papaflamingo Posted October 14, 2013 #1 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Thinking of booking Alaska on Rhapsody. I can get a stern balcony (7152 or 7156) or a JS. The JS is not much more, but is on the side of the ship. Seems this might be a great cruise for a stern balcony. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEFAN0001 Posted October 14, 2013 #2 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Thinking of booking Alaska on Rhapsody. I can get a stern balcony (7152 or 7156) or a JS. The JS is not much more, but is on the side of the ship. Seems this might be a great cruise for a stern balcony. Any thoughts? Depending on if you're looking at a North or South cruise...it depends. We are on a roundtrip on Radiance next year, come back South on most of the stops...so for us...a port forward-mid balcony makes the ideal view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxKroozer Posted October 14, 2013 #3 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Using a play on words, thought I would supply an inside view on your question. We did the Alaska northbound this may and book an inside cabin. Our decision was based upon the idea whenever we wanted to see the scenery, we didn't want to be limited to front or back viewing of left or right side of the ship. We simply went out of the room and choose the best side to sit and watch. We sat in the Solariam, in the Viking crown, in the concierge lounge! and other places. Our other reasoning was in booking inside we saved much more and spent the extra dollars in Flightseeing excursion, dog musher camp, whale watching, and ATV excursion. We therefore enjoyed Alaska much more than an Aft balcony. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaflamingo Posted October 15, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knittinggirl Posted October 15, 2013 #5 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Check your deck plans. I think 7152 is a wrap around balcony. If so, I'd shoot for that. For a few dollars more, you get double credit w/ the JS. All that said, we booked an aft JS, and while we didn't see the glaciers approaching, we got to watch from our balcony the glacier retreating most of the afternoon. We've booked cruised Alaska in an outside stateroom, inside stateroom, but liked the JS the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaflamingo Posted October 16, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Thanks. 7152 appeas to be a wraparound balcony. That's what attracted me. Seems that it would be a great way to watch scenery from both sides. Since I'm D+ double points are less important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BecciBoo Posted October 16, 2013 #7 Share Posted October 16, 2013 ABSOLUTELY AFT! But we liked Radiance better, but both ships' aft balconies would be great....one reason: Our cruise buds on ours a month ago. You can see everything from the aft cabin, no matter which way you're going and if you do Hubbard you get this view leaving that most people never see, Cpt had already turned the ship around when this whopper fell: It was our favorite sailing out of 16 so far, in great part because of the balcony...intend to do the same on our next one...and boy are we doing a next one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaflamingo Posted October 16, 2013 Author #8 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Thanks! Great pics. We would have don't Radiance but it didn't fit well. I am looking forward to Rhapsody thanks I. Great part to your pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avalon007 Posted October 16, 2013 #9 Share Posted October 16, 2013 We just did a cruise tour (#12 pre cruise) with RCCL (Radiance) a few weeks ago, I cannot say loud enough that try & do some inland Alaska, wether it be self drive or cruise/tour as it was one of the stand out highlights of our Alaska trip. This to me is way more important than cabin placement, I would go as a far to say, skimp on cabin type to afford seeing more of inland Alaska if funds are tight. With what we saw inland (Denali - Tundra Wilderness Tour, Talkeetna - saw Mt McKinley range 100% picture perfect cloudless, Aleyska - hiked on a glacier, Anchorage) we already felt more than thrilled with Alaska before even starting the cruise portion! The cruise ports are great, but the real Alaska isn't to be found in a TShirt or jewellery shop. ;) I was also more than pleased with how Royal conducted the tour part, the Wilderness Express train was superb, the great Accommodation, not to forget our guide & driver who both offered us a massive amount of information & knowledge about Alaska, the sort of experience you can only get by being with people that live in Alaska.:) Hope that is helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEFAN0001 Posted October 16, 2013 #10 Share Posted October 16, 2013 The posts and photos regarding Alaska cruises are simply wonderful. Terrific information, great views, and interesting perspectives. For those looking to plan...we'd recommend sending for the official Alaska State Planning Guide at: http://www.travelalaska.com/ One