Help with Volendam cabins

[haligonian37]

I'll be booking the 12/03 southern Caribbean/Panama Canal 10 day cruise in the next couple of days and I have almost no clue what cabin to book. I just completed my first cruise (last week on the Westerdam) and I had a category G partially obstructed cabin (I had it to myself) and I loved it. But needless to say, I'm still quite new to all of this. I've done some preliminary searching and the only cat. G available are at the front and the aft and only have portholes. I never thought I'd be booking a cruise so soon after my first one, but I think I've caught the bug! That and my friend talked me in to it. So, if anyone can lend some advice, I would greatly appreciate it:).

[Cruisin Kay D]

A group of us are booked on Volendam for 10/24 -- two couples have FF oceanview cabins and another couple in HH obstructed oceanview -- we are a BB guarantee for a balcony. I think they got HH for same price as inside. I am unaware of any "undesirable" locations, but then again, I too have only been on Westerdam for HAL trips.

[willowoodf]

We've booked an FF guarantee for our Volendam trip - we almost booked the HH Guarantee, but DH wanted to be sure not to get those G cabins, so we went with the FF, and will keep our fingers crossed!

 

Mary

[jtl513]

On the Veendam we had the first FF aft of the porthole cabins, which would equate to FF816 on the Volendam. We were bothered for the first two or three nights by the continuous bow-wake noise all night, and some bouncing when we got into some 8' to 10' seas. By the time we got used to the noise enough to get some decent sleep the cruise was half over. Of course the G and H cabins would be worse for these problems.

 

We would not book anything that far forward on the lowest deck again, and would suggest you select an EE or better. Or, if you don't want to spend the money for an EE, pick an FF at the stern. :)

 

willowoodf: we actually booked the HH guarantee, worried about getting the G, and were assigned the FF. I wish we had gotten the HH!! :D

[willowoodf]

jtl513:

Like I said, we've got our fingers crossed! LOL! Every time we've booked a guarantee we've been upgraded several categories, so we are hoping! If not, DH can sleep through anything. Literally. And I wear earplugs anyway for DH's snoring!!

Mary

[haligonian37]

Thanks so much for all of your responses....I was feeling a bit overwhelmed last night just trying to figure out all the decks.

 

The only misgivings I had about the EE/FF categories was being on the bottom deck. Being such a newbie to these things, I was worried about noise and such, although all categories on this deck are within my price range....but I can also sleep through most anything. I could possibly stretch to include a DA or DD, after all, it is just money, right? From what you've told me about guarantees, I think I may try that route and perhaps catch some of willowoodf's luck!

[OldCodger73]

One of the little secrets of the Volendam is cabins I 7083 and 7086. These are listed as inside yet they actually do have a window. They're situated at the back of the Navigation deck and have convenient access to a small deck back there that usually doesn't get much use, so it's almost like having your own semi-private balcony, check the deck plan to see what I mean. I've never used these cabins but several long time posters on this board swear by them. Might be worth a look.

[Cruising Illini]

The EE category is very smooth riding and no noise -- might even be more quiet than DD because no walking deck above -- just cabins. The DD and D cabins have a little noise from early morning walkers on the Lower Promenade Deck above. Our friends had EE on the Amsterdam in June and were very happy with it.

[GmaPajama]

Hey, haligonian37 -

 

You should hop on over to the Roll Call for this cruise. It already sounds like we have a fun group of CC'ers - and would love for you to join us.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=330166

 

[haligonian37]

This is why I love this place...so much good first hand advice.

 

OldCodger73: I noticed those cabins on the deck plans and thought it looked like they had windows. Sadly, I did a search and neither are available for my cruise:( (btw, love your name)

 

Cruising Illini: Thanks for the info. I'm going to go with the Dolphin deck....both cat. E and EE have plenty of midship/towards aft cabins available. There is one FF open(and a couple of hundred $$ cheaper), but it's directly across from the launderette and almost at the front of the ship.

 

GmaPajama: Thanks for the invite....I'll be sure to drop by once I have everything organized. All of this planning is hard on the head, but well worth it.

