Which one of these staterooms should I choose

[jaw62901]

Hi,

I am going to be booking a Category S suite on the Dec 11 HAL sailing to the Western Caribbean.

I have no clue which staterooms are better than others and am hoping that since you have been on a HAL you can help me out with this. Out of the following that are available which one would you choose and why.

Deck Location Stateroom Number
Upper Outside/Port 4180
Upper Outside/Starboard 4185
Verandah Outside/Port 5186
Verandah Outside/Starboard 5187
Upper Outside/Port 6084
Upper Outside/Port 6088
Upper Outside/Starboard 6093
Upper Outside/Starboard 6095
Upper Outside/Starboard 6097
Upper Outside/Port 6156
Upper Outside/Port 6158

Thanks,

[localady]

It depends what you are looking for in your cruise. Is being close to the Neptune lounge (the exclusive lounge for Suite customers) important? Would you rather have a Suite in the back that is farther from the Lounge but has an expansive view of the aft of the ship off it's huge balcony? There are pros and cons to them all, you need to decide what is important for your vacation!

Hope you love your cruise regardless!:cool:

[jaw62901]

localady,

This is easy. I want to beable to sit on my balcony and relax and watch the waves go by.

[777steve]

5186 or 5187 hands down.

Big balcony ... REALLY BIG.

Largest square footage of the aft suites (360+) in the actual interior floor space. Had both on Oosterdam and Westerdam. Have another one coming up on Oosterdam again.

But then, that's just another opinion :)

Cheers!

[RDWills]

Many people do like the aft suites, they go quick.

I like them all but try to avoid the suites next to the center elevator on the Vista ships (the elevator has a full view of your verandah), and I also avoid connecting rooms since we travel by ourselves. HAL's web site indicates the connecting suites with a "+" sign on the floorplan.

Lastly the rooms near the Neptune Lounge are very popular, as are the mid ship rooms which feel a little less motion.

-Robin

[jaw62901]

Thanks for the feedback. I think I am either going with 5186 or 5187. I hope my TA got my e-mail because since I a cruising solo, she got me a killer deal on the suite, but like you said they go fast.

[Kelfly]

5186 or 5187 hands down.

Big balcony ... REALLY BIG.

Largest square footage of the aft suites (360+) in the actual interior floor space. Had both on Oosterdam and Westerdam. Have another one coming up on Oosterdam again.

But then, that's just another opinion :)

Cheers!


Glad to hear this! We booked 5187 Zuiderdam last week for Dec. 3. Anything else you can tell me about this suite, balcony, etc. would be greatly appreciated! We had our first aft suite early December on Golden Princess, but wanted to try out HAL again (sailed Volendam a few years ago to Alaska). HAL just seemed to have a bit more elegance than Princess. But the aft suite was to die for! Hope HAL's is just as nice!

First question I can think of is: Is the balcony door a regular "door" that we'll need a bungee cord for to keep open at night, or is it a sliding door?

[jhannah]

Of course, there's no such thing as a bad S cabin! ;) I generally prefer midships. However, I'd love to try the aft setup some day.

[jaw62901]

I am sure there isn't. However since this is my first cruise (went with the folks 10-15 years ago atleast), I want to make sure that I choose wisely.

[777steve]

Regarding the door: regular - so plan accordingly.

All things being equal ... they rarely are! The biggest difference in 5186/5187 and the others ... sides I mean... is in the space between the bed and the sofa and the sofa itself. The site plan calls for this to be a 3 person max capacity because the sofa is smaller than the sides. It also does not have that angle out that the larger suites have. The loooong wall of cabinetry that houses the TV and such is different so the TV is placed in a different orientation but it is perfectly good - I can't imagine anyone having a problem with this. The closet space is EPIC .... I would challenge anyone to fill it all up! The bathrooms are identical in every respect.

But the verandah of course is perfect..... if you are a wave watcher or like to entertain on the verandah it is ideal. We had a very nice sailaway party on Westerdam and had 50+ people. It was (at least to us) a great space and there was room for anyone who wanted some rail time to have it!

The side suites that some of our travelling party had were wonderful .. and if I were not such a verandah hound I would like the extra "move around" room that the others had and would opt for Rotterdam deck nearer the Neptune. Those folks are wonderful and it's nice to be able to pop in for a nosh or a coffee!

Finally, the best part (in comparing to some other lines' aft baclony set ups) is that there are no massive support structures in the way of the view. Looking at some of the Princess and RCCL set ups for the aft made me determine that I would probably opt for other locations on those ... I don't like the heavy structures affecting my view. So I would go for what has the greatest square footage - VS or better on princess or OS on RCCL.

Anyway .. those are my updates. Some fact - some opinion. Hope some portion was helpful! :)

Cheers!

[jaw62901]

Steve,

Thanks for the feedback. Since this is my first real cruise all the information vet cruisers like yourself can pass on is great.

Thanks,