Why you should never book a guarantee - Caribbean Princess Stateroom P324

Hello all,

I'm just back from the 14 night Baltic Heritage (Aug 1) cruise on the Caribbean Princess. We found out the hard way why taking a "guarantee" can be a very bad idea. When people say that "what Princess considers an upgrade might not be what you consider an upgrade" they are right!

Now, before you flame me with that is what you get when you take a guarantee, I know that. Some new cruisers might not know this, and I'm writing it for them (everybody talks about how they get great upgrades, nobody seems to talk about how they got screwed).

So, here is what happened: we were booked into an obstructed view guarantee. No cabin assignment was made until the day of departure (sometime between when we left our hotel in London and when we arrived in Southampton). We were assigned P324 (an unobstructed ocean-view cabin on Plaza deck, near the International Cafe). At first we were very pleased with our "upgrade." The cabin was low down near the center of the ship (my SO sometimes gets sea sick), had an unobstructed view, and was close to the International Cafe. On paper, this was a great cabin.

Our happiness lasted until 5:45 a.m. the next morning when we were woken up by an incredibly loud noise that at first I though was a ships alarm. By "loud", I don't mean you can hear somebody moving a chair or the background thump of loud music in a bar nearby, I mean the whole room was shaking, and you jump out of bed loud! The whole floor was vibrating, and things were moving across the desk with the vibration. We called the front desk, and they said they had no idea what the noise could be. The noise was so loud that it was hard to hear what they were saying on the phone. It lasted about 5 minutes, and then all was quiet again. About 5 minutes after that, somebody from the front desk came by and wanted to hear the noise we were complaining about. We told them it had stopped and went back to bed.

There was no problem on day 3. On day 4, we were woken up again at 5:12 a.m. This time, the noise went on for about 10 minutes. Again, it had stopped by the time somebody from guest services came to check.

There was no problem on day 5. On day 6, we were woken up at 3:44 a.m. by the same loud noise. Again, we called guest services. They said they would check on it and get back to us. That evening, we got a call from guest services telling us that our cabin is directly over the water level door that they use to let the pilot on board the ship when arriving in port. The noise we were hearing was the door opening to let the pilot on, and then closing again. They were sorry about the noise, but there were no other rooms available, so they couldn't do anything for us. In the next port, I looked at our cabin location from the dock and sure enough, one of those large water level doors (like the ones they use to let passengers on and off of the ship) was right under our cabin. There were also at least three other doors that were not under any cabins (forward of our location) that they could have used. Nobody was ever able to give me a straight answer as to why they couldn't just use one of those. On the final night of our cruise, we received a letter that said they were sorry we were disturbed by the noise, and that they had filed a complain with Princess for us. I don't ever expect to hear back from Princess about this.

So, our "upgrade" consisted of us being woken up at 5:45 a.m. for Zeebrugge, 5:12 a.m. for Copenhagen, 3:44 a.m. for Stockholm, 3:33 a.m. for St. Petersburg, 6:31 a.m. for Tallinn, 5:49 a.m. for Gdynia, and around 6:00 a.m. for Southampton. Any other room on the entire ship (including an inside room) would have been an upgrade over what we went through, but since this was an unobstructed view, it was technically an upgrade. Princess really needs to list this room as "Noisy: some passengers may object to the noise level in this room," like they do for obstructed view. Does anybody know of a web site that has cabin specific information like "seatguru" has for airplane seats? Our cabin would definitely have been one of the black last row seats that doesn't recline, and is right next to the restroom kind of cabins.

I've definitely learned my lesson about a guarantee, and I hope me writing about this saves some of you from the same experience.

Does anybody know of a web site that has cabin specific information like "seatguru" has for airplane seats? Our cabin would definitely have been one of the black last row seats that doesn't recline, and is right next to the restroom kind of cabins.

Maybe Renmar could put it on his site.?

https://sites.google.com/site/cabinviewbyrenmar/

Renmar: are you out there???:D

Yikes. I am a light sleeper so this for sure would make me a crabby person all day.

Your anecdote is a good warning for those that gamble with gty. rooms. Ya just never know.

Thanks for sharing.

The sad part is.....gty or no gty anyone could end up with this cabin even if they picked it themselves. How would anyone know unless they found out from someone else or read your experience here?

I saw that you posted on the other thread with the noise issue in the inside cabin by another poster.

There is no way I would have put up with what you did for 14 days.

This is not the first time for complaints in this cabin I am sure.

They are fully aware of all these issues with cabins on all their ships.

As I stated in the other thread some will complain and some will not so they will deal with it during the cruise and then you will be gone.

They will not note this so that unsuspecting people will get a heads up. Its a vicious cycle. :(

Wow. The OP sure had bad luck and I would have to think the cabins on either side would also be affected. Imagine if the OP had been on starboard side or if the pilots were boarded on starboard side, all would have been fine. Heck, even an Inside across the hall might have received that noise.

I have read several posts where cruisers enjoyed being on Plaza deck, but it would not be my first choice.

