Concerns about aft cabins

I was "upgraded" to an aft cabin. Huge balcony, but NEVER AGAIN will I take that area!! The balcony was mostly open to the above decks, and it was filthy dirty every morning and evening, soaking wet, and unuseable for me, because people on the Lido deck (2 floors up) frequently tossed, dropped or otherwise lost their beer & soda cans, water bottles, and cigarettes which landed on my balcony. Almost got hit in the head twice while sittng out there. Complaints to HAL front desk provide no relief from this matter. Made the balcony virtually a waste and pissed me off greatly!!!

 

If you have specific questions, feel free to respond to this post or e-mail me directly at sprovo@apr.com

Suzie

I have dreamed about getting one of these aft cabins. Especially the Cat. S with the wrap around deck. We are planning a last minute cruise and one is available, but now I'm getting cold feet based on Suzie's problems. Was this an isolated thing?

Has anyone else been sorry about getting an aft stateroom? If the afts are no good what about the irregular shapped ones like - S7088 or S7087 on the Westerdam.

I'm also wondering if it would be better to be on the Rotterdam deck close to the Neptune lounge.

Thanks!!!

Joni

There have been several posts on this subject but none as bad as the one you quoted from.

Most people who have had aft suites and posted their thoughts say the flying debris and soot is not a problem.

Most of these aft suites go pretty quickly and those who have had them and posted reviews say they are great.

We have 5187 and 5186 on the Oosterdam in January and cant wait.

We just got back from the Zuiderdam. We had room s4185 so we were really at he bottom of those rooms ! I would book the same room again. The only real inconvinience I found was that you were far away from the Neptune lounge.

I disagree with the others about the lack of privacy on the lower balconys. Yes the design of the ship leaves them staggered over each other but there is a slight overhang. You can sit under that for privacy or shade. The side of the balcony is completely private.

We had 2 fully reclining, padded lounge chairs, A large table with 4 chairs, 2 wicker arm chairs with ottomans and a small table.

If I was laying out on a lounge chair, someone up above would have to be leaning on their railing to see me. I will take that chance.

Coincidently, that balcony right above us belonged to people at our dinner table. To talk to them from our balcony I had to go up against our railing and they had to do the same on theirs .

I think another advantage is that you ALWAYS have sun if you want it. You do not have to depend on the angle of the ship like you would if you are on the side with a full overhang.

WE just booked S5187 on the Oosterdam in Feb . iowacruiser, we'll follow you in this huge cabin and veranda! I've always wanted to sail this way....I'm thrilled. Have a wonderful trip....we live in san Diego, so we will probably go down to the embarcadero to watch it sail out before we go....:)

Peggy

We are cruising next month in our first port corner aft cabin and I had the same concerns after I read that exact same review.

I'm wondering what suite that review concerned, how many unruly children where on board throwing stuff, and what kind of weather that cruise encountered - there are probably many variables that impacted her review.

I look at the situation this way - most of the time the aft cabins are the first to be reserved. to me this means that they are great cabins.

There are plenty of threads concerning aft cabins that I have read that are rave reviews - they would do most anything to have that verandah again.

Keep an open mind and understand that there might be some debris and it might be wet after a passing shower during the night but just think of the advantages of your view and the space on your verandah to do as you please:D

I'm cruising in one of those cabins next month and can hardly contain my excitement. My plan is to have the time of my life - you experience life through your own outlook.

Have fun

Deb

I booked 5187 and next door 5185 on the Zuiderdam and am looking forward to enjoying the larger balcony on the suite. We have 5 girls sailing, it should work out well and we'll have a blast.

We are going to be in 7133 on the Zuiderdam 9/18. It is on the same deck as the Neptune, on the starboard corner. Very cool!! I can't wait to get there!! I don't sweat any of that other stuff, I'm sure it will be fine.

Melody

We have had balconys on the very back on our last 2 cruises,and I dont have any ideal of what they are talking about.Vert little if any garbage,and privacy was not an issue,We have a CatS on the back for our Oct. sailing.If you get one you will not be sorry. TOM

I should think that one call to your room steward about a problem such as the people directly above throwing trash down would be handled with the occupants of that room or suite. On our Mediterranean cruise, someone on our deck complained about a loud party, and our steward asked us if it had bothered us, as he was going to apologize. The offending party was dealt with quickly as soon as the complaint was lodged. Of course, that was Celebrity, but I would imagine HAL would do as well in addressing this.

slinkie

we are going oct. 9 and have 7133, please e-mail me and let me know how you liked it, vjb223@aol.com

We have had balconys on the very back on our last 2 cruises,and I dont have any ideal of what they are talking about.Vert little if any garbage,and privacy was not an issue,We have a CatS on the back for our Oct. sailing.If you get one you will not be sorry. TOM

The aft balconies are quiet different than the regular ones. They are on the 2 back corners of the ship on 4 different decks. We have had the regular ones on the side of the ship and loved every second of them, but to have a wrap around balcony seems over the top. The original poster complained about water and trash being dropped or blown down from the Lido pool area.

