Nieuw Amsterdam neptune choice

[Mrs Soap]

Hey everyone,  I did look this up...but still a little confused 

 

SA neptune vs SB neptune aft? 

I understand the location differences and the walk to the lounge would do me good!  But some posts say the aft suites are smaller internally? Looking at the deck plans I actually thought they looked larger? Or am I just imagining that?? 

TIA

[cabinluvn]

Stayed in the corner aft on a pinnacle class going through the Panama Canal. Only Neptune we have ver stayed in. It is definitely smaller than the Neptunes we have taken a peak in when we were able to. The deck makes up for it, so if you are the kind that spend a lot of time on the deck, you will love it. We didn’t care if the sitting room was smaller. Never used it. Didn’t dine in, etc. Just wanted it for the larger deck and views going through the canal

[Mrs Soap]

Cruise is the alaskan 7 day inside passage ...

[Crew News]

1 minute ago, Mrs Soap said:

Cruise is the alaskan 7 day inside passage ...

The aft Neptune suites in Alaska are ideal for entertaining 40 of your friends,.  Other perks are the lack of wind while you are enjoying your balcony, amazing panoramic views for photographs that you can enjoy in your pajamas, the soothing sound of the ship's wake, great location to enjoy Glacier Bay without competing with others for railing space on the outer decks, short elevator rides for dining, and the Room Service kitchen is mere minutes away for hot food.

 

 

[Mrs Soap]

Thanks guys! Having never done a HAL cruise let alone a neptune suite I suppose we won't notice the difference in size and thinking although it might be chilly on the verandah it would be awesome to have the great space for the views!

[DaveOKC]

Having done several aft-wraps on different ships, my experience is that generally the cabin area is a bit smaller than the traditional Neptunes.  The balconies are larger (some VERY much larger).  It is a long walk to the Neptune Lounge, so I do not use it as much (being a bit lazy I guess).  Also a longer walk to many other areas on the ship of course and a VERY long walk to the Crows Nest.  Sometimes the room stewards service are not as good, especially when it comes to Neptune specific items such as special letters and announcements.

 

My approach is to take an aft-wrap if the scenery on the cruise is supposed to be very good, such as Alaska and the Panama Canal.  Otherwise I try to get a cabin as close to the Neptune Lounge as possible.

 

 

[janmcn]

The aft Neptune for this cruise could be excellent if your weather is good🤞😁

[T8NCruise]

I had an aft Neptune on the NA and hated it.  The veranda gets way too windy to be able to use all of it anyway, and.lots of vibration on deck 6 as well as smaller and darker room.  I much prefer the midship Neptune's on deck 7. Just my opinion.

[kazu]

15 minutes ago, T8NCruise said:

I had an aft Neptune on the NA and hated it.  The veranda gets way too windy to be able to use all of it anyway, and.lots of vibration on deck 6 as well as smaller and darker room.  I much prefer the midship Neptune's on deck 7. Just my opinion.

 

We always preferred mid ship, too.  DH didn’t like vibration and if the weather was not conducive on the verandah and you were hosting people, the regular SA’s are larger cabin wise for that.

 

that’s why it’s good we have choices 👍 - Different strokes 😉 

[seagarsmoker]

We prefer the corner aft Neptune Suites (especially deck 7) and it has become our favorite cabin!  

[IPB4IGO]

We were in an aft-wrap on the NA earlier this month. In addition to the good answers you have already received, I would add that the rear-facing portion of the balcony was not at all windy when we were underway although the side-facing portion was. I actually got a bit of a sunburn sitting out there on this Alaska cruise.

Aside from getting help from the Neptune Lounge conceirge, we didn't have much use for the lounge. No windows, a TV playing, not an environment we enjoy.

This was only the second Neptune Suite we have had, and we are unlikely to have another any time soon. We got this one because we received a screaming good upsell offer a couple weeks before the cruise.

[Storylady]

We have avoid the aft verandas due to the vibration that we heard in one of our friend’s Neptune. We have been in SA, SB and SC. If you SC, get an SC near the glass elevator, but not next to it as people see you on your deck. Not that it matters in Alaska. Also, do port side as the Captain spends more time viewing Margery Glacier in Glacier Bay on the port side than on the Starboard side.

[zgscl]

On 6/19/2022 at 2:14 PM, Mrs Soap said:

Hey everyone,  I did look this up...but still a little confused 

 

SA neptune vs SB neptune aft? 

I understand the location differences and the walk to the lounge would do me good!  But some posts say the aft suites are smaller internally? Looking at the deck plans I actually thought they looked larger? Or am I just imagining that?? 

TIA

We have been long time Neptune Suite cruisers but only did the aft wrap starting a year ago. As soon as we saw our cabin we called our TA and had her change every one of our upcoming bookings. You lose some space in the cabin (between the bed and the sitting area) and the couch is smaller. You more than make up for that lost space with the balcony. While underway you also gain more balcony time because one part will be sheltered from the wind (usually the aft part). On top of that you can get up to 270 degrees of views which is amazing if you have a scenic cruising component like in Alaska or the Panama Canal. While you get a few hundred dollar discount usually for booking the SB I would actually pay a premium for these cabins. 

