Obstructed View Veranda

[Bristol5]

I am considering booking an Obstructed View Veranda on the Rotterdam.  Would like anyone who has had one of these to please tell me about the experience.

The price is so good and I like the location of the cabin, the life boats would be below the balcony.  How much of a problem is this?

[Sea42]

As the ship is brand new there won't be anyone who has sailed on her yet. However, her sister ship the Nieuw Statendam has similar cabins. If you are asking about deck 4 if you google "4142 Nieuw Statendam HAL facts" you will find pictures of a cabin that is partially obstructed on that ship.

[rkacruiser]

I have had two Deck 4 staterooms; one was partially obstructed; one was fully obstructed on Westerdam and Noordam.  Floor to ceiling windows allowed for much light.  The staterooms were larger because of no veranda.  Partially obstructed gave me a view between the davits of two lifeboats.  Fully obstructed gave me a view of the top of a lifeboat.  Looking downward, a view of the deck below was visible.  Booking such a category, I would recommend that you close at least the sheer curtains before retiring for the night.  There is a catwalk outside those staterooms and crew members are sometimes "out and about" in the early morning hours servicing the lifeboats and tenders.  

 

If one does not want/need a veranda, those staterooms are a very good value, in my opinion.  

[Bristol5]

Thank You!   I will check it out.  It was meant as a general question regarding "obstructed view " cabins as I know that it is a new ship. Your recommendation is much appreciated.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, rkacruiser said:

I have had two Deck 4 staterooms; one was partially obstructed; one was fully obstructed on Westerdam and Noordam.  Floor to ceiling windows allowed for much light.  The staterooms were larger because of no veranda.  Partially obstructed gave me a view between the davits of two lifeboats.  Fully obstructed gave me a view of the top of a lifeboat.  Looking downward, a view of the deck below was visible.  Booking such a category, I would recommend that you close at least the sheer curtains before retiring for the night.  There is a catwalk outside those staterooms and crew members are sometimes "out and about" in the early morning hours servicing the lifeboats and tenders.  

 

If one does not want/need a veranda, those staterooms are a very good value, in my opinion.  

The OP is talking about an obstructed balcony not an ocean view so this is not really relevant.

[rkacruiser]

3 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The OP is talking about an obstructed balcony not an ocean view so this is not really relevant.

 

???  How did you get that impression from what I posted?  

 

I provided information based upon my personal experience.  

 

 

[rkacruiser]

7 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

The OP is talking about an obstructed balcony not an ocean view so this is not really relevant.

 

I re-read what the OP posted after reading your response to my post.  I now understand your response.  

 

No familiarity with such an obstructed veranda on a HAL ship.  Did book one on Celebrity Eclipse with a tender just below my veranda.  Only the very top of the tender obstructed my straight ahead view of the ocean.  Was not an issue for me.  Such "obstructed" or "partially obstructed" staterooms are a value, as I said.  One needs to do the research to determine if whatever "obstructions" there may be are acceptable to them.  

[Cruisepucks]

We have sailed in an obstructed verandah on the Koningsdam, a sister ship to the Rotterdam.

We were on the starboard side forward, I think in stateroom  number 4049.

Looking  towards the horizon, the obstruction was minimal. On the Pinnacle class ships, the lifeboats, which cause the obstruction, are below eye level. If you looked down then your view was obstructed. My understanding is that the obstructed verandahs toward the aft are more obstructed as the lifeboats in  that section are larger.

I would select the forward obstructed verandahs on a future cruise again. We quite enjoyed  our stateroom and it's view although it was a connected room and so we did hear noise from the adjoining stateroom.

Do be careful with your selection on the port side of the ship as these staterooms are above the second  level of BB Kings and you definitely hear and feel their  music on the port side, even in the corridor. The Starboard side forward obstructed verandahs are 2 decks above the rolling stones and you do hear a bit of their music through the verandah door but not enough to disturb.

If you can snag 4045, 4043, 4044 or 4046 they are laid out a bit different, are larger and have a large balcony. 4044 and 4046 are on the port side but are far enough forward that noise from BB kings is not an issue.

Hope that helps.

[swin26]

See if you can get a wider balcony room such as 4118 or 4133.  We stayed in a similar cabin on the New Statendam and loved it.  We are booked in 4118 on the Rotterdam for August 2022. Only a small portion is obstructed, the balcony is larger and you can view the walk around deck on the 3rd deck. It is a great value and a cabin favorite do or us. 

