Aft cabin during a trip around Cape Horn

[floridababa]

Has anyone been in an aft cabin. During a South America cruise ?   How have the Oosterdam, Westerdam, Noordam or Zuiderdam fared during the notorious Cape Horn?

[sciencewonk]

We love the aft Neptune Suites, especially for scenic cruising days.  Now we don't want to sail in anything else.  We have been on Noordam in aft Neptune Suites for transpacific and New Zealand cruises and loved the cabin and the ship. I can't address your other questions.

[ski ww]

We didn't have an aft cabin but on our trip around the Horn the water was like a mirror not a ripple. It all depends on the weather & time of year, we went around in Jan.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

There's huge potential variance in the weather around Cape Horn and there's always the possibility of storms and gale force winds around Cape Horn even in their summer. In February 2002 on the relatively small Celebrity Mercury, we had mostly blue skies, a faint hint of tiny white caps, and not gale force but it was very windy.

 

Edited April 9 by Cruising Is Bliss

[0106]

9 hours ago, floridababa said:

How have the Oosterdam, Westerdam, Noordam or Zuiderdam fared during the notorious Cape Horn?

Our wonderful Captain Kevin Beirnaerton on the Oosterdam in February explained his plan for our passage through Drake passage to Antarctica.  He changed his original route but we still experienced 24 foot seas and all the outside decks were closed.  When we returned to SA 5 days later, the seas were like glass.  
 

BTW, our cabin was 3 from the aft on deck 8. True aft cabins are always my preference but they were sold out when we booked.

[Dobby36]

We went around the horn in march of last year on Oosterdam. We were on deck 10 very forward VB cabin, much against the warnings of the future cruise rep onboard who booked us during our prior cruise.  She and others warned it would be very bouncy up high.  I can’t speak for aft, but for our trip, all was manageable - some swells but most people/activities went along as normal, despite some warnings in the daily program and announcements.  

[Imnotyou3]

To Dobby36:  What luck - you are just the person that we need for you to help us with some questions.

 

On the deck plans it shows a wheel chair and short lines what looks like stairs/steps.

What is the room in front of Room #10002?

Could you please explain what that room is, how often it is used, what is it used for and is it noisy should we be in cabin #10002?

 

To Dobby36, did you find it to be loud or annoying to be so close to the observation/Crowsnest?

Was it annoying (people talking) or too loud with people walking between the elevator and the operation/Crowsnest?

 

On a future cruise, we are booked in room #10004 but we have the opportunity to change to cabin #10002. 

 

What other advice do you have for us being in cabin #10002 or #10004?

 

Touch wood, we have never been sea-sick.

We have stayed in a very aft cabin and in a cabin on the same floor as the observation/Crowsnest, just aft of the elevators and as yet we have never even had a touch of sea-sickness.   

 

            On a lighter note, we like having our cabin on the same floor as the observation/Crowsnest but it is also dangerous, as it is too easy for my husband to drink too many of his beloved high-octane Americano coffee's.  🙂 

 

            Thank you.

 

            Sincerely,

 

            Ruth

 

 

     

[Dobby36]

Hi there, will try to help. I think we keep choosing this area on the Oosterdam and other ships mainly for its proximity to the crow’s nest. Love to shuffle such a short way for a morning espresso drink.  It’s also nice to go quickly outside at the opposite end of the hall.  Even with a balcony, sometimes I find myself wanting to step out for a 360 view or a better feel for the weather and this area is above the lido, usually not busy and views in either direction. Occasionally joggers in the AM but nothing disruptive.  
 

depending on if the retreat is open, above you there can be AM noise when they arrange the deck chairs there. But again,  never really bothered us.  The people going to crows nest from elsewhere on the ship just go down the passage into crows nest from elevators or stairs and rarely make noise that extends to the short deck 10 hallways, in our experience.  
 

as far as downsides, the VB balconies are less deep than other balconies on lower floors. But there will still be chairs and a small table. Fine for 2 people I say.  Also, you’re obviously about as far as you could get from the main dining room. So if you eat there every meal, it could be bothersome to return to cabin over and over-but again, for us easy access to coffee in the AM and a nightcap in the PM at crows nest is a real win. It’s also nice if your traveling partner is up different hours than you are so there is a place to be out of their way without going far. 
 

as for what’s in front of 10002, I think you are referring to this yellow area? It is a staircase up to the retreat above. On all our sailings it is not heavily used, but if you were doing a México or Caribbean shirt cruise with a ton of families up there I suppose it could be annoying. 
 

best of luck!

Edited April 9 by Dobby36
Fixed typos

[Imnotyou3]

Good Sunny Afternoon to Dobby36;

 

         Wow, thank you for your very detailed and handy information.

 

         Yes, it is the room in yellow that I was asking about which you and another poster named crystalspin quickly replied to me.

 

          My husband and I read your assessment of everything and are impressed at the time and good information that you provided to us.

Everything that you said is exactly our questions about what to expect.  

 

          You were reading our minds about having easy access to the good morning coffee in the Observation/Explorations, as that IS easy for my husband to stay there for his coffee while I am getting ready in the morning.

In the morning, I am always slower than him, so this is a good option for us.

 

          I really appreciate yours and crystalspin's answer to my questions.

Thanks to both of you, I will now immediately be contacting our travel agent, asking if cabin #10002 is still available and if so, to have our booking changed to 10002.

 

          Happy sailing to you and your family.

 

          Sincerely,

 

          Ruth      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[auntem]

We had a true aft balcony Deck 8 on the Oosterdam SA - Antarctic cruise (BA to Santiago) this past Feb . I had worries about rough seas making it unusable, envisioning giant waves crashing onto the balcony !  Despite some rough weather and seas, we used it everyday and enjoyed the easy access to the lido deck , pools, hot tubs, and Seaview bar , as well as the views .
We only used seasickness meds one day , and once we got use to things , never again. It was no worse in our cabin than the rest of the ship . I think that was the day poster 0106 referenced . 
We would get an aft cabin again on the same voyage , which we do hope to do again someday. It was a great cruise and exceeded expectations in everyway 😊

 

 

 

[Art-Fate]

We were on the Oosterdam in room 6177 which is a corner aft Neptune suite for the January cruise to the Antarctic.  I normally have some issues with sea sickness but none on that cruise.  We loved the cabin and spent a lot of time on the veranda.  We did have pretty good seas.