thing we have learned is that cabin location is in the eyes of the beholder. We have been able to see numerous cabins based on both personal bookings as well as friends in other locations on various ships. In our case, AFT CABINS are out of the question, as the additional vibration, engine noise, and fumes in the rear of the ship are something you have to deal with the entire cruise. That said, in the end it comes down to enjoying the natural beauty Alaska has to offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DragonOfTheSeas Posted October 16, 2013 #11 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I did a "Live" review of our Radiance cruise last year. Here is a link. [lots of pics] http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1697232 I agree, it is important to do at least a few days on land to see Alaska. Have you read the threads on the Alaska ports of call board? It is the most active of all the ports of call. There are very knowledgeable posters on that board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BecciBoo Posted October 16, 2013 #12 Share Posted October 16, 2013 In our case, AFT CABINS are out of the question, as the additional vibration, engine noise, and fumes in the rear of the ship are something you have to deal with the entire cruise. . In our experience on Radiance, we never had one moment of that in 9256. Never felt ANY vibration at all but we have had a little on Voyager class ships. Never any fumes:confused: either. It was absolutely fabulous. On our next Alaska, I will try for the same cabin again and add in the cruise tour. Our buds were in one of the hump cabins with larger balcony but they were always on ours. At Hubbard, we all were up front trying to get the photos of the calving but there were just too many up there and I could never get any worth the effort. But when we retired to our aft balcony and were leaving, we got awesome pics and videos and no crowds...next time I will not even waste my time trying to go up front with the masses. I also got video of a whale breaching from our balcony, only a few peeps on the aft above us even saw this whale. It's worth the effort to try and be on the phone with an agent the morning they open Alaska itins. It worked for us. Bon Voyage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BecciBoo Posted October 16, 2013 #13 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I will give you a link to the video of the whale breaching and then a still of the sunrise coming into Ketchikan to prove what I'm saying about the aft balconies and then I am outa here. But I'd also like to say that I chose September (we were on the last cruise of the season) because of the consensus of opinion about weather on the Alaska boards...September won out (even though some locals do not recommend it as the rainy season starts around that time) but I am so glad we went then. I do not think you could have had better weather than we had. Even Ketchikan, the rainiest city in the USA was clear as a bell and this sunrise was the kicker: Video: View My Video Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! ;) We did Harv n Marv with Cpt. Liz in Juneau and didn't even get a breach, just tails so I think this video speaks for itself. Many other numerous whale encounters from our balcony including an Orca who was too speedy for a photo to be had...our advice, save your coins and go for the gusto, get the aft!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEFAN0001 Posted October 16, 2013 #14 Share Posted October 16, 2013 In our experience on Radiance, we never had one moment of that in 9256. Never felt ANY vibration at all but we have had a little on Voyager class ships. Never any fumes:confused: either. Plentiful reports at Cruise Critic of issues with those symptoms in AFT cabins. Here's just one of numerous threads on that topic... http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1754061&highlight=aft+cabin+problems As for whale watching... The best months are May - September...depending on the specific location and type of whale - here's a great site with more detail: http://www.harvandmarvs.com/FAQ.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BecciBoo Posted October 16, 2013 #15 Share Posted October 16, 2013 Just relaying what we experienced.....couldn't have been better IMHO. And as for quoting the above link, didn't you get the sarcasm? Look at the last sentence: In a most magnanimous gesture, I herby vow to suffer and submit to the terrors of the “Aft Cabin” to save the rest of you from the horrors described above. Whale watching...since the ships only cruise between May and September, I guess those are the best ones....But whatever floats your boat. That's why there are so many cabins....one to suit everyone. Ours will be aft on Alaska cruises. I think my pics speak for themselves... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRUISEFAN0001 Posted October 16, 2013 #16 Share Posted October 16, 2013 I think my pics speak for themselves... Nice pix indeed (cough cough :D). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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