Porthole rooms

[lidorose]

Has anyone ever stayed in a room with a porthole on any HAL ship? Opinions? Observations? Cautions?

Thanks!

[1cruiselvr]

We ALMOST stayed in a port hole room on an S-class ship but luckily changed out of it at the last minute. We were curious about the room, so we peeked in after boarding and were glad we changed rooms. The portholes were small, windows dirty, couldn't see a thing out of them. It seemed darker than a cabin with a regular window. Oh I forgot, we also stayed in a porthole cabin on the Noordam. It was a bit better, but there was no choice on that ship as it's older and I believe most of the outside cabins have portholes instead of windows.....in that case we didn't mind because we got the 14-day Caribbean cruise for C-H-E-A-P. So it's all relative to what is important to you. Happy Sailing!

[jhannah]

1cruiselvr is right ... it's all about what's important to you. For us, we'd just not go if a porthole room was all that was left. We like to relax while cruising. Sometimes the library or lounge is great. Other times we'd rather be in our jammies and really chill. Since we both like daylight, a porthole just wouldn't cut it for us. Maybe having a big window would be okay. But we've never cruised without a veranda ... and I can't see us ever making an exception to that.

[1cruiselvr]

I should add that we didn't know the s-class room had portholes. We did know that it was the first cabin forward and didn't like the location so we were able to change to another available cabin just a few days prior to sail date. Out of curiousity we checked it out after boarding and were surprised to find the port holes instead of a window - and no - they don't open either. :D :D

[Mary Ellen]

We had a porthole on our first cabin (and upper/lower berths :eek: ), but that was back in 1980. HAL doesn't make passenger cabins like any more - thank goodness.

Only the cabins in the extreme bow have portholes now. AND as an added bonus, you'll be the first to know when the ship arrives in port - as you'll hear the anchor chain being lowered. :rolleyes: We haven't experienced this ourselves, but others have reported here that it can be a rude awakening.

[RuffinReady]

We had a porthole cabin on the M.S. Europa (North German Lloyd) during our honeymoon cruise in 1969! All of the cabins had them as it was the only "window" available then.

Oh by the way, all of the cabins also had only double decker bunks. :eek:

Top that if you can!

Ruffin

Bahama Star (long time ago!)
S.S. France (Transatlantic -1965)
S.S Atlantic (Transatlantic, Mediterranean - American Export Lines - 1966)
Europa (Caribbean - 1969 - North German Lloyd)
Statendam (Caribbean - 1975)
Sunward (Bahamas - c. 1980)
Song of America (Caribbean - 1988)
Crown Princess (Alaska - 1999)
Crown Princess (Baltic - 2001)
Royal Princess (B2B to South America - 2001)
Royal Princess (B2B2B; Transatlantic, France, Belgium, Holland; Gt.Britain-2002)
Galaxy (Caribbean - 2003)

Prinsendam (B2B; Transatlantic NYC to Athens – May 2005)

[Vic The Parrot]

I love portholes .....


The round thingys make you feel like you're on a ship.
Um... HELLO!

IT IS A SHIP!

Isn't that what makes a ship, A SHIP?

Like some of us discussed on the paint scheme, the colors make a difference, but there's a majority who'd rather have a floating Hilton with balconies, rather than a real ship made for it's original purpose. Kinda contradictory, eh?

[1cruiselvr]

To each his own...with the size of cruise ships these days, I prefer to be able to see out a window and also get some light into the room. Luckily, most ships are being built with these features. Happy Sailing!

[lipoppop]

On the Veendam in December a fellow cruiser was complaining that his window was so dirty that he would never cruise with HAL again. I suggested he find a cabin with a porthole which being smaller would not disturb his vision as much. Sorry to say he didn't think I was funny. :cool:

[wander]

lippopp,

Or an inside cabin. That way you don't have to worry at all about the condition of the glass.