Extended aft balcony... pros and cons

[rene194215]

Hi!  I am thinking about booking a extended aft balcony for a Mediterranean on the Legend.  This would just be my second Balcony.  The first was on the Horizon on Lido deck forward.  It was AMAZING!!  I have only done interior or porthole otherwise.  I guess my big concert is that when I was on the Valor and in the comedy club aft, i actually felt like I was going to be sick, the ship was just almost vibrating its hard to express.  I have been mid and forward for cabins on all different floors.  Just never aft.  Not sure if on the Valor that one time was just a one time thing? I always head to the aft pool on each cruise and never have a problem there.  Its 12 nights so I just want to be sure that I wont feel too much motion.

 

Thanks in advance!!! 

[Xtentions]

We have done aft balconies on the Valor and the Vista.  We will never do aft balcony again.  In both cases there was no air flow on the rear of the ship and it was hot too hot to stay out there for any length of time. Maybe in a cooler time of year it would be better.  On the Valor it was the first week of May and the Vista was mid September.

 

The only reason we did the aft balcony of Vista was because Carnival called us on our way to Galveston and offered us the upgrade over our booked interior.  We thought for the $350 at least we would have the balcony.

 

As for the vibration we liked that part of the Valor as it was like getting a massage while going to sleep.  The Vista did not have the vibration but she has Azipods and I do not think the Valor does but I could be wrong. Maybe the different propulsion methods are why one has the vibration and the other does not.

 

We love normal balconies but won't do aft again. 

[yogibear]

Love the Aft balconies on the Pride and the Legend. View is Perfect!  Some people complain about soot on the outside chairs but we have never had that problem. I did feel the vibration a little but that only makes me sleep better.

Only Con: Long walk to the elevators!   Would I book an Aft Balcony again: Yes!!!

 

Karen

[Lottacruises]

The view is great, the balcony is smaller than you think. 

[Jasalth]

On a good note, if you book 4232 aft extended I can say the neighbors on your left will be relatively quiet and nice! Then again it's technically MY 40th birthday bash also for this cruise, well it's about a week before it leaves 🙂 

 

While I can't give any other advise because this is our first aft balcony, I will say when we sailed in a 9A on the Legend (though 7th deck) we didn't notice much vibration or movement or anything, but it is up a little further. I could understand if a dozen rooms in between would make a difference though. 

[tandemcruzr]

We've done one aft balcony and won't do another one unless it's an aft wrap. As others have said, we experienced no breeze, limited shade and soot on the deck and deck furniture.

[DeesEscape]

We have an aft-wrap on our upcoming Valor cruise in December and the only reason I went for it was because it was an aft-wrap which will give us the option to either be out in not too hot weather but even if it is hot we have the overhang on the side to protect us and still allow enjoyment of the balcony. I will try to remember to comeback and report what it was like. 

[pamesacruisin]

We had an aft balcony on the Breeze.  We noticed some vibration, but the soot is what made us decide never again.  Our steward cleaned our balcony and chairs every day and we still couldn't sit out there or lean on the balcony.  I did enjoy the views though.

[lobster1313]

We had an aft balcony on the Miracle in July, we loved the cabin. There was no soot and the vibration was only noticable on night but it wasn't too bad.

[vms]

Loved our aft extended balcony on the Pride. Some vibration, mostly when docking or at sailaways. Biggest pro was running up one floor to the Lido for hot breakfast and bringing it back to have breakfast on the balcony. Way better than the free room service options. We also got TONS of steps on sea days going back and forth to the kid's club at the very front of the ship and heading to trivia which was forward of the casino. We didn't hear a lot of noise from above us, which I was nervous about since the pool are was right above us.

 

Cons: We were on deck 8, immediately under the adult pool area. There wasn't much shade due to no overhang above us. We had 2 days out of 7 where someone's stuff blew off the pool area and onto our balcony, including once when ship's officers came knocking to ask if they could search our balcony for the missing item.

 

I would get an aft extended balcony again in a heartbeat, but if possible, choose a lower deck where there might be more shade and less chance of disturbances from above.

[shellster1]

I'm surprised about all the not-so-impressed aft-extended balcony reviews. IMO, the only negative thing about booking an aft or especially the aft wrap is that you'll never want to go back to a regular balcony. I feel like the regular balconies are far too small and windy to really enjoy for an extended period of time, and the view isn't as impressive. 12 night cruise though, awesome! You'll have a great time no matter what you decide! :)

[marci4tony]

I would never book anything BUT an AFT balcony.  (When available)

The view - the wake, the sunsets, the stargazing - is unparalleled. The only time I ever had a soot issue was on an Aft-Wrap on Splendor (go figure)

The limited airflow could be an issue in the heat of the summer, I guess.

I am land locked - and in Idaho.  I will take the heat, and the view all day long!

:)

[Bluesgirl21]

My parents were once in an aft-extended balcony on the Magic (Deck 6).   One evening sitting out on their balcony, my mother was doused by water from above.  At first she thought that some rude passenger overhead had thrown it.  But later realized that it probably came from a worker vigorously squeegeeing water off the rear lido pool deck!  🤮

[TG6]

On 10/2/2019 at 1:43 PM, Xtentions said:

As for the vibration we liked that part of the Valor as it was like getting a massage while going to sleep. 

What deck were you on?  We are traveling on the Liberty. We'll be on deck 6.  I'm wondering how much vibration we will feel.

Thanks.

[Xtentions]

1 hour ago, TG6 said:

What deck were you on?  We are traveling on the Liberty. We'll be on deck 6.  I'm wondering how much vibration we will feel.

Thanks.

 

 

We were on seven 7449 as I recall

[JandPB]

It's hot back there. There is zero breeze. The view is amazing if you can stand the heat.