Aft cabin selection-Liberty of Seas

I admit we are aft cabin snobs. We have loved Princess and Carnivals aft cabins so much! Looking at the Liberty of the Seas, I am not so sure that I will like the metal obstruction of the back of the ship, which is making me hesitant about booking. The aft cabins that are open are 1702, 7708, 9404, 9402. For you all that have stayed in these cabins, which should I pick.

How is staying in an aft cabin on RCCL compared to Princess and Carnival's aft cabins?

I haven't had an AFT stateroom on a Freedom/Voyager Class ship, but I understand they are very nice. In my opinion, nothing is better than AFT Radiance Class staterooms.

BTW, I couldn't find cabin 9402 on the deck plans??

We recently cruise on LOS and had JS 7414. Our friends were in 6710, which is directly below 7708 and they enjoyed it very much. We loved our location and we were directly above the Presidential suite. I think it's a great location and you would be fine there. I think that either 7708 or the 9404/9406 would be fine for you.

I have cruised on voyager in an aft cabin and loved. I recently cruised on freedom in a regular side cabin and loved it. if the back cabins are anything like the voyagers, it's amazing. Only one little thing. The back balconies get covered in soot. But RCI did a great job in cleaning it everyday. So everyday after gettin g back from a exhusting day, we a spotless balcony to relax on. And don't leave your door open to the balcony. The magical little soot will find it's way in. But RCI will clean it and leave a huge puddle of soapy water behind. I've never sailed on princess or carnival,but if the aft rooms are the same, you will surely love them!!! Happy cruising in aft balcony (which is huge!!!!!):)

We recently cruise on LOS and had JS 7414. Our friends were in 6710, which is directly below 7708 and they enjoyed it very much. We loved our location and we were directly above the Presidential suite. I think it's a great location and you would be fine there. I think that either 7708 or the 9404/9406 would be fine for you.

NJMOMof2,

I'll be on the FOS on the 1/20/08 sailing in room 7414 (with friends in 7714 and 7412)

How did you like the room and balcony? Can you open the balcony dividers to have one huge balcony? (We did this on Carnival ships). One of my friends is a first time cruiser and this is everyone’s first JS. I always had regular balcony rooms.

Do you have pics?

BTW, I'm also from NJ!

We were on 8712 a few weeks back now. The obstruction is really on that deck, you can see by it and all and we really enjoyed ourselves :)

I think you would prefer deck 9 because it is higher up and no one but deck 10 looks down on you.

The 2 rooms next to the Presidential suite as we noticed, had water running down on their balconies from that metal piece.

I think we are aft snobs now as well :D

Anyone know what 1402 is like???

Anyone know what 1402 is like???

In my opinion, 1402 is the premier choice of the cabins listed in the original post! It is a huge balcony with a terrific view! The cabin itself is large too. I would book it in a heartbeat!

NJMOMof2,

 

I'll be on the FOS on the 1/20/08 sailing in room 7414 (with friends in 7714 and 7412)

 

How did you like the room and balcony? Can you open the balcony dividers to have one huge balcony? (We did this on Carnival ships). One of my friends is a first time cruiser and this is everyone’s first JS. I always had regular balcony rooms.

 

Do you have pics?

 

BTW, I'm also from NJ!

Sadly, I don't have pics (have no idea why I didn't take them but perhaps the excitement of being in a JS and the kids first real time on a ship and all) but we loved this cabin. You have to remember that it really is totally AFT so you have to walk to it from everywhere, but since you eat so much, walking is a good thing! The balcony is huge and has 3 chairs and a table on it and still has room. Since we weren't travelling w/ anyone I can't answer your question about the dividers but perhaps someone else might know. There is plenty of room and even with all of our stuff, there was still room to move around and having the tub/shower combo makes things easier (I thought my 5 yo wouldn't use the shower since he didn't like them but with the hand held sprayer he was able to stand in the tub and take one and now loves them). The closet is huge and held so much of our stuff plus the suitcases as well. And the view off the back of the ship is very relaxing.

One thing to remember is that about 2 decks below you jutting out from the back of the ship is what appears to be a crew relaxation area (just below on deck 6 is the Presidential Suite). So before you walk to the sliding doors or out onto the balcony in something that might be too revealing, give a little peek out of the curtain to be sure there isn't someone sitting out there looking up at you. The Presidential suite can't look in when you're standing at the doors but this crew area can so just a word of caution. Other than that, it was terrific. I think you all will love it.

I'll ask DH if he took any of the cabin that I don't know about and if so I'll post here.

Thanks for the heads up NJMOMof2!!!!!!!!!

Does anyone have pics of 1402 or 1702?

In my opinion, 1402 is the premier choice of the cabins listed in the original post! It is a huge balcony with a terrific view! The cabin itself is large too. I would book it in a heartbeat!

Bonnie- would you pick 1402 over 7708? Is 1402 balcony covered partially or totally. Is 1404 is as good as 1402?

