Stateroom question

[bluehawks47]

We are currently booked in 12299 on the Epic for a March sailing. This is 3 cabins from the aft. We have always thought an Aft balcony would be beautiful... Maybe I am wrong. So, there are many aft balconies available but for an extra $200 per person. A few of the Afts available are corner afts. I would think this is a benefit, but I don't know what is next to the corner? is there a stairwell or anything else that would make it noisy or not as private? We are looking at 11314 or any aft balcony on deck 9 seems to be available. On 9, it seems we could have the whole back end to ourselves. Is there something unusual on deck 9?

All of these are an $200 pp extra charge. Is the Aft worth it and if so, is the corner as desirable as it seems?

 

Thank you,

Kathleen

[Oakman58]

I can’t tell you if an aft cabin is worth it or not but those are not wrap-around balconies on the Epic. That corner area is where the “secret stairs” are located on decks 8 and above. Few passengers know about these stairs and the few times I checked them out no one was there and it was a quiet area. I think the main function of those stairs is for evacuation to lower decks in an emergency. I could be wrong though. Here is a picture of that “secret” area and a picture of the rear of the Epic.

 

 

I hope you have a great cruise on the Epic.

[bluehawks47]

Thank you for your reply. That is interesting about the secret staircase. I'll have to check it out. Thanks

[marynjohn]

We were on Epic in 10323 last year the week after Thanksgiving. Aft balconies are incredible. This was the second time we had an aft, the other on Breakaway in 2016.

Try not to go too high in the ship, as I heard there's noise from the pool deck... We didn't hear anything.

We weren't crazy about Epic. Just didn't have any Vibe (The feeling, not the place onboard).

The bathroom was no big deal, I don't know why people get upset about it, but they do.

I remember choosing a room with the bed by the sliding door/balcony. I think some cabins have the bed near the bathroom and people complained about the flushing noise waking them up.

[bluehawks47]

We were on Epic in 10323 last year the week after Thanksgiving. Aft balconies are incredible. This was the second time we had an aft, the other on Breakaway in 2016.

Try not to go too high in the ship, as I heard there's noise from the pool deck... We didn't hear anything.

We weren't crazy about Epic. Just didn't have any Vibe (The feeling, not the place onboard).

The bathroom was no big deal, I don't know why people get upset about it, but they do.

I remember choosing a room with the bed by the sliding door/balcony. I think some cabins have the bed near the bathroom and people complained about the flushing noise waking them up.

 

 

Thanks for your reply. I assumed an Aft balcony would be incredible. I did read something about the higher you go, the more you hear from H2O. I just need to decide if $400 extra if worth it. It's only a 4 night cruise. Then again, I guess I could look at it as only $50 pp per night??

Thanks again.

[vince_g]

Thank you for your reply. That is interesting about the secret staircase. I'll have to check it out. Thanks

 

These "secret" stairs are usually in crew only areas. Please be respectful of that, and don't intrude into any area marked as such. Gem has secret stairs that go up to the Great Outdoors, but there is a rope across the stairway up at the Great Outdoors. Emergency exit only it says.

[bluehawks47]

These "secret" stairs are usually in crew only areas. Please be respectful of that, and don't intrude into any area marked as such. Gem has secret stairs that go up to the Great Outdoors, but there is a rope across the stairway up at the Great Outdoors. Emergency exit only it says.

 

 

 

Oh my goodness, if there is a rope or a sign that says “crew only”, I would never think about going in that area.

 

 

 

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[TrumpyNor]

View from an aft balcony on the Epic is pretty amazing (but that would be the case on every ship as long as the balcony is facing aft), here with the city of Palma de Mallorca (Spain) in the background:

[Oakman58]

These "secret" stairs are usually in crew only areas. Please be respectful of that, and don't intrude into any area marked as such. Gem has secret stairs that go up to the Great Outdoors, but there is a rope across the stairway up at the Great Outdoors. Emergency exit only it says.

 

 

When I was on the Epic those stairs were open to the public from deck 8 and up. On deck 8 there was a gate that closed off the stairs leading down to deck 7 and it was marked “crew only.”