Thoughts on Front, Middle, or Back of ship? And deck level?

[LoveCoffee]

We are taking an Alaskan Cruise in July and while we would LOVE a balcony - it is almost double the cost, and we just can't do it. We are going to get OCEAN VIEW which is apparently a large window, not a little porthole.

 

Our TA is asking us what area of the ship we want - front, middle, or back. She said most people want middle. Why is that? What is the difference in being in the middle versus the front or back? She also said most people want middle to upper decks. Is there a disadvantage to being on a lower deck? If you were choosing an OceanView room, what deck would you choose and what part of the ship -- front, middle, back?

[ONECRUISER]

We are taking an Alaskan Cruise in July and while we would LOVE a balcony - it is almost double the cost, and we just can't do it. We are going to get OCEAN VIEW which is apparently a large window, not a little porthole.

 

Our TA is asking us what area of the ship we want - front, middle, or back. She said most people want middle. Why is that? What is the difference in being in the middle versus the front or back? She also said most people want middle to upper decks. Is there a disadvantage to being on a lower deck? If you were choosing an OceanView room, what deck would you choose and what part of the ship -- front, middle, back?

Which ship?

[LoveCoffee]

Which ship?

 

It's RCCL Explorer of the Seas. And yes, we know it's not a great itinerary w/only 2 ports and NO Glacier Bay. We are going with a large group of friends and we got a GREAT GROUP rate.

 

We are planning another Alaska cruise Summer of 2019 on either HAL or Princess to do Alaska the way we want to - this is just a great vacation with friends we haven't seen in 25yrs.

 

We just are curious about why people have cabin preferences/locations.

[ccspinner]

Mid ship you will feel less movement or vibration. If you are on a lower deck you may also feel vibrations from the motors.

A higher level will give you a better view and closer to all the activities on the ship.

[AAA75]

From our experience we notice less rocking in middle of the boat. But we prefer hump and aft rooms if available. if you are not prone to seasickness higher is better. But if I recall non balcony rooms are on lower decks, so you may not have a choice

[Sascol]

Lots of folks will tell you there is less motion in the middle. The difference is negligible so I would not factor that in. We prefer middle only because your central location gets you closer to things. If you are in the front, it's a long walk to the buffet at the back for example.

[Langley Cruisers]

If you are in the front, it's a long walk to the buffet at the back for example.

 

We noticed that on Oasis - big gal! Lots of walking. ;p

[crystalspin]

Agree with Sascol -- middle for ready-er access to where you want to be. EOS is a big ship, and you're going to be in mostly protected waters, so the stability of the ride is unlikely to be a problem.

 

Assuming you are in standard Oceanview (and not Spacious OV or UltraSpacious OV) -- your choices are decks 2, 3, or 6 (possibly a few on 7). Those on 6 (and possibly 7) are at the very front of the ship... (see above).

 

Now on deck 2 mid-ship, we don't know what's under you (but what's over you is more important), but above you are deck 3 cabins -- at least from 2300 to 2330, and from 2600 to 2630 there are. If you can't get in those ranges, go lower not higher (higher is under what is marked main dining room, but what might be prep-areas or even galley (as I find no empty spot to call Galley!) where cleaning goes on through the wee hours. If those numbers are not available, choose deck 3 but only starboard side -- numbers 3700-3728, under the art gallery -- not 3600-3628 under The Tavern.

 

If you think you'll spend any time looking out your window low decks are great on an Alaskan cruise -- never know when you might see whales or sea otters, etc. If your beds are made up as a queen, it WILL be right in front of the window, though.

 

Here's a CC uploaded pic from pre 2010 (the color scheme may have been changed in 2015 drydock, IDK):

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=26940956&postcount=13

 

 

PS by midships, I looked at near the aft elevator, as there are only two stairwells, so it's not exactly mid-ship as physics goes, but it is not forward (where anchors are dropped) nor aft-aft.

[crystalspin]

So I looked at ExOS's July itinerary and if you want recommendations -- in Juneau go whale watching (I know, it is counter intuitive to get off a ship just to get on a boat, but trust me) and in Skagway take the train (and then wander the streets). We have done the up-and-back on train, not getting off the train, and the train up/bus back and strongly rec the latter. Two sets of views and the bus will stop at least once for photo ops (namely, by the Welcome to Alaska sign!).

 

In Victoria, my family will be going to Butchart Gardens (next year), and that's all I know about to do. It's world famous, but if gardens aren't your or your friends' thing, then it wouldn't be on your to-do list!

[geomancer]

I'm on Explorer in August. You get three ports, not two, just one is in Canada (Victoria). You also still do the inside passage, so you will still see glaciers (plus the one in Juneau if you choose to see it). While it doesn't see as much of Alaska as a one-way cruise does, you *do* save a fair amount of cash not having to fly in/out of Canada and an much larger pile of cash not having to fly in/out of Alaska.

