General cruising question and cabin location

[kdonnel]

How can you not be able to see what's behind you in an aft-facing cabin?

He is saying if you are facing aft you can not see forward, if you are facing forward you can not see aft. If you are facing port you can not see starboard, if you are facing starboard you can not see port.

edited to add: Whoops, I see someone already answered this one and I can't delete. Sorry.

 

[adkkev]

One time cruiser here ... on a HAL Alaskan cruise out of Vancouver. We did not have a balcony cabin, too pricey for us. We spent most of our time outside on one of the rear decks, with some time spent on the upper rear deck. Usually we had the whole deck area to ourselves, soaking in the scenery as we traveled along. Since the ships can do the 360 degree turnaround in the scenic areas (Glacier Bay, Tracy Arm, for example), you usually get to see everything around you.

 

[Frwinkley]

Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful replies!

Wishing on a Star: We are sailing on the HAL Koningsdam, roundtrip in and out of Vancouver on June 13th.

It seems that balcony rooms on the 4th deck are deeper, with some protection from the elements, thanks to the overhang from the balconies on the 5th deck. Admittedly, I'm having trouble seeing all of this, even when I look at the deck plans.

Our only other 2 cruises were to the Caribbean. With nothing much to see during those sea days, we didn't bother with a balcony. I'm really looking forward to our Alaskan balcony; I want to be able to enjoy the scenery away from the crowds occasionally.

I also realize that regardless of balcony location, we won't be able to see everything from our balcony. I'm still struggling with one is best!

 

[Bren's Mom]

I love aft-facing cabin staterooms. Yes, some additional vibration but way less movement in my experience. It's peaceful. We weren't on HAL, so can't comment on that specifically, but on RCCL we had a corner aft that was amazing. Only a small portion that wasn't uncovered could be seen, otherwise it was wonderfully private and big enough that we had a small gathering of friends out on it.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I love aft-facing cabin staterooms. Yes, some additional vibration but way less movement in my experience. It's peaceful. We weren't on HAL, so can't comment on that specifically, but on RCCL we had a corner aft that was amazing. Only a small portion that wasn't uncovered could be seen, otherwise it was wonderfully private and big enough that we had a small gathering of friends out on it.

We had that room! But then, we had to change the date of our cruise, so went down a deck, and were moved to the aft middle. Of course, we saved $7000 for the three cabins, so there's that. But, I had fallen in love with the video of that aft deck--someone had posted it on cruise critic. I'm really hoping we enjoy the aft cabins-especially my one introverted son. I'm not so worried about the other kids having a fabulous time!