Royal class Mid or Aft PH?

[Matco]

Hello,

 

Trying to decide between an Aft-wrap Penthouse or a Mid-ship Penthouse on Discovery Princess for our upcoming Alaska trip. Both seem to have their pros and cons but looking for some comments and/or first hand experience with either. So far it seems the pros for the mid ship PH is close location to the lounge and better floor plan of the actual cabin with a covered balcony. Cons would be smaller balcony. Aft PH pros seem to be the obvious larger balcony and 180+ degree view. Cons would be far from the lounge, balcony over hang slim to none depending on cabin location, possible soot issues, lower decks have had complaints of cigarette smell coming from the crew smoking area below, concerns of privacy from cabins and/or decks above.

 

Thanks in advance! 

[reedprincess]

Aft for us, all the way

Love the split layout, makes the bedroom much more private and quiet.

Love the wrap-around balcony - very comfortable.  Haven't had soot issues on any - cabin steward has always been very proactive in cleaning it up, and the newer ships - Sky, Enchanted, Discovery, are much better than Royal or Regal..  

So a few extra steps to the lounge. Non-issue for me. With Ocean Now delivery, they'll bring drinks or food right to me.. .

[Matco]

Thank you! depending on the dates we choose I can either get D727 or C739 for the aft cabins

[I object 2]

If it's the two of us, we prefer the mid-ship suites close to the Concierge Lounge and laundromat.  When we travel with family (adult kids and grand-kiddos) we book aft suites for the larger balconies. Yes, there is a problem with soot and an uncovered balcony on Marina and Riviera deck, but being able to enjoy afternoon tea, cocktails or snacks with the fam on the balcony is wonderful.  We've also booked aft suites on Emerald deck and experienced smoke from the crew smoking area on deck 7.  We won't book that deck again.

[I object 2]

3 minutes ago, Matco said:

Thank you! depending on the dates we choose I can either get D727 or C739 for the aft cabins

D727 is a great choice.  Large wrap around balcony and it's partially covered.  We've stayed in that suite on the Discovery several times.

[u2harmony]

We do AFT only usually, Dolphin Deck is best if you can get it. D726 or 727 are amazing. Great decks. 

[Matco]

727 is available on our second choice of dates, other wise our options are B735 or C739, Baja deck and above seem to have the narrowest balconies so ideally if we choose aft we would try for deck 9 or 10. we usually always stay starboard side, although aft might not matter if we are port or starboard...

Edited August 20 by Matco

[paddingtonbear]

Some people are susceptible to seas sickness on a cruise especially if they experience rough weather. Aft and forward cabins will exaggerate the movement of the ship. 

[Matco]

I actually love being in stormy seas😆

[c-boy]

A benefit for some of being across from the concierge lounge, would be the morning latte & expresso shuffle.  I'm a nearly riser, I dawn my robe and slippers shuffle across the passageway to the lounge. Pretend I'm a barista, then shuffle back to our cabin and serve my wife latte in bed.  😉

[memoak]

Easy for us the wraparound balconies in aft PH suites win out. The mid ships are way too tiny balconies. We try to book aft on Riviera when we book Royal class so we can just walk down the hall for our early coffee

[DiRonT]

4 hours ago, Matco said:

Thank you! depending on the dates we choose I can either get D727 or C739 for the aft cabins

If you are going to go with aft ph, definitely Dolphin over Caribe - much larger balcony and some overhead protection.

[Matco]

Thanks for all the info!

[memoak]

17 minutes ago, DiRonT said:

If you are going to go with aft ph, definitely Dolphin over Caribe - much larger balcony and some overhead protection.

Except that you are a long way from the concierge lounge which is why we choose aft Riviera

[DiRonT]

52 minutes ago, memoak said:

Except that you are a long way from the concierge lounge which is why we choose aft Riviera

Agreed - but op said they had already decided on aft.

[memoak]

1 hour ago, DiRonT said:

Agreed - but op said they had already decided on aft.

Yes but Dolphin deck is 5 decks away from the lounge if I am not mistaken 

[startedwithamouse]

Riviera deck, mid-ship. You're steps away from the concierge lounge.

[Matco]

Haven't booked Aft or Mid yet still researching.. keep the ideas coming

[michelleg716]

I booked a PH Rivera near concierge, now thinking that an aft suite would be better for us with that huge balcony.  The Riviera afts are booked so I would book Dolphin. I know its far from the club room, but I can always order room service!

 

What worries me is the smoking, has anyone had issues on the Regal aft balconies?  Is soot a problem too?

[Mara4166]

Dolphin Aft wrap around.  Best balcony on the ship.  Partially covered and very large.  we do not use the concierge lounge much.

Edited August 21 by Mara4166

[latebloomer56]

We loved the aft on Regal R731. Yes it was a walk from concierge but very quiet and the balcony was huge. We were on a Baltic cruise and didn't have any rain to speak of so got lucky. The cabin was perfect as well.

[Matco]

Does being booked in a PH include the thermal spa pass? I've read that a suite guest gets it on grand class ships but I haven't seen anything about the Royal class

[reedprincess]

2 hours ago, Matco said:

Does being booked in a PH include the thermal spa pass? I've read that a suite guest gets it on grand class ships but I haven't seen anything about the Royal class

The Suite perks are very clear that the Thermal Suite is not included for Royal class ships (nor Sun, BTW)..

However, some ships, the HGM and Spa director have decided to gift it anyways - but it is not a perk of suites on Royal class ships..

 

See fine print at bottom...

https://1drv.ms/b/c/6542b8b2befbaca4/EaSs-76yuEIggGVvMAAAAAABCO03sIQuXsVBL1nypp0FIA

Edited August 22 by reedprincess

[voyager1964]

There might be an additional aspect not considered so far. In D726 on the Enchanted, 10-days Caribbean cruise, we experienced unusually strong vibrations, especially the first and last two nights. See my cabin review in the sticky post (also posted a cruise review here with some valuable updates from fellow cruisers)

[overlake7]

Have been in both. The aft has wonderful views but if you are bothered by any movement I’d go for midship location. There is almost constant very noticeable vibration in the aft cabin!