VQ Spa Veranda locations on Rotterdam?

[Iamthesea]

Sailing on the Rotterdam.  If still available, my DH and I plan to use Club Orange and upgrade from our VH to VQ.  Yes, I understand that some don't like the narrow balcony in the Spa Veranda's, but the balcony is not an issue for us.  In fact, we are picking the VQ in order to get as high up as we can in the V category and then hopefully upgrade ourselves to the Vista Suite if the prices go down like they did for our last cruise.  We happen to like the Vista Suite!  However, if we are unable to upgrade, we need to be happy with the stateroom that we pick.  So I need some help with picking out the location of the VQ. 

 

Looking at the attached deck plan forward portion of Deck 10, could someone tell me what is located in the Green House Spa & Salon sections that I have highlighted with arrows? I see the spiral staircase, but are the square areas public restrooms?  And what about having a stateroom directly opposite the port or starboard entrances to the spa (long yellow arrow)?  I would think there would be a lot of foot traffic and noise. 

 

Our other VQ option (circled in red) would be closer to the pool deck.  However, we are not crazy about having our stateroom door open directly opposite of an Inside stateroom door.  Noise?  And then there is the issue with all of the white space and not knowing where the entrances to those white spaces are. Again, noise.  Anyone stayed in the VQ staterooms area on Rotterdam, Koningsdam, or the N. Statendam ships?  Would love some insight. 

 

 

Please click on image to see full deck.

[CruiserBruce]

That is the upstairs portion of the spa. There are treatment rooms in the most forward areas. Don't know what is in the area just forward of the staircase/elevator lobby.

 

The rooms near the red circle have a door to the second deck of the pool area, right behind the movie screen. Others have commented about noise in this area.

[julia]

I've not stayed in a VQ, but I can advise here to be forward of the elevators, as the public doors that open to the upper pool deck are heavy and "slammy".

[Iamthesea]

Great, exactly what I need to hear about the noise problems!  I had not thought about the movie noise.  And we have gone through those doors into the little stateroom hallway on our way up to the Crows Nest.  I don't remember a heavy door, nor the slamming, but we are always considerate.  Others are not!

 

So if not moving up as high as the VQ, what would be the next highest category of Veranda that  anyone recommends?  VA or VB?  Again, we are not interested in the balcony size.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Iamthesea

[Haljo1935]

My sister stayed in the equivalent of IQ10053 on N Amsterdam and had no issues w/a "slammy" pool deck door. She is overly sensitive to noise and banging (she will come across the room at you if your music has heavy bass) and had zero problems. 

I would strongly consider the VQ cabins in that area, maybe you want to look closer to the elevators if you think the pool deck door would be an issue. Just stay aft of the elevators as the spa is open I think until 10pm so you'll potentially have noise from elevator traffic until then. So, the farther aft of the elevators you are (so closer to the cabins you circled in red) the less spa traffic you will have in general. 

My sister had very little traffic, I don’t think many people went to the pool from that hallway and she had zero complaints about pool noise.

I like the convenience of being near the spa and the Crow's Nest. 

Safe travels  - enjoy your cruise!

[Real NHDOC]

14 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Great, exactly what I need to hear about the noise problems!  I had not thought about the movie noise.  And we have gone through those doors into the little stateroom hallway on our way up to the Crows Nest.  I don't remember a heavy door, nor the slamming, but we are always considerate.  Others are not!

 

So if not moving up as high as the VQ, what would be the next highest category of Veranda that  anyone recommends?  VA or VB?  Again, we are not interested in the balcony size.

V is actually the next lower category to VQ and those are considered the best locations on the ship by HAL.  VA, being one step below them will have some cabins on deck 8, under the Lido, not what I would call premium.  There's also the VS which are about the same as VQ but are the few rear facing verandas.  FWIW, if you have any unobstructed veranda you will be offered the same upgrade price to a Vista Suite if those paid upgrades are offered so my advice would be choose whatever location you want and be happy with it.  Those VQs on deck 10 are not, in my opinion, a premium location.  HAL considers them premium since they are close to the spa and have some very minor extra amenities and special decor.  Nothing worth getting a location you don't want or need for.

[FlaMariner]

17 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

Anyone stayed in the VQ staterooms area on Rotterdam, Koningsdam, or the N. Statendam ships? 

 

We have.....Nieuw Statendam

 

The forward staterooms are our favorite and we were "upgraded" from a VF on deck 8 forward (our go to location) to a VQ once during a price drop situation. 

 

Nice and quiet.  No thru traffic. Great location and you can easily get to the gym/spa and the lido deck (of which we frequent). The "secret" forward stairs were convenient for easy morning gym....deck 10 was convenient to NYPizza (and bagel) and an easy exit down to the lido pool.  We would never pay for a VQ....we see no difference between VQ forward deck 10 and VF forward deck 8...but we'd easily go if free upgrade. 

 

I've heard some reference the balcony not being as big?  We did not experience that....Balcony was fine for us. Not sure that is true but other experts will chime in, I'm sure. 