 

So, I'll be off to see my TA on Monday morning. Boy, I bet she never expected to see me this soon! I was concerned about being too far away from my friends, they have a verandah deck cabin (yes, I hate them:)), but on a 10 day cruise, I think the stairs will be a very good friend.

[billsrobb]

10 of us have booked a ff guarentee hoping for an upgrade. this will be our first on HAL. Always have done Carnival in the past.

Robb

[LFM]

Actually, my sister and her DH had a G cabin on the Vol and loved it. Noise was not a problem and they said that's it's larger than most other outside cabins because it is designated as handicapped. Also, they said that the bathroom was much bigger. Whatever floats yours.

[Tinknock50]

I'll be booking the 12/03 southern Caribbean/Panama Canal 10 day cruise in the next couple of days and I have almost no clue what cabin to book. I just completed my first cruise (last week on the Westerdam) and I had a category G partially obstructed cabin (I had it to myself) and I loved it. But needless to say, I'm still quite new to all of this. I've done some preliminary searching and the only cat. G available are at the front and the aft and only have portholes. I never thought I'd be booking a cruise so soon after my first one, but I think I've caught the bug! That and my friend talked me in to it. So, if anyone can lend some advice, I would greatly appreciate it:).

 

I did a little "study" while I was aboard the Zaandam (identical to the Volendam) of all the cabins on lower promenade and their views. Its in my review of my Alaska cruise. It tells which cabin had views and which did not. HH can be real bargain and still have views even though they are refered to as fully obstructed.

Mom and her Sidekick Sean's Zaandam Sept 8th Alaska cruise - Cruise Critic Message Boards

[the2ofus]

OldCodger73: I noticed those cabins on the deck plans and thought it looked like they had windows. Sadly, I did a search and neither are available for my cruise:( (btw, love your name)

 

 

Have you actually checked the HAL website to see if either of those aft cabins is available?

 

We have booked one for our upcoming cruise on Volendam. When I was checking on-line TA websites it didn't show up as available but when I checked the HAL website and entered the specific cabin number it showed up and I booked it ASAP.

 

So glad you enjoyed your first cruise. Join the crowd of the hopelessly but happily addicted:D

[haligonian37]

More suggestions! Thanks for the help....again:). I'm sure when my TA sees all of the notes I've made from today's responses, she'll think I'm either well prepared or just obsessive (it's HAL's fault damnit!).

 

Tinknock50, the review of your Alaska cruise was very informative, sounds like you and your Mom had a great time....you're very lucky to have each other as traveling companions.

 

And the2ofus, I couldn't have said it better myself: "hopelessly but happily addicted", or as my friend says "it's no fun unless you have a cruise to stalk".

 

Wish me luck tomorrow, or maybe the luck should be for my TA!

[haligonian37]

Wow, talk about forgetting to provide a conclusion for a thread or what! After all of the help I received, it was the least I could've done.....so I'll finish now, albeit a few weeks (ok, more than a few) late.

 

After talking with my TA and the HAL rep, I decided to go with an E category, cabin 1890 as they both said it was a better deal. It's midship and very close to the stairway and elevators although I hope to be using the stairs more often than the latter. I had some initial worries about being on the lowest deck but after gathering some info on the boards, those worries were put to rest. I did get my TA to check on those aft I cat. cabins on the Navigation deck that OldCodger mentioned, but sadly they were already booked. It would have been nice to be on a higher deck than my friends for once.:)

 

Again, thanks for all the help provided......now if I could only figure out a way to deal with this 8 month wait!

[Tinknock50]

Wow, talk about forgetting to provide a conclusion for a thread or what! After all of the help I received, it was the least I could've done.....so I'll finish now, albeit a few weeks (ok, more than a few) late.

 

After talking with my TA and the HAL rep, I decided to go with an E category, cabin 1890 as they both said it was a better deal. It's midship and very close to the stairway and elevators although I hope to be using the stairs more often than the latter. I had some initial worries about being on the lowest deck but after gathering some info on the boards, those worries were put to rest. I did get my TA to check on those aft I cat. cabins on the Navigation deck that OldCodger mentioned, but sadly they were already booked. It would have been nice to be on a higher deck than my friends for once.:)

 

Again, thanks for all the help provided......now if I could only figure out a way to deal with this 8 month wait!

