Why Do Cruise Lines Withhold Cabin Info?

Hi all,

We have a "guaranteed" minisuite on the Island Princess, leaving 2/19. Thanks to these boards, I now know that they can wait until 24 hrs before embarkation to let pax know which cabin they will have.

Why do they do this?

What's the point of the "guarantee"? I see that there are seven unsold cabins in our category. Why not just give us one and let us know what that is, especially since we have paid in full?

As far as upgrades go, the website says full-sized suites are sold out. There is just one category of minisuites above us, and there are three of those still unsold.

How does the cruise line benefit from the "guarantee" practice? I seriously can't figure it out.

THANKS!!

Think of it like the airlines handle standby passengers - they don't get seat assignments until all ticketed passengers are seated (usually). The cruise line is trying to optimize capacity to fill the ship before sailing, which includes down-to-the-wire cancellations. There could even be a ripple effect, where a suite is cancelled, so a smaller suite gets upgraded to a larger suite, a premium mini-suite gets upgraded to the smaller suite, etc.

All that really matters is that you get valid cabin keys and your luggage goes to the right spot. The luggage check-in station will have a list of cabin assignments, so they can write in your cabin number on the spot.

Enjoy your cruise!

They do this as there can be a lot of juggling around until the last minute.

Keith

They don't have to tell you the cabin number until you actually check in at the terminal. If you do not know it when you arrive at the ship, ask one of the stevedores. They will have access to a manifest and can tell you the cabin number you were assigned. You can quickly enter that on your luggage tags.

It gives them great flexibility as far as cabins go. They know which cabins and cabin groups are selling best. They can retain the guarantees aside and then fill them as they need.

Remember, you are guaranteed a cabin in that group or better. It may turn out that you get what you requested. Many times you can get upgraded.

Guarantees are a crap shoot-the one thing you cane sure of is that you will have a cabin.

Hi all,

What's the point of the "guarantee"? I see that there are seven unsold cabins in our category. Why not just give us one and let us know what that is, especially since we have paid in full?......How does the cruise line benefit from the "guarantee" practice? I seriously can't figure it out.

THANKS!!

A guarantee rate is a discounted rate. The staterooms are often the "leftovers". They do this to fill up the ship. If you aren't happy with waiting, do as most of us do and book a regular rate cabin and chose your cabin. If you want a discounted rate, you deal with cabin allocation that is handled differently than those that are booked at the regular rate. Like an end of season sale on clothing, you get a lower price, but you get what is remaining after everyone else has picked through the pile. They will wait until the last minute to make sure that no one else has chosen a cabin before assigning it to you.

That *is* the point of the guarantee. Your travel agent should have fully explained this to you when you booked. If they did not, you should get a new travel agent.

Next time, pick a specific cabin. That way you'll know your cabin number and location in advance.

As others have said, you can select a specific cabin and pay the going rate at the time of booking. Some people will even welcome an upgrade, which can be given whether you book a specific cabin or a guarantee. But you will have a cabin when you board no matter what.

One thing though with upgrades is that what the cruise line considers an upgrade may not what you consider an upgrade (under a disco, maybe too far forward for you, etc).

Not assigning your cabin till the last minute gives them the best chance to sell the remaining cabins. For any reason someone could want a specific cabin and only that one.

Not assigning your cabin till the last minute gives them the best chance to sell the remaining cabins. For any reason someone could want a specific cabin and only that one.

Absolutely, this is the reason.

LuLu

:confused:

Hi all,

We have a "guaranteed" minisuite on the Island Princess, leaving 2/19. Thanks to these boards, I now know that they can wait until 24 hrs before embarkation to let pax know which cabin they will have.

Why do they do this?

What's the point of the "guarantee"? I see that there are seven unsold cabins in our category. Why not just give us one and let us know what that is, especially since we have paid in full?

As far as upgrades go, the website says full-sized suites are sold out. There is just one category of minisuites above us, and there are three of those still unsold.

How does the cruise line benefit from the "guarantee" practice? I seriously can't figure it out.

THANKS!!

You booked a guaranteed rate to maximize the benefits to your finances. The cruise line is waiting until the last minute to assign you a cabin in order to sell the best cabins to customers paying the going rate, doing so to maximize the benefits to THEIR finances.

Not sure why you think it's OK for you to benefit but not for the cruise line to do so at the same time. :confused:

:confused:

 

You booked a guaranteed rate to maximize the benefits to your finances. The cruise line is waiting until the last minute to assign you a cabin in order to sell the best cabins to customers paying the going rate, doing so to maximize the benefits to THEIR finances.

 

Not sure why you think it's OK for you to benefit but not for the cruise line to do so at the same time. :confused:

You make too much sense for the typical narcissistic cruiser to understand. They whine if the price goes down after final payment and they are not given a rebate -- but they certainly would be outraged if, after prices go up, they were asked to pay more.

After reading these threads for years, it is clear that many posters seem to think that the cruise lines are in business only to serve them - without trying to operate profitably.

I would never book a guarantee because I want to pick exactly the cabin and location I want.

You chose a guarantee at a cost savings, and that is what you will get, a guarantee of the cabin class that you booked.

After reading these threads for years, it is clear that many posters seem to think that the cruise lines are in business only to serve them - without trying to operate profitably.

It all comes down to three words:

Me

Me

Me

'nuff said.

I would never book a guarantee because I want to pick exactly the cabin and location I want.

