Cabanas on Nieuv Amsterdam

[sandiego1]

Thinking of doing 1 wk Carib cruise on the Nieuv Amsterdam. I am interested in any info about the Cabanas and Cabana Club. I couldn't find much info on the HAL site.

 

Lots of questions:

 

Can you rent them by the day? How much? I would probably only be interested in them for the 2 At Sea days. We always get off the ship in the various ports.

 

What is the difference in the Cabana vs. Cabana Club?

 

Can 4 people use the Cabanas? Are there 4 loungers? I assume they provide shade (definitely needed for me). Correct?

 

Is smoking allowed in the Cabanas?

 

Lastly, how do I find out if the Cabanas are avail on the cruise I am interested in?

 

Thanks in advance!

[jtl513]

CLICK HERE for a 2 yr old info sheet from the Eurodam. The prices are the same on the N.A.

 

You can rent them for the entire cruise by calling ship services, but you can only rent by the day once you are on board ... if there are any left. Most people are more interested in having them on sea days. :)

 

In the Cabana Club (same as the Retreat on the Eurodam) there are two "family" cabanas in the corners which have four loungers. The rest have just two.

 

I don't know about smoking there.

[Cruisin Suzin]

"The Cabana Club"

[

Rental Period: Full day, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Price: $45 for port days and $75 for sea days

Occupancy: 2 adults + 2 children up to 18 years

 

Includes following services:

 

* Towel Setup

* Bathrobes

* Handheld fans

* I-Pod with preloaded music selection

* Discount on selected spa services for days in port only

* 1 Evian Mister per cabana

* Chilled water bottles setup

* Frozen grapes, chocolate covered strawberries and a glass of champagne at 3:00 p.m.

* Food service Island with the following offerings: all food items will be served in small glass or porcelain cups. Healthy breakfast options like yogurts, cereal and muesli, fresh sliced fruit, a variety of “healthy bites” sandwiches, wraps, salads, fruit juices and yogurt/buttermilk drinks at lunch and afternoon.

[

Packages are also available at discounted rates for guests who wish to rent a cabana for the duration of the entire cruise and can be booked at the Reception Desk or Prebooked via Ships Services at 1-800-541-1576 (IRL_Joanie's Note: Pricing as of 17 July 2010)

[

Following info from fellow Cruise Critic Member: Cruzin Suzin on 17 July 2010 with the response to questions she had asked of HAL regarding the Retreat Cabanas. Her questions are in Bold the answers from HAL are in blue:

[

Retreat Cabanas..Questions Answered.

 

I had a few questions about the retreat cabanas on the Nieuw Amsterdam, so I wrote to HAL and just received the answers.

 

Please see the below questions / answers and the attached lunch menu from the Beverage Manager onboard.

 

1. We would like to entertain friends we might meet on the ship. I thought it was a classy way to entertain rather than just on our balcony or in our cabin. Is this allowed?

 

Family cabanas are for 4 adults and 2 children under 18 only. Since it is only you and your daughter as long as the number of adults does not exceed the max there is no problem.

 

2. Also if I do entertain can drinks be charged separately? Or will they go on my account since I have the cabana?

 

The beverages for cabana occupants are charged to the “registered” on board account.

 

3. If I purchased liquor on the ship, for our own use, for example vodka and mixer can I bring that up there? Or must drinks be purchased and consumed only up there

 

You may order Liquors via in room dining for in room consumption only.

 

Can we bring wine up there?

 

Yes, any wine that is not provided by HAL and brought to a public area is subject to a $18 corkage fee per bottle. If purchased onboard no corkage fee is charged.

 

4. What if it is raining? Can you still use them or is it too slippery up there?

 

If it’s a light rain it’s still usable, if cabanas are unusable due to rain any unused portion of the day is refunded.

[

Menu.. menu from the Beverage Manager onboard.

[

Vegetarian Panini

Fontina cheese with grilled eggplant, pimento, tomato, red chili aïoli

Pita Pocket

Hummus, roasted vegetables, chiffonade lettuce, kalamata olives, tzatziki sauce

Croque Monsieur

Grilled French Baguette with ham and Gruyère cheese

French Panini

Baguette filled with smoked ham and Gruyère, cornichons and French fries

Salmon Fillet Sandwich

Grilled with seaweed salad

Freshly Grilled Burgers

All American beef or cheeseburger, classic cut French fries

[sandiego1]

thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

[boingy300]

As someone who has rented a cabana for my upcoming cruise I don't want anyone's smoke coming my way. I don't care if people smoke or not (as a nurse I could argue go for it). I just don't want to inhale it in an area I paid extra for. I don't want to start a debate, because usually I don't care (bar,casino, your balcony) but when I pay extra- I want a vote. My vote was no. May not matter,lol.

