Forward-facing suite

[alliecat44]

Hi all, 

 

So I managed to snag the (supposedly) last suite on the upcoming Spirit 16-day Hawaii to Alaska. I am trying not to freak myself out about the limitations of a forward-facing cabin (especially with six sea days and the potentially limited use of the balcony!), and instead trying to focus on the extra room and other “suite stuff.” 
 

Is there anyone out there who can reassure me that forward facing isn’t ALL bad?? I woukd really appreciate it!!! 
 

happy sailing! ❤️

[The Other Tom]

56 minutes ago, alliecat44 said:

potentially limited use of the balcony

why would you have limited use of the balcony?

[alliecat44]

30 minutes ago, The Other Tom said:

why would you have limited use of the balcony?

Because when the ship is moving, you’re not supposed to open the door to the balcony due to the strong winds. 

[NayRN]

I’ve sailed many times in a forward facing suite - and enjoyed it immensely! Most times the balcony is “sheltered” by the hull, making it useable when the ship is underway. I’ve sailed in Alaska on the Sun in a forward suite - and would do it again in a heartbeat! We also opened the door to the front balcony while underway….just keep in mind that your cabin door to the hallway shouldn’t be opened at the same time as this creates a wind tunnel.

 

The only downside to forward facing is you have to have your drapes closed at all times when it becomes dark so the bridge can navigate with night vision and your cabin lights would interfere.

 

Can it get windy? Absolutely! But when it got windy, we simply sat and the wind essentially blew over our heads. Everyone will have opinions - but don’t let the chance of wind bring you down!

Edited April 1, 2023 by NayRN
Typo

[BirdTravels]

23 minutes ago, alliecat44 said:

Because when the ship is moving, you’re not supposed to open the door to the balcony due to the strong winds. 

This is incorrect. 

 

We love forward facing suites, they are the absolute best rooms on the ship. 

 

The big thing is that the solid hull sweeps wind up and over your head when you are sitting and enjoying your balcony. Yes, If you stand right up at the rail, you will get the wind in your face.

 

You have full use of your balcony 24/7 during your cruise. And for Hawaii and Alaska, I could not pick a better room. 

 

 

Forward Facing Suite (not Spirit) to Alaska

 

Forward Facing Suite from Boston from Boston to Quebec - sailing up the St. Lawrence River

 

[amygutman]

💖 THIS IS WONDERFUL!!!!

Booked our 20th anniversary cruise on the Spirit Forward Facing Deluxe Penthouse 10005 for the Alaska to Hawaii route - the opposite leg of your planned trip. Seeing these images is just amazing, and cannot thank you enough. I'd love to see your own photos and review if you wouldn't mind sharing with the boards.

Having been on the Dawn in the DOS 10506, we an attest to the "vortex" that occurs when two door are opened at once then the cabin door is opened when underway (usually by a very startled and apologetic butler or room attendant). Literally every loose lightweight item gets tossed about. Got quite funny after the first few times. Could not beat having 2 balconies though - absolutely heaven. 

Have a great trip! Warmest, Amy

[GeezerCouple]

We agree with BirdTravels:

"We love forward facing suites, they are the absolute best rooms on the ship."

They are The Very Best!

 

We LOVE the views.  We prefer to see "where we are going", rather than "where we have been", or what is often just side views.  Those are great, but not as good as that precious forward view.

 

As for the lights, we tend to just keep our lights off and the curtains open, all night, rather than keeping the curtains closed.

 

GC

 

 

[alliecat44]

Thank you all for these posts!!! I am feeling super excited again!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 

 

Amy, tgat trip sounds fantastic!! We are in the regular forward facing suite, not the deluxe, so we have the one long shallow/narrow balcony. 🙂 

[GeezerCouple]

3 minutes ago, amygutman said:

💖 THIS IS WONDERFUL!!!!

...

Having been on the Dawn in the DOS 10506, we an attest to the "vortex" that occurs when two door are opened at once then the cabin door is opened when underway (usually by a very startled and apologetic butler or room attendant). Literally every loose lightweight item gets tossed about. Got quite funny after the first few times. Could not beat having 2 balconies though - absolutely heaven. 

Have a great trip! Warmest, Amy

The Deluxe Owners Suites on the Dawn are not the ones with the two balconies.  

Those are OS (regular Owners Suites, although there's nothing "plain and regular" about those, either!).

The DOS on the Dawn have huge forward windows, but no balconies (alas).

 

I'm mentioning this so no one reads the post and decides to get a Dawn DOS to have those two balconies.

GC

[BirdTravels]

18 minutes ago, amygutman said:

Having been on the Dawn in the DOS 10506, we an attest to the "vortex" that occurs when two door are opened at once then the cabin door is opened when underway (usually by a very startled and apologetic butler or room attendant). Literally every loose lightweight item gets tossed about. Got quite funny after the first few times. Could not beat having 2 balconies though - absolutely heaven. 

Yeah, if we're out on the balcony for a while, we always close the bulkhead door,,, just in case someone opens the cabin door. 

[The Other Tom]

2 hours ago, alliecat44 said:

Because when the ship is moving, you’re not supposed to open the door to the balcony due to the strong winds. 

The ship's movement doesn't create winds strong enough to close the balcony doors.

I've been on ships that sailed through strong (like 75mph) winds.  ALL outside doors were closed.  It doesn't matter what room you have under those conditions...you're not going to use any balcony.  

Edited April 1, 2023 by The Other Tom

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, alliecat44 said:

Because when the ship is moving, you’re not supposed to open the door to the balcony due to the strong winds. 

 

It's not true that you aren't "supposed to open the door" when the ship is underway.  

 

2 hours ago, NayRN said:

The only downside to forward facing is you have to have your drapes closed at all times when it becomes dark so the bridge can navigate with night vision and your cabin lights would interfere.

 

Imho, there's no downside here.  Once it's dark, having your drapes open when your cabin lights are on gives you no outside view, just reflections on the glass. And if you have your cabin lights off, there's no problem opening your drapes.

 

In fact, the darkness on the bow is a huge UPSIDE of forward-facing balconies, since it makes for great stargazing (weather permitting of course).  A few years ago, we even saw the Southern Cross in the Northern Hemisphere in the wee hours before dawn, as we neared the Panama Canal.

------

 

Handheld cell phone photo, from our forward-facing balcony on the Gem a couple of months ago (and even better in person)

 

 

 

[alliecat44]

Loving these replies—and the pictures!! 🥰🥰🥰 There really seems to be a paucity of information on what it’s really like in forward-facing cabins. Even on CC, only a few threads came up in a search! 
 

I remember seeing a couple of different photos of warning signs saying not to open the balcony door when the ship is underway (can’t remember if on CC threads or cabin reviews). 
it’s good to know that’s not necessarily the case!!! 
 

For all who are searching this topic in the future, I hope this thread is helpful—and that the posts keep coming!! Thank you, all! 

[SEA DOGY]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

We agree with BirdTravels:

"We love forward facing suites, they are the absolute best rooms on the ship."

They are The Very Best!

 

We LOVE the views.  We prefer to see "where we are going", rather than "where we have been", or what is often just side views.  Those are great, but not as good as that precious forward view.

 

As for the lights, we tend to just keep our lights off and the curtains open, all night, rather than keeping the curtains closed.

 

GC

 

 

Oh really? I’m thinking changing ours AFT  penthouse for F facing penthouse and is much cheaper too

Should we ?

[GeezerCouple]

1 minute ago, SEA DOGY said:

Oh really? I’m thinking changing ours AFT  penthouse for F facing penthouse and is much cheaper too

Should we ?

 

Your choice is a less expensive F PH vs. a more expensive Aft PH?

NO contest, in our minds!! 😉

However, I know (from reading, not personal experience) that some people prefer/enjoy an Aft cabin/suite, and some report enjoying watching the wake.

We prefer "looking ahead!", but again, that's personal preference.

About the wind... the real problem with an F facing balcony door is >> if the interior door to the hallway is also open.  Then you'd really have a wind tunnel effect, and probably a pretty bad wind tunnel.

IF the interior door to hallway is closed, there's still some air that will escape and there might be a small "tunnel effect", but it's nothing like if that door is open.  We've never noticed any "tunnel" problem when opening a forward balcony door when the interior door was closed, but that may also be due to the speed of the ship relative to wind speed.

 

The one time we had a nice large aft suite, we usually went to a forward observation lounge, but that's just us.

 

That's why there are choices! 🍷

 

GC

[davencl]

We were in that room on the Spirit sailing around Aus/New Zealand in January.  We really liked it.  No issue opening the bulkhead door when underway.   Was a unique experience for us.  No requirement to close the curtains at night.  That is true on some ships but not the Spirit.   I don't know why it's not needed on the Spirit.

[wncretired]

2 hours ago, SEA DOGY said:

Oh really? I’m thinking changing ours AFT  penthouse for F facing penthouse and is much cheaper too

Should we ?

FWIW

I much prefer the Aft cabins. Very little wind, chill out and watch the wake! 
Especially on “sea days”, the view is the same, no matter where you are on the ship! 

