View Full Version : Zuiderdam Balcony Cabins.
mrcruzer
May 27th, 2006, 01:25 PM
We are now pretty sure we would like to try HAL's Zuiderdam or Noordam in spring 2007, for a short, 4 or 5 night Pacific Coastal, depending on what they release.
We want a balcony cabin, as we have been spoiled enough to have that every time, but were wondering what would be out best option. We have a family of 4, and a couple of 2, all family members sailing. We wanted to know, what Balcony class, Va,VB, VC, etc. would be best, or if a family suite would be worth the money. If we dont go in a suite, we will probably divide up in two cabins of 3 people.
Can anyone help me?
BM64
May 28th, 2006, 09:02 AM
We had balcony cabin 4163 on the Zuiderdam and we are a family of 4. We were on a seven day cruise and found it to be more than adequate in size for all of us. It was definitely bigger than balcony cabins on Celebrity or RCCL. There was plenty of drawer and closet space and the bathroom was a decent size with a bathtub. The balcony was larger then we expected and enjoyed it very much. At night when the sofa was turned down and the bunk was pulled down it was a tight but not a big deal at all. You will enjoy the Zuiderdam.
bepsf
May 28th, 2006, 08:19 PM
Not really any differences between VA, VB, etc. except for location until you get down to VE, VF, VH which will have reduced size balconies (midship deck 5) or balconies w/ steel bulkheads instead of glass railings (forward on Deck 4)
Not sure what you're accustomed to, but 3 in a regular staterooms seems tight to me - for a family of 6, I'd do 3 verandah cabins or a pair of adjoining SS/SY's.
emiliesmom
May 29th, 2006, 03:56 PM
Not really any differences between VA, VB, etc. except for location until you get down to VE, VF, VH which will have reduced size balconies (midship deck 5) or balconies w/ steel bulkheads instead of glass railings (forward on Deck 4)
Not sure what you're accustomed to, but 3 in a regular staterooms seems tight to me - for a family of 6, I'd do 3 verandah cabins or a pair of adjoining SS/SY's.
OK, bepsf, I'm a little nervous now :confused: . We are booked in a VF cabin, VF5125 I believe, and this was on the recommendation of our TA, who said that this is a good spot to be on the ship and I believe she also recommended we stick with the VF when offered a VA for the same price. We have never cruised before so we took her word for it. What do you mean, smaller balconies??
bepsf
May 29th, 2006, 04:37 PM
OK, bepsf, I'm a little nervous now :confused: . We are booked in a VF cabin, VF5125 I believe, and this was on the recommendation of our TA, who said that this is a good spot to be on the ship and I believe she also recommended we stick with the VF when offered a VA for the same price. We have never cruised before so we took her word for it. What do you mean, smaller balconies??
EM--
5125 is one of the midship-ish staterooms on Deck 5 that have balconies that are very shallow - there was a photograph in a post here somewhere showing that it is not nearly as deep as the other balconies on the Vistas (of course, the interior of the stateroom is the same as the others)
Zuiderdam deckplans here:
http://www.hollandamerica.com/fleet/deckPlan.do?ship=zu&deck=v&year=next
I'm sure that your TA is well-intentioned in getting you a stateroom that is fairly low and towards the center of the ship to guard against seasickness (did you mention to your TA that excessive motion might be an issue for you?) but if balcony size is important to you as well, you'll need to be in category VD or higher.
mim100
May 29th, 2006, 04:53 PM
EM--
5125 is one of the midship-ish staterooms on Deck 5 that have balconies that are very shallow - there was a photograph in a post here somewhere showing that it is not nearly as deep as the other balconies on the Vistas (of course, the interior of the stateroom is the same as the others)
.
Hi Brian....this might be the thread you were referring to? hope it helps...cheers Mim
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=315744
bepsf
May 29th, 2006, 05:00 PM
Hi Brian....this might be the thread you were referring to? hope it helps...cheers Mim
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=315744
Thanks for the backup Mim!
:)
mim100
May 29th, 2006, 05:45 PM
You're welcome, Brian...and I hope you're all recovered from that "free" trip...I haven't been reading the board lately so am rather " out of touch " ...
mrcruzer
May 29th, 2006, 07:41 PM
Well, thank you all very much for clearing that up for us. We would now be booking a VA or VB category stateroom. Its amazing how the little differences in classes can make all the difference in stateroom location, size, etc.
emiliesmom
May 29th, 2006, 10:44 PM
Well thanks all. As usual your information is excellent.
I'm a little disappointed; I thought we'd be able to stretch out a bit. Better to know ahead of time I suppose, then be shocked and disappointed when we board. How much bigger would a VA type category be? I'm wondering if it would be worth trying to switch.
Atomica
May 29th, 2006, 11:42 PM
This is very interesting information.
I booked a VC cabin for our upcoming Zuiderdam Alaska cruise. My TA could have gotten me the VE ones midships for a cheaper price but I didn't want to feel like I was 'looking over' the lifeboats to see the ocean, so I went with a VC in the forward part of the ship. I had no idea there was a difference in balcony size - i noticed the difference on the deckplans but wondered if it was accurate...