 

Take a pencil, or pen, and hold it in the center. Then rock the ends up and down. The middle moves very little, the ends move a lot. That's the theory behind people picking mid ship cabins. Cruise ships are so large though that it isn't often a big difference.

 

More important to me, above all else, is ensuring my room is as far as possible from public spaces. Our family goes to bed early, and wakes up early, so the absolute worst place for us would be under the theater which has shows going on well past when we normally go to bed. So we generally try to have ~2+ decks of cabins above and below us, and avoid the elevators (people chatting loudly while they wait for the elevator). Other people have different priorities, but I'd say the most important thing to know is: what's directly above your cabin? That can make a big difference.

[Ofmyheart]

Did our 2nd AK last fall on HAL. Friend had forward balcony suite, we had OV midship. Departing Seward was "fun", she spent ALOT of time away from her cabin! When we visited hers it was remarkably different than ours.

 

We prefer midship and a bit lower than most.

[cb at sea]

It's like a see-saw...the middle perceives less motion than the ends of the ship.

[NatsFanOnBoard]

This is just another thing that you can over-analyze in my opinion. Unless you have a particular mobility issue or high sensitivity to motion sickness, it doesn't really matter. If you are closer to one feature on the ship, you'll just be farther from the other features.

[Dremac373]

Our first cruise was a short Bahamas cruise out of Mia on Majesty, we did knows much bout cruising so we booked the cheapest thinking we'd won't spend much time in the room anyway. Our cabin was a lower deck very forward and for a 6' 4" 230 lbs(at time of that cruise lol) space was minimal. Our stops in CocoCay, Nassau and retuning to Mia was an experience we chose to avoid on future cruises as we could hear the chains of the anchor being lowered every morning. On the return to Mia I guess they were trying to make good time as I began to feel nauseous from the rocking and a lil claustrophobic. As others may have mentioned being frwd is a walk and a half to get to the common areas. Our following cruises have been balcony mid ship and has worked great.

[balkor2]

In my humble opinion...

 

The size of the ship,time of the year, and weather all take part in making a difference...

 

While on the Grandeur of the Seas the first time we had a noreaster on our tail. Cabin was in the center and I was told on how bad it was (I never noticed it though). Next time on it, no storm and was all the way in the front, a little above sea level and it was smooth sailing the whole time.

 

Anthem of the seas, Was up higher out of the water and closer to the center. Felt nothing even though there was some foul weather when leaving NJ.

 

So yes in theory the center at water level is to be the least change while the ends (highest and lowest points) would have the most movement.

[dwayneb236]

Yep, on a big ship you're gonna walk. On the Harmony I figure from my step counter I walked close to 10 miles a day. I do move around a lot though. We don't care where we are on the ship. The motion does not affect us at all, other than making us sleep better. But we do like to have a passenger decks above and below us. Less chance of noise.

[mt82]

we did rc from Seattle to Alaska

ports were Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan

loved it, we did middle and middle also OV, personally we did not have the money for balcony. We were SO GLAD we didn't spend the extra money as it was very windy and cold..and I am very hot natured.

we did the whales in Juneau

and a tour in Skagway that was a conoe I tour to the glacier

was supposed to do a plane in Ketchikan but it was raining

we got off in Vancouver

took a bus that does cruises only for 30 a person to Seattle

wonderful bus

cheaper to fly from Seattle even with paying for the bus

[kalliekae]

We had an aft balcony which was wonderful until we ran into a storm. The motion was very noticeable and I experienced seasickness for the first time. On all other cruises, we always book midship and have continued to do so after many cruises. I'm not sorry we had the aft balcony, but I don't need to book it again.

[spookwife]

Mid ships is for the lazy and mobility challenged crowd: close to elevators which means easier access to all decks and their main attractions.

 

as for deck level: depends on where you anticipate spending all your time. if you expect to be lounging about the pool all day a higher deck makes it easier and quicker( hopping a flight of stairs is quicker than waiting for an elevator)

 

but of you would rather hang out in the Schooner, then choose a Lower deck.

[SRF]

Lots of folks will tell you there is less motion in the middle. The difference is negligible so I would not factor that in.

 

HUH???

 

Let's see, if ship is rolling, you are correct, Height makes more of a difference. High is more motion.

 

But pitching, middle is DEFINITELY less motion. Look at a teeter-tooter. Kids on the ends go up and down a lot. Middle around the pivot rocks back and forth.

 

Simple mechanics.

[SRF]

We noticed that on Oasis - big gal! Lots of walking. ;p

 

Oasis, largest class, is 1186 feet long.

 

Grandeur, smallest class, is 915 feet long.

 

Not THAT much difference.