Square Foot Talk

[yes2sail]

Just wondering how much time cruisers spend in their cabins. Last cruise I was on there was so much talk about how big each traveler's cabin wa. I am confused. I go on vacation to see the ports and enjoy the ship. Who cars how big the cabin is???

[cal2632]

When you're in the same cabin for 14 days, with 14 days worth of clothing, purchases made on shore, and (in our case) scuba gear, you want every square inch possible. :-)

[jhannah]

We always have a veranda when we cruise, so we spent lots of time in our stateroom. We enjoy being out and about in the ship, but not all day every day. Having extra room to get around in just adds to our enjoyment.

[heyabbott]

There are some that just can't stand confined spaces. From the look of some pictures of the Deluxe Veranda cabins, VA, VB.... the distance from the foot of the bed to the wall is a little disconcerting. If two people can stand shoulder to shoulder and each touch a wall, claustrphobia starts to rear her head.

There are trade offs in everything. I guess on a ship you're trading the large, spacious rooms of land based resorts for the cruise experience.

[wander]

With a few weekend escape exceptions, our cruises have been from 21 - 64 days. In each case we have reserved an inside cabin and find that at least on the HAL ships there has been plenty of closet and drawer space for our stuff (and we do dress formally for formal nights). We even have room for our purchases, but I must say that we have been fortunate to have traveled so much we do not buy much anymore (no room at home).

I realize that some folks cannot cope without a window, but we do just fine. Outside of sleeping, grooming and dressing we spend very little time in our cabin - be it sea or port days. Seldom is our cabin time during the day at the same time for both of us. We keep busy on the ship, but like different things. If I want to "hide" away and read while looking at the view there are plenty of nooks and crannies through-out the ships.

Several times we have been upgraded to a cabin with a window, and yes, it certainly is nice. Once we were even moved to a cabin with a veranda (loved it). However, on a long cruise the difference in price usually covers our shore excursions and allows for more travel. This just happens to be our choice and we are comfortable with it. Others will disagree.

Now, I have had some cruising friends where one had some mobility problems and could not "flit" around the ship as I do. For them, a veranda cabin was wonderful because she could stay in the cabin, see the view and get outside if she so desired. Under those circumstances I would change my thinking as well.

[jaguarstyper]

Having had both ends of the spectrum, from a basic Inside on Carnival to Deluxe Verandah Suite (S) on HAL and just about everything in between, I feel compelled to comment. You've heard the old adage, "You never spend any time in your cabin, why get a big cabin?" If you have an inside cabin, I can see how this would apply. You wont want to spend any time there.

We found we spent a lot of time either in the suite or on our verandah. We're just not into crowded pools, noisy smoky bars or busy public spaces. We loved relaxing on the verandah during the at sea days just soaking up the sunshine. We also found it to be a great place to host sailaway parties at each port we left. Not really possible in an inside cabin.

Again, its all in what you like. If you are enamoured by the public spaces on the ship and want to meet a lot of people, get an inside cabin and spend a lot of time in the public spaces. Its just not "our" thing. We preferred the quiet space afforded by our suite and verandah.

Tim

[SueOverend]

We always spend a lot of time in our cabin. Usually retire about 3.30 in the afternoon to get ready for our 8.30 dinner! Spend the time having a nap, reading on the balcony, having tea delivered and watching the ocean slide by, watch a movie and as the evening comes in have a glass of wine and watch the sun go down. Then we eventually get ready for dinner. You won't believe how many times we run out of time and have to hurry to get ready!! For us the cabin is one of most important elements of our cruise. We find this the most relaxing time on the ship. Although we love the ports and spend some time on the main deck, we do enjoy the peace and quiet of our own space. Very rarely even make it to a bar for a pre-dinner drink. When I think about it, I can't believe we spend that much time in our cabin! This year we've got a suite for the first time - goodness knows whether we'll see any of the ports!!!

We have friends though who are the complete opposite - as long as you are happy who cares!

Enjoy!

Sue

[Sea Island Lady]

If you are use to large spaces, then a small, dark inside stateroom can be claustrophobic.

I prefer to have room to walk around in and have quick access to the outdoors. Therefore, a suite and veranda are important to me.

[Giorgi-one]

This year we've got a suite for the first time - goodness knows whether we'll see any of the ports!!!
Sue

Hope you make it to dinner!

[damcruiser]

Book the Sun Princess... size does matter.. You open the door and stumble onto the bed.. 132 square feet, no chair.... Celebrity at 152 two chairs... HAL 172 feet, a full sofa...a place to sit, lounge while other half gets ready.. sip a glass or two...

Beyond that.. if you got the $$ why save it for the kids?:cool:

[DFD1]

One of the several reasons we usually cruise with HAL (during the last few years anyway) is the size of the staterooms. In every category, they are usually larger than the other major cruise lines.

I think it's important to a lot of people. However, when we were younger, it didn't matter much how small the cabin was.....If the price was right we were ready to go.

[bepsf]

I only book the SS's so I can get the jacuzzi tub...

;)

[watchdiva]

Having cruised 20+ years and stayed in cabins ranging from a teeny inside on the Norway to a penthouse on the Norwegian Dawn, the amount of space mattered more as we got older and spent more time in our cabin. We're with SueOverend, we spend way too much time in our cabin just "being together" on the veranda and watching the waves go by - and it works for us and definitely contributes to our "gee, what a great cruise" feeling at the end of the trip.

We're looking forward to our S on the Zuiderdam (first timers on HAL) - from all reports, we may never want to leave!:p

Lin

[Pudgesmom]

Ditto all the comments on the verandas. I would add to that; the veranda is almost like a second room. If one person wants to sleep, the other can sit on the veranda and read or sightsee. I am an early riser on vacation, and I love to sit on the veranda while my DH is snoozing! :D

Beth

[Peggy Sue]

We've been in inside and outside cabins, and suites. We love the suites with the huge verandahs! On a 3 or 4 night cruise .. we had an inside once and a verandah another time...truthfully, on shorter cruises...it was a waste of money to go for the verandah. There was too much going on to have any time in our cabin to enjoy the verandah.

But..on 7+ night cruises...we love the verandah and spend a great deal of time in our cabin. We don't use the pools, so sitting on our verandah, reading a book, taking a snooze, watching the beatiful sites and just spending some quality alone time is fantastic .. and we leave the cruise feeling refreshed and ready to face the world again!

up next -- Alaska .. Zaandam S suite .. can't wait to sit out on our verandah, sip a hot cup of tea and enjoy the beauty of nature!

Peggy Sue

[Himself]

Hope you enjoy Alaska on the Zaandam. I will be going on the OOSTERDAM out of Seattle in May. Hope it is not too cold. Hard to bellieve it was three months ago we were on the Volendam in all that bad weather.

Himself

[ExpCruiser]

On the size of the cabin, I can see how folks with mobility issues would really need/want the verandahs. And agree that HAL rooms seem larger than other lines. But from my point of view, the extra cost for a special room just doesn't make sense. The longest cruise I've taken is 14 days but we were in ports 10 of those days so we barely spend time in the rooms at all.