Aft View vs. Regular Balcony

[davis2nd]

Hello all, looking for advice and opinions. Wife and I will be going on the Sensation for a short getaway in September. I have narrowed the cabin search down to two, Aft-View Extended Balcony and regular balcony.
I have a few questions.

*I know the Aft-Extended will have a bigger balcony but how much? Is it worth the extra space for two people?

*Is the room size the same?

*I have heard that the aft-view balconies have virtually no breeze while sailing, is this true? This concerns me out of being considerate of others because we are smokers and would hate the smoke just lingering around possibly bothering surrounding pax.

Thank you all for any help!

[jen&samcantwait]

We have our first aft-balc booked in Dec, and have the same concerns/questions you do (& we're smokers too).
Also, not sure how I feel about the privacy, apparently when you're out at the railing, you can see around into you neighbors balcony and down below.
Would love it if you come back to tell us how you liked it.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

What ship? That makes a difference too. On the Spirit class ship, the balcony railing slants inward which takes away from extra space of the balcony. But the view is amazing. I personally prefer having less wind in the aft. I'm a non-smoker so I appreciate your true concern for your neighbors. Not everyone cares since this world is "all about me" so kudo's to you. I'm not sure there would be any real problem as there is still airflow just not windy. I hate the wind so I actually prefer aft balconies.

The blue part is the extra depth to the balcony but as you can see by the railing, it is kind of unusable space.



This is a side angle.

[wmjrdn4ever]

Originally Posted by davis2nd

Hello all, looking for advice and opinions. Wife and I will be going on the Sensation for a short getaway in September. I have narrowed the cabin search down to two, Aft-View Extended Balcony and regular balcony.
I have a few questions.

*I know the Aft-Extended will have a bigger balcony but how much? Is it worth the extra space for two people?

*Is the room size the same?

*I have heard that the aft-view balconies have virtually no breeze while sailing, is this true? This concerns me out of being considerate of others because we are smokers and would hate the smoke just lingering around possibly bothering surrounding pax.

Thank you all for any help!

We have enjoyed the afts that we have been on and my wife and son really like the deeper balcony space. It is really apparent with the extra space.

We also like that there are two loungers and a chair and a table on the extended afts as opposed to two chairs and maybe a table on the regular balcony.

We have experienced breezes while underway on the aft, but it is hot. We are not smokers so not so sure about that.

That being said, we only upgrade to the aft when it is under a couple hundred dollars.

On our upcoming cruise the price point difference between a guarantee balcony and a select your cabin aft balcony was over $650 so we are in just a regular balcony (which is an upgrade from our original booking of an outside).

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Jen & Sam: True. No privacy if you are on the balcony railing. Ok if you are sitting down like in my pics. This pic was taken from the railing looking up.


Again not all ships have the angle on the aft like the Spirit class.

[davis2nd]

I believe the Sensation is a Fantasy Class ship and don't think the angle is as dramatic as the other classes.

wmjrdn, how hot is hot? Unbearable and sweating or hot but still able to sit out and enjoy.

[Texarribean Chick]

Personally - I prefer the regular balcony to the Extended aft view. We have been in both and I am a smoker. There is NOT a lot of wind movement in the back of the ship. No privacy from above, so IMHO, the extra space on the balcony is of no use when others can see you. Especially if this is a husband/wife getaway!

Also, in the back of the ship is a lot of movement (vibration)from the thrusters - it annoys the heck out of DH, although I do not mind it much.

One other thing to keep in mind, the back of the ship is quite a distance from the "action" if you will. Long walk down that long hallway.

Either way have fun!

[True Texan]

We booked a guaranty balcony (senior rate) for our Sept. 1 Triumph cruise and were assigned 7428 (aft extended balcony). We have never had an aft balcony so we are looking forward to it while also wondering if we will like it.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

Originally Posted by Texarribean Chick

One other thing to keep in mind, the back of the ship is quite a distance from the "action" if you will. Long walk down that long hallway.

Either way have fun!

On the other hand, it is quiet back there - no foot traffic except those with cabins by you. Hallway noise is a pain.

[wmjrdn4ever]

Originally Posted by davis2nd

I believe the Sensation is a Fantasy Class ship and don't think the angle is as dramatic as the other classes.

wmjrdn, how hot is hot? Unbearable and sweating or hot but still able to sit out and enjoy.

Personally I do not think it is a lot hotter than on deck, but we found that it was uncomfortable to be barefoot on the balcony. We did not find it too hot to walk barefoot on the main decks.

[davis2nd]

Thank you all, getting some good feedback. Keep it coming.

