Time to Share those "well guarded" secrets about the Statendam

[mikjr]

Well... time is getting short. Next week at this time we will have completed our first day at sea on our way to Hawaii and Tahiti...

 

Since this is our first HAL cruise, we want to take full advantage of the great things we've heard about HAL... and maybe there's a few great things we haven't read about here on the boards

 

So, I am wondering if anyone can share some secrets about the Statendam... for example...

 

* a favorite place to watch the ocean

* a nice quiet corner to R & R

* a favorite food... maybe not on the menu

* a special room amentity you need to request

 

* or anything else???

 

thanks

[cands]

Favourite place to watch the ocean, especially during scenic cruising or for arrivals and departures is the open deck area all the way forward:

 

[arlodog]

I will be on Statendam in Feb and find that there is very little info on this ship. The last CC review was in June! Looking forward to any and all info on what makes this ship special. Can't wait to try HAL for a relaxing cruise experience.

[Roz]

Why do people think that are "secrets" to sailing on a ship?

 

The Statendam is kin to the Ryndam, Veendam, and Maasdam, so they're all pretty much the same as far as layout and amenities. The only difference I've noticed is the color/decorating scheme.

 

Roz

[mikjr]

Why do people think that are "secrets" to sailing on a ship?

 

The Statendam is kin to the Ryndam, Veendam, and Maasdam, so they're all pretty much the same as far as layout and amenities. The only difference I've noticed is the color/decorating scheme.

 

Roz

 

we have never sailed on HAL... but while on other ships... Celebrity, Princess, etc.. I have always found out little things about the ship, usually towards the end of the cruise, that I wish I'd known before.

 

For example, there was only one floor where you could enter a small outside area at the front of the ship. No one was ever there, because very few knew about the exit.

 

The only reason we found out... one of the stewards mentioned it to us.

 

I know there must be things like that on the Statendam... I just don't want to find them on the 29th day of my crusie :)

[ekerr19]

There isn't a whole bunch of information on this ship because (in my experience) she's not as popular here as some of the other ships are.

 

She has a huge following - my parents loved that ship. They liked the browns and oranges in the decor and sailed on her a dozen times before my Dad passed away.

[Love Cruises]

We love the STATENDAM and have sailed on her twice already. We also just booked a 28 day cruise on her in Feb/2009.

 

We did a 30 day round-trip San Diego Hawaii, Tahiti, etc. trip on this ship and will never forget it. The room we love best is the PIANO BAR. It has a really nice environment but there are no windows out to the sea. There is a widow that looks out into the casino and another that looks out to a corridor where there is a window that you can see out to the sea. We would find many a person sitting in here reading because of the quietness during the day when not much was going on. Of course, in the evening it was real popular with the piano player and bar, etc.

 

Enjoy your trip and I will look forward to hearing all about it. Hopefully, someone will have an on-going thread of the trip. BON VOYAGE!!!!

[garydm]

We have been on Statendam 4-5 times, some trips excellent, a couple pretty bad. I don't recall any secret spots. On our last cruise on this ship we had an engine failure enroute to Hawaii and a fire onboard halfway between Hawaii and San Diego on the return. With the engine failure I think we were at sea for 5 days and missed one port. Things happen.

 

Gary