To go with GTY, you for sure need to know what you might end up with. We are GTY Obstructed Deluxe Balcony (Regal) right now and my only fear is getting assigned a fwd-facing upgrade and dealing with the wind. But we discussed it and we are happy to book this for "pennies" different than our usual Inside pick and we'll at least have some daylight if nothing else.

I've only booked GTY as a Balcony on Grand Class as there seems to be too much risk otherwise.

Thanks for your story.

PS - It's too bad they could not think to use a boarding ramp underneath the Atrium area just a few feet aft.

Sorry to hear about your issues with your "upgrade". Not a great way to spend a vacation!

You might want to post a cabin review in this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233606

At least members of CC will be aware of the problem, presuming they do some research prior to booking.

Grey

yeah sometimes the prime cabin isn't so prime.

We have probably booked guarantee 50% of the time in our almost 60 cruises. I would say 90% of the time it works out great. But we have had our share of bad cabins too. And even once we book a specific cabin on Caribe deck forward thinking it would be really quiet. Only to later realize it was right above the stage in Princess Theater. Because of all the lighting and height of the area above the stage, our cabin on Caribe was right above it.

Well needless to say when they rehearsed or the show happened I swear we could hear everything. I kept thinking gee put a window in the floor and we could watch the show. But since we booked the specific cabin we were out of luck and the ship was full.

Plaza cabins do have special instances.... on a recent Crown cruise we were all the way forward on Plaza and it was a great cabin. Until we came into port or left and the lines were being put out or in. OMG the vibration and noise was so loud and lasted at least an hour.

So it is a gamble, and sometimes we win and sometimes we loose, but the odds are usually good.

Thanks for reporting I have made note of that issue.

vickie

The other issue with this location is that when the stabilizers are deployed, there can be a lot of noise and vibration as the ship rolls from side-to-side.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. It would have never occurred to me to check for a pilot boat door beneath a cabin.

It's good that you posted your experience c

We have stayed across the hallway from that cabin. Near had any problem with noise below us. The only problem was poor air flow in the cabin.

If we book an inside . It is almost always on Plaza deck near the Art Gallery.

Wow. The OP sure had bad luck and I would have to think the cabins on either side would also be affected.

One of the times that it was happening, I went out in the hall to see if it was just our room, and the floor of the hall was vibrating too, so I'm sure the surrounding cabins also heard it. I didn't get to know any of those people, so I never asked any of them about it.

What gets me is that the hotel staff pretended that they had no idea what the cause was. I'm sure they get complaints from every cruise about those rooms. The other possibility is that the ship got a new crew, and they decided to use a different door than previously. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the hotel staff doesn't talk to the ship staff.

...we were booked into an obstructed view guarantee...We were assigned P324 (an unobstructed ocean-view cabin on Plaza deck, near the International Cafe)...5:45 a.m. the next morning when we were woken up...The whole floor was vibrating, and things were moving across the desk with the vibration...We called the front desk, and they said they had no idea what the noise could be...

Sorry you had such a bad experience with an "upgrade". I haven't booked a guarantee in years, ever since I realized that there are far more cabins on most ships that I wouldn't want than those that I would want.

I have posted in the past, as have others, about the noise and vibration issues with many Plaza deck cabins on Grand-class ships. It is not always easy to know what search words to use to find info such as this, however. There is a place on CC to review individual cabins, but in a longer format. I think a spreadsheet type of quick reference cabin info to use before booking would be helpful. I am not savvy enough to create a decent one, but I'm sure there are those CCers who are :).

I am certain Princess is fully aware of cabin noise issues--I'm sure they hear the same complaints every cruise at the CSD.

Best wishes for smoother and quieter sailing in the future!

The sad part is.....gty or no gty anyone could end up with this cabin even if they picked it themselves. How would anyone know unless they found out from someone else or read your experience here?

I saw that you posted on the other thread with the noise issue in the inside cabin by another poster.

There is no way I would have put up with what you did for 14 days.

 

This is not the first time for complaints in this cabin I am sure.

They are fully aware of all these issues with cabins on all their ships.

As I stated in the other thread some will complain and some will not so they will deal with it during the cruise and then you will be gone.

They will not note this so that unsuspecting people will get a heads up. Its a vicious cycle. :(

This is an excellent point. Anyone could have picked this cabin, and probably does. It should not be sold without significant warnings attached.

Maybe Renmar could put it on his site.?

https://sites.google.com/site/cabinviewbyrenmar/

 

Renmar: are you out there???:D

I have thought about it and I do have some info for the obstructed view cabins that might have some noise issues like the ones over the stage in the wheelhouse bar and theater. To take on a task about noise for every ship in the fleet would be daunting to say the least. Also it bothers some people and not others, it is not something you can look at and for those (and some other ones) reasons I pass.;-)

Theo

I don't remember other complaints about Plaza deck. All I remember are the great stories about getting to the IC first in the morning. :) This does make me a bit nervous since we have one for a Grand cruise next year.

Title of the thread is wrong. It should read:

Why I will never book a Guarantee again!

