Explorer Suite 5001

[Beachvue]

Looking for pros and cons for 5001 (ES forward).   Noise from bridge?   Balcony obstructions?  Prefer any location but not available 😞.  TIA. 

[Heidi13]

We were in 4000 for about 3 weeks, which is the opposite side and 1 deck down. I did a full blog post, with photos on our travel blog www.AndyandJudi.com.

 

The balcony is on the side. They do have a narrow walkway fwd, but it is for the crew to use while washing down. Access is through a manhole in the structural steel beams. Going through Suez, we could see down the entire port side and fwd of the ship to the opposite canal bank. So great visibility

 

Rather than Bridge noise, you are more likely to experience bow thruster noise/vibration and also anchor handling noise/vibration, if you have tender ports. You will experience more movement in a seaway. At night, if you have any lights on, the blackout curtains MUST remain closed, lest you wreck the night vision of the Bridge officers.

 

Pros - laundry is included. If you prefer a bath to a shower, they also have a bathtub, with TV. Others will provide way more positives, but personally, we prefer our midships DV 4.

[Jim Avery]

We were in a forward suite on another line and the main problem was that the wind while underway made the balcony unusable. Like you we like our mid ships DV better.

[bookbabe]

@BeachvueWhen are you going?  We have 5001 on the Star booked for Feb 2023.

 

We love forward cabins, and it’s what we book as a first choice if available. We haven’t sailed with Viking yet, that cruise will be our first, but we’ve done tons of forward cabins on NCL.  We love being under the bridge…best view, IMO, since if it’s the same as the guy steering the ship, it’s got to be good, right?  🙂

I found a couple of videos:

https://youtu.be/4eZOtw8dQuI   (4001, directly below 5001)

https://youtu.be/OzfxvqnpOi4   (3001)

 

I’d had one other video, but can’t find it now.  The nice thing is that since all the ships are the same, a video from any ship will give you a rough idea of what the cabin is like.

 

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, bookbabe said:

@BeachvueWhen are you going?  We have 5001 on the Star booked for Feb 2023.

 

We love forward cabins, and it’s what we book as a first choice if available. We haven’t sailed with Viking yet, that cruise will be our first, but we’ve done tons of forward cabins on NCL.  We love being under the bridge…best view, IMO, since if it’s the same as the guy steering the ship, it’s got to be good, right?  🙂

I found a couple of videos:

https://youtu.be/4eZOtw8dQuI   (4001, directly below 5001)

https://youtu.be/OzfxvqnpOi4   (3001)

 

I’d had one other video, but can’t find it now.  The nice thing is that since all the ships are the same, a video from any ship will give you a rough idea of what the cabin is like.

 

 

Having spent almost 40 yrs on the Bridge, most definitely, it is without a doubt the best view on the ship. Depending on where you are sailing, comfort and noise????

[Beachvue]

6 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Having spent almost 40 yrs on the Bridge, most definitely, it is without a doubt the best view on the ship. Depending on where you are sailing, comfort and noise????

 

6 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Having spent almost 40 yrs on the Bridge, most definitely, it is without a doubt the best view on the ship. Depending on where you are sailing, comfort and noise????

Ware going January 2022, Grand Hawaii and Polynesia (LA/LA).  Have taken several Viking cruises and have been in the aft Explorer suite which isn’t available.  I, too, spent many years in the industry and agree the best view is from the bridge. However, the decks forward are very different and was just wondering about possible bulkhead obstructions.  I think I found my answer.  It was hard to find a review on google of a forward ES.  Thanks for your reply.  

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Beachvue said:

 

Ware going January 2022, Grand Hawaii and Polynesia (LA/LA).  Have taken several Viking cruises and have been in the aft Explorer suite which isn’t available.  I, too, spent many years in the industry and agree the best view is from the bridge. However, the decks forward are very different and was just wondering about possible bulkhead obstructions.  I think I found my answer.  It was hard to find a review on google of a forward ES.  Thanks for your reply.  

 

They do have fairly substantial structural beams outside the fwd suites, but we didn't find that it impacted the visibility. It certainly wasn't as unobstructed as the aft cabins, but we never found it an issue.

 

Great views ahead of the ship through the fwd windows inside the suite and from the balcony.

 

[millybess]

On 8/20/2021 at 11:05 PM, bookbabe said:

We have 5001 on the Star booked for Feb 2023.

 

We love forward cabins, and it’s what we book as a first choice if available. We haven’t sailed with Viking yet, that cruise will be our first, but we’ve done tons of forward cabins on NCL.  We love being under the bridge…best view, IMO, since if it’s the same as the guy steering the ship, it’s got to be good, right?  🙂

I found a couple of videos:

https://youtu.be/4eZOtw8dQuI   (4001, directly below 5001)

https://youtu.be/OzfxvqnpOi4   (3001)

 

I’d had one other video, but can’t find it now.  The nice thing is that since all the ships are the same, a video from any ship will give you a rough idea of what the cabin is like.

 

@bookbabe  Did you stay in 5001 in February?  

[bookbabe]

32 minutes ago, millybess said:

@bookbabe  Did you stay in 5001 in February?  

No, we ended up switching to 5108 on the Sea, for the West Indies Explorer. DH wanted a bigger balcony.

Edited July 5, 2023 by bookbabe

[millybess]

13 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

No, we ended up switching to 5108 on the Sea, for the West Indies Explorer. DH wanted a bigger balcony.

Yeah, my DH just agreed with your DH. 😀  We think the ES2s have a lot of features that aren't in the forward cabins.  However, they are a long way from the "action".  What is your opinion?

[bookbabe]

2 hours ago, millybess said:

Yeah, my DH just agreed with your DH. 😀  We think the ES2s have a lot of features that aren't in the forward cabins.  However, they are a long way from the "action".  What is your opinion?

Actually, we really liked the location of 5108.  Easy access to restaurants, gangway entrance, pool, pretty much everything we wanted to have access to.  Longer walk to the theatre and spa, but that’s of less importance to us.  Balcony was awesome, and having the wraparound gives you a wider potential view of the ports.  We’ve booked that cabin (or the same cabin on the other side) again for our future cruises.

[Beachvue]

We love the aft ES, especially the large balcony.  We have stayed in aft suites several times.  Have 2 more booked and thought we might try a fwd suite but after looking at the layout and balcony of the fwd suite we will stay with the aft.  Love everything about it.  

[Messybill]

We are looking forward to trying 5109 in January, on the Caribbean / Amazon cruise.   Previously we have stayed in both 8000 and 8001, which are really nice in that they immediately adjacent to the 8th floor Explorer lounge entrance.  That (the second floor of the EL) is not usually busy and it is a bit like having a large living room attached to the cabin (although it has to be shared when necessary).  Also, it is nice to have a fully stocked bar next door.    Some of the newer ships use part of that space for the planetarium, but we have avoided those since a short trip on the Jupiter in May '22.  However 8000 series cabins are not so great for access to the restaurants and to the Aquavit, which is one of our favourite spots...