Zuiderdam J and K Inside Cabins

[spcl4cs_gal]

Has anyone stayed in either of these two classes in the past? I'm interested in the K aft cabins on the Main Deck and the J cabins, forward on the Main Deck and aft on the Navigation Deck. When the HAL site states that these are "large" cabins what can I expect? Thanks.

[Lois R]

Hi Alison, I am on a guaratee for my upcoming cruise and I believe it is for a category K...I will be glad to post any information upon my return:)

[spcl4cs_gal]

Thanks Lois...much appreciated. I am currently booked in a SS with my brother but we have decided to get separate cabins and I wanted to save some $$ so I could cruise again next summer. :D

[Lois R]

saving money? LOL You are talking to numero uno when it comes to that LOL...
Sailing solo, I go for the least expensive......now, If I could ever hit that Florida Lottery!

[spcl4cs_gal]

The Florida lottery....the NY Lottery....heck ANY lottery!!! :D

[doliver]

I put my teens in a K on the Zuiderdam. It was functional, but pretty small. If you are the type to spend much time in the cabin, do something else. If you are only there to sleep and dress, it will fill the bill. It has two beds with a nightstand in-between. There was a small desk with a single chair, closets and a bathroom.

[Lois R]

Hi:) yes, that sounds like a typical inside cabin.......I sail solo, so it is just for me....and yes, that is all I do in my cabin, sleep, shower and change clothes.
Have had an inside twice on Celebrity...it was about 172 sqaure feet...I am guessing a HAL inside is about the same size.

[spcl4cs_gal]

Hmmm sounds like a K cabin might be out and a J cabin might be in. I travel solo as well and spend more time out of the room than in so I guess either would do. What about a C, D or DD outside cabin on the Main Deck...are they any different apart from having a window?

[Orcrone]

I haven't stayed in them, but you might want to be careful of the guarantee. The K rooms on the upper verandah deck are only about 140 square feet. If the ones on the main deck are larger, you may want to change the guarantee to a specific room.

[CoastalCounseling]

I just booked a J cabin on Zuiderdam. Does the J come with a small sofa??

Let me know if anyone has stayed in the J category.

THANKS!

[tonyrobin]

We just returned from the Zuiderdam yesterday. We had a J cabin (room 8118) on the Navigation deck. It was a VERY small cabin. I think maybe for 1 person it would be ok, but for 2 people we were walking all over each other. We were just below the Lido and I like the location for the convenience, but I could hear the band through the floor. I'll try and post a review in a few days, as soon as I rest from my vacation. If anyone has any questions I will be happy to answer them.

[tonyrobin]

Coastal Counseling, there is only a chair in the room. No way there is room for a sofa.

[dougnewmanatsea]

OK, here's the story.

The J and K cabins on Main Deck are "large". About 180 square feet. They have a small sofa. For photos see here (http://shiploverny.fotki.com/zuiderdam/cabin_1015) (cabin in the photos is Cat. J, 1015).

J and K cabins on the upper decks are considered "standard". They are extremely small by the standards of today's ships, maybe 130 to 140 sq ft max. I would not recommend one of these cabins.

If you are going with a J or K inside, I would definitely choose a specific cabin on the Main Deck.

The Cat. I cabins look a bit larger than any of these. I saw at least four different layouts of inside cabins (yes FOUR) on ZUIDERDAM so I can't guarantee anything, unless of course you take Cabin 1015 in which case you can see exactly what it's like ;) . However as a rule of thumb I'd book either a J or K on Main Deck or an I, and nothing else.

As for the standard outsides; they are slightly larger and a different shape than the Main Deck "large" insides but have a (very small) tub. If you don't need an outside cabin I'd save the money and stick with a "large" inside..

[spcl4cs_gal]

Thanks for your information, Doug. I tried to get your link loaded but it keeps on sending back a message that says it can't load. Any suggestions?

