My First Aft Balcony - what should I expect?

[GeorgiaMomof4]

So excited!  This will be our first aft balcony and my Platinum cruise.

 

We will be on the Sunshine on deck 5 and it is an ambulatory accessible cabin (5344) since my husband has

mobility issues.  

 

Can any of you tell me what I should expect and what will be different from a regular balcony and this

aft balcony cabin?  I'm really hoping that we will spend lots of time out here but I'm concerned about the 

heat and lack of wind/air since we will be aft.  I love the sun - not so much the heat, but my husband

isn't a big fan of the sun.  Just wondering if we will be able to both hang out there and maybe me be

in the sun and him in the shade.

 

Any info you guys have will be appreciated.  This is a Mom and Dad cruise only - leaving all 7 kids at

home for some much needed R & R and that's exactly what we plan on doing!

 

Also, any added tips for Aruba would be appreciated as well.  Our first time to Aruba and Curacao.

 

Lots of firsts for this cruise.

 

 

 

 

[Llamabear]

You will both fit out there, that's the one advantage to an aft balcony...lots of space! There isn't a lot of breeze though, so it will get hot while you're out there. My aft balcony on Triumph also would get debris from the funnel on it daily that needed to be wiped off.

[jeff92k7]

My wife and I did an aft extended balcony on the Breeze a couple years ago.  We will not book that cabin type again.  It was very hot because of a lack of air movement.  Additionally, we had sun on the balcony nearly the entire time.  Because of the sun's position and the direction of the ship, we didn't get much shade at all, while the balconies on the sides of the ship would have shade for half the day.  We also noticed that the chairs and table seemed a bit dirty from the soot coming from the funnel.  Being at the back, the smoke would get sucked down in the low air pressure behind the ship - right where those balconies are.  It was never bad enough to not breathe or anything.  It was just enough to get an occasional puff of smoke on the balcony and a light layer of dirt and soot on the chairs over time.
 
When we wanted to sit and enjoy a nice, peaceful view of the ocean, we would go to deck 5 and sit in deck chairs along the side of the ship.  That deck would have people walking around, but the chairs were nearly always empty so it was never crowded.  At least there, we would have shade and a nice breeze.  Granted, that's a different class of ship, but I said that to explain how little we liked that aft balcony.
 
On the other hand, my sister (same cruise, adjacent cabin) absolutely loved the aft balcony.  She has booked that type of cabin on other cruises since then.  She says that the extra space and the sound of the propeller wash make it worth it for her.

Edited January 16, 2019 by jeff92k7

[bury me at sea]

The view from an aft balcony is incredible, unbeatable, and they are spacious.

 

After experimenting we found the deck directly under the Lido deck was the most comfortable.  We cruise mostly in the summer so take that into consideration.  The combination of nearly full sun, plus total lack of any breeze at all, made the balconies on lower decks very uncomfortable. 

 

The Lido deck above affords partial shade.

 

We had no issues on any deck with smoke or soot.

 

I have been in extended aft balconies three times, and then we tried a cove balcony.  We enjoyed it much more.

[serene56]

You will have a bigger balcony then whats on the side.   You are aware of the no breezes and very warm back there-0    Keep the curtain to the cabin closed to keep the cabin cool.    You MIGHT have a lounge chair.   but will have two chairs.   Its a longer walk to the stairs / elevators   

[ProgRockCruiser]

We've had an aft balcony on Liberty and Sunshine - both on deck 7, and both were the starboard most of the aft balconies.

 

We did not spend much time there during the middle of the day - either we are off the ship when at a port, or we are wandering/lounging around the ship on sea days.  There was one afternoon on Sunshine we were out there for about an hour and the sun was very intense (and I think we had already gotten a fair bit of sun from the beach), but there was enough shade that I could avoid the direct sun.

 

But mornings and evenings are fantastic on those balconies, especially if you are up for the morning arrival in port and the sailaways in the later-afternoon or evening.  And late at night you can lay back and look at the stars...

 

Maybe because we had that "most outside" aft balcony, but the wind wasn't completely still when underway - I guess just enough bleeding around that it was pleasant without being windblown.

 

We have a cove booked on a future cruise, as well as aft balconies on another couple.  I guess we'll see what we prefer!  

[LCTXcruiser]

We enjoyed it.  You can actually step out onto the balcony without getting completely windblown!  I think you'll enjoy the space (it definitely makes the room seem bigger to me).  Have a good time!

[sailingwithfriends]

2 hours ago, GeorgiaMomof4 said:

So excited!  This will be our first aft balcony and my Platinum cruise.

 

We will be on the Sunshine on deck 5 and it is an ambulatory accessible cabin (5344) since my husband has

mobility issues.  

