What are the latest opinions of the Veendam lanai cabins?

[SnowshoeCat]

I'm deciding between a main deck o/v, and a lower promenade lanai on Veendam. I've been reading some older posts from when the lanai cabins were new, so I'm wondering if, as more people have tried them, I can hear more opinions.

 

I like o/v cabins on lower decks to minimize movement and I do like having the ocean right outside my window. It's as if I'm really "on" the water. The lanai cabin would give me wonderful access to the promenade, where I tend to spend more time than the sunny pool decks. I like the shade and hearing the water against the hull.

 

So I guess my questions are, if I get the o/v, will I still be able to find a deck chair on the promenade, and if I get a lanai, will the feeling be much different since I have to look out across the promenade to see water? I understand I'd have to close the curtains at night if I want privacy in the lanai, but I love the idea of poking my head out first thing in the morning for some fresh air. I think the price difference is about $400 US for 12 nights.

 

Thank you for any opinions and insights. This will be my first time on HAL.

Edited February 16, 2019 by SnowshoeCat

[RuthC]

The lanai cabins are smaller, with a lot less storage space than the outsides on Main Deck. The desk in the lanais is little more than a shelf. There is a larger desk, with good surface space and drawers underneath, in the outsides.

If you have an outside on Main Deck that is near a staircase, it's quick to get up one deck.
There are some deck loungers for general use on the Lower Promenade, however most of the ones in the best areas are reserved. The chairs immediately next to an outside door are free to all; on port side there are more near the atrium, outside offices.

[TiogaCruiser]

The “love seat” is barely larger than a chair. IIRC it measured somewhere near 42” wide. I ended up napping on it with my legs (not feet) hanging off. I enjoyed looking out over the water with the drapes open and used the slider in the “livingroom” as my front door.

[albingirl]

We spent 49 days in one on the Transatlantic Atlantic Adventure.  That was a year and half ago. We always book this sort of cabin since it has a beautiful view, with a quiet place to read in the afternoon.  The lounge chairs are reserved for you outside the cabin.  The smaller space didn't bother us at all.  Just be careful to book your cabin away from the kitchen galley on the next deck up.  The noise is bound to keep you awake at night. Examine your deck plans before booking.

[RMLincoln]

There are many known advantages of the lanai cabins!  And a few disadvantages that are well known... less storage space, short loveseat etc.  

 

Some other possible disadvantages to consider are :

 -  that the space outside your cabin is not private and can be cordoned off for work on the lifeboats directly above your lounge chairs.  You will find a few posts on CC from people who had this happen to them, and they were not happy about it, it hadn't been brought to their attention to factor into their decisions beforehand.   

 

- Also know that the outside decks are washed early every morning; that means the deck and your sliding glass door get a hose-down. 

 

 -  A few people have complained that on Veendam some of the Lanai sliding glass door locks that you should be able to use for entry and exit to/from your cabin onto the the Promenade deck have had some issues, so when that is the case you'd only have access to your room from the inside hallway.  

 

Again, these are not the norm but they can and do happen.  If something like this would ruin your cruise is it good to know ahead of time of such possibilities.  For other people, things like these are part of cruising and they can roll with it knowing and accepting that "ship happens".     

 

In general, it is my understanding that Veendam is for sale, and from my experience on her some maintenance issues "seem" to be a lower priority.  I really don't know HAL's priority of such things but for example, when we were on the 48 night R/T transatlantic Atlantic Adventurer, a wonderful itinerary...  the elevators drove us nuts.  The captain apologized often and said that of course it bothers them too, understandably.   Many times we felt sorry for the repairman working on them because he told us they couldn't get parts for them and he was expected to try his best to keep them working.  I'm not sure how it is now but that was our experience.  I can't imagine that HAL can sell a ship that doesn't have all the elevators working but what do I know?  And maybe they all do now, that was a year ago.  YMMV.     m--

[cdgreg1]

I was on the Veendam last June and was wishing that I had booked a lanai room so that we would have had reserved lounge chairs as there were very few options for sitting in shade outside. Most chairs were reserved for lanai room guests.

[SnowshoeCat]

Thank you very much for the replies. I'm still swinging back and forth and I like to hear details that I wouldn't anticipate. The disadvantages and potential "problems" don't seem as if they would bother me too much. I do think I would like the easy access to the outside (if the slider is working) and my own deck chair.

[kickboxrca]

We had a lanai cabin on our trip to Alaska.  It was by far the most enjoyable room we've had on the numerous cruises we've taken.  Being able to get places from both the inside halls and by walking outside is hugely convenient.  We felt like we had a veranda the entire length of the ship - when they announce wildlife off the side of the ship, we could easily see them without having to run up to a deck, or most likely not see it at all from our veranda.  We never missed having a private balcony, as most of the balconies are too small to have loungers (we lucked out twice with aft verandas on guarantees), and having the designated loungers assigned to the rooms was lovely.

 

We did have some trouble with our door on the first day, but it was repaired on the first day.  I didn't even notice that the room was slightly smaller.

[shipgeeks]

We had an OV (our favorite type) cabin on Veendam last year.  We were quite disappointed that it was virtually impossible to sit in a lounger on promenade deck, as all but two or three were reserved for lanai passengers.

We liked everything else about Veendam, but would not sail on her again for that reason.  Having a lanai cabin, without a window to the sea right there, is not overly appealing to us.

[Mary229]

We had a lanai on the  VOV/Rotterdam in 2017 about 40 days.  We made the smaller space work for us. We loved being near sea level and had wonderful iceberg viewing.  I am a walker so being able to step out on the promenade for an afternoon stroll was a bonus. My husband is more social and enjoyed visiting with passerbyers.  We never liked balconies as we felt they are too isolated and would rather sit on deck to visit.  The lanai is sort of a compromise - step out on deck and have a little social life too.  In the future I would opt for a larger cabin.