Comments Pro or Con on cabins facing back of ship?

[travelgypsy1]

Is there anything I need to be aware of if I book a cabin in the back of the ship facing the ship's wake? Loud, quiet ?

[martylouie]

We had an aft on our Hawaii cruise on Ruby. I loved it my wife thought it was a bit loud. We were on Baja

[Kamloops50]

Depending on ship . You'll keep sot , engine exhaust and smaells from the kitchen exhausts.

[JF - retired RRT]

We've had aft balconies on several ships...love them!!:hearteyes::*

[Tak8]

Love the location. A gentle rocking feel to help me sleep. I try to get this location when possible. A little more of a walk to get to things, but with all the extra eating I need it.

[cnd crsr]

The wake is beautiful to look at and during the night a very soothing sound. Whenever we came into port the vibrations were awful and it was very loud. These cabins are not my first choice.

[Kineticoh20]

Best real estate on ship period!

[azbirdmom]

It's our favorite location. It's very private back there and while the wake noise can be loud to some, it is relaxing to us. Smells, vibration and soot vary by ship. We've experienced none of those things aft on Grand Class ships.

[louden]

It's our favorite location. It's very private back there and while the wake noise can be loud to some, it is relaxing to us. Smells, vibration and soot vary by ship. We've experienced none of those things aft on Grand Class ships.

Our favorite cabins are the corner ones on B & C decks. These balconies are very private and wrap to the side so you have a 270 degree view. Except when thrusters are used there is little noise in the cabin with the balcony door closed. Under way on the balcony we find it is like being next to a large waterfall. For us it is soothing. We will always try to get one especially if we expect to get a lot of sun. Choose your side and direction of travel with the sun in mind. Never have had a soot problem on a Grand class. Possibility of odour in a center ship cabin. SOME PEOPLE COMPLAIN ABOUT THE BEAM ON THE CABINS ONE IN FRON THE SIDE.

 

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[mek]

Depending on the direction the ship is moving and time of day, the aft balconies can be very hot, with little breeze. We had one once, but not sure I would do it again.

[OccassionalCruiser]

We sailed away from Catalina one afternoon on the Ruby sitting on our aft-cabin balcony, due east, and watched the sun setting behind us and the island, and dolphins playing in the wake. It was awesome. We did have a "beam" on one side of the balcony, that we were warned about in the booking. When we got there, our reaction was, "so what?" It was seriously not any sort of issue. We also liked that sparse foot traffic anywhere near the door. Nobody comes down there except adjacent cabin occupants and cabin crew.

[OCruisers]

(y) Beautiful Wake View

(n) L-O-N-G Hallway Walks

[peety3]

We had an aft suite three times, and loved it. It's fantastic for Ultimate Balcony Dining (great table and chairs, covered, etc.), and great for afternoon snoozes. That said, when cruising Alaska I think we're a little addicted to having a view from the side instead of where we've been, so we tend to pick port or starboard cabins for those trips.

[Colo Cruiser]

It's our favorite location. It's very private back there and while the wake noise can be loud to some, it is relaxing to us. Smells, vibration and soot vary by ship. We've experienced none of those things aft on Grand Class ships.

 

 

I agree. Some who have not experienced it before can be surprised on how loud it can be.

We really like aft cabins.

[Lucky TGO]

I loved the sound it made me sleep like a baby.

Tony

[getting older slowly]

Aft suite with wake view is great, we have been deck 10 and love it.

 

For golden princess

 

Noise : on deck 7 walking round the back it is loud, go up 3 levels is sound like a waterfall, to us very nice. But no other noises or soot

 

Balcony: completely covered which is good for wind ( we had 50knot across the deck and you could have sat outside but it was a bit cool ) and privacy, but if you want to see in the sun you have to wait for the right time.

 

View : you feel like it your own view as you don't see the rest of ship. Also great to photos when leaving port, and your see left and right ( port and starboard ) as well as aft, and you can have the tv on showing the bridge cam.

 

Other points.

