Aft cabins Westerdam - which deck?

[grayjay]

We're considering a cruise on Westerdam which is a new ship for us as is the Vista class in general. As we in general love cabins at the stern and there are quite a few cabins in cat. VB/VC still available we can still choose but  I wondered which deck and cabin to pick.

Deck 4? Nearer to the water but over the MDR and perhaps more engine noise??

Deck 5 : Deep balconies but they might make the cabin darker? We won't need that much space really.

Deck 6: Two cabins sandwiched in between two accessible cabins. Sounds good but are the cabins as big as the other VB's on the other decks?

Deck 7: Good views but perhaps rather far from the views of the wake?

Deck 8: cheaper as they are VC's but below the pool deck, not really an option for us.

 

Any advice on which deck/ cabin to choose? Thank you for your answers. Our alternative might be a cabin on decks 4-7 with an angled balcony (VA).

[Crew News]

Definitely aft balcony stateroom on Westerdam that is fully covered that keeps you out of the weather and allows you to eat on your balcony with no wind.

[CATandSQUID]

Deck 8 isnt too bad. a little noise around 0630 from moving chairs but not much.  The Verandah is a little longer. about half covered.  We enjoyed it during  a Panama Canal cruise and have the same cabin booked in June for Alaska!  We met people on various aft cabins and all loved them.

 

Pictures from 2018

http://halfacts.com/vista-class/8136-westerdam/

 

Photos
https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/westerdam-306/

 

Edited April 22, 2019 by CATandSQUID
added link.

[dobiemom]

While not aft-facing, cabins 4164 and 4166 (shower only) have extra long balconies. 

[DaveOKC]

Like deck 5 for the overhead coverage and large balconies.

 

[catl331]

Don't worry about noise from the MDR if you choose 4. The deck 4 balconies have more exposure than those above. The wake or engine noise doesn't decrease much if you go higher. I would choose 5.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I've been on 5, 7, and 8 on the Vistas. We had no issues with noise from above when we were on 8. But it was an Alaska cruise, so there was less moving of the loungers than there might be in the Caribbean.

 

I think I'm the only one who doesn't love the deck 5 afts. I found it too closed in. I like to stand at the edge and see nothing but sea and sky, not ceiling.

 

[grayjay]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I've been on 5, 7, and 8 on the Vistas. We had no issues with noise from above when we were on 8. But it was an Alaska cruise, so there was less moving of the loungers than there might be in the Caribbean.

 

I think I'm the only one who doesn't love the deck 5 afts. I found it too closed in. I like to stand at the edge and see nothing but sea and sky, not ceiling.

 

 

That's what I thought regarding deck 5. Pictures on halfacts and deck plans show a huge but elongated balcony. We didn't like those on Celebrity S-class ships either ( those to the sides with the extra-long balcony as we found ourselves to be " shut in".

As it's a cruise to Antarctica we're considering I think a stern cabin with a half-covered balcony might be best, perhaps a bit lower down to be be nearer " the action".

Cabins at the stern will surely be less convenient during high seas , for example in the Drake Passage, but I can remember our cruise on Celebrity Infinity several years ago where we could sit outside, out of the wind, to watch in comfort instead of standing on the deck itself.

So any more ideas about decks 4, 6 and 7 would be appreciated, esp. which ones are half-covered and whether the two VB cabins on deck 6 are as big or smaller than the cabins on decks 4 and 7.

Again, thank you so much for answers. I tried both Holland America's website ( haha, said the clown...) and halfacts ( which was quite helpful), but CC members still are the best sources of knowledge. 😍

[catl331]

6 minutes ago, grayjay said:

... and halfacts ( which was quite helpful), but CC members still are the best sources of knowledge. 😍

But everything on halfacts came from CC members. 😄

[grayjay]

Just now, catl331 said:

But everything on halfacts came from CC members. 😄

Very true but some of the information and pictures are not really newish and I couldn't find everything I wanted to know.

 So, I'm still hoping for more facts. As these cruises to South America are really expensive I want to make the best choice available.

[3rdGenCunarder]

13 minutes ago, grayjay said:

 

That's what I thought regarding deck 5. Pictures on halfacts and deck plans show a huge but elongated balcony. We didn't like those on Celebrity S-class ships either ( those to the sides with the extra-long balcony as we found ourselves to be " shut in".

