guarantee-only booking possibility (HAL)

[warie]

When trying to book a cabin on a set deck for next year, HAL as well as our travel agent told us that this was not possible. For this trip guarantee only bookings where applicable.(nearly a whole year before sailing)
Also they told us that this was going to be the future. (Formerly for last minutes only)
In my opinion from their sales point of view "smart", as you keep the carrot of a possible upgrade as a maybe bonus. A bonus that doesn't have to be filled in when the ship is foreseeable going to be soled out which makes it easier for HAL to assign the cabins.
The downer in this is that it is not possible to get a guaranteed deck. An upgrade to a lower or higher deck to a more expensive cabin is not always in the interest of the passenger to be.
Would anyone like to comment on this, and share his or hers opinion and or experiences ? For better or for worse. Does anyone know of a way to obtain a predefined deck within this booking system?

[Jade13]

[quote=warie;25450395]When trying to book a cabin on a set deck for next year, HAL as well as our travel agent told us that this was not possible. For this trip guarantee only bookings where applicable.(nearly a whole year before sailing)
Also they told us that this was going to be the future. (Formerly for last minutes only)
quote]

Which cruise, ship, and date? Is this part of a longer cruise, which might explain the issue?

[kakalina]

I don't doubt that you were told this. I do doubt most sincerely that this will happen. I believe that one will always be able to say book cabin #1234 for me. HAL would be doing itself and its passengers a disservice otherwise.

[tamsocal]

same happened to me when looking for a cruise next spring-- it is a shorter cruise that is also being sold with a longer cruise-- I can choose a cabin on the longer cruise but the shorter cruise is being sold as guarantee only & only 2 persons per cabin-- so we opted to not bother-- not going to book 3 cabins vs 2 cabins for our family of 5
understand why HAL is doing it though-- they need to be able to fit all the puzzle pieces together w/ the shorter cruise & longer cruise

[Jemima]

Is this for a Pacific coast cruise or other cruise that is less than a week? Our 6 day Pacific coast this spring could only be booked by major category: inside, outside, veranda, suide. It was the second leg of a 21 day cruise.

[sevenseasnomad]

We recently tried to book a July 2011 14-day B2B Maasdam cruise from Boston and asked for a specific cabin which happened to be a triple. At the time, only DH & I were going. Our TA was informed this cabin was not available. We decided not to book. In the meantime, our 24 year-old son expressed interest in tagging along. When we changed the reservation to include him, suddenly that cabin was available and we booked it.

That particular cabin was a deal breaker for us. Funny, but DH & I sailed in that same cabin, just the 2 of us, a couple of years ago. We had no problem booking it 9 months out versus the 13 months out (at the time of booking) for the New England/Canada trip.

Go figure.

[Hutch&Pat]

When trying to book a cabin on a set deck for next year, HAL as well as our travel agent told us that this was not possible. ......

I never knew that you could book a guarantee for a specific deck as that would be the only way we might consider a guarantee (and perhaps general location etc.)

Did I understand your question? Are you unable to book a set cabin or just any cabin on a set deck or any 'x' category cabin on a set deck?
Pat

[Bill S]

I think that this is normal for booking one segment of a longer cruise.

A couple of years ago, we were interested in such a segment, and were told, through our travel agent, that HAL gives booking priority to those who are booking the entire cruise and that we could only book a guarantee.

I can understand why HAL does that. If I was able to book a really lenghty cruise, as opposed to just a segment of it, I might want a particular cabin for the entire time. IMO, HAL is just doing the smart thing for those passengers who are paying to be onboard for the longer haul, so to speak.

[warie]

The cruise we like to do is the cruise to the Mediterranean the 2 of May next year from Rotterdam (The Netherlands) on the Ryndam , 20 days duration (so it is not part of a longer cruise) We are opting for an inside or an outside cabin, but we certainly do not want to end at the lowest deck ((and they can not garantee us that this wont happen), in fact, we are opting for a cabin on the verandah or the lower promenade deck, therefore we like to have appointed a set deck (not a set cabin, that is less important to us) If this will be the future, I think that will cost cruise companies a lot of clients.(unless there are enough bookings for certain cruises, that might be the reason) It is, in my opinion, not a friendly way to treat your clients.
I still hope somebody has a good advice for trying to get a cabin on a certain deck.

[AfriCan]

The cruise we like to do is the cruise to the Mediterranean the 2 of May next year from Rotterdam (The Netherlands) on the Ryndam , 20 days duration (so it is not part of a longer cruise) We are opting for an inside or an outside cabin, but we certainly do not want to end at the lowest deck ((and they can not garantee us that this wont happen), in fact, we are opting for a cabin on the verandah or the lower promenade deck, therefore we like to have appointed a set deck (not a set cabin, that is less important to us) If this will be the future, I think that will cost cruise companies a lot of clients.(unless there are enough bookings for certain cruises, that might be the reason) It is, in my opinion, not a friendly way to treat your clients.
I still hope somebody has a good advice for trying to get a cabin on a certain deck.
As far as I'm aware, no cruise line offers passengers the opportunity to book a guaranteed deck level. Only cabin level can be booked as a guarantee, meaning that in principle you can end up on any deck in that cabin level or higher. This is by no means only a HAL practice. To be certain that you end up on the deck you prefer, you would need to book a specific cabin number. If only guarantees are available in a particular cabin class, that class has already been sold out, or possibly allocated to a group booking. I would look on the HAL website to see which cabins/classes on your preferred decks are still available on your sailing (i.e. do a mock booking to see the cabin numbers and decks still available).

