Your Worst Stateroom ever...

[bepsf]

We had a pretty bad one on Amsterdam - 7056 is a cat D facing aft over the stern. One would think that it would be a great cabin in a great location - an outside on Navigation Deck right off a fairly little used open deck space below the Lido - right?

Wrong! At less than 175sq/ft, it was much smaller than the typical outside stateroom. No tub in the bathroom (which wasn't clear on the deckplans). Room shaped like the state of Utah, with the sitting area in the small ell created by the bathroom so that the sofa faced a wall less than 2 ft away from the front edge of the sofa - and the hooks for hanging things at the far end of the ell - so the sofa was fairly useless except as a dirty clothes catcher.

Beds faced sideways to the desk/wardrobe combo - so if I was at the desk writing, my travel companion couldn't get to the wardrobes/drawers to dress for dinner w/out climbing over the beds. Window was over the side of my bed, so the curtains that would be over the beds in an inside stateroom were on the side of the room - wierd. The ledge could have been more useful if we could have pulled the curtains over the faux windows open...

Of course, there was always the disconcerting feeling that the folks walking past the windows can see you while changing for dinner....

And the vibration from the engines!!! Ugh!!!:(

BTW - I don't want to sound like I had anything but a great cruise or am complaining - but I just wouldn't suggest this stateroom to anyone!!!

What was the worst stateroom you've ever sailed in?

[RuthC]

That would probably be the one I had on the old Carnival ship Mardi Gras.
It was when I was young and single and gorgeous, and quite petite. The cabin was small enough---the drawers were in the closet ("the", one itty-bitty closet), so that longer dresses couldn't hang.

But it was the bathroom that gave new meaning to the word "small". I had to sit sideways on the toilet because there wasn't room for my knees---and I'm short! The shower was the one referred to in that old joke about soaping the sides and spinning.
But at least I had a bathroom! I was upgraded several categories from one that didn't! There was a kind of community bath/shower down the passageway for several cabins in lower categories.

Ah, those were the days. I'll take that cabin on the Amsterdam, thank you very much.

[Robin7]

What was the worst stateroom you've ever sailed in?Believe it or not, our teeny room on the Zuiderdam was NOT the worst stateroom. It was definitely the smallest but was not the worst. Our worst one was on the Niew Amsterdam (the OLD one just to be perfectly clear) right before she was sold. Our room was midships on MAIN DECK, was an outside with a great layout, but was HOT and stank of diesel fuel. I was crabby whenever we were in it from being hot and having a headache from the smell. We spent as little time as possible in it.

Robin

[ekerr19]

Robin7-

The old Niew Amsterdam had some of the craziest cabin configurations I've ever seen! I never sailed on her but my parents did - they had a really funky layout once - but they loved that ship.

I think Revneal has been on it with his parents... maybe he will will have a story or two to tell!

We have never had a cabin we've been disappointed with on any of our cruises. We've been lucky - so far... :D

[dakrewser]

Our "cabin" [probably better to call it a cabinette!] on the barge Chanterelle (http://vquill.com/gallery/chanterelle.html) .

6 feet wide, approx. 8 ft long. Beds in an L configuration - if my wife stretched, her toe scratched my nose! Of course, if I used the bathroom at night, the coats on the back of the door buried her face when it was opened...

I couldn't stand up straight in the shower, and if we didn't remember to shut the windows in the morning, the room might get drenched going thru a lock!

Only one person could get dressed at a time - there was only approx 3 square feet of open floor space!

THe crew, the food, the sights and the rest of the passengers (all 14 of them!) made it a great week, though...

-dave

[dougnewmanatsea]

Our worst one was on the Niew Amsterdam (the OLD one just to be perfectly clear)Do you mean the last NIEUW AMSTERDAM (there is no NIEUW AMSTERDAM currently) that was in service from 1983 to 2000, or the previous vessel that was in service from 1938 to 1973?

Just curious. In my family the "old NIEUW AMSTERDAM" always was the 1938 version. My grandparents took their first cruise on her in 1960; their cabin was, in their description, all the way aft, over the propeller, with no private bathroom. I don't know whether it was outside or inside or whether or not it had two lower beds, but I suspect it would have been an inside upper/lower as it was the least expensive cabin on the entire ship (in her cruising configuration that is - on crossings she had a higher capacity).

Whether it was the worst cabin they've ever had I don't know, but I do know it's still my grandfather's favorite ship!

[TedC]

It was many years ago on an overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo. Tiny, tiny cabin with upper and lower berths and a microscopic toilet/shower room.

This Lilliputian "accommodation" was well below the water-line. We worried that if the hull was pierced by an underwater object we'd be goners!

I'd forgotton all about it until this thread came along. Thanks, now we'll appreciate our HAL cabins that much more.

[Peggy Sue]

Our very first cruise..dolphin cruise line .. SS ocean breeze. Left from Aruba. We had a tiny, tiny, tiny inside cabin. just two tiny beds with about 2 feet between them. a very tiny desk with chair..and a bathroom that allowed you to sit on the john and take a shower at the same time..the entire tiny room was soaked ..no shower curtain..just a drain in the floor. The beds were more like cots..had to sleep on our side..if you tried to lay on your back, your arm kept falling out of bed!

What did we know? We were in 7th heaven, cruising with friends who had the identical cabin next door. We had a fantastic cruise...We didn't care that when we pulled into port our ship looked so very different from all the new ships..we loved the teak decks and gracious service of the crew.

That was 1983. We saw the Oceanbreeze in Nassau a couple of years ago. She was running 2 day cruises from Florida. In fact, we sailed past her on our way back to Ft. Lauderdale that night..we watched fondly from our verandah of our suite on the zuiderdam. We read in cruise travel a few months later that she took her final sail to the scrap yard.

But..we will always remember our first cabin..it was the worst we've ever been it..but in some ways, it was the best..

Peggy Sue

[jhannah]

Thankfully, we've never had a bad cabin. Our smallest was on the Sea Princess; but it was our first cruise and we didn't know any better. Thought it was wonderful. I've always appreciated that HAL's staterooms are, for the most part, a bit larger than industry standard.

[Joanne G.]