[spcl4cs_gal]

I managed to get your link working afterall. :) Question...in the Main Deck J cabins, does the bunk fold up or is it down all the time? As long as the K cabins on the aft Main are the same size as the Js then I guess it really doesn't matter. :)

[CoastalCounseling]

DANG!

We are booked on the other side of the hall in the same J cabin you had. Navigation deck, right under the Lido. How late did the band play at night?

How bouncy was the back of the ship?

Saw a photo of our cabin "category" and the photo showed a small sofa. Im bummed now.... Our child is booked with his grandma and grandpa. Was hoping he could crash in our cabin on a small sofa one or two nights.

Sounds like we have a BAD cabin assignment.

Kelly

[CoastalCounseling]

Tonyrobin

Did you get a photo of the cabin?? If so, email me at

coastalcounseling@yahoo.com

If its going to be tooooo small, then I will call for upgrade prices.

Thanks,
Kelly

[dougnewmanatsea]

I tried to get your link loaded but it keeps on sending back a message that says it can't load.Sorry, that was indeed a dead link. I typed the code incorrectly. Should work now.

Question...in the Main Deck J cabins, does the bunk fold up or is it down all the time?It folds up. Your cabin may or may not have this extra berth; if you look on the deck plan you can see if it has the appropriate symbols next to the cabin number.

The upper berth is present in cabins with third and fourth berths. The sofa also folds out in these cabins. Those with a third berth only have the fold-out sofa but not the upper berth.

When the upper berth folds up, it folds into the ceiling (as opposed to against the wall - this is good) but it is not totally flush with the ceiling as I have seen on some ships.

Saw a photo of our cabin "category" and the photo showed a small sofa.That was one of the "large" cabins on the Main Deck as opposed to one of the "standard" cabins which are very small.

If it's possible I'd try to get your assignment changed to a J on Main Deck. I think you'd be much happier there.

The sofa itself is not very good for sleeping on as it's curved (I don't know how old your son is) but it folds out into a full-size third berth in cabins marked as having a third berth. Unfortunately it takes up a good deal of floor space and is not very comfortable. For a third pax in the cabin I prefer the cabins marked as having a third and fourth berth as those also have the upper berth which does not take up floor space and is much more comfortable.

Hope this helps.

[CoastalCounseling]

THANK YOU!!!!

I appreciate all of your help.

Im seriously looking into upgrading the J cabin. There is not much left on Z for this cruise. I want to be near my parents/kid.... but not at the expense of my husband and I killing each other living in a closet! :) SMILE!

THANKS AGAIN!

Kelly

[Orcrone]

We're booked in verandah rooms on the Upper Verandah deck. We wanted to keep our kids (15 and 17) near us and got them a K category room on the same deck. My first choice was the I category insides for them, but right now they're only showing GUAR for that category. I'm assuming that the K rooms should be fine for two teenagers. Is that a reasonable assumption?

[MandyGirl]

We are booked in category I - cabin 8049 - inside cabin - Navigation deck - Zuiderdam. Not sure if you are interested in that category, but when booking, the square footage showed to be 203 (with other I cabins around 185-190 sq ft that were available). We have stayed in an inside I-category cabin on Maasdam, and it was plenty big for us. (Also been in highest category inside cabins on Norwegian and Celebrity, and a suite on Norwegian). We're content with inside cabins - and like you said, the money you save can be applied towards future cruising! We're just not the type to be in our cabin much except for sleeping, showering, and changing clothes. I've definitely stayed in smaller inside cabins - with NCL Sky probably being the smallest (around 150 sq ft I think).

[heartofamerica]

I had a K cabin on the Zuiderdam...cabin 1113 - aft main deck. I was surprised at the size of the cabin. There was plenty of room, plus a nice sofa and table next to the writing desk. That particular cabin was also QUIET. Absolutely no noise from above or engines or anything else.

