Is Holland America a good fit for us?

[RocketMan275]

Hi 1884VIC

We're a gen X couple as well. We decided to take our first cruise on the Eurodam b2b next feb and we're excited about it. We also booked for 2015 on Noordam and we got a nice verandah room with the 18 foot balcony. We have done many land vacations and finally we added cruising to our adventures. We live in a not very cold but cold enough location to get us to enjoy warmer climates in the winter. Wonder what is your favorite ship & itinerary on HAL ?

 

18 Foot Balconies? How do you know which are those?

[RuthC]

18 Foot Balconies? How do you know which are those?

You ask here! :D

 

There are two such cabins on the Vista and Signature ships, port side, in the aft area. Take a look at the deckplans, and you should see the difference.

The cabins are on Deck 4, and the last digits (I can't recall the cabin numbers) are "66" and the one next to it (that one changes from ship to ship).

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I have reread this thread and to the OP in all honesty and not trying to be snarky I think you really should try Celebrity. You talk with lots of admiration for Royal Caribbean. In my opinion the Royal Caribbean product is quite different from Holland America. There is definitely a distinct feel for the RCI product even on the Celebrity Ships. With your past passenger status with RCI I agree with those that recommended going to Celebrity. The similarity that Celebrity has to Royal Caribbean will make you feel a bit more at home yet a bit more upscale. I think once you have tried Celebrity then maybe your next step could be another different cruise line. It is obvious that you really like Royal Caribbean so it will be hard to not keep comparing when you do cruise again. I have found most (not everyone) have a really hard time enjoying a cruise that is NOT the same line if they have done many cruises with a particular line. But say if you had only done one maybe two with Royal Caribbean then the trying of another line is not such a big step.

I have to be honest, I had done two Royal Caribbean cruises in the very beginning of my cruising, then did about 24 HAL cruises then went back to RCI only to be constantly comparing and not liking anything that happened on that cruise. I wanted to be quite open but my heart and mind was just accustom to something different. Even when I cruised Celebrity I immediately felt the RCI touches through out the ship. I feel the same could happen to you with trying HAL. I have read that often for those that frequent another line then try one that is totally different it is often hard to change the mind and heart.

In regard to your comment about NCL I honestly do not think that is the case about devoting a lot of space to the Suites but then that is all I have actually booked :o but we travel with friends that do not book the Suites and they all really like Norwegian. One couple we cruised with quite a bit were Carnival fans. Had done many Carnival cruises, they have done HAL but while they think HAL is OK and they were traveling with us it is definitely not their favorite and would never do HAL on their own. It was not till they tried NCL that they found more things they liked. Interesting enough they also went with us on Celebrity and liked Celebrity more than I did ;)

[RocketMan275]

You ask here! :D

 

There are two such cabins on the Vista and Signature ships, port side, in the aft area. Take a look at the deckplans, and you should see the difference.

The cabins are on Deck 4, and the last digits (I can't recall the cabin numbers) are "66" and the one next to it (that one changes from ship to ship).

 

Found them. Thanks. Balconies are important.

[startwin]

You ask here! :D

 

There are two such cabins on the Vista and Signature ships, port side, in the aft area. Take a look at the deckplans, and you should see the difference.

The cabins are on Deck 4, and the last digits (I can't recall the cabin numbers) are "66" and the one next to it (that one changes from ship to ship).

4164 & 4166 on the Zuiderdam and Westerdam. We had 4166 on the Zuiderdam, and there is some vibration there, but well worth it for the double-size balcony.

Edited December 27, 2013 by startwin

[trixiee]

4164 & 4166 on the Zuiderdam and Westerdam. We had 4166 on the Zuiderdam, and there is some vibration there, but well worth it for the double-size balcony.

 

Thanks for that! What are the room numbers for the other class of ship?

[Thebes]

18 Foot Balconies? How do you know which are those?

 

Glad you got your question answered by others :)