Bow or Stern of the ship?

[RandyinDEN]

Any benefits to bow or stern of the ship for cabins?

[jtl513]

Any benefits to bow or stern of the ship for cabins?

There's less motion aft when in rough water, but low and far aft you can get more noise and/or vibration.

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :)

[Mary Ellen]

Another Welcome to the CC!

 

Another advantage to the stern cabins, over the bow cabins, is that in case of fog, you're further away from the fog horn. :eek:

[califgary]

AFT facing cabins get a mind blowing panoramic view of the ships wake and the sea. Forward facing cabins tend to be alot more windy (especially cabins that face directly forward).

[Texas Tillie]

Had an aft facing cabin on the Oosterdam last month in Alaska. It was great - except - the verandah was filthy (especially the deck) with soot from the smoke stacks.

[califgary]

Had an aft facing cabin on the Oosterdam last month in Alaska. It was great - except - the verandah was filthy (especially the deck) with soot from the smoke stacks.

 

Ugh! What deck? we have aft facing 4180 for Hawaii!

[Typhoon1]

Mid ship is the best route to go.

[Texas Tillie]

Ugh! What deck? we have aft facing 4180 for Hawaii!

 

This was the "top" deck - 8 - just below the Seaview pool area - so I'm sure it got the most soot - but the verandahs are tiered - so ones below are partially exposed to the air from above. I can't complain too much as I'd paid for an obstructed view outside, 10 days before the cruise I was offered an upgrade to a verandah for $198 and I was upgraded all the way to a VA aft facing!:D

[Assateague Island Princes]

Oh, aft for sure - those wake views. Sigh....heaven....:p

[trvlcrzy]

Do you prefer to buck or shimmy? :D

 

The forward cabins experience up and down movement during rougher seas (or at top speeds), but the aft cabins experience a side-to-side motion. In both cases, it was enough to feel it while lying down in the cabin.

 

Having experienced both (from the 2nd cabin from the bow to the last cabin at the stern), and with DH's increasing tendency to be bothered by the motion, I would take stern over bow anyday... but mid-ship is the best.

[AZNative2000]

AFT facing cabins get a mind blowing panoramic view of the ships wake and the sea.

 

 

Right you are califgary. Wouldn't trade this view off our aft balcony for anything!

 

 

 

[50cruiser]

Iv been in cabin 1 in bow twice and hanging off the tail in rear balconies 4 times . I dont like the vibrations of props in the rear especially the lower in the ship you go .One ship i was on I think had lost part of the prop . It really vibrated bad especially as the ship picked up speed going across the atlantic for England . And i dont like the motion and anker chain noise up ft.On the Masdam going back to Norfolk we had 3 days returning of really heavy waves . I was up frt and several times was bounced out of bed at night . We had huge waves and the last 2 nights the shows were cancled we arrived back in port 6hrs late . You couldnt walk in the halls . Years ago on the NCL Norway we went through a hurracane . That was the worst . I now want middle of ship about deck 6 or 7 . I just dont like big wave motion . Some do . I dont . You just dont know what the weather will be CARL

[billie5]

Note that when posters talk about up and down motion in the bow, it can actually be much worse than you may envision. In rough water (and not necessarily all that rough) the bow may slap down into the water over and over again. So in the bow every so many seconds (can not remember how many, 30 seconds maybe?) there will be a very loud BAM. If these periodic "explosions" all night are not likely to bother you, than by all means take a forward cabin.

 

Bill

[janmcn]

Can't beat mid-ships, low, for good "riding." Views, yes, aft is great. Depends on where you'll be sailing. For our TA I've booked mid-ships and Main Deck cabins. For next AK? I'll try for aft verandah.

[hihopes]

so for the newbie cruiser, what is aft, bow or stern all mean please?

[jtl513]

So in the bow every so many seconds (can not remember how many, 30 seconds maybe?) there will be a very loud BAM. If these periodic "explosions" all night are not likely to

It depends on the speed and ocean conditions of course, but I'd say it's less than 5 seconds apart at normal 18 to 20 knots.

