Will my wife throw me overboard?

[pilotdane]

Last year we were on Maasdam in a veranda cabin. Last week I booked us on the Westerdam in a verana. Today at work I looked closely at the cabin layout and it looks like they are a good bit smaller on Westerdam.

Is my wife going to throw me overboard???

Will she make me get off the money for a Superior Verana???

[bepsf]

Will she make me get off the money for a Superior Veranda???

She might.

The SS/SY's on the Vistas are comparable to the MiniSuites on the S and R Class ships.

The V(X) staterooms on the Vistas are not even near as nice as the S and R Class Minisuites - more of a typical outside stateroom with a balcony.*

[grannynurse]

The biggest difference between the veranda cabins on both ships is about 40 sq ft. The cabin and the veranda are a little smaller on Westerdam. I don't think there are full length loungers out there either. Veranda cabins on Maasdam are considered minisuites but not on Westerdam, those are the SS, Sy, and Sz cabins. They are square, about 389 sq ft and the bathrooms have the separate shower stall and full size whirlpool tub. The Vista veranda cabin tubs are not jetted. Veranda cabins are actually in a different category on the Vistas, one level lower than what you had on Maasdam.
It she really liked the amenities in the Maasdam cabin she may be a trifle disappointed, but Westerdam just had a major refit and is brand new again. Why don't you ask about an aft VA on the stern. The balconies are really a lot bigger. That may save you.
GN

[RuthC]

Is my wife going to throw me overboard???

You should be safe---HAL has a "nothing overboard" policy. :rolleyes:

[Sunshine91]

I'd be happy just to be ON the ship in a verandah cabin, but if you're in one of those deck 4 VFs upfront with the steel-walled balcony, you might want to at least scramble to find another cabin. The balconies are smaller & when you look out from inside the cabin, you literally see a steel wall, not thru the clear plexi. :(

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Actually if you can upgrade to a SY/SS it is actually bigger than the Mini Suite on a S or R class ship. The SY/SS is somewhere in between the Mini Suite on the Maasdam and a Full S Suite Deluxe Verandah with a much larger bathroom than you had on the Maasdam.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Although the cabin is smaller, I don't think your wife will throw you overboard. There isn't any reason why she shouldn't love thtis verandah as much as the other one.

Go and enjoy!!

[Jade13]

I was told by HAL that the only difference on the Westedam from a VF to a VA (besides $1,400.00 for two persons on a 10 day Med this summer (high season - Hal's web price) was the steel railing (deck 4) vs. a clear railing and higher deck location. Beides that I was told all the "V" Verandah's were the same size.

I thought the aft balcony's looked smaller on the retrofit diagrams, assuming they are accurate pics.

[catl331]

I would be very happy to be booked on the Westerdam even in a non-veranda room. I am sure you will have a great cruise. Surprise her by doing things she likes to do but you would rather not. H-m-m-m- maybe not; she might get suspicious and throw you overboard anyway!:D

[noblepa]

I was told by HAL that the only difference on the Westedam from a VF to a VA (besides $1,400.00 for two persons on a 10 day Med this summer (high season - Hal's web price) was the steel railing (deck 4) vs. a clear railing and higher deck location. Beides that I was told all the "V" Verandah's were the same size.

I thought the aft balcony's looked smaller on the retrofit diagrams, assuming they are accurate pics.

I don't think this is true.

We've been in VF on the Oosterdam and VE on the Zuiderdam, both on deck 5, with the plexiglas railing.

As you ride the outside glass elevator, you can clearly see that the balconies on decks 6 and up are at least two feet deeper than the ones on deck 5. The balconies on deck five are set back to give the lifeboats clearance, as they swing on their davits. From the balcony on deck 5 we could not lean out for enough to look straight up. The deck 6 balcony overhangs a little too much.

That said, the balconies on deck 5 were large enough for two people. Just don't expect to host a sail-away party on the balcony. :) I'm six feet tall, and I could touch the railing and the cabin wall, with only a little slack. I'm sure I couldn't do that on a deck 6 balcony.

Its especially not true of the aft-facing VA cabins. The terraced rear of the ship gives these cabins balconies that are absolutely enormous, probably 12-15 feet deep. They are so deep that HAL changed the ship design on the Noordam. They made the slope of the terrace steeper, reducing the balcony sizes and letting them add a few more cabins to the ship. I believe they're doing the same to the other three Vista's as they are dry-docked.

[Hoyaheel]

Wifey thinks the superior verandah rooms look awfully nice, but she also thinks that extra $1000 could buy a few massages and some nice bottles of wine instead;)

[Lurker1]

Wifey thinks the superior verandah rooms look awfully nice, but she also thinks that extra $1000 could buy a few massages and some nice bottles of wine instead;)

My DW has the same attitude!

The smaller HAL ships only have balconies beginning with mini-suites, the larger ones have balconies off standard staterooms. That means there is a significant price jump to get a verandah on the smaller ships (course you get a much larger cabin).

We've been on 4 cruises. The two that went North were on S-class ships and we had outside cabins (who needs a verandah in Alaska or Canada, was our thinking). On the two that went South we had verandahs, and they were on bigger ships (one was not HAL).

Like anything else, decide whats important to you and what you are willing to pay -- hey, you're still on a cruise! :D

[Copper10-8]

Nope, same reason they stopped clay pigeon shooting from cruise ships in the nineties, it's not good for the oceans and the fishies! So.............if she does, she can expect a visit from the Environmental Officer:eek:

[fcorey]

I don't think this is true.

We've been in VF on the Oosterdam and VE on the Zuiderdam, both on deck 5, with the plexiglas railing.

As you ride the outside glass elevator, you can clearly see that the balconies on decks 6 and up are at least two feet deeper than the ones on deck 5. The balconies on deck five are set back to give the lifeboats clearance, as they swing on their davits. From the balcony on deck 5 we could not lean out for enough to look straight up. The deck 6 balcony overhangs a little too much.

That said, the balconies on deck 5 were large enough for two people. Just don't expect to host a sail-away party on the balcony. :) I'm six feet tall, and I could touch the railing and the cabin wall, with only a little slack. I'm sure I couldn't do that on a deck 6 balcony.

Its especially not true of the aft-facing VA cabins. The terraced rear of the ship gives these cabins balconies that are absolutely enormous, probably 12-15 feet deep. They are so deep that HAL changed the ship design on the Noordam. They made the slope of the terrace steeper, reducing the balcony sizes and letting them add a few more cabins to the ship. I believe they're doing the same to the other three Vista's as they are dry-docked.

You are abosultely correct, our deck 5 aft VA on Oosterdam was about 14 feet deep. I believe that the retrofit they are doing on the vistas only modifies the verandas on deck 5 and higher, it looked like deck 4 and 5, or atleast deck 4 stayed the same