Aft location preferred for Balcony?

[mnsweeps]

I am seeing many posts here referring to folks booking aft balcony. Any reason for that? I booked a midship Balcony on the Conquest on the Empress(7) deck. Did I do anything wrong?

[Midwestgal]

I just booked my first ATF and would like to hear why others love it so much. We normally book mid-ship so now I can see what all the fuss is about. It's not a wrap but an extended AFT cabin.

[n6uqqq]

You get a nice view of the wake. There are some down sides though like less privacy with both your neighbors and from above in most cases. I also hear about it getting hot in the back in the summer due to lack of air flow. My friend had an aft on the Splendor and we had some particulate from the smoke stack settle on the deck. Maintenance was good about hosing down the aft decks often though.

Edited February 13, 2014 by n6uqqq

[KenMo]

I like the aft because it's generally quieter back there. Nobody goes back there unless their cabin is there.

 

Also, I just love to sit and watch the wake.

[bills blasters]

We have had 10 aft balconies, and love them. We have never had trouble with soot. You have excellent views on three sides. Really nice when leaving ports. Yes, there is less privacy than on a side. But, we have met some really nice people in the adjoining balconies. It is not windy back there when the ship is moving. I have been on side balconies where the wind was bad when moving. It can get warm back there, but we usually cruise in Jan., so it is perfect in the back. Might be a little too hot in the summer months. I think once people try the aft balconies, they seemed to be hooked. Plus, there is more room and most of them have a lounger, and you don't get them on the side.

Claudia

[riffatsea]

We have always had midship balconies on decks 6 or 7 and have been just fine with them.

I don't understand all the hype about the aft balconies but everyone seems to enjoy different things during their cruises.

[tandemcruzr]

I think once people try the aft balconies, they seemed to be hooked.

 

Didn't work for us. Out of 16 cruises, we tried an aft once and have not gone back. No breeze, soot, lack of privacy.

Edited February 13, 2014 by tandemcruzr

[Mysticks1]

I love the aft balconies and the view that you have from them. You can see so much more and you get an awesome view when leaving a port. I also love the sound of the wake. I don't like to have full sun though so that can depend upon the ship as to whether the balcony is fully or only partially covered. It is very quiet with very little foot traffic in the hallways. It is a long walk to the front of the ship though, or back to the cabin (especially if you are tired). I guess that could be a pro or con depending upon the person. There can be more movement in the aft, and vibration especially when coming into or leaving port when the thrusters are on.

 

If you do a search on youtube there are a lot of videos taken from aft cabins that might give you an idea of the view and the sound of the wake.

[dramaqueenjan]

I love aft.The sound of the wake swelling behind the ship ,the panoramic view.Yes you lack privacy but we met lifetime friends that had the 3 cabins next to us .they only live 2 hours away and we had a blast back there .

[cowboy$fan]

I am seeing many posts here referring to folks booking aft balcony. Any reason for that? I booked a midship Balcony on the Conquest on the Empress(7) deck. Did I do anything wrong?

 

My DW and I will be staying in our first AFT balcony on the Magic, cabin 8475 in 17 days. I can give you our opinion when we get back. We have only had regular balcony's and I'm excited to try a new cabin location :D

[habby]

I am seeing many posts here referring to folks booking aft balcony. Any reason for that? I booked a midship Balcony on the Conquest on the Empress(7) deck. Did I do anything wrong?

 

We have always had midship balconies on decks 6 or 7 and have been just fine with them.

I don't understand all the hype about the aft balconies but everyone seems to enjoy different things during their cruises.

 

IMO midship on Conquest Empress is the way to go. We did one aft, and weren't all that impressed. The balcony felt more cramped to us than a regular balcony. Part of that may have been due to the fact that we usually cruise with my DB and SIL and book cabins so that we can have the divider opened to have one large balcony.

 

Like riffatsea said though, everyone enjoys different things on their cruises. If the price is right, you may want to try an aft sometime. For us, the aft-lovers can keep their afts!

[Skywench]

My favorite are the aft wraparounds, especially the vista suites on Spirit class ships. If I can't have a wraparound, I want an aft balcony. If I can't have either, I'll look for another cruise where one is available. I like the view and I like that it's quiet back there.

[DisneyNutMary]

I love my aft balconies. I love looking at the ships wake and hearing the water churn below us.

