Worth upgrading to a Vista Suite for $300

[Petrocelli]

I have never been on a cruise.  I just received an offer to upgrade from a VA Verandah room (7126) on deck 7 to a Vista Suite mid ship on deck 6 (6126).  The cost is $398 total.  It's a 7 day cruise to Alaska.  Is it worth it?

 

Thanks!

[DaveOKC]

12 minutes ago, Petrocelli said:

I have never been on a cruise.  I just received an offer to upgrade from a VA Verandah room (7126) on deck 7 to a Vista Suite mid ship on deck 6 (6126).  The cost is $398 total.  It's a 7 day cruise to Alaska.  Is it worth it?

 

Thanks!

IMO, No.   If you were in a VH veranda, perhaps it would be worth it, but less so from a VA.  Besides, you likely selected your VA cabin for a reason and the Vista location may actually be worse than you have now.

 

[Petrocelli]

Typo in original post.  It is $298

[Heartgrove]

You are doing a cruise to Alaska for the scenery. The Vista Suite 6126 is midships with unimpeded views not blocked by lifeboats or tucked in to the superstructure like VA 7126 is. IMHO having sailed on the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam in a Vista Suite, it is worth it for that price. You will not receive double Mariner points because it is an upsell though.

[AFNavigator]

34 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

You are doing a cruise to Alaska for the scenery. The Vista Suite 6126 is midships with unimpeded views not blocked by lifeboats or tucked in to the superstructure like VA 7126 is. IMHO having sailed on the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam in a Vista Suite, it is worth it for that price. You will not receive double Mariner points because it is an upsell though.

Keep in mind cabin 7126 is 4 decks above the lifeboats so the downward view obstruction (lifeboats) is pretty minimal.  It would be far more noticeable if you were two floors lower like in the following vid from 5092:   Video Koningsdam Verandah Cabin 5092 (cruisedeckplans.com)

 

You do get slightly more room--but not much--with the Vista Suites.  They are the same width as standard balcony cabins but are about 3' deeper.  The one other difference you might want to take into consideration is the balcony cabins have the sofa next to the balcony, the Vistas are flipped and have the bed next to the balcony.

[ewildcat7]

We got an offer yesterday to upgrade from a VA cabin (5103) to a 1S (6099) on the Nieuw Amsterdam for $319 per person for our upcoming Alaska cruise (17 July).  I took it as it is in almost exactly the same spot as we were, but a deck higher than the lifeboats, which should make for much better viewing from the balcony!  As I have never been on the Nieuw Amsterdam, I am hoping this was a good decision.....

[Heartgrove]

25 minutes ago, ewildcat7 said:

We got an offer yesterday to upgrade from a VA cabin (5103) to a 1S (6099) on the Nieuw Amsterdam for $319 per person for our upcoming Alaska cruise (17 July).  I took it as it is in almost exactly the same spot as we were, but a deck higher than the lifeboats, which should make for much better viewing from the balcony!  As I have never been on the Nieuw Amsterdam, I am hoping this was a good decision.....

 

The lifeboats are tucked into the superstructure further on the Vista-class and Signature-class (your Nieuw Amsterdam) than on the Pinnacle-class of the OP. We had a SS on Deck 6 in a similar location aboard the Zuiderdam for a Baltic cruise and it was a great location. Also a better ride aft of the midship elevators and ship stabilizers in case of motion of the ocean.

 

 

Edited June 23, 2022 by Heartgrove

[KAKcruiser]

The SS is a much bigger and nicer cabin than the V category.  Good choice.

[Petrocelli]

4 hours ago, Heartgrove said:

You are doing a cruise to Alaska for the scenery. The Vista Suite 6126 is midships with unimpeded views not blocked by lifeboats or tucked in to the superstructure like VA 7126 is. IMHO having sailed on the Koningsdam and Nieuw Statendam in a Vista Suite, it is worth it for that price. You will not receive double Mariner points because it is an upsell though.

Is being tucked into the superstructure that big of an impediment to the views?

[AFNavigator]

34 minutes ago, Petrocelli said:

Is being tucked into the superstructure that big of an impediment to the views?

If you look at about 1:23 into the video I posted above, you can see the impediment to the view to the left.  That less-than-full left view from 5092 is more severe than you would experience in 7126 because 7126 is about 4 cabins further away from where the bump out starts.  So basically, you would have marginally less than a full 180 degree left to right view.  Not a big obstructed view in my opinion, but, then again, I haven't stayed in that cabin.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, KAKcruiser said:

The SS is a much bigger and nicer cabin than the V category.  Good choice.

Yes but that’s not what is being offered.  It’s a vista suite.

 

I got the same offer on my koningsdam cruises.  The first time I bit.  The second chance I didn’t.  It’s barely bigger than a balcony room.  Not worth it to me.

[KAKcruiser]

I guess I should have said that I was responding to ewildcat7.  As far as the Vista suite upgrade, I think I would take it for $300 total. It is usually much more expensive.

[curmudgeon98]

Basically an extra 30 square feet.  I would think about it if I was planning to use room service for breakfast or other meals (breakfast on the balcony for an Alaska cruise is iffy).  Otherwise I'd probably pass and spend it on a better excursion or something.