Help me please ~ Aloha or Caribe balcony?

[scitchr]

We are booked on The Diamond/Alaska in a mid-ship BB balcony on the Aloha deck. We took this because wanted a private, covered balcony. Since booking, I have learned (from this board~thx!) that the Caribe deck has partially covered balconies that are larger. I have seen some pictures on Webshots, but it is hard to make out the covered part of the Caribe balcony.

 

Does one use the uncovered part in a colder Alaskan cruise? The BB's on the Caribe are not mid-ship. This is our first cruise and I have read about mid-ship having less movement.

 

Which is the better choice? :confused: Thanks in advance!

[PescadoAmarillo]

I personally like to opt for the smaller, but fully covered balconies on the Aloha Deck. Others will feel differently, of course. But we particularly like the back of Aloha Deck. There are doors leading from the end of the corridors to the entire back of the ship...Terrace Deck, Terrace Pool, Splash Pool, Horizon Court, hot tubs, Skywalkers, etc.

 

However, the Caribe Deck will offer unlimited views upwards of the mountain scenery, and that might be very nice too. But, unless the ship is immediately next to land, you'll see the same thing from the Aloha Deck balconies.

[texastravelers]

Hi, there! I don't know about Aloha, but we were on the Caribe deck on the Sapphire (Alaska), which I believe is identical in layout. During the rainy times (which happened a lot on this cruise!) we just kept the chairs under the cover and sat in them. I loved having both covered and uncovered. We often were the only ones out on the deck because the rain & cool weather scared the rest of them off. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to stay out and look at the stars. I think that either way you go, you should be happy as long as you have a 1/2 covered or fully covered balcony.

You probably won't notice the motion of the ship much at all because the ship is so huge, but if you are prone to seasickness, you might want to stick to your midship room. Have fun on your first cruise, but be prepared to get addicted!

[judynorth]

We were on the Diamond mid-ships on the Aloha deck on our first Alaska cruise. It was a great location and the covered balcony is great for viewing the scenery if it is rainy and you don't want to be up on deck. Since you won't be sunning on the balcony, I don't think the smaller balcony will be a problem. We had 4 people on ours when we were in Tracy Arm and it was fine. We didn't really spend time sitting on the balcony since it was rather cold and windy when the ship was moving. I have pictures of the Diamond in my picture link below.

[Colo Cruiser]

Caribe deck for sure. :)

[scitchr]

Thanks for the input...keep it coming, too. I love your photos, Judy!:)

[judynorth]

Thanks for the input...keep it coming, too. I love your photos, Judy!:)

 

Thanks. And you will love Alaska, I promise!

[Princess Patches]

I would choose the Caribe deck balcony because it is twice as large the Aloha deck balcony. The covered areas on the Caribe and Aloha decks are the same size. The uncovered area on the Caribe deck is additional balcony space you don't get on the Aloha deck. The Aloha deck is also beneath the Lido deck which can be noisy. I prefer a cabin that is not underneath (or above) a public room. Finally, you have room for two chaise loungers on the Caribe deck (just ask your steward to bring you some) and you only have room for two upright chairs on the Aloha deck.

 

There is less movement midship but you will only notice it if the sea gets choppy. Otherwise you don't really notice it. I would pick Caribe aft over forward because there is easier access to the dining rooms and the buffet from the aft elevators.

 

I was on the Sapphire to Alaska two years ago and it was great. You will love your trip.

[joanne1]

My husband has always insisted on Caribe deck, back part of the ship for warm weather cruises (until this last cruise in July to Alaska) for a couple of reasons:

- he loves having the big deck to have company over for drinks before supper

- extra space for a lounger, so he can lie either in the sun or shade with no interruptions

- back of the ship because people (children :) ) will not be running back and forth between elevators and stair sets - never noticed extra movement

 

On our last cruise (in Alaska) we were on Aloha deck and we didn't get the extra noise from above, mainly because it was raining almost the entire time :D , and there were no deck chairs being shuffled around (have heard this is a big problem in the warmer climates). Also, because of the colder weather we didn't sit out on the deck for drinks, etc.

 

Really you can't predict the weather so I would choose on what you feel comfortable with . . . we would go with Caribe but I really don't think that for Alaska it is going to be that big of a difference.