Experiences noted by others as well as my personal experience tells me I will continue to book Guarantees as so far every time it has worked out extremely well. One poster noted a 90% "happy" result, I am at 100% "happy" so far.

There are those spend time in casinos and a few even win. I believe the odds are way to bad to participate.

I like the odds of getting a great cabin with a GTY much better..

But that's just me I guess. Seems like not you. To each their own.

You certainly have not convinced me to "never book a Guarantee!"

I don't remember other complaints about Plaza deck. All I remember are the great stories about getting to the IC first in the morning. :) This does make me a bit nervous since we have one for a Grand cruise next year.

It has been discussed on a few other threads. The stabilizer noise/vibration that Pam in CA mentioned, and I have experienced personally, generally occurs in the cabins closest to the IC. The Plaza cabins can also experience pilot door noise and vibration (like the OP did), luggage movement noises from the deck below the night before disembarking, and anchor drop "wake-up calls" in the foreward cabins.

Some love these cabins for their closeness to the IC, and ease of access when boarding the ship. I suspect they are very heavy sleepers :).

We had a guarantee Balcony on our last cruise and ended up with a mini-suite on EP on our last cruise. It was great except when they lowered the life boats (for Tendering) at 5:30am in Khios! Luckily we just had one port that tendered, the noise from the 3 children under age 5 next store was worse!

We had a guarantee Balcony on our last cruise and ended up with a mini-suite on EP on our last cruise. It was great except when they lowered the life boats (for Tendering) at 5:30am in Khios! Luckily we just had one port that tendered, the noise from the 3 children under age 5 next store was worse!

And three noisy children in the next cabin could happen on any cruise in any cabin on any ship. (or in any hotel for that matter) I suspect that the GTY had nothing to do with that. :rolleyes:

My guess would have been something related to docking. We had an aft cabin on the Independence of the Seas a couple years ago. Never again. On paper, it was a great room but reality was different. Every morning when we would dock, the azipods would wake you out of a dead sleep. The rumbling felt like a herd of cattle running through your head. Add to that, each morning we had soot on our balcony and I was suddenly quite confused as to what everyone likes these rooms.

Title of the thread is wrong. It should read:

 

Why I will never book a Guarantee again!

 

Experiences noted by others as well as my personal experience tells me I will continue to book Guarantees as so far every time it has worked out extremely well. One poster noted a 90% "happy" result, I am at 100% "happy" so far.

 

There are those spend time in casinos and a few even win. I believe the odds are way to bad to participate.

 

I like the odds of getting a great cabin with a GTY much better..

 

But that's just me I guess. Seems like not you. To each their own.

 

You certainly have not convinced me to "never book a Guarantee!"

Just curious - if you experienced what the OP experienced on your next cruise would it change your mind about guarantees? The odds would still be in your favor of getting a "happy" result but would it make you more leery?

Only booked a guarantee once.Once was enough:cool:. Knowing the ship I managed with a lot of hassle to change before I sailed,same price ,different location. Some folks are lucky,they have the luck of the draw:)Myself will always choose my own.Where a ship is fully booked but there are' guarantees' would be the only chance I would take if I really wanted to be on that cruise.

Title of the thread is wrong. It should read:

 

Why I will never book a Guarantee again!

 

Actually, it should be called:

"Why You Should Never Book Cabin P324 on Caribbean Princess"

The Guarantee process has nothing whatsoever to do with the issue at hand, nor does the upgrade process. (Well, I suppose you might be able to draw a somewhat straight line between the problem and the upgrade process. If no one ever books this cabin, it will remain empty and is fair game for an upgrade for anyone who booked an Obstructed View cabin.)

Whenever I book a cabin, I do an internet search for that exact cabin on that exact ship to see if it has ever been mentioned, good or bad. With so many things going on behind the scenes on a ship, you just never know. Sometimes people mention their precise cabin number in a review, and you never know what might show up. It is not a perfect system, but it is better than nothing. Of course, once you toss yourself into the Guarantee process, this is of little help unless you get your assignment ahead of time with a chance to move to a different cabin in the same category.

All that said, in the internet age, if everyone did a search as outlined above and everyone came across similar information on which cabins to avoid, the least desireable cabins would always remain unbooked, and hence would be the ones that people get when they go the Guarantee route. So perhaps in the information age, the OP is correct. If we are all armed with the same information and all make similar decisions, cabin selection will be a lot less random and the GTY rooms really will be the worst ones even more so than they are now.

The OP's experience probably is due in some part to the itinerary. On a different itinerary, the local pilots may not be boarding the ship so early in the morning.

We've had good luck with guarantees. The time we ended up above the theater, it worked out fine. Most nights we went to the last show. On the one night I decided to go to bed instead of going to the show, I was tired enough that the thump of the bass didn't keep me awake very long. We never had any noise problems during the day.

We've ended up in other cabins that some people may object to--underneath pools, beside elevator shafts, across from the laundry, and cabin door right across from an elevator lobby. For the most part, any noise issues have been minimal.