Open deck space on HAL for sun worship?

[griswalds]

We are looking at a January holiday and our priority one is to lie out on the deck and get sun. We have travelled on RCCL, Princess and Celebrity and have found the open deck space adequate. There are always the deck chair hogs but we manage to work around that.

I notice on HAL ships thay they "seem" to have less open deck space and thus less lounge chairs. Am I wrong?

We would love to hear from past HAL passengers on how you found the amount of open deck space as a sun worshipper. The 2 ships we are looking at are the Veendam and the Amsterdam.

Griswalds

[sail7seas]

PLENTY of open deck space on HAL ships. There used to be more on the "S" and "R" class ships but some was lost when her Signature of Excellence Upgrades were completed. DH is a sun lover and I come and go from the pool and he has never failed to find a chaise to plant himself in and enjoy.

You shouldn't have any problem finding chaises.

[griswalds]

Thank you for the quick response, I was hoping that would be the answer.

Griswalds

PLENTY of open deck space on HAL ships. There used to be more on the "S" and "R" class ships but some was lost when her Signature of Excellence Upgrades were completed. DH is a sun lover and I come and go from the pool and he has never failed to find a chaise to plant himself in and enjoy.

You shouldn't have any problem finding chaises.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Have never had a problem finding deck space to enjoy the sun inspite of the chair hogs. Ansterdam is slightly larger ship.

[griswalds]

In the HAL cruise pamphlet, they show the solarium top open letting the sun in. When the weather is nice, does that happen often?

On other ships we have been on, the solarium roof is rarely opened up.

Griwalds


Have never had a problem finding deck space to enjoy the sun inspite of the chair hogs. Ansterdam is slightly larger ship.

[sail7seas]

They always open the Lido Pool roof on pretty days. If it is particularly windy, they may only open it half way but if guests ask for it to be opened more, they usually do.....unless there is a good reason to not do so.

Also, don't forget aft pool which is an uncovered deck. Plenty of lounges out there as well.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You will even find some lounge chairs on the Sports Deck - Aft.

[SailGirl21976]

Greetings "griswalds" ~ We've only sailed HAL once - loved every minute of it in March '06. I think I joined the sun worshippers too late in the day though, and couldn't find two deck chairs together @ the Lido (covered) pool or on the stern. But - did find plenty of deck chairs just up one flight above the aft pool. We get such little sunshine here @ home so anyplace we can find it, we're happy. Happy sunning, Happy sailing! :)

[griswalds]

As the Amsterdam is a bit bigger, it is a noticable difference?

Also I saw a comment on another post that the Veendam was bit rocky. Do the Amsterdam and Veendam have stabilizers? How has your experience been for motion on these ships?

Griswalds

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes - the Amsterdam does have stabilizers - all HAL ships have them.

Depending on the seas, depends on whether the ship will rock.

We had some very rough seas returning from Hawaii and the ship did rock. It didn't bother us at all.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Amsterdam is 61,000 gross tons and carries 1380 passengers - double occupancy - she is an "R" class ship. She is 780 feet long and has elevators midship.

The "S" class ships are 55,451 gross tons and has a 1258 double occupancy. They are 720 feet long and do not have any midship elevators.

[sail7seas]

As the Amsterdam is a bit bigger, it is a noticable difference?

Also I saw a comment on another post that the Veendam was bit rocky. Do the Amsterdam and Veendam have stabilizers? How has your experience been for motion on these ships?

Griswalds

Motion of the Ocean..... :)

It's what lets us know we're on a ship.

As stated, all HAL ships have stabilizers and the Captains always use them as appropriate.

Don't worry. Very few people have any motion problems. Don't focus on it or you might make it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Have a great cruise!!!

[bepsf]

Tons of sun-chaises - particularly on Lido Deck Aft (Amsterdam) or Navigation Deck aft (Veendam) The magrodome takes less than 2 minutes to open, so it is adjusted open/closed quite frequently to make guests most comfortable.

I understand from others that the R-Class ships ride better in rough seas due to a longer hull in relation to width. Both will rock side to side about the same, but the fore-aft/up-down motion in very rough seas will be smoother on the R-Class vs a bit of slamming on the S-Class.

Hope you enjoy whichever ship you choose!

[griswalds]

I really appreciate all the good comments. This is very very helpful as we pick the next cruise.

Griswalds