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Guarantee suites


divsec
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Hi all we are booked on Odyssey with guarantee balcony. If the luck of the draw produces a suite you really dislike, 745 or 746 for example, can it be rejected or is that it? Why those two? The veranda looks to be significantly smaller than any others. I know all SB suites are great, just some are greater than others.

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Re 745 and 746 - in favour of them is they are in a very good position for getting to the important public areas. Against - they do have a smaller balcony, I believe a different shape, and are under the pool area with possible noise from early morning movements of deck loungers etc. However, your chances of getting one of them is not particularly high in view of the overall number of suites. Some people would prefer them to deck 5, with the partially obscured balcony fronts.

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We have been allocated 745 having taken a guarantee and the reviews don't seem too bad. I quite liked the layout and whilst the balcony does appear to be teeny we are rarely on it together and it seems to stick out so the views should be good. Seems very central, midship (good for my Mal de mer) just hoping winter garden guests are nice and quiet and don't smoke 😁

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You can only turn it down if you are willing to pay for an upgrade. If upgrade is available that is.

Not always. My last SB cruise I was assigned an inferior V1 suite. My TA called SB and we were re-assigned to a V6, mid ship, no charge! (might have happened because of the clout my TA has with SB)

Edited by Host Dan
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We have been allocated 745 having taken a guarantee and the reviews don't seem too bad. I quite liked the layout and whilst the balcony does appear to be teeny we are rarely on it together and it seems to stick out so the views should be good. Seems very central, midship (good for my Mal de mer) just hoping winter garden guests are nice and quiet and don't smoke

 

We had 745 a couple of years ago OB on a fall cruise in the western med and were very happy with it. The dog-leg entry gives you a little privacy, since it doesn't open the whole suite to the onside corridor. The location is very convenient. The vanity is tucked away near. the bed so it's less in the way than in the inside corridor between closet and bath entry in the standard suites. The bath entry is closer to the bed, I think. The living room part is similar to the rest of the the suites. Do not recall any noise from above or next door. Or smoke. It was cozy and still way more spacious than its Crystal standard verandah counterpart. (Which was ok, but a tad cramped in comparison.).

Bon voyage!

Edited by jozi
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Hi Guys! Since we're on the topic.. and I've never done Seabourn previously, we also booked a guarantee on the Seabourn Sojourn for March (Sing to Hong Kong). I booked a guarantee for my folks a non-Veranda and for us a Veranda guarantee (they didn't want a Veranda). What are your opinions on the rooms on that boat? Are there really any "bad" rooms? It doesn't seem like it. I've sailed Crystal a couple of times and am excited to try out Seabourn.

 

Thanks all!

Edited by CruisingHopper
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we've booked 747 next door twice and are using it again in Feb. when chatting with the people next door they have liked the layout, one time it was combined with the wintergarden suite with a large family. All good.

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Are there really any "bad" rooms?

 

Maybe no bad rooms, but less desirable locations. For example, outside of the Observation Bar one can smell cigarette smoke in the evening. Some veranda rooms are nearby heavily traveled hallways and exit/entrances. Look at the deckplans and you will be able to decide whether you can live with more noise, etc. as you evaluate the value proposition.

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I believe the smoking policy will have changed by the time you cruise next March.

 

As to the suites, as others have said while there are no truly bad suites there are some "less good " depending on your perspective. Some find the suites under the pool deck on deck 7 unacceptable due to early morning noise from the deck chairs being moved around. Others, like me would no want a handicapped suite as instead of a separate bathtub and shower you just get a shower. Also potentially annoying are connecting suites if you have noisy neighbor as sound does come through the door frame. If you are on a cruise where you are likely to encounter rough seas you may not want to get a suite up front -- particularly on an upper deck. Some people finding noise from being next to a service elevator annoying. The bottom line is you should never book a GTY suite if you are not willing to accept any suite you are assigned.

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  • 2 weeks later...

To OB or not to OB, that is the question. I consider GTY suites a win win situation for both passengers and Seabourn. The latter because they are able to continue advertising their lowest and most attractive fares without being accused of bait and switch. For the passengers because, worst case scenario, we are assigned what we paid for, but more often than not we are assigned a cabin that would normally sell for more.

 

Personally I would rather walk an extra 10 meters to get to the Observation Lounge and use the money I saved to upgrade flights or at the spa or on a future booking etc...

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  • 3 weeks later...
To OB or not to OB, that is the question. I consider GTY suites a win win situation for both passengers and Seabourn. The latter because they are able to continue advertising their lowest and most attractive fares without being accused of bait and switch. For the passengers because, worst case scenario, we are assigned what we paid for, but more often than not we are assigned a cabin that would normally sell for more.

 

Personally I would rather walk an extra 10 meters to get to the Observation Lounge and use the money I saved to upgrade flights or at the spa or on a future booking etc...

Just had my first upsell offer for Odyssey first October. £400 each to go v5 or v6 and £1200 each for pH. Not rocking my boat a the moment😁

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  • 1 month later...
Just had my first upsell offer for Odyssey first October. £400 each to go v5 or v6 and £1200 each for pH. Not rocking my boat a the moment😁

Just got my second and final offer, v5 or v6 £300 pp and penthouse now £999. Pp I've offered to pay £500 pp for the penthouse, subject to my approving the suite. It's a game but fun. Only a couple of weeks now.

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Interesting that the up sell lowers closer to the cruise. I wonder what would happen if NO ONE took an up sell? I suppose it would all be gratis upgrades if the ship was reasonably full. The line would still do well as it is difficult to book the next cruise in a lower category once you taste the better life.

Let us know your final assignment for our information.

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Just got my second and final offer, v5 or v6 £300 pp and penthouse now £999. Pp I've offered to pay £500 pp for the penthouse, subject to my approving the suite. It's a game but fun. Only a couple of weeks now.

 

Will be interested to hear the outcome - but is this for just one week? Even £500, presumably per person, sounds a lot per night to me. Maybe you got the cruise for only just over £1500 in the first place, which would make the total still a pretty good buy.

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I know someone who has tried this before, yes it is £1000 each normally last minute, but they have never got a deal on less than that. I believe they once offered £2000 on top of their fare to upgrade to an empty suite when the boat had sailed and SB said they would sooner the suite sail empty. They were very irritated by it, but i can understand SB not wanting to devalue the product too much for those who have paid the full rate. So good luck!

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Just got my second and final offer, v5 or v6 £300 pp and penthouse now £999. Pp I've offered to pay £500 pp for the penthouse, subject to my approving the suite. It's a game but fun. Only a couple of weeks now.

 

 

Let us know if they take you up on the counter offer!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Hi all, they can only say no. Yes it is for a week and yes we did secure a very good deal about 4 months ago. As Tilly says SB may well prefer to sail with an empty Suite. I will let you know the outcome, the only thing stopping me will be some form of request to not make the deal public. Then my lack of comment will speak for itself.

 

Oh come on 1 October, whatever suite will be sweet.

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Hi all, they can only say no. Yes it is for a week and yes we did secure a very good deal about 4 months ago. As Tilly says SB may well prefer to sail with an empty Suite. I will let you know the outcome, the only thing stopping me will be some form of request to not make the deal public. Then my lack of comment will speak for itself.

 

Oh come on 1 October, whatever suite will be sweet.

 

I see from your comments that you have not been allocated a cabin yet.

We sail on the same cruise and we are still awaiting our cabin number, not been offered any up sell.

Looking on some of the web sites it is saying that only A and A1 cabins available for this sailing.

Edited by LEESRE
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