[Tatka]

Hi:) yes, that sounds like a typical inside cabin.......I sail solo, so it is just for me....and yes, that is all I do in my cabin, sleep, shower and change clothes.
Have had an inside twice on Celebrity...it was about 172 sqaure feet...I am guessing a HAL inside is about the same size.Lois, Century's cabins are slightly bigger than Mercury ( 174-175 vs 172 ;) )

We are booked for inside I (I-6067) and it's 185sq.ft. I love location!!! Midship between SS suites.

Ocean view start with 194 sq ft vs Celebrity 175 sq.ft (Century)

[Tatka]

We're booked in verandah rooms on the Upper Verandah deck. We wanted to keep our kids (15 and 17) near us and got them a K category room on the same deck. My first choice was the I category insides for them, but right now they're only showing GUAR for that category. I'm assuming that the K rooms should be fine for two teenagers. Is that a reasonable assumption?
I think K and I are the same size... It will be 3 of us there. (with our 12 y.o.) I guess it should be fine for 2 teens.

[Lois R]

Hi Tatka...well, I emailed my TA again last night....after reading all these posts....I paid for a guaratee....lowest price inside....whatever I end up getting is what I will get......the smallest cabin I have encountered was on Sovereign of the Seas.....122 square feet...I am sure this one will be bigger, and I know it will be nicer...the ship is only 2 years old:D ...Sovereign was built in 1988:eek:

[Tatka]

Hi Tatka...well, I emailed my TA again last night....after reading all these posts....I paid for a guaratee....lowest price inside....whatever I end up getting is what I will get......the smallest cabin I have encountered was on Sovereign of the Seas.....122 square feet...I am sure this one will be bigger, and I know it will be nicer...the ship is only 2 years old:D ...Sovereign was built in 1988:eek:
You know what.. I think RCL ships cabins have very smart design... I had 138 sq ft cabin on Splendour of the Seas which didn't feel less than 175 on Century. :confused: Splendour is 1 year younger than Century though. I never sailed on Sovereign so I can't compare.

We are thinking about Bermuda and of course living next to Boston we probably should sail on Norwegian Majesty, but cabin size is 108 sq ft :eek: . How 3 of us would fit in there? :confused:

[Lois R]

oh no way...wow.....Tatka..that is REALLY SMALL:eek:

[Orcrone]

I think K and I are the same size... It will be 3 of us there. (with our 12 y.o.) I guess it should be fine for 2 teens.Tatka,

On the upper Verandah and Navigatio decks the I category rooms are about 200 square feet, but the J and K categories are about 145 square feet. But my first cruise had us in a 120 square foot stateroom, so I'm sure they'll survive. Right now debating decks while waiting to hear from TA.

[stillfrantic]

Lois: I know someone who booked the small inside cabin on SoS for a family of 4. I couldn't imagine....:eek:

[boards]

We had an 108 sq ft. cabin on the Norwegian Sea and let me tell you it is small. The cabin was comfortable if you can handle tight quarters, but for 3 that might be bit much. The cruise was very good other wise though.

[dougnewmanatsea]

I'm assuming that the K rooms should be fine for two teenagers. Is that a reasonable assumption?If they just use them for sleeping, showering, using the bathroom, etc., they're fine (as would be almost anything). But they are SMALL. Right now ZUIDERDAM only does 7-night cruises but some of her sisters do cruises two weeks or longer, for which I would most definitely not want to stay in one of these cabins.

I think K and I are the same size...If the K cabins in question are the ones on the Main Deck, they're similar in size but slightly different in layout.

The K cabins on the other decks are very small.

It will be 3 of us there. (with our 12 y.o.)In that case I would recommend you try to get a cabin marked as having third and fourth berths, so that you get your choice between the fold-out sofa and the upper berth. (I much prefer the upper berth, which does not exist in cabins with a third berth only.)

I paid for a guaratee....lowest price inside....whatever I end up getting is what I will get......the smallest cabin I have encountered was on Sovereign of the Seas.....122 square feet...I am sure this one will be bigger, and I know it will be nicer...I wouldn't be that terribly sure. The "standard" inside cabins on the Vista-class ships, or at least the smallest ones, are only marginally bigger and not really much nicer either.

