Oosterdam Neptune

[ScottC4746]

Any opinions on Oosterdam Neptune Suite?  We booked one on Eurodam a few years ago and got a corner aft Suite.  The balcony was nice and spacious but we felt the room was shrunken and over all noisy and bumpy in the back.  Looking at possibly midship on Oosterdam this time.  Pros/Con please. 

[kazu]

10 minutes ago, ScottC4746 said:

Any opinions on Oosterdam Neptune Suite?  We booked one on Eurodam a few years ago and got a corner aft Suite.  The balcony was nice and spacious but we felt the room was shrunken and over all noisy and bumpy in the back.  Looking at possibly midship on Oosterdam this time.  Pros/Con please. 

 

If you are doing mid ship, the room will be larger, for sure. And you’re right the rooms in the corner afts are smaller.  You sacrifice some space for that larger balcony.

If you go mid ship, the balcony will be smaller than the corner aft suite. Still a decent size but nowhere near what the corner suites are.  But the room is bigger and for those that don’t like vibration, etc the mid ship location can be appealing.   It’s a balancing act.  Some love those aft suites and others prefer the bigger space and mid ship location.  We are among the latter.

 

I guess the only other pro for midship is the closer location to the Neptune Lounge.  If you are in the aft corner suites you don’t tend to use it as much.

Midship everything is more easy to get to versus just one area on the aft cabins.  

One thing I will add - if you happen to suffer from any type of mal de Mer, then mid ship is always better.  Hope this helps a bit.

 

[ScottC4746]

Yes I did notice we hardly used the lounge and everything was a schlep, foot traffic is lower either fore or aft.

 

[canadianbear]

We spent 2 weeks December 2019 on the Oosterdam in a Neptune.  We chose deck 6 for a change so we’d be “forced” to walk up a deck to the Neptune lounge.  Loved it.  Check out halfacts for photos of various cabins including the one we stayed in 6097.  
 

I’d be curious to know also if the LEGO display is still in the Crow’s nest-it was of the ship all done in LEGO and very impressive.

 

 

[DaveOKC]

Depending on the cruise itinerary, the aft-wraps can really be great for scenic viewing.  We had one on a panama canal cruise and really enjoyed it.  Same goes for Alaska, especially when you are in Glacier Bay.

 

Otherwise, I would pick a cabin near the Neptune Lounge.  Easy access to it is great, for a quick snack or just to ask a question of the staff.   Plus, I feel that the cabin attendants are a bit better.  When I am in a aft-wrap it seems that we do not always get the Neptune notices, etc.  I am guessing that this is due to the attendants mostly having non-Neptune cabins.

[What was that?]

I agree with almost all of that. Once we booked a NS a few years back we decided that was what we would always get. It really is special.

Mid-ship vs aft-wrap? Mal-de-mer,, personal sensitivities, and mobility issues aside, we found little difference in the location itself, and all our NS rooms were plenty big enough for the two of us, while the balconies offered differing viewing possibilities. We did an aft-wrap thru the Panama Canal - aboard Oosterdam - and it was the best choice for that kind of cruise. Great views in many directions. My brother took a screen-shot of our ship in Gatun Locks from a webcam. If you drink two martinis and squint you can see us on the balcony swilling champagne!

Whether we are close to the Neptune lounge or not, we use it the same amount! We just got more exercise with the aft-wrap. We are such health nuts? 🤭 But we usually like to stay closer to the Lounge, and especially on the same deck, but that is just us.

Special Tip: If they offer it, take the behind-the-scenes tour. While they do not take you into the engine room, you do get to see the engine control room, kitchen areas - bakery was my favorite - food/beverage/freezer storage, laundry, waste processing area, backstage in the theater with cast members, and the bridge. Probably some others that I forget now. You want to know how things work on board? Take the tour (make sure it is the one that goes all these places).

[DaveOKC]

If you go with an aft-wrap on the Oosterdam, pick deck 5.  The balconies are HUGE (we once had 40 people on ours).  Fantastic for a Panama Canal transit.

 

[ScottC4746]

5 minutes ago, What was that? said:

I agree with almost all of that. Once we booked a NS a few years back we decided that was what we would always get. It really is special.

Mid-ship vs aft-wrap? Mal-de-mer,, personal sensitivities, and mobility issues aside, we found little difference in the location itself, and all our NS rooms were plenty big enough for the two of us, while the balconies offered differing viewing possibilities. We did an aft-wrap thru the Panama Canal - aboard Oosterdam - and it was the best choice for that kind of cruise. Great views in many directions. My brother took a screen-shot of our ship in Gatun Locks from a webcam. If you drink two martinis and squint you can see us on the balcony swilling champagne!

Whether we are close to the Neptune lounge or not, we use it the same amount! We just got more exercise with the aft-wrap. We are such health nuts? 🤭 But we usually like to stay closer to the Lounge, and especially on the same deck, but that is just us.

Special Tip: If they offer it, take the behind-the-scenes tour. While they do not take you into the engine room, you do get to see the engine control room, kitchen areas - bakery was my favorite - food/beverage/freezer storage, laundry, waste processing area, backstage in the theater with cast members, and the bridge. Probably some others that I forget now. You want to know how things work on board? Take the tour (make sure it is the one that goes all these places).

