Cabins to avoid

[Broughton Hall]

I was recently looking for the first time at another board (Celebrity) and noticed they had a really interesting thread on cabins to avoid. I was amazed at some of the issues people faced in certain cabins, including strange noises that nobody could explain, poles in the middle of certain cabins and obstructed views with painters platforms. All things I would never have even thought of. I wonder if anyone had any particular pet peeves against certain cabins on Holland America ships. My first cruise with Holland America is in December and I was particularly interested in the Westerdam but it would be interesting to hear of any peculiarities on all ships. I am in cabin 6083 and to be perfectly honest not sure if that is a good or bad choice. All I know is it is mid ship with a small balcony and was a good price.

[grannynurse]

6083 appears to be a starboard midship SY cabin which, in size (approx 389 sq ft), is between a full suite S and a veranda cabin VA. The SS SY cabins have a good size veranda. The room is a square shape unlike the smaller rectangle shaped regular veranda cabins. It has the big bathroom with separate shower stall and whirlpool tub. It accomodates 3 people (queen bed and sleeper sofa). The SS/SY cabins are very nice rooms. Check the HAL website under ships and look at the Westerdam cabin pix and 360 degree tour. You'll have a nice surprise.

Welcome to the HAL board.

GN

[dougnewmanatsea]

Most cabins, on most ships, are just fine. For the most part they're built as pre-fabricated modules these days so they tend to be identical.

 

Still, you bring up a good point - it would be nice to have a list of cabins on HAL ships that are "problem cabins"; e.g. next to something noisy...

 

Anyone here been in one?

[constructiondude]

I was on the Westerdam and didn't really have any problems other than the typical unavoidable noises: footsteps and distant sounds of toilets flushing. And I can't report firsthand, but I've read reports in other boards about deckchair scraping sounds in the staterooms situated below the Lido Aft pool; but not on my cruise because it was Alaska and nobody in their right mind was out there, come to think of it I don't even think the chairs were out.

 

I had heard a few other horror stories, mostly relating to older (built before 1980) ships of which HAL has none. Look at the deckplans and use common sense when booking and avoid being near banks of elevators and above or below nightclubs and galleys, etc.

 

My favorite story was from a woman that was awakened by a party of sorts and she couldn't figure out where it was coming from, she walked her entire deck and even paced the deck above her....it turned out she was above the crew deck and her stateroom was right above the crew bar where a party was in full swing. Without a deckplan of the crew deck I suppose its a crapshoot on that one.

[willowoodf]

Avoid any cabin with a number that includes brig, bilge, or oar galley ;)

 

Jeff

[Little Feet]

I've not had a bad cabin on HAL, but this location could be trouble on any ship. A year ago, my employer had a convention on a RCL ship, and we were given cabins. Hard to complain when a cruise is given to you, but we had an outside cabin on the lowest desk and the most forward of all the cabins on that deck. It had a porthole (large one) and was above the water level, but at night when it bacame wavy.....the waves crashed against the ship right at our cabin. It made a loud banging noise, over and over, and prevented us from sleeping. We complained at the ships services desk, and they "investigated" and told us it was the "sea". Avoid anything low and forward!

[cruisinjudy]

We had a guarantee verandah on Zaandam. We got to listen to the shows several times. Turned out our cabin was right above the show lounge and we could hear the late show and also practices in the daytime if we happened to be napping.

[dougnewmanatsea]

We complained at the ships services desk, and they "investigated" and told us it was the "sea".

It sounds like you had pretty rough weather.

 

If it was an area of the ship that usually had waves banging up against it, there wouldn't be big windows there... If anything there would be small portholes with deadlights that would be tightly closed in bad weather.

 

Last year we got caught in quite a storm aboard ROTTERDAM and the waves were washing over the window of our Main Deck cabin and splashing up onto the boat deck one deck above on Lower Promenade Deck.

[fcorey]

I would avoid any room near the elevators, the arrival tones are loud enough to wake the dead. I am sure that would get a bit annoying. Then again I was pretty impressed with the sound insulation of our aft room.

[jjb415]

We were recently in cabin number 1912 on the Rotterdam in Europe. At least 2 or 3 times a day an alarm sounded that was a lot like the sound that is made by a European police car. Sometimes it would be for a slpit second and at other times it would sound for 5-15 seconds, usually during daytime hours. We pretty much ignored it until it sounded one morning at about 7:30am for a considerable amount of time and roused us from bed. We questioned our room steward who informed us that the front office was working on investigating the alarm. Other guests near our cabin were asking about the noise also. When we called the Front Desk, we were told that this was the first time anyone had complained about it and they were unaware of the source. Upon further investigation, we were then told that we were directly above the engine room. We were told that it was an alarm that had to be tested on a regular basis to ensure communication between the bridge and the engine room. Although annoying, this loud noice could startle light sleepers or those sensitive to loud noises.

 

I've since searched these boards to see of other members have had the same problem and have found no other instances of this problem.

[happyglobetrotter]

On HAL, if you do not like aggravation, there is also the cabins located on main deck just under the lower promenade deck on the S series (Statendam, Maasdam, etc) the R series (Rotterdam, Zaandam, etc). Even if it says NO JOGGING some people do not care and do it. It results in unpleasant thuds for the people staying right under...also if a woman walks on the deck with high heels, you can hear it.

 

One time, we had a lower promenade outside cabin, and during the day if you lie down in bed to watch tv, you see shadows each time someone pass by unless you close the curtain completely ! And at night of course, because the lights stay on all night on the lower promenade deck, total obscurity is impossible in the room.