I will be on the FOS in April with cabins 1404 and 1406. Please tell me if these are good rooms and does the balcony open up together. We have never been in the aft. and we are a little worried about looking down at other cabins and not the water. I sure hope we will enjoy it as much as the side balcony cabins. Bonnie you are so awesome with all your expertise with the aft cabins. Thank you so much, Janna

I will be on the FOS in April with cabins 1404 and 1406. Please tell me if these are good rooms and does the balcony open up together. We have never been in the aft. and we are a little worried about looking down at other cabins and not the water. I sure hope we will enjoy it as much as the side balcony cabins. Bonnie you are so awesome with all your expertise with the aft cabins. Thank you so much, Janna

I think that unless you are planning on standing at the railing the entire time, most of your time on the balcony will be spent sitting in one of the chairs, gazing out at the water churning in the wake of the ship. We loved it and it was wonderful. I would do an aft again anytime. That is not to say that port or starboard are not as nice but we loved the aft cabin.

The pictures in this album will give you a general idea of the view from the aft cabins. We had cabin 1706 on the Liberty.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/561571790mpkpVr

Dotsie

Bonnie- would you pick 1402 over 7708? Is 1402 balcony covered partially or totally. Is 1404 is as good as 1402?

Yes, I personally would choose 1402 over 7708. The reason for this being that we often travel with our teenaged son and 1402 has a much larger cabin than 7708 and the third bed in 1402 is the queen-sized sofa bed versus the drop-down twin bunk over the head of the regular beds in 7708. 7708 has a larger balcony, but 1402's balcony is still HUGE and the view is terrific. 1402 is pretty much completely covered but does have sun at times depending on the direction travelled and time of day.

I will be on the FOS in April with cabins 1404 and 1406. Please tell me if these are good rooms and does the balcony open up together. We have never been in the aft. and we are a little worried about looking down at other cabins and not the water. I sure hope we will enjoy it as much as the side balcony cabins. Bonnie you are so awesome with all your expertise with the aft cabins. Thank you so much, Janna

These are great cabins and they are connected by a door inside the cabin but you can NOT open the divider between the balconies. I agree completely with njmomof2 in stating that most of the viewing I do off the balcony is done relaxing from the lounge chairs and not from standing at the railing. The view from the loungechairs is spectacular in my opinion! Also, even when standing at the railing, I am looking OUT not down, so I really don't pay much attention to anyone standing at the railing below me unless I am communicating directly with them. I've met some really nice folks at those railings though! :D I have never considered that tiered configuration of the aft balconies to be a problem.

Thank you again Bonnie, you are very helpful. Janna

We had 7408 (same as 7708 opposite side) and love it. It is the largest of the aft balconies, aside from the presidential suite. Unless I had more than two people, I would choose that over 1402. But I would never have more than two people in any cabin. The balcony in that cabin is amazing. You can see our pics here.

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554911413BnABIz

We had 7408 (same as 7708 opposite side) and love it. It is the largest of the aft balconies, aside from the presidential suite. Unless I had more than two people, I would choose that over 1402. But I would never have more than two people in any cabin. The balcony in that cabin is amazing. You can see our pics here.

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554911413BnABIz

Great pictures, thanks! My husband was asking me about how much privacy you had with 7408. Can deck 6 look up into your balcony? How about deck 8 looking down?

Unless you are standing at the edge of the balcony, no one can see you from above or below. Plenty of privacy.

:) Hi everyone... this is my first post on this forum.

I have a couple of questions for you guys, and from what I can see Bonnie is the expert here :-)

Well, here is my dilemma... I’m getting married (no, that's not the dilemma - hehe) and for our honeymoon we're going on the new Independence of the Seas. I've booked the cabin 8712 because I heard the aft is the best. But I heard from someone that you don't get a lot of privacy because of the decks above and that the view is somewhat obstructed. Can anyone tell what's obstructing the view?

I'm sorry, but I have one more question... what's better, cabin 9404 (corner aft) or 8712 (middle of aft)?

Thanks a lot :-)

Beto

Beto, welcome to Cruise Critic and congratulations on the upcoming event!

Someone will get back to you about the specific cabin, but here's a link (from above) that will give you a clue to the obstruction. Just look at the picture that shows the back of the Freedom (a twin to the Independence).

http://travel.webshots.com/album/554911413BnABIz

My first Freedom class aft is coming up on my 2/09 Independence cruise, so I do not yet have personal experience. However, I am a diehard aft balcony lover and would imagine that nothing would bother my view of the wake. Our tablemates on our recent Radiance cruise handpicked your cabin for their first Independence cruise.

P.S. I think Bonnie is cruising right now.

thanks vicki

i think we're going to be on the same cruise :-)

yeah, i saw the picture... so even with all that stuff in front of you, the view is better that a side balcony view?

thanks again,

beto

Wonderful! Here's the link to our Meet & Mingle Thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=649483

Not much going on yet, but we are chatting some. Come join the roll call and sign up for the Meet & Mingle. It's a free party from Royal Caribbean when 25 Cruise Critic passengers sign up.

I just love the peaceful feeling of watching the wake. I also love being aft because it is usually so much quieter. If you were to keep 8712, you'd just have the folks in the middle cabin next to you walking by. (Obviously, if you are on the same cruise, my former tablemates must be in 8412 - I knew it was close. They were super nice Canadians, so you'll have good company on the back hall.)

We are booked in corner aft 1700. It will be my fourth corner, but will not really have the wraparound view that some of them have had. I'll see if I can find more pictures.

Just wanted to add that in looking at the picture of the Freedom, the corner aft on nine does not look out through the superstructure - just through the railing. So, you might like that more.