Aft facing verandas on the Rotterdam - pros and cons?

We're thinking about booking an aft-facing veranda on the Voyage of the Vikings on the Rotterdam. Does anyone have any positive or negative thoughts about those veranda rooms on the Rotterdam?

@Ken -

I hope you'll get some responses from Rotterdam cruisers. In the meantime here are my comments: we (DW and I) have done a dozen T/As and a few others, mostly on NCL / ALWAYS in an aft/facing balcony cabin.

You are never on the 'wrong' side of the ship. Underway, which almost constant on a T/A, you have no wind to deal with. In port we have seen a car carrier behind us unloading cars, a small ship in Ponta Delgado unloading cattle containers by shipboard crane. Even on our Path of the Vikings cruise from Dover to NYC via Iceland we were able to spend time on the balcony, albeit with a light hoodie. Downside? Still trying to uncover one.

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I have one on the Rotterdam for a sailing Jan 28th and can say something after we get back. I have had one before on RC and we enjoyed it.

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We're thinking about booking an aft-facing veranda on the Voyage of the Vikings on the Rotterdam. Does anyone have any positive or negative thoughts about those veranda rooms on the Rotterdam?

Just returned on Dec. 19th. We were in 7067 and the veranda was great. 2 loungers and 2 chairs, 1 small low table for drinks.

Would book it again. Lots of storage.

A little vibration at times but not bothersome

Janet

We will have 7063 and for the Panama Canal thought it would be great. Love the stern cabin when we were in Venice and Montenegro

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We were in 7063 for 42 days this fall. We got lots of soot on the balcony but room steward cleaned it twice a day. I would still book this cabin again. Lots of storage. We got a little noise from the chairs above. But no noise at night.

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Our first ever aft-facing cabin was on the Rotterdam last year: 7076 and we loved it! The best view ever, no wind, and the cabin is a bit "deeper" in our opinion than side-facing cabins in the same category. Also, the only foot traffic is from the other few occupants who have those cabins. Very quiet! We were not bothered with vibrations nor the pitching motion in heavy seas (North Sea off Norway coast a couple of nights).

As a result of our experience we have booked aft-facing cabins on the Westerdam and the Rotterdam for 2017. Hope this helps!

Thanks everyone for your thoughts! We just got finished booking B6240 which, believe it or not, has a semi wraparound balcony. We first saw this style of aft-facing corner verandas when we were in an aft-facing room on the Veendam when we cruised through the Panama Canal. The same style room was also available on deck 7, but we were worried about the noise from being under the Lido deck. As far as the soot goes, we never noticed any soot on that 14 day cruise on the Veendam, so hopefully it won't be an issue on this cruise either. Maybe the Navagation deck verandas catch most of it as they are a deck higher. One can hope anyway. :)

Thanks everyone for your thoughts! We just got finished booking B6240 which, believe it or not, has a semi wraparound balcony.

We were in 6240 for our 2 week Baltic cruise and it was wonderful. We were traveling with family and friends (11 people in total) and had many evenings of pre-dinner cocktails on the balcony. I think you're going to love it!

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

We like the aft balconies, the best thing we ever saw from one was one time in Istanbul we were out listening to the call to prayer and limos came down the dock and Queen Elizabeth got out and boarded a yacht docked behind us. Yes she does carry that purse all the time.

We like the aft balconies, the best thing we ever saw from one was one time in Istanbul we were out listening to the call to prayer and limos came down the dock and Queen Elizabeth got out and boarded a yacht docked behind us. Yes she does carry that purse all the time.

That is cool! The best view we ever had was going through the Panama Canal and seeing one of those giant car carriers in one lock and a tall ship, probably a Windstar ship, right next to it in the other lock. There must have been less than a foot of space total between the sides of the lock and that car carrier. It was massive!

Just returned on Dec. 19th.

 

A little vibration at times but not bothersome

 

Janet

I was on the same sailing, but not in an aft cabin. A little vibration is a bit of an understatement. That ship was rocking and rolling except when we were in port.

Terri

Aft-facing cabin on any ship for the V of V is fantastic! We had an amazing trip on the Veendam in a corner aft cabin and we were out there all the time. We also lucked into the very best trip through the icefields in Greenland...the Captain said it was the best day of sailing he had ever had! Jealous...enjoy! We'll do it again...just not this year or next.

Our first ever aft-facing cabin was on the Rotterdam last year: 7076 and we loved it! The best view ever, no wind, and the cabin is a bit "deeper" in our opinion than side-facing cabins in the same category. Also, the only foot traffic is from the other few occupants who have those cabins. Very quiet! We were not bothered with vibrations nor the pitching motion in heavy seas (North Sea off Norway coast a couple of nights).

