Just booked a *very* Forward room......your thoughts?

[DVCkidsMOM]

To me the motion in a forward cabin is very different from the motion in an aft cabin. I enjoy the motion forward - I'm being rocked to sleep. The only time I was seasick was due to the aft corkscrew type motion. Up and down I like, side to side I can handle, corkscrew is my definition of cruising disaster.
I book aft for extended balconies for Western Caribbean cruises where the water is generally less choppy than Eastern Caribbean and Bahamas. I have a forward reservation for my next (hopeful, not yet cancelled) cruise.
Just wanted to put forth a different opinion FWIW.

 

[mcd2745]

We have been all the way forward several times and only had it be an issue one night - on our cruise last February when we hit 25 foot waves the last night heading back to Port Canaveral. Most days it is completely fine.

 

[Purplejewel]

Many years ago my husband and I were in the most forward cabin on the Dream, I believe it was Deck 6, and the cabin never stopped rocking - literally. I did not mind it as much when sleeping because I enjoyed the rocking sensation but trying to put makeup on every evening before dinner was extremely difficult. I am surprised I did not poke my eye out. I get motion sick very easily so I am always on Bonine for the entire length of a cruise so I never got ill, just made certain things harder which is why my husband I prefer Aft cabins now. Some motion and vibration but not nearly as much as we felt in a Forward cabin.

 

[dvcdisney]

We generally choose forward staterooms on deck 7 (a few times on deck 6), one aft stateroom and a couple mid staterooms.

Our preference is forward on deck 7. On Dream and Fantasy, we felt it was much rockier during the Eastern Caribbean cruise. On the Magic (Europe) and Wonder (Alaskan), we rarely felt anything in the forward staterooms likely because our cruises didn't need to increase speed to get to the next port...except the journey to and from Iceland.

Our one time in the aft was not as enjoyable. It was loud from thrusters and other guests, as well as vibrations.

Our times in midship was never much better than forward, getting a lower category verandah in forward was our best choice.

I know a lot of people feel forward has a lot of motion. I do have issues with motion sickness and sometimes I can feel it in the stateroom (Dream and Fantasy), but I found it to be worse when we were in the aft main dining room (even though the dining room is much lower deck). So not sure why that's so...but we choose forward more often as we're used to it. It's quieter than aft or midship in our experience.

 

[mevelandry]

Thanks for all your responses!
We are on the Fantasy on an E Caribbean cruise in September 2022.
We'll be on Deck 12.
Just crossing our fingers for a smooth sailing, no storms and good times!

Deck 12 will definitely rock more than lower decks.

 

[Cheburashka]

Hi...we just booked a room at the very front of the ship it seems.
There may be one room in front of us. It's on an upper deck.
I realize weather has a lot to do with this but on average, for those who have sailed Forward, it would be nice to hear your thoughts.

I'd love to hear your experience with this. Do you feel a lot of motion or chop?

I've had a room at the very rear of the ship and that was horrible. Never again.

I've sailed far forward on upper decks twice on the Fantasy. On our first Fantasy cruise (deck 8 forward), it was quite rocky but that was because the whole ship was rocky on that cruise: people swayed when walking down the halls & CMs commented on it during entertainment, waterslides were closed due to wind for multiple days, etc. That was an extremely windy cruise, but even then the room wasn't unpleasant. On our second Fantasy cruise (also deck 8 even farther forward), wind wasn't an issue for that cruise, the waterslides never closed down, and we never noticed any unusual movement in our stateroom.

 

[Clojel]

Thanks for all your responses!
We are on the Fantasy on an E Caribbean cruise in September 2022.
We'll be on Deck 12.
Just crossing our fingers for a smooth sailing, no storms and good times!

You’ll be fine! We were on 12008 on the Dream on our last November Caribbean cruise. We felt it a bit that first night, leaving Florida...but nothing terrible. I thought it was more like a gentle swaying...made me feel a bit “tipsy”....but not sick at all. We didn’t feel it at all once we were in the Caribbean.

