Is there anything that explains cabin categories?

[TheAccidentalCruiser]

(or are they unexplainable? :cool:)

 

Closer to midship I get, and square footage. But then you could just book by deck, distance from dead center, and square footage. Instead there are weird bunches of letters jumping around all over the ship, deck-to-deck, fore and aft.

 

I'm booked into a "DD" cabin, and can't help wondering what about it is so especially suited to large-busted ladies. ;)

[OlsSalt]

Shhhhhhhh .......... only the Upgrade Fairy knows the real answer to your question, and I hear she is simply not talking.

 

(PS - good question. I'd like to know too, though we don't pay attention to this - always take a guarantee rate first, but will always jump at a good last minute offer for a Neptune. What is "good" of course is our own secret formula too.

[TheAccidentalCruiser]

Thanks. At least I know it's not just me missing something.

 

I'll try to put in a good word for you with the Upgrade Fairy. :)

[jtl513]

It used to be much simpler to understand. Originally on the Vista ships, high up were VA&VB, working down to VF&VH on deck 4. OVs ran C to HH on decks 4 and 1.

 

Then with the Signature ships they started sticking in new cabin classes that didn't fit the neat alphabetical ranking - V, VT, VQ, CQ, IQ. These got stuck at the top of their classes.

 

Then a couple of years ago they re-categorized the whole fleet, giving the highest rankings (V, VA) to areas that sold well previously, like the deck 5 VE&VF, and dropping the ranking on the slower-selling high and far forward or aft to VE&VF.

 

The deck plans list the cabins in the order that HAL says a best-to-least, but many of us disagree with that order!

Edited February 13, 2017 by jtl513

[Herfnerd]

It used to be much simpler to understand. Originally on the Vista ships, high up were VA&VB, working down to VF&VH on deck 4. OVs ran C to HH on decks 4 and 1.

 

Then with the Signature ships they started sticking in new cabin classes that didn't fit the neat alphabetical ranking - V, VT, VQ, CQ, IQ. These got stuck at the top of their classes.

 

Then a couple of years ago they re-categorized the whole fleet, giving the highest rankings (V, VA) to areas that sold well previously, like the deck 5 VE&VF, and dropping the ranking on the slower-selling high and far forward or aft to VE&VF.

 

The deck plans list the cabins in the order that HAL says a best-to-least, but many of us disagree with that order!

 

So....our first HAL cruise on the Eurodam, booked in a VD cabin is middle to lower side of the curve but only in terms of cabin sales?

[jtl513]

... but only in terms of cabin sales?

I don't know. My guess would be that they are pretty popular because of the extra 1.5 ft balcony depth.

[SilvertoGold]

Price, it is all about price. HAL must have some good computers tracking what pax buy. Popular cabins, whether because of location or whatever, cost more.

 

Once the ship starts to fill, you start seeing some "strange" pricing, often promos to sell cabins: an HH cheaper than an MM, a VD cheaper than a VF.

 

This is why we do GUAR always: don't want to play this unwinnable game (our personal opinion only, YMMV).

[jtl513]

I don't know. My guess would be that they are pretty popular because of the extra 1.5 ft balcony depth.

Scratch that comment. The VD used to be the ones with the extra deep balconies on deck 4, but those are now VB and VC! :o

[DaveOKC]

Same situation for the Neptune suites on the Vista ships. The corner aft-wraps were a less expensive SC until HAL figured out that they were selling quickly, so now they are SB.

 

Its all about the money!

[SilvertoGold]

Same situation for the Neptune suites on the Vista ships. The corner aft-wraps were a less expensive SC until HAL figured out that they were selling quickly, so now they are SB.

 

Its all about the money!

 

Yes! HAL rationalized the designations quite efficiently, I thought. No more merely higher is more expensive. They finally got some legitimate parameters for their pricing.

[TheAccidentalCruiser]

It used to be much simpler to understand. Originally on the Vista ships, high up were VA&VB, working down to VF&VH on deck 4. OVs ran C to HH on decks 4 and 1.

 

Then with the Signature ships they started sticking in new cabin classes that didn't fit the neat alphabetical ranking - V, VT, VQ, CQ, IQ. These got stuck at the top of their classes.

 

Then a couple of years ago they re-categorized the whole fleet, giving the highest rankings (V, VA) to areas that sold well previously, like the deck 5 VE&VF, and dropping the ranking on the slower-selling high and far forward or aft to VE&VF.

 

The deck plans list the cabins in the order that HAL says a best-to-least, but many of us disagree with that order!

Okay, that does make sense: human behavior + the complexity of what constitutes a "good"cabin. No wonder it seems so arcane.

 

Thanks :)

[millacon]

The VD used to be the ones with the extra deep balconies on deck 4, but those are now VB and VC! :o

 

So if I am on deck 5 with a VC ranking does that mean it has a deep balcony or is that just for deck 4?

[jtl513]

So if I am on deck 5 with a VC ranking does that mean it has a deep balcony or is that just for deck 4?

Only deck 4 has the 7.5 ft deep balconies. Deck 5 has 6 ft deep ones.

[millacon]

Thank you! :)

[AtlantaCruiser72]

If you all think the HAL cabin designators are random or arbitrary take a look at the rCCL and NCL deck plans .... oye vey! Their rationale is that rooms that can accomodate 3 or 4 passengers are a "higher" category, regardless of location, that way they can gouge pax 1&2 for a higher rate vs rooms that can only accomodate two .... sneaky way to charge more for 3&4th guests while making the 3/4 guests fares seem "good"