Privacy is not really an issue for me if someone wants to watch me watch the water below, then hey let them- I'll still enjoy my view. I always cruise in the summer, and never really noticed it being hot or stuffy back there. I guess to each his own- the more people who dislike the aft, the more chances I'll have to book one.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Cruise Critic Forums mobile app

[vegasglitz]

Our personal preference is level 7 or 8 mid ship balcony.

 

We recently tried an Aft cabin on Magic and did not care for it. It was full sun, very little breeze, warmer and I was constantly wiping down our chairs because of the soot. People would throw their cigarettes and they would land on our balcony. Very little privacy too!

 

I really enjoy the breeze, shade and seeing the ocean without having to look up and/or go to the railing.

 

Just going on a cruise is great by itself...location is all a personal preference.

[mnsweeps]

Thanks folks...Looks like I did the right thing getting a midship balcony on Empress :-)

[stargate fan]

I am seeing many posts here referring to folks booking aft balcony. Any reason for that? I booked a midship Balcony on the Conquest on the Empress(7) deck. Did I do anything wrong?

 

We decided to try an aft once. We hated it. It was far from all the activities, it was very hot with hardly a breeze, there was soot on our deck chairs, workers scraped and painted above us so we could not use the balcony an entire day in port, and the light at the back of the ship was on all night.

 

We love Lido Deck cabins. That's where we'll stay.

[wbc12345]

Our last two cruises on the Conquest were midship, empress balconies! We loved that location. You can't go wrong there! :D

[grooks]

Love the aft facing balconies. Have booked aft view balconies on 3 previous occasions and will be sailing with an aft view again next month.

 

The pros of the aft view:

1. you can almost always see the sunset

2. less wind during see days

3. deeper balcony (deep enough for a chaise lounger)

4. I actually enjoy talking to my neighbors to the side, above and below me

 

The cons of the aft view:

 

1. occasional soot from the smoke stack settles on the balcony

2. no wind + full sun = gets hot late morning through mid afternoon

3. no privacy if you are standing along the rail. If you are sitting or standing near the door then no one can see you.

4. Room placement directly above the deck 5 lounge or below lido can be a little noisy.

[crusinpsychRN]

I had an aft on RCL Mariner of the Seas. It had a huge balcony, could easily accomodate 4 lounge chairs and a few side tables.

 

I couldn't stand it! I didn't like seeing where I'd been the whole time instead of where we were going. Lots of soot. Not enough room under beds to store luggage for the 3 of us so I put a few suitcases on the balcony!

 

I prefer extended port balconies. Most often can see the port from that side, great to watch pier runners.

[Sunsetters]

We just booked 2 aft cabins on Liberty deck 8, side by side, I thought they would open the dividers, I had no idea they were fixed on aft cabins. This will be our first aft. we usually do mid ship balcony. What about movement back there? Oh BOY......

[stargate fan]

We just booked 2 aft cabins on Liberty deck 8, side by side, I thought they would open the dividers, I had no idea they were fixed on aft cabins. This will be our first aft. we usually do mid ship balcony. What about movement back there? Oh BOY......

 

You know what it's like sitting in the back of a bus...?

[Sunsetters]

Anyone with info on cabins 8459 and 8461 on the Liberty would appreciate getting a definite answer whether or not the balcony dividers open up or can they remove them? I see a post from 2007 where someone said they physically removed the panel between both balconies and had it stored somewhere?

[mrsglovesapg]

As others have stated, the aft. is better simply because there is very little foot traffic in the halls as unless your staying there, there's really no reason to walk back there. An aft-extended balcony on the very back of the ship is by far a superior room. However there is little to no air movement here. If your going in the winter months, it will be slightly warmer since the wind won't be bad, if your going in the summer, you will have no breeze to cool it off. I have personally never had a problem with soot on the balcony. And just a preview, this is the view you will get with an aft extended or an aft wrap.

[Artemus]

I just cruised on the Carnival Pride with an aft extended balcony and did not like it. I did not like the churning of the sea (the wake). I much prefer a side balcony and the calm sea. When we started heading for home (last two days) after the last port, there was a lot of vibration because (I assume) the ship was going faster. We were not able to sit outside in a light rain because there is only a short cover over the balcony because of the back of the ship being slanted. Also, on one of our Bahamas port visits, the balcony got really warm because of the lack of cover and we had to go inside.

[Midwestgal]

I'm glad I booked my aft with my free cruise offer, not sure I'm going to like it.