One of the Norway's teeny-tiny inside cabins, with one twin bed and one upper bunk. OK space-wise for me as a single, but it was waaaay forward. The lowering of the anchor chains and the tenders that the Norway carried on the bow created quite a bit of sound and fury early morning on port days. No need for an alarm clock in that cabin. :eek:

Plus, my shipmates were waaay aft; on the long, long Norway, we felt like we were in different time zones. (But I still had a great time.)

[DFD1]

Many years ago we had a tiny upper/lower cabin about 8ftx5ft on the lowest deck of the old Yankee Clipper sailing ship from Windjammer. When the sails caught a good breeze, she heeled well over and we had nothing outside the port hole except green water. The port hole was under water except when she was riding upright. As for the bathroom, that was a joke of a closet at the end of the hall with a community shower with walls of wood.

We boarded in St. Lucia and sailed down thru the Grenadines in some of the most beautiful water and lovely anchorages I have ever seen. We had a great time.

More recently, we had a main deck cabin aft on the Noordam that was so hot we could not sleep and the vibration so bad we finally cried "wolf" and insisted on being moved forward. That solved it and we had a great Panama Canal cruise.

[gizmo]

One of the Norway's teeny-tiny inside cabins, with one twin bed and one upper bunk. OK space-wise for me as a single, but it was waaaay forward. The lowering of the anchor chains and the tenders that the Norway carried on the bow created quite a bit of sound and fury early morning on port days. No need for an alarm clock in that cabin. :eek:

Plus, my shipmates were waaay aft; on the long, long Norway, we felt like we were in different time zones. (But I still had a great time.)
You must have been across the hall from me. We had V019 which is way forward but at least we had a porthole. I can still hear that anchor.:D
Two people could not get dressed at the same time. I have seen bigger closets.
We had a fantastic time and still talk about that cabin and anchor.

[Robin7]

Do you mean the last NIEUW AMSTERDAM (there is no NIEUW AMSTERDAM currently) that was in service from 1983 to 2000, or the previous vessel that was in service from 1938 to 1973?It was in 1993. Boy, she sailed A LOT longer than I thought she would after that cruise! So is the newest incarnation just the Amsterdam then with no 'Nieuw'?

Robin

[HeatherInFlorida]

Hmmmm....I'd have to say that for the most part our cabins have gotten better and better as time has gone on. Mostly because in the "good ole days" they didn't make large cabins unless you were in the "owner's suite" or something. I remember laughing at the size of the cabins on "The Love Boat". I always thought "in your dreams!"

But the "worst", if there was such a thing , was on the "Queen of Bermuda". I was 17 and my grandmother took me on a cruise NY to Bermuda as a graduation present. We had the tiniest room, an ugly green. It was called an "outside" cabin, but there was literally a hallway to the porthole because there was another cabin between us and the outside of the ship. So we were sort in an inside/outside cabin. It was really ugly with the world's smallest bunks.

But I cared not a wit ... I was in awe the whole time. We dined at the Staff Captain's Table every single night! I sang in the cocktail lounge before dinner every evening and had a "shipboard romance" that I have never forgotten. It was all sheer heaven.

[grandma bev]

This thread is bringing lots of belly laughs and hysterical memories of our worst cabin:

In 1987 on the ferry Azteca, which carried our motorhome and us across the Sea of Cortez from Mazatlan to La Paz wins the grand prize. It's an overnight trip. You must allow the motorhome to be parked among the vegetable trucks, etc, in the hold. We were forewarned to bring our own linens. Thank goodness! In the "bathroom" of our cabin I washed up for dinner and discovered water pouring onto my feet. It seems the coupling under the sink wasn't "coupled".

That cabin far "outdid" the Yangtze River Victoria cruise ship, which had a shipwreck. Also another cruise ship which ran into the dock in Cozumel and the Captain had a temper tantrum in front of the Mexican officials.

Thanks for the memories!!!!!!!!!!!:D :confused: :o :)
Bev

[palmgirl]

Hands down the old Dolphin Lines Ocean Breeze, recently purchased by Premier on a 2 day out of NY to nowhere in 1999.

"Lovely" outside cabin. If it was 8x10 I'd be amazed. No chair just 2 single bunks. My DH always said you could s-it, shower and shave all at once. The room smelled of burnt diesel and stale bilge water. Everything looked as if it had been rode hard and put away wet. We had a great time!

The next sailing I believe she lost her engine. Guess that explained the black soot covering the decks and railings.

[Joanne G.]

You must have been across the hall from me. We had V019 which is way forward but at least we had a porthole. I can still hear that anchor.:D Gizma, you are right! It was V010. I bet you remember the vibrations, too, from those chains and the mechanisms of the tenders. Think earthquake . . .

[scopewest]

We sailed Dolphin's Islandbreeze and loved our cabin BUT we had one of their few balcony cabins. The room itself was okay but the balcony was so large we had six people out there at one point with room to spare. Since DH and I can't afford a suite category on newer ships these days, the balconies we get now with the standard outside verandah cabin (no matter what ship) are nowhere near as large as that balcony. And we did peek at our tablemates' cabin, they had one of those lower/upper four in a room inside cabins! But we all had a good time.

[dougnewmanatsea]

That was 1983. We saw the Oceanbreeze in Nassau a couple of years ago. She was running 2 day cruises from Florida.Assume you mean 1993 here - she was named AZURE SEAS in 1983.

She did indeed go to the breakers' yard last year, but you can read about her (and even more importantly, see tons of photos) here (http://www.maritimematters.com/oceanbreeze1.html) from my friend Peter Knego. The same web site, Maritime Matters (http://www.maritimematters.com/siteindex.html), also has an article about the even older REGAL EMPRESS, which replaced her on those 2-night cruises for Imperial Majesty. Today REGAL EMPRESS is the second-oldest cruise ship, after MSC's MONTEREY, in active service per my list of passenger ships over 40 (http://www.maritimematters.com/lists.html) however the ship seen there as CARIBE is to re-enter service as ATHENA later this year which will bump REGAL EMPRESS down to the no. 3 spot. (That said, CARIBE/ATHENA was heavily rebuilt in 1994 and aside from the hull itself she is basically a new ship - which is why she's still around. She's best known as the STOCKHOLM, the ship that hit ANDREA DORIA in 1956.)