 

Can any of you tell me what I should expect and what will be different from a regular balcony and this

aft balcony cabin?  I'm really hoping that we will spend lots of time out here but I'm concerned about the 

heat and lack of wind/air since we will be aft.  I love the sun - not so much the heat, but my husband

isn't a big fan of the sun.  Just wondering if we will be able to both hang out there and maybe me be

in the sun and him in the shade.

 

Any info you guys have will be appreciated.  This is a Mom and Dad cruise only - leaving all 7 kids at

home for some much needed R & R and that's exactly what we plan on doing!

 

Also, any added tips for Aruba would be appreciated as well.  Our first time to Aruba and Curacao.

 

Lots of firsts for this cruise.

 

 

 

 

We have been on Deck 6 Aft on the Sunshine and will be in the same cabin in February.  The Aft Cabins on the Sunshine are different than any other ship. They were added during the major overhaul.  We had some friends in one of those cabins and they loved it.  It does have an overhang so you will not always be in the sun. On some aft cabins, there is no overhang so it is too hot to be out there during the day. Not on Deck 5 & 6 of Sunshine.

[jayscore]

Being an "aft rat", I wouldn't trade this location for anything. Yes, it can get HOT back there during the day, but that view can't be beat! Talk of soot, vibration, and privacy are a very minor experience.

Our first two cruises were inside cabins, the rest one form of aft, aft wrap, or Vista Suite. Does that give you a clue how much we like this location? 😺

[audcc77]

3 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

late at night you can lay back and look at the stars...

 

^^^^ This is what we did and it was BEAUTIFUL.   

 

OP - There is a video on You Tube about an aft cabin near yours.  Those are very nice aft cabins.   We had something similar on the Valor and Breeze.

 

At the end of this month, we had booked an aft cabin on the Fascination.  After I saw the youtube video of aft cabins on the Fascination, I see that they were nothing more than interior rooms (no couch) with a marginally larger balcony.  I was able to get a grand suite for a few dollars more so I went for it.  

 

After my last cruise, I'll never book another cabin without looking for a youtube video which shows something similar.

 

Those Sunshine aft balconies have a nice overhang, so that's the part I'd like b/c I like shade.

 

Hope you have a great time on your cruise.

 

 

[coevan]

We generally get Spa Cabins. When one was not available, we took an extended aft cabin. The views were amazing. The down sides as some have mentioned, it's sunny and hot. Bring long sleeve UV sun shirts for cover up. The one thing no one mentioned, when docking the rear thrusters will vibrate quite a bit, especially deck 5. It  does not last long but it usually woke us up when early docking.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

Thank you all for your responses - we are looking forward to having our first one.

 

I'm kind of hoping we don't like it too much because we've been doing OV in order

to cruise more and save money but since this was a couples only cruise we decided

we would splurge this time.

 

Probably a crazy question but ... How long of an extension cord do you think you would

need to have a fan on the balcony and would Carnival let you bring one on?  We sometimes request 

a fan for our cabin anyway because we are used to having one for white noise at home and  I thought it might 

could do double duty and help keep us cooler on the balcony as well.  

[GeorgiaMomof4]

17 hours ago, sailingwithfriends said:

We have been on Deck 6 Aft on the Sunshine and will be in the same cabin in February.  The Aft Cabins on the Sunshine are different than any other ship. They were added during the major overhaul.  We had some friends in one of those cabins and they loved it.  It does have an overhang so you will not always be in the sun. On some aft cabins, there is no overhang so it is too hot to be out there during the day. Not on Deck 5 & 6 of Sunshine.

This is great to hear - I was hoping there would be somewhat of an overhang for my husband at least.  Thank you!

[GeorgiaMomof4]

17 hours ago, jayscore said:

Being an "aft rat", I wouldn't trade this location for anything. Yes, it can get HOT back there during the day, but that view can't be beat! Talk of soot, vibration, and privacy are a very minor experience.

Our first two cruises were inside cabins, the rest one form of aft, aft wrap, or Vista Suite. Does that give you a clue how much we like this location? 😺

 

 

Yes it does!  I'm just hoping we don't like it that much because of the $!  Thank you!

 

[ProgRockCruiser]

37 minutes ago, GeorgiaMomof4 said:

Probably a crazy question but ... How long of an extension cord do you think you would

need to have a fan on the balcony and would Carnival let you bring one on?  We sometimes request 

a fan for our cabin anyway because we are used to having one for white noise at home and  I thought it might 

could do double duty and help keep us cooler on the balcony as well.  

