Panorama Aft Havana Balcony - I Would Not Book Again

[pppiglet]

We were in 7461 and my sister was in 7465 and the soot falling on the aft balconies was so bad we hardly used it.  They cleaned it the day before we had to get off the ship and by that night it was dirty again.  The room steward would clean the table only daily.  

 

I went out barefoot and had to get in the shower to scrub my feet and we could never go out without putting shoes on first. The balcony was moist most of the time and even if you wore shoes, you would track the dirt back into the room.

 

The chairs and railing were never wiped down, so if you book one of these rooms, do not lean on the railing or sit on the chairs without wiping them off first. 

 

 

 

[csm5986142]

I agree - we tried an aft facing balcony once (but we were on Miracle).  Between the soot and the vibrations we will never book one again.

Edited April 16, 2023 by csm5986142

[SRQbeachgirl]

We didn't have any soot on our Mardi Gras aft balcony, but the heat and lack of breeze was so unbearable we said we'd never book another one.

[pppiglet]

We had dreamed of having an aft balcony for years so it was really a let down.  We didn't have any vibrations so that wasn't a problem.  We'll book a port or starboard balcony going forward.  

 

The day they actually hosed down the deck, they took the hose and bucket through my sister's room.  She wasn't very happy about that. 

[kelkel2]

I can completely agree with that. We’ve had an aft balcony on Princess and on the Breeze. I loved the view, but the soot was already terrible. I feel like it just comes with the territory and I don’t know if there’s much that can be done about it other than them clean the balcony daily. 

[yamsi12]

Not what I wanted to read, my wife and I have an aft Havana balcony room 7454 in 13 days onboard the Panorama. Hopefully its not too bad.

[Pellaz]

Soot from the ship's funnel can occur on any outside exposed surface; it all depends on which direction the apparent wind across the deck is blowing for the duration of your cruise.  

We've had several aft balconies on cruises and had no problem with soot at all...whereas on our Horizon cruise last year, we had some soot on our Havana "cabana" patio which was not directly aft at all.  

[pe4all]

We had Havana aft corner wrap on Horizon - no soot.  

[lazydayz]

When we had the aft extended Havana cabin on the Horizon, we did not have any soot on the balcony.  Guess we got lucky! 

[cruisinfamily7609]

I think it’s just a matter of preference. We cruised in an aft cabin once on RCI, probably *winces* in September of 2004 (time flies I guess) and yes - we found it to be a little dirty with soot. Honestly - we didn’t use the space, so we haven’t booked it again. That said, I know MANY cruisers who love them and don’t mind paying the extra for them.  (back when we cruised in one, they weren’t really much extra. I want to say ours was a mini-suite, but it was so long ago now, I can’t swear to it) The soot probably depends on where you’re cruising, the wind and weather, and that sort of thing. 

[Squirreladd]

21 hours ago, SRQbeachgirl said:

We didn't have any soot on our Mardi Gras aft balcony, but the heat and lack of breeze was so unbearable we said we'd never book another one.

That's an excel ship, it's LNG so soot shouldn't be produced by its engines. 

[FastShip24]

Been on aft balconies and never had a soot problem.

[pppiglet]

I had read just after I booked that it was a problem on the Panorama and I just crossed my fingers and hoped it wouldn't be an issue on ours, but it was unfortunately.  We did have a great cruise still. 

[glslipper]

Is the soot bad at the Havana pool area too?

[weezal]

18 minutes ago, glslipper said:

Is the soot bad at the Havana pool area too?

Yes, unfortunately

[glslipper]

1 hour ago, weezal said:

Yes, unfortunately

That's really a shame considering they're selling these cabins at a premium price

[weezal]

5 minutes ago, glslipper said:

That's really a shame considering they're selling these cabins at a premium price

it's not at all hours, and not every day, but when it does occur, it's quite annoying.

[glslipper]

10 minutes ago, weezal said:

it's not at all hours, and not every day, but when it does occur, it's quite annoying.

Good to know.  We'll just check before we use it

[teaach02]

21 hours ago, FastShip24 said:

Been on aft balconies and never had a soot problem.

We have had 6 aft balconies over the years and no soot ever. 

Edited April 18, 2023 by teaach02
spelling

[pppiglet]

7 hours ago, teaach02 said:

We have had 6 aft balconies over the years and no soot ever. 

 

But were they on the Panorama?  This ship is the one that seems to have to worst problem with it.  

At least in the Havana area they cleaned it up all day long. 

[ashkir]

My parents had one on their last trip. Guest services refunded 25% for the issue. 

[dallasdan]

On our cruise last May on the Panorama one of the days leaving either Cabo or Puerto Vallarta when the sail away started there was soot in the Havana area.  They spent the next several hours cleaning it up.  Only happened one day. 

[marci4tony]

I have had many afts and aft wrap balconies over the years - (at least 5) - and never even seen any soot.  The lack of air flow, and in the direct sun - yes.  But no soot.  Dream, Legend, Vista, Liberty, Splendor.  There must be other factors than just being an Aft Cabin.

[gotscrapz]

On 4/18/2023 at 10:53 AM, weezal said:

Yes, unfortunately

It was not on the Vista when I had an aft Havana balcony many years ago when she was new.

 

 

[bbushey123]

We are on the Panorama right now.

We have an extended aft Havana balcony(7459). There is soot on the furniture each day, that is true.

Out room steward provided an extra towel and it takes about a minute and a half to wipe down the chairs, table and railing.

It is a great location. If you don't mind a minute or two of extra effort, it is well worth it!