Norwegian epic balcony 9290 = ruh-roh? aft port furthest?

[mikeerdas]

Wife wanted to accept a guaranteed balcony upgrade from a decent inside stateroom. Looks like from online account that we were assigned cabin 9290 BX on the Norwegian Epic.

 

It's as far aft and port as you can go. Wondering if:

 

1. it's an obstructed view

 

2. What is fore of us on deck 9. Deck plan shows blank space.

 

We're very light sleepers and I'm afraid that we may be in a noisy area right by the engines. White noise we can handle and often enjoy like running a fan in our room. But not clubs restaurants etc.

 

Also worried about obscured or totally obstructed view. After all isn't the view and air what makes a balcony special?

 

If we got a lousy cabin I sure can't blame NCL. And I did warn my wife this was a gamble.

 

What should I expect of this particular cabin based on its aft port corner location? And what does the X in cabin class BX indicate?

 

Thanks!

[drvalo]

Their are many who would say you really scored here. Aft balconies are quite coveted.

 

The balcony is covered so that is a plus. It's not obstructed. It is far enough below Spice so you probably will not be bothered by the music late at night.

 

The con, to me at least, is that it is really far from most other places on the ship. It's a long walk to the shows and to breakfast although, in our experience, the aft elevators were the least crowded.

 

We stayed on the 9th deck aft-ish in December although not that far aft but in one of the few covered balconies. I believe that white space you see across from you is where housekeeping and such keep equipment and supplies.

 

There are actually a couple of BX cabins in a some bad location, I believe. But typically BX is simply the designation for a quaranteed balcony and they can assign you to any balcony or higher at some point.

Edited May 8, 2015 by drvalo

[Kingofwylietx]

I have not stayed on the aft of the Epic, but I had an aft cabin last weekend on the Sky. We really enjoyed it, especially at sea and sailaway.

 

The only drawback we noticed was when they used the thrusters. When they pull up at the docks, they will use the thrusters for a few minutes...and again as you depart any dock. It makes some noise in your cabin. It's not horrible, I just wanted to make you aware of it.

[mikeerdas]

Thanks for the quick reply drvalo. Long walking distance to points of interest on the ship is actually a plus. We love to walk and my wife is always in "Fitbit" walking challenges with colleagues at work. She'll really kick some *ss in that regard. 😀Understand though how this could be either an annoyance (dull) Or inconvenience / issue for those with mobility issues.

 

Covered sounds good, I think. Less sunburn? We're not beach / tanning people so less sun is better. Tan = Skin Damage evidently.

 

We're non smokers. Once lived above a smoker where the floor of my balcony was slots of open wood. Made the balcony unusable to me due to the stench and the fact that she was nearly always out on the balcony when I wanted to be.

 

Getting excited about having a Stern cabin--could be really cool. Only complaint I've heard about Stern cabins is... Lack of wind / breeze? Does that sound right? Is that a plus or a minus? Most of our cruising has been with inside staterooms.

 

 

Their are many who would say you really scored here. Aft balconies are quite coveted.

 

The balcony is covered so that is a plus. It's not obstructed. It is far enough below Spice so you probably will not be bothered by the music late at night.

 

The con, to me at least, is that it is really far from most other places on the ship. It's a long walk to the shows and to breakfast although, in our experience, the aft elevators were the least crowded.

 

We stayed on the 9th deck aft-ish in December although not that far aft but in one of the few covered balconies. I believe that white space you see across from you is where housekeeping and such keep equipment and supplies.

 

There are actually a couple of BX cabins in a some bad location, I believe. But typically BX is simply the designation for a quaranteed balcony and they can assign you to any balcony or higher at some point.

[FreestyleNovice]

No obstructed view, next to secret stairs, lounger on your balcony, noise and vibration in and out of port.

[mickeysgal]

Shoot I specifically asked for that cabin on our Epic cruise coming up. It's not a "ruh-roh" cabin assignment. You scored big time. Aft cabins are highly coveted. Fully covered. Not obstructed.

[mikeerdas]

Shoot I specifically asked for that cabin on our Epic cruise coming up. It's not a "ruh-roh" cabin assignment. You scored big time. Aft cabins are highly coveted. Fully covered. Not obstructed.

 

Thanks MG and FN!

[FreestyleNovice]

Thanks MG and FN!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[FLBeachwalker]

We stayed in that cabin in March. We were offered an "upgrade" to a mini-suite which we refused as we specifically chose that cabin. It is so quiet and the balcony is huge! Our steward brought 2 loungers so we had 2 chairs, 1 table and 2 loungers. I would choose that exact cabin again in a heartbeat!! The bed is near the sliders so there is ample room by the sink. No one walks by your door as it is sort of "tucked" into the corner. You indeed won the lottery of aft cabins as the balconies are larger on deck 9 and no noise from above. Enjoy!

[MeHeartCruising]

And the engine noise (and vibrations) that you will notice (and you will) is really only as the ship is maneuvering into port each morning. So it might wake you up if you are not early risers. But every single cabin in the back part of the ship experiences it. Think of it as an alarm clock. Great cabin overall. :-)

Edited May 9, 2015 by MeHeartCruising

[Fizzgigd]

We loved the location. Was quiet since no one is walking by your cabin on the way to theirs. Could not hear engine except when balcony door was open or pulling into port. Balcony was larger than any we have had before (deeper). Space next door is open and you can see out port side of ship. Never saw anyone in that area but they do have loungers there f you want one for your balcony.

[kjquilts]

We stayed in 10318 directly above your assigned stateroom. Everything previously stated in this stateroom is correct - you were very lucky with your guarantee stateroom.

 

Here is link to another cruise critic thread where I posted several photos of the secret stairway area (port side location great) and the balcony of 10318. You also have bed by the balcony - our preferred location.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1923519&highlight=ncl+epic+10318

 

 

[mikeerdas]

Thanks again to all. Definitely feel like a cabin lottery winner. Just a few more days to set sail.

 

Been enjoying Rome pre-cruise. Especially Ostia Antica--ghost town of a city. But due to a silted up port rather than a catastrophic lava event like Pompeii. Ostia Antica was enormous. Spent half a day there but could easily have spent a whole one.

[ilovetotravel1977]

We had 9297 and I agree with the others that the only vibrations/noise was during port stops. The only other "noise" we heard was the wake every night when we left our balcony door open to sleep :)

 

Your room is also close to the elevators and stairs, which is a godsend after a long day in the sun or a long night on your feet walking around.

 

Oh, and we didn't hear ANY noise from Spice as we were far enough down.

 

Enjoy!

[mikeerdas]

Loving cabin asked steward for two loungers no problem

 

We had 9297 and I agree with the others that the only vibrations/noise was during port stops. The only other "noise" we heard was the wake every night when we left our balcony door open to sleep :)

 

Your room is also close to the elevators and stairs, which is a godsend after a long day in the sun or a long night on your feet walking around.

 

Oh, and we didn't hear ANY noise from Spice as we were far enough down.

 

Enjoy!