 

Louise

 

30 HAL, 2 Princess, 2 RCCL, 1 Costa, 1 Cunard, 4 defunct companies, 2 river cruises, 1 Crystal

[Sueseb]

WE also were on the very lowest deck and as forward as one can get -- but the price was right for a last minute cruise. The bow thrusters were a most interesting alarm clock as we headed into port at dawn!

[gizmo]

On the Vista ships there are a couple of balconies that have solid steel panels. I don't know the location since I haven't sailed on a Vista but I am sure someone on this board knows where they are.

[peaches from georgia]

I would avoid any room near the elevators, the arrival tones are loud enough to wake the dead. I am sure that would get a bit annoying. Then again I was pretty impressed with the sound insulation of our aft room.

We were right at the midship elevators on the Rotterdam and never heard a noise. The elevator area is perpendicular to the hallways (like an 'H') so you are somewhat removed from the elevators to begin with. Really, I don't remember anyone on these boards complaining about elevator noise of any kind on any HAL ship.

[Mollynme]

Then again I was pretty impressed with the sound insulation of our aft room.

My first cruise cabin was right across the hall from the laundry room. We never heard a sound until we opened our door.

[bobbyd6363]

I have a noise story for you all! It didnt take place on HAL but instead was on the SS Norway (NCL). My bestfreind and I were entertainers travelling during their famous theme cruises. We were given the very last outide cabin on the port side (Atlantic Deck I think) by the disco. This is the side of the ship with the men's room. Whenever the door to the men's room would be opened the urinals would flush! I KID YOU NOT!! I went to see for myself! LOL!! So every night until 3 or 4 AM we were entertained by the sounds of men opening the bathroom door - FLUSH to enter the men's room and opening the door - FLUSH to leave! GOD! Drove us CRAZY!

[RevNeal]

On the Vista class ships (Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Noordam) the only "Large" Inside cabins are the Main Deck Js forward of the Atrium and the four Ks abaft the rear elevators. These cabins are either 194, 198, or 207 square feet and some have connecting doors between them, making a nice 2-bedroom arrangement for a family or friends.

 

In addition to these, the I cabins on decks 6 and 8 are "Large" cabins.

 

Otherwise, all the inside cabins on the Vistas are barely large enough to swing a cat in (148 square feet).

[duck tune]

I would avoid any room near the elevators, the arrival tones are loud enough to wake the dead. I am sure that would get a bit annoying. Then again I was pretty impressed with the sound insulation of our aft room.

DH and I were on the Oosterdam in March cabin 4044 and never heard any noise from the elevators when we were in the cabin. On the Zaandam in June we were right across from the pantry and never heard any noise when we were inside the cabin - only if the steward happened to be in there when we were entering or leaving the cabin.

 

The only annoyance we had was on the Ryndam when we were in Veranda cabin B101 in Jan of 2004. I was excited because we were so close to the front of the ship but we had numerous toilet backup problems. I think we would avoid going too far aft to prevent that from happening again.

[boards]

Revneal what about the Cat. J cabins on the others, Amsterdam, Veendam, Zaandam. What is the square footage, Hal says its 182?

[samkade]

Just wondering, this is the first for Volendam for us and we were wondering not only about the cabin, but the layout shows that maybe there are tables and chairs more to the aft of the ship on that level.

[RevNeal]

Revneal what about the Cat. J cabins on the others, Amsterdam, Veendam, Zaandam. What is the square footage, Hal says its 182?

 

The J-Category Inside Cabins on the S and R class ships are all found on the Lower Promenade Deck, amidships, just aft of the Atrium. They are in an EXCELLENT location, and are among my favorite cabins on the S and Rs. They are all the same size, at 182 square feet ... indeed, they are a little larger than the outside C-category cabins just across the hall from them. :) In my opinion they are the best truly inside cabins on those ships because of their location.

 

However, for my money and in my experience and opinion, the largest and best inside cabins in the whole dam Fleet are the Js and the Ks found on the Vista's Main Deck. Just don't get them confused with the Js and the Ks found on the upper decks ... they are MUCH smaller.

[RevNeal]

mm1956 is the farthest-back inside port-side cabin on the Dolphin Deck. It should have the same lay-out as all other inside cabins on the S and R class ships.

 

Those tables and chairs you see on the deck plan in that aft area are in the crew common room, and are off-limits to passengers.

[the2ofus]

These cabins are below a part of the kitchen where some kind of food prep activity takes place several times daily from early am. to mid afternoon.

 

On the Statendam and the Maasdam we heard a loud, rhythmic thumping plus other assorted noises on a regular basis. If you're an early riser and not in the cabin a lot during the day, you probably won't be bothered. On the plus side, there was not any noise late evenings or during the night. We were never bothered by noise from outside on the LP deck.

[Sunshine91]

Gotta agree w/the other posters about the lack of elevator noise. On Noordam we selected one of the cabins on deck 4 behind the forward elevator bank. Only occasionally could I hear the bing-bong of the arriving elevator car, & that's only if I was standing just inside the cabin at the closet, pondering what to wear. Further inside the cabin, at the bed - nothing. More likely to hear rowdy pax in the hallway, which could possibly be heard in any cabin. :D

Our cabin also had a connecting door. Never heard a peep from our neighbors. Not even their TV.

We liked the cabin so much, & the convenience of being so close to the elevators & stairs, that we booked the same one for January. :)

[Kamloops50]

Just returned from a trip on the Volendam . Had Cabin 1887 ,:) when we go again we will ask for it. Othe passengers :)'said that some cabins on Deck 3 aft are noisy due to the kitchen being located nearby. otherwise heard of no complaints about any other cabinet's:cool: