Quad on Zaandam

[FreesiaE]

Hello Everyone!
 

I am looking at booking a quad outside cabin on Zaandam for my family of four this summer up Boston. The party will be 2 grown ups 1 teen and 1 preteen.  We all have cruised in 1 room on a balcony room room before and did OK with it (it was 5 years ago and the kids were smaller). We did spend quite a bit of time in the cabin at the heat of the day on our last trip, but this one seems more port intensive.

 

  At first my thought was 2 connecting cabins of really any kind,but those seem to be sold out at this time. The suite prices are just out of my personal budget right now. 

 

So anyhow, I am trying to find a photo and/or a good review/description of a quad room experience.  I can't seem to find anything about having four in an outside Zaandam cabin. Maybe I'm living too dangerously with four in a cabin?  Any help appreciated. 

 

Thanks!

[RuthC]

I can't tell you much about a quad cabin on the Zaandam, except to say do not book one on Lower Promenade Deck. 
The outside cabins on that deck are small than on the next two decks down to make room for the promenade. They are even smaller than the inside cabins on the Lower Promenade Deck. Those insides are 186 sq. ft. The outside cabins on the two lower decks are 196 sq. ft. 

Besides the two beds you expect in the cabin, there will be one that drops from the ceiling and the couch will flip into a bed for the 4th. 

[vicd1969]

My first cruise was a main deck quad on the Zaandam. While we were 4 adults, 2 of the other were of petite-sized. There is a curtain that you can use to separate the couch area with the bed area for some dressing privacy. Storage space was very good for 4. I didn't feel cramped as the couch surfer, but it may be difficult at night to get by the couch, laid out as a bed, to go to the bathroom. One thing that helped me cope with the quad was that I booked the thermal suite for the cruise, so took my showers in the locker room instead of in the cabin.

 

Halfacts has some pics - the sofa of the cabin in question does fold out, just didn't in the pics. 

 

https://halfacts.com/2671-amsterdam/

 

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by vicd1969

[Big Dawg CC]

We've done about 20 cruises in Quad rooms on many HAL ships including several Ocean View cabins on Zaandam.  We started when our girls were young, and continued to do so through their late teen years.  We established a routine over the years and it worked well for us, especially given that 3rd and 4th passengers were free or nearly free with just taxes and port fees on many of these cruises.  As others have noted, you'll have two twins or a queen bed, one that drop down from the ceiling and a couch that flips over into a bed.  It does not pull out so it will not interfere with anyone's access to the bathroom.  We found we had more room using the two twin bed configuration, and, if your children are old enough, consider ditching the bunk ladder, as it takes up room, as an older child can easily climb up using either the couch arm or one of the twins.

[AFNavigator]

7 minutes ago, vicd1969 said:

My first cruise was a main deck quad on the Zaandam. While we were 4 adults, 2 of the other were of petite-sized. There is a curtain that you can use to separate the couch area with the bed area for some dressing privacy. I didn't feel cramped , but it may be difficult at night to get by the couch, laid out as a bed, to go to the bathroom. One thing that helped me cope with the quad was that I booked the thermal suite for the cruise, so took my showers in the locker room instead of in the cabin.

Here's a pic I found of a Zaandam oceanview quad (cabin 2707).  Photo post is dated 2021 so this should be a relatively current look.  You can see the pullman bed in the ceiling to the right of the queen bed.

 

Alternatively, have you considered pricing an oceanview and a nearby inside to give your party more room (and 2 bathrooms) at far less cost than the too-pricey suite price?  If they don't let you book the teen/preteen in one cabin, you could always book 1 adult/1 kid in each cabin then kindly ask your steward to let you swap once onboard.  This of course assumes the kids behave when out of parental view...

[FreesiaE]

Thank you all for your input!