LANAI CABINS - pros and cons HELP!!

[CHK]

My DH and I will be taking a long cruise next year on the Rotterdam and have been upgraded from an outside cabin to a Lanai. We're having some misgivings about this because it looks smaller--and, he's worried about noise from outside and above--I'm worried about the light outside keeping me awake all night (even on inside cabins I have to stuff pool towels at the bottom of the door to keep the hall lights out!) Also concerned about opening the lanai door and having cigarette smoke blow in. Finally,we'll be renting a fridge (cooler) and are wondering where they'll be able to put it.

 

Can all of you who have stayed in Lanai cabins let us know what you liked and didn't like about your experience. Especially interested in what you didn't like so we can decide whether to ask our TA to give us the price break and put us back into the outside cabin.

 

Thanks all! Carolyn

[cruisincat35]

My husband and i went on a HAL Caribbean cruise in a Lanai Suite. Overall we really liked it. Pros--easy access to the deck, chairs outside our door to sit in at any time, the room at least felt larger.

Cons--we did have to chase people away from our reserved chairs several times, smoking was allowed outside on that deck (we often moved the ashtrays away from our room).

Smoke didn't come into our room because the door could not be kept open--was very heavy and opened by keycard.

Light wasn't a problem for us--the doors were tinted and curtains were pretty heavy.

I hope this info helps. enjoy your cruise.

[mamaofami]

We had a lanai cabin on Maasdam and Veendam and we really liked it. It is a bit smaller because of the position of the bed and needing to walk around the bed to get to the door.I loved the easy access to the promenade deck and the reserved loungers. I was told that there would no longer be smoking allowed on the Lanai deck, but not sure if it was for one side. The lights didn't keep me up, no one can look in at night if you close the curtain, and I didn't hear noise from outside.

 

CONS: I did have to ask people to leave our reserved seats twice out of two cruises. Not a big deal. However one person was extremely rude, loud, and it was embarrassing. Unfortunately, they seemed to be painting the promenade deck on both ships while we were there. The paint smell was overwhelming. When it happened the second time, on Maasdam, the CD promised us they would stay away from our cabin and they did.

[luv2snrkl]

We stayed in a lanai cabin in April on the Maasdam. We loved it! I can't speak to the room size as it was our first HAL cruise. We rented a refrigerator and they put it under the desk. It was fine with us. Nobody sat on our reserved chairs and we didn't get any smoke in our rooms from people smoking. As a matter of fact, I think I only smelled smoke on the lanai one time in ten days! It also got me to walk laps (don't think I would have done that if it wasn't right outside the door)! We would book a lanai cabin in a heartbeat!!

[RuthC]

The lanai cabins are the same size as the outside cabins on Lower Promenade, which are smaller than the outside cabins on the lower two decks. Because the position of the bed had to be changed, the cabin feels smaller still.

The desk had to be moved away from the foot of the bed, closer to the lanai door, and made shorter to fit that space. There are no drawers in the desk at all; the outside cabins should have three drawers in the desk. You should find drawers under the bed; they may or may not be filled with extra bedding.

Forward of the mid-ship elevators should have no noise coming from the Promenade Deck. (Unless you are under the Pinnacle in very rough seas, that is! A friend was, and heard those expensive dishes crashing to the floor one night. :eek:) From the mid-ship elevator to the aft elevator may have some noise coming from the galley overhead.

[lovetocruise2020]

My DH and I will be taking a long cruise next year on the Rotterdam and have been upgraded from an outside cabin to a Lanai. We're having some misgivings about this because it looks smaller--and, he's worried about noise from outside and above--I'm worried about the light outside keeping me awake all night (even on inside cabins I have to stuff pool towels at the bottom of the door to keep the hall lights out!) Also concerned about opening the lanai door and having cigarette smoke blow in. Finally,we'll be renting a fridge (cooler) and are wondering where they'll be able to put it.

 

Can all of you who have stayed in Lanai cabins let us know what you liked and didn't like about your experience. Especially interested in what you didn't like so we can decide whether to ask our TA to give us the price break and put us back into the outside cabin.

 

Thanks all! Carolyn

 

Renting a fridge?

[happyglobetrotter]

Renting a fridge?

 

Of course, it is possible, it costs $2 a day but there is a limited amount of them. First come, first served. They are small bar type fridge and vary in age and quality.

[RuthC]

Renting a fridge?

The S- and R-class ships do not have a fridge in the inside and outside cabins. If someone wants one, it has to be rented.

Problem is it has to go somewhere, and the place it goes is usually meant for something else (like your feet when you sit at the desk ;)).

[Broon]

We have just returned from two weeks on the ROTTERDAM, in Lanai 3338, to Norway's North Cape & return. First time in a Lanai, and overall, we liked it. No problems with outside smoke or noise from above. We liked the ease of access to / from LP deck and the designated deck chairs. The curtains keep out the light, even during 4 continuous days of midnight sun. Not directly related to the Lanai, but there were several days of work taking place on the lifeboat immediately outside our cabin that did result in noise and reduced access on the deck. This could occur near many cabins at any time....the ship is getting old and needs maintenance. I wrote a note to the hotel manager and received a helpful reply.

 

The geography and scenery in Norway are so spectacular that we really didn't spend a lot of time sitting in "our" deck chairs or looking out from inside the cabin. We went elsewhere on the ship to see the huge panoramas. The large twin window/door in the Lanai provides a larger view to the outside when you want to look out.

[CHK]

Thanks to all of you who took the time to reply. We've decided to stay with our upgrade for now and, who knows, this far out maybe we'll get upgraded again (we have a guarantee):eek: Stranger things have happened.

 

We take guarantees fairly often and only one time had a problem with a cabin (a verandah on the Ryndam where we ended up directly above the speakers in the Ocean Bar--it was like having the band right in our room)

 

My DH likes to take a morning walk on deck, so being in a Lanai will be a bonus that way for sure.

 

Thanks again--Carolyn

[Cruise or Lose!]

We had this type of cabin in Bermuda two years ago. We didn't even know it existed!

 

PROS

 

1. As a night owl, I could stay up later and still be nearby (my early-to-rise-early-to-bed mother travels with me and our only "deal" is that I accompany her to the stateroom when she's ready for bed)

 

2. I ordered room service more often and relaxed outside our stateroom;

 

3. I could lie out there discreetly clad in nightwear;

 

4. I could just gaze out at the ocean for hours if the mood hit me.

 

CONS

 

1. The lounge chairs are NOT identified as belonging to the stateroom;

 

2. I sometimes felt guilty watching the crew work so hard (though they of course NEVER made me feel that way). Here they were busy cleaning, tidying, painting, and I was lazing around right in front of them;

 

3. These staterooms are "obstructed view" because you have the lifeboats and the railing blocking your view.

[Taz]

I have a lanai booked for my upcoming cruise and am a bit concerned about some of the comments I've read regarding smokers on the deck. Specifically, is smoking allowed on the lower promenade deck on Veendam? From what I can see on the HAL website, it says "Outside Decks" with "Sports Deck" and "Observation Deck" (where the ship has one) as bullet points below. I read that as those 2 places being the outside decks where smoking is allowed. Can someone clarify this for me?

[RuthC]

Specifically, is smoking allowed on the lower promenade deck on Veendam? From what I can see on the HAL website, it says "Outside Decks" with "Sports Deck" and "Observation Deck" (where the ship has one) as bullet points below. I read that as those 2 places being the outside decks where smoking is allowed. Can someone clarify this for me?

The way I read it, no, smoking is no longer allowed on Lower Promenade Deck.

But that's not sufficient to stop smokers out there if there are no signs, and if those who do smoke there aren't told to take it to where it's allowed.

