SIGNATURE SUITES

[Brentwood Bay]

We are booking on the Noordam in a SS.  Does anybody have any recommendations or advise as to where to pick the room?  The ones on an angle lok like they might be slightly larger?  They are close to the elevators though!  We are both healthy and active and do not mind any walking.

[zelker]

First choice would be port side 6068, 70, 72, or 74. Second choice starboard side, 7069, 73, 77, or 83.

[VMax1700]

3 minutes ago, zelker said:

Second choice starboard side, 7069, 73, 77, or 83.

???

These are Neptunes

[DaveOKC]

I would pick 6117.  It is angled (so I think a bit larger and I like being able to sit inside or outside and see forward.  Plus cabins above and below you so should be quiet.  Further, I like being near the elevators and stairs for easy access.

[zelker]

27 minutes ago, zelker said:

First choice would be port side 6068, 70, 72, or 74. Second choice starboard side, 7069, 73, 77, or 83.

 

Sorry, finger on wrong key.  6068, 70, 72, or 74, then 6069, 6073, 6077, or 6083 (all SS).

 

6117 is ok - you gain a small angled area inside the stateroom but then the door out to the verandah is also angled so not as much straight-out view to the sea. 

 

 

Also, you need to not mind that everyone down the row is able to see onto the angled part of the verandah and/or getting buffeted by the wind when moving.  Also, pretty far aft - we prefer more midship but everyone has their preferences.

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, zelker said:

Also, you need to not mind that everyone down the row is able to see onto the angled part of the verandah and/or getting buffeted by the wind when moving.  

 

Those two reasons are the precise reason why I would not consider booking a stateroom such as those which are angled.

 

Where to book?  Check what's above, below, and on each side of the stateroom in which you are considering.  Being as mid-ship as possible is also important in case King Neptune is unhappy. 

[kevingastreich]

4 hours ago, zelker said:

 

Sorry, finger on wrong key.  6068, 70, 72, or 74, then 6069, 6073, 6077, or 6083 (all SS).

 

6117 is ok - you gain a small angled area inside the stateroom but then the door out to the verandah is also angled so not as much straight-out view to the sea. 

 

 

Also, you need to not mind that everyone down the row is able to see onto the angled part of the verandah and/or getting buffeted by the wind when moving.  Also, pretty far aft - we prefer more midship but everyone has their preferences.

That is also the  reason we don't pick a cabin right next to the glass mid ship elevators. People can and do look directly into your balcony as they zip by.

[Brentwood Bay]

Thanks folks!

Good advice and food for thought.  As long time boaters (sail and power) we are generally comfortable pretty much anywhere on a large ship.  That little bit of extra cabin and deck space sure is enticing.

 

[Cruise Suzy]

On 11/24/2020 at 3:07 PM, zelker said:

6117 is ok - you gain a small angled area inside the stateroom but then the door out to the verandah is also angled so not as much straight-out view to the sea. 

 

 

Also, you need to not mind that everyone down the row is able to see onto the angled part of the verandah and/or getting buffeted by the wind when moving.  Also, pretty far aft - we prefer more midship but everyone has their preferences.

 

We chose Oosterdam's 6117 for an Alaskan cruise. Family members are coming too and it gives us a slightly larger area for everyone to gather. 

[leerathje]

We were on the Oosterdam on the Mexican Riviera in March, (second to last cruise!!) and were in a Signature Suite, room 8075.  If you are a light sleeper, I would not recommend a room on the 8th floor, as you are under the Lido. I did took a video of the room if you are interested, though!  (excuse the cheesiness)

 

L.

 

 

 

[Turtles06]

On 11/24/2020 at 1:29 PM, Brentwood Bay said:

We are booking on the Noordam in a SS.  Does anybody have any recommendations or advise as to where to pick the room?  The ones on an angle lok like they might be slightly larger?  They are close to the elevators though!  We are both healthy and active and do not mind any walking.

 

We sailed the 20-night Viking Passage on the Zuiderdam two years ago in SS 6052, one of the angled Signature Suites, and absolutely loved that stateroom.  Large cabin and balcony, great location, no noise from the elevators.  And we did not find anything bothersome about the portion of the balcony that can be seen from other balconies.   We'd happily book that stateroom again.

