Differences Among Suites

[Floridastorm]

On HAL's two newest Ships the Koningsdam and the Nieuw Statendam what are the major differences between these three suites as far as room and comfort discounting the Neptune's unique amenities which are not important to us.

 

Vista

Pinnacle

Neptune

 

Or would a Verandah Stateroom be just as comfortable?

 

We are used to Oceanview staterooms and would maybe like to try one of the better class accommodations.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Dave  🛳️

[Gigi1977]

Here is my take. . . There is not enough difference in the veranda and Vista to book a Vista UNLESS you need the double Mariner Days to reach status.  In that case only would I book a Vista over regular balcony.  I have been in both.   
 

We love the Signature  Suites and Neptune Suites and book them whenever the price point is right for our budget.  

[Djptcp]

You receive double cruise days for all three suites. A Pinnacle Suite is the ultimate luxury suite on Holland for space and comfort, plus access to the wonderful Neptune Lounge. The Neptune Suite is next in space and comfort, plus access to the Neptune Lounge. We have had 6 Neptune Suites and loved them. We have had 1 Vista Suite, but on the Veendam and not on the Koningsdam (had a verandah cabin) or the Nieuw Statendam (never sailed on her).

 

You can't really compare a verandah cabin to any of the suites as you don't receive double cruise days or access to the Neptune Lounge and the cabins are so much smaller. Obviously, if you can afford a Pinnacle Suite go for it. If not, but can still afford a Neptune Suite go for it. 

[janmcn]

Look at the room diagrams for these classes of cabins on these ships...not at all like any of “the older ships.” I’d not pay attention to any recommendations for these 3 classes unless people had actually been in them. 

[CruiserBruce]

37 minutes ago, Djptcp said:

You receive double cruise days for all three suites. A Pinnacle Suite is the ultimate luxury suite on Holland for space and comfort, plus access to the wonderful Neptune Lounge. The Neptune Suite is next in space and comfort, plus access to the Neptune Lounge. We have had 6 Neptune Suites and loved them. We have had 1 Vista Suite, but on the Veendam and not on the Koningsdam (had a verandah cabin) or the Nieuw Statendam (never sailed on her).

 

You can't really compare a verandah cabin to any of the suites as you don't receive double cruise days or access to the Neptune Lounge and the cabins are so much smaller. Obviously, if you can afford a Pinnacle Suite go for it. If not, but can still afford a Neptune Suite go for it. 

This about sums it up in one spot. Looking at the diagrams of the cabins would make it pretty clear which are the most "comfortable", although that term might be pretty subjective. People sail in standard balcony rooms all the time, and are quite "comfortable".

 

We have sailed in numerous Neptunes, including on Koningsdam, and two Pinnacles.

[catl331]

Basically the Vista suites are a little longer than a standard verandah and there are two short dividers between the bed and the rest of the room. And you get double Mariner credits, but no access to the Neptune Lounge or other higher suite perks.

 

Go to halfacts.com/pinnacle-class/5114-koningsdam/ and then look at any standard verandas.

(There are also pics of 4102, 4111, 4117, 4119, 6124, and 6126 to compare)

Edited March 29, 2020 by catl331

[Caribbean Chris]

There seems to be a lot of variation between the ship classes. We booked an SY Signature Suite on Zuiderdam a few years ago and loved the layout, double sinks, separate tub and shower, desk area, big balcony, extra storage, etc. It seemed almost identical to the SA Neptune Suite we booked last year on Nieuw Statendam.
 

The  Zuiderdam SY was great - the amenities of free laundry or the Neptune Lounge were not worth the major price jump to me.

 

Meanwhile, the Nieuw Statendam SA Neptune did not have some of the features as the Neptunes on Maasdam or Veendam.
 

Definitely a good idea to check out the HalFacts photos and get an idea of the differences.

[Floridastorm]

My mistake. I actually meant the differences between Verandah Cabin, Signature Suite, and Neptune Suite. I believe these are the choices for Nieuw Statendam. Not even considering the Pinnacle Suite which is definitely overkill for us. Guess there is no Vista Suite on the Statendam only on some other HAL ships. We're very interested in sailing on the Nieuw Statendam or the Koningsdam as they are the newest ships in the HAL fleet.

[Djptcp]

I should have commented more about our Verandah cabin on the Koningsdam. It was very comfortable and we enjoyed it very much. The only thing we didn't like was the "couch" was very small, more like a chair-and-a-half and the two of us could not sit on it together.  Our 6 Neptune Suites were on other Holland ships, not on the Koningsdam or the Nieuw Statendam, but I suspect they are very similar. We have never stayed in a Signature Suite.

