Verandah rooms VA, VB, VC, etc. What's the difference?

[13momo]

We will be taking our first ever cruise on the Oosterdam. We’ve never even seen a cruise ship, other than in photos! We have selected a verandah cabin, which is VC category. Right next to it is a VB cabin. Can anyone tell me what the difference might be between the 2? We selected the VC as it is what our TA “offered”. Thank you. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Shmoo here]

9 minutes ago, 13momo said:

We will be taking our first ever cruise on the Oosterdam. We’ve never even seen a cruise ship, other than in photos! We have selected a verandah cabin, which is VC category. Right next to it is a VB cabin. Can anyone tell me what the difference might be between the 2? We selected the VC as it is what our TA “offered”. Thank you. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mostly, basically, it's location.  Is the VB room more midship than yours is?  That's the difference.

[13momo]

7 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

Mostly, basically, it's location.  Is the VB room more midship than yours is?  That's the difference.

yes - probably about 5 feet?? Lol

thank you for your response. I wouldn’t even have guessed at that (but I guess the dividing line has to go somewhere...)

[catl331]

21 hours ago, 13momo said:

yes - probably about 5 feet?? Lol

thank you for your response. I wouldn’t even have guessed at that (but I guess the dividing line has to go somewhere...)

At the adjoining wall the distance is less than 1 foot ... at the centerline of each cabin the distance is the width of both cabins, 9 feet.

[noblepa]

I would echo what JANMCM posted.

 

This is why I always pick out my own cabin and tell HAL that I do not want automatic upgrades. What HAL considers an upgrade may not be what you and I consider an upgrade. For example, they may "upgrade" you from a VE to a VB or VA which is directly below the LIDO deck.

 

Some veranda cabins look out over the lifeboats, which can affect your view.

 

Other so-called upgrades may put you directly over the galley, or in another area that can be noisy. Or, if you're close to the elevators, there may be a lot of foot traffic by noisy night-owls, just outside your door.

 

My personal rule of thumb is to book a cabin that has only passenger cabins directly above and directly below. I never book a cabin that is above or below any public area or potentially noisy crew area, such as the galley.

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, noblepa said:

My personal rule of thumb is to book a cabin that has only passenger cabins directly above and directly below. I never book a cabin that is above or below any public area or potentially noisy crew area, such as the galley.

The noisiest room we've ever had on a cruise (not HAL) was on a deck between stateroom decks.  The neighbors (on both sides, with connecting rooms) had kids who would run laps around the room/verandah, as well as one kid who seemed to love jumping off the bunk bed.  And there there were the late night foot races down the passageway on the deck above us (I'm fairly certain they were NOT children).