Aft Cabins Information

[paul5689]

I am considering an aft cabin, something we have never tried. Excluding the wrap-arounds which look super, what are the pros and cons of an aft cabin. I have heard they tend to be hot because of no breeze or sun, or perhaps engine noise? I would like to hear from you. Thanks.

[soccersharon]

Hi Paul,

 

Have a look at this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1182324&highlight= dedicated to afts!

 

Personally, I loved our aft cabin on the Liberty :) The sun never bothered us (how could it...?), the wake was wonderful, the views were spectacular!

 

Go for it!

[arielle71]

Hi Paul,

 

Have a look at this thread http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1182324&highlight= dedicated to afts!

 

Personally, I loved our aft cabin on the Liberty :) The sun never bothered us (how could it...?), the wake was wonderful, the views were spectacular!

 

Go for it!

 

I second you, I loooove aft balconies for the view, the sun and less wind !

 

And we have one for both legs of our next cruise :D

[habby]

I am considering an aft cabin, something we have never tried. Excluding the wrap-arounds which look super, what are the pros and cons of an aft cabin. I have heard they tend to be hot because of no breeze or sun, or perhaps engine noise? I would like to hear from you. Thanks.

We just got off the Triumph last week, had an aft cabin, not a wrap-around. To us it's not worth the extra money.

 

We usually travel with my DB and SIL, balcony cabins next to each other so we can open the divider and have one big balcony. With the aft cabins, we had a wall between the balconies with a door in it; not the same as having one big balcony. Floor space on the balcony overall may be greater but it's limited because of the sloping glass at the back. Stand at the railing on the balcony and everybody else standing at the railings at their aft balconies are in full view. Cabin size same as regular balcony.

 

Engine noise only when we docked at Progreso.

 

That's our personal experience and opinion.

[idiebabe]

Depends on the Ship. The aft balconies added to some of the Fantasy class ships are great. The dividers allow for privacy and you have the overhang in case it should rain.

 

Check the site cruise line rooms dot com to see some of the afts. The angle on the dividers provide little privacy and there is hardly any overhang.

 

We had an Aft Wrap on Liberty on Deck 6 and everyone over us could look down as the OP mentioned. Also, had a soot problem covering the chairs some days and water coming down from when they were cleaning windows up above. Found several soda cans, etc. some mornings as well.

 

We have an Aft Wrap on Deck 4 coming up on the Miracle but that deck has the overhang and the privacy.

[JPH814]

My wife and I will not do another aft cabin.

 

We were on the Liberty in the Mediteranean in 2006. I agree - the normal breeze you feel on a balcony was non-existant. But the biggest problem was soot. Each morning we woke up to black globs on our balcony and the chairs. If you had left anything out there, it was liberally spotted. Also - you are a long walk from the middle of the ship - and a real long walk to the spa/gym.

[photojunkieEMT]

We are not disappointed that we did the aft balcony on the Pride, but we don't think it is worth the extra money to do it again. It is worth it to do it once so you can say that you have done it but don't need to do it again.

[benefactr]

My wife and I will not do another aft cabin.

 

you are a long walk from the middle of the ship - and a real long walk to the spa/gym.

 

Complaining about a long walk to the gym, wouldn't that just mean extra workout? Sorry couldn't resist.

I will have my first aft cabin on the valor this may. Hopefully it will be worth the extra bucks. If not oh well live and learn and go back to regular balcony as having a balcony seems the only way to go! WooHoo 88 days as of this posting, thanks countdown clock.

[98Charlie]

We truely enjoyed our aft balcony for Alaska on NCL. To us it was worth the money.

 

We also had an aft wrap for a Caribbean cruise. It was fantastic and we got a great price. Soon after our cruise the wraps were re-categorized and the new price would not be worth it, IMHO.

 

We never encountered the soot problem but have heard from others who have.

 

The afts are generally not as private as regular balconies (again IMHO). The views are terrific.

 

Charlie

[Jenbo57]

We had aft balconies on our last two cruises (NCL & Carnival). On the one hand, sitting on the balcony as the sun goes down, watching the wake, is awesome, and I enjoyed watching the guys tie up the stern lines when we docked; but I really missed the waves slapping the side of the ship, and I didn't like having to go up top to watch as we were approaching our port stops.

 

I'll never cruise in any category but a balcony, but I doubt that I'll ever seek out an aft again (unless I got a killer deal).

[serene56]

We loved aft balconies but too bad for us that they are now at a higher category-can no longer afford them.

 

Long walk to the stairs/eelvators and like someone said--VERY long walk to get to the show lounge.

 

Halls are quiet back there as people do not go where they do not have to.

No ocean breezes. balcony tends to stay warm-keep the curtain to the cabin closed to keep the cabin cool.

 

 

dividers sit at an angle.

[JPH814]

Complaining about a long walk to the gym, wouldn't that just mean extra workout? Sorry couldn't resist.

I will have my first aft cabin on the valor this may. Hopefully it will be worth the extra bucks. If not oh well live and learn and go back to regular balcony as having a balcony seems the only way to go! WooHoo 88 days as of this posting, thanks countdown clock.

 

I actually thought of that irony as I wrote it.

