Retreat Cabanas

[78232]

We really enjoy the lido cabanas however they are only on two ships. Since DH will not sail without a cabana we may need to book a retreat cabana. Are all the retreat areas/cabanas equally nice or are some ships better than others?

[ithaca gal]

We really enjoy the lido cabanas however they are only on two ships. Since DH will not sail without a cabana we may need to book a retreat cabana. Are all the retreat areas/cabanas equally nice or are some ships better than others?

 

The retreat area on the Koningsdam is huge ... many more cabanas, keeps the stewards busy. The Family Retreat cabana on the Kdam is Much much smaller than those on the other ships. The retreat family retreat cabana

[ithaca gal]

The retreat area on the Koningsdam is huge ... many more cabanas, keeps the stewards busy. The Family Retreat cabana on the Kdam is Much much smaller than those on the other ships. The retreat family retreat cabana

 

Oops. Disregard the last sentence!

[CruiserBruce]

A search around the board will find many threads on the cabanas. General concensus is they didn't do the KDam's Retreat well. But on the other ships, the Retreat is great.

 

Many people (like us) prefer the Retreat Cabanas as they are quieter, more private, have better views, and can be less stuffy, as compared to the Lido cabanas, which get the pool crowds and humidity.

 

But, in the end, it is personal preference.

[*Miss G*]

I'll offer the differing opinion that I (we) really enjoyed the family cabana on the Koningsdam. The Nieuw Amsterdam family cabana was HUGE. We opted out of the cabanas on the Oosterdam because they took out the lounge chairs and stuck in a couch and credenza for some god-awful reason. If you take a look at the retreat pics in the review section you will see a good assortment.

[Cruzin Terri]

When we were on the Zuiderdam in February the drapery on the cabanas were removed. There was no privacy and no protection from the wind. The cabana attendant told me that they were going to take them down and do them over again because they were in such disrepair. We rented the family cabana and because of the lack of drapery and protection from the wind, we were only able to use it for two and a half days out of the ten day cruise.

 

Please make sure that the cabanas for the ship on which you are sailing have the cabanas in good repair and don't get stuck like we did. We had rented the family cabana previously on the Noordam and the Zuiderdam and loved using them. On this past trip it was a waste of money.

Terri

[*Miss G*]

Wow. That would be very disappointing. Did they compensate you at all?

[Cruzin Terri]

Wow. That would be very disappointing. Did they compensate you at all?

No, they did not.

[ithaca gal]

No, they did not.

 

That is unacceptable

[*Miss G*]

I agree with Ithaca Gal. Did you bring it to the attention of Guest Services at any time?

[ithaca gal]

I'll offer the differing opinion that I (we) really enjoyed the family cabana on the Koningsdam. The Nieuw Amsterdam family cabana was HUGE. We opted out of the cabanas on the Oosterdam because they took out the lounge chairs and stuck in a couch and credenza for some god-awful reason. If you take a look at the retreat pics in the review section you will see a good assortment.

 

Did they “open up” another cabana to make the family cabana larger? There was no way four of us could enjoy that small space. My son and his fiancée found other places to go but that was not the intent of our FAMILY vacation since we just see them once a year. I complained and they gave us an additional, non-adjoining cabana FOR ONE DAY!

 

I wrote to HAL after our cruise to express our disappointment with the situation and received some compensation but it did not make up for our lack of an expected gathering place.

 

(We had no idea that the Family Cabanas on the brand new Kdam were so much smaller than on ALL the other ships with Retreat Cabanas.)

[Cruzin Terri]

I have chosen not to pursue the matter any further with HAL. It is an exercise in futility. I posted here to warn others. Just wait until you get on the ship and inspect the cabanas yourself before purchasing.

The HD saw the condition of the cabanas. He was up there every afternoon listening to his music on his headphones. I spoke to him and told him they should be taken out of service. He agreed with me and did nothing.

CC just posted pictures of the Zuiderdam on another thread. There are pictures of the cabanas on that thread and you can see that all the drapery has been removed from ALL the cabanas, not only the family cabanas.

Just a word to the wise.

Terri

[*Miss G*]

Did they “open up” another cabana to make the family cabana larger? There was no way four of us could enjoy that small space. My son and his fiancée found other places to go but that was not the intent of our FAMILY vacation since we just see them once a year. I complained and they gave us an additional, non-adjoining cabana FOR ONE DAY!

 

I wrote to HAL after our cruise to express our disappointment with the situation and received some compensation but it did not make up for our lack of an expected gathering place.

 

(We had no idea that the Family Cabanas on the brand new Kdam were so much smaller than on ALL the other ships with Retreat Cabanas.)

 

No, we just used the existing footprint. I think it worked out well for us because we were all coming and going at different times. Very rarely were the four of us there at the same time; and, when we were, we weren't all inside for any length of time. It was definitely a cozy situation, otherwise, and I can see where the preference would be for the larger option on another ship, depending upon usage.

[ithaca gal]

No, we just used the existing footprint. I think it worked out well for us because we were all coming and going at different times. Very rarely were the four of us there at the same time; and, when we were, we weren't all inside for any length of time. It was definitely a cozy situation, otherwise, and I can see where the preference would be for the larger option on another ship, depending upon usage.

 

Thanks. Yes, we spend a lot of time in the cabana so we can spend a lot of quality time with our son. I would warn others who have experienced the large Family Cabanas on other HAL ships NOT to expect room for four in the FC on the Kdam.

The price is the same but the amount of real estate isn’t!