Guarantied Cabin Experience?

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luv2trvl1

Guest
Hello,

On the verge of booking a cruise on the Zaandam in the next week or so and have been tempted by the lower prices on some of the Guarantied Cabins.

Does anyone have any “first hand†HAL experience with this? Did you end up with a cabin in a higher Category than you purchased? Did they offer any choices, fore or aft, this deck or that deck? Or is it pretty much take it or leave it?

Obviously, this would all depend on how heavily booked the ship is, but if they have the flexibility, will they work with you to find a cabin (within restrictions) that works best for the cruiser?

For example, would they help you find a cabin on the same deck as family/friends who are on the same cruise (again, assuming something was available on that deck)?

This will be my first time on HAL, have been a multiple Carnival and Norwegian cruiser in the past. Looking forward to trying the HAL quality I have been hearing about.

Thanks
 
C

Cruzman

Guest
I have booked an inside guarantee on two occasions with HAL. The first time, we had booked 3 cabins on the Maasdam and we ended up being assigned outside cabins on A Deck. On the second occasion, we booked inside guarantees for three cabins, and outside guarantee for one cabin on the Zaandam. The 3 insides remained just that, although we did get upgraded 3 catagories. The outside guarantee was upgraded to a cat. B verandah. And no, they don't negotiate what cabins you are assigned. Usually, you won't learn what cabin you have been assigned until a few days before sailing. It's just the luck of the draw so to speak. I currently have booked an outside guarantee on the Rotterdam, Dec. 12 sailing and I am keeping my fingers crossed about getting an upgrade there.
 
A

ANSAlberg

Guest
There is kind of a "good News/Bad News" answer to this. You will not be consulted on the cabin eventually chosen for you- in fact your cabin will at best be listed on your cruise documents, and it might be that you get tickets that say "Cabin XXX" because you won't actually be assigned a cabin until the VERY last minute. That means IF you want cabins in a row/same floor etc - book your cabins at full or early discounted price and make your cabin choice known; THEN you will be happy -but you will have paid a little more and be SECURE in the knowledge of what you are getting.
IF you take a guarantee -especially an outside guarantee [ NOT the cheapest cabin on the ship] there is a chance you could be bumped up to a balcony etc! We have done that when we are traveling alone and it really doesn't matter where we are. AND we have gotten exactly what we've paid for AND we've been very pleasantly surprised at times.
So decide what factors are important. Do you get seasick and want a low-midships cabin ? Do you REALLY really want a window or a balcony? Do you want 3 or 4 [ or more] cabins in a specific area -because you want to be in the SAME general area your traveling companions are? Do you NEED a specific cabin [ handicapped or without a bathtub]
Never sign up for a category you will be REALLY unhappy with. Sign up for what you can handle. AND Good Luck!!!!!! Anne:daisy:usa:CO



Post Edited (02-15-04 14:06)
 
R

Rosie

Guest
I had a guaranteed BB booking on my last cruise. When I complained to my travel agent about the lowered published prices, she negotiated with HAL to get me an AA. I ended up with an A and was very happy. I did not have my cabin assignment until less than a week before sailing. You really have no choices with a guarantee. That was our first experience with HAL. We enjoyed our cruise on the Oosterdam and will definitely consider HAL again. Our other favorite line is Celebrity.
 
H

Hal

Guest
We have booked guaranteed cabins on HAL, RCCL and NCL. Each time we booked two cabins at the same time (one for us and one for our teenaged sons). Our TA put on our request that we were traveling together and requested the cabins be close. Each time we have stayed right next door or within 2 doors. Our expereince is that we get upgraded within the type of cabin (i.e., inside to inside, outside to outside, etc) but the specific category is always quite a few bumps up the category. Also, we usually get put midship which is also nice. As we always travel over the Holidays we have not gotten bumped into a suite,etc. Our expereince is that a guarantee is fine, unless you really want a specific cabin.
 
S

Santa Fe Jim

Guest
For April, I booked a B verandah guarantee on the Veendam. Got a B verandah. For September, booked an L inside guarantee on the Veendam and got an F outside (but not in a great location). I think I'll tend to get guarantees unless I want to try something specific -- an A stern verandah on a Vista ship is appealing (but a lot of people don't like them). It all depends on my mood and finances at the time.

SFJ
 
L

luv2trvl1

Guest
Hello Again,

Thanks to all who replied to my message!

In general, it sound like this is a great way to save some money and perhaps get a better cabin. I think I will give it a try and report the results.

Right now my first choice is BC Guarantied cabin, really want that Verandah and any BB, B, or A would be fine with me.

Second choice is a DD Outside, which if I ended up with that it would be OK, but there should be a good chance of getting a D or C outside which would be good too.

HAL, I will also try your method of asking for 2 cabins close together and see how that turns out. You seem to have had good luck with that.

Thanks again!
 
S

sail7seas

Guest
The most important thing IMO is to always book and pay for the minimum cabin in which you will be happy and enjoy your cruise. There certainly is no obligation for any cruiseline to assign you to a cabin of higher value than what you have booked. Some folks are disappointed when they get the guarantee they bought. If you really want and will only be happy in a BB, B or A....perhaps you should book that.

IF you get more for less, good for you. But you could be disappointed if you set yourself to thinking you will get more.
 
