Aft Penthouse Problems

[cjbx]

I've read many good things about aft cabins and was thinking of booking one. Today this review of an aft balcony appeared today - http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=99606

 

I have read of some problems with soot, dropped food and people looking down at you before. Is what this reviewer wrote typical of the experience of an aft cabin or is it a bit exaggerated?

[emcelh]

I can't speak to the Sun but we had an aft penthouse on the Jewel on our last cruise and didn't experience anything like this. There was no soot, no dropped food, no vibration, just a very nice cabin with great service and a great view. We booked the same type of cabin on the Gem for our next cruise.

 

We're considering the Sun for next year so I'd be interested in hearing what others have experienced.

[Laszlo]

We had a soot problem on the Gem on our trip to Bermuda. It was bad enough that each day in port our steward would hose the deck of. I was told most of it came from burning trash on the Summit which was docked aft of us. I only noticed in one other day on our way to Bermuda. The only other minor issue was a little trash from the buffet above us. We were on deck 10

 

With that said, it would not stop us from booking the same cabin again

[Turtles06]

I can't comment on the Sun, but we had an aft penthouse on Deck 10 of the Jade two years ago and had no such problems.

[DebbieCruises]

We sail in aft penthouse cabins whenever possible. Our ONLY negative experience was on the Sun. My parents were in another aft penthouse next to us. We both had terrible soot issues and finally resorted to using the beach towels to clean the railing and cover the chairs so we could sit on the balcony each morning. We also had food dropped from above, but not very much or often. However, once the soot was cleaned we were fine for the rest of the day. We weren't bothered by the odor, but all white socks had to be thrown away after the cruise. We did talk to the people at the front desk, but they just sent the room steward to clean the balcony again. No compensation was offered and it actually didn't occur to me to be compensated.

 

We still love the aft cabins, but have not sailed on the Sun again.

[Once A Nurse]

We love aft cabins - our aft suite on Gem's deck 8 was wonderful - no problems at all - would do it again in a heartbeat.:)

[jame_g]

We've had aft suites on the Dawn, Star, and on a Carnival ship.

 

Soot can sometimes be a problem, but it was never significant.

 

We never had a problem with things being tossed down to our balcony. But one of our neighbors had one or two items once. We did have water coming down a couple times when window and such were being washed. We have seen people looking down a couple times, but never a problem. Only really occurred a couple times when there were sights to be seen and a lot of people were watching the scenery. This can also occur on the suites at the front of the ship.

 

We have had problems with vibration. But only when the ship was going at upper speeds, but there were a couple times when it was kind of annoying after a while. At the front you might get the sound of the anchor dropping and vibration from the thrusters when pulling into or out of a port. But this is much more short-lived.

 

That said, we've enjoyed our aft suites!

[russianmom]

I had an aft PH on Spirit no problems at all.

 

We will be in an aft PH on Jewel in a few weeks. I'll write a review when we return.

[DMH15]

See my avatar and siggy. Have cruised in 9076 on the Sun. This review says 9278... That's not a ph. They are 9076 and 9276. Whatever.

 

We sailed S America 14 days.

 

Upon embarkation balcony clean and dry.

No shuddering or shaking.

No soot, not once, not ever. Had read about it but none.

Coverage - I like it open. Like to lay in the sun on my balcony. Have fan, have squirt bottle, have mini blender, have bar setup. No chair hogs.

 

I had read about an occasional banana peel or piece of trash blowing down. Mostly on deck 10 though. I can't recall seeing trash on our balcony. Maybe one or two pieces? Can't recall though. If so I just tossed it. A total non issue.

 

No sewer gas smells. Brought a mini room spray for toilet. Hardly used it.

 

Look again at my avatar. Seriously, you would have to be way forward practically leaning on the rail and looming backwards to see people. I never felt people might drop a plate of food on my head. As you can see, my ph had 4 chairs, 2 loungers and tons of extra space. Sitting on a chair orclaying on a lounger you are protected from being seen above or having things thrown on you by the natural slope of the ship.

 

This balcony is INCREDIBLE! Re: 9076 (9th floor), it is between 2 pax floors. That is great. Very quiet. Especially sitting out there in the evening to star gaze.

 

Expensive? Yes, suites are more expensive, but I adored this suite so much I am booked for next March (2013). Most expensive? No, the forward owner's suites are more. They are nice too, have private hot tub and no restaurant above, nor soot. But the aft is praceful with no wind. To me that sealed the deal. I could sit out there for hours and just watch the world go by.

 

Same ship, same cabin (maybe)? Different experiences.

[Carnac767]

We had an aft ph on Jade and Gem and experienced none of the problems related in the review.

[russianmom]

Look again at my avatar. Seriously, you would have to be way forward practically leaning on the rail and looming backwards to see people. I never felt people might drop a plate of food on my head. As you can see, my ph had 4 chairs, 2 loungers and tons of extra space. Sitting on a chair orclaying on a lounger you are protected from being seen above or having things thrown on you by the natural slope of the ship.

 

This balcony is INCREDIBLE!

 

Donna you're too funny... look again at my avatar!!:D:D

We are booked in 9276 for Feb 2014... I CAN'T wait :D:D

[reefgirl]

No soot or other problems on the Pearl deck 10.

