w8ing2cruz Posted February 18, 2018 #1 Share Posted February 18, 2018 Starting to plan our bucket list Canal cruise. We always book aft facing cabins as we LOVE the quiet, wake watching they provide. We want to do the full transit 2019. I've been looking at all the available cruises and all of the afts are sold out already. Looks like the one ship that does the most trips is HAL Volendam - the way that ship is configured there are hardly any aft cabins. Any suggestions for different cabin selection for this cruise? It will be our longest to date. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillB48 Posted February 19, 2018 #2 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Since your question is HAL/ship specific you may have a better chance of a knowledgeable answer on the HAL forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted February 19, 2018 #3 Share Posted February 19, 2018 My opinion of balconies in general, is that if you spend the transit on your balcony you will see only 25-40% of the activity and features of the canal. You need to get up and move around. EM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cb at sea Posted February 19, 2018 #4 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Agree with moving about....but, an "aft" balcony is a good way to see the actual locks without the crowding. You do still need to get "out and about" to see everything, tho! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiserBruce Posted February 19, 2018 #5 Share Posted February 19, 2018 Agree with the "up and moving" comments. Only the older HAL ships don't have aft balconies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCWalton1 Posted February 19, 2018 #6 Share Posted February 19, 2018 My opinion of balconies in general, is that if you spend the transit on your balcony you will see only 25-40% of the activity and features of the canal. You need to get up and move around. EM I'll second that. We went in 2013 and due to cost we actually had a inside cabin. During the transit I was all over the ship to see all the activities. I have no doubt I would have done that even if I had the balcony as it restricts to seeing the transit from just one perspective. We are going through again this December and once again opting for the inside cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillB48 Posted February 19, 2018 #7 Share Posted February 19, 2018 While I have enjoyed an aft balcony on a cruise or two, the benefits of an aft balcony would be great on the way to the Canal and of course after you leave the Canal. However on the day you transit a balcony would not really be that beneficial, IMO. Particularly if you have never been through the Canal before, I think you would almost find the narration of the transit somewhat disconnected since what you will be viewing won't be seeing what is being described until much later (if at all). Most of the time the person providing the narration is on the bridge or at least somewhere forward, so all the narration is given with a forward perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseclan Posted March 6, 2018 #8 Share Posted March 6, 2018 We were just on the Coral Princess and we would go aft to the empty space on Dolphin deck. Great viewing with only a few people back there. It was an amazing viewing spot. We could hear the lecturer as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillB48 Posted March 6, 2018 #9 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Thanks for the feedback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaskanb Posted March 6, 2018 #10 Share Posted March 6, 2018 We were just on the Coral Princess and we would go aft to the empty space on Dolphin deck. Great viewing with only a few people back there. It was an amazing viewing spot. We could hear the lecturer as well. Good to know. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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