Aft balcony was not for me!

Sailed the Legend this past week, having splurged on our first aft balcony. We've had a "regular" and an "extended" balcony in the past. We were so excited that we took embarking video of our journey down the endless hallway, then into our stateroom and then onto our much anticipated aft balcony! I have to say, we ended up being a bit disappointed. I have read the posts here with various opinions regarding balcony types and here is my take: extended gets my vote. It gave just enough more room (than the regular size) to fit our DS and DD comfortably. The regular balcony was too small for the 4 of us. And sadly, our aft became littered with cigarette butts, a few assorted sandwich rolls (sans meat) but it was mostly the sun that was the problem. There was no escaping it!! We love the sun but there was no overhang at all for us to sit under for a piece of shade. Combine that with the tropical heat and man, did it get toasty. Couldnt even stand on it with bare feet or lean on the railing without getting burned. youch. Even our teens couldn't take it, until later in the evening. The positive side: the view, the gentle roaring of the engines and the size. (hint: since we have never been able to get 2 more chairs on our balcony for our kids, we used our vanity stool and took the stool from the kids room so they had something to sit on. We made sure to take them in at night as not to get wet, the stools that is, not the kids) All in all, I won't spend the extra bucks to get an aft but at least now we know! One more thing- there was a medical evac on the Legend while we were onboard and the coast guard chopper was directly above the aft of the ship. We have amazing videos of it, mere feet above us!! Let me tell you every single person that had an aft balcony was out there with cameras. It was something to experience for sure.

We made sure to take them in at night as not to get wet, the stools that is, not the kids)

So you left the kids out there.:eek: ;)

Sorry you did not enjoy your aft cabin. At least now you know to book the extended balconies in the future.

Thank you for the review! It was really informative, and I liked that you didn't bash it because it wasn't for you, you just stated your facts and rather nicely at that!

Dee :)

Which deck were you on. I wonder if that makes a difference. We have one booked on the upper deck (deck 5) for December.

Also if you could post the video on youtube or someplace, that would be awesome. Sorry someone had to be evac'ed, but you're right, that would be sometiong to see.

Thanks for your review.

From what I've heard and seen, the afts never seemed like my cup of tea either, but you've made many aft fans very happy with your review -- I don't think they want the demand driven up any more!

:D

We were on deck 5, room 5268. I plan on posting the rescue video on youtube once I get everything downloaded and sorted but I am having a hard time coming back to reality. It was a great cruise and I have nothing booked at this point! :(

Hi Woodfairie, we also booked an aft last fall to see what all the shouting was about and found we did not enjoy it as much as a normal balcony, I'm not huge on sun worship, or rather the sun does not worship me, I BURN and get a rash when I get too much sun, so I'll save that for my excursions, since i love snorkle. Anyway, the lack of privacy was my biggest issue, the people above you can look right down at you, also the noise, it's MUCH noisier aft than a side balcony, we were on the Legend, about deck 7 or 8 if I recall correctly. I still had a great cruise and enjoyed myself, food was great, company outstanding, service great as usual, but in the future we know that we will leave the afts to those that will enjoy them. Happy cruising!!! Carole

Aft Balconies are really great for the cooler weather.. Mexican Rivera or Alaska. I did one for Mexico and we really enjoyed it. In the Caribbean I see how you could really roast...

Tom in Long Beach

Our first aft balcony cabin was also laced with a bit of excitement. We had one on deck 7 next to what we found out was a wrap.

Walking out, it was a bit eerie, and very bright and VERY HOT. And we were still docked. It took some getting used to, but when the engines started up........OH MY GOD!!!!!! I thought I was in Niagara.

We finally got used to it, and thank God it didn't rain, but eventually I found there was a deck where you could used the whole balcony AND be in the shade. They are all on deck 4!

So we not only took a regular aft balcony on deck four, we also took the connecting wrap. :eek:

We were pleased.

And sadly, our aft became littered with cigarette butts, a few assorted sandwich rolls (sans meat) but it was mostly the sun that was the problem. There was no escaping it!! We love the sun but there was no overhang at all for us to sit under for a piece of shade. Combine that with the tropical heat and man, did it get toasty. Couldn't even stand on it with bare feet or lean on the railing without getting burned. youch. Even our teens couldn't take it, until later in the evening. The positive side: the view, the gentle roaring of the engines and the size.