You are sailing at the tail end of hurricane season...so it *could* be worse than we had in November....but I think that high up, the motion isn’t as detectable!

 

[beaglefan]

We had a problem with our room once which required us to switch to a new room mid cruise that was way forward. The movement of the ship was too much for us at night when the speeds were greater. Motion sickness was not fun, and we would not select a very forward cabin of our own choosing.

Good luck!

 

[whatlevelisthis]

We generally choose forward staterooms on deck 7 (a few times on deck 6), one aft stateroom and a couple mid staterooms.

Our preference is forward on deck 7. On Dream and Fantasy, we felt it was much rockier during the Eastern Caribbean cruise. On the Magic (Europe) and Wonder (Alaskan), we rarely felt anything in the forward staterooms likely because our cruises didn't need to increase speed to get to the next port...except the journey to and from Iceland.

Our one time in the aft was not as enjoyable. It was loud from thrusters and other guests, as well as vibrations.

Our times in midship was never much better than forward, getting a lower category verandah in forward was our best choice.

I know a lot of people feel forward has a lot of motion. I do have issues with motion sickness and sometimes I can feel it in the stateroom (Dream and Fantasy), but I found it to be worse when we were in the aft main dining room (even though the dining room is much lower deck). So not sure why that's so...but we choose forward more often as we're used to it. It's quieter than aft or midship in our experience.

I'm curious, could you still feel/hear the thrusters when you were in a forward cabin on the Magic and Wonder, vs. an aft cabin? On my last cruise on Allure of the Seas, we were in a forward cabin, on a not particularly high or low deck (about the equivalent of deck 5 on the Magic/Wonder), and the shuddering and vibration of the thrusters woke us up early each morning we pulled into port, and I consider myself to be a deep sleeper. As a result we were all sleep deprived and cranky.

I just booked forward cabins on Deck 6 on the Magic (#6010) for this summer and am hoping it'll be quieter, at least not enough to wake us up. Thanks!

 

[dvcdisney]

I'm curious, could you still feel/hear the thrusters when you were in a forward cabin on the Magic and Wonder, vs. an aft cabin? On my last cruise on Allure of the Seas, we were in a forward cabin, on a not particularly high or low deck (about the equivalent of deck 5 on the Magic/Wonder), and the shuddering and vibration of the thrusters woke us up early each morning we pulled into port, and I consider myself to be a deep sleeper. As a result we were all sleep deprived and cranky.

I just booked forward cabins on Deck 6 on the Magic (#6010) for this summer and am hoping it'll be quieter, at least not enough to wake us up. Thanks!

Our last few cruises have been on Magic and Wonder and in the forward staterooms. I do remember a couple of times feeling the vibration when docking, but it wasn't even close to the amount we felt/heard in the aft stateroom (Wonder) and we were not even at the far aft (deck 7, aft but closer towards mid). But our choice not to stay in aft was more due to the loudness of other guests. It seemed more chaotic in the aft than the forward...perhaps since the forward staterooms in the magic/wonder don't connect at the end of the hallway. But on the Dream and Fantasy, we stayed at the far forward and it did connect and it still wasn't as busy or loud with guests.

I know a lot of people like aft more than forward, so I think it really depends on each family.

Hope that helps.

 

[whatlevelisthis]

Our last few cruises have been on Magic and Wonder and in the forward staterooms. I do remember a couple of times feeling the vibration when docking, but it wasn't even close to the amount we felt/heard in the aft stateroom (Wonder) and we were not even at the far aft (deck 7, aft but closer towards mid). But our choice not to stay in aft was more due to the loudness of other guests. It seemed more chaotic in the aft than the forward...perhaps since the forward staterooms in the magic/wonder don't connect at the end of the hallway. But on the Dream and Fantasy, we stayed at the far forward and it did connect and it still wasn't as busy or loud with guests.

I know a lot of people like aft more than forward, so I think it really depends on each family.

Hope that helps.

Great point about the connecting hallways, I hadn't thought about that. Thanks!

