SZ Guarantee

[zoyamisha]

Hi there. This is the first time that we have booked a guarantee cabin. We initially had 4 of us booked on the Noordam leaving Dec 13 in a VF balcony cabin. When the prices dropped we purchased 2 cabins, 1 inside for the young ones and upgraded to a SZ suite guarantee for ourselves. I noticed that there are only 2 SZ cabins on the ship. Does anyone know what the chances are of being upgraded and when will we know our cabin numbers? Thanks for your replies.

[maxout]

How young are the young ones? Hal will reqiure one adult to be in the cabin (at least registered that way) If you did get an upgrade (likely as so few SZ's exist) will they be able to have the inside cabin near your new one? It seems to me you would do better to book specific cabins so your locations match up

[JimnKaren]

My TA talked us into the SZ guarantee and after I said yes, I did some looking at deck plans. We will be on Zuiderdam 1/2/11. Prices dropped a couple of times and rather than taking the money, we kept upgrading.

Here is my logic (no comments from the peanut gallery)...they are not selling cabins at the rate they want/need. The prices are dropped to entice more cruisers. Those of us who already have booked will either get credit or a better cabin. If they, at this late date, don't have all of those suites booked, HAL will offer a SZ guarantee to book those better cabins. As they continue to get closer to sailing date, HAL will still offer cheap cabins, but those will be the ones that we vacated. There are enough local folks who have the time and the ability to drive (not book airfare at the last minute) who will take that cheap cabin and HAL has a ship that is closer to capacity.

Will I get that SZ suite. I doubt it, as I know of another couple on our cruise who also are SZ guarantee. I am positive that we will be getting something nicer and better situated. We talk it up among our friends and let them know how nice HAL treated us. Great PR. And just maybe in the future they won't have to discount prices real close to sailing date.

It's all a guess, but if I were running HAL, that's the logic that I would use. I figure that you and I will both get upgraded another time. Happy cruising.

Jim

[zoyamisha]

Thanks. One is 16 and the other 22. So they are okay to be on their own. We would have liked to chose our cabins close together but the cost would be more than double what we paid. I hope they will give us cabins close together and an upgrade. We leave on December 13, I wonder when they will let us know our cabin assignments.

[CTBob]

Thanks. One is 16 and the other 22. So they are okay to be on their own. We would have liked to chose our cabins close together but the cost would be more than double what we paid. I hope they will give us cabins close together and an upgrade. We leave on December 13, I wonder when they will let us know our cabin assignments.
I do know that people on the Dec 5th sailing of the Nieuw Amsterdam have recently received their cabin assignments so yours should be available in about a week. However there is no guarantee that you will get your cabin number until you get to the port. I also have an SZ guarantee and am waiting to get my cabin assignment for my December 12th cruise.

[Oceanwench]

They might offer you an upsell for the inside cabin.
Then you could try to arrange for the kids to be closer to wherever you end up.

[pact2go]

I'm a first time cruiser and have just recently booked a trip on Zuiderdam to Alaska next September. I am confused with the posts that discuss room assignments being made a couple weeks before. I booked directly with HAL and have an SY category, but my deposit reservation also shows a room assignment. Is it typical for this room assignment to change?

[rpach10115]

I would LOVE to hear other people chime in as to what cabin they received on an SZ Guarantee.

How far up have YOU been upgraded? SY:), SS:), SC!:D.

[maxout]

I'm a first time cruiser and have just recently booked a trip on Zuiderdam to Alaska next September. I am confused with the posts that discuss room assignments being made a couple weeks before. I booked directly with HAL and have an SY category, but my deposit reservation also shows a room assignment. Is it typical for this room assignment to change?


Welcome to Cruise Critic! :D

The OP chose a Guarantee Cabin, this means they don't have a specific cabin booked but are guaranteed at least a cabin in the category chosen but may be upgraded to another category. The gamble is you must accept whatever cabin given in any location that is at or above the category chosen. You have picked a specific cabin and will get what you booked. If you indicated that you would accept an upgrade, one may be offered.

[1jade105]

I would LOVE to hear other people chime in as to what cabin they received on an SZ Guarantee.

How far up have YOU been upgraded? SY:), SS:), SC!:D.

SS on the Oosterdam.

[schoolinmy3]

I would LOVE to hear other people chime in as to what cabin they received on an SZ Guarantee.

How far up have YOU been upgraded? SY:), SS:), SC!:D.
SY on the Westerdam :)
Diane

[heidik]

SS on the Westerdam then received an excellent upsell to an SA - Deluxe Suite for a little more than the reduced price I originally paid for the SZ guaranty! I'm totally psyched!!!

[rpach10115]

SS on the Westerdam then received an excellent upsell to an SA - Deluxe Suite for a little more than the reduced price I originally paid for the SZ guaranty! I'm totally psyched!!!

They upsell off an upgrade? Really?

[heidik]

The upsell came via email maybe a day after the upgrade.....

[George C]

I have a sz guarntee for the Westerdam next week about 12 days before the cruise I saw they gave me a SS cabin, since they are the same size cabin I do not see any improvement.

