Prima/Viva Forward Facing Club Balcony's. Any experiences?

[Panhandle Couple]

We are looking at 2 different cruise, 1 Prima, 1 Viva for 2024.

The FF club balcony is pricier, but only 2 per deck, and looks very interesting.  We understand wind can be a problem, especially on higher decks. 

But it seems like this is a unique room.

 

Can anyone who has sailed in those rooms provide comments an thoughts?  Positive or negative?

Room size?  Balcony size?

TIA

 

Edit: 1 is southern Caribbean (11 days), the other is trans-Atlantic (16 days).

 

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by Panhandle Couple

[mking8288]

Have a look at this youtube - 

 

 

On our recent Prima TA, fellow CC'ers that organized the Meet & Greet stayed in one of these (theirs on Deck 9) said it was nice as far as balcony size, windy at times as it was doing TA and they didn't like the tinting on the plastic shield/plexiglass.  Inside, the room is more squarish compared to a regular balcony, there's 2 extra shelf w doors integrated into the (longer) desk next to the mini-refrigerator.  Coffee table is nice, not sure if the smaller round table came from the outside (balcony).  Bath is nice but IMHO, the regular Prima/Viva bathroom is spacious enough, including the shower area - much improved over the *Away ships.   Wish NCL would give us a real chair with a high back to sit instead of that stool.  

 

For the Caribbean with warm weather, this is good but not sure if it's worth the extra for a TA, depending on the months & routing - rough seas & weather would render the big balcony nearly useless.   We would booked a mid-ship regular balcony on a TA with these ships.  

[Panhandle Couple]

Thanks!

This is the extra large room (11706 or 11106) , but it does show the depth of the balcony.  We are looking at 11700 or 11100, the two in the middle, which appear to be the same width as std rooms, and maybe a bit deeper.  Hard to tell from the on-line deck plans.

If all the showers have the foot rest for leg shaving bar, my wife will be very happy.

 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Panhandle Couple said:

We are looking at 2 different cruise, 1 Prima, 1 Viva for 2024.

The FF club balcony is pricier, but only 2 per deck, and looks very interesting.  We understand wind can be a problem, especially on higher decks. 

But it seems like this is a unique room.

 

Can anyone who has sailed in those rooms provide comments an thoughts?  Positive or negative?

Room size?  Balcony size?

TIA

 

Edit: 1 is southern Caribbean (11 days), the other is trans-Atlantic (16 days).

 

 

We stayed in one. Deck 12 I think. 
 

On small ships, we consider the forward facing suites the absolute best rooms on the ship. On the Prima, I gave it a B- primarily for the wind. Before you start cutting, we have stayed in many forward facing rooms. The hull design on the Prima does not defect enough wind up and over your head like other NCL ships. On the M2s there is no shield. 
 

From various photos and videos, I have concluded that the shape of the room varies by deck. Our room was a different shape from the video above which was different than the ones in some other videos. 

[PATRLR]

I just stayed in 11106 which is on the corner so different from what you are looking at. But what is the same is that solid steel railing which means you don’t see anything but sky when sitting down. Also the same, I assume, is wind. When underway it was windy when standing. When sitting the steel rail did a good job deflecting. 
 

So long as I mentioned it, 11106 and 11706 are great rooms size wise. I’d stay again if I do Prima or Viva again. They would be perfect for three people with its pull out couch. Could leave it pulled out and still have loads of room. 

[UKstages]

i passed on this room type on the prima because the decorative panels on the front of the balcony block your view when seated. based on the video above, it appears to be the same on the viva. so, they don't block the wind sufficiently, but they do a great job of blocking your view.