Comments RE: SZ Suites on Oosterdam?

[Johnboy1]

My wife and I are scheduled for our first cruise on 1 Mar onboard the Oosterdam. We have 'SZ Guaranteed' reservations and were wondering if anyone has stayed in these rooms. It seems there are only two on the ship but they look larger than the SS and SA but we are not sure what to think of the floor plans. Any comments would be most appreciated.:rolleyes:

[CTBob]

My wife and I are scheduled for our first cruise on 1 Mar onboard the Oosterdam. We have 'SZ Guaranteed' reservations and were wondering if anyone has stayed in these rooms. It seems there are only two on the ship but they look larger than the SS and SA but we are not sure what to think of the floor plans. Any comments would be most appreciated.:rolleyes:

There was a thread about the difference some time back. Some people preferred the SZ and some didn't. You have mentioned the important fact - there are only two of them, you probably won't get one. We had an SZ guarantee on the Noordam and ended up with an SS. Great cabin, there are a few pictures of the cabin (Along with many others of our cruise) in the website at the bottom of my signature.

[cruisun]

We had an SZ guarantee for our upcoming Noordam cruise. We were assigned and SS right next to the SZ with a connecting door to the next cabin. The SS category is a nice room but I did not like the connecting door feature because it cuts out half the length of the sofa, leaving a small loveseat. In addition, being right next to the SZ makes the balcony less private. For the price I was still pleased. We then received an offer from HAL for several upcharge options and wound up taking one of the SB Aft veranda suites at what I believe to be a very reasonable cost. Actually it comes out to the same cost as if we had booked a specific cabin originally. A guarantee is good if you are willing to take a chance and want to save some money. I may try it again sometime. Most times I like to research the ship and then choose my exact location.

[cruisun]

I Know the SA is bigger than the SZ. I think the SS may be bigger as well. The SZ is the same as the SY but the SZ is where the ship juts out and you get the few extra few feet in a triangle shape. It is nice

[LynnObie]

.....We were assigned and SS right next to the SZ with a connecting door to the next cabin. The SS category is a nice room but I did not like the connecting door feature because it cuts out half the length of the sofa, leaving a small loveseat.....

 

Do you remember the SS cabin number you had with a connecting door? I couldn't find one on the deck plans & would like to try avoiding one with a connecting door if possible.

 

Our travel agent told me that HAL specs for all SS, SY & SZ cabins show them each to be "approx. 389 sq ft". HAL's SZ Guarantee on this class of ship means you are gauaranteed 1 of the rougly 98 "Superior Verandah Suite" cabins. Not sure why they call it an SZ Guarantee.... or, why they call it a "suite" for that matter. Looking at the deck plans, there are only maybe 2 of the 98 that I'd rather not get. We decided to "roll the dice" & try the SZ Guarantee on our April Oosterdam cruise since the cost difference to choose a specific cabin would have been a minimum of an extra $1,000 on our btb booking. We have been in SS cabins on our last 2 Oosterdam cruises & loved both.

[cruisun]

On the Holland web site when you go into deck plans any room with a + outside of it is a connecting room. There are only three on Deck 7 where most of the SS cabins are. Last year we had an SY and loved it. I think you are correct that the SS and Sy have the same SQ ft.

[LynnObie]

On the Holland web site when you go into deck plans any room with a + outside of it is a connecting room. There are only three on Deck 7 where most of the SS cabins are. Last year we had an SY and loved it. I think you are correct that the SS and Sy have the same SQ ft.

 

Thanks for your 'heads up' on the + marker. I see that the cabins you mention on deck 7 though are actually the larger 512 sq. ft. "Deluxe Verandah Suites". Based on your info, I see that there are 6 sets of SS 389 sq. ft. cabins (12 cabins) with connecting doors on deck 8. Still just about a 1 in 8 chance of getting one of those I guess. Anyway, we went ahead with the SZ guarantee to save the $1,000 or more extra cost of choosing a specific cabin number. I understand that the SZ guarantee could also possibly get us a larger SA, SB or SC should they not be sold out. This is our first shot at going for a 'guarantee'.... so will hope for the best. Wish us luck...:)