 

Also, Deck 6 has cabins above and below, which imho is a big plus.

[zelker]

On 11/25/2020 at 8:20 PM, Turtles06 said:

 

We sailed the 20-night Viking Passage on the Zuiderdam two years ago in SS 6052, one of the angled Signature Suites, and absolutely loved that stateroom.  Large cabin and balcony, great location, no noise from the elevators.  And we did not find anything bothersome about the portion of the balcony that can be seen from other balconies.   We'd happily book that stateroom again.

 

Also, Deck 6 has cabins above and below, which imho is a big plus.

 

Hi, Judith!  What an "interesting" cruise that turned out to be, eh?  😉 I forgot you and Eileen had that aft-facing SS on our cruise. I do remember that you both liked it. 

 

Hope you're both doing well.  Happy holidays!  Barb (and John)

[JeffElizabeth]

On 11/24/2020 at 5:39 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

Those two reasons are the precise reason why I would not consider booking a stateroom such as those which are angled.

 

Where to book?  Check what's above, below, and on each side of the stateroom in which you are considering.  Being as mid-ship as possible is also important in case King Neptune is unhappy. 

Agree. Midship is best in our opinion.  Comfort is more important to us than a little extra room. 

[Turtles06]

42 minutes ago, zelker said:

 

Hi, Judith!  What an "interesting" cruise that turned out to be, eh?  😉 I forgot you and Eileen had that aft-facing SS on our cruise. I do remember that you both liked it. 

 

Hope you're both doing well.  Happy holidays!  Barb (and John)

 

Hi Barb!

 

It was definitely an "interesting" cruise!  😊  Despite all the changes and challenges, it remains one of our favorite trips to date.  I just loved it, what a great itinerary.    (And we really did love that SS!)

 

We're doing okay, hope you both are too.  Tell John we said hi, and happy holidays to you both!

 

Judith

[Hlitner]

On 11/27/2020 at 12:59 PM, JeffElizabeth said:

Agree. Midship is best in our opinion.  Comfort is more important to us than a little extra room. 

Just a slightly contrarian point of view in that DW and I are not big fans of cabins midship.  Yes, that is certainly the part of the ship that suffers the least movement in heavy seas.  But not everyone (including us) is really concerned about movement...and in fact we actually like some movement at night (it rocks us asleep).  What I do not like about amidships is that it is an are of maximum foot traffic outside the cabin.  We actually prefer cabins forward of the forward elevator bank.  Towards the bow there is minimal mechanical systems (the main engines are arrayed at midship and the motors are aft of amidships).  In the bow you do have the thrusters (a great alarm clock that you are entering a port) which are only used when entering or departing ports.   I am also not a fan of far aft cabins since, on many ships, they get vibration and a shimmy from the props.

 

Another big issue for us is what is over, under, and around our cabin.  To us the priority is to find a quiet cabin.  So a cabin that is under a public lounge or the Lido is to be avoided.

 

Hank

[DaveOKC]

14 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Just a slightly contrarian point of view in that DW and I are not big fans of cabins midship.  Yes, that is certainly the part of the ship that suffers the least movement in heavy seas.  But not everyone (including us) is really concerned about movement...and in fact we actually like some movement at night (it rocks us asleep).  What I do not like about amidships is that it is an are of maximum foot traffic outside the cabin.  We actually prefer cabins forward of the forward elevator bank.  Towards the bow there is minimal mechanical systems (the main engines are arrayed at midship and the motors are aft of amidships).  In the bow you do have the thrusters (a great alarm clock that you are entering a port) which are only used when entering or departing ports.   I am also not a fan of far aft cabins since, on many ships, they get vibration and a shimmy from the props.

 

Another big issue for us is what is over, under, and around our cabin.  To us the priority is to find a quiet cabin.  So a cabin that is under a public lounge or the Lido is to be avoided.

 

Hank

One of the worst cabins we had was a Neptune mid-ship.  The vibrations were terrible for some reason - it affected about 4-6 cabins on the old Statendam.

