State Room

[tess2cruz]

This being our first HAL cruise we went with the SS Cat. Our main objective is the verandah, large and private, hope this is the case with HAL. We have had 2 Carnival verandahs that wrapped the back corner of the ship, room was a little small, but we spend more time out on the verandah anyway. Princess it was a min-suite, but that seems small compared to the deluxe suite on RC. Guess all that matters is relaxing and having fun. And the best part of cruising, is no matter where you are steerage to penthouse, you are treated like royalty always. ONE WEEK TO GO!!!!!

 

Teri & Bob

OR & TX

[Greengirl]

We don't have a usual...

 

1st cruise was an outside window

2nd cruise was a cat. 12 suite (Awesome!!)

3rd (upcoming) cruise will be an inside - taking our four kids - a double right next to a quad - trying to keep the costs down

 

I think I would definately go with a balcony for 7 day or longer cruises, an oceanview for shorter ones. I don't think I'm going to like the inside, but with four kids, we probably won't be spending much time in there anyway.

[bepsf]

Actually, Randy, Vista-class is called Vista-class.

V-class refers to the Volendam/Zaandam sisters. They (and the R-class Rotterdam/Amsterdam sisters) have essentailly the same lay-out as the S-class, but are built on a different hull.

 

So, there is the S-class: Statendam, Maasdam, Ryndam, Veendam

R-class: Rotterdam, Amsterdam

V-class: Volendam, Zaandam

Vista-class: Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Noordam (soon. very, very soon)

Prinsendam

 

...However, HAL only refers to 3 classes of ship (S, R and Vista) plus Prinsendam:

http://www.hollandamerica.com/media/fleetFactSheets.do

[ctguy001]

Since I usually travel solo, I book an inside guarantee and hope for the best. On HAL it's been an upgrade 3/4 times to an outside, on other lines, no such luck. Steerage all the time. I've done a balcony cabin and found I almost never went out there. I want other people around and a waiter close by!

[Tarkus]

generally, some form of an inside stateroom. booked a suite once, and found it a waste of money for me - i never stay in my cabin much beyond bathing, changing, and sleeping... think i only used the balcony once (after a night's partying i usually stumble-back to my room and fall asleep as soon as i can hit the bed). much better for me to take the room savings and apply it to drinks & shore excursions.

[General Max]

"S" suites so far.

 

Cheers

 

General Max

[Slinkiecat]

We have tried a Verandah, an outside view, and the SS. For 12 days the verandah was fine, and we survived the outside on a 3-day cruise. However, on a 113-day trip I would consider the SS or S the only choice. On the Prinsendam we spent many days at sea in our cabin, and the king-sized bed plus two desks for our laptops were necessities. The verandah was just wonderful to sit and watch the scenery when we were near land, and to watch flying fishes, dolphins and whales when we were in deep water.

 

My vote of Verandah Suite was the average of the three.

 

Slinkie

[serendipity1499]

We book a large outside mid-ship with an un-obstructed view....We usually book the longer cruises rather than the 7 day Caribbean Cruises...On the "Westerdam" last year, one couple in our party had a verandah cabin...Their "AA" cabin was smaller than our outside "D"cabin...:( Even they noticed the differednce & were surprised! On the "Prinsendam" Amazon Explorer Trip we've booked an "F" cabin..:)

[Sea Horse 1991]

.,. for Panama, balcony! .,. a must for that cruise .,. especially a stern balcony. You'll understand when you go through the locks. For Mexico, outside the first time, Cat K the others, we had already been there and found on previous cruises that we spent a majority of our time on deck with its broad vista's (and when the sun isn't right we can move to the other side of the ship) doing some people watching, and enjoying the live entertainment by the pool. The cruises we've done in the Caribban have all been outside cabins. For Hawaii, Cat K midship to be down and centered in the ship for the 10 days at sea and again, we will spend most of our time on deck so the balcony would (almost) be a waste. For Alaska, we will go with whatever pot luck brings us (no plan, we'll just go on that one when it feels right).

The cost savings are also a consideration. What we save in life style choice allows us to take four vacations a year with motorcycle trips all over the Northern Hemisphere, hops to Vegas and the East Coast, and just plain runaways to be where-ever together. Cruising is just part of a rich life ... and life is good right now.

[willowoodf]

This is awful, but we haven't even been ON a cruise yet, and we are already hooked on the "suite" life! We booked one for our December Westerdam Caribbean cruise - it was a good deal! and then just booked whatever we could get for our Alaska Ryndam cruise. But after reading this board and thinking about it, we started watching the HAL website and saw a suite open up just one week before sailing. As soon as we saw it we called HAL but they said they didn't have any. We called our TA and she was able to book it for us. Yippee! So we haven't even set foot on a cruise ship yet, and already are spoiled!

 

Mary

[RuthC]

So we haven't even set foot on a cruise ship yet, and already are spoiled!

Look ashamed. :(

[willowoodf]

How's this?? :o

[RuthC]

How's this?? :o

:D Good! :D

[BJane]

We book an inside so that I can avoid having a bathtub. We had an outside on one HAL ship, but with my disability I don't want to take a chance on falling and the side of the tub was quite high. We do book balcony cabins on RCI because they have showers, not tubs. I love being out on deck or in the public rooms so I really don't mind the inside cabins. They are rather cozy.

[Bones]

I booked a large inside Cabin on my 1st HAL cruise in September. It is on the Navigator Deck on the Oosterdamm. Guess price was motivator. We bought a house this year so have to economize a bit on the vacation.

Dan

 

Celebrity Infinity 12/01

Celebrity Galaxy 5/02

Celebrity Summit 12/02

Royal Caribbean ROS 2/04

HAL Oosterdamm RSVP 9/3/05

[HAL92]

We usually book a Deluxe Verandah Suite or Superior Verandah Suite on HAL cruises. We like having extra room and drawer space as well as the sitting area. The balcony is great to sit out there and watch the scenery go by. We're people who like to spend time in our cabin, and once you get used to the suite life, you just can't go back.

[Tatka]

We usually take 2 vacations a year (1 week each) that involve flying (Caribbeans or Europe) with 3 of us and airfare from MA it's inside cabin for us. We usually try not to book lowes level though.

 

On Zui we had wonderful inside cabin I-6067. Very spacey for 3 of us.

[General Max]

Our first two cruises will be in "S" suites. We booked an "A" cabin on the Nordam inaugural cruise because the "S" category cabins were priced very high. If HAL can get it, more power to them.

 

Cheers

 

General Max

[lka1012]

I generally try to get one of the cheapest cabins they can put me in.

[HAL92]

I usually try to get an S suite. The balcony is great and the cabin is very large. The special perks that come with them are also very nice. On vista-class ships, if the S are sold out, I go for the SS suite, which are also very nice but don't include all the perks. On the S class ships, if I can't get an S suite, I'll go for a regular verandah suite. The suite life is great-you get addicted once you've experienced it!