I think that was our issue on the Eurodam.  We want to know we are on a cruise, not in a cocktail shaker.  We know we are at the mercy of the seas as well.  The constant vibration was an issue for us.

[What was that?]

Just now, DaveOKC said:

If you go with an aft-wrap on the Oosterdam, pick deck 5.  The balconies are HUGE (we once had 40 people on ours).  Fantastic for a Panama Canal transit.

 

Good point! I saw that on our Panama Canal cruise and thought that would be great - if we were traveling with a big group. For comparison, we were in SB7151 and had several gatherings on the balcony with five people and we could have invited at least another ten without crowding.

[ScottC4746]

I will say on Eurodam it was nice to have a breakfast on the balcony.  Since we were in Mexico and it being humid the table was wet in the morning, but room service was able to bring a requested tablecloth for the table which was nice upgrade.

[erewhon]

A few years ago, we had a  lovely Christmas /New Year cruise on Oosterdam,  we had a  Neptune Suite about 3 along from the mid ship elevator.  We appreciated advice here on CC not to book  a room next to the elevator.

[gigianne]

We spent 38 days in a midship Neptune Suite - couldn't have been happier.

[57redbird]

9 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

If you go with an aft-wrap on the Oosterdam, pick deck 5.  The balconies are HUGE (we once had 40 people on ours).  Fantastic for a Panama Canal transit.

 

& we were part of that 40 --- thanks for hosting us!

[Djptcp]

We got stuck with one of the aft Neptune Suites on the Oosterdam in 2019 and disliked it very much after always have had positive Neptune experiences on other ships near the Neptune Lounge. We took the Neptune Guarantee in order to get a deeply discounted casino rate. I had let the inventory dept. and special needs dept. know way ahead of time to please not place us in one of the aft Neptunes because I have some mobility issues. Was assigned one anyway. The cabin was much smaller with the same amount of furniture so we were always bumping into something. It was so far from everything. The bigger balcony didn't make up for the location in our minds. Wouldn't do another Neptune Guarantee. I guess if you don't mind having to walk far distances, don't have mobility issues, and don't mind a smaller cabin, it would work for you.

[frankc98376]

We have sailed in deck 5 aft suites on Oosterdam several times with no vibration.

[kazu]

I think we need to know what the OP’s potential itinerary is and when.

 

that can make a big difference in the cabin choice.  
 

[ScottC4746]

18 hours ago, kazu said:

I think we need to know what the OP’s potential itinerary is and when.

 

that can make a big difference in the cabin choice.  
 

June 6 Alaska.  Seattle-Puget Sound-at sea-Stephens Passage-Juneau-Hubbard Glacier-Sitka-Ketchikan-Victoria-Seattle 7 nights.

[zelker]

Typically choose mid-ship location but not a lot of availability on this cruise (Zuiderdam, 35 nights, HI/South Pacific in Feb. 2022).  Don't like a lot of vibration so would we be disappointed with an aft wrap on Deck 5?  And how do the afts compare with the angled cabins on Deck 7 (same price) for interior space?  Thanks.

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, zelker said:

Typically choose mid-ship location but not a lot of availability on this cruise (Zuiderdam, 35 nights, HI/South Pacific in Feb. 2022).  Don't like a lot of vibration so would we be disappointed with an aft wrap on Deck 5?  And how do the afts compare with the angled cabins on Deck 7 (same price) for interior space?  Thanks.

We have been on both deck 5 aft-wrap Neptune cabins on the Zuiderdam and really loved it.  They are basically completely shaded and the balconies are HUGE (once we had 40 people on them for a party).  

 

The cabins are a bit smaller than the other Neptunes, but not so much that we ever noticed.  Biggest negative is the long walk and 2 deck to access the Neptune Lounge.  Minor negative is that the cabin stewards sometimes did not deliver the special Neptune notices/invitations (they only have 2 Neptunes in their group.

 

If your cruise has alot of scenery, these cabins are great (we loved doing the Panama Canal).

 

[ScottC4746]

Another reason I won't do an aft again is I felt like I was having to turn a corner every inch to avoid running into furniture.  For the bigger balcony, the floor space in the stateroom shrinks.

[GeorgesGal]

On 11/19/2020 at 11:13 AM, DaveOKC said:

If you go with an aft-wrap on the Oosterdam, pick deck 5.  The balconies are HUGE (we once had 40 people on ours).  Fantastic for a Panama Canal transit.

 

Dave, my sister and I had 4180 on O one time, and I arranged with F & B Manager to have our meet and greet in our stateroom.  We had about 35 out of 45 show up, and it was fabulous.  I don't know if F & B manager was glad to have his lounges relieved of a group which tends to monopolize spaces or what, but HE CATERED THE WHOLE SHEBANG!  MIMOSAS, BLOODY MARY'S, juices, hors d'oeurves.  And he provided waiters as well!  It was a great party!

Haven't had service like that since even though we have hosted.