 

so for the newbie cruiser, what is aft, bow or stern all mean please?

The bow is the pointy end of the ship, the stern is as far away from the bow as you can get. Aft is the direction that you go to get from the bow to the stern, but many posters here mistakenly equate aft with stern. It's getting to be accepted through common usage, like so many other errors.

 

The stem or prow is the part that sticks out furthest from the bow, where the figurehead is located on wooden sailing ships, so if you've ever from the expression "from stem to stern" it means the whole enchilada! :)

[AZNative2000]

so for the newbie cruiser, what is aft, bow or stern all mean please?

 

Aft and stern refer to the back end of the ship. Bow is the front.

FYI ... (Port=left side ... starboard=right side as well)

 

Happy Sailing

[Lesinindy]

For me there is nothing like the open feel and view from the aft balconies. I for one have no problem with the motion either up and down or the shimmy shake at the stern. Either one puts me to sleep in a heartbeat. One thing not noted so far is the quiet that you experience in the aft. Unless you have a room in that area there is no reason for anyone to go up and down the hall. It is almost like a private area of the ship. Another plus is the location of the aft cabins to the food. It is a straight shot to the MDR.

[Boytjie]

Aft and stern refer to the back end of the ship.

 

Not quite... If Cabin 1 was closest to the bow then Cabin 3 would be aft of Cabin 1 - and still a long distance away from the stern. ;)

[jtl513]

Not quite... If Cabin 1 was closest to the bow then Cabin 3 would be aft of Cabin 1 - and still a long distance away from the stern. ;)

I think of a ship as divided into three approximately equal-sized zones - forward, mid-ship, and aft, with an "of center" implied after the forward or aft. I may refer to a cabin in back 1/3 as an "aft cabin", but I call the wake-facing ones stern cabins. I guess by my "zone" definition stern cabins are aft cabins, but most aft cabins are not stern cabins! That's what I object to: people using the term "aft cabin" interchangeably with "stern cabin". ;)

[Druke I]

Well, I was in the Army, not the Navy, but I agree with jtl513's description of rear facing cabins as stern cabins.

 

Anything to the rear of where I am is aft, and anything forward is just that - forward.

 

Some people talk about bow cabins - as far as I am concerned, there is no such thing - but there might be forward facing cabins.

 

English is often not a precise language.

[Boytjie]

I think of a ship as divided into three approximately equal-sized zones - forward, mid-ship, and aft, with an "of center" implied after the forward or aft. I may refer to a cabin in back 1/3 as an "aft cabin", but I call the wake-facing ones stern cabins. I guess by my "zone" definition stern cabins are aft cabins, but most aft cabins are not stern cabins! That's what I object to: people using the term "aft cabin" interchangeably with "stern cabin". ;)

 

Your earlier post about 'aft' being a direction contradicts your zone classification system. ;)

[Boytjie]

English is often not a precise language.

 

The language is usually more accurate than its users. :D

[jtl513]

Your earlier post about 'aft' being a direction contradicts your zone classification system. ;)

No, not if you read in the implied "of center" that I just mentioned. My zones are "forward of center", center (aka mid-ship), and "aft of center", but when speaking I shorten them to forward, mid-ship, and aft. Now don't ask me to define where forward ends and mid-ship begins, please!! :p

[slotl]

My hubby and I take LONG cruises, which means we have traveled in "open" waters for many nights (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian Oceans, etc.). We have experienced many "rough" storms and high seas.

 

The front (bow) of the ship goes up and down and you can feel the motion. The back of the ship seems more stable, BUT it depends on the ship. We love the aft cabins of the Amsterdam, Volendam size ship. They have rotating thrusters which "calm" the vibration during docking and manuevering. The Prinsendam has quite a bit of vibration in the back of the ship (we were just in room 395 for 55 days). It was not a pleasant experience and we will move our room closer to the middle of the ship on our next cruise.

 

That said, we will not book a room in the front of the ship.

 

Also, the lower you go in the ship, the less "movement" you will feel. The expensive suites and penthouses are usually high on the ship and you will experience more side to side motion in rough weather.