Unwanted cabin upgrade

[jcgoldfein]

We booked our preferred cabin (booked last May) and said we did not want any upgrades.  We declined one upsell and then Holland America moved us to a different cabin!

On paper it would be an upgrade but, due to my husbands mobility issues, it really isn't.

 

My TA says he is working through Holland's process to try and get the original cabin back but no luck so far. The ship leaves on Sunday.

 

Any suggestions?

[Mary229]

Your TA and her agency are your best advocate in this situation.  Make sure they fully understand your husband has mobility issues.  I am sorry this happened. 

[FOPMan]

HAL has done this several times to us when we've selected an accessible cabin in an obstructed view cabin and then been moved to an unobstructed view accessible balcony cabin. Except we'd purposely selected the obstructed view because it had a larger protected balcony. Each time, they've told us they had resold our original cabin making a move back impossible.

 

Good luck!

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, jcgoldfein said:

We declined one upsell and then Holland America moved us to a different cabin!

On paper it would be an upgrade but, due to my husbands mobility issues, it really isn't.

I wonder if the new/not-new policy of booking cabins to their capacity figures in here? Was the original cabin rated as a triple or quad? and the new cabin only a double... Otherwise why couldn't they move the people they sold your cabin to in the new cabin and give you back yours -- this applies to @FOPMan's situation too, and many others I have read on Cruise Critic.

 

My PCC warned me (just about a week ago) that if I booked a quad for the two of us, I could be bumped "by a family", and if it happened there might not be good doubles available. She said they had had a meeting for PCCs instructing them to tell their clients that, in February. When I started a thread on the subject, quite a number of CC'ers said they had heard the same from their PCCs! 

 

So it seems the practice is about to shift into high gear, and we'll be hearing more of your complaint. My other current (but pre-dating the warning!) cruises are a B2B2B in a quad, and a 35-day cruise in a triple Vista Suite. 😒

[jcgoldfein]

2 hours ago, FOPMan said:

HAL has done this several times to us when we've selected an accessible cabin in an obstructed view cabin and then been moved to an unobstructed view accessible balcony cabin. Except we'd purposely selected the obstructed view because it had a larger protected balcony. Each time, they've told us they had resold our original cabin making a move back impossible.

 

Good luck!

I believe we both like the same cabin!

[jcgoldfein]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

I wonder if the new/not-new policy of booking cabins to their capacity figures in here? Was the original cabin rated as a triple or quad? and the new cabin only a double... Otherwise why couldn't they move the people they sold your cabin to in the new cabin and give you back yours -- this applies to @FOPMan's situation too, and many others I have read on Cruise Critic.

 

My PCC warned me (just about a week ago) that if I booked a quad for the two of us, I could be bumped "by a family", and if it happened there might not be good doubles available. She said they had had a meeting for PCCs instructing them to tell their clients that, in February. When I started a thread on the subject, quite a number of CC'ers said they had heard the same from their PCCs! 

 

So it seems the practice is about to shift into high gear, and we'll be hearing more of your complaint. My other current (but pre-dating the warning!) cruises are a B2B2B in a quad, and a 35-day cruise in a triple Vista Suite. 😒

That would make sense except this is a wheel chair accessible cabin for two people.  There is no sofa for a pull out bed or a pull down berth.    

[jcgoldfein]

Update - We got out original cabin back!!!!

I called the guest accessibility department and asked about getting our original cabin back.  He verified that I had completed the required SRI form - I'd done that in August.  After being on hold for a bit, he came back saying he'd move us back and noted not to move us again.  The original cabin number is now showing on the navigator app.  

Phillip in guest accessibility is my hero!

 

[Mary229]

8 minutes ago, jcgoldfein said:

Update - We got out original cabin back!!!!

I called the guest accessibility department and asked about getting our original cabin back.  He verified that I had completed the required SRI form - I'd done that in August.  After being on hold for a bit, he came back saying he'd move us back and noted not to move us again.  The original cabin number is now showing on the navigator app.  

Phillip in guest accessibility is my hero!

 

I am so happy for you.  One of cruising’s virtues is limiting surprises 

[bundtkate]

3 hours ago, crystalspin said:

My PCC warned me (just about a week ago) that if I booked a quad for the two of us, I could be bumped "by a family", and if it happened there might not be good doubles available.

Hijacking a bit (sorry, OP!), but how can you tell which cabins are quads/triples after booking? I'm used to this being noted on deck plans, but I'm not seeing it for the Koningsdam and I very carefully chose our stateroom location so an unexpected change would be disappointing.

[Mary229]

14 minutes ago, bundtkate said:

Hijacking a bit (sorry, OP!), but how can you tell which cabins are quads/triples after booking? I'm used to this being noted on deck plans, but I'm not seeing it for the Koningsdam and I very carefully chose our stateroom location so an unexpected change would be disappointing.

From the deckplan pdf please note the legend

 

 

[jcgoldfein]

10 minutes ago, bundtkate said:

Hijacking a bit (sorry, OP!), but how can you tell which cabins are quads/triples after booking? I'm used to this being noted on deck plans, but I'm not seeing it for the Koningsdam and I very carefully chose our stateroom location so an unexpected change would be disappointing.

If you go to the Holland website, click ship life, our ships, details for your ship, and then go to the bottom and click pdf for all decks.  That pdf map will have the will show the quads/triples etc.

Also, in our case, we've sailed in this cabin many time so we know it well.

[crystalspin]

23 minutes ago, bundtkate said:

Hijacking a bit (sorry, OP!), but how can you tell which cabins are quads/triples after booking? I'm used to this being noted on deck plans, but I'm not seeing it for the Koningsdam and I very carefully chose our stateroom location so an unexpected change would be disappointing.

Quads do have an open square and Triples have a circle -- most are open, those with a big dot in the middle have a pull-down bunk as their third bed. If your cabin has no mark it is a double (the few singles on Main Deck also have no symbol on the HAL site -- their numbers start with 00).

 

Here is the Vista Suite bump-out on Deck 4:

 4108 & 4119 are quads, 4100, 4102, 4111, 4112, 4113, & 4129 are triples (with sofa-bed), and 4116 & 4131 are triples with connecting doors to BC suites next door. The larger insides 4104 & 4115 are also triples.

[bundtkate]

Ah, thank you both (edit: I mean all 3 of y'all!)! I guess that's what I get for looking at the individual deck images on HAL's site and assuming they'd include all the info the PDF does. Looks like ours is a double! Victory!

Edited April 2 by bundtkate

[crystalspin]

17 minutes ago, bundtkate said:

I guess that's what I get for looking at the individual deck images on HAL's site and assuming they'd include all the info the PDF does.

Looking in depth, I see that on the plans for actually choosing your cabin, the symbols are light colored like a watermark, and sometimes the darker print of the room number is right on top! And if you select or have selected by the program, the symbol is blue'd out! For example, here is the currently available Deck 4 Vistas: The only one is 4119, one of the quads, but the square is obscured by the dark blue; if available and not chosen, the coloration is light gray which also obscures the symbols. You can see the watermarks on the port-side are over-typed by the room number.

 

HAL has certainly made selecting a cabin very much harder. Something to think about is the website and service of CruiseDeckPlans.com -- their plans show the symbols not over-written and you could have their site open in a different window as you scanned the HAL 'choice' plans.

 

Edited April 3 by crystalspin