Aft Cabins vs Forward Cabins

This might have discussed before. Which one worst in term of traffic and noise?

Thanks

Covers a lot of cabins, half of them in the front (forward), half in the back (aft)

What kind of noise? More wave noise forward. More thruster noise aft when they are in use.

Noise on individual decks other than engine and wave can usually be found where people gather such as near the elevators. We get rooms near the middle if we can and have had a room a few times that opens straight out on the elevator area and when the door is closed, we do not hear anything. Bigger problem is when the door opens everyone can look into your room so we try and get one where the door is just off the gap for the lifts.

Have had a room on deck eight in the very back for a 4 night cruise, but we never heard noise from the Club Fusion and minimal noise from the engine unless the thrusters are active (only in port).

We love all of the way aft on a higher deck sandwiched between floors with cabins above and below. All the way aft, you are likely to feel some vibration when the ship is under way.

What kind of noise? More wave noise forward. More thruster noise aft when they are in use.

Underway, you would be subject to wave noise forward and engine vibration aft. In port I would think you would have thruster noise both fore and aft since there are thrusters in both locations. I've never been aft but have been as far forward as Lido 102 and never noticed any wave noise but that may be because of how high on the ship I was.

Tom

All the way forward - as long as you are high enough to not hear the theater or the attendant mechanics that are above the theater is quite quiet. All the way aft is wonderful but some don't like the noise from the wake if they have an aft-facing balcony.

Get a cabin that has other cabins above and below and you will likely have quiet. Forward is generally cheaper than aft. We've done midship, forward, and aft. Our preference is an aft-facing balcony but we book what we can afford. It also depends on the ship whether we are happy forward or not as the buffet can be either forward or aft. We have never had an issue with noise from traffic outside our cabins. The only noise issue we have ever had was from a cabin next door where the TV came on really early and really loud most days.

Underway, you would be subject to wave noise forward and engine vibration aft. In port I would think you would have thruster noise both fore and aft since there are thrusters in both locations. I've never been aft but have been as far forward as Lido 102 and never noticed any wave noise but that may be because of how high on the ship I was.

 

Tom

Hi Tom,

I think it would have to be quite large seas to hear the waves break on the bow. Any time the ship hit a very large wave you get the shuttering through the ship. At that point noise is nothing. We have sat many nights up in Skywalkers watching the bow break waves and then feeling it 2 to 3 seconds later.

The bigger question here for the OP should be ship movement (pitch). It is very different forward, mid and aft.

Hi Tom,

I think it would have to be quite large seas to hear the waves break on the bow. Any time the ship hit a very large wave you get the shuttering through the ship. At that point noise is nothing. We have sat many nights up in Skywalkers watching the bow break waves and then feeling it 2 to 3 seconds later.

 

The bigger question here for the OP should be ship movement (pitch). It is very different forward, mid and aft.

I agree about the noise of the waves on the bow and you're surely correct about the pitching of the ship being different between the bow and the middle of the ship. Never been in an aft stateroom so don't know about the difference between the aft and the bow or middle although it seems to me that it might be not as noticeable in the aft section as in the forward section, but that's just a supposition on my part.

Tom

I agree about the noise of the waves on the bow and you're surely correct about the pitching of the ship being different between the bow and the middle of the ship. Never been in an aft stateroom so don't know about the difference between the aft and the bow or middle although it seems to me that it might be not as noticeable in the aft section as in the forward section, but that's just a supposition on my part.

 

Tom

Being an inflexible steel ship, however much the forward section rises and falls the aft section will fall and rise.

Being an inflexible steel ship, however much the forward section rises and falls the aft section will fall and rise.

That's only true if the center of gravity of the ship is at the midpoint of the ship. If the CoG is forward of the midpoint the aft will move more than the forward, if it's forward, it will move less. Enough to be noticeable? Probably not much I would guess.

Tom

We prefer as far aft as we can get. There is far less foot traffic past your cabin and it is usually a very quiet area. There might be some noise from the thrusters when you are coming into or leaving a port but not at other times. I have never felt any more movement or motion when the ship is moving. It is a trek to get to other areas of the ship but you are near the aft stairs and elevators.

