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Aft Balconies


WannaCruise

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Anyone been in an aft facing balcony?  We just switched to one on Mariner as the room looks quite large.  My main concern is if the view is limited since you can only see behind you (and you are staying still more to handle moving on the short cruises).  Also , the walk is longer.

For those that have stayed in aft facing, do you like it?  Or prefer port/starboard balcony?

 

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I have not had the pleasure of an aft balcony yet, but...if I had one sailing out of Miami, I would not give that up even if there was some infrastructure in the way. The view out the aft while sailing out of Miami would be gorgeous! And like @FlowBro Ty said, the higher you go, the less obstructions. 

One thing to note is that some have reported on other forums that there is soot on aft balconies sometimes. Would that stop me? Probably not. I think the pros far outweigh the cons.

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3 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I have not had the pleasure of an aft balcony yet, but...if I had one sailing out of Miami, I would not give that up even if there was some infrastructure in the way. The view out the aft while sailing out of Miami would be gorgeous! And like @FlowBro Ty said, the higher you go, the less obstructions. 

One thing to note is that some have reported on other forums that there is soot on aft balconies sometimes. Would that stop me? Probably not. I think the pros far outweigh the cons.

Thanks.  By the time we sail Mariner (summer 2020), its out of Port Canaveral.  But guess either way, we'd get a pretty sail away from our stateroom.

Good to know the higher the better. We typically go more central top to bottom, but will be nice being closer to pools, waterslides, etc (well, once we walk all the way down the hallway to the stairs....lol)

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Just now, WannaCruise said:

Thanks.  By the time we sail Mariner (summer 2020), its out of Port Canaveral.  But guess either way, we'd get a pretty sail away from our stateroom.

Good to know the higher the better. We typically go more central top to bottom, but will be nice being closer to pools, waterslides, etc (well, once we walk all the way down the hallway to the stairs....lol)

Oh...never mind the Miami sailaway part then. I would still take an aft view over non-aft from any departure port. Just one more thing to note is that Deck 10 is right under the WJ. Not sure if you would get noise from there?

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6 hours ago, KathyC said:

We're going to have our first one on Grandeur in April 2019.   Personally, we would not book one with an infrastructure - ruins the wake view.

Agree with this. On Voyager and Freedom class ships, the corner aft on deck 7 are the most desirable for view and size.

On Radiance and Vision class ships, all the aft balconies have the view and that sound. Its like the sound of being on a balcony at the beach with the churning water. These balconies are larger(deeper) than a side balcony. People sometimes say they don't want an aft balcony because of the long walk to the elevators or anywhere for that matter. While this is true, we don't mind a bit.

 This is a deck 9 aft on the Brilliance(9658). Second pic is Serenade(7176)                                                                                                                                                                                                    

DSCN6799.jpg

IMG_0354.jpeg

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58 minutes ago, Vacation Crazy said:

We have our first aft balcony booked on Freedom (deck 9).  Watching the wake is so peaceful!   My only concern may be lack of privacy and shade.  It looks like the upper decks can look down on the balconies and they are very sunny.   Any feedback on this?  Thanks!

 

On Freedom and Voyager class ships, you are a bit removed from the ships wake on the aft balconies. However, I would book one anytime. This pic is from deck 7 corner aft looking down. You can see that we do have some view of the balconies on deck 6, but not a lot.

DSCN6507.jpg

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LS54S, thank you so much for the pictures.  Is the one right above from deck 7 room 7688?  That certainly lessons the aft view.  Brilliance and Serenade view looks amazing....so peaceful. 

I think our view from 1688 does have infrastructure that is mentioned above (but not seeing the front of the ship like above) but we don't often get balconies so just seeing water for us is nice.  Since on these 4 day cruises,  Mariner is mostly staying still (moved at night) , we won't see the lovely wake and would prefer a side view of port.  However, we moved from a standard spacious balcony to this one for the extra space inside the room, which will work well for 2 adults and 2 kids.  Hoping it isn't too hot on the balcony (in August....prob will)

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21 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

LS54S, thank you so much for the pictures.  Is the one right above from deck 7 room 7688?  That certainly lessons the aft view.  Brilliance and Serenade view looks amazing....so peaceful. 

I think our view from 1688 does have infrastructure that is mentioned above (but not seeing the front of the ship like above) but we don't often get balconies so just seeing water for us is nice.  Since on these 4 day cruises,  Mariner is mostly staying still (moved at night) , we won't see the lovely wake and would prefer a side view of port.  However, we moved from a standard spacious balcony to this one for the extra space inside the room, which will work well for 2 adults and 2 kids.  Hoping it isn't too hot on the balcony (in August....prob will)

 

That is cabin 7708, port side aft on Freedom class ships(Independence, Freedom, Liberty)). Same as 7688 and 7388 on Voyager class ships(Navigator, Voyager, Explorer, Adventure).

