SZ guarantee experiences please

[78232]

I am considering a sz guarantee on a Vista class or Eurodam. I know people say don't book a guarantee if you can't live with any possible cabin but I am wondering what have been people's experiences with this guarantee. I will have think about how much risk I can handle. I am more of a planner than gambler, but I don't want to miss a good experience/

Marcia

[catl331]

On the Eurodam there are two SU cabins, 10005 and 10006, that you could get on a SZ GTY. Originally they were designated SZ, but renamed SU a year later. They are very unusual cabins in style and location. I would not want one.

 

Here is a thread that was started while the ship was still being built, and ran for almost a year. There are pictures of the inside and small, steel-walled balcony.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=741864

[GmaPajama]

We tried the SZ Guarantee on the Zuiderdam last fall. It was supposed to be our first step in giving up the Deluxe Verandah Suites we've always done. We were offered an upsell to the Deluxe about 2 months out, and jumped on it. Others held out and got better deals, but we were thrilled to get the switch set in stone. I think your chances of an upsell offer are pretty good, but you've got to make up your mind you'll be perfectly happy in anything SZ through SS - because that's exactly what you might get.

[RedmondCruiser]

The SZ guarentee is the best deal that HAL has going. In reality it really amounts to a suite guarentee. We have never ended up in an SZ (though SZ cabins are very nice) We have ended up in an SS, SB & an SA. Normally SZ guarentees only appear when a cruise is not booking well. Basically you can't loose. Take it.

[VAtravelers100]

We had three SZ guarantee cabins on the Zuiderdam, and about a month before the cruise we're all assigned to SS cabins. We're happy! We are going in July.

[off2ctheworld]

We booked SZ and got..drumroll here....an SZ. Location was nothing what we wished for so immediately called and was offered a upsell for very little for SY and almost our choice of cabins in that category. I think that it HAL's plan. Worked for us and we were happy. Of course if we had received the higher cabin for free would have been perfect. Just be sure you are happy with the category you choose.

[showtunes22]

I am considering a sz guarantee on a Vista class or Eurodam. I know people say don't book a guarantee if you can't live with any possible cabin but I am wondering what have been people's experiences with this guarantee. I will have think about how much risk I can handle. I am more of a planner than gambler, but I don't want to miss a good experience/

Marcia

 

My husband and I booked an SZ with guarantee on one of HAL's ships. We took the gamble thinking that it was a good bet since there are only two of those cabins. A few weeks before the cruise, we received a notice from HAL offering us an upgrade for $200 each. We didn't accept it, assuming they had too many people booked into the SZ's and that that's why the upgrade was being offered. Sure enough, when we got our room assignment, we had been upgraded to an SS that was two levels higher than the SZ. So, it definitely worked for us, putting us in a suite that is about $1,500 more than the SZ. However, we were willing to live with the SZ if we hadn't gotten upgraded.

[garydm]

Booked an SZ GTY on Oosterdam and was assigned SA. Worked for me.

 

Gary

[carmie]

We recently returned from an Alaska cruise on the Zuiderdam and were very happy with our SZ cabin. We especially appreciated the unusually shaped balcony. This was our 13th cruise but the first on HAL so we weren't sure what to expect with a guarantee booking. We jumped at the chance of a guarantee SZ booking which cost less than the top Verandah category. I had read on CC that usually this SZ guarantee will mean an upgrade and I was keeping my fingers crossed until we received our cabin assignment about ten days before cruising. At no point were we offered an upsell or upgrade. In retrospect I am happy that we had the SZ although a Deluxe Suite would have been great. We spent considerable time on our long balcony which was a bonus for whalewatching etc. because of the extra angle. In fact, if we were to sail on HAL again we would request the SZ cabin because of the balcony. The cabin was plenty large enough for two people. The only things missing were the perks associated with a Deluxe Suite but we managed quite well without them.