[CaveDiving]

The cruise we like to do is the cruise to the Mediterranean the 2 of May next year from Rotterdam (The Netherlands) on the Ryndam , 20 days duration (so it is not part of a longer cruise) We are opting for an inside or an outside cabin, but we certainly do not want to end at the lowest deck ((and they can not garantee us that this wont happen), in fact, we are opting for a cabin on the verandah or the lower promenade deck, therefore we like to have appointed a set deck (not a set cabin, that is less important to us) If this will be the future, I think that will cost cruise companies a lot of clients.(unless there are enough bookings for certain cruises, that might be the reason) It is, in my opinion, not a friendly way to treat your clients.
I still hope somebody has a good advice for trying to get a cabin on a certain deck.

Hi warie,

I guess I don't understand your problem.

It seems to me that if you book a "C" cabin guarantee on the Ryndam, you will wind up in a cabin on the lower promenade or the verandah deck. I don’t understand why you were not told this.

Am I missing something here?

Scott & Karen

[Taxguy77]

I like Trivia, but not guessing games. I'll book a specific cabin, or else go to another cruise or cruiseline for the trip.

[Jade13]

same happened to me when looking for a cruise next spring-- it is a shorter cruise that is also being sold with a longer cruise-- I can choose a cabin on the longer cruise but the shorter cruise is being sold as guarantee only & only 2 persons per cabin-- so we opted to not bother-- not going to book 3 cabins vs 2 cabins for our family of 5
understand why HAL is doing it though-- they need to be able to fit all the puzzle pieces together w/ the shorter cruise & longer cruise

Did you call vs trying to do this online?

[Krazy Kruizers]

The cruise we like to do is the cruise to the Mediterranean the 2 of May next year from Rotterdam (The Netherlands) on the Ryndam , 20 days duration (so it is not part of a longer cruise) We are opting for an inside or an outside cabin, but we certainly do not want to end at the lowest deck ((and they can not garantee us that this wont happen), in fact, we are opting for a cabin on the verandah or the lower promenade deck, therefore we like to have appointed a set deck (not a set cabin, that is less important to us) If this will be the future, I think that will cost cruise companies a lot of clients.(unless there are enough bookings for certain cruises, that might be the reason) It is, in my opinion, not a friendly way to treat your clients.
I still hope somebody has a good advice for trying to get a cabin on a certain deck.

None of the cruise lines that I am familiar with allow you to book a deck guarantee -- you can only book a cabin category guarantee. You are then guaranteed that cabin category or higher.

[NMLady]

The cruise we like to do is the cruise to the Mediterranean the 2 of May next year from Rotterdam (The Netherlands) on the Ryndam , 20 days duration (so it is not part of a longer cruise) We are opting for an inside or an outside cabin, but we certainly do not want to end at the lowest deck ((and they can not garantee us that this wont happen), in fact, we are opting for a cabin on the verandah or the lower promenade deck, therefore we like to have appointed a set deck (not a set cabin, that is less important to us) If this will be the future, I think that will cost cruise companies a lot of clients.(unless there are enough bookings for certain cruises, that might be the reason) It is, in my opinion, not a friendly way to treat your clients.
I still hope somebody has a good advice for trying to get a cabin on a certain deck.

I've never heard of a guarantee by deck. I've only heard of guarantee by cabin category: inside, oceanview, balcony, etc etc.

[warie]

Thank you all for all your responses. I'll try to put the situation differently: we are not looking for a guarantee cabin. We want to book a certain cabin number/type so we can be assured that we are on the deck that we want to be on. HAL only sells guarantee cabins, for this cruise, which is a 20 day cruise departing and arriving in Rotterdam (spring 2011), and so not a part of a longer cruise, nor a last minute. Another point for me is, that in this case for guarantee cabins you have to pay the normal price, no discount. I can understand that HAL sells guarantee cabins for trips that are part of a longer cruise or last minute.

[db777]

I understand...I wanted to book an SC on a 10 day cruise this November. I booked a number of months out and all that was available for guarantee SC (even on Holland site)... I agree, think they do this so they can make adjustments. However, I joining others in saying I do not like it...as we don't want an upgrade we like the aft suite with the wrap around deck...(now I would consider the penthouse...ha ha)

So, my options were 1) not go on a cruise...or 2) go on the cruise... basically no decision....Yes we are cruising, but I will just wait until right before the trip to get our assignment and hope for the best...