 

But the hassle is that I tend to use the gym as my bathroom - when my wife is getting ready for the evening, I head up to the spa to shave, shower etc. It is a long way to trudge.

[5waldos]

Love them- looking forward to our aft in Alaska. Loved the wake and the view. Had no trouble with soot or privacy or heat. For no privacy- our balcony on the Princess Diamond was amazing- at one point I looked up and around and realized that we could see, and be seen, by everyone on the side of the ship.

[jenale80]

We had an aft interior on our first cruise under the MDR. It was perfect the times that we were actually in our cabin the MDR was usually empty so there was no noise that we noticed (from MDR or engines) I would def. book aft again ~ and actually I am booked Aft again, but this time we got a balcony ~ woo hoo!!!!!!!!

[Mick sunfun]

We will be in an AFT cabin on the Valore the week of 2-27-11 I will post when we get back. Also when I booked my cruise I recall the aft cabin being like less then 10.00 a day more not that much of a extra cost.

[IMDORY]

Last year we had an aft wrap on the Liberty and LOVED it. We wanted to book it again for this year...but they were already taken. :( So we booked aft extended.

 

We had very little if no soot and no garbage of any kind on any of the days. As far as privacy-rarely when I went out there did I see anyone else out there. I didn't have a problem with heat out there either-there was a little overhang and plenty of options for sun or shade if desired. I did like how there wasn't as much wind while at sea on an aft balcony.

 

One of the biggest reasons I prefer an aft balcony-full lounge chairs!!!! With all the chair hogs on the lido it was nice to have the option of using my own lounge chair on my own balcony while watching the wake off the back of the ship. I could just stay there forever.

 

I also liked the location-easy to get to dinner, the aft bar, grill, pizza, ice cream...lido buffet. The only thing that was a pain as far as location was Camp Carnival ALL the way forward. Not that big of a deal...good exercise.

Also, it is very nice and quiet back there-no hall noise. We also liked the gentle rocking motion in the aft.

 

We love it and I'm sort of afraid to try a regular balcony on the side of the ship.

[MagnoliaFly]

Last year we had an aft wrap on the Liberty and LOVED it. We wanted to book it again for this year...but they were already taken. :( So we booked aft extended.

 

We had very little if no soot and no garbage of any kind on any of the days. As far as privacy-rarely when I went out there did I see anyone else out there. I didn't have a problem with heat out there either-there was a little overhang and plenty of options for sun or shade if desired. I did like how there wasn't as much wind while at sea on an aft balcony.

 

One of the biggest reasons I prefer an aft balcony-full lounge chairs!!!! With all the chair hogs on the lido it was nice to have the option of using my own lounge chair on my own balcony while watching the wake off the back of the ship. I could just stay there forever.

 

I also liked the location-easy to get to dinner, the aft bar, grill, pizza, ice cream...lido buffet. The only thing that was a pain as far as location was Camp Carnival ALL the way forward. Not that big of a deal...good exercise.

Also, it is very nice and quiet back there-no hall noise. We also liked the gentle rocking motion in the aft.

 

We love it and I'm sort of afraid to try a regular balcony on the side of the ship.

 

Do all the aft balconies have the full lounge chairs? Do you et one or two of them? (Not talking about aft wraps, just the regular aft balconies). I was hoping we'd get at least one lounge chair back there to enjoy.

[mavrington]

Engine noise will vary from ship to ship. I would be more concerned with trying to sleep on the lower aft levels due to possible wave-induced motion.

[mjl1960]

Going to have my first one next week on the Splendor. Looking forward to it, though I will miss watching the flying fish at night on the side of the ship. Also have to wonder how much motion there would be if we encountered rough seas. I had the opportunity to get a wrap, and am now sorry that I didn't after seeing the pictures of them. I have a feeling that once you get a wrap, there is no going back, talk about a HUGE balcony! :)

[inlovewithsailing]

The aft Balcony is the best. We have only done aft view balconies because they are the best. I love looking out at the back of the ship it is my favorite. You also get the last view of the ports. We stayed in a ocean view at the back and the engine was loud. I think it was the second deck. It was hard to hear and to sleep for some. For me it was fine. Plus it rumbles which can be fun to hear but also can get annoying.

[LAFUNGUY]

We have stayed in just about all the categories available and absolutely love the aft balconies...the view is spectacular and have not found noise or privacy a concern....sailing on the Triumph next month and were very fortunate to get one

[x lindsay x]

A thread like this made my mother worried about getting an extended aft balcony from the negative things that have been said. But as a long time reader of this board I had to remind her to take it all with a grain of salt as there have been plenty of things people complain about that have never been an issue for us.

 

So personal experience is the best option. And heck its vacation - how terrible can it be?

[FNJ]

We had an aft balcony on our first cruise and loved it. On our second cruise we had a side balcony and unfortunately we couldn't use it because of cigarette smoke constantly drifting back from balcony in front of us. No smoke problems from the aft balcony at all. Engine noise wasn't noticable.

[Skywench]

I prefer the aft wraps, but will take an aft balcony. I don't want to be anywhere else on the ship. LOL, if I can't have one of those cabins, I'll find one on a different date or cruise.

[funatsea01]

What about extended aft balconys, I'm trying to decide on one of those vs regular balcony mid ship. Is one better than the other?