Aft vs. GS on Explorer... and a question of lounge chairs

[alligeek]

We're aft people. There's something incredible about waking up to see the wake of the ship from a private balcony. :)

 

That said, we're booked on Explorer in September in an aft JS and I'm torn. I know that the superstructure will give us a slightly obstructed view, which doesn't bother me. One of the big draws of the aft rooms are the huge balconies, of course. We both spend a great deal of time on the balcony, and especially on the loungers you find on aft balconies.

 

This, however, is my husband's birthday gift and I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading to a GS and giving up the aft. Do GS cabins usually have loungers? Are the perks of a GS worth giving up that view of the wake? Thanks!

[CruiseDude_83]

I am not the biggest fan of the balconies on Explorer that are on the side of hte ship. I have attached a picture of our JS balcony on Explorer. It felt very closed off. To me I would take an aft JS over a side balcony on that ship any day even if it was a GS.

Edited January 26, 2014 by archyboy6
Spelling errors

[shelpt]

We're aft people. There's something incredible about waking up to see the wake of the ship from a private balcony. :)

 

That said, we're booked on Explorer in September in an aft JS and I'm torn. I know that the superstructure will give us a slightly obstructed view, which doesn't bother me. One of the big draws of the aft rooms are the huge balconies, of course. We both spend a great deal of time on the balcony, and especially on the loungers you find on aft balconies.

 

This, however, is my husband's birthday gift and I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading to a GS and giving up the aft. Do GS cabins usually have loungers? Are the perks of a GS worth giving up that view of the wake? Thanks!

 

Which deck? We were on deck 10 in 1694 and it was incredible!

[alligeek]

Thank you, archyboy! shelpt, we're on deck 7, although I'm keeping my eyes open in case one on decks 9 or 10 opens up. :)

[Merion_Mom]

Keep the aft JS.

 

archyboy makes an excellent point. The first generation of Voyager class ships: Voyager, Explorer, Adventure - have their balconies built into the hull of the ship, giving them a somewhat cave-like feel:

 

 

On the aft, they are more open, particularly side to side, despite the superstructure (which has never bothered me):

 

 

If there are just two of you, the JS will have PLENTY of room. The walk-in closet is nice - the closet in a GS is different. These mirrored doors are the "3 closets".

 

closed doors:

 

 

 

 

open doors:

[Merion_Mom]

Thank you, archyboy! shelpt, we're on deck 7, although I'm keeping my eyes open in case one on decks 9 or 10 opens up. :)

 

No aft JS on Deck 9. On Decks 8 & 9, that space is taken up by RFS.

 

Deck 10 *is* better than Deck 7, but I was just in a Deck 7 aft JS and it was wonderful.

[Merion_Mom]

Your deck 7 JS is right behind the red flag.

 

[alligeek]

Thank you so much, Merion_Mom! Those pictures are fantastic! I think we'll keep the aft JS and save the $$ for another cruise.

 

We're taking our 3 year old son along, so a JS will be plenty of room for the 3 of us (we had one on Grandeur last year and it was perfect). :D

[Nerina]

Keep your aft cabin! We have cruised in JS's & GS's on Explorer and both are awesome cabins. But we finally got a JS aft for our May cruise to the Caribbean. The JS aft is awesome with a very, very large balcony. In fact, friends wanted us to change our cruise to earlier in May to travel with them but I just won't give up my aft cabin.

We got the same JS 1394 for our granddaughters Sweet 16 in August along with 1392, 1390 & 1388. How could one family get so lucky!:D

Enjoy your cruise and your aft cabin.

Future Cruises:

RCCL-Explorer of the Seas-Bermuda/Caribbean - 2014

RCCL-Explorer of the Seas – Bermuda - 2014

RCCL-Quantum of the Seas – 3 Night Sampler - 2014

RCCL-Quantum of the Seas – Southern Caribbean - 2015

RCCL-Diamond Plus

Celebrity-Elite

Norwegian-Silver

Holland-Star Mariner

“The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea” -

Isak Dinesen

[shelpt]

Thank you, archyboy! shelpt, we're on deck 7, although I'm keeping my eyes open in case one on decks 9 or 10 opens up. :)

 

I originally had deck 7, and I checked every single day til 1694 opened. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Keep in mind that we could see down into all the balconies below us. We also didnt really see the super structure from where we were.

The room was at least the same size as a GS and balcony at least 4 times larger.

[Merion_Mom]

I originally had deck 7, and I checked every single day til 1694 opened. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Keep in mind that we could see down into all the balconies below us. We also didnt really see the super structure from where we were.

The room was at least the same size as a GS and balcony at least 4 times larger.

 

The cabin size of a JS on the aft is NOT larger than the cabin size of a JS on the side of the ship. It is only the balcony.

 

Perception is a tricky thing.

 

:)

[rrraydon]

Thank you so much, Merion_Mom! Those pictures are fantastic! I think we'll keep the aft JS and save the $$ for another cruise.

 

We're taking our 3 year old son along, so a JS will be plenty of room for the 3 of us (we had one on Grandeur last year and it was perfect). :D

 

I agree! Those picture are great. I'm looking at booking ExOS in April and was initially looking at balconies, but those aft suites are looking better and better. :)

[Merion_Mom]

I agree! Those picture are great. I'm looking at booking ExOS in April and was initially looking at balconies, but those aft suites are looking better and better. :)

 

On the Explorer you will find the following cabin categories available as aft cabins:

 

E1

D1

JS

RFS

[alligeek]

My husband likes to tell people that he's an "aft man," now. :D