DH and I had a 9A wrap around on The Glory, and we also enjoyed the view and sitting out there in the evening.

However, we had the same experience the debris on the deck when we woke every morning.

Mainly cig butts, drink garnishments, and remnants of Fruity Drinks.

[Our room steward was nice enough to take care of it for us.]

We also decided it was just TOO sunny for us... and you're correct, there was no escaping it.

I'm sure others will love it, but for us, we'll stick to a regular or extended balcony.

By the way, we are also in CT.... Manchester. Where are you?

Our first aft balcony cabin was also laced with a bit of excitement. We had one on deck 7 next to what we found out was a wrap.

 

Walking out, it was a bit eerie, and very bright and VERY HOT. And we were still docked. It took some getting used to, but when the engines started up........OH MY GOD!!!!!! I thought I was in Niagara.

 

We finally got used to it, and thank God it didn't rain, but eventually I found there was a deck where you could used the whole balcony AND be in the shade. They are all on deck 4!

 

So we not only took a regular aft balcony on deck four, we also took the connecting wrap. :eek:

 

 

We were pleased.

Now your balcony looks huge:D

but it is actually two balconies that were connected , right ?

No, that is one balcony. The connecting balcony is behind me in the shot.

Here's a reverse view:

click to enlarge

and just the connecting balcony itself:

click to enlarge

We have a 9a on the Triumph for Oct and after seeing these photos, all that I can say is "sweet"

Sailed the Legend this past week, having splurged on our first aft balcony. We've had a "regular" and an "extended" balcony in the past. We were so excited that we took embarking video of our journey down the endless hallway, then into our stateroom and then onto our much anticipated aft balcony! I have to say, we ended up being a bit disappointed. I have read the posts here with various opinions regarding balcony types and here is my take: extended gets my vote. It gave just enough more room (than the regular size) to fit our DS and DD comfortably. The regular balcony was too small for the 4 of us. And sadly, our aft became littered with cigarette butts, a few assorted sandwich rolls (sans meat) but it was mostly the sun that was the problem. There was no escaping it!! We love the sun but there was no overhang at all for us to sit under for a piece of shade. Combine that with the tropical heat and man, did it get toasty. Couldnt even stand on it with bare feet or lean on the railing without getting burned. youch. Even our teens couldn't take it, until later in the evening. The positive side: the view, the gentle roaring of the engines and the size. (hint: since we have never been able to get 2 more chairs on our balcony for our kids, we used our vanity stool and took the stool from the kids room so they had something to sit on. We made sure to take them in at night as not to get wet, the stools that is, not the kids) All in all, I won't spend the extra bucks to get an aft but at least now we know! One more thing- there was a medical evac on the Legend while we were onboard and the coast guard chopper was directly above the aft of the ship. We have amazing videos of it, mere feet above us!! Let me tell you every single person that had an aft balcony was out there with cameras. It was something to experience for sure.

Thanks Woodfarie,

Maybe you will discouage a lot of folks and we will be able to get our 'beloved' aft balcony easier. :) Sorry you were unhappy with yours, but other than the sun, we've never had any problems. Happy future crusing!

Luv's Crusin'

Our first aft balcony cabin was also laced with a bit of excitement. We had one on deck 7 next to what we found out was a wrap.

 

Walking out, it was a bit eerie, and very bright and VERY HOT. And we were still docked. It took some getting used to, but when the engines started up........OH MY GOD!!!!!! I thought I was in Niagara.

 

We finally got used to it, and thank God it didn't rain, but eventually I found there was a deck where you could used the whole balcony AND be in the shade. They are all on deck 4!

 

So we not only took a regular aft balcony on deck four, we also took the connecting wrap. :eek:

 

 

We were pleased.

OMG what a view! Now that's an aft balcony I'd be willing to try. MY dh would love to have that much balcony space. What ship was this on? If I were looking at the deck plans for this type of balcony what numbers would I need to look for? Beautiful little girl and I assume your wife :)

Uh oh. :(

I just booked 5297 on the Miracle. For December 2009! Because I was sure these cabins would book up quickly and just in case they were reclassified to a higher classification, I wanted to lock one up.

The only other balcony I've had was Miracle 7192 (and extended) and I decided I didn't like overlooking the lifeboats.

What I was really hoping for was one of the extra-long side balcony cabins, but they were all booked already, this far out.

