Aft staterooms are known for their lack of airflow so if you are headed to a really hot area and want an balcony stateroom, the aft might not be for you as they can get stifling hot during the midday heat. However they have spectacular views and some people find the prop-wash / waves very peaceful so these cabins sell out fast.
As a general rule of thumb with any cabins, take a look at the ship map. Is your stateroom located under a restaurant? You'll probably hear chairs being dragged across the floor. Under the disco? Expect to be up late due to the music. Under one of the outdoor seating areas? They'll be banging, chairs moving, loud people, and the occasional cigarette. Near the elevator or stairs? You'll hear lots of inconsiderate people as they pass your cabin.
We are in a concierge cabin. While it sounds glamorous, you do share there people with all the other concierge cabins on your floor which can make things busy. If you want quality and a chance to have a less busy concierge then stay on the suite level. Why? The suite generally have their own private butler and there are fewer concierge staterooms on these levels because of it. Due to this, your concierge will be assisting less cabins.
Depending on the type of cruise ship you are on, how far your balcony sticks out, and the wind, you might find some soot from the cruise ship's smoke stack covering your balcony. If it's really bad, you might have to ask to move.
With all the websites there are these days, its really easy to just google the stateroom you are looking at to be able to find an exact diagram of it as well as reviews from people that have stayed in the room. For example, the room we picked has stated that we will have a "wonderful but less breezy ocean view" with "eight concierge class staterooms".
Once we are back, I'll update this article and let you know what we thought but in the meantime drop us a line and let us know what you think.
UPDATE: Oct 2018
I really enjoyed the Aft and didn't find any soot problems. It was extremely warm however during sunny days so we had to keep the blinds closed as it would heat up the room. It was nice to fall asleep with the curtains open, looking at the stars, and there was a couple of times we were awoke with really neat lightening (one bolt hit right behind the ship & knocked out our power). We thought that we would be far enough down so we wouldn't hear anything from the restaurant a couple floors up but there were a few times we heard the squeaking of tables & chairs being slid around. We also didn't have a lot of privacy as everyone at the restaurant looking down, saw everything we were doing on the patio.