Below is a pic from 7388, starboard/aft on Navigator.

DSCN4699.jpg

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We stayed in the deck 10 corner aft on the Mariner when she was sailing on the west coast.  It is a great room.  Very large and roomy.  There is a pole in the center at the end of the bed it is not really an issue.  The balcony is not as large as some of the lower decks but the view is unobstructed.  I know I have photos of it somewhere. I'll se if I can fine them.

The only downside (or upside) is there is a lot of walking to get back there.  Good news is you can have that extra desert.

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WhiteSoxFan, thanks so much for the photos!  These are great.  I've seen similar ones for the room one before, but the balcony gives me a good idea of size and shape.  Great that they give you both loungers and regular chairs (and I see what people mean when they say you can bump your head). Looks like you can see off to the side just slightly?

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On 12/28/2018 at 7:04 PM, WannaCruise said:

Anyone been in an aft facing balcony?  We just switched to one on Mariner as the room looks quite large.  My main concern is if the view is limited since you can only see behind you (and you are staying still more to handle moving on the short cruises).  Also , the walk is longer.

For those that have stayed in aft facing, do you like it?  Or prefer port/starboard balcony?

 

Did you check you Tube yet??? I did see a video a couple of months ago and the family loved the aft cabin on the Mariner. We just had a cabin on the starboard side on deck 6 just above the life boats and we loved it. Also check Jim Zim on you tube as he also talks about aft cabins on cruise ships also.  

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2 hours ago, Larry Muster said:

I’m booked in J4-7652 Junior Suite on Grandeur.  It’s a rear facing balcony.  I found a YouTube video of the same cabin on Vision of the Seas.  I assume since it’s the same class of ship that the room is likely very similiar?

We're going to be in 7154! I'll try to remember to post pictures when I get back; we're sailing in April.  You an also follow along with me on Periscope @KathLuvsGH). 

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3 hours ago, Sean C. said:

Did you check you Tube yet??? I did see a video a couple of months ago and the family loved the aft cabin on the Mariner. We just had a cabin on the starboard side on deck 6 just above the life boats and we loved it. Also check Jim Zim on you tube as he also talks about aft cabins on cruise ships also.  

Thanks.  Love Jim Zim's videos, and he's quite informative. Will look for it.

 

2 hours ago, KathyC said:

We're going to be in 7154! I'll try to remember to post pictures when I get back; we're sailing in April.  You an also follow along with me on Periscope @KathLuvsGH). 

Enjoy your cruise. Will add you on periscope.

 

40 minutes ago, Hoski said:

No engine noise or vibrations.  It was a really good size balcony.  We loved watching the ship leaving ports.

Great to hear.  Thanks.

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On 12/29/2018 at 6:10 AM, Vacation Crazy said:

We have our first aft balcony booked on Freedom (deck 9).  Watching the wake is so peaceful!   My only concern may be lack of privacy and shade.  It looks like the upper decks can look down on the balconies and they are very sunny.   Any feedback on this?  Thanks!

 

We have cabin 9404 booked on Freedom in 3 weeks! I will try to take some photos and come back to report ?

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I'm back home and found some aft balcony pics from 9392 on Mariner.

2096132873_MarinerDay1-9.jpg.75b028c5583eb22c1337c8903764046e.jpg

586593275_MarinerDay1-8.jpg.71f62a5745dd03a36e0bb07ef9a52032.jpg

Looking down:

294564305_MarinerDay1-14.jpg.ca0642c8a7a8c0489b28e120a9af39c5.jpg

To the side:

1378403567_MarinerDay1-13.thumb.jpg.4deeab3d41974a8a136ede119e62eea1.jpg1957185841_MarinerDay1-12.jpg.d18abf58e452d49f8dc16393c6d4f716.jpg

2019076773_MarinerDay1-10.jpg.a548f4b6aef5c092a25a050f764ce124.jpg

1842412480_MarinerDay1-7.jpg.461ab22b15cad663d6e10eb133b9263c.jpg

Here is 9390.  Note the hinge door versus patio door, plus window.  It does have a support beam that runs down but don't let the pictures from this angle fool you, it's a nice balcony with side and aft views, just no loungers.

1965345914_MarinerDay1-11.jpg.bee07d98b7589342d45e8273bb7bbd3e.jpg

Mariner-4.jpg.930a1b77ba34daa5f4327a90c7f650ed.jpg

Aft panoramic view at sea:

1943085132_MarinerDay4-1.jpg.fa9dd0a92ea5735e12a60f1ff379fa7a.jpg

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