twangster 25,639 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 I stayed in 9292 (I think) on Mariner and loved it. Higher up doesn't have as much infrastructure blocking the aft view. I didn't feel vibrations, even when starting from a dead stop. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WannaCruise 913 Posted December 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 8 minutes ago, twangster said: I stayed in 9292 (I think) on Mariner and loved it. Higher up doesn't have as much infrastructure blocking the aft view. I didn't feel vibrations, even when starting from a dead stop. Were you aft facing? 9292 looks like more central and it's starboard side. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 25,639 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 Mariner or Voyager class in general right? Meant 9392. Aft facing with some views to the side if you stand in the corner. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Larry Muster 83 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 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? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WhiteSoxFan 220 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 Deck 7 corner aft on Voyager and Freedom class are also outstanding cabins. The room is standard size but the balcony is about as large as the room. Great view out the side. Mrs. RoyalMoyal, Vacation Crazy, VolFanInGa and 2 others 3 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sean C. 6 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 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. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KathyC 997 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 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). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hoski 370 Posted December 30, 2018 Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 8 hours ago, WannaCruise said: That looks like a nice wider balcony too. Thanks for the feedback. Did you feel the engine vibrations much? No engine noise or vibrations. It was a really good size balcony. We loved watching the ship leaving ports. WannaCruise 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WannaCruise 913 Posted December 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2018 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. KathyC 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lauraodonnell86 98 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 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 Vacation Crazy 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacation Crazy 105 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 5 hours ago, lauraodonnell86 said: We have cabin 9404 booked on Freedom in 3 weeks! I will try to take some photos and come back to report We have the cabin next door 9406. It will be great to hear your feedback! Have a wonderful trip! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WannaCruise 913 Posted December 31, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Hope you both enjoy your cruise! Would love to see photos of those aft rooms when you return. Vacation Crazy 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bigred 6 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 We were lucky enough to get an Aft Facing Balcony for our Honeymoon in September travelling through the Norwegian Fjords. We feel like the pros far outweigh any cons, as the views should be breathtaking. Enjoy! WannaCruise 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MotleyCruiser 404 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 On 12/30/2018 at 11:20 AM, twangster said: Mariner or Voyager class in general right? Meant 9392. Aft facing with some views to the side if you stand in the corner. I'll be in 9694 for the Monsters of Rock Cruise in Feb. Sooo looking forward to getting away!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 25,639 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 I'm back home and found some aft balcony pics from 9392 on Mariner. Looking down: To the side: 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. Aft panoramic view at sea: Lovetocruise2002, lauraodonnell86 and JLMoran 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marc Van Niekerk 248 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Thanks for the pictures @twangster we have 9690 on Mariner for a B2B in October and that should be the same balcony setup as 9390 just reversed! Can't wait to enjoy our balcony! twangster 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rjweber3 34 Posted December 31, 2018 Report Share Posted December 31, 2018 Our first cruise was on Explorer in 2000. Through no great forethought ended up with an aft facing balcony on Deck 10. We were hooked. We have tried to get them for our subsequent cruises. But they have been hard to get. We love the extra lounger space and the privacy. Once we could smell the diesel exhaust faintly. And, it is a longer walk to and from. But we prefer aft facing cabins if they are not all booked up. BTW, there is a Grand Suite on all the Radiance ships on the aft Starboard side of Deck 10. I think it is 1600. We have tried to book it for years. Big cabin with and acre of balcony looking both aft and starboard. I think there must be TAs with a permanent reservation for clients like us. WannaCruise 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WannaCruise 913 Posted January 1, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2019 Wow twangster, thanks for the photos. The balcony pictures look amazing! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HeWhoWaits 1,160 Posted January 2, 2019 Report Share Posted January 2, 2019 Simple answer - Aft Balconies are the way to go. WannaCruise 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
VolFanInGa 22 Posted January 6, 2019 Report Share Posted January 6, 2019 Thanks for the great pics @WhiteSoxFan. We're going to be next door to that cabin in April. Do you recall any noise with WJ directly above you? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jticarruthers 874 Posted January 6, 2019 Report Share Posted January 6, 2019 We have done a couple of corner afts right under the windjammer, no noticeable noise for us. WannaCruise and VolFanInGa 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacation Crazy 105 Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 On 12/30/2018 at 11:51 PM, lauraodonnell86 said: We have cabin 9404 booked on Freedom in 3 weeks! I will try to take some photos and come back to report Hope you had a great trip! How did you like your aft balcony? We are in a deep freeze here. I'm dreaming of our Southern Caribbean cruise!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
melmar02 1,195 Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 I love seeing all the photos. We have an aft balcony on Liberty in September, deck 9. So excited! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lauraodonnell86 98 Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 1 hour ago, Vacation Crazy said: Hope you had a great trip! How did you like your aft balcony? We are in a deep freeze here. I'm dreaming of our Southern Caribbean cruise!! We did have a wonderful trip, thank you! I have attached some pictures of stateroom 9404 on Freedom of the Seas. Honestly, we probably wouldn't book it again. I've heard great things about aft cabins and I wouldn't hesitate to book another aft, but not this corner aft on deck 9. I have read that corner aft balconies below deck 9 get bigger as you do further down and we could see that to be true by looking at the ship from port. The cabin category is 6D which I believe is the cheapest (smallest) balcony category and it definitely felt small. We had less storage than previous balconies and it had the smaller couch rather than full size. As you can see, there was a large beam on the balcony that caused some issues with the chair arrangement. There were 2 lounge chairs, 2 regular chairs and a table but there wasn't enough room to use all of them so the loungers stayed stacked together and were used as a foot rest The views were great though and we have no complaints there! We knew the people next to us in cabin 9406 and so we got to see their balcony and it was HUGE! We are booked in that cabin next year and I'm excited to try that out for ourselves! I believe the room is still a bit smaller but at least the balcony is a little more functional. After a day or so, we were fine with the size of our room. Hope this helps everyone! Matt, Vacation Crazy and JLMoran 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vacation Crazy 105 Posted January 30, 2019 Report Share Posted January 30, 2019 @lauraodonnell86 Thank you so much for the feedback and pics. We have 9406 booked. I looked into the aft balconies on a lower deck and they were triple occupancy. A couple of questions. I have read aft balconies can be very sunny. It looks like deck 9 has very little overhang for shade?? Also, did you feel a lack of privacy with the upper decks looking down on you? Thanks again! Jane Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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