Nieuw Amsterdam cabin 5061. guidance, please

[retiredkid]

While looking for a cabin, I tried to make sure to have one where there were no public areas above or below, only staterooms. And I wanted the best in the category, so I went with a (V). I think I've made a mistake in booking one that I find out afterwards has a smaller balcony and is overlooking the lifeboats. We are in 5061 on the Nieuw Amsterdam. We are going on a cruise for 19 days, so I wanna like the one we are in. Should I look to change it, or is it not that bad? Obviously, this is subjective between individuals, but we at least wanna be able to have a meal on the balcony. Would we still be able to do that? Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[the2ofus]

In those cabins, you can't directly look down at the water, but the view out from the cabin is just fine. The balcony is not as deep from door to rail as some others. There is not a real table suitable for dining, just a small round table you could use for drinks and a snack. If you feel that might impact your enjoyment on a longer cruise, consider watching for a sale and then booking the new cabin, unless you'd lose perks that way. Otherwise, bite the bullet right now and go for a more expensive cabin you'd enjoy more. If you choose to stay on deck 5, just go forward or aft of the lifeboats.

 

I just realized yours is a Panama Canal transit. You definitely want to be able to look straight down if you are in your cabin at all as you go through the locks. BUT, the best views are bow and stern where you can watch the gates open and close. Caution - you'll be on deck much longer than you expect so WEAR SUNSCREEN!

Edited June 19, 2015 by the2ofus
Added info.

[DeeniEncinitas]

For our last 4 cruises on the Nieuw we always stay in 6054! Our fav!!!

They were all on our 24 day Med cruise. Now on our last cruise on her in March we did I a back to back and got upgraded to a suite right next door in 6056! Loved it!

Denise:)

PS. Deck 5 for us I would not want IMO

[oshmom]

Hi, why is 6054 your favorite? We are booked in this cabin for the Barcelona to Venice next month.

 

Thanks!

[DeeniEncinitas]

Hi, why is 6054 your favorite? We are booked in this cabin for the Barcelona to Venice next month.

 

Thanks!

 

More balcony space! Loved being close to the crows nest ! So close to elevators a hop skip and a jump to the lido! Perfect! You will love it! The only reason we changed on our Carribean cruise this past March was a upgrade to a signature suite! Same deck just right next door! You will love see all the ports as you come and go! We are doing the Eurodam on Oct 9th 2016 19 days! The Nieuw willnot be doing the cruise 😪 did Barcelona to Venice and soooo love it! All 4 times! Love her ! Did her innauguarl 7/2010 and have been on her since!

Happy sailing! Jealous for you!

Denise :)

[Muleshoe1]

I guess I don't understand why a V category cabin wouldn't have balcony of same depth as all other V cabins. When I look at the deck plans the balcony depth looks the same to me. We are booked in 5104 in January and now I'm concerned as we spend a lot of time on the balcony.

[catl331]

Obviously, this is subjective between individuals, but we at least wanna be able to have a meal on the balcony. Would we still be able to do that?

A full meal on that size balcony would be difficult. I suggest if you can switch to a deck 8 balcony between the center and aft elevators. They have 7 foot deep balconies and are not noisy because they are below the carpeted part of the Lido. If none of those are available, try for one below the cabanas: about 8043 to 8061. We loved 8057!

 

I guess I don't understand why a V category cabin wouldn't have balcony of same depth as all other V cabins. When I look at the deck plans the balcony depth looks the same to me. We are booked in 5104 in January and now I'm concerned as we spend a lot of time on the balcony.

See my post on another thread regarding these central deck 5 cabins:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=46888773&postcount=5

.

Edited June 19, 2015 by catl331

[Muleshoe1]

To move to one of the deck 8 cabins would be cheaper as it is s downgrade from a V but then wouldn't we lose our potential possibility of upgrade to s signature suite of some type? According to other forums, the V ones are supposed to have 7 ft ones but that may be prior to the recategorizing. I'm so confused now, I should have just been happy. I so appreciate all the help.

[0bnxshs]

I guess I don't understand why a V category cabin wouldn't have balcony of same depth as all other V cabins. When I look at the deck plans the balcony depth looks the same to me. We are booked in 5104 in January and now I'm concerned as we spend a lot of time on the balcony.

 

To move to one of the deck 8 cabins would be cheaper as it is s downgrade from a V but then wouldn't we lose our potential possibility of upgrade to s signature suite of some type? According to other forums, the V ones are supposed to have 7 ft ones but that may be prior to the recategorizing. I'm so confused now, I should have just been happy. I so appreciate all the help.

 

Muleshoe1, there is a website that has photos of HAL cabin photos that can't be mentioned here directly, but if you do a Google or Bing search for HAL cabin photos you'll find one that has "facts" in its name. There are a number of photos of cabins near yours that show the balconies and their depths.

 

Upgrades (free) and upsells (for cost) are somewhat difficult to predict. We've been upgraded more than 1 category and we've been upsold more than 1 category. All depends on ..... ???? It's really hard to tell.

 

Hope you find this helpful. :)

[Muleshoe1]

Thank you so much for info!

[oshmom]

Thank you so much for the information. We are getting very excited, two weeks from today we will be boarding!

Nanci

[catl331]

According to other forums, the V ones are supposed to have 7 ft ones but that may be prior to the recategorizing.

