Mardi Gras - Premium View Ext Balcony

[RTR 21-0]

Booked one of these cabins, forward, 14th deck for the Oct. sailing.  This will be our 1st cruise in a forward facing balcony.  We’ve cruised aft balcony before and enjoyed it.  Looking for feedback from those who have cruised in a forward balcony on a larger ship.   I think the view will be wonderful but wondering about motion and wind.  I would think due to size of ship motion wouldn’t be that big of an issue.  Out of 9 sailings, the only time I got sick was on deck 2, aft (never again will I do that 😨) lol.  

 

Thx for the replies. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

We have one booked for a sailing in April 2021, same deck.  We have also enjoyed our aft balconies on previous cruises.  So I will be following this thread for similar reasons!

[cruisecraze96]

We were looking at the large vista suites in the front but we cruised in Alaska this summer and had one of the suites with a front balcony and never was able to use it except for the day in Glacier Bay and then a little on day 1.  They even had it set to lock so we could not use it when the ship was moving to fast.  Yes it was a smaller ship but that is why we decided to go with the Aft Vista suite instead.

 

I never thought that a larger ship would mean a difference in how the wind impacts you on the balcony.  Will be interested, and who knows maybe we change or if we do a repeat we get one 🙂

 

 

[mexicobob]

Never stayed up front but whenever I have visited it was too windy for me.
A bigger ship will usually be more stable than a smaller one.  That being said, if the seas are really rough there can be plenty of motion.

[BoDidly]

1 hour ago, mexicobob said:

Never stayed up front but whenever I have visited it was too windy for me.
A bigger ship will usually be more stable than a smaller one.  That being said, if the seas are really rough there can be plenty of motion.

 

 

I agree,   This being said from a person that found his bed one foot under him around 3 AM on the Dream !  I'll never forget the CD during that welcome aboard show , as we hit a huge wave and there was a loud BOOM !   CD stated ,Whoa ! Sounds like we just hit a deer  !  more like a whale !

Edited February 1, 2019 by BoDidly

[CruzCrazy]

We also booked one of these, on deck 17, where they are designated as spa balconies (even though the actual spa is on deck 5).  I'm also concerned about the wind impacting the use of the balcony.

 

As far as I know, other than a few special suites, this is the first time Carnival has done balconies with a forward view.  Most of their ships have observation decks in that location, just outside of the category 4J's, and a few have the scenic ocean view cabins with floor-to-ceiling windows.  I've been in both of those, and, when in 4J's, I always spend some time on the observation deck out front.  When the ship is underway, it's always been pretty windy out there.  Our most recent cruise was on the Horizon, and depending on wind direction and ship direction/speed, it was enjoyable or maybe just tolerable because of the wind.  Of course, it's spectacular going in and out of ports. 

 

I'm hoping that because the balconies will be partitioned (as opposed to one big open area out there) that it will help to cut down on some of the wind.  I almost switched to a hump balcony, but we're going to try the forward-facing balcony and see how it is.  There's just something about the forward view 😉

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, CruzCrazy said:

I'm hoping that because the balconies will be partitioned (as opposed to one big open area out there) that it will help to cut down on some of the wind.  I almost switched to a hump balcony, but we're going to try the forward-facing balcony and see how it is.  There's just something about the forward view 😉

 

Yep, my thoughts too.  Although I will admit I tried to grab one of those hump balconies and failed, so I "settled" for the forward extended balcony instead.

 

Oh, and one other thing - because this is usually a 7 day cruise (at least the majority of them are) with not too great a distance to sail in those seven days (San Juan is furthest port), I am wondering if the ship will idle back a bit on those sea days and we'll cruise at 10 kts or so during the day, which should drop the wind factor on those balconies.

[RTR 21-0]

I also couldn't recall any of Carnival's ships having the forward facing balconies and not being able to see the actual ship makes it somewhat difficult to choose a cabin.  Fingers crossed the partitions help with the wind.  I too considered switching this morning but decided to try something new.  New ship, new cabin location  Looking forward to the views sailing in/out of the ports from the front. 

[Bulleyes41]

Hi there...

    I just booked one of these balconies also...very excited...It's the first time at the front of the ship...I did notice afterward tho...that the lower part of the balcony is steel...not clear glass so you would need to be standing for the view....something to consider.

[SRQbeachgirl]

8 hours ago, Bulleyes41 said:

Hi there...

    I just booked one of these balconies also...very excited...It's the first time at the front of the ship...I did notice afterward tho...that the lower part of the balcony is steel...not clear glass so you would need to be standing for the view....something to consider.

 

I started to book one of these, but then noticed the potentially-obstructed view when sitting and thought about the wind issue. I ended up booking a hump balcony instead. We will be in the same cabin for a B2B, so we intend to spend a lot of time out there when the ship is underway. 

[gnegron22]

Although not english, if you look up AIDAnova Verandakabine mit Bugblickon on youtube the ship has wind-blockers on the front facing cabins. Which is really cool, I'm not sure if they are on the Mardi Gras since they are sister ships, hope that helps a little. 

[naxer]

On 3/4/2021 at 12:37 PM, Bulleyes41 said:

Hi there...

    I just booked one of these balconies also...very excited...It's the first time at the front of the ship...I did notice afterward tho...that the lower part of the balcony is steel...not clear glass so you would need to be standing for the view....something to consider.

I just upgraded to one of these forward balconies.  I figure I'd try something new.  Anyway, where did you see this picture?  can you provide a link?  I'm realizing there are very few pictures or videos of the Mardi Gras.  I'm hoping they let in a few vloggers or travel agents to do some pics and vlogs when they're in a port.  Or does anyone have any links to any that have been done?  

