"VF" unassigned stateroom???

[addisnana]

Can anyone tell me if you've experienced this when booking a Holland America Cruise. We are planning cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam in January with friends. My friend called her contact at Holland, requesting verandah rooms and price and was told that our booking would be for a unassigned "VF" stateroom.

I asked my friend what that meant and she told me "VF would be minimum on the 4th deck. The last time we sailed Holland, they no longer allow you to pick out your stateroom. If I remember correctly, you find out about 2 weeks before sailing. They do try to put couples next door to each other if it is requested at time of booking. This would be for an unassigned "VF" stateroom"

[josie724]

I don't know which dates you are booking for but I just tried to book for January 5,2014 and I was able to select from cabins 4008, 4038,4040,4041&4042.

[CruiserBruce]

Your friend booked what is commonly called a Guarantee booking, or GTY for short. It is discussed regularly on this board.

[Boytjie]

One can usually book specific cabins but depending on circumstances (how full the ship is, itineraries that part of longer cruises or sometime in Alaska) they may only have guarantees available. That means you get booked a certain category and are guaranteed a cabin in the category or higher. Specific cabins will usually be assigned starting about 3 weeks before the cruise. With a VF guarantee you will at the least be guaranteed a balcony.

[geoherb]

A lot of times the VF cabins are only available as a guarantee. HAL does this so that it can move people into the higher priced balcony cabins to fill the ship. That way the people who book specific VB or VA cabins don't see the great deals their neighbors are getting on the same category. The downside is that someone is going to end up in a VF. Getting an upgrade is not guaranteed. The other downside is waiting to find out where you'll be. (We sail in 8 days and don't have our cabin assignment yet.)

 

In December, however, we sailed in a VA after booking a VF guarantee. Our friend who was traveling in another cabin also booked a guarantee and ended up next door to us. HAL tries to do this with linked bookings, but it's also possible that you could end up on different decks and on opposite ends of the ship.

[Mumsysailor]

We booked a VF guarantee on both the Noordam and the Zuiderdam. On the Noordam we ended up with a VA on deck 8 - great. On the Zuiderdam we got a VD on deck 4 with the wider balcony - excellent.

 

Just as long as you're happy with the basic you've booked then any upgrade is a bonus.

 

Mumsy.

[addisnana]

Thank you all for your replies to my question. Answers were very helpful. But as is usually the case the answers brought up another question:o

What does VF, VA, VB, VD mean/stand for/refer to?????

[josie724]

They all fall into the catergory of Deluxe Verandah Ocean View. Sometimes the floor and location will determine if it's a VA, VB, and so on. You might get a better idea if you have a look at the deck plans here.....

http://www.hollandamerica.com/main/DeckPlansFull.action?ship=na_2&deck=m

[IRL_Joanie]

Can anyone tell me if you've experienced this when booking a Holland America Cruise. We are planning cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam in January with friends. My friend called her contact at Holland, requesting verandah rooms and price and was told that our booking would be for a unassigned "VF" stateroom.

 

I asked my friend what that meant and she told me "VF would be minimum on the 4th deck. The last time we sailed Holland, they no longer allow you to pick out your stateroom. If I remember correctly, you find out about 2 weeks before sailing. They do try to put couples next door to each other if it is requested at time of booking. This would be for an unassigned "VF" stateroom"

 

Actually, if you choose the cheapest fare for a cabin category that is, at the time open or unassigned, that is known as a "Guarantee," which basically means that you take your chances on the location of the stateroom assigned to you. Yes, it generally is a cheaper fare, but the luck of the draw could go against you.

 

We have almost always booked our staterooms by a specific number. Have only once done a guarantee, but was worried to much to ever go through that stress again.

 

You can book your stateroom by number and state no upgrade or up sells if you wish, when booking your cruise.

 

The various cabin categories; VF, VE, VA, etc., are different usually, only in the location of the stateroom/cabin. As an example a VH is as far forward on deck 4 as yuo can go and have steel railings instead of the PlexiGlas.

 

Joanie

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Do you whant a cabin near you frends? If yes you should pick it ..