How risky is a guaranteed cabin on Oceania?

[daisyadaire]

Last year I booked an A3 Concierge GTY cabin on Riviera and had zero complaints. This year I booked a B4 GTY on Vista without really considering what I was doing. I know on other lines guarantee means you can end up with a view of the bottom of a lifeboat or a room inside of the engine bay. What's the worst outcome on Oceania? Should I try to re-book? Picking your specific room seems to be a pretty big deal, but this is only my second cruise so I have no idea what criteria I should use. 

 

(NB I'm probably less picky than a lot of people here because I don't know any better, but the best part of my first cruise was reading a book on the veranda and watching the waves so I definitely want to be able to do that.)

Edited October 3, 2023 by daisyadaire
left something out :)

[jonthomas]

we were very disappointed in our cabin...booked inside guarantee, got Oceanview, but on deck 3..noisy area..constant hum from equipment storage...

 

but others love this area of the ship...

 

we called it the "dungeon"...

will not book a guarantee again...

it didnt help since we went from the 7th concierge on the firs leg of the cruise..

 

if you are not picky the way I am..it will be ok...

[EJL2023]

12 minutes ago, daisyadaire said:

Last year I booked an A3 Concierge GTY cabin on Riviera and had zero complaints. This year I booked a B4 GTY on Vista without really considering what I was doing. I know on other lines guarantee means you can end up with a view of the bottom of a lifeboat or a room inside of the engine bay. What's the worst outcome on Oceania? Should I try to re-book? Picking your specific room seems to be a pretty big deal, but this is only my second cruise so I have no idea what criteria I should use. 

 

(NB I'm probably less picky than a lot of people here because I don't know any better, but the best part of my first cruise was reading a book on the veranda and watching the waves so I definitely want to be able to do that.)

Well GTY can be risky but there really aren’t too many B4 on Vista and they are all close to one another so for this one I don’t see too much risk as all similar and none are connecting rooms. I guess you could get a B3 if none become available but biggest risk with any would possibly be maybe a connecting room. If you are not too picky personally I think you are probably ok. Just my opinion of course. I did a B1 GTY on Vista in May and all turned out great. And the worst outcome will be a B4.  

 

Edited October 3, 2023 by EJL2023

[LHT28]

check location of B4  

You will get  B4 or better

 If you like to pick your location then  change  to a specific cabin & do not book GTY

JMO

 

We are currently in B5  we see the top of the lifeboats 

AFAIK  no cabins on VIsta will give you a bottom of lifeboat view 🙂

[PhD-iva]

Sorry, wrong thread. How did I get here? (Confused look…)

Edited October 3, 2023 by PhD-iva

[daisyadaire]

11 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Well GTY can be risky but there really aren’t too many B4 on Vista and they are all close to one another so for this one I don’t see too much risk as all similar and none are connecting rooms. I guess you could get a B3 if none become available but biggest risk with any would possibly be maybe a connecting room. If you are not too picky personally I think you are probably ok. Just my opinion of course. I did a B1 GTY on Vista in May and all turned out great. And the worst outcome will be a B4.  

 

What makes A veranda cabins more desirable than B? Imagine I'm a 5 year old who doesn't know anything about boats or cruises. 

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, daisyadaire said:

What makes A veranda cabins more desirable than B? Imagine I'm a 5 year old who doesn't know anything about boats or cruises. 

some people like the added perks  with the A cabin

[daisyadaire]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

some people like the added perks  with the A cabin

Oh, are the A's all concierge? Is there a big difference between B4 and B1?

[EJL2023]

1 minute ago, daisyadaire said:

What makes A veranda cabins more desirable than B? Imagine I'm a 5 year old who doesn't know anything about boats or cruises. 

No difference in an A or B veranda cabin on vista other than the concierge perks and maybe better location but that again all depends on which category within A and B. But cabins are exactly the same. 

[edgee]

1 minute ago, daisyadaire said:

What makes A veranda cabins more desirable than B? Imagine I'm a 5 year old who doesn't know anything about boats or cruises. 

A cabins are same size as B but are considered Concierge class and come with additional benefits..earlier date to book specialty restaurants, access to a lounge in newer ships and other...easily found on O website.

[EJL2023]

Just now, daisyadaire said:

Oh, are the A's all concierge? Is there a big difference between B4 and B1?

Yes all A are concierge.  Only differences between B4 and B1 are location and price. price higher because midship 

[1985rz1]

1 minute ago, daisyadaire said:

Is there a big difference between B4 and B1?

Only location.  Check out the desk plans on O's site.

[daisyadaire]

14 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Only location.  Check out the desk plans on O's site.

I think everyone here might be overestimating how much I know about boats. I have no idea what makes a B1 location better than a B4 location. Like, is a B4 right next to the room they send screaming children to in the middle of the night? 

[EJL2023]

3 minutes ago, daisyadaire said:

I think everyone here might be overestimating how much I know about boats. I have no idea what makes a B1 location better than a B4 location. Like, is a B4 right next to the room they send screaming children to in the middle of the night? 

It really is mostly just preference. B1 midship so less likely to be impacted to how one may feel in rough seas as less motion. Some dislike anywhere close to elevators because of perceived noise possibly. Again, all preference and since you are not picky probably not too much issue. But unless you actually look at the deck plans it is really hard to even address the issues. 

[1985rz1]

11 minutes ago, daisyadaire said:

I think everyone here might be overestimating how much I know about boats. I have no idea what makes a B1 location better than a B4 location. Like, is a B4 right next to the room they send screaming children to in the middle of the night? 

Cabins in the front (bow) of the ship experience the most motion, followed by aft (stern) cabins.  Midship cabins experience the least motion.  Motion is most on higher decks.  What is above or below a cabin determines the potential noise (See deck plans). Forward cabins may experience anchor noise.  Aft cabins may experience engine vibration.  Some cabins near the life boats may hear the boats being lowered for tendering in the early morning.  Some folks like cabins near restaurants.  Amazingly, cabins near elevators don't seem to present a problem.

Edited October 3, 2023 by 1985rz1

[babysteps]

Simple-minded question alert!

On O, can one choose to book a guarantee in a given category when specific cabins are still available?

 

On O, we've only ever booked GTY when there were no cabins available to book

[daisyadaire]

13 minutes ago, babysteps said:

Simple-minded question alert!

On O, can one choose to book a guarantee in a given category when specific cabins are still available?

 

On O, we've only ever booked GTY when there were no cabins available to book

I don't believe so. I think we just booked the least expensive veranda. 

[aaaaa]

19 minutes ago, babysteps said:

Simple-minded question alert!

On O, can one choose to book a guarantee in a given category when specific cabins are still available?

 

On O, we've only ever booked GTY when there were no cabins available to book

I've never seen "guarantee" cabins available for booking on O while other cabins in the same category were still available.  But some other cruise lines do offer that capability (e.g., Azamara, Celebrity).

[LHT28]

18 hours ago, daisyadaire said:

Oh, are the A's all concierge? Is there a big difference between B4 and B1?

Cabins  are usually the same size inside  it is  the added perks  like booking Specialty restaurant earlier

access to the spa deck  n/c

bottle of bubbly

early boarding compared to  B cabins & lower

tote bag when you get them

 

just depends on your wants .needs 

I would book either Category

[LHT28]

18 hours ago, daisyadaire said:

I think everyone here might be overestimating how much I know about boats. I have no idea what makes a B1 location better than a B4 location. Like, is a B4 right next to the room they send screaming children to in the middle of the night? 

screaming children have to remain with the parent who brought them aboard  no sending them off  to someplace for others to babysit  😀

[lajlloyd]

We booked a GTY B2 veranda on Nautica months ago for a November sailing.  We frequently do GTY and haven't had issues.  That usually means you are at the front or back which can be a bit more rocky but we've never had a problem and save a few dollars. The B1,2,3,4 is location, cabins are the same. On Oceania, at least, you never get less than the category you book, and occasionally better. Also, remember Oceania doesn't have screaming children and heavy disco music to keep anyone awake. We cruise Oceania a lot and have seen children maybe twice and they were all behaved.  There is nothing for children to do and it's expensive, so there aren't any. 

 

If you are sea sick you might want the middle of the ship and a cabin on a lower deck so it's worth choosing your cabin.  It amazes me that the most expensive cabins are fore and aft and up high. Met someone once who splurged on a huge suite right up front and spent the whole trip seasick and in bed. My husband gets sea sick but wears those acupressure bands and it's done wonders.  On our next trip we are up front on Deck 6. We've also chosen GTY's and been given cabins in the middle. You never know but it's never been bad for us.