[Knights on the Beach]

On 3/6/2021 at 4:57 PM, naxer said:

I just upgraded to one of these forward balconies.  I figure I'd try something new.  Anyway, where did you see this picture?  can you provide a link?  I'm realizing there are very few pictures or videos of the Mardi Gras.  I'm hoping they let in a few vloggers or travel agents to do some pics and vlogs when they're in a port.  Or does anyone have any links to any that have been done?  

Below is a picture of the forward balcony cabin from the Carnival website. I was really tempted to book one because we love being at the front of the ship while going into port.  We ended up booking a side balcony because I was afraid it would be too windy to spend much time out there and I wasn't crazy about the steel enclosure instead of a clear one.  It looks like you'd have to be standing up to see the ocean.

 

[zdcatc12]

3 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

Below is a picture of the forward balcony cabin from the Carnival website. I was really tempted to book one because we love being at the front of the ship while going into port.  We ended up booking a side balcony because I was afraid it would be too windy to spend much time out there and I wasn't crazy about the steel enclosure instead of a clear one.  It looks like you'd have to be standing up to see the ocean.

 

Yes, I was on one on the Norwegian Sky about 20 years ago, it is roughly the size of the Fantasy class ships. I hated it and would never do it again. As has been mentioned above, the wind and the steel balcony wall. Ours was pretty much like in the picture above, it was very windy anytime we were cruising and you couldn't see anything unless you stood up.

 

 I would take it over an inside or OV, but would be my last choice as a balcony.

Edited March 8, 2021 by zdcatc12
Added.

[naxer]

13 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

Below is a picture of the forward balcony cabin from the Carnival website. I was really tempted to book one because we love being at the front of the ship while going into port.  We ended up booking a side balcony because I was afraid it would be too windy to spend much time out there and I wasn't crazy about the steel enclosure instead of a clear one.  It looks like you'd have to be standing up to see the ocean.

 

Thanks.  I called this morning and switched it to a regular balcony.  I think this type of balcony is for people who put a premium on getting the view from the bow.

[ProgRockCruiser]

2 hours ago, naxer said:

 

Thanks.  I called this morning and switched it to a regular balcony.  I think this type of balcony is for people who put a premium on getting the view from the bow.

We booked one of these forward balconies because it will be a different experience - we have done a couple of aft balconies, and one cove, and also in the future we have a bowling-alley balcony near the aft booked.

 

We like standing at the top front of the ship in the evening enjoying a drink or two, so we will probably really enjoy this type of cabin.  But I get it that it isn't for everyone.

[racing1a]

I booked room 17202 for February 2022 just for that forward look. In this picture you can see pretty clearly that there is a complete wall of glass in front of the balconies. Hopefully that will allow a nice view either sitting or standing and will buffer the wind so can enjoy the view at any time.

 

Edited March 8, 2021 by racing1a
typo

[racing1a]

[ProgRockCruiser]

20 hours ago, racing1a said:

In this picture you can see pretty clearly that there is a complete wall of glass in front of the balconies.

I don't see that at all.

 

Here is a picture from a different vantage point - looks like regular balconies, with steel instead of glass in the lower wall, and steel partitions.  From:

 

https://cruise.blog/2020/12/10-great-things-youll-only-find-carnival-mardi-gras

 

[Knights on the Beach]

It does look like deck 17 (above the bridge) has the glass wall in front of the balconies, not the steel half wall.  Here's another picture of the suite on the front left corner of deck 17 - I couldn't find any other pictures of the forward facing balcony cabins on that deck, just the same picture I posted above with the steel.  The forward facing balconies on the other decks just have the steel half wall.  Deck 17 was already sold out when we booked so I never looked at those.

 

[ProgRockCruiser]

9 minutes ago, cruisemom2 said:

It does look like deck 17 (above the bridge) has the glass wall in front of the balconies, not the steel half wall.  Here's another picture of the suite on the front left corner of deck 17 - I couldn't find any other pictures of the forward facing balcony cabins on that deck, just the same picture I posted above with the steel.  The forward facing balconies on the other decks just have the steel half wall.  Deck 17 was already sold out when we booked so I never looked at those.

 

Oh wow, you are right - I completely missed that deck 17 was above the bridge - I thought (mistakenly) that was a public area.  Those are rather pricy Cloud 9 Spa cabins, so I auto-filtered them from consideration, ha ha.

 

EDIT: and that particular view is of one of the Presidential Suites. $$$$!

Edited March 9, 2021 by ProgRockCruiser

[Knights on the Beach]

Right???  We're on deck 12.  😂  We actually have friends who booked one of those Cloud 9 Spa cabins on our cruise so we weren't going to get a room near them.  I mean, it's bad enough we're (unintentionally) crashing their honeymoon, but it's our anniversary!  lol

[racing1a]

Yes I was referring to the 17th deck balcony rooms. Price wise I didn't think it was all that bad, $1012 for our room and the fact that there spa rooms will make for a happy wife (you know the rest of the line) 😉 

I just did a mock booking and the same room on deck 10 would run $1151 today.

Edited March 10, 2021 by racing1a
typo

[ProgRockCruiser]

2 hours ago, racing1a said:

Price wise I didn't think it was all that bad, $1012 for our room

That is a great price!

[Moviela]

There is a glass wall to block the wind on the forward facing cabins on Deck 17. The Spa cabins also have an elevator that goes to the spa on Deck 5 opening to a private spa entrance.