 

Hi,

I am happy you gave us the rest of the story. Many times people come here for advice.....it is given....and we never hear from the poster again so we wonder what happenned.

Thanks for filling us in.:)

[arzz]

We were on the Volendam in October -- we had booked a last minute outside guarantee -- great price but we ended up in a Category C near the bow. The cabin was smaller than the standard outsides and even smaller than most of the category C cabins -- moving around for two of us was difficult because we still had all of the same furniture. We did not like the C because our view was of the promenade deck and we never really felt private -- had to constantly watch when to close the curtains! We also were somewhat bothered by the doors to the promenade deck that often slammed shut and some occasional noise on the promenade.

 

We have taken many guarantees, and usually we win with the exact category that we reserved or an acceptable cabin a category or two above. We felt this time we lost even though on paper we had received a many category upgrade -- and we were totally unable to get HAL to allow us to move down to a lower category.

 

Remember, when you book a guarantee be sure that you will be happy in ANY cabin that you could get assigned -- and also remember that the guarantees get what is left after everyone who chooses a cabin has made their choice.

 

We have often done balcony guarantees and we always end up happy because there isn't a balcony cabin out there on R or S class ships that we would not be happy with.

[Vic The Parrot]

I've stayed a few times in the cat "G" cabins on the S ships, and loved them.

 

One of the advantages of being all the way forward was the peace and quiet.

Sure, it was a rough ride sometimes in heavy seas, but the motion doesn't bother me. In fact, I slept like a baby .... :)

 

 

I'd get those porthole cabins again in a heartbeat. ;)

[Cruisin Kay D]

We have a BB Balcony Guarantee, so we're also hoping to get something higher -- does anyone know if there are any bad or less desirable locations for the balconies??

I was so surprised that the balconies were GONE when we booked back in the 1st wk of Febr for 10/24 cruise!!!

We are hoping it's just that there are several travel agency groups holding blocks of cabins to sell and maybe in a few months they will turn in their unsold balcony cabins, so we can just get one!!!

[frost63]

Have you actually checked the HAL website to see if either of those aft cabins is available?

 

We have booked one for our upcoming cruise on Volendam. When I was checking on-line TA websites it didn't show up as available but when I checked the HAL website and entered the specific cabin number it showed up and I booked it ASAP.

 

So glad you enjoyed your first cruise. Join the crowd of the hopelessly but happily addicted:D

 

the2ofus: Some help please - where on the HAL website do I enter a specific cabin to determine availability? I can't find any place on their website to do that. Of course, DW finds things that have magically appeared in the refrigerator after I have positively determined that they are not there... Your help is appreciated.

[Tinknock50]

the2ofus: Some help please - where on the HAL website do I enter a specific cabin to determine availability? I can't find any place on their website to do that. Of course, DW finds things that have magically appeared in the refrigerator after I have positively determined that they are not there... Your help is appreciated.

 

I'd like to see that too.:)

[RuthC]

the2ofus: Some help please - where on the HAL website do I enter a specific cabin to determine availability?

I haven't done it in a while, so I'm hoping it still works the same way....

Go in as if you are booking a cruise. You will get to a point where you can enter a specific cabin # to book. If the cabin is available it will let you know, and let you proceed; if it isn't available it will let you know that, too. You can then try other cabin #'s.

You can cancel out without actually booking the cruise. (Whew. :rolleyes: )

[the2ofus]

Frost63 and Tinknock50,

Sorry I've not been on the board today, so just now saw your question. I can't add anything else to RuthC's response. The process is tedious but it works.

[Tinknock50]

Thanks Ruth and 2of us.:)

 

I also noticed it makes suggestions on other cabin numbers when the one you chose is taken......the suggested ones aren't necessarily all that is available in that category, so don't forget to plug in any other numbers you may be interested in.