 

[auntlynne]

Very nice how you avoided rubbing in that you are in Concierge. You tried to avoid that. Congrats on the nice digs.

You can have plenty of ginger ale from the lounge.

I did Dream Deck 11, forward, a Little farther back, on one of those FL straight crossing 3 nighters. Did fine. Not so easy on me when I was on Deck 5, just forward of the forward elevators on my first cruise, same itinerary.

I also managed to adjust to sailing over the years and now only need meds for extremely rough seas (like when they close all the outside exits).

 

[mom4fun]

The motion forward can be very rough. I always pick aft over forward. Middle is best.

 

[Disneyloverliz]

I have been on two large cruise ships and took medication the entire time. I have done three small boat cruises and took very limited medication but did get very ill one evening in the San Juan Islands. For me it seems to make no difference where I am. Rocking motion just gets to me. I medicate for flying and do not do certain rides. Parents say I was alwasy the one that would be sick in the car. No doubt, I remember but medication helps so much and I travel well with it. My point, it depends sometimes on the person and how susceptible they are to motion..

What is a good option for seasickness? I hear bonine.

 

[Clojel]

What is a good option for seasickness? I hear bonine.

We used Dramamine and did fine. I think the key is to take it the day before the cruise and then again an hour before. Motion sickness pills take a while to kick in!

 

[Disneyloverliz]

We used Dramamine and did fine. I think the key is to take it the day before the cruise and then again an hour before. Motion sickness pills take a while to kick in!

Good to know!

 

[dvcdisney]

What is a good option for seasickness? I hear bonine.

I take Bonine. It works for me and I take it every night. Similarly to the previous poster, I take it before the cruise. One tablet the night before.

I give my daughter half a tablet the night before and then again the first night. After that she doesn't seem to need it.

 

[mzspaz]

You’ll be fine! We were on 12008 on the Dream on our last November Caribbean cruise. We felt it a bit that first night, leaving Florida...but nothing terrible. I thought it was more like a gentle swaying...made me feel a bit “tipsy”....but not sick at all. We didn’t feel it at all once we were in the Caribbean.

You are sailing at the tail end of hurricane season...so it *could* be worse than we had in November....but I think that high up, the motion isn’t as detectable!

We did room room 12008 on the Dream for our March cruise. Gentle swaying was a good way to describe it. It really did rock me to sleep. Loved that room as the location was great and the extra size on the balcony was fantastic. For our next cruise, we are even farther forward. Room 12004 on the Fantasy. I will make sure I have my motion sickness medicine on me!

 

[VegastoDis]

We stayed forward on the Fantasy on our Eastern Caribbean cruise in Jan 2020 and it didn’t seem to matter what part of the ship we were in- it was rough! No amount of Bonine, nor a location change made it better. The aft vibrations did seems to make it worse but maybe I was just irritated. We also stayed forward on a summer Dream cruise to the Bahamas and didn’t feel a thing.

 

[jtntx34]

I don’t really get seasick, but I can definitely feel the boat no matter where I am on the ship if it is rocking. However, I agree with previous poster who said that forward seems to bother me less than aft motion. You’d think it would be the same but somehow just doesn’t feel the same to me personally. And, also contrary to common reports, the lower decks bother me more than higher decks when boat is in choppy waters.

I am sure it has zero correlation, but on rides in amusement parks, I prefer spinny or roundly-round rides to up/down rides (think rides like Scrambler or Tilt-a-Whirl and some roller coasters that do more banking and turning like Big Thunder Mountain vs up/down rides or rides with large drops). Personally, I always figured my aversion to drops was just purely a fear of heights, but I honestly just do not enjoy them as much. I have laughed hysterically on the twirly whirly rides and can repeat them if there is no line, but I just sort of scream and feel stressed on the other rides and usually never re-ride them. Never ever. I also always loved swings and merry-go-rounds and not slides (even water slides) as a kid. So, I do wonder if the slight differences in motion sensing is correlated in any way. Probably not. Either way, I prefer forward to aft. It is usually very quiet, lesser used elevators, and the motion has not bothered me.