verandah guarantee???

[coffee39]

:confused: I have read on here where people have booked a guarantee and have got the room cheaper. If I were to book a verandah guarantee (is there such a thing) on the Zaandam from Alaska to Vancouver what would be the worst case senario?

 

This is our first cruise so I really want it to be great. We are doing HAL #18 cruisetour. We will probably be ready for some R&R after our tour so I am really looking forward to a nice verandah and some quiet time watching the world go by.

[missygirl]

:confused: I have read on here where people have booked a guarantee and have got the room cheaper. If I were to book a verandah guarantee (is there such a thing) on the Zaandam from Alaska to Vancouver what would be the worst case senario?

 

This is our first cruise so I really want it to be great. We are doing HAL #18 cruisetour. We will probably be ready for some R&R after our tour so I am really looking forward to a nice verandah and some quiet time watching the world go by.

 

We booked a verandah guar last cruise and was upgraded three levels to a higher floor. It does save you money to book a guar opposed to picking a specific cabin. We were very happy with our upgrade and hope for a repeat this Oct. to the southern Carb.

 

Missygirl

[Big Al B.]

Just remember that an upgrade, while possibly likely, is not a sure thing. Therefore guarantee the lowest class you would be happy with, not just the lowest class.

[coffee39]

Are there any "Bad" verandah's on the Zaandam? We wouldn't end up with a verandah we couldn't use would we? Can you book port side verandah guarantee?

[zackiedawg]

The guarantees can work out very well with the savings they can offer over a booked room...they will 'guarantee' you the absolute minimum level of cabin in that category, with the possibility of getting any other category above. As long as the worst room in that guarantee category would be OK with you, you can't be disappointed. You'll either get that worst room, or the same category but better location, or an upgrade in decks, or possibly on rare occasion even an upgrade to the next category or more.

 

I just booked a 'guarantee' SY category minisuite on the Zuiderdam in November. The price was excellent - $200 per person cheaper than a direct booked cabin - and looking at the entire ship's selection of SY/SS cabins, I'd take any of them happily. Some might be closer to the stairs, or have less noise above, or have better shade - but they're all fine with me. I'll of course HOPE that I get lucky and end up with a great location or an SS upgrade to be close to the lido...or finally break my unlucky streak of 23 cruises without a category upgrade and get moved up to an 'S'!

 

Just make sure you look all over the ship and find every possible room that fits into that guarantee category and make sure there isn't one that would be a big disappointment to you. You can't get a lower category on the guarantees...but you can certainly get the narrow, angled, partially-blocked, exposed balcony, under-the-dancefloor, next to the elevator room in your category.

 

Whether there is truly a 'bad' veranda on the Zaandam is probably up to how picky you are. Some people would be happy with any veranda...others might find too much cover from the deck above to be bad, or too much exposure with no cover, or too close to the public decks which can look down on them, or close to the elevator, or too far away from a staircase, etc. As long as you aren't too picky, a room with a veranda is a very nice thing, and many people have cruised for years and never had one (I didn't have a veranda until my 10th cruise!).

[hammybee]

Good advise Zackie. Those who book a guarantee should be prepared to get the cabin in the cat. booked, that no one else wants. Anything beyond this, is a gift.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Some people on here have been lucky while others have been disappointed. You just can't predict what will happen.