Vjb, I would be happy to email you about the cabin. I am sure it will be wonderful!

Melody

The aft balconies are quiet different than the regular ones. They are on the 2 back corners of the ship on 4 different decks. We have had the regular ones on the side of the ship and loved every second of them, but to have a wrap around balcony seems over the top. The original poster complained about water and trash being dropped or blown down from the Lido pool area.

I've also heard of this problem. Our TA said she had some clients who actually had a lounge chair from the Lido end up on their balcony. :eek:

We were going to one of these cabins for the x-tra large balcony, but ended up booking a Suite closer to the concierge lounge instead. It was nice, but lots of folks carried on conversations right outside our door, as it was just across from the entrance to the lounge. :)

Shippy--

I have the same suite reserved for my '05 Alaska cruise on Oosterdam.

Do you have pix of your suite? How is the partition to the adjoining stateroom on the side? (we have friends booked into that one) Is 4185 the same interior layout as the one on 5?

Would you have preferred to be in a corner suite higher up?

I scoped out the corner-aft suite above on Deck 5 before we left the ship and 4185 looked to have the most privacy of all the corner suites (not that that's gonna be an issue in Alaska - or that I really care about privacy....)

I found it curios that this poster was given a tremendous upgrade and still had so much to complain about.

I'm certain if they had talked with others in side suites that someone surely would have taken that huge verandah "nightmare" from them without thinking twice.

Sail7Seas made a comment on another thread that he suspects there might be mystery posters that do nothing but post negative comments - IMO this might help explain the vast differences in experiences on the same cruise.

To Each His/Her Own.

I'm staying in one of those dream port side aft cabins and I WILL HAVE A GREAT TIME!

Deb

We have S5186 booked on the Zuid for March and am really looking forward to a large Verandah..I will not have to worry about a chair at the pool.

Nancy

I found it curios that this poster was given a tremendous upgrade and still had so much to complain about.

What's "tremendous" about trash almost hitting you on the head?

I'm certain if they had talked with others in side suites that someone surely would have taken that huge verandah "nightmare" from them without thinking twice.

Sail7Seas made a comment on another thread that he suspects there might be mystery posters that do nothing but post negative comments - IMO this might help explain the vast differences in experiences on the same cruise.

I'm staying in one of those dream port side aft cabins and I WILL HAVE A GREAT TIME!

While I do hope you do have a great time, I would be very interested in your review when you get back.

"I have dreamed about getting one of these aft cabins. Especially the Cat. S with the wrap around deck."

I had one of these on the new Westerdam in May, and it was wonderful! The deck was HUGE and very usuable. We were on deck 7 and there was enough of an over-hang from deck 8 to provide privacy when wanted. There was some soot from time to time, but nothing bad enough for me to not want the same cabin again. When other decks were unusuable because of wind, we were protected.

dakrewser - "tremendous" was the upgrade, not someone getting hit in the head with trash. I believe you are taking my posts out of context as an earlier post said the following:

"I'm wondering what suite that review concerned, how many unruly children where on board throwing stuff, and what kind of weather that cruise encountered - there are probably many variables that impacted her review"

Different cruisers do have different views and that is why each person should make his/her own decisions based on the information provided, taking into account the number of opinions pro/con on any given topic matter.

I made the decision (based on many, many positive reviews) to reserve a port side aft cabin and I will live with and enjoy the pros/cons of my decision and I will write a review of my decision when I return.

Deb

She is a real person who did have this happen during our 7/30 Westerdam sailing. Its the kind of problem that there is really no solution for. I dont think she got a tremendous upgrade. Just an aft balcony CABIN not suite.

All I can say is that I had a huge wraparound suite on the tahitian princess which was also open to higher decks - other people had soot, I had none.I guess I live a charmed life !

Its one of those things that is a possible trade off against an aft view. I love the aft view. I think if you can accept the fact that some stuff may find its way onto your deck, then you will be fine. I had a guy constantly smoking a cigar in the the SS suite next to mine on this same cruise (we were not aft ). I decided early on that I was going to live with it and that it would not bother me. The only thing that I truly CANNOT deal with on a ship is any NOISE. I live on 6 acres on a quiet country road (dirt) and am accustomed to total silence at night.