[Bristol5]

Thank You  all for your helpful replies and recommendations.  I have to decide by tomorrow!  It is very helpful to know that the life boats are below eye level. I am looking at booking 4091.

[Taters]

We booked an obstructed view veranda cabin once and wouldn't again.  It took away something we realized that we absolutely love, which are the beautiful views at sea and when pulling into or away from port.  It's not much more money to have a non-obstructed view.  I wouldn't recommend one.

[DaveOKC]

17 hours ago, Taters said:

We booked an obstructed view veranda cabin once and wouldn't again.  It took away something we realized that we absolutely love, which are the beautiful views at sea and when pulling into or away from port.  It's not much more money to have a non-obstructed view.  I wouldn't recommend one.

We got a great offer on an obstructed view guarantee, but spent about $80 pp to get a much better location and larger balcony.

 

[Mary229]

A vlog I listened to recently said that obstructed views of any category can never be a guarantee and that further reduces their pricing.  Any truth to that?

[DaveOKC]

28 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

A vlog I listened to recently said that obstructed views of any category can never be a guarantee and that further reduces their pricing.  Any truth to that?

I do not think this is correct - this is from my recent booking:

"Stateroom Type

Verandah

Obstructed Verandah

Your Stateroom Is Guaranteed. You Will Receive Your Stateroom Details Prior To Departure"

[Michigander1959]

On 3/29/2021 at 9:53 PM, swin26 said:

See if you can get a wider balcony room such as 4118 or 4133.  We stayed in a similar cabin on the New Statendam and loved it.  We are booked in 4118 on the Rotterdam for August 2022. Only a small portion is obstructed, the balcony is larger and you can view the walk around deck on the 3rd deck. It is a great value and a cabin favorite do or us. 

Thank you for this! We booked 4133 on Rotterdam for the same large balcony (and hopefully slightly unobstructed view) reason. 
 

[quack2]

I never gave much thought to a balcony that didn't look straight down to the ocean.  That is, until I had one that didn't.  I like to see the ocean below if for no other reason, to seee if any porpoises are following us.  And sometimes to watch the pilot board and deboard.

[mexico8]

We needed an accessible cabin on the Koningsdam a couple of years ago and took an obstructed view balcony cabin.   We loved the cabin (it was 4167)  and did not mind any of the obstructions and felt it was a great value.   Would book it again and enjoy the savings.

[Djptcp]

We had an obstructed verandah cabin on the Koningsdam, sister ship to Rotterdam, in early 2020 and liked it a lot and not bothered by the obstruction. We were mid-ship, closer to aft. However, we did talk to passengers also in obstructed verandahs on Deck 4 that were closer to the ship's forward and they were bothered by noise from a music venue at night. You might want to be closer to mid-ship if possible.

[chisoxfan]

We were 'upgraded' to a higher midships category on the Westerdam (Alaska). Although it was not

an obstructed balcony by definition the lifeboats were under our cabin which for us was distracting.

We immediately noticed an orange glow to the room (sunlight reflecting from lb) and even my normally complacent wife shot me a look. I had never tried to change cabins on a ship before and honestly my

approach at the time was 'change me- I will pay whatever it takes'.  Fortunately, after some persistence was moved to a higher forward balcony (a lower classification) that we were thrilled with.

 

Not sure I am offering much help here except I would be very leery of walking into a cabin situation that you are not fully comfortable with and fully aware of. I think we were lucky being able to change cabins and I can't help but thinking staying in this initial  cabin (that I am sure many would not have been bothered with) would have had a negative impact on the cruise.  As a traveler who tries to research cabins when I book , I was kicking myself for blindly accepting an upgraded cabin.

 

[DaveOKC]

5 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

Not sure I am offering much help here except I would be very leery of walking into a cabin situation that you are not fully comfortable with and fully aware of. I think we were lucky being able to change cabins and I can't help but thinking staying in this initial  cabin (that I am sure many would not have been bothered with) would have had a negative impact on the cruise.  As a traveler who tries to research cabins when I book , I was kicking myself for blindly accepting an upgraded cabin.