Anyhow, going wildly off-topic here... This is what happens when you get me talking about old ships ;) ...

Our smallest was on the Sea Princess; but it was our first cruise and we didn't know any better.OK, here we go with the reusing-names business. Are we talking the present SEA PRINCESS (actually named ADONIA at the moment and with P&O but going back to Princess in a few months) or the previous one, which had that name from 1979 to 1995 and sailed variously for Princess and for the UK and Australian versions of P&O cruises?

The latter is another ship featured on Maritime Matters, and a real classic. And the smallest cabins on her were the ones added by P&O in 1978 - the originals were quite lovely.

That ship is now in service with a German operator, Holiday Kreuzfahrten, as MONA LISA.

It was in 1993. Boy, she sailed A LOT longer than I thought she would after that cruise! So is the newest incarnation just the Amsterdam then with no 'Nieuw'?Yes, today's AMSTERDAM has no 'NIEUW'. As for sailing a lot longer than you expected - she was only ten years old at the time... Young for a ship! Today, STATENDAM is older than NIEUW AMSTERDAM was when you sailed in her.

She's still around, as THOMSON SPIRIT with the UK-based Thomson Cruises (http://www.thomson.co.uk/); she's still owned by HAL and chartered (bareboat, that means no crew) to Cypriot-based Louis Cruise Lines (http://www.louiscruises.com) who in turn have her on time-charter (i.e. with crew) to Thomson. The present NOORDAM is her almost-identical sister (one year newer, celebrating 20 years with HAL this year) and will leave the fleet to join Thomson as THOMSON CELEBRATION later this year, under a similar charter arrangement with Louis.

The "N" ships do seem older than they are, and rightfully so... Their design was actually conceived in the early 1970s. At the time HAL had introduced the first PRINSENDAM (no, not the current one, the former ROYAL VIKING SUN) which at the time was their vision of a small (about 10,000 GT) cruise ship. This little vessel was designed and built by the Merwede shipyard in Holland (the last Dutch-built HAL ship ever). At the time Merwede and HAL also came up with a design for larger vessels in the 30,000 GT range but rather than build them HAL bought and refurbished two secondhand vessels, ARGENTINA and BRASIL (built in 1958 for Moore-McCormack lines and the last US-built oceangoing passenger ships to this day - read more about these ships here (http://www.moore-mccormack.com/)), renamed VEENDAM and VOLENDAM respectively. (Again, these aren't the ships in the fleet today with the same names.) The design for the new ships was put in a drawer and when it came time to replace the "V" twins in the early 1980s, HAL pulled it out and basically built the ships as designed a decade before, resulting in the very-traditional "N" twins which were built not at Merwede but at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in France (the "N" twins were the first big passenger ships built there since RENAISSANCE - no connection to latterday cruise line of the same name - for Cie de Paquebots, built there in 1966 and now WORLD RENAISSANCE with Royal Olympia). Their traditional design didn't hurt their popularity with HAL passengers one bit.

The "N" twins have the distinction of being the last ships built under the direction of HAL as an independent, Dutch-owned company (the S-class ships were designed by the Carnival-owned HAL, and indeed based on a design called Project Tiffany that Carnival had already come up with in the late 1980s for a proposed upscale subsidiary). On the flipside while PRINSENDAM had the distinction of being the last Dutch-built HAL ship, she also was the first to have her interiors designed by VFD interiors, the Dutch firm which has designed the interiors of all newly built right up to and including today's Vista-class vessels.

[cruznon]

We were assigned a cabin on the Jubilee that was located directly across the hall from the room service delivery area. There was also a stairway that led down to the galley. ALL night night long we heard dropped silverware, dishes/trays clattering,etc.
But that wasn't all--the roomservice waiters liked to congregate there to talk and laugh throughout the night...not one night was undisturbed.
(The second night out my husband met the purser described our problem and then asked him what room we were in...without batting an eyelash, he named our cabin number!)
Since there were NO empty cabins, it was a VERY long week. We didn't cruise again for several years.:mad:

[ctguy001]

I cruised on the Norway about 6 years ago, booked in the lowest category cabin. I was amazed when I opened my cabin door to find one of the largest outside cabins I've ever been in. Huge bathroom, tons of closet space. A large sitting area. I was in heaven! The only thing I couldn't figure out was why there were wedges driven in to parts of the ceiling and behind all the light fixtures and some of the closets. When I came back to my cabin after sail away to unpack, the entire room was vibrating and squeaking. I complained at the purser's desk but was informed that ship was full and no cabins were available. Turns out the room was directly below the compressor room for the ice cream parlor. Every time the chillers cycled on, I got a free massage! You couldn't leave anything on the desk or tables or it ended up on the floor. I was ticked off major, but by the end of the week it just seemed normal. Hey, it was a cruise!

[Orcrone]

After hearing some other stories, mine isn't so bad, but I'll share anyhow.

My first cruise was on RCCL's Song of America. We had an inside cabin, about 120 square feet. The one thing that I really remember is that the shower stall was so tiny, if you dropped your soap you had to step out of the shower to pick it up, because there was not enough room in the stall to bend over.:eek:

The nice thing about it is it's use as a comparison. My next cruise was last year on the Inspiration. Our 195 square foot stateroom was cavernous by comparison.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Host Doug, I am always amazed at your knowledge of old ships ... clearly a passion for you! I never tire of your stories about them.

Do you have any idea what happened to the Queen of Bermuda? I believe it was Furness Lines, but not positive. I cruised on her in 1959. I know she's long gone:eek: , but just wondered with your vast knowledge whether you'd come across anything about her. I think she had a sister ship, the Queen Monarch.

[Druke I]

For us, the worst two (2) cabins were both on Maasdam, Nov 95, on a stormy trans-Atlantic, both on Main deck. I don't remember the cabin numbers, both were outside category E.

The first, forward of the fore elevators, flooded when water entered the ship's hull through the hawsepipe (anchor chainway), flooding some dozen or so cabins, to a depth of about 4 inches. Luckily, the ship was not full, so there were other cabins available. We were moved to a midships cabin, that had the worst squeak we have ever encountered on a ship. After a sleepless night, we requested another change, and were moved to Main #641, which was fine.