[Ksea1961]

On the Pride there was a lot of vibration in the back 1/3 of the ship. It was pretty annoying. Next time we are moving forward a bit. We had an extended balcony, but not aft facing.

[Jsaxm]

We had an aft wrap on the spirit. We loved it. Since we were able to look aft and to the side, I can say that if all I was able to see was the side view from the ship I wouldn't have been as pleased. When you're in the aft you get a pretty panoramic view!

People mentioned privacy, it's really not that bad. So what, people can look down at the top of your head...take a step back and no one can see you if that's a real concern for you.

The walk is longer to the front of the ship, but my wife and I did it every day and it really doesn't feel that bad. It actually felt a lot shorter than it probably was. Don't let that discourage you, the walking is good for you on the cruise, haha!

As for noise, it is a lot quieter bak there. As someone mentioned, pretty much the only people coming back there are the people with rooms back there.

The wind or lack thereof was apparent on the act facing part of our balcony. There was a nice breeze, buy it wasn't a torrent of wind rushing past like on the side. We actually preferred that because we were able to sit on the balcony and not freeze, and this was in Alaska!

My wife and I would pick to have an act balcony again any day!


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[sing2sas]

We love the aft balconies. They are 50% bigger than the regular balconies and the extra space is in the depth, not width. You can sit in the shade most of the day, or choose to sit in the sun. We had our adult son with us one time and all three of us could sit on the balcony and be comfortable. The regular balconies always seem a little crowded to me. It is a bit hotter in the aft and not so much breeze, so the mornings and evenings were the most comfortable. We are not smokers so can't comment on that. We've had aft balconies 3 times and would chose one again if the price difference was not that much. On the Valor last year, we got the aft balcony for only $30 PP more than our original balcony cabin. This occurred after final payment and it was no problem to change cabins (as long as you book a higher level).

[silvercrikhix]

We only sail aft, thus far anyway and we intend to try and keep it that way.
It is quiet back there. The bit extra walk is just fine and worth it.
The only time you are seen from above is when you stand at the railing and who really does that anyway.
The view is so superior in our opinion from a side balcony.
There is actually some air flow back there and the smoke just flows back right off the ship from our experience with smoking/smokers.
The sun and ship move so sometimes it's shade, sun or part sun.
We never found it too hot, it's hotter up top on an open deck!
The extra space is sooo nice. The higher up on the ship you are the more the railing will slant, so we try and get as low as possible.
Yes, there is some vibration sometimes, but it is when docking and setting sail.
Love, love the aft

[welshcorgie]

We also love the aft. We are smokers and the smoke while under sail floats back. I don't like the side balconies as the smoke still travels back and I wouldn't want to offend anyone with a cabin next to me. While docked the smoke goes where ever it wants, so no changing that. The view from the aft can't be beat (IMHO) and it is very quiet. The only time that we have had noise problems is when the ship leaves port and comes into port from the thrusters.

[jerseyjjs]

My take is that it's a good schlep back to the cabin if something is forgotten (sunglasses, towels, sail and sign card, etc.). With that said, the balcony we just had on the Miracle and will have again on the Pride is a premium balcony. In no way is the aft balcony as large as these are, and the cost of what we have is considerable less.

[floridagirl4ever90]

My husband and I were on the sensation this past July in E239. Aft extended and we loved it.The room was more then comfortable for the two of us. We loved the balcony. It was July so it was fairly warm but I will never cruise without and aft balcony again. I did notice that there was not much of a breeze at times. The railing does not slant in on the sensation afts. The Privacy is wonderful. E239 is the last aft room balcony so we only had neighbors on one side.The partition was full from floor to celing and a very tight fit. The only way we saw our neighbors was if we were both at the rail at the same time. There is a over hang from the balcony above you so those above you cant see in and the ship drops straight after e deck so there is no one to see up on to your balcony.
We are former smokers and could smell someone smoking but we just moved back from the rail and it was not a problem.
They only slight inconvience was a support pole in our cabin as you walk in to the room. The only time it was a problem was you opened the door. The door would hit the pole each time preventing the room door from opening all the way, but once we knew it was there it was fine. As a matter of fact we laughed about that being the worst problem of the whole trip. If I have the oppertunity to sail on the sensation I would certainly book that room again.
I hope this was helpful and that you have a wonderful time on your trip.

[davis2nd]

Thank you everyone for all the advice. It has come in very handy.

[jayscore]

My opinion is way biased because I am an admitted "Aft Snob".
Long story short, our first "regular" balcony was upgraded to an aft. Ever since, we haven't booked anything else, including afts, vista suites, and 9C's.
The view, the lack of passenger traffic, and extra sunshine has made these a most desirable location for us.
Of course, this is just my humble opinion!