 

I normally mark my reservations DO NOT UPGRADE, for exactly the reason you pointed out.  The cruise line's idea of a "better" cabin very often does not match with mine.  I take the time to research my cabin location and size before booking, so I get what I want and not leave it to chance, even though it may cost me a bit more upfront.

 

On the other hand, I do like to "work" the paid upsell offers to move up to a higher category and this has proven to be a good approach for me at least. 

 

I have found that it is rare to get a free upgrade to a higher category, as HAL has figured out that people are willing to pay for this.  If you do get one, it likely is not in the best location.  When I do a paid upsell, I normally get a selection of cabins to chose from and most times can find a location that works for me.

 

One time a friend of mine was on the same cruise and he booked a Neptune Guarantee.  I booked a specific Signature cabin for about $1500 pp less.  Two weeks before sailing I was offered a paid upsell to a SA Neptune across from the Neptune Lounge for $300 pp.  A week later my friend was assigned a free upgrade to a SB Neptune one deck below the Lounge.  Since I ended up paying $1200 pp less than he did and ended up in a higher category with a great location, he was not very happy!  Just a matter of luck of course, but this does show how the system normally works.

 

[chisoxfan]

4 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

I normally mark my reservations DO NOT UPGRADE, for exactly the reason you pointed out.  The cruise line's idea of a "better" cabin very often does not match with mine.  I take the time to research my cabin location and size before booking, so I get what I want and not leave it to chance, even though it may cost me a bit more upfront.

 

On the other hand, I do like to "work" the paid upsell offers to move up to a higher category and this has proven to be a good approach for me at least. 

 

I have found that it is rare to get a free upgrade to a higher category, as HAL has figured out that people are willing to pay for this.  If you do get one, it likely is not in the best location.  When I do a paid upsell, I normally get a selection of cabins to chose from and most times can find a location that works for me.

 

One time a friend of mine was on the same cruise and he booked a Neptune Guarantee.  I booked a specific Signature cabin for about $1500 pp less.  Two weeks before sailing I was offered a paid upsell to a SA Neptune across from the Neptune Lounge for $300 pp.  A week later my friend was assigned a free upgrade to a SB Neptune one deck below the Lounge.  Since I ended up paying $1200 pp less than he did and ended up in a higher category with a great location, he was not very happy!  Just a matter of luck of course, but this does show how the system normally works.

 

Yes good advice. We never accept upgrades either...... except this one time where we were upgraded

2 or 3 categories at no charge along with some OBC and I thought (confirming with TA) it would likely be a better cabin. In fairness to HAL they stepped up after a price drop that occurred after final payment and offered some OBC and cabin upgrade.

I will never book again without fully researching any cabin whether an inside or suite.

[Vitamimi]

On 6/12/2021 at 8:26 PM, Michigander1959 said:

Thank you for this! We booked 4133 on Rotterdam for the same large balcony (and hopefully slightly unobstructed view) reason. 
 

 

On 6/12/2021 at 8:26 PM, Michigander1959 said:

Thank you for this! We booked 4133 on Rotterdam for the same large balcony (and hopefully slightly unobstructed view) reason. 
 

Does anyone know if the balcony on 4118 or 4133 is clear glass or white - not clear so you cannot see out obviously until over the railing.  thanks

[jeda4137]

Had #4044 on the Koninsgdam ( obstructed) . The only obstructed part was looking down on the port. Looking in the distance was ok.  Due to the rooms "different" layout it was somewhat dark.  The veranda was quite large. Not sure we would book that again , but depending on price - who knows?? 

[albingirl]

The most important thing to us is peace and quiet.  Sandwiched in between cabins, above and below, is what we look for.  However, you can always book an obstructed balcony and look for a paid upgrade down the road.  I don't bother with that anymore; we just book the cabin we know we like.  Most of this depends on your budget.  Just to be on a cruise sounds like heaven right about now....

[Jmacg]

I will probably book a Rotterdam or other Pinnacle cruise in 2023. I am considering an obstructed view stateroom in the aft section of the ship - i.e. numbers VH4118 to VH4165. However, unless the cost saving is pretty good, I'd prefer a standard stateroom in the same area, but higher up i.e. on the Gershwin, Mozart or Schubert decks. I've been unable to find out from my web search, from the HAL website or in this thread, approximately how much cheaper the obstructed view staterooms are. Can anyone tell me?