Indecision on Indy - midship or aft balcony?

[MermaidMary]

Hello, my husband and I will be sailing on Independence of the Seas for the 2nd time in November. It will be my 4th cruise. My first two were on the Norwegian Pearl and we had the same corner aft cabin both years and LOVED it. The aft view is very relaxing, both sight and sound.

 

Last year our charter switched to Independence of the Seas and we had cabin 1304, and although it was a very nice cabin and a great location, I did not like the side balcony view nearly as much as the aft view. Being close to the elevators was nice but we still ended up doing a lot of walking (not a bad thing) because the events on our cruise were in many locations around the ship.

 

We have 1618 booked for this trip, also a mid-ship balcony. I booked it back in April, just hours after the cruise went on sale, and no aft balcony cabins were available. Yesterday I visited the booking page of our charter just to see how fast it is selling out, and noticed 4 aft balconies are suddenly available - 9704, 9706, 9404, and 9406. Afts on other decks remain unavailable.

 

I have done a lot of searches, and have read many pros and cons, but I still am not sure if we should give up 1618 for an aft balcony. My concerns are that in the 04 afts there is no sliding door and many have said the door is heavy and that makes it difficult to get in and out. There is also a beam on the balcony that some hit their heads on. In the 06 afts there is the sliding door and a larger balcony, but it connects to a Royal Suite and also has some view obstruction from the superstructure. I wonder if my concerns are that big of a deal, since last year I had concerns about 1304 being a connecting room, and that wasn't a problem at all.

 

If anyone has stayed in 1681, 9404, 9406, 9704, or 9706 on a Freedom class ship, I would be interested in what you would do - would you keep 1618, or switch to an aft balcony?

 

Thank you!

Mary

[theboss7593]

We did a 4 night to Cozumel in 9406 and it was fantastic. first cruise ever for us and all i can say is as exciting harmony will be next month, not having an aft facing balcony is going to suck! you have the world to yourself on the aft and the views and photos were phenomenal. no issues with any of the beams or anything of that nature. there was a family next to us with a cranky kid but other than that which was minor i give it 5 stars all the way.

[cruisin4dhr]

We loved our aft corner balcony on Independence of the Seas on our March, 2014 cruise, but it was two decks below what you're seeing. We were able to secure stateroom 7408 on the starboard side after getting tipped to it by Cruise Critic reviews. We would grab that cabin again in a heartbeat if we saw it available on a cruise that worked for us. I posted more about it in my review of that cruise. Good luck with your decision.

[BillOh]

If anyone has stayed in 1681, 9404, 9406, 9704, or 9706 on a Freedom class ship, I would be interested in what you would do - would you keep 1618, or switch to an aft balcony?

 

Thank you!

Mary

 

The aft balconies on the Voyager, and in your case Freedom class ships are different from what you have seen on ships like the NCL Pearl. Lots of ship's superstructure in the way and looking down you see other cabins. That said, a few corner ones aren't too bad. I do have an aft reserved for my 2018 cruise, but I would go for a mid ship balcony on Freedom or the Voyager classes. (Love the center hump)

[MermaidMary]

Thank you all for your replies! If anyone else wants to chime in that would be helpful also. I think I need to make a decision today, because one of the 4 (9406) is already gone.

[vickiw0318]

Your current cabin will be larger than the afts on deck 9. The afts will just have a love seat, not a full sized couch. I have stayed in 9704 and found it cozy. Part of that could be the cabin design with the large circular window and the single door. I personally like the cabin and have it booked on an upcoming solo cruise. The "6's" will connect with the living room of the family suites (I have been in one of those as well), so maybe there won't be late night noise unless there's a large group in one of those.

 

I personally would move aft because I don't like locations directly under a pool area. However, it looks as though you have stayed in that location before without a problem.

[MermaidMary]

Thank you Vicki, that helps - my husband is 6'5" so cozy may not be a good thing! And we did not notice any noise from above last year in 1304 - I could hear music from above when I went on the balcony but I liked it (it is a music charter).

 

Still, I keep thinking about that aft view and larger balcony. Did you find the door in 9704 difficult to open? That is something I saw mentioned by a few people regarding the corner aft cabins on deck 9.

[vickiw0318]

It wasn't a breeze to open, but we got used to it. The thought of doing it again didn't stop me from booking an 04 cabin again. (I am in my new 50s if that helps.)

 

Are you on the Rock Legends cruise?

[MermaidMary]

Not on Rock Legends, but that looks like an excellent cruise! We will be going on our 4th year of the Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise. Thanks again for your help!

[watertraveler]

Thanks for all the info. I am booked into 9404 on January 28th. This was a last minute decision on our part and very little research went into the choice of our cabin. I have always wanted to try an 'aft' cabin but, if I read all of your posts correctly, there is a door not a slider to the balcony and the balcony itself is somewhat smaller? How about the cabin itself?

 

It really doesn't matter in the long run. I am going on a cruise in less than 2 months!:D

[cb at sea]

There is no right or wrong location....it's what works for YOU! We prefer the mid-ship location, but many enjoy the aft. It's totally up to YOU!

[mjgep0316]

Photos from 9406 balcony.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[MermaidMary]

Nice photos - that sunset is gorgeous! And the other one reminded me of a big advantage of this cabin - being able to not just sit on the balcony, but lounge on it. Thank you!