how bad can a balcony on the n/a be?

[dr.dawg]

hi. recovering from surgery here. booked a two-week carib collector cruise on the nieuw amsterdam, sailing from fll on march 23 - april 6. it was a late booking, and we received a superb price. only problem, the flash price was only available in 'guarantee' status. now, i know what this means, for better or for worse. but, i'm a 'glass half empty' sort, so i'm wondering just how bad is the 'worst' balcony cabin on the n/a? my ta is sending me deck plans, but it is too late to change. after last pay date; airlines booked; pre-post cruise days booked at hilton. so just how bad could we have to dread it being. thanks for your help.

[sun~]

The worst you can get is a balcony with metal instead of Plexiglas, and you won't be able to see anything if you are sitting. Not tragic. If you are getting a really good deal, it is better than an outside cabin :)

[catl331]

The smallest balconies on the NA are the deck 10 & 11 VQ and the deck 5 mid-ship (5053 to 5138), which are all 4.5 ft by 9 ft. The deck plans are deceiving, as they make the deck 5 mid-ship balconies look larger than those on the ends or up above, and that is not the case.

 

You can get the plans for all 11 decks HERE.

Edited February 14, 2014 by catl331

[Hlitner]

How bad can a balcony be? Depends on how many smokers have nearby balconies ! :)

 

Hank

[dr.dawg]

hi, again, and thanks for the replies thus far. a steel, rather than plexi, railing doesn't turn me off at all. my cruise conf., sent by my ta, specifies vh cat guarantee. i should have said this in my initial post, sorry. but, haha, if it is a balcony it can't be a broom closet, unless they have balconies, or an inside. i could be under lifeboats, i guess or under a busy kitchen, or a disco. but thanks for any more advice on just how bad can a vh guarantee be. good and bad news welcomed here. thanks.

[jtl513]

conf., sent by my ta, specifies vh cat guarantee.

The VH are ranked at the bottom by HAL because they are all the way forward, have steel-wall balcony railings, are over the show lounge, and don't have tubs. The good news is that since there are only four of them on the ship and are they are generally over-sold as guarantees, you are not likely to be assigned one.

 

I hope your cruise exceeds your recent appraisals of HAL! :)

Edited February 14, 2014 by jtl513

[motherchic]

prayers being said for you.

We are cruising on the Nieuw on the 16 th of Feb. for 2 weeks

Had surgery on the 8th of Jan and recoup has been slow. Looking forward to some warmth and blue skies.

Enjoy your cruise

[IRL_Joanie]

Just wanted to add my thoughts on your OP question and a couple of the answers.

 

As stated by others the 2 worst areas of a Guaranteed verandha are the deck 4 front of the ship that have steel railings. But those, in my opinion are far better than the deck 10 or deck 11 teeny tiny verandahs where you literally have to sit with your door open to enable you sitting on the verandah in the verandah chair, from my understanding of what others have mentioned previously, the chair by itself fits but once a body is in the chair it does not.....Hope that makes sense?

 

In any event, my best wishes for a speedy and healthful full recovery!!

 

May the Lord Bless you and keep you safe and may you enjoy every single second of your cruise!!

 

Joanie

[Cruzin Terri]

I wish you a wonderful cruise with an awesome balcony. I hope you have a short recovery and feel better soon.

Terri

[dr.dawg]

oh,to all and especially motherchic. i am so thankful for your replies, esp. motherchick. i know. it is taking a long time, isn't it? they don't tell you this in advance. heaven bless us all and those who have not experienced the pain and suffering. and blessings also who want to pre-judge the sufferings of others -- even on the same pleasure ship cruise. there are so many. thank you for your love.

[sapper1]

Be sure to come back and do a review of your cruise for us. We are sailing on the NA in December and I am interested in what to expect.

We do have a history of 41 days on the NA. Good days.

[GeorgesGal]

Dr.Dawg, as far as I am concerned, the only two balcony staterooms that I would not like to get would be the spa staterooms (VQ?) which have what is referred to as a Juliette balcony, or the VH all the way forward which have solid steel balcony rail instead of the Plexiglas which you can see through.

 

And welcome to this sailing - my sister and I are also on this 14 day collectors! Just over a month to go!!!!! Be sure to sign on to the roll call.

 

Sending prayers for your speedy recovery, and looking forward to meeting you at sail-away and meet and greet!

Edited February 14, 2014 by George'sGal
corrected cabin cat.

