Dec. 15 2014 30 day South Pacific Statendam

[LGBToronto]

I will be on the HAL Statendam in S category cabin 041 on the Navigation Deck. The cabin is directly under the inside entrance (carpeted) of the Lido Restaurant above. The cabin is not too far from the Seaview Pool and the Neptune Lounge, but I have some issues with this location: The Lido's sliding doors leading into the Pool area making opening and closing noises above me; the smokers all around me; and the Lido window above and to the right of the verandah, which is a privacy issue.

 

Can anyone advise me now as I still have time to change my cabin location. Much appreciated.

[tojofo]

Change the cruise..We did the same cruise last year Dec 2013.The cruise was great but the ship is in very bad condition

[LGBToronto]

Thanks fellow Canadians. Were you on the Navigation Deck too? The itinerary can't be beat but it's very expensive so I really appreciate your honesty. We will reconsider.

 

Joe

[jtl513]

How do you know there will be any smokers near you?

.

Edited May 1, 2014 by jtl513

[reefisher]

Change the cruise..We did the same cruise last year Dec 2013.The cruise was great but the ship is in very bad condition

 

Hmmmm, We were on the Statendam the next month after your cruise. Jan 2014 Panama Canal. I thought the ship was in great shape compared to a number of years ago. The bathrooms were such an improvement over the original, the service was fantastic even if it seemed the crew was a bit overworked. Food was very good if you asked the waiter his advice. We have been on the Statendam for a total of six weeks and it was better this last time than any previous.

 

We hope to take the South Pacific RT San Diego too. No worries about the ship.

[LGBToronto]

So many interesting opinions. Thank you all.

 

My fears about smoking are just that. Fears. The noise factor is another fear but it could be a valid one. I hope the ship isn't in that bad a condition as it's kind of a dream cruise - Tahiti/Hawaii. We've done over two dozen cruises but this is the first where I'm actually concerned about things I wouldn't normally even think about.

 

A cabin in the front is near the crew quarters and there would be traffic at all hours.

 

Hope to see the reefishers on the cruise.

 

If anyone else out there can help me with the specific paranoid thoughts I'm having, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

Joe

[Tampa Girl]

So many interesting opinions. Thank you all.

 

My fears about smoking are just that. Fears. The noise factor is another fear but it could be a valid one. I hope the ship isn't in that bad a condition as it's kind of a dream cruise - Tahiti/Hawaii. We've done over two dozen cruises but this is the first where I'm actually concerned about things I wouldn't normally even think about.

 

A cabin in the front is near the crew quarters and there would be traffic at all hours.

 

 

Joe

 

When did the crews quarters migrate to the Navigation deck? We were on the Statendam's sister ship, the Ryndam, last November, and I believe we had cabin 39 (or close to it). I was, like you, concerned about noise from the Lido deck. The only noise we heard was the sound of the deck chairs being dragged across the deck in the morning. Wasn't too bad and didn't wake me up. Never any other noise from the Lido. Also, I don't remember our balcony being visible from the Lido deck. The balconies are covered and unless you are in an end or corner cabin, I don't think your balcony can be seen from the Lido. I loved our location because we were so close to the Neptune Lounge. Too close - actually - as the 7 additional pounds illustrated.

[tojofo]

we were on the dec 15 2013 to jan 30 2015 a total of 45 days and I stick by my first coments about ship being in very poor condition just one further coment we have cruised for over thirty years on all cruise lines and cruised over 500 hundred days on hollandamerican alone and this was the worst ship

[LGBToronto]

I tend to agree with you tojofo re: HAL. We were on the Amsterdam 2 years ago and noticed torn furniture and other things but this is the only cruise that fits into our schedules and the only one with this itinerary that didn't require that much flight time. By the way: what cabin were you in?

 

Thanks Tampa Girl for your great comments. I noticed on the deck plan that just forward (port side) of cabin SA 002, there is a long hall which leads to the bridge. The folks at HAL service dept. also mentioned the busy corridor outside this cabin. It's why HAL downgraded these two SA category cabins to SB, because of their location.

 

Our cabin 041 is under the carpeted Lido restaurant, so your note about the slight noise was reassuring. Thanks for that.

 

Joe

[reefisher]

we were on the dec 15 2013 to jan 30 2015 a total of 45 days and I stick by my first coments about ship being in very poor condition just one further coment we have cruised for over thirty years on all cruise lines and cruised over 500 hundred days on hollandamerican alone and this was the worst ship

 

Hardly matters how many days you have cruised. We were on the cruise immediatley after you. We thought the ship was in great shape, no problems. What conditions did you encounter that were so bad as to describe this as the WORST ship out of thirty years of cruising.

 

Got my popcorn ready.

[erewhon]

A few years ago, we were on the Statendam in 026, (port side directly across the ship from 041) the only noise we heard was occasional vacuum cleaner from Lido.

 

The space between staterooms 001 and 002 and the bridge, is officer accommodation.

[LGBToronto]

Hi erewhon. Thanks for your comments which were consistent with what the HAL service dept. gave me i.e. that the crew passageway is right by 002 and 004 (officer traffic at all hours) and that any noise I would hear in 026 would come from vacuum cleaners that clean Canelleto before and after dinner each night. Thanks.

[Viesczy]

The intinerary is a great itinerary, we did it Fall '12 on the Westerdam. We had an awsome time despite being half the age of the rest of the passengers and the ship basically bedding down by 10.14 pm.

 

Personally there's no way I'd do (or re-do) that itinerary on S class (those all should be mothballed IMO) or the R class. To me those 8 boats just exude mausoleum.

 

If HAL sent their Vista or Signature floats again, we'd be on that sailing in a hearbeat. We're going to be doing the Princess version of the Hawaii/South Pacific on the Crown Princess.

 

YMMV with regard to the right size/age boat.

 

Derek

[Spinner2]

We have been on the Statendam for lengthy cruises twice in 2012-2014. We did the South Pacific Circle November-December 2012 and then the South American Incan Empires November-December 2013. In 2012 we occupied Stateroom 010 and in 2013 we were in 023. Between those two cruises I believe the ship was in dry dock.

 

We had minimal observations of "poor" condition on these two trips. In Papeete in 2012, while docked overnight in a blinding rainstorm, some water washed from our verandah under the cabinets that are below the window and got the floor slightly wet. It didn't damage anything at all and the dampness was quickly removed by the crew, using the wet/dry vacuum and a powerful fan for the few hours that we were out in town that morning. When we returned to get ready to go out for the afternoon it was already dry.

 

During a storm on the 2013 cruise there was some overhead leaking of water into the corridor near the Neptune and a broken pipe leaked into the Neptune, causing the staff to need to move the food that's offered there into another part of the room. That was solved within a day or so; there were still some issues in the hall at the time we left the ship at the end of the cruise. I don't know if other cabins were affected during either of these water issues; we were not, except for the rain damage.

 

While were were on the ship in 2013 the Neptune Lounge carpeting was completely replaced; it needed it, but apparently the carpet roll didn't make the dry dock shipment and so it was done overnight during the 2013 cruise.

 

Our blog contains lots of pictures of both voyages including many of the ship, ongoing maintenance shots, exteriors, etc. Look under "Ship Life" in the menu bar to find examples. We think this is a lovely ship and would be happy to sail with it again.

 

The blog is referenced in my signature; the link will open to a list of all our blogged cruises and the blog link for each is listed below the list of ports for each cruise, in the center section of the landing page. Please let me know if we can offer additional information to help anyone considering a Statendam cruise. Everyone needs to decide for themselves what is a deal-breaker for him/her; perhaps our photos will help. Shortcut links: Statendam 2012 and

Statendam 2013.

[erewhon]

Spinner2,

 

Thanks for the links to your blog.

Great photos, thanks for sharing.

