P&O cruise best position for balcony cabin

[alallallan]

For example, on Mediterranean cruise, could anyone recommended best postion on ship to choose a cabin for views at port & least motion at sea 

[Presto2]

6 minutes ago, alallallan said:

For example, on Mediterranean cruise, could anyone recommended best postion on ship to choose a cabin for views at port & least motion at sea 

Many moons ago we were on a Med. cruise and she almost always docked starboard side facing the port for some reason ... and got the sun most of the time.

Mid ships if you don't want it too boppy and low down. The higher up you are the more you will feel the ship move .. well that's what were told.  

Edited May 27 by Presto2

[david63]

It is pot luck as to which side will be best for views in port. Although the naming of one side of the ship is "port" for a good reason these days the ship can dock either side depending on the port, timings and tides.

 

If you are doing a round trip cruise then for the purposes of getting the sun on your balcony it will make little difference as you would get it one way or the other.

[tring]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

Many moons ago we were on a Med. cruise and she almost always docked starboard side facing the port for some reason ... and got the sun most of the time.

Mid ships if you don't want it too boppy and low down. The higher up you are the more you will feel the ship move .. well that's what were told.  

 

That is true, but better views may be better from a higher location.  Sea view cabins on the lower decks can be particularly vulnerable regards that.  Some years ago we were in a sea view cabin and found ourselves facing the side of the dock once or twice, as we were below the top of the keyside!  It can be interesting being able to see what is going on at the keyside, but I prefer to be higher up, so I can look down on it, rather than being visible to people who are on the keyside. With so many ships in the busier Med ports, which are generally the ones P&O visit, you can find yourself looking straight out at another ship.  All depends on the ports and which side of the ship is against the dock that day.

 

Overall, we would always go fairly mid ship for stability in bad seas, but also choose something about half way up as well, for convenience of getting around the ship, you can do a lot of walking .  All personal choice, but we also go for cabins above, below and to either side of possible to avoid the worst noise.  On the smaller ships though, many cabins are adjacent to public areas, so we always check what is by the cabin and only choose locations which should be relatively quiet.

 

Edited May 27 by tring

[Presto2]

Like you say personal choice but as the OP asked about lack of motion I thought best to go lower where there you feel the ship move less. Then again we were D deck on Ventura once and it was terrible ..... 

We always go aft so probably not the best people to comment on lack of motion in a ship 😉

[tring]

11 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

Like you say personal choice but as the OP asked about lack of motion I thought best to go lower where there you feel the ship move less. Then again we were D deck on Ventura once and it was terrible ..... 

We always go aft so probably not the best people to comment on lack of motion in a ship 😉

 

Midship does have less movement, but the back has less movement than the front, which is always the worst.  So mid fore can still be rocky.  Not sure there is that much difference top to bottom, but we do not travel on the big ships, so no personal experience of those, which will likely be a lot rockier up top.

 

I did agree with you, but the OP also asked about views, so that can conflict with best stability.

 

Edited May 27 by tring

[ScotchBoy]

Which ship are you considering? It can make a difference to recommendations. 

[cruise saint]

When we booked our very first cruise, the travel agent advised us to book a cabin as close to the middle of the ship as possible. It was good advice and something we've done ever since. (I should mention we always book a balcony cabin).  You get less movement and tend not to be too close to entertainment venues/bars etc. Our first cruise was on Britannia and our cabin was D411.  We have sailed on Britannia another three times and sailed in D411 twice more. The last time we sailed on her, D411 was already booked so we booked the cabin next door, D407.  It's about as central as you could get and I would certainly recommend it.  As for which side of the ship, I'm not sure it matters that much in the Med. However if doing a Fjords cruise, I would try to find out which way round the ship docks in Olden. Purely because we love the friendly sailaway there.

[Thejuggler]

Having had a GTY cabin two back from the bow on one cruise there is one significant advantage to midships higher up, over potential for less motion in rougher seas.
 

Far less disturbance when preparations for docking begin.  Chains being moved, motor noise, large doors being opened, crew calling to each other etc etc and this can start very early in the morning.

[terrierjohn]

21 hours ago, tring said:

 

Midship does have less movement, but the back has less movement than the front, which is always the worst.  So mid fore can still be rocky.  Not sure there is that much difference top to bottom, but we do not travel on the big ships, so no personal experience of those, which will likely be a lot rockier up top.

 

I did agree with you, but the OP also asked about views, so that can conflict with best stability.

 

But the back can suffer from juddering from the propellers, thrusters or azipods.

[alallallan]

3 hours ago, ScotchBoy said:

Which ship are you considering? It can make a difference to recommendations. 

The Arvia

[alallallan]

4 hours ago, ScotchBoy said:

Which ship are you considering? It can make a difference to recommendations. 

The Arvia

[waddle]

3 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

But the back can suffer from juddering from the propellers, thrusters or azipods.

Would agree with this from a cruise on Azura

 

Everything rattling and shaking when coming into port - not ideal at 6am some mornings 

[Presto2]

7 hours ago, waddle said:

 agree with this from a cruise on Azura

 

Everything rattling and shaking when coming into port - not ideal at 6am some mornings 

Nerrrr you just wake up, glad you have arrived and then go back to.sleep 

[doog442]

7 hours ago, waddle said:

Would agree with this from a cruise on Azura

 

Everything rattling and shaking when coming into port - not ideal at 6am some mornings 

 

I see the OP's on the Arvia. No such problems for us and we were in an aft cabin with tremendous views and a deeper balcony. We had no corridor noise at all and little movement despite heavy seas on a few days. Due to the cabin location we felt quite detached from the rest of the ship so have booked the same again. 

[bbtablet]

Just shows we are all different. I love being in a high up balcony and near the bow. Bad weather is very entertaining  and an extra thrill - I hate smooth cruises, day after day, and long for the rock and roll of a storm, especially at night. Trouble is, it sends me to sleep, which is very annoying!

Edited May 28 by bbtablet

[Josy1953]

We really are all different.  We choose aft cabins because they tend to be quieter than midships because there are less passengers passing by chatting when we are trying to sleep.  We both enjoy sitting on the balcony with a nice glass of wine watching the wake when we are at sea.  My sister is a midship person because she and her husband like to be where they think is a more stable position and my youngest sister chooses based on price because they don't spend much time in the cabin other than sleeping.

 

[Neecy1]

9 hours ago, waddle said:

Would agree with this from a cruise on Azura

 

Everything rattling and shaking when coming into port - not ideal at 6am some mornings 

Totally agree. Happened to us last year on Azura. Great cabin. But oh the vibration. Like being in a blender!

[tring]

12 hours ago, Neecy1 said:

Totally agree. Happened to us last year on Azura. Great cabin. But oh the vibration. Like being in a blender!

 

The vibration can often be worse low down at the back, but not so bad higher up in our experience (not from P&O ships admittedly).

[JeanieC,Aston]

High up mid or mid aft for me.

The worst balcony ever was low down up front where even with moderate swell meant the balcony got the spray from the bow wave.