Alt Facing Balcony vs Mid Ship Balcony

[jojokay]

We have only booked mid-ship balcony rooms previously but are thinking about booking a AFT facing balony room on our next cruise on the Escape. I would really appreciate pros and cons of the Alt facing balcony room. Thanks so much!

 

PS - I meant AFT facing not ALT but couldn't figure out how to revise the subject line. :)

Edited March 17, 2015 by jojokay
typo

[cflaquatics]

Only 2 cons about aft balconies I can think of and they really aren't. First, you're at one end of the ship, but you're prob overeating and need the extra steps so that rules out that con. The second i would say is when the ship is docking u def feel the engines which could be early if u dock early.

[cflaquatics]

There are too many pros to list...location, privacy, less noise, less hallway traffic, not windy, guarenteed unobstructed view, seeing dolphins in the wake, etc

[*Luv2Cruz*]

Some say they find soot on the aft balcony's, the're too warm since the wind is blocked, and if the ocean gets rough you'll feel the rocking more. I've felt the rocking and we were fine; but with all that said, I've got one booked on my next three cruises and luv all the positives including the view and sounds of the wake!:cool::cool:;)

Edited March 17, 2015 by *Luv2Cruz*

[MagnoliaBlossom]

We love aft balconies and have only had a soot problem once and we had soot four out of 16 days, we just thre towels down as rugs and furniture covers. The crew was very good about cleaning it up.

 

Larger than average balcony, wonderful sound of the wake.

 

On,y real con - the cost. :eek:

[newmexicoNita]

We love aft balconies and have only had a soot problem once and we had soot four out of 16 days, we just thre towels down as rugs and furniture covers. The crew was very good about cleaning it up.

 

Larger than average balcony, wonderful sound of the wake.

 

On,y real con - the cost. :eek:

 

Glad you liked yours. We have never had one as it seems everytime we want to book one they are sold out. We do have one booked for our Mex. Riv cruise coming up in Oct.

[RIvacationgirl]

We just sailed in our first aft mini-suite on the SUN. We had only been in mid-ship minis. We really did not to expect to fall in love with the back of the ship as much as we did. My husband agreed for us, it was worth the extra money. We had a lounger and 2 chairs a small table and had room for more. I said ---if you were traveling with another couple or friends there was definitely enough space to play cards/games and such.

Yes, we did have soot sometimes, I just wore my sandals when out on the balcony and sat on a towel. Very minor.

Yes, you do feel the engines when they start up, we did not mind the vibration for that short period of time.

In Cozumel, the ship had backed in, and I was able to enjoy the music and dancing of the crew and passengers walking back onto the ship. It was like having a show right off my balcony. I was dancing away too!:p

Yes, you WILL feel the motion much more. One night was rough, and they had some of the areas on the deck off limits. On that night we really felt the ship rocking. SO if you are prone to motion sickness this is a consideration.

Being in the back we rarely had anyone running in the halls/talking , much less "traffic". We do not mind walking longer to get where we want, it could be a long haul for someone with limited mobility.

We tried it and hope to do it again! Give it a go!

[beachmonkey]

We have LOVED our aft balconies. You get wonderful views, the sound of the water is soothing...you have a 50/50 chance of going the right direction to find your cabin too! Don't laugh...some days it is harder than you think! #ultimatebeveragepackage

[Ilovesailing]

Some say they find soot on the aft balcony's, the're too warm since the wind is blocked, and if the ocean gets rough you'll feel the rocking more. I've felt the rocking and we were fine; but with all that said, I've got one booked on my next three cruises and luv all the positives including the view and sounds of the wake!:cool::cool:;)

 

Theirty cruises and counting all in aft and only ever had one soot problem and that was on the Sun. While the soot was bad. The room steward dis a fine job of staying on top of it and if he didn't we just sat out there and put our robes or towels down. I'd much rather deal with soot than peoples smoke and cigarette butts raining down.