I will say I was much happier with HAL than SUzie was and had a better time- she prefers Celebrity and Princess.

My oldesnt and youngest kids meanwhile are pestering me to go back on the WESTERDAM over spring break. THey loved the friendly staff and great food. My teen prefers Celebrity as did most of them, on our cruise.Better teen center- more for them to do.

There have been several posts on this subject but none as bad as the one you quoted from.

Most people who have had aft suites and posted their thoughts say the flying debris and soot is not a problem.

Most of these aft suites go pretty quickly and those who have had them and posted reviews say they are great.

We have 5187 and 5186 on the Oosterdam in January and cant wait.

Hi,

We also have 5186 booked on the OOsterdam in January. We are sailing on the 9th Panama Canal. This will be our first aft cabin on Holland America. We had an aft on Celebrity. It was great!

Shippy--

 

I have the same suite reserved for my '05 Alaska cruise on Oosterdam.

Do you have pix of your suite? How is the partition to the adjoining stateroom on the side? (we have friends booked into that one) Is 4185 the same interior layout as the one on 5?

 

Would you have preferred to be in a corner suite higher up?

 

I scoped out the corner-aft suite above on Deck 5 before we left the ship and 4185 looked to have the most privacy of all the corner suites (not that that's gonna be an issue in Alaska - or that I really care about privacy....)

I would book the same cabin again. I liked the idea of being able to look up at the rest of the decks if I choose. Being on the lowest one also put you closest to the water. I know that is hard to explain but you are not looking down on other decks, just the ocean. Awesome.

We actually had a party in the room right above us on the last night. The room and deck were identicle to ours.It was interesting to look down on to our deck and the adjoining one. That is how I know how private our deck really is.

There is a solid partition between you and the next room. I think only the cabin steward can open it. That balcony on that room appeared very small. Only 2 regular chairs and a table.

One thing to remember is that the trade off for these gigantic decks is some sacrifice of the overall square footage in your room.

I do not consider these rooms to be actual suites...just large rooms. We had a couch, then coffee table then not much room until the bed. In the S catagory on the sides of the ship there was a lot more room between the couch and the bed.

The bathroom is definitly a suite bathroom. Most awesome I have seen on a ship with a small dressing room right before it.

The overall storage is tremendous and we even had locking nightstands!

ENJOY

I sailed with some friends who had a corner aft once. I liked it so well that when the opportunity came, I booked one. I have a portside corner aft on the Mariner booked for next year. I booked this 1 1/2 years in advance. Within a couple weeks the whole back aft was booked up. I believe many love the experience of sitting on the balcony watching the wake on sea days.

I do not consider these rooms to be actual suites...just large rooms. We had a couch, then coffee table then not much room until the bed. In the S catagory on the sides of the ship there was a lot more room between the couch and the bed.

 

ENJOY

Thanks Shippy!

I was in an SS8086 for my first cruise on the 'O-Dam' and I was perfectly content w/ the interior space and appointments - I only booked S4185 for Alaska so I could get my own uncrowded deck for the scenery both coming and going - sounds like it was a good choice!

Only:

11 Days to Amsterdam

367 Days to Oosterdam

We were in 7087 and loved it! The veranda is irregular and kind of cramped, even though it has a table & 4 chairs and two chairs with ottomans (no room for loungers).

The 6167 veranda was easily 4 times bigger, but the cabin was slightly smaller (I don't know if it was because of the location or the handicap adjustments). We attended a party in a corner Cat S, and we saw that we had more room than 7087. You will be happy with either location, but if you have friends to entertain (don't forget about the free hors d'oeuvres & invitations), the wake cabin will be much better.

7087 is closer to the lounge than the wake cabins, but I'd personally rather have the huge veranda and walk (or ride) the distance to the lounge.

There was no trash or soot at any time during our cruise. Our November Zuidy will be in a Cat A wake cabin. Guess we're hooked!

I have dreamed about getting one of these aft cabins. Especially the Cat. S with the wrap around deck. We are planning a last minute cruise and one is available, but now I'm getting cold feet based on Suzie's problems. Was this an isolated thing?

 

Has anyone else been sorry about getting an aft stateroom? If the afts are no good what about the irregular shapped ones like - S7088 or S7087 on the Westerdam.

 

I'm also wondering if it would be better to be on the Rotterdam deck close to the Neptune lounge.

 

Thanks!!! Joni