cabin guidance

[to the sea]

Never cruised before & pretty new to this site, so this may be a question already covered is so, sorry. Is there a difference in the "A" Verandah cabins on the Verandah deck & the ones on the Navigation deck? Which is preferable? Are the ones closest to the SS cabins better or not? Port or starboard better for any reason? Anyone have a cabin referral?

thanks.

[Iggipolka]

I prefer a cabin on the ship. :D

[calm_seas]

Never cruised before & pretty new to this site, so this may be a question already covered is so, sorry. Is there a difference in the "A" Verandah cabins on the Verandah deck & the ones on the Navigation deck? Which is preferable? Are the ones closest to the SS cabins better or not? Port or starboard better for any reason? Anyone have a cabin referral?

thanks.

 

to the sea --- You did not indicate which ship your have interest in. Then, perhaps someone has had that category cabin :)

[to the sea]

sorry, as I said, I am sort of new to this message boarding...I had "clicked" on Volendam, but now realize that there doesn't seem to be a separate board for just Volendam, but generally all Holland America. The ship I need info on is the Volendam. I saw some messages from people about specific cabins, but most are either about the larger "S" suites or the "B" cabins (which I'm not sure how they vary from "A", but I notice on the HOlland America website that there are "A" cabins on the Navigation Deck as well as the Verandah Deck & wondered about the difference? Also, there were some messages about people seeing from the elevators into the verandahs. Is that all elevators, or just certain elevators? I'd want something mid-ship on the Navigation Deck, I think, but can certainly use any help anyone wants to give. My TA has been less than worthless.

 

Thanks,

[garydm]

Suggest you consider a B on the Verandah Deck. On the Navigation Deck there is real potential for noise from the Lido Deck above. We have been on both and prefer the quiet of the lower deck.

 

Gary

[RuthC]

to the sea, first off---welcome to the HAL board.

 

Now, the Volendam doesn't have SS cabins---those are on the Vista-class ships of the Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, and soon Noordam.

Those are also the ships with glass elevators. Those elevators allow a view of the first veranda, but no others.

The Volendam is a sister of the Zaandam, and a very, very close relative of the Rotterdam and Amsterdam. These ships have three internal elevator banks; there is no outside view.

Now, I don't get to the rarified air of the suite decks, but I believe the only difference between the A-category and B-cat is location forward/aft/mid-ship. The only difference between decks is location of the particular category on that deck and how high up you are at all.

Does that help?

I suggest you read some threads, get a feel for the ships that way, and ask all the questions you need.

[lgarner]

Gary,

 

Good to hear that the B is ok on Verandah deck - I just booked one and was starting to wonder if we should have gone with Navigation deck.

 

Aren't A and B the same just in different locations?

 

I haven't heard anything about seeing from the elevators has anyone else???

 

Oops - posted too late, already answered!!

[garydm]

We had a B semi mid ship and it was great. Very roomy and a nice size balcony. We have had S suites and like the large balconies but the noise up there can be horrible at night. Our B (135) was very private.

 

Gary

[lgarner]

I like the sounds of that! My only worry is our friends will be next door - will we hear them through the walls? That could get embarassing!! LOL

[garydm]

My brother and his wife were in the cabin next to us. He is known far and wide for his snore level. We heard nothing. There was a very elderly man on the other side who at times played the TV very very loud and we could hear it a bit. He was considerate and never had the volume up at night.

 

Gary

[arzz]

Do not remember hearing neighbors at all on our last three cruises on the Zaandam -- we have heard neighbors on other ships on other lines

 

Either HAL cabins are somewhat better sound insulated or as we all already know, HAL people are just better.

 

We have stayed on both the Verandah and the Navigation decks. I preferred the Navigation deck because the overhang over the verandah was larger and kept out more of the sun. Many would find this to be a negative, but not me. We did hear some movement of pool chairs from the adults only pool which was right above us when we stayed on the Navigation deck, but it was only at times of daythat it did not really bother.

 

On the Verandah deck we were right over the piano bar. Only one night we thought we heard some music, but I do believe we often picked up some of the cigar and cigarette smoke from there. Thus, we preferred our Navigation deck location. The A and B verandah suites were otherwise identical.