Do aft balconies get less breeze?

[cwestbrook]

We will be sailing in the Caribbean in July so it will be hot. I've read aft balconies may not get as much breeze as side balconies. What has been your experience? Thanks!

[cruisingrightalong]

If in port, no one really gets a breeze unless the wind is a-blowing! If on the sea, we have always managed to get plenty of "air". On the sides, before the hump, you get a bit windblown, behind the hump (it breaks the breeze), a bit better. The aft it depends how close you put your chairs or stand. The balconies are usually much larger so nearer the door...less and nearer railing more. Will say the aft is a great place for a nap, if you are snoring the sound will travel away as you sail!!! However, in port....oh well might hear a few zzz's!

 

Lou

[Gunner22aa]

A true aft facing balcony will get less breeze than one on the side of the ship and a lot less than a forward facing one. We exclusivly cruise in aft cabins. There is still enough air movement to be very comfortable on the hottest of days yet you can put a book down and not worry about it ending up in the ocean. When underway some find even side balconies to be too windy. Many forward facing balconies are totally useless or even locked off during travel because you typically have at least a 18-20 kt wind from the ships speed plus whatever mother nature has to offer on that day. Another advantage to aft balconies is that they are typically amongst the largest on the ship and many are partially covered making them still usable when it rains but fully exposed to the sun when it's nice out. The ones on Celebrities Millenium Class of ships are huge averaging close to 20 ft deep. For this reason many cruise lines now grade aft balcony cabins as "premium" and charge more for them. You will also see that many lines put their best suites in this location as well. They are very popular and normally amongst the first to sell out on any given ship. If you have a chance to grab one I don't think you will be at all disappointed. One small bit of caution. You can feel more of the ships motion back there and you will certainly feel the vibration of the ships thrusters pulling in and out of port. As docking sometimes happens early morning some have complained that their sleep has been disrupted. Never been an issue for us. If you are prone to motion sickness a mid ship cabin on a lower deck might be a better choice. Again never an issue for us.

[NavalCruiser]

We sailed to Hawai'i in 2006 in Summit, in cabin 1136, one of the the stern cabins (Celebrity called them 'suites' but they were the same size as normal cabins, but with a huge balcony). We did find, especially if the wind was straight on the bow, that the balconies got little breeze. This may have been partly because we our cabin was not one of the outer ones, and thus was protected from three directions. Only when we had a following wind did we feel any breeze, and that was only if the wind was greater than our forward speed.

 

What we really noticed was engine noises. I don't know for sure that Summit had any engine problems on that trip, but I do know that there were definitely unusual variations in engine speed and sound, and she trailed one engine, on at least two occasions, for quite an extensive period of time.

 

Had it been any warmer we would probably have been uncomfortable, but, as it turned out, we spent more time on the sunset bar directly over our cabin than we did on the balcony. But we also decided that we would never select that 'suite' again.

[voyager70]

I love aft balconies but in my experiences they do get a lot less wind than side balconies and can get very hot. That being said they are usually much larger and the view is gorgeous.

[SBelle55]

I see u stayed in reflections 1046; how was it. We have that concierge class cabin for an upcoming cruise

[OCruisers]

Sometimes less breeze is a Good thing. :)

[Grog5]

We had and aft balcony a few years ago on the Carnival Freedom, deck 7. The cabin was directly centerline and airflow was non-existent when the ship was underway. In the sun it was unusable. We like to use our balconies alot. Therefore we will not book an aft cabin again. (I know, never say never! :))

[heatherandfred]

On our honeymoon on the Carnival miracle we had aft cabin 7347 and it was hot as heck out there. No real breeze...but it also depended on the day.

[serene56]

The Original Post (OP) is old. From 2013

 

to explain about the air movement on the back of the ship.

cabins sit across the back.

 

Like sitting in a car-- with the side windows half way up-- and the window is blocking the wind.

 

there is no ocean breezes on the balconies back there-- it does tend to get warm

 

Keep curtains closed to keep the cabin cool- and leaving your cabin door allows the condensation to build up in the cabin making everything feel wet.

[dorisis]

We had and aft balcony a few years ago on the Carnival Freedom, deck 7. The cabin was directly centerline and airflow was non-existent when the ship was underway. In the sun it was unusable. We like to use our balconies alot. Therefore we will not book an aft cabin again. (I know, never say never! :))

 

This has also been my experience. Aft balconies also seem to be dirtier than the side balconies.