Wonder if I should call my PVP and ask him to put me on a wait list for one of those, should they become available. And I realize that most of those are HC cabins and realize that even if I booked one I could get bumped.

We only had 2 sea days on our "special" Miracle cruise and I thought having the balcony was a little bit of a waste of money. It was cold when we were in the shade and too hot when we were in the sun.

But since this itinerary has 4 sea days, I figured I'd splurge (for me) and book early to get an aft cabin.

I don't want to sit out there and bake. I like the sun but I'm pretty fair and just cannot tolerate hours or intense baking. Now I'm concerned. :(

Your problems seem to deal mostly with the exposure to the sun and the various lido deck debris.

Since it seems you like the location, may I suggest a stern balcony on the Splendor? They've extended the Lido deck out over the stern creating an overhang that completely covers the deck 8 balconies. No muss no sun.

I would agree about it getting hot on the aft. I have had 8455 and 8457 on the Glory, the wrap and the cabin next door and on both balconies it is really hot and sunny. I never had a problem with and garbage though, maybe the lower decks get it more? We were right under the aft lido pool where the pizza and burgers are so we could see people eating and whatnot above us.

And also the privacy is really sort of an issue, the lido deck above could see us and all the aft baclonys below could look right up at us since they stick out farther.

For me these were perfect balconies as I am a sun worshiper, my husband complained that it was way too hot for him.

OMG what a view! Now that's an aft balcony I'd be willing to try. MY dh would love to have that much balcony space. What ship was this on? If I were looking at the deck plans for this type of balcony what numbers would I need to look for? Beautiful little girl and I assume your wife :)

This was on the Legend, and it is cabin 4237. Yes, that's the family! :)

Uh oh. :(

 

I just booked 5297 on the Miracle. For December 2009! Because I was sure these cabins would book up quickly and just in case they were reclassified to a higher classification, I wanted to lock one up.

 

The only other balcony I've had was Miracle 7192 (and extended) and I decided I didn't like overlooking the lifeboats.

 

What I was really hoping for was one of the extra-long side balcony cabins, but they were all booked already, this far out.

 

Wonder if I should call my PVP and ask him to put me on a wait list for one of those, should they become available. And I realize that most of those are HC cabins and realize that even if I booked one I could get bumped.

 

We only had 2 sea days on our "special" Miracle cruise and I thought having the balcony was a little bit of a waste of money. It was cold when we were in the shade and too hot when we were in the sun.

 

But since this itinerary has 4 sea days, I figured I'd splurge (for me) and book early to get an aft cabin.

 

I don't want to sit out there and bake. I like the sun but I'm pretty fair and just cannot tolerate hours or intense baking. Now I'm concerned. :(

Can you move down to deck 4? Those balconies are covered. You can see from this picture how starting on deck 5 and up, the floors all slant in a bit.

I'm going to call my PVP and find out if I can move down to Deck 4.

Sorry the aft balcony wasn't as wonderful as you had hoped. It's great that you've shared this information. Now, some of us don't have to be envious of those who have them.;) Thanks for sharing your experience in a positive way.

Thanks for your review and opinon.

I've often considered an aft but just looking at the way those balconies are sort of "terraced" up, it seemed that there was little privacy. It also occured to me that debris from those above you and those standing on the upper decks could end up raining down on those balconies. Without some sort of overhang, it also looked like there'd be little relief from the sun if the ship was going in certain directions.

You have confirmed my suspicions and I can stop considering the extra cost. I know there are those who rave about them and wouldn't book anything else....so, I'll stay out of the competition.......:p

Thanks.

I can stop considering the extra cost. ....so' date=' I'll stay out of the competition........[/quote']

 

All in all, I won't spend the extra bucks to get an aft but at least now we know!

Yes, they're not for everyone. Thank you, thank you, thank you for freeing future ones up for us s

We too had our first aft balcony cabin last week, but on the Liberty. I must say that I too was not all that impressed.

The cabin seemed to be smaller than a normal balcony cabin and the "motion of the ocean" was a bit much for me. I don't suffer from seasickness, but it sure was rockin'! One night I even had to go to my brother's cabin to get ready for dinner as I poked myself in the eye with mascara twice!:eek:

That being said, the view was amazing and we did not have any problem with the sun or heat. We were on deck 8 and there was a partial overhang, so maybe this helped. But the OP was correct about the privacy factor. There is none.

I'm not saying that I won't book another, but it probably wouldn't be my first choice.