Karen

[MyWifeLuvsCruising]

I recently returned from the E. Caribbean cruise on the Nieuw Amsterdam and rented a retreat cabana (different from the Lido cabanas) in the Cabana Club.

 

First, there are only 2 family cabanas that have 4 lougers and a table/chairs for 4 people. These cabanas are on the corners of the observation deck that are closest to the Lido deck pool. On the side facing the Lido pool, there is only a metal railing, so the breeze passes through mightly nicely - and the side facing the ocean/side of ship has a very tall glass wall that reaches nearly to the top of the opening of the cabana so there is very little breeze.

 

There are also several 2-person cabanas in the cabana club as well. Some are located between the family cabanas and face the Lido pool so that the opening that faces the Lido pool has only a short metal railing, so like the family cabana, gets a good breeze. The others are along opposite sides of the observation deck and face out into the ocean but have the glass partition that doesn't allow much breeze at all. There were a couple days last week when the people in the side cabanas with the glass wall commented that it was getting pretty toasty with the heat and lack of breeze coming through.

 

I had rented one of the 2-person cabanas, and since you don't get to pick which one you get, we got assigned one along the metal railing facing the Lido pool. Keep in mind though that even when the roof to the Lido pool is open, you still can't see down into the pool area beause the roof pretty much blocks off the view of the pool and the people around it. We had a great breeze pretty much every day, and it was very welcome on those days when it was warm.

 

Because not all of the cabanas were rented for the whole week, some of them were rented one day at a time, but there were still hardly any people in the cabana area...a.k.a., the "Cabana Club". Even though the 2-person cabana had 2 loungers and a table/chairs for 2, several people took advantage of the loungers in the general area outside the cabanas to get more sun because the cabanas usually provide shade at all times - but if the sun is coming directly in, you can rotate your chair away from the sun.

 

We had 3 people in our cabin on the cruise, and they had no problem with all of us in the cabana area at the same time (especially since there were hardly any others up there). The area itself is roped off and says that it's only available for people who rented the cabanas, but there is no one guarding the rope, so if you have rented one, it's hop-over-the-rope-yourself type access. No one is there to let you in/out. I asked one of the two stewards that are dedicated to the Cabana Club during the open hours about having 3 people for a 2-person cabana, and he just said that it was OK as long as we weren't bothering others around us. Since we usually all weren't there at the same time and we kept pretty quite the whole time, there were no problems. There were other cabanas that had several people in them at various times, and there wasn't anything said because it wasn't a big deal. So my advice is that if you do have more than the "limit" for the cabana, check with the stewards and let them know and just keep the roar to a minimum to not bother others and it shouldn't be an issue.

 

As far as smoking, I don't know if there are any rules for it, but my MIL left the cabana area when she wanted to smoke - she went up to the deck right behind the club deck to smoke. I only smelled smoke once the whole week, and it was from someone not in the cabana area.

 

To the OP - if you want to find out if a cabana is available still on your cruise, contact your TA and ask. They'll also be able to provide you with the costs - but the cost sheet linked to in a previous post is still the same costs on the NA.

 

We had a deluxe suite and still rented a retreat cabana, and my wife and sister both said it was the best purchase of the entire cruise. The both loved the seclusion and a guaranteed lounger (both under the cabana and in the common area in the cabana club). We all spent a couple mornings on the balcony on our suite when we were pulling into port or for a dine-in breakfast, but other than that, we spent quite a bit of time in the cabana area. If you have the opportunity, I'd definitely recommend a retreat cabana. I did hear several negative complaints about the Lido cabanas being too hot the whole trip too - so if you're going to consider a cabana, go with the retreat cabana for just a little more cash, it will make all the difference.

[dot73]

MyWifeLuvsCruising, thank you for the cabana review. I have one booked for 14 days starting Dec. 5 and plan to spend a lot of time up there since I don't have a veranda room. What is your opinion of the NA? Did you enjoy the cruise? Any complaints?

[boingy300]

Thanks for the information. I am ready to sail! Dot I am so excited for you!

Karen

[Kittycat2009]

The couple we sailed with in September rented a Cabana for one of the sea days. When we entered we were told it was a "2" person cabana even though they specifically stated there would be 4. We were all allowed to say. There were "2" loungers and a table with "2" chairs. There really was enough room for 4 people.

 

I didn't even ask about smoking, I just assumed that nope, no smoking in that area and never saw a waft of smoke.

 

The service was wonderful! While some other areas were lacking on the cruise, the service in the Cabana area was wonderful. They really went out of their way to make sure we were taken care of.

[Cruisin Suzin]

There is absoutely NO Smoking in the Retreat Cabana area or in the Cabana's period..I would not have rented one if there was..

[sandiego1]

Cruzin Suzin - how did you find out that there was no smoking? Is it posted on the HAL site somewhere? i'd like to bring a copy of the policy w/ me in case we run into trouble. I have asthma so I try to avoid smoke as much as possible. When I am on an open deck, I try to sit away from anyone that has an ashtray in front of them. If someone starts to smoke, I go into the pool or take a walk while they are smoking. A cabana where smoking is restricted, would be perfect for me. I don't care what it costs!!

[schoolinmy3]

I have asthma so I try to avoid smoke as much as possible. When I am on an open deck, I try to sit away from anyone that has an ashtray in front of them. If someone starts to smoke, I go into the pool or take a walk while they are smoking. A cabana where smoking is restricted, would be perfect for me. I don't care what it costs!!

 

We were on the Eurodam in May. Three of us have asthma: myself, my daughter age 11 and my son age 19. We didn't have any real smoke issues aboard. Certainly nothing that would trigger an asthma attack and my daughter has had that issue since the age of 3. I would say the only negative was our verandah room had a smoker next door and he was out there quite a bit - figures.:rolleyes: But my kids were in an interior room so they didn't have that issue. We also rented the cabana for the week and never saw anyone smoking there either. We are on the Veendam to Bermuda and my daughter is disappointed there are no cabanas on that ship!:) Her favorite: watching the pier runners when the ship was ready to leave the ports.:D

diane

[dot73]

I also have breathing problems when around smokers so I e-mailed HAL as I have a cabana booked for 14 days. I got the following e-mail this afternoon:

 

Smoking is not permitted in any of the cabanas onboard the ship.

If you have any additional questions do not hesitate to contact us.

Thank you and Kind regards,

Brad

Brad Lyman I Holland America Line I Ship ServicesI P:1-800-541-1576

We can breathe easy when at the cabanas.:)

[sandiego1]

Interesting. I called Ship Services and asked about smoking in the Retreat Cabanas. The rep told me that there are ashtrays there and smoking is permitted.

 

She also told me that partial refunds for bad weather is up to the ship's discretion.

 

So annoying that HAL gives out such inconsistent information all the time!!

 

Can you pls give me Brad Lyman's email address so I can have it in writing too?

[dot73]

The "from" line is:

 

HAL Ship Services (HAL) [HAL_Ship_Services@HollandAmerica.com]

[MyWifeLuvsCruising]

So annoying that HAL gives out such inconsistent information all the time!!

 

Can you pls give me Brad Lyman's email address so I can have it in writing too?

 

Kinda sad that you (we) need to have things in writing...I agree that I'd want this in writing too just in case there were medical issues involved, but it's just sad that corporate can't even get their act together to provide consistent information or that the ship doesn't follow policy that corporate is telling passengers.

[boingy300]

Or that people don't have just basic courtesy towards their fellow guests to respect their desire to not share in their smoke in an incredibly restricted area. Just sayin'. I think we, as a society have lost our basic consideration towards each other.

[MyWifeLuvsCruising]

Or that people don't have just basic courtesy towards their fellow guests to respect their desire to not share in their smoke in an incredibly restricted area. Just sayin'. I think we, as a society have lost our basic consideration towards each other.

Agreed - the golden rule is a good one to follow...but everyone seems to have turned hypocritical, because they'll do things (such as smoking in restricted areas or putting perfume on in the middle of a flight) that if someone else were to do it, these people would get pi$$ed yet it's OK for them to do it themselves because they must somehow justify it by thinking that their smoke isn't bothering anyone else or everyone should love their perfume.

[sandiego1]

Had to change the date of my cruise so I called Ship Services again to check on availability of a Family Retreat Cabana. This time I was told smoking is not permitted in the actual cabana. However, smoking IS permitted in the open air area around the cabanas.

 

Once again... different info from Ship Services.

 

Haven't received a reply to my email yet.

[sandiego1]

Oh yeah, and she also stated that we would get a refund for the day if there was bad weather and we were unable to use our cabana.

[boingy300]

Had to change the date of my cruise so I called Ship Services again to check on availability of a Family Retreat Cabana. This time I was told smoking is not permitted in the actual cabana. However, smoking IS permitted in the open air area around the cabanas.

 

Once again... different info from Ship Services.

 

Haven't received a reply to my email yet.

 

Thanks for sharing this information.

[dot73]

Okay so let me get this straight -- you cannot smoke in the privacy of your own cabana but you can come out and smoke in the open area where you are blowing smoke in other people's faces? :rolleyes:

 

Hopefully, the smokers in that area will be courteous and not smoke near other people, but I'm not holding my breath.

[boingy300]

Okay so let me get this straight -- you cannot smoke in the privacy of your own cabana but you can come out and smoke in the open area where you are blowing smoke in other people's faces? :rolleyes:

 

Hopefully, the smokers in that area will be courteous and not smoke near other people, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Dot- they are already out numbered week2....No worries!

Karen

[lovetocruise2020]

Thinking of doing 1 wk Carib cruise on the Nieuv Amsterdam. I am interested in any info about the Cabanas and Cabana Club. I couldn't find much info on the HAL site.

 

Lots of questions:

 

Can you rent them by the day? How much? I would probably only be interested in them for the 2 At Sea days. We always get off the ship in the various ports.

 

What is the difference in the Cabana vs. Cabana Club?

 

Can 4 people use the Cabanas? Are there 4 loungers? I assume they provide shade (definitely needed for me). Correct?

 

Is smoking allowed in the Cabanas?

 

Lastly, how do I find out if the Cabanas are avail on the cruise I am interested in?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

Below is info from a previous post re my cruise on the Eurodam.

I am sure the cabanas are simmilar. As for bad weather days reimbursement, good luck. You will have to fight for it.

 

Hi all.

Just got back from our first HAL cruise, and wanted to share info that I wished I would have had. Here is that info, and its just based on my experience only. Almost a mini review and some suggestions, and info to make others aware of issues we had, so they may avoid them. Hope the below is easy to understand. Its late. :)

 

1. Lido Cabana.

I booked the Lido cabana on the Eurodam to have some place to get out of the sun and a guaranteed spot to lay, as well a spot by the pool in case it rained (the lido pool has a sun roof) I contacted ships services, and was told it was a 7 day (yes I clarified 7 day) booking and got it in writing.

 

Upon arrival all we wanted to do was go and relax somewhere warm, and lay out. The problem with this was the lido pool was set up for dining only. No loungers and the POOL area was not ready. ** i choose the lido cabana so i could be near the pool to lay out then to go into the cabana when i had too much sun **I went to the front desk and they put me in touch with the concierge (I went to the front desk because there was a wait with the concierge) and I then again waited for the concierge. Eventually it got worked out that I would switch to the retreat cabanas, but I would have to pay the difference. "shocker".

I was given a 10 percent off the weeklong upgrade from the lido to the retreat and after waiting 1.5 hours to work the out, then the muster we went to the Cabana area and it was torn down. (meaning not accessible, cushions gone, everything locked up, etc) We could not access it.

It should have been made clear by the food and beverage manager that we would have the same issue with the retreat as we did the Lido basically, it was not ready for us. The F&B manager also did not clarify that they close at 5 PM.

 

So we paid for a day we did not even get to use, and my booking in writing was for 7 days. I was refused a refund for the first day.

 

2. Retreat Cabana:

The retreat cabanas were really great, but beware is there is also bad weather and you can not use it that day (they do not set it up, or if the weather gets bad, they pack it up) and you will not receive a refund.

This is something to really think about when booking the entire week.

 

The only other issue is that although they are set up for 2 people, and 2 cabanas are set up for 4, many guests that had cabanas would invite 6 friends and we could not find a lounger in the sun that was free. This should be handled. I was just tired of fighting about the initial issues with management, that I didn't even dare try on this one.

 

Other than these issues, the time we spent there was really great and Ranier our attendant was amazing.

 

3. Grand Turk Cabana:

When arriving to our cabana at Grand Turk there was a lot of fussing over the fact that we received nothing on the ship to give them. All I had is what I printed out from my computer. After 30 minutes of haggling they finally took us to our cabana. the cabana was VERY nice, with a sectional AC and 2 loungers outside. Beyond that there was nothing in the way of amenities (which is what I expected). The key was very hard to use, as the lock kept sticking, and the binds were a crazy tangled mess.

 

Suggestions:

I suggest if you like wine or champagne bring it from the ship. You can not buy beer anywhere on Grand Turk (its a $20 round trip taxi ride to town) and if you just need to buy some things its not worth it. We had to ask twice for ice to be filled in the metal bin in the cabana from the attendant. The attendant was irritated we did not buy anything from her. We went back to the ship for lunch as is it so close and it was hard to turn down the amazing food on the Eurodam.

 

You can walk a ways down the beach to Jacks Shack for Free Internet. (Bring ur laptop) $5 coronas there. $5 to rent a beach lounger. No crowd.

Drinks a One Love Cafe right next to the cruise center are outrageous.

We spent the majority of the day in the water by Jacks Shack.

We did not spend any time at Margeritaville. Too loud for us.

 

Grand Turk was AMAZING if you are like us and just want a calm, peaceful and relaxing beach day. Although the cabanas were VERY nice, we would not get one again unless we had children or a disabled or elderly with us. They are perfect for that.

 

4. HMC:

We rented the gray cabana. It was really cute. I really liked the location.

I would get it again. Only issues we had that folks should be aware of:

 

1. Be aware that there are no servers on the beach, I was told by the booking agent that there are servers on the beach and you can order drinks from them. That was not the case with our booking. We opted out of getting "butler service" because we did not want someone hanging around all day. We did not need company.

2. We made the concierge well aware of my food allergies (they did know as they were a major issue during the cruise) and they still delivered food I was allergic to. Not to me but to my fiancee I was later told. So I guess its ok for him to eat it, us to kiss and then have my lips blow up :)

3. At 1:00 the pinnacle grill manager checked on us, and we reminded him of the allergy issue and he gladly brought something else. Still, a little late.

4. 1:50 PM we had HAL staff came and wake us up only to have use remove everything from our set up (that we were using) and they took away everything else, Ice, Ice Chest, Champagne Bucket, snorkel equipment, snacks etc. The was a little rude and preemptive to us. Did this happen to anyone else? We felt kicked out. Especially by the cleaning staff standing in front of our cabana at 2:45 waiting for us to leave...

 

Suggestions:

If you like champagne, bring it from the ship but also bring a bucket as they will take the one you are provided away very early. Also the Ocean Bar does 2 for 1 drink specials during happy hour. I think they are the only bar who does it. In our experience they did not have happy hour the first 2 days. I went and got 3 coronas for my fiancee, and I got three free and the gave me the 6 pack carry case to take back to my room. It was about $14 after tip for 6. That way we had some in the room for him, and some to take to HMC. Good thing because no matter how much we looked for the drink person he never came! Maybe it was our location. If you drink beer, bring a bottle opener to HMC, Wine, a wine opener, etc.

 

Anyhow, I hope that this helps other people, you never know! Again, this is based on our experience only.

 

Hugs to all that put up with me before this cruise, and hugs to Joanie for getting me on that "Dam" ship! :)

__________________

Dawnielle (Surfergirle) ;)

[cruiserkevinjay]

There is absoutely NO Smoking in the Retreat Cabana area or in the Cabana's period..I would not have rented one if there was..

 

hi,

My friend and I were just on the NA cruise, Nov 28 - Dec 5.

We had one of the penthouse suites and also reserved a cabana for the week in the Cabana Club. The cabana was a nice place to get away from the crowds. It was a nice and peaceful place, but I did observe a couple smoking twice when I was up there. They were never told by the cabana attendants to put it out, so I assumed that smoking was allowed.

 

Because I was a penthouse guest, I was able to reserve the cabana of my choice. I chose one of the side cabanas. On a hot day, it was very hot in the side cabana, because there was little or no breeze. The next time, I would choose an aft facing one. Those had a nice breeze.