[DaveOKC]

As a GENERALIZED statement - Vistas are a bit larger than the balcony cabins and are not offered on the mid-sized/aged ships.  On the smaller HAL ships balconies are not offered, so cannot compare.  On the two newest/largest HAL ships you have balconies, Vistas, Signatures, Neptunes and Pinnacles - the Vistas are just a bit larger than the balconies (IMO).

 

We prefer the Signature Suites, as you get alot more room (almost as large as the Neptunes) for a reasonable price (IMO).  Plus, when we book a Signature we often get a sweet deal to upgrade to a Neptune a couple of weeks prior to sailing.

 

[Floridastorm]

2 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

As a GENERALIZED statement - Vistas are a bit larger than the balcony cabins and are not offered on the mid-sized/aged ships.  On the smaller HAL ships balconies are not offered, so cannot compare.  On the two newest/largest HAL ships you have balconies, Vistas, Signatures, Neptunes and Pinnacles - the Vistas are just a bit larger than the balconies (IMO).

 

We prefer the Signature Suites, as you get alot more room (almost as large as the Neptunes) for a reasonable price (IMO).  Plus, when we book a Signature we often get a sweet deal to upgrade to a Neptune a couple of weeks prior to sailing.

 

Sounds like a plan and I am paying attention. Thanks.

[lazey1]

3 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

As a GENERALIZED statement - Vistas are a bit larger than the balcony cabins and are not offered on the mid-sized/aged ships.  On the smaller HAL ships balconies are not offered, so cannot compare.  On the two newest/largest HAL ships you have balconies, Vistas, Signatures, Neptunes and Pinnacles - the Vistas are just a bit larger than the balconies (IMO).

 

We prefer the Signature Suites, as you get alot more room (almost as large as the Neptunes) for a reasonable price (IMO).  Plus, when we book a Signature we often get a sweet deal to upgrade to a Neptune a couple of weeks prior to sailing.

 

Dave I believe you are incorrect regarding the small ships. When they still had 4 small ships I stayed in balcony's on each of the ships. They do not have Vistas or Signatures as far as I know.

 

[DaveOKC]

14 minutes ago, lazey1 said:

Dave I believe you are incorrect regarding the small ships. When they still had 4 small ships I stayed in balcony's on each of the ships. They do not have Vistas or Signatures as far as I know.

 

On the 5 small current ships cabins that most of us would call balconies are called Vista Suites.  This includes Veendam, Volendam, Zaandam, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

Edited March 30, 2020 by DaveOKC

[lazey1]

4 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

On the small current ships cabins that most of us would call balconies are called Vista Suites.  

Sorry, I misunderstood your post.  I thought you were saying that there were no cabins with balcony's on the smaller ships The balcony's on the smaller ships, formerly called veranda's, were always larger than the veranda's on the larger ships.  

[DaveOKC]

2 hours ago, lazey1 said:

Sorry, I misunderstood your post.  I thought you were saying that there were no cabins with balcony's on the smaller ships The balcony's on the smaller ships, formerly called veranda's, were always larger than the veranda's on the larger ships.  

I should have been more specific, so my fault.

[Floridastorm]

One thing that I will never understand is the reason why in many of the cabins the couch is not opposite the TV. Usually the bed is opposite. I know that there are a few people that like to watch TV in bed. But, the majority I believe still watch TV from a couch or comfortable chair. Do the designers actually ask passengers what their preferences are? Not a complaint as I don't normally watch TV at home anyway. It's just an engineering thing with me. 🤔

[RuthC]

11 hours ago, Floridastorm said:

One thing that I will never understand is the reason why in many of the cabins the couch is not opposite the TV. Usually the bed is opposite. I know that there are a few people that like to watch TV in bed. But, the majority I believe still watch TV from a couch or comfortable chair. Do the designers actually ask passengers what their preferences are? Not a complaint as I don't normally watch TV at home anyway. It's just an engineering thing with me. 🤔

It's not a theoretical matter to me, but real. I don't watch TV when I am trying to go to sleep! 
Sometimes I like a little down time, so I do like to watch at times during the day/evening. The couch is the place to sit while I am doing that. There is no way to sit on the bed without killing my back! 
Even worse are the cabins where the TV is over the couch! Unless there is a mirror opposite (there isn't) it's impossible to watch at all. 

Stupid, stoopid, stooopid! 

[catl331]

On 3/30/2020 at 8:57 AM, Floridastorm said:

Guess there is no Vista Suite on the Statendam only on some other HAL ships.

The Nieuw Statendam has 104 Vista suites (AS, A, B, BC) and just 14 Signature suites (SS, SY). The 12 SIgs on deck 7 are 50% wider than the Vistas on decks 4, 5, 6, and 8.

