SY Guarantee on Koningsdam

[AriesLV]

We are 13 days out and still do not have a cabin assignment.  I'm not particularly worried (although definitely excited to finally cruise again!).  We have an SY Guarantee, and all of the Signature Suites are booked, at least according to Costco Travel's site.  There are several Neptune suites open, mostly the handicapped accessible suites on deck 7.  There are also the two SQ "Spa" Neptunes and three aft-facing ones (which would be awesome).  Not excited about the SQ Neptunes - I imagine the balcony would be unusable due to wind.

 

Any ideas what we are likely to get?  I know none of you have crystal balls, but you do all seem to have "thoughts" on everything (and likely far more experience than I).  We are 3* Mariners.  Another consideration is that we got this through one of the casino promotions for a considerable discount.  I just can't see HAL giving us a Neptune when we paid so little (comparatively speaking).  Thoughts?

[DaveOKC]

The newer Pinnacle class ships have far fewer Signature Suites than the older large HAL ships, so upgrades and upsells will likely be far different than experiences in the past on the older HAL ships.  Koningsdam has only 14 Signatures vs 50 on the Eurodam & Nieuw Amsterdam and 100 on the 4 Vista class ships.  This situation is also true (to a lesser extent) with the Neptunes - 45 vs 60.

 

Also, consider than before HAL passes out any "free" upgrades to a Neptune they will try to entice Signature reservations to PAY for an upsell.  So, normally I would guess that you will not get a Neptune.

 

The counter argument is that the ships are not sailing full, so anything could happen.  On our Dec, 5 cruise on the NS we had a Neptune guarantee (SC) through a very cheap casino offer and were quite surprised to be assigned an SA right across from the Neptune Lounge (prime location IMO).

 

My advice is to keep your eyes on your email for an upsell offer from HAL during the final 2 weeks - I ran across several casino players who were offered great deals to move up to Neptunes for a reasonable price (according to them).  If your TA does not pass along upsell offers from HAL, you should call HAL directly about 2 weeks out and inquire about it - I think its Ships Inventory Department and the number used to be  1.888.628.8107 or 206.626.7381.  Cannot hurt to try!