HAL Nieuw Statendam Verandah Stateroom Review

HAL Nieuw Statendam Verandah Stateroom Review

Not all staterooms on Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam are created equal.  Recently I stayed in one of the unique rooms that is better than most for a few reason.  This is my experience in a unique room on a cruise to the Norwegian Fjords.

Booking

My original stateroom, booked through a land based casino promotion, was a Verandah Stateroom in the VA category.  Holland America has various stateroom levels within each category.  So within the “Verandah Stateroom” category, you have V, VA, VS, VB, VC, etc.  Better rooms might be midship on a higher floor, worse rooms might have an obstructed view.

Holland America has a program called Club Orange that is a paid upgrade separate from their Mariner Society loyalty program.  For $25 per person per day of your trip to add Club Orange, you get benefits that other guests do not — the top being an upgrade to the highest level available room within your booked category.  So in theory you could book an obstructed view Verandah Stateroom, pay $25 per day and get a much nicer view and room.

When I called to book Club Orange for my trip, I had a deck plan of the ship pulled up as well and did a bit of research.  I wanted to try to get room 5048 or 5051 as they had a larger balcony.  5048 was available so I booked it with the agent on the phone and paid my $175 to join Club Orange.

Stateroom 5048

Upon boarding, I walked up the stairs to Deck 5 (Gershwin Deck) and was pleasantly surprised that my room was ready for me.  Room 5048 is located forward ship on the port side.  Is is just outside the forward elevators though it doesn’t open directly into the elevator lobby so for the most part sound wasn’t an issue.

My key (which is used for entering the room, getting off and on the ship at ports, and for charing to the room) was in an envelope outside my room.

The layout of the room is turned 90° from most rooms.  The downside is that as you enter the room, you step straight into the side of the bed.  I didn’t find this to be an issue but it is just a bit different from normal cruise ship staterooms like the one I had on the Norwegian Spirit.

The best about the room being turned 90° is that it means the long wall of the room is the exterior wall and you get double the window space of a standard room.  Especially on a scenic cruise like the one I was taking, this was a huge bonus.  You have a large window next to the bed and a second window/balcony door.

The bed itself is two single beds pushed together.  It is very comfortable with luxury linens.  On each side of the bed is a small table with drawers, a reading light and a wall lamp.

Next to each side of the bed is also a US style power outlet and USB charging port in addition to controls for the room light and individual wall lamp.

The bed is high enough to store suitcases under it.

Along the interior wall, between the room door and bathroom door, is a large amount of built in storage.

On the diagonal portion is a glass paneled area with extra drinking glasses, an open lighted area where some mini bar items are located, and some additional storage under that.

Next there are three drawers under the mini fridge.  Above the mini fridge is another compartment with the safe.  On the first day I asked my room steward to empty the mini bar so I could use it for cans of water and he had no problem doing so.

The next section is the closet.  As the room is set up for ambulatory accessibility, the clothes hanging bar folds down so it can be accessed by someone in a wheel chair.  In the closet were two Club Orange branded bathrobes for use while on the ship.

Along the bathroom wall is the vanity/desk with additional drawers for storage.  There are three additional US power outlets, two European power outlets, and additional USB power outlet at the desk.  In the top drawer you will find the hair dryer and a make up mirror.  The room temperature control is located beside the vanity mirror.

Next to the desk in an alcove is the door to the balcony and a small couch.  The storage above the couch is for life jackets as well as two blankets.

Against the exterior wall and between the two windows is the wall mounted TV.  It can be pulled out and swivel towards the bed or towards the couch.

The TV had a large selection of on demand movies in addition to live TV and information about the ship.  Most of the films were at least a year or more old; no new releases like you might find on an airplane.

Bathroom

Like most cruise ship staterooms, the bathroom is quite small.  But it feels modern and bright with marble-like materials covering the walls and floors.

You have the toilet at an angle in the middle.

The single sink is under a lit mirror.  There is storage to the right (three shelves) in addition to a shelf and trash can under the sink.

Wall mounted dispensers were filled with soap and lotion.

The shower is a good size with a glass door.  The shower head can be wall mounted or taken down and used as a hand held shower.  Wall mounted bath products include shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel.   No bar soap is provided.  There is also a wall mounted fold down seat for those that need it (again, not standard in all rooms, just because this room is ambulatory accessible).

The water pressure was excellent and the temperature control precise.  One some days the water pooled a bit in the shower but other days it drained immediately.  It never was in danger of flooding out of the shower stall.

Verandah

The balcony of stateroom 5048 is huge.  Most of it is angled so you are facing towards the aft of the ship.

There are lifeboats a level down but I didn’t feel like it blocked any view unless you were trying look directly below the ship.  From inside the room you can’t even see the lifeboats.

While there are two chairs with footrests and a small table, given the large amount of space it would be nice to have a couple of lounge chairs on the deck.    The entire verandah is under cover and the floor above extends a bit; however I never felt like it was enclosed or claustrophobic.

I was completely satisfied with my room.  The best part for me was having the two separate windows.  The large balcony was a plus and I enjoyed standing on the balcony while sailing through the fjords, but really didn’t need that much space.  Because it was so big, it did feel much more private.  The inside of the room is bright and open and feels luxurious.

Read about dining on the Nieuw Statendam here.

Have you sailed the Nieuw Statendam or another Pinnacle Class ship?  What was your experience?