Very easy to find cabin it at the end, on the golden you are only a short distance from the lifts which go down to 7 for breakfast and up to 17 for cocktails.

 

The lifts are not as busy as the others on the ship

 

Sometimes in bed you can feel a bit of shimmy, but only slightly.

 

Nobody walks past your cabin

 

From a safety point of view you are next to the stairs at the back corner of the ship which take you directly to your muster area

 

But in the end it is up to you, some love it other don't

 

As with any cabin best enjoyed with a G&T from the fridge

 

Don

Edited July 29, 2017 by getting older slowly

[-Lew-]

We sailed in B749 on the Emerald on the Grand Med itinerary. The cabin itself is the same size as a typical balcony cabin. Due to the placement of the cabin, it is situated at a 90° angle to cabins along the sides of the ship.

 

The balcony is as large or larger than a typical Caribe deck balcony; however, it is fully covered. There is virtually no sun on the balcony at any time.

 

I am well aware the aft facing cabins are considered primo by many cruisers. For us, however, there are a number of reasons we just didn't enjoy that location:

 

 

• We did not like the completely covered balcony. I was aware of this when we booked the cabin, but thought it wouldn't be an issue. I was wrong. We usually book a balcony cabin on Caribe deck on Grand Class ships and enjoy the large half-covered balcony.
  
• We did not like the placement of the bed in the cabin. It was placed so that rocking of the boat from side-to-side, actually rocked the bed from head-to-toe. It took us quite a few nights to become accustomed to this.
  
• The location of the cabin meant, when in port, we were facing the bow or stern of another ship. We really didn't enjoy much of a view anywhere along our itinerary.
  

Again, I know a lot of cruisers love this location. It's just not for us

[cruzsnooze]

Last January I had an aft Vista suite. I found the wake too noisy to enjoy a quiet time with a book. I prefer to see us coming into and out of port which can't be seen clearly facing aft. Also there are complaints of soot bellowing onto aft balconies.My preference is a mid ship penthouse cabin.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We've had many aft cabins/suites on many different cruise lines and were recently in a Princess aft-facing suite again after a few years hiatus. I will rarely ever book an aft-facing cabin on a Princess ship due to the excessive movement and creaking noises from the ship. On other cruise lines like Celebrity, it's our favorite place. Their ships are very quiet and the "ride" is very, very smooth and "tight". Like everything else with cruising, the more you cruise, the more you realize what works best for you. ;)

[momoftwins+]

We have never been anywhere but aft. We were spoiled by an aft Mini-suite on the Dawn; now it's even worse, with D737 or D736 on the Grand. Love the quiet, the wake, the vistas that give you the best of both sides of the ship, just at the back.

[LSGDRG]

I have only ever had aft cabins. I like how quiet the area is...not a lot of foot traffic.

[OCruisers]

May or not be quiet. We had a cabin with a great wake view on a Carnival ship BUT crew storage areas were across the hall and children found that hallway a fun place to play. :eek:

[Wehwalt]

I like them, but one issue not brought up in the thread: if you are doing something like the Panama Canal or Glacier Bay where there is scenic commentary, you are not seeing things at the same time as most of the rest of the ship.

[Eagle_and_hawk]

When we sailed the Emerald Princess, we stayed in D736 - St. Thomas Suite, which is AFT facing. We really like being back there, listening to the wake and it's one of our favorite rooms. The wake can be loud, however we really like listening to the sound & watching the water. It's not so loud, we could not carry on a conversation and had the Ultimate Balcony Dining for four back there. None of us thought the noise was an issue.

 

We like the baclony was fully covered as don't like any other balcony type. in this room, the bed is not postitioned front/back it's side to side, with the headboard against the port side wall. You are rocked left to right instead of head/feet up & down under normal sail. There was some creaking in the room, and I enjoy hearing that at night. The hallway area was quiet at night since we were at the very end of it.

 

This is 5 minute video we took back there, and you can hear the noise.

 

[Woobstr112G]

I am a confirmed aft/wake view cruiser since our first one back in 2013. This view, to me, is simply the best.....:):):)

 

Bob