VE vs VF cabins

[bebob]

Can anyone tell me if there is any difference between a VE and VF cabin on the Noordam Veranda deck? Is there a difference in the cabin itself or balcony size besides location? Thank you for any information.

[jtl513]

Can anyone tell me if there is any difference between a VE and VF cabin on the Noordam Veranda deck? Is there a difference in the cabin itself or balcony size besides location? Thank you for any information.

It's just location. The VFs from 5127 and higher don't have to look down on a lifeboat roof, so those are a bit better IMO.

[packedandready]

Just how obstructed do the life boats make it?

[neilb]

We had VE 5118 and 5120 on the Noordam. Here is a picture taken from the veranda. This is the extreme, if you are sitting on the bed you can't see the tender as its hidden by the railing. Sitting on the veranda you can just see the orange top of the tender, but your gaze if more directed to the distance. Overall I was happy with a VE cabin

[MardiGras316]

I just booked a VF for the Noordam Christmas Cruise and we have a lifeboat under us because we are on the Veranda deck. But when I booked I asked about that. Our HAL representative said that if you look straight down you will see the lifeboat top but it will not impede your oceanview. AND it blocks the people on deck 3's walking track from being able to look up and see what you are doing on your veranda! :eek: He said that added bit of privacy is a good thing.

 

I have never been on HAL and don't know for sure that a VF and a VE are totally different, but I appreciate the privacy aspect.

[bebob]

I guess what I really need to know is why are the VF's less expensive than the VE's. I have stayed in a VE on the Eurodam but never a VF. Any help about the VF is greatly appreciated.

[catl331]

I guess what I really need to know is why are the VF's less expensive than the VE's. I have stayed in a VE on the Eurodam but never a VF. Any help about the VF is greatly appreciated.

The VEs are more in the center of the ship - that's all. Look at the Main deck - the highest class cabins © are in the center, and categories go down as you move toward the ends of the ship. Nothing is different about those cabins except their location. Now the VCs are more expensive than the VE/VF on that deck because they have a deeper balcony and are not above the lifeboats.

[packedandready]

Considering a VF for Panama Canal. So.......if we are standing at the balcony as we come into the locks and look straight down, we won't be able to see the side of the ship in relations to the wall of the canal? The life boat will be in the way???? I called HAL this morning about this and was told we would only be able to see a SMALL PORTION of the life boat. That our view of the side of the ship and canal wall would be completely clear???? Now I'm really confused.

 

I'm asking because when we did this cruise on X a couple of years ago it was interesting to watch the ship pull into the locks and see just how tight it was.

[jtl513]

Considering a VF for Panama Canal. So.......if we are standing at the balcony as we come into the locks and look straight down, we won't be able to see the side of the ship in relations to the wall of the canal? The life boat will be in the way????

 

I'm asking because when we did this cruise on X a couple of years ago it was interesting to watch the ship pull into the locks and see just how tight it was.

Unless you have a cabin that is above the gap between the ends of two lifeboats, you would not be able to look down and see the lock walls.

 

If you get a VF, be sure to get one from 5125 on up, where there are no lifboats below, or one down on deck 4. But there you would have the steel-wall railings to contend with whenever you're not standing at the rail.

 

However, I would never stay on a cabin balcony when going through the locks. On our transit on the Amsterdam, I was all over the public balconies - bow, upper/forward, promenade, and a stern balcony as we leaving a set of locks. Staying in one place on the side you miss too much that's happening forward, aft, or on the other side.

 

Here's a shot I like taken from the Lower Promenade.

(click to enlarge)