Aft Wrap Around Verandah?

[McMer]

:confused:As a newbie to HAL we are thinking of taking our family on a summer 2010 Med cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam. This would include eight people w/ two young children. We're looking at a deluxe verandah for ourselves so that we could take the children at times. An option we are considering is an aft wrap around verandah deck. I know it would be good for gatherings, but we are wondering if there would be any drawbacks. Would motion be too much of an issue? Would the wind be better or worse? Would there be more vibration in this location? Would room size and arrangement be the same? I realize this ship isn't out there yet, but advice from those of you that have sailed on HAL and observed these cabins on other ships would be very helpful and much appreciated.

[norcal2]

Unfortunately my info is about the Noordam Aft/stern wraparound veranda but it may help some:

 

We had the VB cabin with a wrap around and it was great. The veranda on the Noordam has plenty of room for guests. No drawbacks. Motion for me was only a small issue of not being used to the different direction the motion comes at you with. I was used to the side motion which puts me to sleep. It is a subtle difference though. Wind was not a problem at all. I found it less windy in the back and only windy on the side. So I guess the wind was better. There was one odd vibration but I couldn't put my finger on it. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd rate it a 3 in terms of new sound. I think the veranda B wraparound rooms are a little smaller than the side rooms but nothing notable. Plenty of room everywhere even with the B category.

 

Here are my photos though we took less of the room and more of the veranda and at the end you'll see the video we took of the actual veranda. You'll notice that in the video he is standing on the side and the wind is blowing and yet where I am sitting a pillow does not move on the lounger. Hope it helps:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/570277620wTVQLZ;jsessionid=abcNiUX7TO9zEf7Hs9mls

[McMer]

Thank you so much, Norcal2. That really did help - both your info and your wonderful photos. I felt relaxed just looking at them! Too bad this trip is a year away. The lobster even makes me hungry. They look like beautiful cabins and might just be the answer to help with little on-the-go children. Thank you again!!

[many cruises]

Unfortunately my info is about the Noordam Aft/stern wraparound veranda but it may help some:

 

We had the VB cabin with a wrap around and it was great. The veranda on the Noordam has plenty of room for guests. No drawbacks. Motion for me was only a small issue of not being used to the different direction the motion comes at you with. I was used to the side motion which puts me to sleep. It is a subtle difference though. Wind was not a problem at all. I found it less windy in the back and only windy on the side. So I guess the wind was better. There was one odd vibration but I couldn't put my finger on it. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd rate it a 3 in terms of new sound. I think the veranda B wraparound rooms are a little smaller than the side rooms but nothing notable. Plenty of room everywhere even with the B category.

 

Here are my photos though we took less of the room and more of the veranda and at the end you'll see the video we took of the actual veranda. You'll notice that in the video he is standing on the side and the wind is blowing and yet where I am sitting a pillow does not move on the lounger. Hope it helps:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/slideshow/570277620wTVQLZ;jsessionid=abcNiUX7TO9zEf7Hs9mls

 

Norcal2: Do you mind if I ask the cabin number you stayed in? It looks wonderful!

[frankathy]

We had the SC on the Westerdam. Huge wrap around balcony. We looked into the Eurodam and it is very very small. I am not sure which ship this will be like.

[norcal2]

Many Cruises it was located on the Rotterdam Deck Cabin 7145. You can use it any time you wish but remember it is my room. :D

 

I loved it. We really spent much of our time on the veranda. Hard to explain how relaxing it was but we were thrilled from the first day to the last. You'd think I would have taken pictures when it was clean but apparently we had too much fun enjoying the ship. What we didn't capture is the room does have a separate shower and that was great as well.

[norcal2]

Thank you so much, Norcal2. That really did help - both your info and your wonderful photos. I felt relaxed just looking at them! Too bad this trip is a year away. The lobster even makes me hungry. They look like beautiful cabins and might just be the answer to help with little on-the-go children. Thank you again!!

 

It is hard to wait that long isn't it. One day you'll look up and you'll be there so have fun with the planning. The lobsters we got were cooked perfectly compared to some lines I have been on and that was a nice surprise for us.

 

You have a wonderful time with your family on the cruise. You may be able to get the cabin size of our room on the Noordam (Rm 7145) and compare it to the size on your ship to get an idea if they will be close in size. Glad it helped.

[hammybee]

I have no clue about the deck plan of the Nieuw Amsterdam.

 

On the VISTA CLASS ships the aft wrap-a-round balconies are all Deluxe Suites, grade SC and SB. They are my absolute favorite cabins, when I can afford it.

 

Given you are sailing with an extended family, you can consider booking the adjoining VA aft cabin (s) and ask that the divider be opened to allow everyone to have full use of the extended balcony.

 

Med. intineraries are very port intensive and balcony time is limited if you make the most of your port time. Keep this in mind if you are looking at the trade-offs.

[RuthC]

We had the SC on the Westerdam. Huge wrap around balcony. We looked into the Eurodam and it is very very small. I am not sure which ship this will be like.

The Nieuw Amsterdam will be like the E-dam. It's the second in the Signature series; the E-dam was first.

[Charliesmom]

We have had an aft wrap around balcony on the Westerdam, the Noordam and on the Eurodam. The balcony is huge on the Westerdam (we were in 5191), not quite as large on the Noordam,(we were in 5190) but still lovely and is very much smaller on the aft portion on the Eurodam (we were in 5187).

 

If the aft part is not as important to you, the side balcony is very large. It is the same depth as the Verandah cabins on the side.

 

To give you an idea, once when we were on the Westerdam, we attended a party in what is now 5191 (since the retrofit) and there were 50 people on the balcony and it was not crowded. You probably could put 10 or 12 people on the Eurodam balcony comfortably.

 

The Nieuw Amsterdam is a sister ship to the Eurodam, so I imagine the balconies will be similar.

 

Roberta

[Cruzman]

As mentioned, the New Amsternam will be a sister ship to the Eurodam which means that deck plans will be pretty much identical. Here are some pics of a deck 6 SC suite on the Edam.

[bepsf]

McMer--

 

I had a Deck 5 aft corner suite on the Eurodam inaugural and my folks were in the adjacent aft-facing stateroom...

...previous to that, I had a Deck 4 aft-corner suite aboard Oosterdam with friends in the adjacent side-facing stateroom.

 

I highly recommend avoiding Deck 6 as it's the smallest of the aft-corner suites - plus IIRC, Eurodam included a connecting door to the adjacent side-facing stateroom eliminates a closet in that stateroom. Deck 4 will provide you with the most interior space as well as the most spacious verandah.

 

If you need to house 8 persons, you'll need the suite plus a pair of other staterooms as there are no 4-person staterooms in the stern section. IMO, your best bet would be to take the corner suite as well as one aft-facing stateroom and one side-facing stateroom - or take the corner and the aft facing stateroom and the inside stateroom across the corridor.

 

Noise, vibration and wind are negligible and the ride is fine, but of course it's a bit of a hike to the Neptune Lounge and pretty much anywhere else you'd care to go on the ship.

 

I hosted parties in both suites - I probably had 20-30 persons on those verandahs at a time although it got to be a bit crowded - in fact, Seattle would not allow me to pre-book a party for more than 12 persons or so due to "Safety Issues"