Antarctica - Aft vs. side facing D - S class ships

[fann1sh]

I'm shopping for my next cruise, and looking at the Veendam for South America/Antarctica.

 

Considering a lot of different possibilities, including a cat D on lower prom deck.

 

How do the aft facing cabins stack up against the standard side facing ones? Any opinions on whether I'd be better off in an EE down on A deck when we hit the Drake passage?

 

I did try a board search, but the search function just :p at me, told me "try again later".

[CowPrincess]

Fann1sh, congratulations on starting your research for what should be an awesome cruise :) I don't have any experience with the aft-facing cabins, but when I read your post, I immediately thought "Hmmmm, when the bow goes down, the stern goes UP" (and reverse). For me, that would be a huge negative factor for a stern cabin on that itinerary.

 

 

Good luck with your preparation -- I hope you make this dream come true :)

[dfish]

Patricia, I booked an EE guarantee and ended up in an aft balcony on deck 9. I was worried about motion if the seas were rough, but we had a very smooth crossing of the Drake down and back.

 

The reason I first went for the EE is the location - low and in the middle.

 

It is a fantastic cruise. Do go and book early. We could only do a guarantee on EE cabins when we booked in April. I'm thinking everyone else had the same thought - low and in the middle. We were lucky with the smooth sailing.

 

I will say that the balcony did not add much to the sightseeing as the best views were from the bow and on top of the Crow's Nest - if you could take the wind. I tended to run all over the ship for the best views.

 

Deb

[fann1sh]

Thanks so much Deb and Margaret.

 

There are two sailings I have my eye on - Holiday 2011 and January 2012. EE on holiday sailing is the same price as D in January. I do love lower prom deck, but....maybe not not in high seas. I thought I'd heard the square footage/configuration in the aft D's was a bit different.

 

There are no EE cabins showing available for January. Some DA on Main, near fore/aft stairs and elevators, which I'm also considering.

 

(Deb, wandering OT on my own thread :rolleyes:: are there any excursions you'd recommend against, or which are very physically demanding? My 88 year old Dad is probably more hale and hearty than I am, but is a bit hampered by a bad knee. I'm hoping both of us can go on this cruise. But, that may be a bad idea if the excursions are exhausting. PS - just made the connection! It's your amazing blog that stiffened my resolve to get serious about this cruise! WOW what pictures!)

[RuthC]

I've done the Antarctica route twice; the first time was on Veendam's sister ship, Ryndam. My second cruise there was on the similar, but slightly larger Rotterdam.

May I heartily suggest a cabin on Lower Promenade, preferably between the forward elevator and the outside door at mid-ship. This is an itinerary where you will need to be outside, and moving from place to place. It's nice to be able to look out your window, see something, and get outside quickly. You can go back to your cabin to retrieve something quickly, without missing much.

The Lower Promenade is smooth, and mid-ship only adds to that. I realize the cabin I'm recommending is not a D-category, but I believe it's worth stretching the dollar to be in this location.

I would rather be in an inside there than an outside elsewhere when cruising this route!

Oh, the Drake Passage can be Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, or The Drake Lake. But there's no predicting which you will be sailing. ;)

[janmcn]

We've booked a "D" on Main Deck Midships for this cruise...our experience has shown we prefer this deck when it's a bit rough, yet it allows us to run up one flight of stairs if there's stuff to see outside. Very comfortable ride here vs. higher up when in "iffy" seas. I'd definitely not want the stern! Just hold a pencil in the middle and see what happens if the front tips up and vice versa.

[Bescotti]

I was also on this cruise with Deb. I booked an E cabin on Main Deck near the aft elevators (and just down from the DD cabins) and found it a great position. With the twin bed set-up I was able to get right up close to the window and look at seals in icebergs virtually on the same level as me! As Deb said, it's best doing sightseeing from the open decks such as the Lower Promenade, the Retreat, in front of the gym, etc. as you'll want to move from side to side to view the scenery as you pass.

 

My favourite excursion was out to Volunteer Point with Patrick Watts to see the King Penguins. If you have back problems it wouldn't be recommended (neither would the HAL excursion offered) as you're offroad for nearly 2 hours there and back - but it was so worth it!

 

I'd also recommend against the Peninsula Valdez excursion as it's a long bus ride and the tour info doesn't mention that you virtually have to be a mountain goat at times to view the sea lions.

 

Bev

[dfish]

(Deb, wandering OT on my own thread :rolleyes:: are there any excursions you'd recommend against, or which are very physically demanding? My 88 year old Dad is probably more hale and hearty than I am, but is a bit hampered by a bad knee. I'm hoping both of us can go on this cruise. But, that may be a bad idea if the excursions are exhausting. PS - just made the connection! It's your amazing blog that stiffened my resolve to get serious about this cruise! WOW what pictures!)

