Cabin downgrade?????

[Woodrowst]

My wife and I just got our final documents for boarding the Venture in 2.5 weeks.   Everything looked fine except that they downgraded us from a V2 to aV4 cabin.  There was no previous notice of the cabin change from our final payment invoice.  The new cabin is in an inferior place to the cabin we booked.  I have a call into my TA, but thought I'd check to see if this has happened to anybody else and to listen to any and all pieces of advice.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[skybluewaters]

You were upgraded

[Woodrowst]

20 minutes ago, skybluewaters said:

You were upgraded

I am confused.  How can it be an upgrade if it is the same size cabin but in a worse location - farther from the center of the ship and now under a potentially noisy venue instead of having a cabin above us? 

[skybluewaters]

I'm not saying it's a better cabin.  It's a more expensive one.

[FlyingScotSailors]

A V4 is considered to be "better" than a V2.  All the suites are basically the same, with the "higher" categories on higher decks and/or more midship.  However, as you noted, being on a higher deck does not necessarily make the suite better.

 

When you book a OB suite, you take your chances on where you will be assigned. If you book a specific suite, you may be given a "better" suite by Seabourn, by whatever system it uses to assign suites.  If you have booked the suite you want, and do not want to be considered for an "upgrade", you or your TA can indicate that you do not want to be considered for an upgrade.

 

You should be able to contact Seabourn now and say you want your original room, at least get something closer to your original choice.

Edited December 20, 2023 by FlyingScotSailors
typo

[Woodrowst]

Thanks for all comments.   To close the loop, my TA quickly returned my call and was surprised as Seabourn had not notified her of the change.  She got Seabourn on the line and had them put us back in the original cabin.  Seabourn did indeed consider this a two category complimentary upgrade but for the life of me I cannot figure out why they think Venture cabin 828 is better/more expensive than 610.  After perusing the deck plan, I would think the opposite would be true which is why I thought we had been downgraded.  All is well!

[cruiseej]

1 hour ago, Woodrowst said:

I cannot figure out why they think Venture cabin 828 is better/more expensive than 610.

 

On every Seabourn ship, identical size cabins go up in price as you move to higher floors. (I think this is true on most, if not all, cruise lines.)

 

In this case, 610 is pretty close to the bow of the ship. 828 is about as far from the back of the ship as 610 is to the front, so both are susceptible to motion if the ship is rocking up and down around the center (like a see-saw) — but you feel the motion more at the front than the back. And there's more noise up front if the ship is crashing into wave after wave hitting the bow. On the other hand, if there's a lot of motion, especially side-to-side, lower is better than higher. with a suite near the bow, you will potentially have early morning loud noise when the anchor is dropped. But the Venture often doesn't drop its anchor and uses its thrusters for dynamic positioning to remain in one spot rather (because an anchor can damage the sea bed). The rear elevators near 828 place you close to the Restaurant, Colonnade, Seabourn Square, and the spa, which are all at the rear of the ship. (But it's not such a big ship that you can't easily get form anywhere to anywhere pretty quickly!)

 

That all said, I wouldn't worry too much about the location; either one should be fine. 

[JMB56]

I was on Venture earlier this month in Suite 616.  We loved the location as it was convenient to both Seabourn Square (we drink a lot of coffee, and the coffee made by the baristas in Seabourn Square is fantastic) and the Bow Lounge and Deck.  We had very calm seas throughout our voyage, so I cannot comment on which would be the better suits as far as movement; I would think there could be noise from the Constellation Lounge if you were in 828, but I think the ship is well insulated ... we heard nearly no noise from the next cabins, the hallway or the lifts which were close by.

610 is near the 'room' that the cabin staff uses to replenish supplies, store linens, etc., so perhaps Seabourn through it was doing you a favour by switching you to perhaps a quieter cabin.  The cleaning/cabin staff did not begin work until about 8.30am on our voyage, and it seems that everyone is up pretty early on Venture due to the expedition nature of the ship.

Seabourn Venture Deck Plan | Seabourn | ROL Cruise | Deck 3.psd

[jjs217]

When you book, you can specifically state not to be upgraded.  I am very picky about where my suite is and don't want any surprises.  

[Woodrowst]

2 hours ago, jjs217 said:

When you book, you can specifically state not to be upgraded.  I am very picky about where my suite is and don't want any surprises.  

Good to know!

[TakingFlight]

On 12/20/2023 at 5:59 PM, Woodrowst said:

Thanks for all comments.   To close the loop, my TA quickly returned my call and was surprised as Seabourn had not notified her of the change.  She got Seabourn on the line and had them put us back in the original cabin.  Seabourn did indeed consider this a two category complimentary upgrade but for the life of me I cannot figure out why they think Venture cabin 828 is better/more expensive than 610.  After perusing the deck plan, I would think the opposite would be true which is why I thought we had been downgraded.  All is well!

Please let us know about your experience in cabin 610. We have booked this cabin on Pursuit for a Kimberley cruise in 2025.