The squeak was apparently caused by the headboard of the modular cabin rubbing against the ship's hull - and it was a bumpy trans-Atlantic, so there was a lot of movement and squeaking!

[geoherb]

Our most cramped quarters were on a schooner cruise (http://www.mainewindjammercruises.com) off the coast of Maine. The cabin had the beds in an "L" configuration. There was about a 3-foot clearance between the mattress and the ceiling. Only one of us could stand up at a time in the tiny space where the door opened--about 2x3 feet. In the day time, we had to put our bags on the beds because the cabin would flood with up to 12 inches of water, depending on the angle of the boat in the water. The bathroom was in a different section. We had to climb a ladder up and then down another to get to it. We had a great time.

On a proper cruise ship, our worst cabin was on the Carnivale. It was an inside cabin with a lower double and a single upper berth. Three of us managed for three nights, but I don't think we could have made it any longer. The bathroom was tiny.

[rex523]

The Russian ferry Ilich from Stockholm to St Petersburg in 1994. The outside cabin (boy, was it outside - the entire outboard wall was a window, inadequately curtained for midnite sun territory.) had the upper/lower configuration. I could sit on the bunk with my back flush against the wall and touch the opposite wall with my feet. The pie shaped bathroom had a tiny toilet in one corner, a tiny sink in the other, a drain in the middle of the floor and a giant shower head. The bathroom "door" was a shower curtain. Two hooks on the wall made the "closet." After the first shower we realized you had to remove the roll of toilet paper or else it would get soaking wet.

Although the ship was worn and threadbare it was absolutely spotless.

Whenever I hear someone complain about poor service I remember that ship, where the waiters never smiled or acknowledged your order, and slammed the plates down in front of you with a sneer. Very good food, however, and borscht with every meal!

[jhannah]

OK, here we go with the reusing-names business. Are we talking the present SEA PRINCESS (actually named ADONIA at the moment and with P&O but going back to Princess in a few months) or the previous one, which had that name from 1979 to 1995 and sailed variously for Princess and for the UK and Australian versions of P&O cruises?It's the former Sea Princess now the Adonia and soon-to-be Sea Princess again.

[Florida Lady]

The worst cabin we ever had was on Paquet Cruise Line's Dolphin. She was originally built as the Zion of Zim Lines in 1956. The ship was transferred to the Caribbean as Dolphin I in 1979. She ran 3- and 4-day cruises to the Bahamas from Miami. The cabin was an outside but had no portholes. During the night all you heard was the sloshing of waves against your head. It was so small that while my husband was getting dressed I had to wait in the hallway. The cabin was on the crew quarters (entertainment)deck and never sold to passengers except on its New Years Cruise. The morning we returned to Miami we opened the cabin door and found out we could not get out since dirty laundry bags were piled up in the hallway and against out door. We had to call for assistance to get out. The crew told us that our cabin was NEVER SOLD so the dirty laundry bags were always piled up in that hallway. We will never forget out first cruise together. We had a great time and learned to research cabin size and location before booking a cruise.

[lka1012]

MY worst accomadation was a leaky tent during a rainy week-end camping trip.

[Brandis]

Not really bad, but a bit cramped: I once shared an inside cabin on Carnival Destiny with 4 friends. 2 lower beds, 2 upper and a rollaway in the middle... :-) I always went up to the gym to shower in the morning so I didn't have to wait for my turn in the bathroom. Just for sleeping the cabin was fine and as we were young, we stayed out long anyway...

Marc

[gizmo]

Gizma, you are right! It was V010. I bet you remember the vibrations, too, from those chains and the mechanisms of the tenders. Think earthquake . . .You were in the same area as we were. Kind of hard to forget the cabin number isn't it? It was our first cruise, and the first time we heard it I had no idea what it was. I almost rolled out of that top bunk when it woke me up. I don't know if I could tell the difference between the tender mechanisms and that anchor, all I remember is all those loud noices. Wake up calls were not needed. When they dropped that anchor on port days it was enough to wake up the dead.

[dakrewser]

Just a great thread, Brian. Whatever made you think of it?

-dave

[DFD1]

Host Doug: Thanks for your post on this thread, especially the links you provide. I'm a passenger ship enthusiast and I have really enjoyed reading your posts whenever I can find them.

[cactuslady]

Let's see -- the smallest would have been the tiny cabin with V-berth on the 18-foot Windrose trailerable sailboat I used to have. Porta-potty under the V-berth, ice chest on one of the side settees. Just enough room to sit up. We cooked on a portable butane stove sitting out in the cockpit. Bathing facilities consisted of jumping off the bow with a bar of soap in hand. Later on, we got one of those black plastic bags with spray attachment -- lay it out on deck to heat up the water, then hoist it up with a halyard so you get a little water pressure. The shower would last almost 4 minutes until the water ran out. We trailered this thing with a 1977 VW Rabbit, which nearly launched itself every time we launched the boat. Those were the days.

[Cruisindad]

I can't match some of these stories, but my worst cabin was on the NCL Norwegian Sea (at the time the Seaward) in April 1987. It was my second cruise, and my first since becoming single again. A group of family members went, and my sister-in-law booked me a single guarantee. When my docs came, I eagerly looked up the cabin location in the brochure. Hmmm, it's in the lowest category, well, that's to be expected. Let's see - there are six cabins in the lowest category; of the six, three are bordered on one side by an elavator, two are bordered on two sides by an elevator AND a staircase, and one is bordered on three sides by a staircase, AND an elevator, AND the children's playroom. I literally had the worst cabin on the ship. But you know what? The elevator and the stairwell were not a factor, and there were no kids on the cruise in late April.

So I guess I would have to say that my worst cabin. . . was still pretty darn good!

[bepsf]

Just a great thread, Brian. Whatever made you think of it?

-dave
Thanks Dave!

I dunno - We see alot of posts like "Can people see into my window/balcony?", "Will I hear noises inside my stateroom?" or "Will I feel the ship move?" that I thought it would be fun to share the worst of our experiences.

Interestingly, everyone here still seems to look back on their experience w/ some fondness or nostalgia - even folks who were sleeping under the anchor chain or had water flooding their cabin on a daily basis came back and are still cruising!
:)

[geopa]

The worst cabin was on our 2nd cruise, inside cabin, lowest passenger deck on the Cunard Countess. Tiny, very worn looking and almost no air conditioning. At night the cabin would CREAK like crazy especially during the long run from Barbados back to San Juan (sounded as if the ship was going to split in two and sink). On the other hand it has a great itinerary and excellent service.

