Nieuw Amsterdam - how tiny are the inside cabisn?

[ziggy666]

How tiny are the inside cabins, really?

In an effort to fund as many cruises as possible on my limited income, I thinking of booking the cheapest guaranty on the Nieuw Amsterdam just to see what it’s like. I am willing to roll the dice, but I’d like to get comfortable with the worst-case scenario.

The HAL website says the insides are 170-200 sq ft, but from reading the comments about the Eurodam, a similar ship, some of the rooms are closer to 140 sq ft. How can this be? Does the total area include the bathroom and closets?

[Roz]

My Noordam inside cabin was 150 square ft., and poorly laid out. That was probably my biggest problem with it - a bad configuration with little usable space.

 

Roz

[Mary Ellen]

The size will depend upon the category and location. The sq. footage for all cabins does include the bathroom and any verandah. If the inside cabin looks square on the deck plans it will be comfortably large. For size, I'd rather have one of the square insides than an outside. If the inside cabin isn't square, it WILL be tiny.

[Storylady]

Chose a LARGE Inside stateroom. J and K on the Main Deck. They are approximately 200 sq feet. I liked them so well that I will chose them again on any Vista and Signature class ship. Large Inside I's are also about the same size.

 

The standard Insides are around 143 sq feet. And anyone that had one complained about them. They were so tiny that it was hard for two people to move about in them.

[maxmia]

We had L5005 on Zuiderdam, could hardly move, no way to have room service, nowhere to store suitcases, had to move them every time we needed access to the wardrobe or cupboard, our first HAL cruise, never ever had a problem with guarantees previously on other shipping line cruises. We felt that the advertising was very misleading on the HAL website and in their brochures.:(

[Atomica]

I had 4154 on the Oosterdam - and I didn't mind it at all.

 

Was it small? Sure. I whacked myself on that stupid chair and table every time I entered my cabin, only later realizing I could ask for it to be removed.

 

But frankly, it was a good cabin. It had lots of storage space, a bathroom that was plenty big, and it was both comfortable and cozy.

 

If I book an inside, I'm really only there to change and sleep, not lounge around and bask in its 150sq. foot glory. If you're OK with that, you'll have a great time.

[Atomica]

We had L5005 on Zuiderdam, could hardly move, no way to have room service, nowhere to store suitcases, had to move them every time we needed access to the wardrobe or cupboard, our first HAL cruise, never ever had a problem with guarantees previously on other shipping line cruises. We felt that the advertising was very misleading on the HAL website and in their brochures.:(

 

Did you try sliding them under the bed?

 

You booked an inside guarantee...you got an inside cabin. How is that misleading? (just curious...)

[RuthC]

The inside cabins on the Vista and Signature class ships are generally small.

The J- and K-categories on Main Deck only are huge. The other insides termed "large" insides, including J- and K- on other decks, are small, but do-able. The insides termed "standard" are tiny. There isn't sufficient room to change your mind. :eek:

[SilvertoGold]

Considering the way we book (guarenteed insides), we are sure to get one of the tiny sideways cabins, like L5005 mentioned above, one day.

So, we have a couple of questions:

1. is the layout like a regular inside on an R or S class, but the door is on the side, where the door for a connecting cabin is on the R and S class?

2. is there a sofa/loveseat and small oval table?

3. why can't you put the luggage under the bed as in any other cabin?

4. are there 3 closets and are there a few drawers in the desk? (is there a desk?)

5. are the bathrooms the standard inside bathrooms in respect to layout and size?

 

Many thanks for any enlightenment on these issues.

[Essiesmom]

There is a sticky at the top of this page, where IRL_Joanie has compiled pictures of HAL cabins on a website. If you want an idea of what the cabins will be like, go there and look for a cabin or two in that category, on any ship in the class you are sailing. EM

[Two@Sea]

I don't think my claustrophobia and I would do well together in one of those tiny inside cabins...

 

If I wasn't such a wuzz about closed spaces I could take (afford) one of the longer exotic cruises... sigh.

[RuthC]

3. why can't you put the luggage under the bed as in any other cabin?

In some cabins, if the bed has been made up into a double/queen, then there just isn't room between the side of the bed and the wall for a suitcase to get flat on the floor. The suitcase will fit standing up, but then it won't bend to slide under.

[DutchByAssociation]

This isn't a perfect science but it will help with visuals...

 

Here's pictures from the website's virtual tour for Eurodam interiors

 

This would be what you could typically expect from a "standard interior room"

[DutchByAssociation]

Here's something that would work for R/S Class

 

This would be a "Large Interior" This layout would also be pretty effective for the "Large Interior" on Vista/Signature Class. Main difference is whether you'll have a chair or 2 and table or if you'll have a sofa/loveseat

 

Also, for those unfamiliar, the best likelihoof of if you'll have a sofa or loveseat is whether or not you stateroom can ultimately hold a 3rd person or not. 3/4 person capacity (sofa)... double only... loveseat

[RedmondCruiser]

Inside cabins on Vista ships are small and poorly laid out. We were stuck with an L on the Westerdam and I have a closet bigger than this room. We had to have them take out the chair so that we could get around the room. Inside rooms on S and R class ships are far far better.

[Mary Ellen]

Inside cabins on Vista ships are small and poorly laid out.

The size will depend upon the category and location. Some inside cabins (the square ones) are quite large (bigger than any std. outside I've seen on a Vista/Signature) and VERY well laid out. To go further than what I've said earlier in the thread, if we were on a Vista or Signature class ship and couldn't have a Superior Suite, I'd rather have one of the square insides than an outside. Nothing in between. We'd stay home before subjecting ourselves to one if the tiny std. inside though.