[Spinner2]

Thanks, Erewhon!

[LGBToronto]

Thank you so much Spinner2. I admire your honesty. I don't think I've ever seen a more professional website or with so many amazing photos.

 

Did you experience any noise from the Lido above? We're in 041 and chose it because of the carpeted area above us in the Lido buffet area; however, the suite has a minimal privacy issue. Your cabins were directly below the pool area. Really interested to know your thoughts.

 

Thanks again.

[Spinner2]

Thank you so much, LGBToronto for the nice comments! I design websites professionally and while the kind I like for our travel blog (to show off my DH's photos and to help us keep track of where we were and who we used for vendors and such) isn't usually what I do I enjoy the change. These days most website access is mobile-driven (phones, iPad/tablet) I'm mostly working in formats that support all of those seamlessly, but photos really need to be seen in a decent screen size, so I hope I've found a reasonable compromise.

 

Noise. Not a problem for us. I did occasionally hear what I thought for a long time were our neighbors dragging a chair across to a table, or moving a lounge. Not bothersome, just noticed, and only if I was out on the verandah which is where we pretty much live while at sea. Then one day when I knew that both sides of us were in the Neptune Lounge and I heard it, I realized it was overhead. But it never really bothered us. Maybe we're not easily bothered; I don't know. I guess that's subjective.

 

I know exactly where 041 is; we often passed it and noticed it in particular only because on one cruise one of our CC Roll Call couples were there and they had a door decoration too, so I was at least aware of it. But mostly, coming and going to the elevators near there, or out to the deck, we weren't looking to see what our fellow passengers might be doing. I suspect it's like the rest of life; people are so wrapped up in what is on their own minds that they are not nearly as interested in the rest of us as we might imagine. Of course the really outrageous will be noticed, but that's not what you're talking about! (Who can miss, for example, the lady who sat out by the pool--very close to the pool-- with one foot up in her face while she groomed her toenails, clippings and dander flying everywhere! Now, THAT will get you noticed!) And our acquaintances in 041 never mentioned a problem. This was the "before dry dock" cruise so I think it would have only gotten less troublesome, with new floor coverings going down, etc.

 

Also, very close to the Neptune was a plus for us and we never heard any noise there either, although the trolleys with more goodies for us trundled through the halls frequently.

 

I'd suggest you especially look at the "Stormy Day" page's slide show on the Statendam 2013 cruise-- (Ship Life>Stormy Day);that's about as bad as the weather got in affecting the Navigation Deck. The pool images will give you an idea of how rough the waves were, as far as slopping over onto the deck.

 

Hope this helps. Of course it's natural to be concerned about the choices you've made; you'll be in that cabin for quite a few days and you want to be comfortable. Nothing is a guarantee, but I don't personally know of an inherent flaw in that cabin that would make it more risky than some other one. You could always ask your TA to find out if there are upsell possibilities about a month out; from 041 you pretty much have no place to go but further down the hall toward the center and the Neptune Lounge and we've gotten some excellent offers via this method. Feel free to e-mail me privately if you'd prefer.

[jaspersmycat]

I was on the Maasdam in April and had cabin 043 which is next door to 041. I never heard any noise from the Lido. I am in the same cabin on the Ryndam in June in fact.

[LGBToronto]

Thank you for you comments Jaspersmycat. We are so looking forward to our Statendam cabin but we are disappointed with HAL's policy of allowing smoking on the verandah (including cigars and pipes). It's the reason we booked two more cruises with Oceania and Crystal for 2015. Hope we don't have neighbours who smoke. Have fun on the Ryndam. Please keep in touch.

[down_by_the_sea]

Here is the deck plan for the Statendam where you can drag the decks to see what is exactly above your cabin:

http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/Main/dragit2.php?ship=Statendam

 

Your cabin is directly below the Lido Restaurant just as you walk in from the pool area.

Rose

[Cruisung Lady]

Would any one know if they have mixology classes on the 30 day Hawaii / Tahiti