Best sunning on NA.... the tradeoffs

[kelleherdl]

We have a 7-day Eastern Caribbean on NA March 2014. Where is the best sunning area without having to play the lounge chair reserving game? I know the aft pool has the most open deck and loungers, but how crowded does it get? Can you even find a chair if you choose to work out in the morning? We will likely not do all ports, and those not longer that a couple hours. That may ease things up somewhat on port days.

 

We have a Family Cabana Club cabana reserved, but will that really be the best solution. It should give us a consistent shot at a lounge in the sun, but I worry that sunning time may not be that long up there. Clearly, there are other reasons to want the Cabana Club :).

 

Are they enough to override just trying to find a chair at aft pool?

 

Dennis

[sail7seas]

We spent two weeks on Nieuw Amsterdam and five weeks on her sister ship, Eurodam, and never once had a hard time finding two lounge chairs at aft pool.

 

We went out at various times depending how long we spent ashore in ports. We never felt any need to hurry up or we wouldn't get lounger.

 

Have a great cruise.

[cruisetrail]

Have you ever owned a cruise ship?

 

I mean have you ever been on a ship that is all yours?

This is what you'll have on port days.

For one hour or so the crew will reserve the aft pool for safety training (at St. Thomas).

On sea days, of course, places near the pools are most desirable.

They will be taken for some time, not for for the whole "sunny" day.

You'll see it.

We do workout in the morning and never have problems with loungers on the aft pool deck. As sea days are obviously more busy, a reasonable attention to how the real life is going on is suggested.

The Nieuw Amsterdam provide ocean of space on sun decks that are not near the pools.

The forward sun deck has showers.

The largest sun deck above Tamarind is vast and provide stunning views.

And it's closer to the aft pool.

 

With the space provided, the amenities available and given a budget for extras, the Eurodam & Nieuw Amsterdam provide cruising experience that has nothing to compare (except Cunard).

 

That said, I personally believe cabanas are not necessary.

We have plenty of space, private space, comfortable space on these two ships.

What is not to be missed - Hydropool & Thermal suite. I would rather spend money on that and also on specialty dining.

 

As I said, if you stay on the ship in ports (that only could be San Juan and St.Thomas) - the whole ship is your private cabana.

 

Sorry, I have not reached "open decks" point in my review yet...

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[bachcruise]

My favorite spots were mid-aft either side above the lido and the sun deck above Tamarind. Very uncrowded and plenty of free loungers at Christmas in the Caribbean.

[OVgirl]

If you are going to have a cabana then the best sunning deck is right in the centre of the cabanas. Great quiet location.

 

But if you like people watching you might want to be on the Lido deck around one of the pools.

 

The loungers around the mid Lido pool are often taken quite early.

But the ship is huge, so you should be able to find a spot to your liking.

[maxxboy]

We have a 7-day Eastern Caribbean on NA March 2014. Where is the best sunning area without having to play the lounge chair reserving game?

 

We have a Family Cabana Club cabana reserved, but will that really be the best solution. It should give us a consistent shot at a lounge in the sun, but I worry that sunning time may not be that long up there. Clearly, there are other reasons to want the Cabana Club :).

 

 

 

Dennis

 

We had a Family Cabana on the NA just last month. It was worth every penny, and yes, there is a nice sized space in the middle for getting some sun with no need to play the lounge chair game. There is also a shower that you can use to cool off and a rest room as well. You will have fresh fruit, bottled water, and around 2-3PM each day chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. The cabana attendants are great and will get you just about anything you want. Around lunch time they will give you two menus to order from. One is the Cabana Club menu and the other is either from the Lido or MDR (can't remember). One afternoon I told the cabana attendant I was going to have lunch in the Lido. He said he could get anything from there I wanted! Btw, we explored the aft pool area only once and went immediately back to our cabana. It is much more relaxing and quiet there.

Edited January 7, 2014 by maxxboy

[cruisetrail]

We had a Family Cabana on the NA just last month. It was worth every penny, and yes, there is a nice sized space in the middle for getting some sun with no need to play the lounge chair game. There is also a shower that you can use to cool off and a rest room as well. You will have fresh fruit, bottled water, and around 2-3PM each day chocolate covered strawberries and champagne. The cabana attendants are great and will get you just about anything you want. Around lunch time they will give you two menus to order from. One is the Cabana Club menu and the other is either from the Lido or MDR (can't remember). One afternoon I told the cabana attendant I was going to have lunch in the Lido. He said he could get anything from there I wanted! Btw, we explored the aft pool area only once and went immediately back to our cabana. It is much more relaxing and quiet there.

 

 

This is exactly what I see about cabanas. As you have paid for a cabana you'll tend to spend most of the time there missing many other beautiful spots on the ship.

However, having this option only says in favor of the high quality product one can have on HAL Signature class ships.

[GeorgesGal]

And my sister and I purposely reserve the cabanas for the opposite reason of OP: we want guaranteed shade which we can't always find.

[kelleherdl]

Thanks All

 

I am thinking again about the the Cabana Club. May just take my chances on finding a nice spot on the upper decks.

 

Dennis

[Typhoon1]

N.A and its sister are the largest ships in the HAL fleet. There is more than an ample supply of chairs available, you shouldn't have a problem finding a chair.

[maxxboy]

 

This is exactly what I see about cabanas. As you have paid for a cabana you'll tend to spend most of the time there missing many other beautiful spots on the ship.

 

 

We didn't spend "most of our time there" and we enjoyed all of the "many other beautiful spots on the ship."