[Peggy Sue]

Host Doug .. You're right..I stand corrected...it was 1993 that we sailed on the SS Oceanbreeze.

Thanks for the great link...It was a terrific walk down memory lane to see all those great pictures, and read the interesting history about this ship.

I do remember the Dining room...smoking was allowed at that time. We were traveling with friends who smoked and we agreed to sit in a smoking section (why? who knows!) I can still see the blue haze! The crew were mostly from Jamacia..very friendly and fun loving. Really got the passengers into all the activities ...

Sad to hear she's now in a scrap yard. Sounds like the crew had quite an adventure getting her there!

Thanks for sharing history with us.. much appreciated!

Love reading these posts!

[dougnewmanatsea]

This is a great thread... Some of you have been on fascinating ships!


The Russian ferry Ilich from Stockholm to St Petersburg in 1994.Your cabin sounds awful; I have to wonder if perhaps it (or that bathroom) was added by the Russians after the fact (she was originally a Finnish ship) as it sounds really bizarre.

ILICH, incidentaly, is still around today as BALTIC KRISTINA, now running not from St. Petersburg to Stockholm but rather from Riga to Stockholm for a concern called Riga Sea Line.

You can see lots of photos of her over the years here (http://www.faktaomfartyg.com/bore_I_1973.htm) (sorry, it's in Swedish only - but wherever you see "inredning" you can click on that and see inside photos).

It's the former Sea Princess now the Adonia and soon-to-be Sea Princess again.OK... I thought so but was just wondering. Re-using names can cause quite a bit of confusion!

Host Doug: Thanks for your post on this thread, especially the links you provide.I'm glad you enjoy them! I spend way too much crawling the web for anything ship-related - you should see the ship section of my "Favorites" list!

I can't match some of these stories, but my worst cabin was on the NCL Norwegian Sea (at the time the Seaward) in April 1987.OK... Here goes my fact-checking instinct again.

SEAWARD didn't enter service until 1988 - so was it another date or another ship? (There was a previous SEAWARD, but she never entered service as such. I could bore you all with a long history of that vessel, but I'm trying to resist that instinct...)

As for my worst cabin... Well to be honest in I've never had a really bad cabin! OK, I did have one on NORDIC EMPRESS with a shower that leaked, one on GRAND PRINCESS with mold growing under the bathroom tiles, one on HORIZON that was the proverbial "anchor suite" (like Gizmo's cabin on NORWAY), and so on... But the fact is that all of them were really just fine.

Of course many experienced cruisers have very complicated formulas for picking the perfect cabin - I know I do (ideally not at the bow, nor the stern, nor too near any stairs or lifts, not above or below public spaces, no connecting doors, and so on...) the fact is that nobody knows exactly what a cabin will be like - but then we all stay in hotels where we haven't a clue what the room is going to turn out as, so why the intense desire to know every detail about a cabin on a ship? I guess it's that we're allowed to choose a specific cabin, so we want to choose the very best one we can get for the money but in reality it's basically a shot in the dark.

[HeatherInFlorida]

So, Doug, no answer for me??? Post #23 I think?

[Tricia724]

The worst cabin was on our 2nd cruise, inside cabin, lowest passenger deck on the Cunard Countess. Tiny, very worn looking and almost no air conditioning. At night the cabin would CREAK like crazy especially during the long run from Barbados back to San Juan (sounded as if the ship was going to split in two and sink).

geopa...if I didn't see your name here, I would think I wrote this! The only inside cabin I ever had was on my second cruise...also on the Cunard Countess. My Countess voyage was also the roughest cruise I ever had. The ship was pitching like crazy, passengers were sick all over the place, and when I finally had to go back to that teeny, tiny little cabin to sleep, I wanted to cry. I felt like I was crawling into a closet, and I went to sleep holding on to the sides of the bed to keep from pitching out. Didn't get sick, though, but I also never booked another inside cabin and never sailed again with Cunard. It had its moments, but it was my least enjoyable cruise ever for many reasons.

[primetime99]

Hi Heather,

I sailed on the Queen of Bermuda in the 50's when I was 18. I also remember it fondly. I had a marvelous time. The fact that you mentioned your cruise sure brought back some great memories. I believe the sister ship was named the Ocean Monarch, and they were part of the Furness line.

Marilyn

[Joanne G.]

. . .my sister-in-law booked me a single guarantee. Ah, the infamous single guarantee! I call it the single crapshoot. It was not a good way to go on the dearly departed Norway, with those anchor chain suites and other, shall we say, interesting cabins. ;)

[Lisa63]

I am getting a real kick out of these posts as most of us have wonderful memories of these ships despite the stateroom we had.

Add me to the list... Our "worst" cabin happened to be on one of our favorite cruises. It was Cabin F055 on SS SeaBreeze in 1993. The cabin was nice and roomy -- we had a double bed, sofa, chair, three portholes and lots of storage. We also had a shower head that came off its moorings once (we still laugh about it today) although it was fixed promptly. The reason I put it in the "worst" category is that it shared a wall with the crew dining room and the soundproofing was not very good. Needless to say, this was the noisiest stateroom we've ever had. But the cruise was most enjoyable and SS SeaBreeze remains my favorite ship of all-time. We went on the ship again, but chose different cabins. :)

[Thoth]

I have been on 5 cruises and each time I have done the guarantee thing, meaning I could be in anything from a suite to a closet in the bilge. In 2000 on my first cruise, I was on the Enchanted Capri which was the former Azerbaijan from the Ukraine. It was a troop ship at one time before being converted to a discount cruise ship. My room was very small and my bed was a fold out couch/sofa. Still I had the time of my life to the point that I am addicted to cruise ships. Since then ALL the staterooms that I have been asigned has just been great!! This year on the Oosterdam I had booked a cat M inside and was upgraded to cat A verandah.