I think it is Bev's blog that you read and she is amazing! I can't help much with the excursions. We just walked around town in Montevideo and Puerto Madryn. In the Falklands I walked out to Gypsy Cove, which I wouldn't recommend doing with Dad. My girlfriend, who complains of a bad back and ankles, did the Volunteer Point excursion and did not seem to have any physical complaints about it. I tend to do more active excursions. The one that I did in Puerto Montt was Symphony of Lakes and Volcanoes and it was not too taxing. Mostly bus time to the Osorno Volcano and you only do as much walking as you want. There are less physically demanding excursions available. There were people your dad's age on the trip and people with physical disabilities who managed to find things to do that would accomodate their needs. Go for it!

 

Debbie

[fann1sh]

Thank you RuthC. I value your experience and insights. I'm completely sold on lower prom cabins, and am glad you endorse one for this itinerary.

 

I'd be perfectly happy in a lower prom inside, but I don't think I can sell Dad on that. (He probably expects me to book his usual suite. :rolleyes:) Midship C's are now rare as hen's teeth on Veendam, due to the CA lanais. Have to take another look.

 

I now also have to justify to myself that the 17 Antarctic itinerary is roughly 3 times the price of 12 days around the Horn (without cruising the Antarctic sound area).

 

PS - oops - others answered while I was typing.

 

janmcn: "midship, midship, midship".....got it. Thanks bescotti, and again to you Deb. Sorry, for the mixup Bev - that blog is wonderful. Good to know about the tough roads/rocky walking.

[CowPrincess]

I now also have to justify to myself that the 17 Antarctic itinerary is roughly 3 times the price of 12 days around the Horn (without cruising the Antarctic sound area).

 

An Alaska itinerary is usually more than double a Carib itin -- does that help? :D You get to go someplace that very few are fortunate enough to go to.... that has value, m'dear. And I know you understand the "value" reference :)

[RuthC]

I now also have to justify to myself that the 17 Antarctic itinerary is roughly 3 times the price of 12 days around the Horn (without cruising the Antarctic sound area).

It is. Worth it, that is.

To go all that way, and miss the best part, would be beyond a shame! Besides, how ya gonna collect all seven continents if ya don't pick up Antarctic when you're right next door? Huh? :D

[cnbfrank]

We were on the 6 Jan Antarctica trip as well. To us, Antarctica, the Falklands and Cape Horn were the reasons for taking the trip. The SA ports were interesting, but we prefer spending several days in new locations to a one-day port call.

The 5 days cruising near and through the Antarctic peninsula were a once-in-a-lifetime experience I'm still trying to absorb.

We enjoyed our DD portside cabin a few doors forward of the aft stairs - easy access to elevators, dining, upper open decks, and deck 6, where we spent many, many hours. Icebergs, seals and penguins floated by our window.

[fann1sh]

Well, I've tentatively picked out a cabin and sail date. January 6, Santiago to Buenos Aires: choices are limited to DA on Main or C on Lower Prom (no J or K insides show available, and no EE's or E's; also, no CA lanais.)

 

So, I'm going to try for one of the C's - 319, 321 or 395 - probably try to get C395. And, if those are all gone, I guess the fallback position is DA653.

 

This is so scary because I won't be able to even price air for another month or 2. Also, I'll want to add HAL Platinum insurance later, at final payment (since we are now supposed to be able to do it!) I'm not sure if this internet agency is going to co-operate - they seem to have a sweetheart deal with a particular insurance agency. The incentive to book with the agency is a $575 onboard credit.

 

Plus, I'm also worried HAL doesn't show the same cabin availability as the online agency. Only cat HH appear as available with HAL, and for far more money than C.

 

I would pick a weekend to start this project :rolleyes:.....thanks again to all who've posted words of encouragement.

[dfish]

Patricia,

 

The Antarctica experience alone is worth every penny you'll spend. I had to raid a fund I had set aside to do this and now that I'm back, I don't reget it for an instant! I just finished putting my pictures into a slide show and watched it tonight. It took an hour to watch all the photos I took, but the hour flew by as my memories came to me. I could have watched them for another hour. This is truly a wonderful experience. Enjoy!

 

Debbie

[Sunshine91]

Fann1sh - Not sure which ship your South America cruise is on, but in Sept 2009, John & I sailed Alaska on Ryndam in one of those aft-facing D-category cabins on Lower Prom (deck 6). LOVED it.

 

The mirrored window prevented walkers from peeping in during the day, but we did close the curtains at night. :D

 

As my darling Ruth mentioned, I'm certain that SA, like AK, is a voyage where you'll want quick & easy outside access. Well, just outside the cabin door, is another door to the Promenade deck - its like having your own semi-private balcony! Because we were all the way at the back of the bus (like the naughty kids ;)) it was never crowded.

 

Our general rule when choosing a cabin is to be between the forward & aft elevators - John doesn't care for too too much motion (he can get a wee seasick :o). Me - I like bumpy water. But in AK, we had really smooth water. Our fab TA recommended we try that aft D-cabin & we truly enjoyed it.

 

I'm super-envious of your SA cruise next year. I'd love to do an itinerary like that, but don't think John would be too interested. Someday........... :)

 

[cnbfrank]

I mistakenly wrote above that we were in a DD cabin on the Jan 6 Veendam to Antarctica. It was a DA port side just forward of the aft stairs and worked perfectly for us, with quick access to the promenade deck.