[Berk987]

We really enjoyed our inside J class interior rooms.

Eurodam Nov 08 room J1043

Westerdam Nov 09 room J1043

We will be on the Niew Am in December 2010 in J class again.

4 of us. 2 adults (5'1 and 5'11) and 2 kids (age 3, 4). Just to give you an idea of our family size. We have 1 queen bed, 1 bunk open on top and one sofa bed for our 4YO DD. We're all very comfortable. Everything is put away nicely. We use all the available cupboard and shelf space. 2 large and 2 rolling cases under the bed. using 2 cabinets under the bed for the kids clothes and we adults use the 3 cupboards. bathroom with the bottom shelf is fine. We put everything in it's place, neat and tidy and we're good. All the kids shoes go in the vanity cabinet where the hair dryer is and the adults shoes are in the stool that opens up. My sister said the HAL interiors are bigger than the Princess interiors. With 4 of us and 3 types of bedding used, we're in good shape. We're kind of neat freaks, even the little ones, so the cabinet steward never really have to clean that much. There is so much to do on the ship that we're only there to dress and sleep.

 

Yes, one day we would love to be in the big room with the veranda/balcony but right now, with 2 kids in private school, we'd rather spend the money on the inside and still be able to cruise.

[snaebyllej]

We'd stay home before subjecting ourselves to one if the tiny std. inside though.

 

I still go a cruise if they had me sleeping on the floor of a closet.

 

According to the Westerdam deck plan on the HAL site, our inside cabin K6146 is a large. Plenty of room for us, but not enough room for a love seat (just a chair and table). All of the sample layouts that they show have a some kind of love seat or couch, but clicking through the actual cabin shows the correct configuration.

[SilvertoGold]

Thanks, RuthC, for the info about the luggage, and Dutch for the photos.

These "standard" insides obviously have to be seen to be believed!

[RedmondCruiser]

The size will depend upon the category and location. Some inside cabins (the square ones) are quite large (bigger than any std. outside I've seen on a Vista/Signature) and VERY well laid out. To go further than what I've said earlier in the thread, if we were on a Vista or Signature class ship and couldn't have a Superior Suite, I'd rather have one of the square insides than an outside. Nothing in between. We'd stay home before subjecting ourselves to one if the tiny std. inside though.

 

We got stuck with 6010 on the Westerdam and it was not a pleasurable expirience. I have seen that large square inside cabins and they look nice and roomy but anthing less than a K should be avoided, except on an S or R class ship. They make very poor useage of the square footage in the design of these cabins.

[DutchByAssociation]

We got stuck with 6010 on the Westerdam and it was not a pleasurable expirience. I have seen that large square inside cabins and they look nice and roomy but anthing less than a K should be avoided, except on an S or R class ship. They make very poor useage of the square footage in the design of these cabins.

 

I think it really depends on how you travel. I've been in one of these rooms on a week long cruise to Mexico and we had plenty of space. Could easily get by the bed on either side as it was a queen configuration, the bathroom held all of our toiletries, the counter was a bit of a catch all for daily programs and some items we bought in ports and the table was used for anything we wanted to grab right before we headed out (room keys, sunglasses, etc) The safe held the passports and cell phones since we basically take the batteries out in case one of the phones decides to "wake up" mid-cruise. The closests had plenty of space for hanging and foldable items and the suitcases went under the bed easily.

 

Had we over packed, had larger than usual suitcases, bought TONS of things in port, etc it might be a little different story, but if you plan on using the room for the "3 S's plus sleeping" then it's not a huge deal.

[mimimary]

Chose a LARGE Inside stateroom. J and K on the Main Deck. They are approximately 200 sq feet. I liked them so well that I will chose them again on any Vista and Signature class ship. Large Inside I's are also about the same size.

 

The standard Insides are around 143 sq feet. And anyone that had one complained about them. They were so tiny that it was hard for two people to move about in them.

 

My worry there would be the public deck above the main deck. Was noise a factor? :confused:

[RuthC]

My worry there would be the public deck above the main deck. Was noise a factor? :confused:

I've stayed down there several times (twice in the Noordam, once on the E-dam, once on the Westerdam), and have never found noise to be a problem. However, I have been careful about my cabin choices.

I pick a cabin close to mid-ship, on starboard side. That area is more under the Queen's Lounge, which is either quiet at night, or closes down early. I would be careful not to be under Northern Lights---although I was under it once (guarantee assignment). It was all right, too.

[mimimary]

I've stayed down there several times (twice in the Noordam, once on the E-dam, once on the Westerdam), and have never found noise to be a problem. However, I have been careful about my cabin choices.

I pick a cabin close to mid-ship, on starboard side. That area is more under the Queen's Lounge, which is either quiet at night, or closes down early. I would be careful not to be under Northern Lights---although I was under it once (guarantee assignment). It was all right, too.

Thanks, Ruth. I will look at the deck plans very carefully and try to pick one under Queens Lounge (if still available).

[tomorrowtamer]

The size will depend upon the category and location. The sq. footage for all cabins does include the bathroom and any verandah. If the inside cabin looks square on the deck plans it will be comfortably large. For size, I'd rather have one of the square insides than an outside. If the inside cabin isn't square, it WILL be tiny.

 

I agree with Mary Ellen,

I had a MM on the Westerdam (4165) - the cabin was not square and had the bed along the hallway wall. There was very little space to walk between the bed and the walls.

As a solo it was okay but it would have been more difficult with 2 people.

The small table and chair at the foot of the bed was vitually unusable because they were in the way of the door opening.

When asked how small was it - I replied that you could lie on the bed and open the door for room service.

Because the bed was so close to the outside wall any noise from the hallway was clearly heard during the night.