You are allowed to bring on extension cords (as long as they don't have surge protectors built in) - folks need them for CPAP machines, etc.  However, usually you only need a 10 ft cord for use in the room - to get out to the balcony would probably be at least 15 to 20 ft - the plug is closer to the hallway door than the balcony door.  Not sure whether Carnival would have an issue with such a long cord.

[GeorgiaMomof4]

14 hours ago, audcc77 said:

 

^^^^ This is what we did and it was BEAUTIFUL.   

 

OP - There is a video on You Tube about an aft cabin near yours.  Those are very nice aft cabins.   We had something similar on the Valor and Breeze.

 

At the end of this month, we had booked an aft cabin on the Fascination.  After I saw the youtube video of aft cabins on the Fascination, I see that they were nothing more than interior rooms (no couch) with a marginally larger balcony.  I was able to get a grand suite for a few dollars more so I went for it.  

 

After my last cruise, I'll never book another cabin without looking for a youtube video which shows something similar.

 

Those Sunshine aft balconies have a nice overhang, so that's the part I'd like b/c I like shade.

 

Hope you have a great time on your cruise.

 

 

I'll definitely check for that you-tube video.  Thanks

[GeorgiaMomof4]

2 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

You are allowed to bring on extension cords (as long as they don't have surge protectors built in) - folks need them for CPAP machines, etc.  However, usually you only need a 10 ft cord for use in the room - to get out to the balcony would probably be at least 15 to 20 ft - the plug is closer to the hallway door than the balcony door.  Not sure whether Carnival would have an issue with such a long cord.

That's what I was worried about too - wondering if it would be a flag to bring a longer one.  Thanks!

 

[coevan]

why would 3 more feet of wire be a flag? I'd call it a cord.

[sailingwithfriends]

1 hour ago, GeorgiaMomof4 said:

This is great to hear - I was hoping there would be somewhat of an overhang for my husband at least.  Thank you!

I am now a little worried.  My friends were in the Aft Wrap. I am not 100% sure about an overhang for an aft cabin on the rear.  I hope someone else will know that answer.

[ProgRockCruiser]

30 minutes ago, sailingwithfriends said:

I am now a little worried.  My friends were in the Aft Wrap. I am not 100% sure about an overhang for an aft cabin on the rear.  I hope someone else will know that answer.

 

Not sure what you mean.  On Liberty/Sunshine, there is an overhang that covers maybe 1/4 of the balcony.  Lemme see if I can find a photo - I just posted one in a related thread yesterday...ah, here we are.  This is deck 7 on Liberty (Sunshine is very similar), looking directly to the port side - i.e directly left is "aft".  You can see there is a little bit of overhang from the aft cabins on deck 8.  They have more of an overhang from the Lido deck above them:

 

 

Does that help you?

[sailingwithfriends]

3 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

 

Not sure what you mean.  On Liberty/Sunshine, there is an overhang that covers maybe 1/4 of the balcony.  Lemme see if I can find a photo - I just posted one in a related thread yesterday...ah, here we are.  This is deck 7 on Liberty (Sunshine is very similar), looking directly to the port side - i.e directly left is "aft".  You can see there is a little bit of overhang from the aft cabins on deck 8.  They have more of an overhang from the Lido deck above them:

 

 

Does that help you?

On the Sunshine, the higher up you go, the less overhang you have.  Deck 6 aft and Deck 5 (aftwrap for sure) are covered almost completely.  If you look at my signature, I did a review on Sunshine. It has a photo of the wonderful Deck 6 aftwrap.  I will try and find those photos to post here.

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, sailingwithfriends said:

On the Sunshine, the higher up you go, the less overhang you have.  Deck 6 aft and Deck 5 (aftwrap for sure) are covered almost completely.  If you look at my signature, I did a review on Sunshine. It has a photo of the wonderful Deck 6 aftwrap.  I will try and find those photos to post here.

 

I concur that the aft-wraps have different overhang situations.  I was just showing you what it looks like for a regular "extended aft balcony".

[sailingwithfriends]

I believe the Sunshine might be different than other ships with the aft balconies, not just the aft-wraps. My friends were in the cabin next to ours. They were on the very back next to the aft-wrap on Deck 6. We opened the divider between the two balconies. They had an overhang that was almost the entire length of the deck.  

[kaventino]

We got a balcony suite on the Carnival Splendor. I made a youtube on it feel free to check it out

 

 

[Magic City Cruiser]

8 hours ago, GeorgiaMomof4 said:

Thank you all for your responses - we are looking forward to having our first one.

 

I'm kind of hoping we don't like it too much because we've been doing OV in order

to cruise more and save money but since this was a couples only cruise we decided

we would splurge this time.

Oh, my. I cruised for 5 years in OV's. Then....we splurged on a Balcony. I'm not sure I'll ever go back to OV!!!!!