[CP50]

Loved suite 9276 so much, we've booked it again for a 11 day Southern Caribbean. The balcony is to die for and we never had a problem with soot or garbage. Nor did we ever feel as if we were being watched. A cool drink, looking at the stars from this aft balcony is what cruising is all about:)

[df5250]

I've been aft on Spirit and Dawn. In my opinion there is a little more vibration than mid-ship. Never had an isssue with soot. Hoping I am not jinxing myself for August when I'll be aft again. Last trip we did have an issue with some kids dropping food onto the balcony. When it continued after we asked them to stop, we called the front desk. It did not happen again after the call. I think aft is the best palce to sail! We really enjoy the aft balconies while sailing and while in port.

[Redheel Girl]

We had none of these problems on the Star. But of course the Star does not have a Great outdoors. I am booked on the Jewel with a penthouse AFT Cabin. So I will see. Aft Cabins are great.:p

[SFO-F/A]

We had an aft, deck 10 on the Pearl.

Loved it!

Maybe once or twice, bread crumbs in the morning, ( I think someone was throwing crumbs for birds from the outdoor cafe) Also found a couple of bobby pins???

We had soot, not bad, one or two days.

We loved the view, feeling as if we were the only ones on the ship.

Don't know about the Sun, sorry.

[Pokeraddict]

WE only stay in aft cabins and yes we did have soot problems on the Sun and they were big pieces some the quarter size of 8 x 11 paper.

It is the only NCL ship that we've had the problem on but it was no big deal as we are two guys so we are not sitting out there in our Sunday best. When we sat out we either sat on our house coats or beach towels. We did 19 day South America cruise Nov. 2008, one of best ever and most memorable cruises.

Our room steward also did his best at trying to keep it clean.

I'm pretty sure the officers are fully aware of the problem and isn't much they can do to stop it as its a much older ship 2001.

Was it a deal breaker NO, would I sail her again in an aft absolutely.

 

As for food coming down from above yes it can happen occasionally but again not a deal breaker. I'm also sure that if you went up to the garden cafe and spoke to a manager they will notify the staff to keep a look out for people at the railing. We have also had things blow in from other balconies when on port or starboard side.

Frankly I think the op was overstating the entire cruise, it seemed that he/she went out of their way to find issues.

 

One last comment is that NCL had changed the category on aft cabins a couple years agoin order to be able to grab about $150 more pp over regular balcony cabins, so they can't be all that bad.

[puddles99]

We're in 9076 (thanks DMH15 for everything you've done to get me super excited about this!) in just over two weeks and I'll be sure to report if we have any issues . . . I'm planning to have a fantastic time just like I did two years ago in an aft PH on the Dawn, with no issues whatsoever!

[mickeysgal]

We had an aft penthouse (romance suite) on the Gem a few years back on deck 8 or 9 (can't remember). Never had one ounce of problems with it and wouldn't hesitate in the least to book this location again.

[PatJim]

We had an aft penthouse on the Gem this past December, on 7-day cruise to FL and Bahamas. Read that soot might be a problem, so I was curious if it was true. About mid-trip, there were soot flakes on the balcony furniture and railing. Our room steward cleaned it off, at our request. Also, in the Bahamas the crew hosed down all the decks, so that took care of it again. Not a big deal, but we made sure to wear our cabin bathrobes or put beach towel over the loungers. We had friends over for cocktails one night, and we just wiped everything down before they arrived. Being aft of the funnel, I think it just comes with the territory. But for anyone staying in an aft balcony cabin, just check from time to time.

[cabincop]

I loved aft suites I have been on Gem and Jade no problems, people are always looking out over the aft of ships so of course stuff is going to be dropped or thrown or whatever from the top of ships. Never seemed to be a big problem for me either. I agree op was looking for issues and maybe some compensation. My room stweard every morning did wipe down balcony for me but if the situtation was so bad they would discount the aft suites not raise the prices.... just sayin

[fergusonvt]

We had an aft PH on the Star in Jan. No great outdoors on the Star so we didn't experience any of the dropping food issues. We also saw no soot on our chairs or balcony. Loved the room and the view!

[Mrs. H.]

We had the same aft ph twice on the Dawn. Corner unit...8th deck....port side. Second time the side door was open and we had a wrap around balcony.

 

Two problems:

1) the wonderful smells from the bakery

2) they kicked us out on the 8th day. Lol

 

Why is it people don't drop money and jewely down i/0 food?!?!?

 

Aft is really, really nice and relaxing. My last cruise we had the OS on the Jewel with 2 balconies up front and am looking forward to the SJ family suite with no balcony on the Star in May. I like trying something different.

 

I would deffinetly take an aft if and when I go back to Alaska. Wish I knew then what I know now.

[topguy]

Jade aft penhouse 2011- No problems at all. It was great!

[PokerDave]

We had 9076 for 11 nights in the Baltic. It was ideal. Had read about the soot but we didn't encounter any. Almost has to be luck of the draw to get them burning stuff and the wind just right.

 

No food or trash either, but I picked 9076 to be one floor further from the 10th floor dining area and more food issues as well as noise from chairs above...

 

If itinerary ever puts me on the Sun again I would probably not be able to resist getting 9076 again even though they are expensive...