O

Orcrone

Guest
Let me put in my =twocents (sorry, couldn't resist).

A friend of mine returned recently from a 10 day cruise aboard the Maasdam. He went with the oceanview guarantee and was placed on the lower promenade. He said it was the biggest mistake he could have made for three reasons.

1. His room was right underneath the theater and had loud bass constantly coming through the ceiling when the band was practicing. :dizzy

2. The outside rooms on the lower promenade deck have a walkway going around it. So instead of looking out at water, you're looking out at people walking by. And you have to close the shades so that you don't have people looking in. =looking

3. Lastly, he was at the very front of the boat, and there were some very rough seas, which kept him in knealing front of the :toilet.

I was also tempted to book a guarantee. But before you do, look at ALL rooms for your category and above and ask yourself if there are any rooms that you'd want to avoid. Remeber Murphy is alive and well and also enjoys cruising.



Post Edited (03-23-04 15:59)
 
K

KatieSue

Guest
We've only been on two cruises, both HAL, both on the Zaandam. Both were booked late, like ten days before. The first was through a travel agent, and the second directly through HAL.

Each time we booked a guarantied BC,(veranda) and both times were upgraded nicely. The second time, (through HAL) we got an A midship - 6176. (The first time we were given 6107, toward the front, but still very nice.)

If you can live with the BC locations, then I'd say Go For It!!

Good Luck!

Zaandam,Western Caribbean, Feb.04
Zaandam, Eastern Caribbean, March 04
 
L

luv2trvl1

Guest
Since I started this string, though it would only be fair to share my "Guarantied Cabin Experience".

Much like I stated in my post of 2/22/04, I did finally go forward with the purchase of two BC Guar Cabins on the Zaandam 3/13/04 E. Carb cruise, with the request to have the two rooms as close together as possible.

When we checked in I was very pleased to find out that we had been assigned rooms 6107 & 6109, side by side on the Verandah deck towards the front of the ship. These were officially coded as B Verandah's so you could say we were upgraded by two categories, but since there are only 4 true BC's and 8 true BB's on the ship, the odds were in our favor. The rooms were great, close to the front most elevators and stairs and once we figured out that we could go through the doors towards the bow, close to a fun and private vantage point to see where the ship was going.

Waited until almost the last possible moment to purchase these, so got them at a great price, which made the entire cruise just a superb value!

We loved the Zaandam! Top notch Crew and Staff, great food in the Lido, excellent food in the Rotterdam, fair prices on drinks with happy hours and drink specials nothing to complain about there, good mix of families, old & young, clean ship, lots of space, very few lines to stand in, overall just a great cruise!

This was the first, but certainly won't be the last time I cruise Holland America!
 
E

ewheelock

Guest
It is good to see such a good review, I am sailing on 4/10 on the Zaandam and also have a bc guarantee. When did you get your cabin assignment? It sounds like you didn't know until you boarded. I got a great rate over a month ago and since then the prices have gone up about 80 pp, not much but thats that more money to spend on the cruise.
 
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familycruiser

Guest
We are cruising on the Zaandam on April 3rd. We needed two cabins. One was booked as confirmed S suite and the other a guaranteed verandah (at a cost of $150 per person less than the lowest price Verandah cabin). We just got that second cabin assignment:
An A catagory, mid-ship 11 doors away from our other cabin. I think we got a great deal- and am very happy we did the guarantee. We got the cabin number exactly one week prior to sailing. Good luck on getting what you want! Happy sailing!

Family Cruiser
 
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diverdiver

Guest
Looks like I'm a really cheap Zaandam cruiser, although considering that I booked three weeks before the Christmas cruise in 2002, and considering that I was cruising solo, I thought that my upgrade from a Cat. Z inside GTY to a Cat. L inside with bathtub was a pretty good deal! Loved the Zaandam. Loved everything about it!
 
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ready2go2

Guest
We booked our cruise in the middle of March , we picked the advertised special on a web site as we needed 3 cabins , being we are bringing the family this time. I was told we were getting an inside K cabin(main deck), when I checked for excursions online, I saw they assigned us our cabin #, to my surprise, they upgraded us to an outside on the dolphin deck with all 3 cabins next to each other. Needless to say , we are all smiles...........Happy Cruising!!
 
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ewheelock

Guest
Just got my cabin and got an A veranda on the Navigation deck, the guarantee really paid off for me and I paid much less for an A than I thought. :dance =clap =clap :dance :dance
 
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paljoeysmom

Guest
We booked a BB (balcony) guarantee back in January for our 5/1 sailing on the Zuiderdam. Yesterday we received news that we were upgraded to an AA cabin which is a 3 category upgrade. I was thrilled until I viewed the location. It is in the VERY AFT of the ship the last cabin next to the corner suite. My TA has faxed the inventory department to see what can be done. All BB's and AA's are sold out. Last night I went on-line to check availability. Seems that all the balconies, and suites are sold out according to (4) of the most popular websites.

My darling husband is not happy with the location, and I am thinking it sucks as well. BTW, I was in an aft a long time ago on the old RCCL Viking Serenade on deck 3. The noise, and vibrations were terrible. Since the Zuiderdam is a much newer ship and right now we are on deck 6 I hope we don't have that problem.

Please let me know if any of you have been in an aft cabin and what you thought.
 


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