[jojokay]

Thanks everyone! We booked the AFT facing balcony. [emoji4]

[cflaquatics]

Enjoy! U will love it

[jd1966]

Anyone know if the Breakaway has any soot problems?? We booked our first aft cabin for September.

[Soaperstar]

Anyone know if the Breakaway has any soot problems?? We booked our first aft cabin for September.

 

We had an Aft Balcony on the Breakaway and it was FABULOUS! No soot problems at all. After that cruise, we try to book nothing but aft rooms now. Had a penthouse suite aft, on the Gem in October and have booked another penthouse suite Aft on the Gem on April 24th. the 180 views are worth it!

[BabsinTX]

We just sailed in our first aft mini-suite on the SUN. We had only been in mid-ship minis. We really did not to expect to fall in love with the back of the ship as much as we did. My husband agreed for us, it was worth the extra money. We had a lounger and 2 chairs a small table and had room for more. I said ---if you were traveling with another couple or friends there was definitely enough space to play cards/games and such.

Yes, we did have soot sometimes, I just wore my sandals when out on the balcony and sat on a towel. Very minor.

Yes, you do feel the engines when they start up, we did not mind the vibration for that short period of time.

In Cozumel, the ship had backed in, and I was able to enjoy the music and dancing of the crew and passengers walking back onto the ship. It was like having a show right off my balcony. I was dancing away too!:p

Yes, you WILL feel the motion much more. One night was rough, and they had some of the areas on the deck off limits. On that night we really felt the ship rocking. SO if you are prone to motion sickness this is a consideration.

Being in the back we rarely had anyone running in the halls/talking , much less "traffic". We do not mind walking longer to get where we want, it could be a long haul for someone with limited mobility.

We tried it and hope to do it again! Give it a go!

 

Love, love, love the Sun aft minis! Yes, there is soot (you might put a towel over your clothes if you're sitting on your balcony for a while).

 

We didn't find the Sun's engine noise to be too loud, but we had a Deck 12 aft balcony on the Epic and we could barely hear each other on the balcony--and this was during normal cruising, not backing into port. The Epic also has a "straight up and down" stern, while the Sun's stern slopes, so the balconies feel more open on the Sun.

[Lexi03]

I loved our aft balcony at first. Tons of space and great views! It is so fun to watch the ocean seeping away. But then we did have some issues with movement, and from the engines waking us up. Try not to be right under the deck because we were also awakened by the staff moving the deck chairs around for cleaning at the crack of dawn. Also, there is no air back there - so it gets really hot! Not a huge soot problem for us, but there were smokers. Now that there is no smoking on balconies I would expect it to be much better. (Stale air + cigarette smoke = :( )

 

In all, I'm glad we booked the aft, but I'm not sure I would book it again - the biggest issue for me getting good sleep and I like to be out and about on the ship anyway.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Lexi03

[bonnie voyage]

We love aft balcony staterooms. Never had a soot problem and the sound of the engines is a minor inconvenience to us. We are sailing the Jewel this Saturday in our first midship balcony cabin; I am a bit nervous about whether we will like midship. That being said, we will enjoy the cruise no matter how we like the location of our cabin!

[NLH Arizona]

I love the aft cabins. Yes you are far from the elevators, but it is a great way to get rid of some of those calories and I would make sure that there are cabins above and below. I've read stores about noise below from a club and food on your balcony from the great outdoors above. I never had soot on my balcony nor did the engine noise bother me.

[luvtovaca]

Absolutely loved our aft facing on our last cruise! Swore I would only cruise in them from now on...That being said, we did NOT get one on our upcoming cruise as it is in July and we know it will be HOT out there. Our last cruise was in April and there were times when it was very warm as there is no breeze/wind out there. If we cruise again not during summer months or to somewhere other than the hot Caribbean, I would definitely book one again! The soot was noticeable but minimal on our Carnival Victory cruise and not a problem.