You know what.. I think RCL ships cabins have very smart design... I had 138 sq ft cabin on Splendour of the Seas which didn't feel less than 175 on Century.Yes. The RCI ships from LEGEND on (that means VISION-, VOYAGER-, and RADIANCE-class ships) have incredibly well-designed cabins. The 150-something sq ft cabin on VOYAGER OF THE SEAS was far, far nicer than the 185 sq ft cabin on ZUIDERDAM - it didn't feel smaller and was much more attractively furnished and well-designed.

I never sailed on Sovereign so I can't compare.The standard cabins in the SOVEREIGN-class ships and EMPRESS OF THE SEAS are very different from the newer RCI ships. Very small cabins... Actually the standard outsides on EMPRESS OF THE SEAS are about 140 sq ft but feel smaller than the equivalent size cabins on the newer ships. Her standard insides, and all the standards on the SOVEREIGN-class ships, are about 120 sq ft. In other words, small. Still not badly designed (though not as good as the newer RCI vessels) but very small.

we probably should sail on Norwegian Majesty, but cabin size is 108 sq ftI'm surprised that the triples are that small!

Remember that NORWEGIAN MAJESTY was designed as a Baltic cruise-ferry, where pax wouldn't be spending more than one night in the cabins.

Actually the worst cabin we've ever had was on SEAWARD (now NORWEGIAN SEA, and designed as a cruise ship, not a ferry) which was just about that size. To make matters worse, not only was it tiny, it was really furnished on the cheap... The bathroom had a flat floor so that if the ship was moving at all, the whole thing got wet when you took a shower, and the (tinny, metal) drawers didn't have stoppers so that if you pulled on them too hard, they fell right out onto the floor. Oh, yes, the furniture was all done in an orangish-color Formica-esque stuff, which is probably long gone. What can I say, I am not fond of that ship. Luckily she's going to be banished to Star Cruises in Asia next year.

[Tatka]

I'm surprised that the triples are that small!

Remember that NORWEGIAN MAJESTY was designed as a Baltic cruise-ferry, where pax wouldn't be spending more than one night in the cabins.

Actually the worst cabin we've ever had was on SEAWARD (now NORWEGIAN SEA, and designed as a cruise ship, not a ferry) which was just about that size. To make matters worse, not only was it tiny, it was really furnished on the cheap... The bathroom had a flat floor so that if the ship was moving at all, the whole thing got wet when you took a shower, and the (tinny, metal) drawers didn't have stoppers so that if you pulled on them too hard, they fell right out onto the floor. Oh, yes, the furniture was all done in an orangish-color Formica-esque stuff, which is probably long gone. What can I say, I am not fond of that ship. Luckily she's going to be banished to Star Cruises in Asia next year.
1) So....maybe we'll get better ship to sail to Bermuda from Boston? Can't wait!!! (Although it'll be small ship again as even Celebrity Century can't dock in Bermuda except for Naval base)


2) I've checked our cabin on Zuiderdam..it's I-6067 Upper Verandah and shows 4 berth so hopefully we'll be alright.;) I also hope inside cabins are also not as terrible as you described. :) It's says large inside . (Somebody mentioned it was around 200 sq. ft)

http://ajanis.cruiseone.com/travel/cruises/virtual_tours.jsp?pg=4&mediatype=5&ITINERARY_ID=809|ZU|||

This is a page with 360 view of every cabin.

[Lois R]

Doug..there isn't much I can about the situation at this point...but ya'll are now scaring me....when you say the cabins aren't that much nicer...she is only 2 years old..compared to a ship that was built 15 years ago? The shower on the Sovereign was so small...the shower curtain didn't even fit properly...the floor got soaked and my toilet constantly backed up.....now, I know that can happen on any ship at any given moment....but now I am thinking maybe I should call my TA and pay an xtra 100.00....to get a bigger cabin.
There goes my guarantee:eek:....lets see what my TA says first.....