[arzz]

Probably it was on my first cruise ever on the old Sun Princess (aka Spirit of London, later Premier's Majestic) -- we sailed her once as the Sun Princess (Christmas 1980) and again with our young son when it was the Majestic (we are not really gluttons for punishment, we chose her the second time on her itinerary through the Abacos, one of our favorite Bahamian destinations). Inside cabin. As you entered there was a narrow corridor with a postage stamp bathroom on the left -- this was followed by a 2 or 2 1/2 foot long "closet" (a clothes bar covered with a curtain) on the right and a small desk of similar size on the left. There was very little space in between the desk and the closet since the width of the cabin was the length of the double bed which sat wedged into the "far end" of the cabin -- actually I stand corrected there was no "far end" as the cabin was so tiny. The bed was surrounded by three walls, the left side of the cabin, the right side of the cabin, and the rear of the cabin. For two in bed, the one sleeping on the far side had to crawl over the other to get out, as the bed was wedged in wall to wall. The cabin had to be less than 80 square feet including the bathroom. We had to take turns standing up and dressing. And...we had very thin walls with neighbors on three sides!

But then there was the cabin on the Amerikanis that was on the port side of the ship, had two beautiful windows that opened directly onto a steel bulkhead that had apparently been added in some refit or other! It was a nice cabin, however, since it was in the old first class area of the ship and still retained many of the original art deco decorations. The bathroom and dressing area were very generous and possibly larger than the sleeping portion of the cabin. Storage space was unbelievable and the bathroom had towel warmers. We really enjoyed that cruise on the funky old ship.

On the Norway we carefully chose, from the old deck diagrams of the original France, an inside cabin, mid-ships, in the old first class area. Here we were not disappointed. Though the cabin space was frugal, it was well designed with space to move around and generous bathroom and closet space. This cabin also still retained many of the original art deco decorations including the vanity dressing table.

At Christmas in 1995 we were on the Statendam and spoke with a woman who said she had gotten a "too good to be true" price for her outside cabin for that cruise. Turns out she was right under the women's bathroom adjacent to the main show lounge. The music from the shows and rehersals were not her complaint -- it was the constant flushing of the space age toilets that kept them up all night!

[Cruisindad]

OK... Here goes my fact-checking instinct again.

SEAWARD didn't enter service until 1988 - so was it another date or another ship? (There was a previous SEAWARD, but she never entered service as such. I could bore you all with a long history of that vessel, but I'm trying to resist that instinct...)I wondered if you would notice my typo - by the time I noticed it, I was unable to edit it. It was actually 1997, not 1987. 1987 was the year of my first cruise, on the Norway. (You can look it up!)

[dougnewmanatsea]

So, Doug, no answer for me??? Post #23 I think?Sorry. Somehow I missed the last few posts on the first page.

QUEEN OF BERMUDA was sold for scrap in 1966. She was a real oldie, built in 1933.

OCEAN MONARCH was her running mate but was newer, built in 1951. She was also sold in 1966 (Furness Bermuda ended operations that year), to Bulgarian interests who renamed her VARNA, and then on to Greeks who renamed her DOLPHIN in 1979, at which point she was laid-up. In 1981 she was renamed REINA DEL MAR and her owners announced that she would re-enter service that year. She was in the final stages of being refitted when she burned and sank in 1981 off Perama.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Sorry. Somehow I missed the last few posts on the first page.

QUEEN OF BERMUDA was sold for scrap in 1966. She was a real oldie, built in 1933.

OCEAN MONARCH was her running mate but was newer, built in 1951. She was also sold in 1966 (Furness Bermuda ended operations that year), to Bulgarian interests who renamed her VARNA, and then on to Greeks who renamed her DOLPHIN in 1979, at which point she was laid-up. In 1981 she was renamed REINA DEL MAR and her owners announced that she would re-enter service that year. She was in the final stages of being refitted when she burned and sank in 1981 off Perama.
Sold for scrap????!!!!!!:eek: Crying foul!!! Well at least she was "sold" for scrap ... I'll just be "dumped" for scrap. She was a magnificent ship ... tons of mahoganys and other woods. But they did not waste the beauty on the cabins:D .

Thanks, Doug! Great info.

[rex523]

Doug, Thank you for the link! I had really forgotten what the Ilich looked like, but I remember now - she had that Baltic Line logo on her side, and some of the interiors look just the same, including that blue dining room with the curved booths, and those rows of plastic seats attached to outdoor bulkheads.

Our cabin was in either the first or second deck above the hull, and forward on the port side. At the time I wondered if the cabin had been created out of a larger space, perhaps a public room. Parts of the ship seemed new or newly renovated and other parts had carpet worn through to the steel deck.

I was wandering around Europe with a friend and we did this cruise on impulse. It was a round trip with two days in St Petersburg, and I seem to remember that our tickets were about $150 per person and it was 5 days total. Even then that was a bargain!

Thanks for the memories - that was a unique experience!

[bepsf]

I'll just be "dumped" for scrap. No-no, Heather, you won't be dumped for scrap!
We're gonna keep you in the Queen's Lounge...

[iv18-Diane]

My Worst cabin was on my first cruise on the Celebrity Meridian. The cabin was a quad outside/ Porthole. There were no quads on the decks that had full windows and I needed a quad. It was 135 Sq feet, bunk beds and a tiny bathroom that you could barely get in to.
We had a tropical storm on the way back from Bermuda and most of the drawers broke over the floor. The water was all over our porthole.
I am sure the Zuiderdam will be my best cabin as I booked an SS.

Byw, the Meridian is now a coral reef on the bottom of the Indian Ocean. After Celeb sold it, it went on fire and Sank. All passengers were fine.

[dougnewmanatsea]

Sold for scrap????!!!!!!:eek: Crying foul!!! Well, it happens to just about all old ships, sadly.

The person to talk to when it comes to QUEEN OF BERMUDA is Stephen Card, the gentleman who does all the wonderful maritime art on the HAL ships - he is a native Bermudan and an expert on the Furness Bermuda ships... He even wrote a book about them (which I haven't been able to get in the US, unfortunately)!

Doug, Thank you for the link! I had really forgotten what the Ilich looked like, but I remember nowActually, as originally built, she was kind of a nice looking ship, what with the dummy funnel and such.

Our cabin was in either the first or second deck above the hull, and forward on the port side. At the time I wondered if the cabin had been created out of a larger space, perhaps a public room.Judging from this deck plan (http://www.faktaomfartyg.com/bore_I_1973_rit.htm) of the ship as built, if it had a large window as you describe, then it was on boat deck which originally was all public rooms... So it looks like our suspicion was correct.

I didn't think the Finns would have built her like that!

[rex523]

Judging from this deck plan (http://www.faktaomfartyg.com/bore_I_1973_rit.htm) of the ship as built,

Wow, you are the king of obscure links!

Oddly enough, that plan shows the A deck cabins with a pie shaped bath! I just really can't remember which deck we were on.

I was studying the plan trying to locate the casino - I won big at black jack one night because I converted all the British pounds I had left into Swedish kroner. It was all monopoly money to me so I bet fearlessly!

Thanks again - you have brought back some terrific memories!

[kelmac]

Easy! The Norwegian Sea; we had an inside cabin, very small with no closets, and a bathroom so small that my wife and I would start laughing everytime we looked at it. Still, no such thing as a bad cruise!:rolleyes:

[dougnewmanatsea]

Wow, you are the king of obscure links!Not that obscure - it's from the same site the other photos were on, Fakta om Fartyg (http://www.faktaomfartyg.com) ("facts about ships" in Swedish). Most of the site is in Swedish only but it's invaluable and one of the biggest sites on the web about passenger ships.

Oddly enough, that plan shows the A deck cabins with a pie shaped bath! I just really can't remember which deck we were on.If you had a floor-to-ceiling window, it had to have been boat deck.

What we need is a deck plan of the ship as ILICH.

[Mary Ellen]

My worst cabin was in the late 80s, when Mom & I took a 'Disney' cruise on 'The Big Red Boat' - before Disney started their own line. I suspect they were trying to save money by not using the stabalizers very much - pretty bumppy. It also seemed that the berths in adjecent cabins were bolted together through the walls. When the berth in the next cabin moved - so did mine. What made it memorable was that Sheila in the next cabin (the cabin walls were very thin :eek: ) was a very 'active' girl. Not feeling well on a rolling ship - with a bouncing berth - trying to not to listen to the 'activites' in the next cabin.

[jazzsea]

In the early 1980's on an NCL ship. The cabin was only 6 feet wide and the bed (a double) ran fore to aft. DH is six foot two and had to sleep sideways on the bed.

On day two of the cruise, I made a small financial investment with our room steward and got the key to an empty cabin right across the hall. From then on I slept across the hall in the outside, upper and lower cabin and DH slept in the inside cabin with the double bed.

Have never sailed NCL since then and haven't sold cabins on that company either.

Cabins were available that were larger and although we offered to pay more, we were not allowed to move.

[obriendan]

This is not about a cabin on a ship but I think it qualifies. In July, 1960, I had a job interview at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. At the time I was a graduate student at UVa in Charlottesville, VA. An essential part of the story is that my wife was 8 ½ months pregnant with our first child at the time and was accompanying me on the trip. We had reserved a compartment on the train for the overnight trip. When we boarded the train at about 8 PM we found that the compartment had been double booked and that the other bookers had boarded in Washington. The conductor said that we could be accomodated in the coach but we didn’t want to sit up all night. He then said he had one roomette available. For those who remember trains in the 60's, you’ll know how large a roomette is: With the bed folded down, about 3 feet wide and about 6 ft long! The main memory I have is "What do you do with your arms?". Needless to say, we had a compartment with lower and upper berths on the return trip! (Please! Don’t let my wife know I posted this!).

[Golfgrl1911]

My worst cabin was my most memorable one......aboard the Regal Empress on a 2 night cruise to Nassau purchased through a time share scheme!! I knew what I was getting into with the time share but wanted to try a cruise so much that I was willing to put up with the gimmick of sitting for 3 hours of a man trying desperately to sell a timeshare! The room was on the very lower floor of guest cabins in the very bow of the little ship. Since it was my first cruise you would have thought I was in the penthouse suite!! There was a double bed that was crammed into the room with very little space for anything but sleeping. The bathroom was shower, sink and commode all in one!! Everything got soaked when taking a shower including the bed if the door wasn't closed!! I have since cruised on the Zuiderdam in an SS suite and am completely spoiled for life........but I will never forget the cruiseship that started it all for me!! As a matter of fact we saw the Regal Empress while waiting to disembark from the "Z" and I couldn't help but take a snapshot of her from our balcony. She holds very fond memories for me!! Chef Nancy

[Hflors]

Reading some of these posts made me remember our "worse cabin" story. Neither DH or I are positive the ship was the Noordam, but we are pretty sure it was. Anyway a couple of years ago I got a "great price" on an outside "Deluxe" cabin. So I booked it. My only concern at the time was it's location. I believe it was on the main deck and what looked like across the hall from an office. Well for the price and being "deluxe" what the heck we'll go for it. The cabin wasn't deluxe at all. It was the size of a postage stamp and had two beds in a L shape which didn't move. As soon as I entered I felt clostrophic. (Where is my spell check when I need it) Anyway you get the idea. I couldn't stand being in the cabin and that is with the curtain open. Well they tell me that I will need to wait until 2pm and talk with the guest relations if I want to change cabins. I didn't even go back to the room I sat in the center section. Anyway I tell this woman who looked very bored about the whole situation about this "Deluxe" cabin and even showed her a picture in the brochure which by the way looked about three times the size of the postage I had left earlier. MY only choice is to upgrade for $160.00 extra. I would have paid $1000.00 at this point. KNowing I couldn't stay in that cabin. On the promonode deck there was one cabin available. About three times the size of the "postage stamp" So we snapped up on it. ONly problem was we had to keep our curtains closed during the day if anyone was dressing.

Anyway on this ship as soon as we left port something else was very evident The ship vribrated when ever the engine ran. The girl at the shop told us that she was sure if she ever left and slept on land that she would need to sleep on a washing machine because down in the "crew's cabins" that's what it felt like every night! AFter a day or two we adjusted to the virbration. And after a few days we hardly noticed it. Then we hit a patch of bad weather coming back to Tampa. Well that's when we realized the ship also listed to right side. Guess where our cabin was? You guessed it. The last two nights we slept in a bed where our feel were higher than our heads! At dinner we had to kind of wedge our glasses against something to keep them on the table.