Definitely a personal opinion and lately I book forward cabins. I like to be close to the piazza as I rarely go to to the buffet, pretty much stay on decks 5, 6 and 7. I'm not fond of elevators, pretty much always use the stairs, so I try to eliminate how many I have to climb returning to the ship after a port visit.

I've read complaints about forward cabins, early a.m. noise on port days or tendering, never had an issue. When I've stayed in an aft cabin, I had to adjust to the vibration or rumble of the ship, don't care for it.

Usually sail on the fantail and have only noticed any engine noise on departure from port in the MDR. Never the room. Wake sounds are soothing. On the other hand, wind on forward cabin balconies can be so bad that on some ships the balcony doors are locked when the ship is underway. Once at Hubbard Glacier, the ice was so bad that the ship turned around. That was a loud and disconcerting experience on the balcony.

In over 20 Princess cruises in the last 10 years I've only been seasick once, and it was in cabin D102 on the Diamond.

We always book a cabin in the upper 600's to 700's usually on Baja or Aloha deck, but the Diamond cruise was a last minute booking so we took a guarantee. It was an Alaskan Inside Passage so it wasn't really a rough cruise., but I couldn't stand being in the cabin because I felt nauseous in there.

We've taken 5 N. Europe/TA's in the fall with some pretty nasty weather and very high seas, and I never felt sick on any of them which were all 700's cabins. We always book a specific cabin with no upgrades.

Being an inflexible steel ship, however much the forward section rises and falls the aft section will fall and rise.

Not at all true.

You need to factor in center of gravity, center of bouyancy, center of dynamic lift, etc.

In most ships, pitch excursions will be larger forward than aft.

In planes, the reverse.

That's only true if the center of gravity of the ship is at the midpoint of the ship. If the CoG is forward of the midpoint the aft will move more than the forward, if it's forward, it will move less. Enough to be noticeable? Probably not much I would guess.

 

Tom

Thus the reason for staying mid ship. For a bad pitch you only feel a forward and back rocking. Not the porposing that gets to a lot of people..

Not at all true.

 

You need to factor in center of gravity, center of bouyancy, center of dynamic lift, etc.

 

That may affect how far up and down cabins in the center may go, but I guarantee that, unless the ship is breaking in two, when the forward part goes down the aft part will go up the same amount. Try it with a pen or pencil.

That may affect how far up and down cabins in the center may go, but I guarantee that, unless the ship is breaking in two, when the forward part goes down the aft part will go up the same amount. Try it with a pen or pencil.

Typically a ship pitches about a point about 2/3 of the way from the bow to the stern, not the midpoint.

Try it with a pen or pencil.

We love all of the way aft on a higher deck sandwiched between floors with cabins above and below. All the way aft, you are likely to feel some vibration when the ship is under way.

Same here. Sitting on my aft balcony watching the wake stretch out behind me while sipping a cocktail is my idea of heaven. A big bonus is that there is very little hall traffic that far back.

Same here. Sitting on my aft balcony watching the wake stretch out behind me while sipping a cocktail is my idea of heaven. A big bonus is that there is very little hall traffic that far back.

any soot problems?

any soot problems?

Same here. Sitting on my aft balcony watching the wake stretch out behind me while sipping a cocktail is my idea of heaven. A big bonus is that there is very little hall traffic that far back.

Amen to that! We were on the Crown in the Med a few weeks ago and had our first (and hopefully not last) aft balcony (C752) Loved it. Had breakfast out there just about every morning and late afternoon drinks and snacks. We were curious about whether vibration would be noticeable or bothersome, we both agreed it was minimally present and not bothersome at all. It was a LOOOONG walk from the mid-ship elevators but worth it. And as you mentioned, absolutely peaceful and quiet!

That may affect how far up and down cabins in the center may go, but I guarantee that, unless the ship is breaking in two, when the forward part goes down the aft part will go up the same amount. Try it with a pen or pencil.

Can you explain the terms of this guarantee?

If it’s a money-back guarantee, I would expect to be reimbursed for the cost of the pencil.