As it's a cruise to Antarctica we're considering I think a stern cabin with a half-covered balcony might be best, perhaps a bit lower down to be be nearer " the action".

Cabins at the stern will surely be less convenient during high seas , for example in the Drake Passage, but I can remember our cruise on Celebrity Infinity several years ago where we could sit outside, out of the wind, to watch in comfort instead of standing on the deck itself.

So any more ideas about decks 4, 6 and 7 would be appreciated, esp. which ones are half-covered and whether the two VB cabins on deck 6 are as big or smaller than the cabins on decks 4 and 7.

Again, thank you so much for answers. I tried both Holland America's website ( haha, said the clown...) and halfacts ( which was quite helpful), but CC members still are the best sources of knowledge. 😍

 

I haven't been in deck 6 cabins, but I don't think those 2 middle verandas are any smaller than the others. The HC cabins appear to take up the space of two regular verandas, but given the way ships "stack" cabins, I don't think the HC cabins are likely to push into the space of the two regular verandas.

 

I'm trying to remember the coverage of decks 7 and 8. I think they were similar, about half covered. 

 

Whatever cabin you choose, I'm sure Antarctica will be a fabulous trip!

[grayjay]

Yes, and it's the reason we'll be going again..... I realize we were lucky the last time we went a few years ago because we  were blessed with fabulous weather, but the Westerdam ( as is the Zaandam for this year's season) is surely more comfortable for old rheumatic bones like mine in comparison to an expedition ship with endless climbing in and out of zodiacs at a price we can barely afford...

[TAD2005]

We like the deck 4 aft verandas.  When you are standing at your balcony railing, all you see is the beautiful ship's wake.  You are not looking down on the heads of the guests below you.  There is no noise from the dining room below you.  When maneuvering into and out of ports, there is some vibration because the Azipods are being rotated and not synchronized at the same RPM.  Once you are in regular cruise, there is no annoying noises or vibration.  In rough seas with swells of 12 ft or higher, you do feel some vibration when the ship is pitching over the swells.

[grayjay]

10 hours ago, TAD2005 said:

We like the deck 4 aft verandas.  When you are standing at your balcony railing, all you see is the beautiful ship's wake.  You are not looking down on the heads of the guests below you.  There is no noise from the dining room below you.  When maneuvering into and out of ports, there is some vibration because the Azipods are being rotated and not synchronized at the same RPM.  Once you are in regular cruise, there is no annoying noises or vibration.  In rough seas with swells of 12 ft or higher, you do feel some vibration when the ship is pitching over the swells.

Can you please tell us if the deck 4 verandas have some cover? We usually choose cabins higher up, but this time we think the views of the wildlife surrounding you - penguins, whales, dolphins etc. might be easier to catch than on the higher decks. But some amount of coverage would be good because of the weather conditions.

I also looked again at pictures of the two aft cabins on deck 6 but the verandas seem to be a bit smaller than the ones on deck 4.

I also thought about the suggestion to try 4166 (on port side) because it has got a shower, and getting older I prefer to move into a shower instead of a tub especially if the sea is rough...

[catl331]

2 hours ago, grayjay said:

Can you please tell us if the deck 4 verandas have some cover?

This is the Zuiderdam, but Westerdam is the same.  As you can see the deck 4 balconies are about 1/2 covered.

[DaveOKC]

• We loved the deck 5 aft-wraps due to the huge balconies and lots of shade, which is great for warm weather cruising.  We have stayed in deck 4 ones as well, and they are about 1/2 shaded and the balcony area sunny area can easily been seen  from deck 5.

Cold weather cruising - not a biggie as we like the sun more.

[TAD2005]

As you see by the picture provided by CATL331 above, the deck 4 aft veranda are the longest of all deck on the Vista class ships.  They are about 50% covered.  You have a full length lounge chair, and you can request a 2nd one from your cabin steward, plus a regular chair and a little table.  We had 4174 on the Oosterdam and the balcony was huge, but with 50% coverage.

[crunchii]

Here's another pic. This is Westerdam, taken last week in Osaka, Japan.