 

I will say that there is noticeably more motion in the aft than you get with a midship cabin. You do feel the ship going up and down. Because of this there is more rattling and ship noises from the flexing and contracting that the ship does as it moves in the water. If you get motion sick or get easily bothered by noise then I would not recommend these cabins. Never bothered us but if you do have these issues then it would not be the best location choice for you. Also keep in mind you are directly above the Azipods so when outside you can hear and see the wake of the ship churning behind you when you are outside and underway. I love this but some folks hate it. We have found that inside the cabin there is no added noise from this, just the ship creaking as it goes up and down in the sea. 

 

Some people complain about smoke/soot - I have not yet run into trouble with this on any of our cruises. If you are on the top deck you can sometimes hear deck furniture getting set up or moved around in the mornings or at night. I have not yet been bothered by this but have seen reports of this from folks on here. 

 

As you noted the other consideration is how far away you are from not just the Neptune Lounge, but everything in the front of the ship. You do find yourself walking a lot more than you would with a midship location. Additionally for the Neptune lunge I find myself calling them a lot more than visiting whereas we used to be in there all the time when we had a cabin right across the hall. 

 

 

I do recommend looking at HAL Facts for cabin pictures of the specific cabin you are looking at if possible. On some ships (the Pinnacle class) there is a big difference in layout on some decks. For Eurodam/Nieuw Amsterdam the cabins are a lot more uniform - Deck 8 is completely shaded from above and very private feeling. As you go down the decks stick more and more out so people above you can see more of the balcony (mostly noticeable on deck 4). I can't recall but deck 4 might have a slightly larger balcony on these ships. 

 

 

Photos from 8162 on Nieuw Amsterdam. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Djptcp]

We only choose Neptune Suites on the same deck as the Neptune Lounge. Got stuck with an aft Neptune Suite on the Oosterdam because it was a Guarantee NS. It was smaller than the usual NS with the same amount of furniture and we were constantly bumping into something. The bigger deck didn't make up for the awful location and being so far away from everything, including the Neptune Lounge.

 

On the other hand, we recently had a Neptune Suite on the new Rotterdam a few doors down from the Neptune Lounge. It was smaller than the NS on other ships and did not have a separate vanity area. I guess the Pinnacle class ships have smaller NS.  If you haven't had the "regular" size NS on other HAL class ships, I guess you won't be disappointed with that change (I was).

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, Djptcp said:

We only choose Neptune Suites on the same deck as the Neptune Lounge. Got stuck with an aft Neptune Suite on the Oosterdam because it was a Guarantee NS. It was smaller than the usual NS with the same amount of furniture and we were constantly bumping into something. The bigger deck didn't make up for the awful location and being so far away from everything, including the Neptune Lounge.

 

On the other hand, we recently had a Neptune Suite on the new Rotterdam a few doors down from the Neptune Lounge. It was smaller than the NS on other ships and did not have a separate vanity area. I guess the Pinnacle class ships have smaller NS.  If you haven't had the "regular" size NS on other HAL class ships, I guess you won't be disappointed with that change (I was).

We have recently been in Neptunes on Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam (both Pinnacle class).  The bathrooms are different, with the NS being nicer IMO.  A bit different layout and large tub and separate large shower..  The K had a separate toliet and sink room, which is nice for guests.

 

[kazu]

12 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

We have recently been in Neptunes on Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam (both Pinnacle class).  The bathrooms are different, with the NS being nicer IMO.  A bit different layout and large tub and separate large shower..  The K had a separate toliet and sink room, which is nice for guests.

 

 

I think they got that idea from the Prinsendam although their layout is not quite the same.  😉 The Prinsendam’s NS all had a bathroom with sink, shower/bath and separated by a door, a separate toilet and sink.  ideal for guests indeed 👍   

[*Miss G*]

19 hours ago, zgscl said:

 

Photos from 8162 on Nieuw Amsterdam. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow.  The aft Neptunes are definitely much smaller than the ones by the lounge on the NA.  I am like @Djptcp… I much prefer the ones by the lounge and I much prefer the ones on a non Pinnacle-class ship.

[zgscl]

On 6/21/2022 at 1:51 PM, *Miss G* said:

 

Wow.  The aft Neptunes are definitely much smaller than the ones by the lounge on the NA.  I am like @Djptcp… I much prefer the ones by the lounge and I much prefer the ones on a non Pinnacle-class ship.

It is definitely a trade off with the balcony. All depends on how you like to use the room, etc. When my great aunt was alive we always got one right across the hall from the lounge. She loved to go over in the morning and have a cup of coffee and pastries for breakfast. Walking was hard for her so it was so important to be right there. Now we prefer the extra balcony space and I especially prefer it if I am traveling solo since the smaller room is no issue for just one person.