Westerdam Connecting Cabin Question

[coconutpig]

Hi All,

 

Great info on this forum. I'm working on booking our first family cruise on HAL (Westerdam). DW and I have 2 daughters 10 & 14. We've taken 4 Princess cruises (Grand Class) and 1 RCCI (Voyager Class). We've done some research and it looks like HAL will be a great line for us (we're tired of the megaships and are not "bellyflop" contest types - just want a relaxing upscale cruise).

 

I have a couple of questions re: the Verandah Staterooms. On our last Pricess cruise, we had a balcony with the girls in an inside directly opposite us. We were considering this same setup on the Westerdam but then noticed that the Westerdam had connecting rooms. We really liked this idea as it was sometimes inconvenient to deal with the logistics of having to carry 2 room keys and being noisy (door slamming) in the AM to check on them, etc. I know it's more expensive, but we feel the added cost may be worth it. Anyone out there that has had connecting cabins. What was the setup like?

 

Also - can the balconies be opened up, or are there permanent partitions?

 

Also, re: the balconies - we are looking at cabins on the Upper Prom as well as Verandah decks. Are these balconies completely open, or is there any coverage from the decks above for some privacy.

 

Thanks all in advance -

[jhannah]

You will still have to have separate room keycards. It contains each passenger's photo ID and all passengers must have one for exiting and returning onboard the ship. And without a card your daughters would be unable to make any onboard purchases. You can include that room on your stateroom account, but they'll need a card to buy sodas or items from the gift shop.

 

Your verandahs are covered. They have a panel between them that can be unlocked by your room steward. It will not come off, so bring a bungee cord or duct tape to hold it open so it won't bang around with motion of the ship.

 

If you get connecting cabins, be sure your cabin steward leaves the doors open between the rooms.

[Marie321]

We just returned from Alaska on the Westerdam. My husband and I went along with our kids ages 19 and 17. We stayed in a verandah cabin, VD, that was a "quad". We had a large bed, our son slept on the sofa that folded out into a bed, and our daughter slept on a pullman that came down out of the ceiling. ALL the beds were SO COMFORTABLE, even the sofa and pullman! We found that we did not spend much time in our cabin, so this was very workable for us. You might want to consider this option for your kids. It would save some money!

[coconutpig]

jhannah -

 

Thanks for the helpful info. I'm hoping that if we are able to keep the door open btn the cabins most of the time that I'll just have to carry around one cruise card.

 

Marie 321 -

 

We are early risers and our kids tend to sleep in so we don't want to wake them with us up and about (ie getting room svc for breakfast) - but thanks all the same for the suggestion!

 

We're really excited to try a new line - S/B fun! - Thanks again all.