I have let my TA know our feelings and she has conveyed them to Holland...I am also hoping as they make "adjustments" they will see our history of being in mostly in wrap around SCs....but no matter what we will be happy to just be cruising....DB777

[CaveDiving]

Thank you all for all your responses. I'll try to put the situation differently: we are not looking for a guarantee cabin. We want to book a certain cabin number/type so we can be assured that we are on the deck that we want to be on. HAL only sells guarantee cabins, for this cruise, which is a 20 day cruise departing and arriving in Rotterdam (spring 2011), and so not a part of a longer cruise, nor a last minute. Another point for me is, that in this case for guarantee cabins you have to pay the normal price, no discount. I can understand that HAL sells guarantee cabins for trips that are part of a longer cruise or last minute.

Hi warie,

I think we are having some difficulty communicating. I know that sometimes the use of certain words is confusing.

You say << we are not looking for a guarantee cabin >>. In the language I understand, there is a cabin booking and a guarantee booking, but I don’t understand a “cabin guarantee” booking. A cabin booking is for a particular cabin number. A guarantee booking is for a particular class of cabins or better.

Now as I have said previously, if you book a “C class guarantee” on the Ryndam you will be assured of a “C class” cabin or better. And no “C class” or better cabins are on the “A” deck or the “Main” deck. So you will be assured of a cabin on the Lower Promenade, Verandah or Navigation decks. Isn’t this what you indicated you desired?

Also as I said previously, I don’t understand why this wasn’t explained to you by your TA.

In addition, there is no discount for booking a “Guarantee” verses a specific cabin number. In fact many people would rather book a guarantee because they pay for only the class of the guarantee and hope for a complementary upgrade to a better class cabin. When booking a specific cabin number, a complementary upgrade may not be available.

I hope this helps you to understand what booking a “Guarantee” verses booking a specific cabin number entails.

Scott & Karen

[MightyQuinn]

I'll try to put the situation differently: we are not looking for a guarantee cabin. We want to book a certain cabin number/type so we can be assured that we are on the deck that we want to be on. HAL only sells guarantee cabins, for this cruise, which is a 20 day cruise departing and arriving in Rotterdam (spring 2011), and so not a part of a longer cruise, nor a last minute. I understand exactly what you're saying. The same thing happened to us when we tried to book a 30-nite cruise on Rotterdam for spring 2011. We wanted a specific veranda suite & it wasn't possible to book it. In fact, most veranda & deluxe suite categories were available by guarantee only, even though sail date was over 9 months away. We weren't happy with the risk of a guarantee assignment for such a long cruise. So we decided not to book. We'll keep checking to see if it becomes possible to book a specific cabin as opposed to a guarantee in our preferred category. Otherwise, no deal.

[serendipity1499]

Hi warie,

I think we are having some difficulty communicating. I know that sometimes the use of certain words is confusing.

You say << we are not looking for a guarantee cabin >>. In the language I understand, there is a cabin booking and a guarantee booking, but I don’t understand a “cabin guarantee” booking. A cabin booking is for a particular cabin number. A guarantee booking is for a particular class of cabins or better.

Now as I have said previously, if you book a “C class guarantee” on the Ryndam you will be assured of a “C class” cabin or better. And no “C class” or better cabins are on the “A” deck or the “Main” deck. So you will be assured of a cabin on the Lower Promenade, Verandah or Navigation decks. Isn’t this what you indicated you desired?

Also as I said previously, I don’t understand why this wasn’t explained to you by your TA.

In addition, there is no discount for booking a “Guarantee” verses a specific cabin number. In fact many people would rather book a guarantee because they pay for only the class of the guarantee and hope for a complementary upgrade to a better class cabin. When booking a specific cabin number, a complementary upgrade may not be available.

I hope this helps you to understand what booking a “Guarantee” verses booking a specific cabin number entails.

Scott & Karen

I understand what she is saying but she is not booking the Ryndam...She is booking the Rotterdam..

Wonder if HAL has alloted specific cabins to their high producing Group Agents & now will only sell a guarantee..

Also wonder if she tried to contact one of the larger group agents, she might be able to get a cabin confirmed on the deck she chooses..

It's worth a try..

Cheers....:)

[cd]

Can I jump in here? - We are booked on the cruise in question - It is on the Ryndam -a 20 or a 21 day cruise -May 1 - 21 days from England or 20 days May 2 boarding in Rotterdam - cruise ending in Rotterdam
When we booked in February there was a lot of availability but now not much showing as available. We have been wondering why the cabins went so fast. Could it be because it is the only sailing for this itinerary?

[CaveDiving]

I understand what she is saying but she is not booking the Ryndam...She is booking the Rotterdam..


Hi Betty,

I think you misread the postings.

In an earlier post OP said <<The cruise we like to do is the cruise to the Mediterranean the 2 of May next year from Rotterdam (The Netherlands) on the Ryndam , 20 days duration...>>

So OP does want to sail on the Ryndam (from Rotterdam) and I think what I said is valid.

I really do not understand why the information I presented was not explained to the OP in detail.

Scott & Karen

[pizzalady1]

I just now tried a pretend booking and I was able to select specific cabin numbers for almost all of the cabin types. There were specific cabin selections available on the Lower Promenade and Verandah decks.