 

As a result of our experience we have booked aft-facing cabins on the Westerdam and the Rotterdam for 2017. Hope this helps!

We have 7076 on 28th for Panama Canal. Does it have semi-wraparound balcony? Thanks!!

From the plan 7076 looks like a ladder is on the side and no. We will be in cabin 7063 and fly out of PDX as long as another ice storm does not hit.

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We have 7076 on 28th for Panama Canal. Does it have semi-wraparound balcony? Thanks!!

Here's what 6229 looks like one deck below on the starboard side. We're booked on a different cruise in 6240 which is right below 7076 on the port side. It may not be a full wrap around, but it's pretty close. The bulkhead for the stairs is just out of sight in the picture. You're going to have a great view going through the Panama Canal!

http://halfacts.com/6229-rotterdam/

We have 7076 on 28th for Panama Canal. Does it have semi-wraparound balcony? Thanks!!

My recollection is that it does have a very small wrap-around- a foot or two, maybe 3 feet, but large enough for one person to stand in it. The staircase is inside the ship and can be accessed via a door immediately to the left as you exit out the cabin door.

I hope you will have a great cruise and will enjoy the cabin!

Here's what 6229 looks like one deck below on the starboard side. We're booked on a different cruise in 6240 which is right below 7076 on the port side. It may not be a full wrap around, but it's pretty close. The bulkhead for the stairs is just out of sight in the picture. You're going to have a great view going through the Panama Canal!

 

http://halfacts.com/6229-rotterdam/

Thank you - we're looking forward to a great view!

My recollection is that it does have a very small wrap-around- a foot or two, maybe 3 feet, but large enough for one person to stand in it. The staircase is inside the ship and can be accessed via a door immediately to the left as you exit out the cabin door.

 

I hope you will have a great cruise and will enjoy the cabin!

Thank you! Can that staircase door be opened from inside ship so anyone can access our balcony?

We've done three aft-balconies and loved some and hated some. The good- you're protected from the wind, and get a fantastic view of the sea and sail-aways. You can see both sides of the ocean, get plenty of sun and they're very private. The bad- some ships, the Prinsendam for example, one can experience excessive vibration when docking, not good in early morning arrivals. Also, ash from smoke stacks can land on your balcony and fumes may also at times waft down to you. After our experiences, we've chosen to forego the aft and stay with the side views. To us the downsides outweighed the advantages of the aft-facing. To each his own, I'm glad we tried it.

Just a FYI about those aft facing cabins. We just debarked the Rotterdam this past Friday.

We had 15 foot seas coming through the Virgin Straits. The ship was rocking and rolling.

While my husband and I enjoyed the motion in our Deck 2 amidships interior cabin and were rocked to sleep, two couples that I played Trivia with had aft facing cabins on deck seven. Both couples were experienced cruisers and both said the motion in their cabins had closet doors and drawers opening and it was difficult trying to sleep with the motion.

YMMV.

Thank you! Can that staircase door be opened from inside ship so anyone can access our balcony?

No, the staircase has no way to enter or even see your cabin or verandah. The staircase is completely encased by the superstructure.

We just returned from an Antarctica sail-by on the Zaandam. We did not have a balcony. Instead we had one of those only two aft-facing OV cabins that has a larger terrace outside with loungers (7083, 7086).

We were in 7083. The cabin's configuration was odd and the pathway between the foot of the bed and the writing desk and cabinets was quite tight. So what. We were on the Zaandam for views and we had just five steps from the stateroom. Also, stairs led directly to the Lido pool and all that food on the deck above.

In terms of cost/benefit, these cabins are as good as it gets. Thinking of getting one for a future Vietnam cruise.

We just returned from an Antarctica sail-by on the Zaandam. We did not have a balcony. Instead we had one of those only two aft-facing OV cabins that has a larger terrace outside with loungers (7083, 7086).

 

We were in 7083. The cabin's configuration was odd and the pathway between the foot of the bed and the writing desk and cabinets was quite tight. So what. We were on the Zaandam for views and we had just five steps from the stateroom. Also, stairs led directly to the Lido pool and all that food on the deck above.

 

In terms of cost/benefit, these cabins are as good as it gets. Thinking of getting one for a future Vietnam cruise.

Oh, your post makes me upset with HAL! I called the other day to try to get one of these OV cabins as an upsell and the rep told me, when I asked to confirm, that the aft deck was not accessible! So I did not upgrade. They will hear about it! We are now inside Guarantee and could have had your cabin. The ship is full and I doubt another upsell will come our way with just 14 days to departure. Arghh...