 

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Another big issue for us is what is over, under, and around our cabin.

 

I have posted this before on CC and I am about to do so again.  This is the major issue of importance to me.

 

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

But not everyone (including us) is really concerned about movement

 

Wouldn't be surprised with your cruising history that my experience was of little importance to you, but having the lowest deck, mid-ship stateroom on the Volendam while we were cruising the Gulf of Alaska during the tail end of a typhoon and subsequently encountering severe weather en route to Russia, I was glad to "live" where I was!  

 

I do enjoy the "motion of the ocean".  If I didn't, I would book a Marriott resort.  

 

But, attempting to stand in the Volendam's Crow's Nest while watching ocean water/spray cover the roof of the venue, observing a woman that morning in the MDR no longer after being seated becoming violently seasick, I am glad that I had my more "stable" retreat.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I have posted this before on CC and I am about to do so again.  This is the major issue of importance to me.

 

 

Wouldn't be surprised with your cruising history that my experience was of little importance to you, but having the lowest deck, mid-ship stateroom on the Volendam while we were cruising the Gulf of Alaska during the tail end of a typhoon and subsequently encountering severe weather en route to Russia, I was glad to "live" where I was!  

 

I do enjoy the "motion of the ocean".  If I didn't, I would book a Marriott resort.  

 

But, attempting to stand in the Volendam's Crow's Nest while watching ocean water/spray cover the roof of the venue, observing a woman that morning in the MDR no longer after being seated becoming violently seasick, I am glad that I had my more "stable" retreat.

LOL  I do hear you :).  With our more then forty years extensive cruising history we have only been in really rough weather on two cruises.  One was on the Meridian (Celebrity) which was forced to cruise through a hurricane (Hurricane Bob) and the other was on another cruise (I think it was also Celebrity) when we had really bad weather for an entire crossing from Port Everglades to Ireland.  That kind of rough weather (Hurricane Bob hit us with 35-40 foot seas) is no fun for anyone.  But out of more then 1200 days on cruise ships the really rough days are in single digits.  I do agree with your then when that kind of weather strikes we would prefer having a cabin on the lowest deck amidships :).  But we do not choose our cabin locations based on a less then 1% event.  Noisy cabins have haunted us on many more cruise days and our perfect cabin is a quiet cabin.

 

Hank

[JeffElizabeth]

We haven't had the noise issues from a center cabin others complain about, guess we are just lucky. Our last cruise in March we got the front of the ship on the Neptune deck on the recently departed Amsterdam.  Was a great cabin but the seas were glass smooth all cruise long. Glad our last cruise was so nice, our next one won't be before October if we are lucky. 

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Noisy cabins have haunted us on many more cruise days and our perfect cabin is a quiet cabin.

 

Once, I was assigned a stateroom on the Main Deck of the Amsterdam for the last segment of her world cruise that year.  It was an "upgrade" from the category (on Dolphin Deck) that I preferred.  I tolerated the footsteps that I heard above my head in that stateroom for the 17 days that I lived there.  I also prefer peace and quiet when I retire to my stateroom.  

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Once, I was assigned a stateroom on the Main Deck of the Amsterdam for the last segment of her world cruise that year.  It was an "upgrade" from the category (on Dolphin Deck) that I preferred.  I tolerated the footsteps that I heard above my head in that stateroom for the 17 days that I lived there.  I also prefer peace and quiet when I retire to my stateroom.  

 

Because we pick our staterooms carefully (e.g., avoiding public spaces above and below), we ask that our reservations be marked so that we are not "upgraded" without our consent.   As your example underscores, what a cruise line may consider an "upgrade" might not be considered such by the guests.

[DaveOKC]

13 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

 

Because we pick our staterooms carefully (e.g., avoiding public spaces above and below), we ask that our reservations be marked so that we are not "upgraded" without our consent.   As your example underscores, what a cruise line may consider an "upgrade" might not be considered such by the guests.

Ditto here - normally I mark my cruise "do not upgrade" when I have picked my own cabin.  I still get upsell OFFERS however, which normally allow me to pick my cabin (selection limited).  This process puts me in better control of the situation, but is not the least expensive approach.