what is wrong with the rooms in the front of the ship?

This is maybe a silly question, but what is wrong with rooms in the front of the ship? I almost booked one, at the end didn't do it only because was in the second deck and I wanted a higher one. Sorry, but I'm new here and have tons of questions.

The front of the ship tends to be very rocky.

Like a teeter toter fore and aft locations could get more motion. Aft at least is more convenient to get to the dining room and to the buffet to me, so if only fore and aft choices, I choose aft.

I'm not 100% certain but the front of the ship can be loud and rocky. I had the 1st cabin on a hawaian cruise a few years ago; i had the worst sleep all 7 nights! We could hear the waves crashing all night; then when the ship would pull into port or position itself for tender we would hear all the loud noise of the ship mechanics in motion-not a fun cabin experience. Try to book higher up if you're gonna be in the front. Or stay towards the middle :)

OK, thanks. I did book higher and in the middle.

To elaborate on firefly's analogy, the center of mass of the ship is kind of like the pivot point of the teeter totter. The farther you get away from that point, the greater the relative motion. Since the for and aft cabins are the farthest away, they tend to experience the greatest motion.

Having said that, we have stayed pretty far forward (as in the hallway was angling in to the bow) and have not had any trouble. Unless you end up sailing through a fairly major storm [which is rare because the Captains are really pretty good about avoiding the truly bad weather) then it is not likely to be much of an issue.

This is maybe a silly question, but what is wrong with rooms in the front of the ship? I almost booked one, at the end didn't do it only because was in the second deck and I wanted a higher one. Sorry, but I'm new here and have tons of questions.

The front end slaps water.

We've only stayed all the way forward or aft. I guess we've been fortunate because I've never noticed the motion there any more then elsewhere on the ship. On the valor we could hear the anchor drop, and it did wake me the two times we were at a tender port. Fortunately on the AOS we were always at docking port.

Also, i find the sound of the waves soothing, not noisy, but I have spent quite a bit of time on a sailboat (could also be the reason I don't really notice the motion on a cruise ship).

On AoS I was on deck 8 alllll the way forward on the starboard side and it was great! I had no problem finding my room after a night of drinking... well, except for that night I got off the elevator on deck 7. :-P

There's nothing WRONG with the front of the ship, it just doesn't have anything really great to recommend it, so you don't hear it discussed around here.

Aft is convenient because the buffet and the pool are straight up the stairs or the elevator.

Far aft balconies, with their oversized spaces, are highly coveted as a great bang for the buck.

Mid-ship is prized by those who have trouble with seasickness and those who want to avoid walking long distances.

But forward cabins really have no strong positive points. I mean, have you ever heard anyone say, "I just have to be close to the spa!" Of course not.

This doesn't mean forward isn't good. I've stayed there, and it was just fine, BUT assuming the whole ship (and other cabins that appeal more strongly) was available, I wouldn't CHOOSE a cabin near the bow.

Being in a way forward cabin is not a good location IMO, especially not on a lower deck. Those cabins can be very noisy, especially coming into a harbour or sailing away and when the ship is not docked but using the dynamic positioning system. Most people think it´s the anchor chain causing a lot of noise, which is only part of the truth. THe anchor chain is noisy, but thre´s more noise coming from the bow thrusters which are used for getting docked and sailaway and throughout the entire day when not being docked.

Unfortunately RCCL does not have any true front balcony cabins which are absolutely the best. We were on another cruise line on a huge balcony dead center under the bridge facing the ocean. We were crossing the Atlantic heading towards the Mediterranean. It was grand watching us pull into ports with a bird’s eye view of what the captain was seeing. Leaving port also was just as good. I would do one of those cabins again in a heartbeat. The wind was a factor if you opened your hallway door and the door to the balcony on sea days as it created a wind tunnel effect. We had signals if someone was coming in from the balcony and the hallway door was opened at the same time! It was one of the best trips we have taken. So keep in mind for future cruises if you are on a ship with these balconies. Sorry it doesn’t help you here.

I have stayed in the aft balconies also, but not a true fan. Maybe didn’t have the right cabin.

I have not noticed too much movement if you are in an inside cabin near the front, in the middle. We have heard the noise of the anchor if you are at the very front low down as mentioned before.

We stayed in Voyager in an oceanview all the way up front facing forward located one deck under the bridge. There were no issues with motion or noise. It was very convenient to reach the spa/adults pool area. If you have children, I would recommend something further back closer to the main pool.

We really enjoyed our cruise and would book that cabin again.

Being in a way forward cabin is not a good location IMO, especially not on a lower deck. Those cabins can be very noisy, especially coming into a harbour or sailing away and when the ship is not docked but using the dynamic positioning system. Most people think it´s the anchor chain causing a lot of noise, which is only part of the truth. THe anchor chain is noisy, but thre´s more noise coming from the bow thrusters which are used for getting docked and sailaway and throughout the entire day when not being docked.

I was on deck 8 on AoS as far forward as possible and I never heard any noise during docking or maneuvering.

We stayed in Voyager in an oceanview all the way up front facing forward located one deck under the bridge. There were no issues with motion or noise. It was very convenient to reach the spa/adults pool area. If you have children, I would recommend something further back closer to the main pool.

 

We really enjoyed our cruise and would book that cabin again.

I always try to book a forward-facing cabin when available. On the last cruise that I had one, we sailed right into a rainbow!!!

The extra walking is not an issue for me (burns those desserts). I just plan some commute time. And it's absolutely silent under the bridge and away from stairs and elevators, except when they drop anchor.

I should probably be dissuading you, so I can always get a forward-facing cabin when the ship has them.:)

I'll be the contrarian. I like forward cabins, since RCI ships generally only have forward and midships elevators, and none aft, so those midship elevators get a lot of traffic. The forward elevators are a lot less crowded and faster.

Disclaimer-I am not prone to seasickness and actually like to feel the ship plowing the waves. Great for sleeping for me.

but thre´s more noise coming from the bow thrusters which are used for getting docked and sailaway and throughout the entire day when not being docked.

Amen to that. On the Enchantment cruise we just came off of, we took a chance on ocean view guarantee. Immediately upon booking, we were assigned to 2010. It was OK, but the "window" was two small portholes that were significantly recessed, so the room was dark. And during manuvering, the bow thrusters shook the room.