[jtl513]

But those, in my opinion are far better than the deck 10 or deck 11 teeny tiny verandahs where you literally have to sit with your door open to enable you sitting on the verandah in the verandah chair, from my understanding of what others have mentioned previously, the chair by itself fits but once a body is in the chair it does not.....Hope that makes sense?

No. The VT Juliette balconies are on deck 11 of the Eurodam only, and dr.dawg will be on the NA. The VQ on both Signature ships are 4.5 ft by 9 ft, and have two chairs and a small table. This picture is the NA. Note that the deck 11 VQ balconies are uncovered, which I would not like.

 

Edited February 14, 2014 by jtl513

[mamaofami]

I hope this cruise gives you the rest and rejuvenation you need and that it meets your expectations.

[sapper1]

No. The Juliette balconies are on deck 11 of the Eurodam only, and dr.dawg will be on the NA. The VQ on both Signature ships are 4.5 ft by 9 ft, and have two chairs and a small table.

 

 

I remember that Cruzchic had one of those cabins on the NA and she took me up and gave me a tour. The balcony was small but there was certainly room for a couple of chairs. It was not a Juliette balcony by any means.

[jtl513]

The balcony was small but there was certainly room for a couple of chairs.

You can see them in the picture. :)

[sapper1]

You can see them in the picture. :)

 

Yup. Pictures tell it like it is don't they? :D

Edited February 14, 2014 by sapper1

[jtl513]

Yup. Pictures tell it like it is don't they? :D

Well, with so many people adept at Photoshop these days, you can never be totally sure ... :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

prayers being said for you.

We are cruising on the Nieuw on the 16 th of Feb. for 2 weeks

Had surgery on the 8th of Jan and recoup has been slow. Looking forward to some warmth and blue skies.

Enjoy your cruise

 

Hope your cruise will speed up your recovery.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

dr. dawg, I see many balcony guarantee cabins get assigned, to be honest the majority get assigned on the Signature Class a V, VA or VB. The reason for this is those that choose to purchase an exact cabin location will rarely pay the full price for these cabins because for almost the same price can move up to the Signature Suites, this there fore leaves these categories remaining for HAL to assign to Guarantees. This is one of the many reasons why effective April 6th the day you disembark the categories locations do change placing category V balconies in the mid ship locations that have smaller balconies and not quite as premium but still not horrible. While I am not a betting person my guess is you will be assigned a V, VA or VB. Others have given you worst case scenario but but I can tell you that is rather unlikely since someone that early on wanted to know their location paid and booked those cabins. ;)

[Watson's aunt]

Hi

 

Hope you have a great cruise and you have a wonderful cruise with lots of sunshine and warm weather. Hope your recovery will go well

 

Mary

[cruisetrail]

hi. recovering from surgery here. booked a two-week carib collector cruise on the nieuw amsterdam, sailing from fll on march 23 - april 6. it was a late booking, and we received a superb price. only problem, the flash price was only available in 'guarantee' status. now, i know what this means, for better or for worse. but, i'm a 'glass half empty' sort, so i'm wondering just how bad is the 'worst' balcony cabin on the n/a? my ta is sending me deck plans, but it is too late to change. after last pay date; airlines booked; pre-post cruise days booked at hilton. so just how bad could we have to dread it being. thanks for your help.

 

A lot of information on how to choose a balcony and how they compare: The Grand Tour of the Signature Class Ships..

[CowPrincess]

A lot of information on how to choose a balcony >SNIP< .

 

Reading this thread, the OP has booked a guarantee, so "choosing" a balcony is no part of his concern.

 

dr.dawg, fair winds and following seas on your upcoming cruise.

[cruisetrail]

Reading this thread, the OP has booked a guarantee, so "choosing" a balcony is no part of his concern.

 

dr.dawg, fair winds and following seas on your upcoming cruise.

 

It's a detailed information about the balconies no matter what you are doing: choosing, booking, comparing, just reading.

[donswife]

I think we all need to remember that a large part of communication lies in facial expression, tone, and inflection. Since we don't have these on a message board, it is easy to misinterpret the intention of others. I did not sense any malice in the posts questioning your decision to sail with HAL, Dr. Dawg, more curiosity.

 

Regardless, I wish you a joyful, healing time on your cruise. I walked/crawled/clawed through my daughter's cancer when she was 12/13 year old, and having trips to look forward to sure helps!