[pact2go]

Welcome to Cruise Critic! :D

The OP chose a Guarantee Cabin, this means they don't have a specific cabin booked but are guaranteed at least a cabin in the category chosen but may be upgraded to another category. The gamble is you must accept whatever cabin given in any location that is at or above the category chosen. You have picked a specific cabin and will get what you booked. If you indicated that you would accept an upgrade, one may be offered.

Thanks for the response. I didn't advise them that I would accept an upgrade, but I think I will call and have them note this. Sounds like many on this board have gotten upgrades. This is a great site for information for first time cruisers like me. I've gleaned lots of information over the last few days and helps me keep my dumb questions to a minimum (but I'm sure I'll have more :o)

[Alversw]

I would LOVE to hear other people chime in as to what cabin they received on an SZ Guarantee.

How far up have YOU been upgraded? SY:), SS:), SC!:D.


I bought an SZ and got upgraded to the SS. I put out a post asking what the difference is between the levels other than location. I can't see why this is considered an upgrqade.

[terigo]

Leaving on the Eurodam on Dec 4th.
Still waiting for cabin assignment on SZ guarantee.... but I wasnt really expecting to get one till 10 to 12 days out, so just biding my time and hoping for the best....
No matter where they stick us, it can't be a BAD cabin....:)

[PaulaW]

I would LOVE to hear other people chime in as to what cabin they received on an SZ Guarantee.

How far up have YOU been upgraded? SY:), SS:), SC!:D.

Had a VH guarantee on the Noordam, then offered an upsell to a SZ gty (which I accepted), then offered another upsell to a SC gty (which I declined). Eventually was assigned an SS.

[long_shot45]

If you don't mind me asking, how much were the upsells????

[zoyamisha]

:pWe had a cabin for 4 originally, the 3rd and 4th passengers were free. When prices dropped, even though we had already paid in full, HA allowed us to purchase an inside cabin at a greatly reduced rate for the young ones and we were able to move from a VF balcony cabin to a SZ superior suite guarantee for only $18.00 more than we paid for the balcony. Now we are just waiting to see what cabins we are assigned.

[djhsolara]

I'm not sure why SZ is considered the "bottom" of the Superior Suite category. I know it all has to do with location, location, location...but the SZ is larger than the other Superior categories because they are generally on the bend of the ship and there is extra space in the stateroom because of this. They also provide you the opportunity to see two directions on your balcony rather than just straight out. We loved this type of stateroom on Eurodam and wouldn't have wanted to "upsell" or "upgrade" unless it would have been to a Deluxe Suite.

[Litestarz]

We’ve booked a back to back on the Nieuw Amsterdam over Christmas and New Years. We have a SZ Guarantee. With less than 30 days till we sail, I have just one question to ask. Is this a good thing? :confused:

Are we in a position to have a last minute upgrade offered to us? Or are holiday cruises too popular for such extravagances? Do we run the risk of having to change rooms at the half way point? :eek: Several on this thread seem to have firsthand experience; we’d love to hear from you. :)

[DutchByAssociation]

Hi there. This is the first time that we have booked a guarantee cabin. We initially had 4 of us booked on the Noordam leaving Dec 13 in a VF balcony cabin. When the prices dropped we purchased 2 cabins, 1 inside for the young ones and upgraded to a SZ suite guarantee for ourselves. I noticed that there are only 2 SZ cabins on the ship. Does anyone know what the chances are of being upgraded and when will we know our cabin numbers? Thanks for your replies.

When you book a guarantee there is always a CHANCE of being upgraded but there's also a chance you'll be one of the ones that gets precisely what you book. You always want to be sure you'll be happy with anything in the category you select or higher if you're booking a guarantee.

Assignments happen typically in the final week before the cruise, sometimes a little further out. Never before 30 days prior

[zoyamisha]

Thanks. We have only ever once had a balcony cabin and being able to get a superior suite, any suite,is a bonus. We will be happy with whatever we get. There seems to be advantages to getting an SZ cabin in any event. We only hope that our cabins will be close together, but again, we have no guarantee of this as we chose the least expensive option of purchasing both an inside and suite guarantee. We are sailing on Dec 13 on the Noordam. Since it is still 3 weeks out and it appears that there are still several cabins available on this sailing I am not expecting to get my assignment in the near future. I will keep checking though.

[cruisencrazy]

We were upgraded on the Oosterdam from SZ to SB. Was incredible vacation!!!
We booked another SZ for a December 30 sailing. Can't wait to find out what we get.

[cruise-a-holic]

Booked a guarantee VH received a VA took an upsale to a SA. Noordam.

[surfergirle]

Booked SZ got SZ, but got upgraded because of some major issues :(
SZ would have been fine for us.

[cruisecrasy]

Had a VH guarantee on the Noordam, then offered an upsell to a SZ gty (which I accepted), then offered another upsell to a SC gty (which I declined). Eventually was assigned an SS.

So worth the upsell to an SC more so than even paying less $ for SS...but JMO..

[cruisecrasy]

Booked a guarantee VH received a VA took an upsale to a SA. Noordam.

Willing to bet u were pleased with that ... :)