and really enjoyed it. However, last year on Equinox in the Med, our aft cabin

was constantly covered in soot, so much so that we really could not use the furniture unless everything was wiped down each

time. As much as we loved the view, the soot was really a pain.

I had an aft balcony once and was very excited that I had managed to snag one. But I'm one of the few people who didn't really enjoy it. No problems with soot, or the walk to the elevators, or exhaust/fuel smells, or too much sun...I just found it bothered me that I couldn't see where the ship was going! I guess I am a backseat helmsman!

You have made a good point about seeing only the rear view. In the past we usually have booked far forward, even by the bridge, because I like to look forward and see what is coming. Until you mentioned it, I had completely forgotten how much I value that forward view.

The wake of the ship calls to me. I love rear facing afts. :)

We had an aft facing cabin on the Silhouette a few years ago. On the S class the balcony is no larger than others. The view is outstanding, my only issue was a lack of shade as there is no cover to the balcony. I found it too hot to enjoy sitting out there when we were in port.

One note is the deck 12 aft balconies (21xx cabins) do have an overhang that offers some shade. But I do agree that they should have had more overhang for the lower decks.

I had an aft balcony once and was very excited that I had managed to snag one. But I'm one of the few people who didn't really enjoy it. No problems with soot, or the walk to the elevators, or exhaust/fuel smells, or too much sun...I just found it bothered me that I couldn't see where the ship was going! I guess I am a backseat helmsman!

I generally don't mind seeing where we have been, and prefer it a bit over the one side or the other, as you can only see the one side. It is nice when leaving ports (arrival at ports is often very early, so is often a sight that won't be seen anyway).

I had an aft balcony once and was very excited that I had managed to snag one. But I'm one of the few people who didn't really enjoy it. No problems with soot, or the walk to the elevators, or exhaust/fuel smells, or too much sun...I just found it bothered me that I couldn't see where the ship was going! I guess I am a backseat helmsman!

Everyone is different, I prefer not seeing all the hundreds of cabins which you get when you take a side balcony. At the aft, it always feels like there are only a few cabins/pax on the ship :). I do book both though, price dependent ;).

There tends to be more motion at the aft of the ship. If you're prone to seasickness, take something starting the day before your cruise. Conversely, some people like the way it rocks.

Far worse movement in the forward section of the ship!

The ship's engines at the stern keep that area more stable.

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. So here is one of the rear of a solstice class ship. Sorry but I can't remember who did the original that I found on a thread long ago to give them credit.

We were in a Sunset Veranda (6312 with wider balcony) on the Eclipse last month which is the same as Equinox.

And this was the view sailing east towards the Caribbean from the lower deck.

At the beginning of the cruise, I felt the walk was very long. By midway, it was no longer a factor because the view more than made up for the distance.

I love the S1 corner aft suites. To get anywhere you have to walk, walk and walk. Using the gym, that walk is from bow to stern...a warm up just to get to the gym...never had an issue with anything!

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