Edited March 31, 2020 by catl331

[catl331]

12 hours ago, Floridastorm said:

One thing that I will never understand is the reason why in many of the cabins the couch is not opposite the TV.

Same as in most hotels that I frequent.

[Floridastorm]

1 hour ago, RuthC said:

It's not a theoretical matter to me, but real. I don't watch TV when I am trying to go to sleep! 
Sometimes I like a little down time, so I do like to watch at times during the day/evening. The couch is the place to sit while I am doing that. There is no way to sit on the bed without killing my back! 
Even worse are the cabins where the TV is over the couch! Unless there is a mirror opposite (there isn't) it's impossible to watch at all. 

Stupid, stoopid, stooopid! 

Probably the same engineer that designed the Norwegian Epic's bathrooms. 🤣 🤣😂😂The thing I don't understand is that a higher management official had to sign off on those designs and the placement of the the TV designs on HAL. Do these managers just rubber stamp everything that crosses their desks? 🤪 IMO it's just not stupid but borders on incompetent. Spent my career in engineering management and I would have been let go before sunset if I had ever done such foolish configurations.

Edited March 31, 2020 by Floridastorm

[Floridastorm]

1 hour ago, catl331 said:

The Nieuw Statendam has 104 Vista suites (AS, A, B, BC) and just 14 Signature suites (SS, SY). The 12 SIgs on deck 7 are 50% wider than the Vistas on decks 4, 5, 6, and 8.

Forgive my comprehension capabilities or lack thereof. I am actually looking at a few different HAL ships and itineraries at the same time and getting them confused. Yes.......................

 

Vista Suites

Signature Suites

Neptune Suites

Pinnacle Suites

 

All on the Nieuw Stadendam and Koningsdam.

 

Glad to know that the Signature Suites are quite a bit larger than the Vista Suites. In fact, looking at videos and photos of the Signature Suites I actually like the configuration more than the other Suites.

[VMax1700]

If you are looking at itineraries on only Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam, then you need to look at videos or photos of only those two ships.  A Signature Suite or Neptune Suite on Koningsdam is different to a Signature/Neptune on Eurodam, which is different to Signature/Neptune on Rotterdam.  All have the same naming but different sizes, features, facilities.

 

On Koningsdam we have been in both Verandah Staterooms and Vista Suites.  Main differences are that the Vista Suite gives double mariner points for the number of cruise days, and has binoculars in the cabinet.  Not much else.

We have had an Aft view Vista and we were not impressed with the 'ride' while at sea (shimmy) and have been quite happy with Verandah Staterooms in our recent Koningsdam cruises.  We have found recently that Vistas are not worth the extra money over a Verandah stateroom.

[Sharon in AZ]

On 3/30/2020 at 10:43 AM, DaveOKC said:

On the 5 small current ships cabins that most of us would call balconies are called Vista Suites.  This includes Veendam, Volendam, Zaandam, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

They used to be called Mini-Suites on the Veendam but are now called Vista Suites.  I think also the Maasdam as we were booked in a Vista for April but was canceled.

[Sharon in AZ]

3 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

If you are looking at itineraries on only Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam, then you need to look at videos or photos of only those two ships.  A Signature Suite or Neptune Suite on Koningsdam is different to a Signature/Neptune on Eurodam, which is different to Signature/Neptune on Rotterdam.  All have the same naming but different sizes, features, facilities.

 

On Koningsdam we have been in both Verandah Staterooms and Vista Suites.  Main differences are that the Vista Suite gives double mariner points for the number of cruise days, and has binoculars in the cabinet.  Not much else.

We have had an Aft view Vista and we were not impressed with the 'ride' while at sea (shimmy) and have been quite happy with Verandah Staterooms in our recent Koningsdam cruises.  We have found recently that Vistas are not worth the extra money over a Verandah stateroom.

Thanks for your take on the Verandah and Vistas.  I am debating which to book on the Koningsdam for September.

[Sharon in AZ]

4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

If you are looking at itineraries on only Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam, then you need to look at videos or photos of only those two ships.  A Signature Suite or Neptune Suite on Koningsdam is different to a Signature/Neptune on Eurodam, which is different to Signature/Neptune on Rotterdam.  All have the same naming but different sizes, features, facilities.

 

On Koningsdam we have been in both Verandah Staterooms and Vista Suites.  Main differences are that the Vista Suite gives double mariner points for the number of cruise days, and has binoculars in the cabinet.  Not much else.

We have had an Aft view Vista and we were not impressed with the 'ride' while at sea (shimmy) and have been quite happy with Verandah Staterooms in our recent Koningsdam cruises.  We have found recently that Vistas are not worth the extra money over a Verandah stateroom.

Also, does anyone know which cabins actually have bathtubs on the Koningsdam?  I was shocked to see the Vista Suites only with showers.