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, alliecat44 said:

I remember seeing a couple of different photos of warning signs saying not to open the balcony door when the ship is underway (can’t remember if on CC threads or cabin reviews). 
it’s good to know that’s not necessarily the case!!! 

You are 100% correct wrt the standard warning label on the door. But, in reality, you are able to use your balcony 24/7, if you are careful. We have stayed in these rooms many times and the crew will tell you that there are no restrictions on using your balcony while the ship is underway. As stated above, if you open the bulkhead door and the stateroom door at the same time, there will be a wind tunnel. Either door could slam shut injuring someone if they were not expecting it. 

 

If you have your bulkhead (balcony) door open, there is a latch to hold it open. We normally close the bulkhead door when we are outside just in case the butler or stateroom steward happens to come in. 

 

Behind the "pretty" wooden door.... 

 

... is a watertight bulkhead door. If you are in and out, the door handle/latch is sufficient. When we are out, we dog it down with the big handle. 

 

[gotscrapz]

I have sailed on the Bliss forward-facing penthouse Haven suite we loved it. The balcony is smaller than other Haven rooms but we liked being outside of the Haven, having a nice large soaking tub and the spa shower, and having a nice living room an also loved the unobstructed views from the front. It was amazing coming up through Canada and under a few bridges. I hope you love it too!

[gotscrapz]

I should add that my balcony was a regular glass sliding balcony door and did not have a giant warning on it lol. We did need to close the curtain at night for the bridge.

[latebloomer56]

10 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

It's not true that you aren't "supposed to open the door" when the ship is underway.  

 

 

Imho, there's no downside here.  Once it's dark, having your drapes open when your cabin lights are on gives you no outside view, just reflections on the glass. And if you have your cabin lights off, there's no problem opening your drapes.

 

In fact, the darkness on the bow is a huge UPSIDE of forward-facing balconies, since it makes for great stargazing (weather permitting of course).  A few years ago, we even saw the Southern Cross in the Northern Hemisphere in the wee hours before dawn, as we neared the Panama Canal.

------

 

Handheld cell phone photo, from our forward-facing balcony on the Gem a couple of months ago (and even better in person)

 

 

 

Now I want to book a forward facing suite. I love sitting out at night after a long day. Have a hot tea sit and unwind before bed, so peaceful. On the side balconies some folks leave the light on all night 🙁.

Thank you so much everybody.

[RocketMan275]

12 hours ago, SEA DOGY said:

Oh really? I’m thinking changing ours AFT  penthouse for F facing penthouse and is much cheaper too

Should we ?

When we were on Breakaway March 2022, we had a DLOS w/large balcony.  The balcony was simply and completely unuseable when the ship was underway due to the wind.  In fact, twice during this cruise (Western Caribbean) the crew actually lashed all the balcony furnisher together in one giant pile to prevent the wind from blowing it overboard.  We will never again book a forward facing balcony.

 

We just completed another Breakaway cruise, this time in an aft facing penthouse.  Much better, much larger balcony, no wind, plenty of shade.

[Sea saw 56]

We sailed in the Spirit Forward Facing Deluxe Penthouse with Large Balcony last September for 10 days Alaska.  These Penthouse suites are on the Starboard and Port outside corners.  We were in 10502.  It has 2 balconies, one narrow but long on the front of the ship, one off the master bedroom (port side of ship).

To access the front balcony you walk through a regular door into a small vestibule that houses the bulkhead door.  We were able to get the room steward to bring in a pool lounger, we sat on it wrapped in deck blankets up in the glacier areas.  The side balcony was small but had 2 chairs and a table.

This suite had 1-1/2 bathrooms and the bedroom was separated from the living/dining area.

It was a great suite for sailing Alaska.

Edited April 2, 2023 by Sea saw 56

[SEA DOGY]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

When we were on Breakaway March 2022, we had a DLOS w/large balcony.  The balcony was simply and completely unuseable when the ship was underway due to the wind.  In fact, twice during this cruise (Western Caribbean) the crew actually lashed all the balcony furnisher together in one giant pile to prevent the wind from blowing it overboard.  We will never again book a forward facing balcony.

 

We just completed another Breakaway cruise, this time in an aft facing penthouse.  Much better, much larger balcony, no wind, plenty of shade.

Glad to hear that

[coscab]

We normally book aft facing suites or just regular aft balcony cabins but we booked a forward facing suite on the Spirit and were able to use the front facing balcony and the side facing balcony, wind was  not bad when sitting. 

That was one of our all time favorite cabins, loved the huge bathroom and 1/2 bath at entrance as we were sailing with another couple and they would come over to our cabin a lot.  Teo was our butler, it was a while ago so he is probably not there anymore but he was exceptional.