[LRLLSL]

On 4/21/2019 at 6:51 PM, grayjay said:

We're considering a cruise on Westerdam which is a new ship for us as is the Vista class in general. As we in general love cabins at the stern and there are quite a few cabins in cat. VB/VC still available we can still choose but  I wondered which deck and cabin to pick.

Deck 4? Nearer to the water but over the MDR and perhaps more engine noise??

Deck 5 : Deep balconies but they might make the cabin darker? We won't need that much space really.

Deck 6: Two cabins sandwiched in between two accessible cabins. Sounds good but are the cabins as big as the other VB's on the other decks?

Deck 7: Good views but perhaps rather far from the views of the wake?

Deck 8: cheaper as they are VC's but below the pool deck, not really an option for us.

 

Any advice on which deck/ cabin to choose? Thank you for your answers. Our alternative might be a cabin on decks 4-7 with an angled balcony (VA).

We are on the May 19 Westerdam Alaska cruise and booked an aft cabin, VB5187.  Based on photos of the balcony on cruisedeckplans.com, it looks like a long dark hallway, crowded with too much furniture for our tastes (2 loungers, 2 chairs and a table).  Fortunately thanks to booking directly with HAL we were just offered an upgrade for a nominal amount to a signature suite.

 

[Crew News]

I would not trade my Deck 5 aft balconies in Alaska for even a Neptune Suite.  The 12-foot deep balcony is great for entertaining friends and the full overhead coverage allows me to stand on the balcony in a driving rain in Glacier Bay and take photos/videos in a dry environment.  With no wind while the ship is moving, I can eat dinner and enjoy the scenery while most passengers cannot.  I can stay on my aft balcony and see both sides of the ship and not have to compete for space at the railings.

 

Others who are not photographers may prefer a bigger stateroom, and not being able to use their balconies in the rain, over the photo and scenery-watching opportunities available on a Deck 5 aft stateroom on Vista-class ship (except Noordam).

[msmayor]

My first balcony was a VB on deck five of the Westerdam, and it was AMAZING...husband and I loved the size and ability to spend so much time out there during the entire trip.  We didn't feel at all like it was a 'tunnel', and loved the fact that we were out of the direct wind.  

 

We've since had two other aft balcony staterooms on other ships - they are our favorite.

[Crew News]

On 5/2/2019 at 5:10 PM, msmayor said:

My first balcony was a VB on deck five of the Westerdam, and it was AMAZING...husband and I loved the size and ability to spend so much time out there during the entire trip.  We didn't feel at all like it was a 'tunnel', and loved the fact that we were out of the direct wind.  

 

We've since had two other aft balcony staterooms on other ships - they are our favorite.

 

Hmmmm.  Looks like I have competition for Deck 5 aft staterooms.  I was lucky to grab a Deck 5 aft stateroom on the Westerdam for Antarctica in 2021.

[scubacruiserx2]

Some views of the sister ship the Zuiderdam

 

 

7151

 

 

 

5191

 

 

We preferred 5191 to keep the rain and snow off of the deck and our cameras in Iceland and Norway .

[Dunmore2]

On 4/25/2019 at 5:35 PM, TAD2005 said:

As you see by the picture provided by CATL331 above, the deck 4 aft veranda are the longest of all deck on the Vista class ships.  They are about 50% covered.  You have a full length lounge chair, and you can request a 2nd one from your cabin steward, plus a regular chair and a little table.  We had 4174 on the Oosterdam and the balcony was huge, but with 50% coverage.

Would you happen to have any photos of the room or deck? Thanks.

[tupper10]

We booked directly with Holland America  - on our now canceled cruise to Antarctica,  we had an aft balcony on deck 8.  When we re booked for the  2022 Antarctic cruise the agent said to grab the deck 5 aft cabin stating that those are the most requested of all the aft cabins for this cruise.  I have been to Antarctica  (small ship)  and I would get the most protected aft cabin you can since it is the wind that makes you cold vs the temperature.  From what I can tell the deck 5 aft cabins give you the most protection and you still get the view.   You want to be outside as much as you can despite any bad weather you may encounter since the wild life and scenery are spectacular.