~ Balconys ~ Very Intrested Need Info Please ~

[doone]

Look up Candy's thread, she has posted some wonderful pictures, especially that corner aft suite with the huge balcony.

[MessyJessy]

Ah now this is what I am talking about!

Thanks for the pics! Now more questions...LOL

Do you get a tub in all Balconys? Saw your picture of the bathroom Debbie, That was great! Liked the AFT to Messy... More input..lol Are the chairs on the balcony all nice like the ones I saw! Not Plastic!! They look larger than Carnival (only sailed with them so far, just getting into my cruise chapters of my life...hehehe)

 

Chuck - I'm glad you enjoyed our pictures. Our aft cabin (category VA - not a suite) did have a bathtub in the bathroom. My parents who just got back from their Zuiderdam cruise (category VD - not a suite) had a bathtub as well. The deck chairs are really nice and the lounge chairs we had could fully recline. The only drawback to the aft balcony is that the levels are tiered (like a wedding cake) and people above you on the Lido deck are able to look down and see what you are up to. Not good if you are a very private person. The other thing was the occasional piece of trash that would fall down (or be thrown) on to our balcony. Since only 1/8 of the balcony is covered, it tends to be extremely hot during mid day and you don't get too much of a breeze unless you are standing at the railing (or if you have a corner aft cabin). We used our balcony a lot in the morning (before it got hot) and in the evening (after we dressed for dinner) and late night (for cuddling under the stars). It is a good value for such a large balcony. I am looking around at other cruise lines to try. So far we've sampled HAL Zaandam, Carnival Fascination, RCI Enchantment, and HAL Zuiderdam. I'm looking into a Princess cruise right now...my goal is to sample all the cruise lines so I can pick a favorite without bias opinion. :rolleyes:

[K&RCurt]

Leaving the door open is not what I am looking for. That is a personal thing I really don't want to get into here..LOL

Do they have refrigerators in them? Do they have pull downs for the 3rd. Do kids go on these cruises? Are they welcomed? We as a family just have to have a balcony when we cruise. I saw a several ships that don't have many balconys. Concerned about that, but saw the new ship which looks Great!:) Some don't like the pain job but I do!!!

 

I think several of your questions have not been addressed yet so let me interject.

 

On Vista class ships all cabins have "mini bar" refrigerators which the cabin steward will have emptied for you if you request. They good at keeping things cold, but not so much geting things cold! The 3rd bed in veranda cabins on the vista ships are a fold out love seat next to the balcony door.

 

Kids do go on HAL cruises, and from what I heard the Vista ships are more "kid friendy" that the R or S. There are club HAL facilities on all of the ships, however. I think a lot depends on the age of your children. When we were on the Westerdam we checked out the club HAL area and thought it would be great for our 11yo son. We also concluded, however, that our very active 19 & 20 yo daughters would enjoy a ship with more activities, as there seems to be little going on targeting that young adult demographic. As with all cruise lines, there will be more kids during school holidays and less when school is in session. The few kids we saw on our cruise (Late January when schools were in session) were treated royally by the crew. I felt HAL very much welcomed kids.

 

And...As Ziggy said, come with us on the HAL-O-WEEN DAM cruise and check out the Westerdam first hand!