[Real NHDOC]

I would add one additional thing when it comes to those forward cabins on decks 10 and 11.  You do feel more ship movement and vibrations up there than in the lower cabins (the combination effect of being high up and at the very front of the ship) so for people who are prone to motion sickness would be wise to avoid that area.  Our favorite cabins are the forward facing ocean views on decks 7, 10 and 11 (there are only 12 in total) and we don't have a problem with the motion but there is noticeably more motion the higher and more forward you go.

[Iamthesea]

All above answers are so helpful (if not confusing. 😁)  A lot to think about!!!   

 

I am calling on Monday.  However, when I checked for availability, there is not much left in the Veranda stateroom categories.   And the Signature and Neptune Suites are sold out!   

 

As for the VQ versus another V category, I do like the soothing colors of the spa staterooms better than the darker colors.   Perhaps that's why I was interested in the VQ to begin with. 😀 

 

Good point that upgrading to a Vista Suite would be the difference in what we are paying for our Obstructed Veranda stateroom and what the rate would be for the Vista.  That's the way it was in May.  However, we went from a VA to the Vista Suite. 

 

We are not terribly sensitive to motion, and do take Meclizine when needed.  It's the noise that I would be more concerned about!

[Real NHDOC]

You didn't mention when your cruise was but cabins do open up around the time when final payments are due (usually 90 days out) and sometimes as close to the day before departure as people do cancel at the last minute so just because there are no cabins showing available right now it doesn't mean there won't be something opening up before you leave.  Those VQ cabins tend to be the last verandas to go because most people won't pay the premium for them so they get given out as guarantees or upgrades. 

[Iamthesea]

Yes, we are still a few months outside of final payment.  Plus, I just noticed that my favorite travel agent website is showing much more availably than HAL's website. 

[Iamthesea]

UPDATE:  We ended up booking VQ10047.  It's close to, but not near the door to the pool.  Also aft from the elevators/stair area.  There were not many VQ's left that were not connecting.  Hopefully we will be happy if we are not able to upgrade to a Vista Suite.  Those are also showing sold out.😮  I think that's a first that I have seen with HAL!  Vista availability usually hang around.  Our cruise is very popular.  When final payment is nearing, I will check again.

Thanks again for all of the advice.  Tough choices!

[five.]

We stayed in VQ10027 on NS and enjoyed the location. I usually have a note in my phone on the stateroom, but only see notes related to food this time. So I can't say much beyond we enjoyed it and the access to everything. But next time we'd probably go with 8, this time it was just a free upgrade.

[Iamthesea]

Wish you had posted sooner.  I had wanted to hear from someone that was closer to the spa area and wondered about that empty area across from your stateroom.  I would not want to be on Deck 8 with no staterooms above me.  We stayed on Deck 7 last May and really enjoyed that location.  

[AFNavigator]

On 8/25/2023 at 3:51 PM, Iamthesea said:

Great, exactly what I need to hear about the noise problems!  I had not thought about the movie noise.  And we have gone through those doors into the little stateroom hallway on our way up to the Crows Nest.  I don't remember a heavy door, nor the slamming, but we are always considerate.  Others are not!

 

So if not moving up as high as the VQ, what would be the next highest category of Veranda that  anyone recommends?  VA or VB?  Again, we are not interested in the balcony size.

The next veranda category below VQ is V.  Below that is VA, VB, VC, etc.  We stayed in one of the NS's angle-balcony V cabins, V6052, and loved it.  The room was about 30 sq feet larger than standard balcony cabin due to the angle portion near the balcony door and the balcony was wider and had a more expansive view due to its rearward angle.  The only negative is you didn't have as much privacy on the outer portion of the balcony (we didn't care) and the outward view from the bed was not as good due to the angled balcony door/windows.

 

Regarding the aftmost VQ cabins closest to the NS's lido movie screen, that area can get very noisy during a movie or other TV event.  The aftmost VQ cabins are directly behind the video screen's speaker banks.  We were on the NS last Dec and they had an NFL game playing on the lido screen.  The sound system was cranked way too loud and every time Fox would cut to a commercial, the Fox music had a booming bass tone that was near deafening.  We were walking in the hall by those VQ cabins and could hear the football coverage booming all the way to the elevator bank.

[Iamthesea]

Thanks for that!  So many opinions about that area.  Some have had no problems with noise while others have.  Hard to know what's, what.  I was going to pick the equivalent stateroom on the port side, but saw where the first stateroom, after coming into the hallway from the pool, was a blank space.  I assumed that are had something to do with the "movies", so picked the other side.  

I am not too worried, as I feel like we will not end up in a VQ.

[Haljo1935]

1 hour ago, Iamthesea said:

Thanks for that!  So many opinions about that area.  Some have had no problems with noise while others have.  Hard to know what's, what.  I was going to pick the equivalent stateroom on the port side, but saw where the first stateroom, after coming into the hallway from the pool, was a blank space.  I assumed that are had something to do with the "movies", so picked the other side.  

I am not too worried, as I feel like we will not end up in a VQ.

Will be interested in your feedback if you do end up in that cabin. It's so close to the location my sister had and she had no issues. Being aft of the elevators is a good choice as it relates to spa traffic - you shouldn't have any.

Safe travels  - enjoy your cruise!

[Iamthesea]

Thank you! 😉