Exactly. When we first sailed on the N.A. in 2010 our 8057 with a 7 ft balcony was a V, and my DBil/DSil had 5122, which was then a VE. In the spring of 2014 (I don't remember the month and day for NA) HAL turned everything upside-down, making the deck 5 cabins with the small balconies V and the deck 8 ones VA. Cabins forward and aft on deck 8 that used to be VA became VF and VE, and deck 4 VDs became VA, VB, and VC. So you can now pay for, say, a VA or VB guarantee and be "upgraded" to what used to be a VE or VF. IMO these changes only make sense from a profit point-of-view. Edited June 19, 2015 by catl331

[Muleshoe1]

Wow, I went and looked at the pics. The other balconies are much bigger than ours. Sort of a rip off. I will be calling to see if we can downgrade and get bigger balcony mid ship. Thanks again everyone.

[Muleshoe1]

I am now interested in cabin 8080 if available. We have a Cabana Club cabana for the week and really don't want to go further aft. Any thoughts from you guys? You are such a wealth of info.

[retiredkid]

OMIGOSH!!!!Like muleshoe, I have confused myself. We cannot afford the Neptune Suites, and on our particular cruise, (Panama 19 day april '16) the Signature Suites are Sold Out and closed to any wait list. So, we are keeping with the regular balcony. We *had* thought that we could live with the lifeboat below scenario, however I have found two pictures.....

this one, which we could live with

 

 

and this one, which scared me to death.....

 

 

I thank all on CC who spend their valuable time helping strangers for no other reason than they are good people with good hearts. I especially wanna thank catl331 for the specific suggestions. This seems to be a popular cruise, as the midship ones are not available. I did, however, get one of the ones under the cabanas. We are now in 8047. I know the risk of a little noise from the Lido is still much better than staring at those lifeboats. I saw a pic of a balcony similar to ours and I just can't believe the difference. Thanks so much!!! :)

[Muleshoe1]

I totally agree with you, retiredkid. It's a HUGE difference. Wasn't the new cabin cheaper than your original V one?

[retiredkid]

I totally agree with you, retiredkid. It's a HUGE difference. Wasn't the new cabin cheaper than your original V one?

 

Yeah, it WAS cheaper.... go figure.

I really don't know how they can get away with it. I would have been really ticked I MEAN REALLY TICKED if we had ended up with one of the balconies like the second picture I posted for 19 days.

[Muleshoe1]

Me too. I was shocked when I saw the balcony size difference. How can they keep selling those V cabins at highest verandah price? I'm like you, would have been very upset too.

[Muleshoe1]

I wonder which balconies have a bigger table and/or a lounger? Probably signature suites.

[catl331]

I am now interested in cabin 8080 if available. We have a Cabana Club cabana for the week and really don't want to go further aft. Any thoughts from you guys? You are such a wealth of info.

I'd take it! Great central location and it shouldn't be noisy. It's a triple so you'll have an extra cabinet over the sofa that doubles don't have.

 

We are now in 8047. I know the risk of a little noise from the Lido is still much better than staring at those lifeboats.

We had no significant noise in 8057 except for about 90 minutes on the night of the Dessert Extravaganza around the Lido pool. Another big plus for us was the large overhang from the Lido giving more shade than on other side balconies.

 

 

I really don't know how they can get away with it.

Because folks not on CC don't know any better until it's too late. :( I'll bet a lot of people go home thinking they had one of the best balconies on the ship! :D Edited June 20, 2015 by catl331

[catl331]

I wonder which balconies have a bigger table and/or a lounger? Probably signature suites.

Probably a Neptune suite. We once had a lounger on a stern VB, but I think we were the lucky beneficiaries of a prior occupant's special request. We've never had a Sig Suite, but in a corner-wrap Neptune we had two loungers on the narrow side and a table that was about 3 ft in diameter. Edited June 20, 2015 by catl331

[retiredkid]

Another big plus for us was the large overhang from the Lido giving more shade than on other side balconies.

:D

 

This will be just perfect. We have booked a cabana in the Cabana Club for the duration of our cruise. The lounging area there will give us the full sun when we want it, and the overhang on the balcony will help with shade. I am getting so stoked !!!:D

[jtl513]

I wonder which balconies have a bigger table and/or a lounger? Probably signature suites.

On the site with pictures and facts about HAL I find many pictures of MiniSuites (Signature suites) with both the small drink table and a larger one, but I found none with a lounger. For example, Google 6076-eurodam or 6101-nieuw-amsterdam-ms

 

I found one (7132-eurodam) that shows a lounger but that is mis-labeled as MS ... it is actually a full suite (Neptune) aft corner-wrap.

.

Edited June 20, 2015 by jtl513

[Muleshoe1]

I just hung up from a very convoluted conversation with HAL regarding balcony size In category V vs. VA on deck 8. She just kept repeating that those two categories have exact same size balconies unless handicap accessible. She put me on hold and said she and supervisor looked at the pics I told them about and that wasn't an official site, etc. I told her the people posted pics from cabins they stayed in but got nowhere. I can change category as long as I do it before anniversary sale ends. She suggested I call ship services tomorrow and they will send someone to measure, which I doubt. Hard to believe balcony size isn't documented anywhere. Right now I am still in 5104 but still plan to move to deck 8 mid shift for much deeper balcony.

[retiredkid]

Wow, Muleshow

Just

WOW