Question about Verandah cabin size on Vista Class ships (eg, Oosterdam)

[Steerpike58]

I'm looking at a cruise on the Oosterdam, and interested in the 'Verandah' cabin.  Everything I can find says the size is 'Approximately 212-359 sq ft including verandah'. That's a big range! 

 

This is HAL's page on the Oosterdam, and on this page they give the 212-359 sq ft range, and show just one layout. 

 

I then went through a specific cruise selection process (12 day Mediterranean Tapestry, Sep 14 - Sep 26 2023). I went as far as choosing a 'have it all' room, 'from $3,749', then 'choose your room', with options for Aft, Mid, Fwd. 'Mid' is sold out, but Aft has a price of $4,139, 'Fwd' has a price of $3,749. I chose 'Aft'. Then I chose deck 4, which was pricier at $4,269. I get a 'map' of available rooms, and I can click around on different available rooms. There's a slight variation in price on some rooms, but absolutely no indication of why - is it because they are bigger? Or just better locations?  The 'map' of the rooms suggests that some rooms are bigger than others (with no variation in price), but this is a very rudimentary map and I wouldn't want to read too much into it. 

 

So ... can anyone help me understand how to make sense of the 'Verandah' room sizes and pricing? I had a 270 sq ft room on another cruise line, with verandah. 212 sounds a bit small, and 359 sounds amazingly big ... 

 

 

[yerdua]

Cabin pricing variation is basically location, location, location. Mid ship is more expensive. If there are public venues on the decks above or below a cabin, that cabin may experience more noise. Hence a lower price. Basically all veranda cabins are the same size inside. The exceptions are handicap accessible cabins that have more interior square footage. There are also differences in balcony square footage. Deck 4 on Vista class ships have deeper balconies. Aft verandahs have much deeper balconies. There are a coup!e cabins on deck 4 that have double wide balconies. All of these exceptions are why the square footage can vary.

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by yerdua

[Steerpike58]

10 hours ago, yerdua said:

Cabin pricing variation is basically location, location, location. Mid ship is more expensive. If there are public venues on the decks above or below a cabin, that cabin may experience more noise. Hence a lower price. Basically all veranda cabins are the same size inside. The exceptions are handicap accessible cabins that have more interior square footage. There are also differences in balcony square footage. Deck 4 on Vista class ships have deeper balconies. Aft verandahs have much deeper balconies. There are a coup!e cabins on deck 4 that have double wide balconies. All of these exceptions are why the square footage can vary.

 

Thanks. So is there any way to find out the square footage I'm going to get for my money (of the basic room, not the balcony)?  While balcony size is 'interesting', the basic room size is very important to me, and I'm not willing to commit to a cruise without knowing this.  Can I assume, excluding balcony, and ignoring 'disabled access' rooms, I will get a fixed sized room in the 'Verandah' collection, and ... what might that very important number be?  Seems odd to me they would not disclose this rather important piece of information! 

 

If, as you say, 'Basically all veranda cabins are the same size inside', and we assume about 45 sq ft for the smallest balcony (comparing to other cruise lines), then it would suggest the interior space of a 'Vernadah' room is 212 - 45 = 167 sq ft ... which is way too small for us. 

[mikebsxm]

Check out Cruise deck plans dot com.  You can see actual pictures of cabins all over the ship, even a few videos.  These pictures were taken by people who sailed in those cabins.  They are dated, so you can tell if they were shot before the 2017 dry dock or after.  To see the pictures, you may have to join, but there's no charge.

[Steerpike58]

9 minutes ago, mikebsxm said:

Check out Cruise deck plans dot com.  You can see actual pictures of cabins all over the ship, even a few videos.  These pictures were taken by people who sailed in those cabins.  They are dated, so you can tell if they were shot before the 2017 dry dock or after.  To see the pictures, you may have to join, but there's no charge.

Thanks!  Fun site. Looks like the basic 'Veranda with an h' room size is 174 sq ft, close to my guess of 167 sq ft above.  So we would need to be looking at a 'Signature' suite, which has a whopping 294 sq ft inside space. I'll use that in my next price calculation! 

[fatcat04]

29 minutes ago, mikebsxm said:

Check out Cruise deck plans dot com.  You can see actual pictures of cabins all over the ship, even a few videos.  These pictures were taken by people who sailed in those cabins.  They are dated, so you can tell if they were shot before the 2017 dry dock or after.  To see the pictures, you may have to join, but there's no charge.

I have been a member of this site for I actually don't know how long and it has been worth every penny I initially spent and I have made probably close to $100 contributing pictures to them over the years. Great resource. 

[leerathje]

1 hour ago, Steerpike58 said:

Thanks!  Fun site. Looks like the basic 'Veranda with an h' room size is 174 sq ft, close to my guess of 167 sq ft above.  So we would need to be looking at a 'Signature' suite, which has a whopping 294 sq ft inside space. I'll use that in my next price calculation! 

 

Here is a video of a Signature Suite on the Oosterdam.  The room itself was fabulous, but the location, not so much.  We could hear the trolley carts on the tile floor of the Lido....thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk...and in the evening as well, depending on which side of the Lido is open for late food.  I can sleep through a hurricane, but DH is a light sleeper and he swore he would never stay in a Signature below the Lido again.  We had a verandah and were offered the Signature as an upgrade.

 

L.

 

 

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by leerathje