Noordam - Verandah Deck

[innlady1]

We're booked in a verandah cabin (Starboard Aft) on the 2/7 sailing of the Noordam.

 

Anyone have any feedback on the Verandah Deck?

[grannynurse]

The veranda deck on the Noordam should be deck 5. It's a wonderful place for people who are concerned about motion because it is in the middle height level of the ship. We were on the veranda deck on the Westerdam and thought it was great. Only 2 floors above the promenade to get to life boat drill, dining room, shops, Ocean bar etc.

The corridors, if it's anything like the Westerdam, are lined with pictures, which is a big difference from the S and R class HAL ships.

Other than that, I don't know what you want to know specifically, other than it's very quiet.

GN

[innlady1]

The veranda deck on the Noordam should be deck 5. It's a wonderful place for people who are concerned about motion because it is in the middle height level of the ship. We were on the veranda deck on the Westerdam and thought it was great. Only 2 floors above the promenade to get to life boat drill, dining room, shops, Ocean bar etc.

The corridors, if it's anything like the Westerdam, are lined with pictures, which is a big difference from the S and R class HAL ships.

Other than that, I don't know what you want to know specifically, other than it's very quiet.

GN

 

Thank you, grannynurse. We're in 5113 on the Verandah deck. In looking at the deck plans, I'm concerned that that cabin may be directly over the lifeboats. If so, I'm thinking we should move from a VE cabin to a VC for an "unobstructed view."

 

You've answered my question, though: I like being in the middle of the ship. I'm not crazy about height!

[grannynurse]

Innlady1,

I looked at the deck plans and see what you mean.It is not listed as obstructed, you may not be able to see straight down to the water level, but you will not have any problem seeing straight out to starboard. I'm not sure if it's a tender or a lifeboat. If it's one of the tenders you can hear the winching when they lower it and take it in. It never bothered us on other ships, we actually like to watch them do it. If you like where you're located I wouldn't worry about it, the location, nearly midship,(forward to aft) is convenient to everything, and close to the ocean view elevators, but not too close. It really looks like a great cabin. Don't forget the pix in the book are not exactly to scale so it may not be positioned as how we are perceiving it. If you super-impose the bump out on the deck above over your deck, and line up the bump outs of both decks, you may have a better idea. sounds a little compulsive, but I'd probably do it.

I think you're fine.

GN

[innlady1]

Thanks GN!

 

I'm thinking of having our TA (we cruise with he and his wife) move us to a forward or aft cabin.

 

I wonder if it's better to be Port or Starboard in the Caribbean? I guess it just depends where the boat docks in each port....I wonder if there's a website giving a schedule of which ships dock where on various cruises?

[PrincessYoga]

My aunt and uncle were on the Verandah on the Noordam in June. It was an aft cabin for some reason 5007 comes to mind. I really liked their deck and can imagine it would have been lovely to sit out there with drink or a hot drink. They only negative thing I would say about it is that when they had all the beds and bunks out it seemed a bit small.

[noblepa]

We were in cabin 5065 on the Oosterdam (sister to Noordam) in April. The lifeboats do not obstruct your view OUTWARD at all. As you stand at the rail of your balcony, it is probably an 8 - 10 foot drop (from the top of your railing) to the top of the lifeboat below. Viewing the ocean or the coastline as we sailed by was no different than any other balcony cabin would have been.

 

Your view of anything happening at the waterline, or on the dock close to the ship, will be obstructed, but what is there to see?

 

As I poured over the deck plans before our cruise, and seeing the actual layout once onboard, I did not see any cabins (V-something category) that I would have preferred to the one we had, except possibly the VA cabins facing aft at the stern. I found that we were close enough to everything, yet far enough away from the elevators and other crowded areas that there was very little foot traffic outside our cabin.

 

When I recently booked our cruise for next April on Zuiderdam, I specifically asked for the Veranda deck. We will have cabin 5113. To me, the other decks in the Vx categories offer nothing and cost more. I would have booked a VF category (5113 is VE), but the only thing they were accepting were VF guarantees and I didn't want to risk getting a VF on deck 4, with solid steel railings, which definitely obstruct your view, unless you're standing.

 

If I were you, I'd stay right where you are.

 

Paul Noble

[noblepa]

Oops, double post.

 

Paul Noble

[jtl513]

you may not be able to see straight down to the water level, but you will not have any problem seeing straight out to starboard. I'm not sure if it's a tender or a lifeboat.

 

I agree, not straight down, but pretty close to the ship. In these pics deck 5 cabins appear to have a pink-orange ceiling, I guess as a reflection of the lifeboat roofs. Maybe that's a drawback of the cabin.

 

I'm pretty sure 5113 is over a tender (the aft 3), not a lifeboat. It might even be a fun place to be IF they use the tenders on that side of the ship at some point. I'm not sure they use all 6 all the time, as we didn't tender at any port on our cruise of the Mediterranean.

[innlady1]

Thank you so much for all your help, everyone! Guess we'll stay put!