Aft cabins Westerdam - which deck?

[Crew News]

4 hours ago, tupper10 said:

We booked directly with Holland America  - on our now canceled cruise to Antarctica,  we had an aft balcony on deck 8.  When we re booked for the  2022 Antarctic cruise the agent said to grab the deck 5 aft cabin stating that those are the most requested of all the aft cabins for this cruise.  I have been to Antarctica  (small ship)  and I would get the most protected aft cabin you can since it is the wind that makes you cold vs the temperature.  From what I can tell the deck 5 aft cabins give you the most protection and you still get the view.   You want to be outside as much as you can despite any bad weather you may encounter since the wild life and scenery are spectacular.  

Deck 5 aft staterooms are fully covered.  Only the corner staterooms have the lounge chairs.  There are footstools that you can pull our from under the chairs and use them as a table.  The best part is that you can be out on your balcony when the ship is moving and feel no wind/rain.

 

Here is 5184 after the crew finished spraying all of the balcony decks:

 

http://www.rogerjett-photography.com/here/wp-content/gallery/ms-westerdam/IMG_2673.jpg

Edited November 8, 2020 by Crew News

[msmayor]

50 minutes ago, Crew News said:

 Only the corner staterooms have the lounge chairs.  There are footstools that you can pull our from under the chairs and use them as a table. 

 

While I realize we were on the ship over 5 years ago, we did have loungers on our balcony - we were dead center deck 5 in a VB:

 

Certainly possible that things have changed, but these loungers were out there from the start for us

[Crew News]

32 minutes ago, msmayor said:

 

While I realize we were on the ship over 5 years ago, we did have loungers on our balcony - we were dead center deck 5 in a VB:

 

Certainly possible that things have changed, but these loungers were out there from the start for us

 

32 minutes ago, msmayor said:

 

While I realize we were on the ship over 5 years ago, we did have loungers on our balcony - we were dead center deck 5 in a VB:

 

Certainly possible that things have changed, but these loungers were out there from the start for us

Unfortunately, the last drydock removed the loungers and replaced them with chairs as in my 2019 photo of 5184.

[ldlewis45]

On 5/2/2019 at 4:47 PM, Crew News said:

I would not trade my Deck 5 aft balconies in Alaska for even a Neptune Suite.  The 12-foot deep balcony is great for entertaining friends and the full overhead coverage allows me to stand on the balcony in a driving rain in Glacier Bay and take photos/videos in a dry environment.  With no wind while the ship is moving, I can eat dinner and enjoy the scenery while most passengers cannot.  I can stay on my aft balcony and see both sides of the ship and not have to compete for space at the railings.

 

Others who are not photographers may prefer a bigger stateroom, and not being able to use their balconies in the rain, over the photo and scenery-watching opportunities available on a Deck 5 aft stateroom on Vista-class ship (except Noordam).

I agree!  I've sailed in the same deck 5 corner aft Neptune Suite (5190) twice to Alaska on the Oosterdam.  The deep, covered balcony is fantastic!  I just booked a transatlantic from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale for next year in a deck 5 aft balcony (5189) on the Westerdam.  I had been waivering on booking the cruise, but when I saw that one of the deck 5 aft balcony staterooms was available, I had to jump on it.  It's perfect for cold or potentially cool weather. 

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, ldlewis45 said:

I agree!  I've sailed in the same deck 5 corner aft Neptune Suite (5190) twice to Alaska on the Oosterdam.  The deep, covered balcony is fantastic!  I just booked a transatlantic from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale for next year in a deck 5 aft balcony (5189) on the Westerdam.  I had been waivering on booking the cruise, but when I saw that one of the deck 5 aft balcony staterooms was available, I had to jump on it.  It's perfect for cold or potentially cool weather. 

Also perfect for the Panama Canal, where the sun beating down on you can be brutal!  Plus you can see the side and rear lock operations!  Something I will never forget.

[Bookited]

Have sailed multiple times on deck 5 aft and once on deck 4 aft.  If I had my choice, I'd pick a deck 5 aft for each and every sailing.

[DaveOKC]

9 hours ago, Bookited said:

Have sailed multiple times on deck 5 aft and once on deck 4 aft.  If I had my choice, I'd pick a deck 5 aft for each and every sailing.

Exactly same experience and I agree 100%