[divinggirl]

Tatka--

Thanks for the link, that's great!

[Lois R]

Tatka...I have seen that site...its really good:)

And I am just staying where I am (cabin wise).......emailed TA and received a reply...at this point the only place to upgrade would be an additional 500.00:eek: ...for that amount I could have stayed on Horizon and gone to Bermuda....

So, I will be on the inside...whatever category I end up with...smaller or larger....I will be fine:D ...same as always, I will be using my cabin for sleeping, showering and changing clothes! So, I am not going to worry myself to death over this cabin size thingy.

[Tatka]

Doug..there isn't much I can about the situation at this point...but ya'll are now scaring me....when you say the cabins aren't that much nicer...she is only 2 years old..compared to a ship that was built 15 years ago? The shower on the Sovereign was so small...the shower curtain didn't even fit properly...the floor got soaked and my toilet constantly backed up.....now, I know that can happen on any ship at any given moment....but now I am thinking maybe I should call my TA and pay an xtra 100.00....to get a bigger cabin.
There goes my guarantee:eek:....lets see what my TA says first.....
Lois, between us Century fans... Last year before my Century cruise I kept reading about how food on Celebrity and Century was worse than it used to be etc. I also was kind of worried. Well, I loved it, so now I decided to wait and see if I myself like it or not.;) Now I am even glad that I won't have high expectation and later will probably be surprised. :)

And cabin...well as much as I liked my outside cabin on Century I spent very little time in it. It's not like I've booked huge suite to throw a party.

[dougnewmanatsea]

1) So....maybe we'll get better ship to sail to Bermuda from Boston? Can't wait!!!Possibly, though at the moment only NORWEGIAN SEA is slated to go to Star Cruises in Asia. However I imagine that after her MAJESTY would be next.

The current corporate plan is to move all of NCL's smaller ships (presumably this means SEA, MAJESTY, WIND, DREAM) to Asia over the next few years.

2) I've checked our cabin on Zuiderdam..it's I-6067 Upper Verandah and shows 4 berth so hopefully we'll be alright.That should be pretty decent. The Cat. I cabins I saw were relatively large. It's the "standard" insides that I'd be worried about but I don't believe any of those are triples or quads.

when you say the cabins aren't that much nicer...she is only 2 years old..compared to a ship that was built 15 years ago? The shower on the Sovereign was so small...the shower curtain didn't even fit properly...the floor got soaked and my toilet constantly backed up...I'm certainly not saying your toilet is going to back up or your bathroom is going to flood, but the condition of the cabins being equal, I don't think one would be much nicer than the other. (Newer is not always better.) If you happen to get one of the worst "standard" insides on ZUIDERDAM (and they're not all the same by any means), it will be a tiny little cabin. I did not think the decor or furnishing of the cabins on ZUIDERDAM was anything great either.

The bathrooms are quite small though probably a bit bigger than on the RCI SOVEREIGN-class ships (it's been a few years since I was on one of those).

[Lois R]

Hi Doug:)..well....I will have to accept the cabin I receive...use it as I always do, and have a good cruise.
Like I said, I spoke with my TA...and asked her about an upgrade....she said the only upgrade (a paid one) would cost me close to 500.00:eek: ...don't have that kinda $$...so I will just hope my guarantee is the larger inside...and if not, I will deal with the smaller and still have a good week:)

[doone]

Lois, I think you will be fine.

[tonyrobin]

It wasn't disturbing. The air conditioning fan always ran so it was like white noise to cover it up. Buttttt... you could still hear it. The movement of the ship was not bad, but I like the movement.

[heartofamerica]

I forgot to mention that when I booked, I booked a guarantee of N. When I got my documents, I was given a K cabin on the main deck. FWIW, I am 6'4" tall and I had plenty of room in the shower in this cabin. In all honesty, I was in my cabin from about midnight until 6 a.m. - the rest of the time I was elsewhere on the ship.