You know what? That cruise was one of the best cruises we ever took. We met the most wonderful staff and fellow passengers. And had a wonderful time. Mostly we joked and laughed at all the funny things that were happinging.
PS Now I try to make sure I don't book any "postage stamps" no matter what the price!

[ejbmorr]

THe prize must go to the QE 2 on a B to B crossing. It was even a Caronia Dining room catagory cabin, which should have insured at least minimal comfort. I was booked in a single category cabin on 2 deck crossing from the US to Southampton and knew I would need to change cabins on the return crossing to a cabin on 3 deck.
Well, the 3 deck cabin consisted of a narrow bunk with a narrow aisle along side from the door to the wee little bathroom. There was a locker at the foot of the bed. That was it. I think it was intended as a second bedroom for the cabin next door as there was a door connecting to it (maybe a nanny cabin in days of old).
Every night the man next door would throw his cabin door open so that it banged the wall by the head of my narrow little bunk. He then proceeded to be "noisily" ill on most nights for awhile right next to the same wall ( the bath in that cabin must have abuted mine).
I haven't thought of that experience in years. Thanks for reminding me!

[JohnR49er]

The worst was suite 020 last week on the Maasdam. No air conditioning for the whole week. High of 85 low of 75. Great sauna though.........

[Orcrone]

The worst was suite 020 last week on the Maasdam. No air conditioning for the whole week. High of 85 low of 75. Great sauna though.........John,

When I saw a new post in this thread I knew it was you. Should have stayed in steerage with us.:D

[Krazy Kruizers]

Johnr49er

Cabin 020 on the Maasdam. That's the same cabin s7s had on one of her many cruises on the Maasdam. And she reported about the plumbing problems, etc.

Hope everybody stays away from that cabin.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Worst cabin -- first cruise we took many, many years ago. We had no idea how to choose a cabin and the travel agent we had at that time was of little help - she had never been on a cruise.

We were on the Cunard Countess - small cabin - we could barely move around in it. No place to store luggage. Bathroom had shower only. First night out of San Juan we hit rough seas while DH was showering. The water ran out of the shower and into the cabin soaking the rug. The crew had to set up a big fan in the hallway to blow into the cabin to dry the rug.

From then on we studied the deck plans and checked on the size of the cabins and made certain that we had a bathtub.

[catlib55]

Our worst cabin was on the Dolphin IV. We had an outside upper and lower. The only way you could see out the porthole was by getting in the upper berth. Only one of us could dress in the cabin at a time. The bathroom was one where you could sit on the toilet and take a shower, but we did have a shower curtain in there. If you took a shower with the curtain closed, the curtain clung to your body.
But it was our first cruise to the Bahamas, and we had a ball!! We didn't know any better, and we had a wonderful table in the dining room. It was alot of fun.
Mary Ellen

[tealady]

Our great upgrade from category L inside to category H outside on Volendam last week. Cabin 1809 on Dolphin Deck where the ship comes to a point in front. It is one of a few cabins with no sofa, no room for a chair under the desk and the desk was half the length of the ones in the other cabins. It only had portholes, no picture window. This was our first HAL cruise and I had heard about how large the cabins were. Boy were we surprised.

This cabin also had the distinction of being very noisy. I am not sure what the noise was from, but whenever the ship would come into a port, there was a whirring noise that would awaken us. Some kind of mechanical sound.

We encountered very rough seas on several days on this cruise and the waves would crash into the hull of the ship so hard it sounded like a dumpster was being slammed into the side of our cabin every half hour all night long.
I tried to catch a nap the next day in the cabin, but the dumpster banging continued along with the rocking of the ship. I guess there was no sleep for the wicked.
Jan

[Lokalona]

Obviously cabin 5050 on the Zuiderdam, outside Verandah balcony, the cabin is actually very nice with 2 exceptions, it reeks of sewer gas and raw sewage if the ship gets rocky, and the life boats right in front of the cabin (one cabin back) bang like crazy. Of course the AC fan belt is brand new now after the fire so I am sure it will be good for a while :)

The other worse cabin I had was 9090 on the Mariner of the Seas (I think it was 9090, back corner aft balcony, deck 9). It is under the teenagers disco area by a deck or so and we found more stuff on our balcony in the mornings kids had winged off the top. One day I sunbathed on the lounger and had a hot cigarette land on my knee! I had a camera, 3 key cards, beer cans and a bunch of strawberries, 2 dinner plates and the last night was the kicker, we woke up to hear such loud clanging I thought somone fell over, low and behold there hung a deck chair off our railing!

[lgt]

Along, long time ago, when I was but a teen, my sister, brother & I had a very tiny cabin on the Queen Mary (1967). It didn't have a bathroom or a closet. The walls were painted cement, the beds were bunks. My parents had a cabin in an entirely different part of the ship. We didn't even eat with them (I think they liked it that way). Took me a long time to cruise again aftr that. Second worst cabin has to be a few years ago on the RCCL Majesty of the Seas. Outside cabin, but tiny. I think it was 124 sq.ft., no tub, no room. I think I'll stick with HAL.

[xeena]

our worst ever was on the Bermuda Star. we were on a deck that had no elevator service, had to walk up a flight to get to the elevator. the head was very small but efficient, you could do everything sitting down !

the single beds were unmovable, the spreads did not match and there was a hole in the ceiling where the light fixture should have been. our friends had a replica of ours but they had a CHAIR in theirs. we laugh about how envious we were of their chair !!

of course, we had a great time on that cruise....i think she ran amok a few weeks after our cruise.

[xeena]

just telling DH what i wrote about the Bermuda Star and he reminded me that while on the ship for the first few days, he thought things looked familiar. on the thrid day out we passed a plaque in one of the hallways that identified the ship as the old Brazil. My DH had sailed on her as a cadet while he was in the US Merchant Marine Academy ! so it was like meeting an old friend who had changed her name......

[gigivic]

our worst was the statendam, outside cabin, promanade deck. right accross from the public laundry. people never shut the door and we heard clanging sippers in the dryer all night. people would chat and laugh all hours of the night. never got any sleep. the engines were very loud even at that level. people can be so inconsiderate sometimes. that was my last guarantee cabin.