Can Anyone Explain VF Balconies on the Noordam

[Marie50]

The description says that the railings are steel rather than plexiglass....has anyone gotten one of these rooms and how was it?

 

Thanks

[AlohaPride]

The description says that the railings are steel rather than plexiglass....has anyone gotten one of these rooms and how was it?

 

Thanks

One level DOES have the steel balconies (Upper Promenade). However, if you book the Verandah Deck you will get the plexi-glass balconies :) I'm in 5065 in December

[jtl513]

The description says that the railings are steel rather than plexiglass....has anyone gotten one of these rooms and how was it?

 

Thanks

 

I never had one, but I don't think the steel rather than plexiglass would bother me any. (See the white section above Holland America Line and forward.) I would prefer one of those to the VFs overlooking the lifeboats.

[bepsf]

The VF's on Deck 4 Forward have the steel railings and are slightly deeper than the norm.

 

VF's on Deck 5 Midship have Plexi rails, but are shallower than the norm.

[Sunshine91]

Marie - As JTL's excellent photo shows you, the balcony wall is solid steel, not just the railing for the VF cabins on Deck 4. If you are sitting in the room or on the verandah itself, you likely can't see directly out, but need to be standing on the balcony itself to see over the railing. If I had a choice of cabin in the VF category, I'd go up a deck & take one midship so that I could see out.

For the mid-ship cabins, if you're standing at the railing, do you really care if you can see down the side of the boat, as if you could spit directly into the water? (Not that you actually would, of course ;) ).

Granted, there's not a bad balcony cabin on that beautiful ship, but for the same $$$, I'd not want to look at a steel wall.

[Grumpy1]

For the mid-ship cabins, if you're standing at the railing, do you really care if you can see down the side of the boat, as if you could spit directly into the water? (Not that you actually would, of course ;) ).

 

Yes, I like to be able to look down the side of the ship... as well as out. I like to watch the docking procedures. I like to watch the flying fish leaping out away from the bow, I like to watch dolphins playing in the bow wake. Those forward cabins are great for all of that... But I also like to lean back on the lounger aand watch a glorious sunset or ships passing on the horizon, or a shoreline sliding by in the distance... I guess deck 5 forward for a verandah cabin would be my preference. The best of both worlds...

[noblepa]

FWIW, we had a VF category cabin (5065) on the Oosterdam in April. When sitting on the balcony, you are definitely looking THROUGH the plexiglas. If you were in one of the cabins with solid steel, rather than plexiglas, you would see nothing while seated. Standing at the rail, you would have exactly the same view that any other cabin has.

 

As for the size, when I stood on the balcony, I could just touch the railing with one hand and the cabin wall with the other. I'm just about six feet tall, exactly, so my arm span is also about six feet. Two people could sit in relative comfort on the balcony. There were two chairs and a smallish (2' x 2') table. There really wasn't room for any more furniture. Three people would probably be okay, but might have to jostle a little if one wanted to enter or leave the cabin. Four would definitely be a crowd.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Paul Noble

[jtl513]

If you are sitting in the room or on the verandah itself, you likely can't see directly out, but need to be standing on the balcony itself to see over the railing.

 

That's right, I forgot about that aspect of having the solid railing wall. That would bother my DW a lot, since she likes to sit on the verandah, whereas when I'm out there I'm usually standing at the rail. :)

[betonic]

We just got off the Noordam last week and had VF 5136 on Verandah. The balcony was big enough for two comfortably and compared to balconies on other lines still felt big to me. The railing was wood on the very top and plexi-glass the rest of the way down. I liked that I could lay in my bed and see the ocean through the balcony glass.

 

We enjoyed this cabin so much that we booked the same for Alaska in May.

 

Enjoy your cruise

[Antoni]

We are thinking about booking a VE category which the TA said is a deck above the lifeboats. Not a problem looking straight out to see but she said if you look down you see the top of the lifeboat not water. Anyone have any of those rooms and your thoughts -- was it annoying or not a big deal?

[Barek]

We are thinking about booking a VE category which the TA said is a deck above the lifeboats. Not a problem looking straight out to see but she said if you look down you see the top of the lifeboat not water. Anyone have any of those rooms and your thoughts -- was it annoying or not a big deal?

I haven't been in one yet; but what I've read from others, the verandah on those are also slightly shallower - I can't recall the dimensions. Looking at the exterior, you can see where the deck 5 balconies don't stick out quite as far as the decks above it. Of course, the decks above will cost more - partly because of their having a deeper verandah, so it all depends on your own criteria.

[jrzebird]

We had 5127 last year, VF on the Veranda deck. Yes, we could see the lifeboats when we looked down. But, if you raise your eyes a few degrees, you have a perfect view. We really liked this room, and had the opportunity to have VF with the solid wall this year, and declined. First, we didn't want a solid wall, and more importantly, we didn't want to be forward. We prefer more mid-ships for stability.

 

Actually, this year we had a C cabin, and we LOVED it. We had a perfect view of the sea, which seemed to be feet from our window (because it was). It was also very stable. And, with the money we saved, we did a bunch more excursions, bought internet minutes and got a pass for the thermal spa.