Categories defined? VB vs VC, etc

[glorialagos]

I have searched and searched for this and what I am looking for does not show up.

 

Could someone explain the veranda suites letter meanings?  What is better?  I am currently booked in a VB cabin.  How does this compare to other cabins by letter?  If I were to get an upsell offer, what letter category would that be?  

 

I have always been confused by all the different categories and have never seen a good explanation or key legend to help me out.

 

Thanks.

[Cruise Suzy]

If you look at the deck plans, you will see that in general the lower categories are on higher decks and aft or forward rather than midship. The categories are based on what HAL thinks are the better locations. V is given to the verandahs in the "best" locations, VA is to the next best, then VB, etc. Since you are in a VB, an upsell would be to VA, V or a suite category such as Vista, Signature, Neptune or Pinnacle.

 

For example on Eurodam, the VF verandahs are furthest forward and aft on Deck 8. The VE ones are closer to midship on Deck 8 and furthest forward/aft on Deck 7. The VD ones are closer to midship on Deck 7 and furthest forward/aft on Deck 6. The VC ones are closer to midship on Deck 6 and furthest forward/aft on Deck 5. The VB ones are closer to midship on Deck 5. Deck 4 has some VFs all the way forward with steel railings rather than Plexiglas. It also has VE, VC, VB and VA staterooms - depending on their location in relation to lifeboat obstruction. Category VA ones are midship on Deck 8. Category V are midship on Deck 5 and a few on Deck 6. The aft facing verandahs are VC on Deck 8 but VB on other decks. VQ are spa verandahs on Deck 10 and VT are spa ones on Deck 11.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Cruise Suzy

[vswan]

Keep in mind that what the cruise line deems as better cabins may not be the same as you would. I was in as aft cabin which was a VB and to me, it was a better location than any VA cabin.

[glorialagos]

3 hours ago, Cruise Suzy said:

If you look at the deck plans, you will see that in general the lower categories are on higher decks and aft or forward rather than midship. The categories are based on what HAL thinks are the better locations. V is given to the verandahs in the "best" locations, VA is to the next best, then VB, etc. Since you are in a VB, an upsell would be to VA, V or a suite category such as Vista, Signature, Neptune or Pinnacle.

 

For example on Eurodam, the VF verandahs are furthest forward and aft on Deck 8. The VE ones are closer to midship on Deck 8 and furthest forward/aft on Deck 7. The VD ones are closer to midship on Deck 7 and furthest forward/aft on Deck 6. The VC ones are closer to midship on Deck 6 and furthest forward/aft on Deck 5. The VB ones are closer to midship on Deck 5. Deck 4 has some VFs all the way forward with steel railings rather than Plexiglas. It also has VE, VC, VB and VA staterooms - depending on their location in relation to lifeboat obstruction. Category VA ones are midship on Deck 8. Category V are midship on Deck 5 and a few on Deck 6. The aft facing verandahs are VC on Deck 8 but VB on other decks. VQ are spa verandahs on Deck 10 and VT are spa ones on Deck 11.

This is exactly what I was looking for!!!  Thank you so much.  Is there an actual deck plan with the letters assigned to the cabin?  My friend and I just chose our cabin due to what we thought would work best for us.  I'm glad to know that it seems to be deemed fairly "desirable" by HAL!!  

[glorialagos]

2 hours ago, vswan said:

Keep in mind that what the cruise line deems as better cabins may not be the same as you would. I was in as aft cabin which was a VB and to me, it was a better location than any VA cabin.

I would love to have an aft cabin some day!  Seems they are always book by the time I decide to cruise.

[happywandering]

6 minutes ago, glorialagos said:

I would love to have an aft cabin some day!  Seems they are always book by the time I decide to cruise.

I agree, the aft on deck 7 is my fav.

[pirate cruiser]

We just got off NS yesterday and had our first aft cabin on deck 6-it was awesome-the views are great, the wake sound is soothing and we were surprised how quiet it was at night-I would absolutely try to get one next time we sail.

[REOVA]

52 minutes ago, glorialagos said:

This is exactly what I was looking for!!!  Thank you so much.  Is there an actual deck plan with the letters assigned to the cabin?  My friend and I just chose our cabin due to what we thought would work best for us.  I'm glad to know that it seems to be deemed fairly "desirable" by HAL!!  

Have you looked at the HAL website for the specific ship? They have all deck plans listed with cabin numbers and codes. 

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-ships.html

 

 

[DaveOKC]

HAL's idea of a "better" location is not always the same as mine, so I always do my homework for each ship and make my own assessments.  A good example was when the Neptune suites in the aft of the ship were classified as SC, the lowest ranking of the SA/SB/SC options.  Then HAL redid the rankings and now these aft Neptunes are SB with (on certain ships) some SA cabins were then assigned an SC ranking.

While the rankings generally do make some sense, sometimes HAL uses this system ranking for marketing purposes (being able to sell guarantees in the lowest ranking to reflect a lower price point).

 

 

[glorialagos]

4 hours ago, REOVA said:

Have you looked at the HAL website for the specific ship? They have all deck plans listed with cabin numbers and codes. 

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/en_US/cruise-ships.html

 

 

Thanks for this.  I have only seen the numbers on deck plans and never the letter categories (or I didn't notice).  Next time I book a cruise, I am going to put a lot more thought into choosing the cabin.  Hopefully we are happy with the one we chose and maybe someday I'll even get an aft!!

[julia]

Another good website is cruisedeckplans dot com.  Very informative and has tons of actual cabin pics.  

[REOVA]

2 minutes ago, julia said:

Another good website is cruisedeckplans dot com.  Very informative and has tons of actual cabin pics.  

But be careful about some websites as I found the deck plans (and photos) not always accurate. Like using a Koningsdam deck plan or photo for Rotterdam. I guess they think sister ships have the same cabin plans. 

[regnig]

32 minutes ago, glorialagos said:

Thanks for this.  I have only seen the numbers on deck plans and never the letter categories (or I didn't notice).  Next time I book a cruise, I am going to put a lot more thought into choosing the cabin.  Hopefully we are happy with the one we chose and maybe someday I'll even get an aft!!

On HAL's site the categories are color coded, just match the color to the code on the legend. 

[Heartgrove]

24 minutes ago, REOVA said:

But be careful about some websites as I found the deck plans (and photos) not always accurate. Like using a Koningsdam deck plan or photo for Rotterdam. I guess they think sister ships have the same cabin plans. 

 

Cruise deck plans only uses actual photos of the ship's plan depicted.

[oakridger]

Holland America Line Cruise Ship Fleet (cruisedeckplans.com)

 

 

[KroozNut]

14 hours ago, REOVA said:

I guess they think sister ships have the same cabin plans. 

 

Ships of the same class (i.e., 'sister ships') generally do have the same design and layout, including cabins.

[REOVA]

48 minutes ago, KroozNut said:

 

Ships of the same class (i.e., 'sister ships') generally do have the same design and layout, including cabins.

Generally but cannot assume for cabins as there are slight differences in each interior build. The Koningsdam Neptune suites are different layout than sister ships (even though HAL shows sample plan the same).

 Also if you booked 7099 on KDam and wanted 7099 on NS, or 7112 on NS and booked 7112 on RDam, you'd be in different locations (and either in an interior or suite). 

[Dutchman48]

On 1/8/2023 at 2:40 PM, julia said:

Another good website is cruisedeckplans dot com.  Very informative and has tons of actual cabin pics.  

Great site. Has a cabin checker feature that shows what is above and below your room. Helps to avoid noisy locations, such as over bars or under lido deck.