To Aft or Not to Aft. . .

[lawyerrose]

In my humble opinion SC 5190 or SC5191 are indeed just that !

 

I do believe some Zuiderdam sister ships offer the same configuration

 

The balcony is massive, the cabin is the largest of the corner afts and the balcony is completely covered affording absolute privacy. Shelter from rain or burning sun..however sunshine finds you often depending on time of day and angle of ship.

To me it is definitely the "best seat in the house"

 

We had the SC5191 on our transatlantic and WOW!! I'd take that over an SA side anytime. Cabin was large and the balcony HUGE! I'd do the 5th deck over the 6th. Great great cabins with fantastic balconies!!!

[honey-bunny]

We just disembarked from the NA on 2/13 after having spent a wonderful week enjoying SB 7132. We don't think that we can "do" HAL again without an aft wrap around. It's that intoxicating. I'm going to have to look into that Zuiderdam balcony posted above. Is that the best aft suite in HAL's fleet?

 

 

 

Hi, we just booked SB cabin 7132 on NA, for our next 14 days cruise to Caribbean this will be our very first time in SB cabin, we usually book SA, and I wanted to ask you if you don’t mind to tell me a bit more about the size and amenities of the cabin, does it have extra closets like SA cabins and does it have a separate little vanity/dressing room next to the bathroom area and does the bathroom has a tub and a separate shower? , hoping to hear from you soon, please let me know how was you experience with SB cabin and the service with the perks like laundry and canapés and so on, thank you very much, hoping to hear form you soon , and please if you have any pictures of the balcony can you please post them,, how large was the cabin? And did u have 2 lounge chairs on the balcony?

[cmdchiefthom]

Hi, we just booked SB cabin 7132 on NA, for our next 14 days cruise to Caribbean this will be our very first time in SB cabin, we usually book SA, and I wanted to ask you if you don’t mind to tell me a bit more about the size and amenities of the cabin, does it have extra closets like SA cabins and does it have a separate little vanity/dressing room next to the bathroom area and does the bathroom has a tub and a separate shower? , hoping to hear from you soon, please let me know how was you experience with SB cabin and the service with the perks like laundry and canapés and so on, thank you very much, hoping to hear form you soon , and please if you have any pictures of the balcony can you please post them,, how large was the cabin? And did u have 2 lounge chairs on the balcony?

 

honey-bunny,

 

I book nothing but wrap around cabins aboard HAL Vista class ships, and now have 7132 aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam booked for April 2013 myself. The cabin is large, although slightly smaller than an SA on the sides of the ship. The entire wall along the bed consisting of full height closets, and yes there is a separate make-up area. The bathroom consists of a two sink counter, a bath with shower, and a separate shower stall. The wrap around deck is probably the largest on the ship, or at least a close second to the Owners Suite. The furniture consists of two large faux wicker sitting chairs with cushion, two sun loungers, a dining table with four chairs, and a small casual table.;) Check out Joanie's site for more stateroom pictures! http://joanjett2000.topcities.com/HAL/ You can also check http://www.cruisedeckplans.com which I know has specific photos of 7137 which is the starboard side wraparound on the NA.

 

I suggest you check out the Port Everglades webcam http://portevergladeswebcam.com/ and watch the aft shots of the NA as it departs through the inlet to get some idea of the size of the balcony!:D

 

Please let me know how you liked the suite.;)

[honey-bunny]

honey-bunny,

 

I book nothing but wrap around cabins aboard HAL Vista class ships, and now have 7132 aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam booked for April 2013 myself. The cabin is large, although slightly smaller than an SA on the sides of the ship. The entire wall along the bed consisting of full height closets, and yes there is a separate make-up area. The bathroom consists of a two sink counter, a bath with shower, and a separate shower stall. The wrap around deck is probably the largest on the ship, or at least a close second to the Owners Suite. The furniture consists of two large faux wicker sitting chairs with cushion, two sun loungers, a dining table with four chairs, and a small casual table.;) Check out Joanie's site for more stateroom pictures! http://joanjett2000.topcities.com/HAL/ You can also check http://www.cruisedeckplans.com which I know has specific photos of 7137 which is the starboard side wraparound on the NA.

 

I suggest you check out the Port Everglades webcam http://portevergladeswebcam.com/ and watch the aft shots of the NA as it departs through the inlet to get some idea of the size of the balcony!:D

 

Please let me know how you liked the suite.;)

thank you very much for your reply,, i am glad to hear that there is a make -up sitting area that i enjoy so very much each time we cruise, and DH will love the huge balcony:) , we will be traveling with our little girl she is 12 so i was wondering , when the pull -out couch will be open for the nigth time there will not be much room/space to pass in beetween the king size bed and the pull out couch ? to go onto the balcony. maybe that is not that case, do you know if it is still possible to access the balcony while pullout couch will be open in the morning, DH and I love having cafe on the balcony :), but since it is our very first time in SB , hope u dont mind me asking more questions, ps i was not able to view the pics of cabin on cruisedeckplan.com ,cause i am not a member

[Avery's Gram]

I think we are definitely going to go "aft." My TA is going to faint -- she knows how nervous I am about getting sick, but guess that's what drugs are for!

 

Since we've already done this ship and itinerary in Jan 2010, going through the locks from our aft deck is really appealing!

 

Now I just need to decide on which deck to choose: Deck 7, Rotterdam; or Deck 6, Upper Verandah. I've checked Joanie's stats on the rooms and they're all pretty much the same (311 - 315 sq ft). These measurements do not include the massive decks. The one difference I noticed was that there are 6 VA cabins in between the afts on 7 and only 4 (2 being HC SC's) on 6. Any thoughts as to how "peaceful" 6 might be over deck 7?

 

Thank you all my CC friends!

tt :)

 

Just off the Rotterdam, 7067 (corner aft).... we loved this cabin! We were on San Diego- Hawaii- Tahititi, and this cabin was perfect for us! It gave us room ( 3 lounge chairs and one straight chair.) and a gorgeous view every night. The motion was obvious, but never bothered either of us. We liked being at the end of the hall, with only neighbors on one side. Go for it!

[nhsbt]

Your gonna be soooo happy.:):):) This balcony was perfect for Alaska !!

 

Thanks to the great info here, we also booked SC5191 for a September Alaska cruise. Can't wait!:)

[Spender Nui]

Maybe I missed this if it's been brought up before, I love stern cabins but can't be in the sun. Is shade available? How about on the wrap arounds? Also interested in knowing balcony size. All help is appreciated.

[scopewest]

We had 6166 on the O. While the balcony size was nice, I found the shade was mostly on the side balcony because the main one didn't have much of an overhang.

 

The walk from the end of the ship to the dining room, etc. is a long walk. Which helped me not to gain weight on that cruise, but if someone isn't used to long walks back and forth, just a head's up. When you're in a midship cabin, it's not that far from your cabin forward or aft, comparatively speaking.

 

We also found we spent a lot more time in the Neptune lounge than we thought we would, and the distance from our cabin to the lounge made us want to stay there as long as possible. As for the cabin, I did notice it was a smaller space from our SA the year before in terms of walking area between the couch and bed, and our SA had more closet space. Other than that, it was fine.

 

We decided we'd rather have an SA. But I'm glad I tried the SC just to see what it was like.