Veranda to Oceanview Cabin- your experiences

[Cruiser Craig]

Thanks to input on this thread, I did call back, changed to "do not upgrade" because we want don't want to risk losing our unobstructed oceanview midship location.

[sunviking90]

You will be fine in an outside cabin. We do miss the Veranda if we don't have it just for th extra room, but we have usually consoled ourselves with the massive savings. This is usually on an S or R class where the price difference can be huge.

Veranda suites on your cruise WILL come available. Right now they are being blocked for sale with cruisetours. They do this every year on the one way Alaska cruises - yours is a b2b or 2 one ways. So don't worry, they will be for sale. The price difference will likely be so high though that you may be quite happy with what you have:)

[igraf]

We have cruised in both cabin types and thoroughly enjoyed the cruises either way.

 

One big advantage of the ocean view is that it completely solves the "smoking on the veranda" problem!

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

 

 

....Have any other cruisers had a similar experience and how did it work for you? We figure that regardless of where we sleep, we will be in Alaska during Summer Solstice and for 14 wonderful days. I did make a point of booking an unobstructed view cabin. Thanks in advance for any insights you provide.

[solocanadian]

I did collectors cruise last year on Zaandam in cabin 2579. That year it proved to be a good side [starboard] on this ship as it docked starboard side. My cabin was very handy to ganway which I found convenient and close to forward elevator for a quick ride up to the Crow's Nest for viewing. Verandahs are very expensive on this ship, unlike the vista class. This cabin had much more closet and drawer space than a VA on a vista. I very much enjoyed the Zaandam.:)

[jtl513]

There are doors there on Maasdam and Ryndam, but the deck plans for the Zaandam don't show them. They should be there, but are not in the picture.

I've found many errors in deck plans over the years. Just because doors don't show doesn't mean they aren't there. For example, if you look at the Veendam deck plan it shows the two LP corridors going straight out to the stern along the side of cabins 418 and 427. This is definitely not true. Those spaces are filled with some kind of storage, and the only way out to the promenade is by turning the corner and going out the doors next to 420 or 429.

 

I would be very, very surprised to find that the Zaandam does not have doors at the end of those corridors! ;)

[localady]

Thanks to input on this thread, I did call back, changed to "do not upgrade" because we want don't want to risk losing our unobstructed oceanview midship location.

 

I think that is a wise move. :D Many times an "upgrade" really isn't!!

[doctork]

I have booked an oceanview once, and my four other cruises have been in verandah cabins. Even though there is a huge price differential, I have booked my next cruise (Barcelona to Venice in August) in a verandah. I still work full-time so I indulge myself on my limited vacation time, but later when/if I retire, and I could cruise more if it weren't so expensive, I might well change my tune.

 

I love having breakfast on the verandah, or even just sitting out there and reading a book and admiring the ocean scenery. My cruises have all been Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion charter cruises with tons of great entertainment all day and most of the night, so I was out of my cabin a lot, yet I still loved my alone time on the verandah!

 

One year I booked a little late and only oceanview was available so I booked that. The cruise was still wonderful but I greatly missed the verandah. The window was not a porthole but it was also not a floor-to-ceiling window, just a narrow rectangle on a ledge above the head of the bed, nowhere near enough sense of daylight or expansive view. Had it been a larger window, I might have enjoyed that cabin more.

 

The lower prices of an inside cabin are extremely inviting, but when I am on-call at the hospital overnight I can't tolerate even a few hours in a call room with no windows. I don't think I would last long in an inside cabin, too claustrophobic.

[O2B@C]

A veranda in AK is not a "necessity" for us. What I would do on the Zaandam (or any other R or S class ship) is book an outside on the Lower Promenade near an outside door, so that we can quickly get to either side should there be an announcement of something worthy of special attention when we happen to be in our cabin.

 

Totally agree. We had an outside aft corner on Veendam (before the Lanai cabins were put in) for our Alaska cruise and it was perfect - instant access to the "biggest veranda on the ship," your choice of port or starboard depending on where the sights are, plus it's covered so you can go out to look at the scenery even if it's raining. We were not troubled by anyone looking in - you really can't see in during the day, and at night we just closed the drapes (bring binder clips if you like, to make sure there's no gap).

[LindaSSF]

We had an SA with a wonderful veranda on our cruise to Alaska on the Westerdam last May. Yes, it was cold, but we really used the veranda. Had we not had this, we would have missed a pod of whales as we came out of Glacier Bay - more 100 breaching all around us late in the evening.

 

I would cruise less often & save for the veranda in any class.