This used to be a smoking allowed area. Unless it's specifically pointed out to the cruisers on the ship, then it's very possible someone would not know that the policy has changed, and they would smoke there.

IMO, it would be helpful for everyone on board if there were a letter in the cabin on boarding, or a section of a letter already distributed, specifying where the smoking areas are, and that ashtrays are not to be moved outside those areas.

[catl331]

1. The lounge chairs are NOT identified as belonging to the stateroom;

They used to have small brass plaques on them saying Reserved or some such. Not very obvious, but they were there. Maybe yours fell off, or your chair was swapped with the non-reserved kind for some reason.

 

3. These staterooms are "obstructed view" because you have the lifeboats and the railing blocking your view.

The lifeboats are above you - how do they obstruct any view?

...... Edited July 8, 2013 by catl331

[Cruise or Lose!]

What I meant was that it made no reference to the stateroom to which the chairs belonged. So it left policing of the lounge chairs up to the person(s) occupying the stateroom. I ended up leaving an extra pillow and blanket outside 24/7 as a "hint".

 

Also, when taking pictures, you do have to take the lifeboats into account, or walk around to the unobstructed area.

[cruise47]

Sometimes we enjoy sleeping with our balcony open at night. Is this a problem ?

[Linda&Vern]

Sometimes we enjoy sleeping with our balcony open at night. Is this a problem ?

Is this a joke? A Lanai Cabin is on a public deck. It is not a private balcony door. BTW, this thread is a year old.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Linda&Vern

[sapper1]

Sometimes we enjoy sleeping with our balcony open at night. Is this a problem ?

 

Very much so. Leaving your door open reduces the flow of cool air to all the other cabins on your line and makes life absolutely miserable for those in inside cabins. There are signs on the doors stating they are not to be left open.

[sapper1]

I didn't notice it was an old thread but the topic is always timely. The message about keeping doors shut needs to be spread.

[Linda&Vern]

I didn't notice it was an old thread but the topic is always timely. The message about keeping doors shut needs to be spread.

Sapper1 - My post was "tongue-in-cheek" more or less. I can't believe anyone on a "public deck" would consider leaving their Lanai door open at night. That's why I thought it might be a "joke."

[innlady1]

We had a lanai in January/February on the Maasdam and enjoyed it very much. Once they moved us on Day 5 because the door on our 1st lanai didn't open from the outside.

 

It's a lovely place to sit in the evening after dinner...very quiet and so nice to hear the sound of the ocean.

 

Personally, I wouldn't bother renting a fridge as there's less space at the desk than with other categories to begin with.

 

A couple times, people used our chairs. And, YES, there are plaques on each chair indicating to which stateroom they belong.

 

Would I book one again??? Absolutely....

[sapper1]

Sapper1 - My post was "tongue-in-cheek" more or less. I can't believe anyone on a "public deck" would consider leaving their Lanai door open at night. That's why I thought it might be a "joke."

 

Sorry if it seemed my post was directed at you. It was for anyone who would listen. I really was taking note of what you said and thinking "duh, why didn't I notice it was an old thread?". I was going to delete and then decided the message was important.

 

And yes, the idea of sleeping with a lanai door open is not good for many other reasons. Unwanted visitors come to mind. :eek:

Edited May 20, 2014 by sapper1

[RuthC]

And yes, the idea of sleeping with a lanai door open is not good for many other reasons. Unwanted visitors come to mind. :eek:

Aw, com-on. If someone is dumb enough to go to sleep with a lanai door open, they deserve visitors. Followed by seagulls.

[sapper1]

Aw, com-on. If someone is dumb enough to go to sleep with a lanai door open, they deserve visitors. Followed by seagulls.

 

They can only hope the rat rings around the shore lines have served their intended purpose. :D

[Linda&Vern]

They can only hope the rat rings around the shore lines have served their intended purpose. :D

 

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: