Will we miss a balcony for Canada New England Cruise?

[ProfTW]

Our family of three people are looking at the Veendam or Maasdam sailing Canada New England this summer (2017). Pricing out a midship outside cabin on Main deck versus a Vista suite, we are finding that the Vista is double the price (approx $8000 CAD) of the outside cabin (appox $4000) for the sailing we are looking at.

 

We are also looking at an Alaska Neptune suite for almost the same price as the Vista Can/NE so I am having a hard time justifying the price for the Vista suite especially for this port intensive cruise.

 

My question is for those who have done this cruise, will we be missing out by booking an outside cabin? Does the level of service one receives vary based on where your cabin is (we have only been in a Neptune suite before)? I have a special needs child that needs dietary accommodation and found that HAL was great but wonder whether it was the level of cabin that influenced the level of service.

 

For those with more experience sailing HAL, what are your thoughts? Will we receive the same level of service? Is there something extraordinary in the Vista that make it worth double the price on the Can N/E itinerary?

 

Thank you for your responses. I find that the Cruise Critic community is always a great help!

[ellieanne]

I've never had a balcony on any of my Canada/New England cruises. This is the only itinerary on which my parents will book a balcony. It's a personal thing. I don't use the balcony enough to justify the cost, but my parents love being out on theirs in port, on sea days, and in the evenings on this itinerary. Caribbean cruises are too hot for them to enjoy the balcony, so they don't bother with it for those itineraries.

 

If you are used to a balcony, you will probably miss it, but I have never seen the need for one.

[OlsSalt]

We had a balcony on this cruise, but I don't think it is necessary. This is a fairly port intensive cruise so most of what you will see will be in port. Because this is a smaller ship you can get outside very easily from the lower ocean view rooms. Plus that way you can go from side to side a lot more easily too.

 

It is pretty going down the St Lawrence River in the fall, but it gets dark quickly after you see so you don't have that much time to see it anyway. This is a good cruise. Hope you enjoy it no matter which cabin you choose.

[1of4]

I hope not since we found the same pricing. We booked an OV on the Maasdam this July. We are also a triple. I called to take advantage of the View and Verandah sale but it was double the cost, over $8000 CDN.

 

So OV it is.

[GradUT]

We had a porthole cabin on the Veendam for our Canada/New England cruise. We normally book balcony cabins, but we got such a great deal on this porthole cabin. We found the cabin just fine because this cruise is so port-intensive. If you want to be outside, there is a promenade with plenty of loungers. We got the same level of excellent service as we always get on HAL.

[dfish]

I've done it both ways, once with a balcony (Maasdam) and once in an inside cabin (Veendam). We had just as much fun on the cruise in the inside cabin as we did with the balcony. It is a very port intensive cruise with ports that are easy to walk around and spend time in even with excursions. It is very easy to get outside and we spent a lot of time on the aft deck or walking the promenade.

 

You should not notice any difference in service on the ship due to cabin category, especially for your child with special dietary needs. The crew takes pride in serving you well.

 

I'd save the money and use it for excursions in port or something special.

[ProfTW]

Thank you to everyone.

I think we will switch to an ocean view cabin based on the comments you have provided. As much as we would love a balcony, I can't justify almost double the price (especially when we could take another HAL cruise with the difference :D).

Now off to study the deck plans to find the ideal ocean view cabin.

You guys are great - appreciate the responses!

[tallyho8]

We are sailing on the Veendam this May and it has some of the most unique outside cabins of all ships. Our outside cabin has a balcony over 1600 feet long.

 

We are in an outside cabin on the lower promenade deck which is unique because this cabin has a front and back door. The back door opens up right unto the lower promenade deck that goes completely around the ship and right outside your door are two loungers marked specifically for your cabin use only.

 

These outside cabins are more expensive than the other outside cabins but less than the balcony cabins but I much prefer them to the balcony cabins. You are low down on the third deck where you are much closer to the water to watch for the whales and other animals and can easily cross over from the port side to the starboard side if something interesting is on the other side.

[judymag]

I did this cruise last year on royal weather was dull and over cast so balcony would have been a waste of money it's a busy itenery and we spent little time in our cabin

 

 

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[serendipity1499]

We are sailing on the Veendam this May and it has some of the most unique outside cabins of all ships. Our outside cabin has a balcony over 1600 feet long.

 

We are in an outside cabin on the lower promenade deck which is unique because this cabin has a front and back door. The back door opens up right unto the lower promenade deck that goes completely around the ship and right outside your door are two loungers marked specifically for your cabin use only.

 

These outside cabins are more expensive than the other outside cabins but less than the balcony cabins but I much prefer them to the balcony cabins. You are low down on the third deck where you are much closer to the water to watch for the whales and other animals and can easily cross over from the port side to the starboard side if something interesting is on the other side.

 

Hmm..That is not an outside cabin.. It is called a Lanai cabin & those cabins are wonderful.. We were in a Lanai cabin several years ago & would book it again.. Agree they are higher in price than outside cabins but less than a balcony cabin.. Love that they have their own dedicated lounge chairs, but once in a while you may have an interloper sitting in your chairs.. I solved this, by making a small sign to place in the chair..It said

 

"Thank you for not using these lounge chairs.. They are for the Passengers in this cabin"

 

I tied the sign onto the arms of our chairs.. However, that was when the Lanai cabins were brand new & a sign might not be needed now.. The pads are a different color than the other lounge chairs..

 

The HAL sign indicating that these are dedicated chairs is very small & normally might be overlooked by other passengers.. :cool:

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have done different versions of the Canada/New England cruises.

And we have always had a balcony/verandah.

We love going out there as the ship arrives and departs a port. Also we enjoy sitting out there when we get back from either a tour or just walking around and people watching.

[DaveOKC]

Our family of three people are looking at the Veendam or Maasdam sailing Canada New England this summer (2017). Pricing out a midship outside cabin on Main deck versus a Vista suite, we are finding that the Vista is double the price (approx $8000 CAD) of the outside cabin (appox $4000) for the sailing we are looking at.

 

We are also looking at an Alaska Neptune suite for almost the same price as the Vista Can/NE so I am having a hard time justifying the price for the Vista suite especially for this port intensive cruise.

 

My question is for those who have done this cruise, will we be missing out by booking an outside cabin? Does the level of service one receives vary based on where your cabin is (we have only been in a Neptune suite before)? I have a special needs child that needs dietary accommodation and found that HAL was great but wonder whether it was the level of cabin that influenced the level of service.

 

For those with more experience sailing HAL, what are your thoughts? Will we receive the same level of service? Is there something extraordinary in the Vista that make it worth double the price on the Can N/E itineray

 

 

Your problem (cost) is that on the smaller HAL ships the only cabins with balconies are the suites (even though the Vista Suite is not much larger than the Oceanview). If you were to take the Oosterdam (or similar sized ship) you would be able to save alot on a balcony, but they cannot go into Montreal (bridge issue).

[esimon]

never travel without a balcony -- used it in AK - will use it in New England - love the open air and added space

[summersigh]

Our family of three people are looking at the Veendam or Maasdam sailing Canada New England this summer (2017).

We are also looking at an Alaska Neptune suite for almost the same price as the Vista Can/NE so I am having a hard time justifying the price for the Vista suite especially for this port intensive cruise.

 

On our NE/Canada cruise we used our balcony alot - the cool tang in the air was wonderful.

 

Balcony cabins on the "S-class" of ships that includes Veendam, Statendam, Ryndam and Maasdam are significantly more expensive than ships in the "Vista Class" - Westerdam, Zuiderdam, Oosterdam and Noordam. Unfortunately none of those 4 are doing NE/Canada until the Zuiderdam in September.

[summersigh]

sorry ... my CC seems to be acting up this morning :-(

[knittinggirl]

We've done four or five Canada/New England cruises on Royal Caribbean, most in a Junior Suite, which is usually larger than the VS on Holland America. If you are late into October/November, it may be too cold to utilize your balcony much. We do love the floor to ceiling windows! We did a B2B, Quebec to FLL to Southern Caribbean, and we didn't step into our balcony until Charleston.

 

Pictures of Portland from our balcony were not very scenic. Bar Harbor is a tender port, so you need a telephoto lens there. It's pretty w/ all those tree covered islands scattered. Halifax, well on Halifax, we did the all day tours, so we didn't see much from the balcony. Peggy's Cove is a must from Halifax. St. John is not too scenic (from the balcony) either. But be sure you get a photo of the ship in port when you leave for your shore excursion then when you return, to note the huge tide difference.

 

We also did the one from Quebec to FLL and I really expected to see more scenery along the St. Lawrence River, but most of the time, we couldn't spot land. Also, once you're in port on any one of the places, you can go up to the retreat upstairs and see more there.

 

We had an aft cabin and a port of call in Boston, and I got a beautiful sunrise picture of some of the loading docks.

 

We sailed in a Vista Suite on Voyage of the Vikings last year, and if you want a private balcony, that's the cheapest room you can get. Vista suites will give you double loyalty credit! We had a nice lap blanket, nice cushions on the balcony. Six water glasses in the room. Adjustable height coffee table. Bathroom door magnet to keep the bathroom door from slamming. Oversized napkins on the floor where we'd step out of bed w/ turn down (no idea what they were supposed to do). Narrow but long room, hard to access balcony unless we both sat on the couch. TV easy to see from couch. Royal Caribbean's Junior suites are only a few more square feet more, but have wider rooms that makes it easier to get around.

 

Also on Rotterdam deck 7, our route to the muster station was toward the back of the ship and down the stairs.