You chose a guarantee at a cost savings, and that is what you will get, a guarantee of the cabin class that you booked.

Per above ..... You will get no less that the cabin class you booked ... but it's quite likely you won't know what it will be until the last minute. :o

LuLu

We have found out our cabin assignments with guarantees as soon as the week after booking and as late as after starting the land portion of our cruise tour in Alaska. Right now we're waiting for cabin assignments for back-to-back cruises at the end of this month. One cruise has been sold out for over a week--no available cabins showing up. I figure the cruise line is waiting to assign our cabin after seeing if anyone cancels. We may even get a move-over offer from the cruise line if no one does.

What's the point of the "guarantee"? I see that there are seven unsold cabins in our category. Why not just give us one and let us know what that is, especially since we have paid in full?

!!

You have 2 months until you cruise. Do you think that they would prefer giving you one of those 7 unsold cabins or holding them with the hope that they can sell them at a higher price than what you paid? What is the current price of those cabins and what did you pay for your guarantee? I will bet that the current price is higher.

DON

I don't get it either.

If there are only 7 cabins left in that particular catagory, surely there are more than 7 people who booked on a guarantee basis and are still awaiting cabin allocation. So what happens to the excess people over 7 who have booked a guarantee?

I don't get it either.

 

If there are only 7 cabins left in that particular catagory, surely there are more than 7 people who booked on a guarantee basis and are still awaiting cabin allocation. So what happens to the excess people over 7 who have booked a guarantee?

Extremely simple. When and if they decide that the 7 currently unsold cabins are not going to get sold, they will pick 7 booked guarantees by whatever mysterious process they assign upgrades and give them the upgrade. The rest do not get an upgrade and before anyone asks, they are not entitled to compensation for the upgrade that they did not get.

DON

I don't get it either.

 

If there are only 7 cabins left in that particular catagory, surely there are more than 7 people who booked on a guarantee basis and are still awaiting cabin allocation. So what happens to the excess people over 7 who have booked a guarantee?

Guarantees are for all categories of cabins. If there are 7 in one category, there could be 8 in another etc

The cruise line must assign those who booked guarantees to a cabin at least in the category they chose but if they wish, they can assign them to a higher category. An 'upgrade' of the sort is not always wonderful. It could be a bad location or deck one doesn't desire etc

According to the op there are only 3 cabins left in the next catagory up from her guaranteed catagory. Just wondering what happens when the cruise lines run out of cabins for all the guarantees ? Only 10 cabins left to cover guarantees including upgrades doesn't appear to give the cruiseline much leeway :confused: which begs the question surely they cant sell the remaining 7 cabins or else how will they cover the guarantees?

The cruise line will monitor this constantly. They know how many cancellations to expect. Occasionally there will be fewer cancellations. That is why people sometimes get a move over offer.

The cruise line will monitor this constantly. They know how many cancellations to expect. Occasionally there will be fewer cancellations. That is why people sometimes get a move over offer.

Cruise passengers are very fickle - but also very predictable.

The average mass market cruise cabin is sold 7 times for every cruise - before the 8th person finally sails in it.

That means that a ship with 1,200 passenger cabins has to make 19,200 sales (with double occupancy) (and 16,800 changes) for every voyage.

With all that movement, there is plenty of wiggle room for guarantees.

With very few exceptions, the cabin no-show rate on embark day is 1%.

With 1,200 cabins, that means 12 cabins will not show up before departure.

But we rarely know if those people have cancelled or are still planning to meet us later in the cruise.

Most of the time, we must leave those no-show cabins empty, until we can be assured that the intended occupants are not coming.

Most of the cruising public does not understand Guarantee cabins.

Every cruise ship has a few dozen cabins that are undesirable and hard to sell. They are located below a galley or gymnasium, or above a disco or show lounge, next to the anchor chain locker or above the thrusters.

Experienced cruisers and well-connected travel agents know which ones they are and never book them.

The cruise line typically will not recommend them to full fare paying passengers.

That leaves them for Guarantees.

Yes, you typically pay a lower fare for a Guarantee.

Yes, there is a (very) slim chance for an upgrade.

There is a (slim) chance that the cruise is not heavily booked and you will get a normal cabin.

There is a much greater chance that you will get one of those leftover undesirable cabins and may not be very happy with it.

Passengers in guarantee cabins generally make far more complaints than passengers in regular cabins.

Whenever the front desk receives a pax complaint, they first check to see if it is a guarantee booking. If it is a guarantee booking, the resolution of the complaint rarely receives the same attention that a complaint from a full fare booking receives. In those cases, the passenger often mentions "Second Class" treatment. Unfortunately, they purchased Second Class with their lower Guarantee Fare.

Those of you who book guarantees will not be happy to hear this, but that is truthfully the way it is handled in most cases.

Thank you everybody, for your replies.

I am certainly not interested in depriving Princess or any other business of their well-earned profits. I am not sure where the snarky comments and the "me-me-me" came from. I was simply trying to understand a policy.

I made a mistake with the TA. I really didn't want to accept a guarantee from her, but I still thought she might be able to do something for me that I couldn't have done for myself. I now know otherwise. Lesson learned.

I'll be happy with any cabin we got at the minisuite level. This is our first cruise, ever, after thirty years of road trips and fly-and-drives all over the US and several countries. I've never used a TA before, and I doubt I will again.

Can you refuse an upgrade, if it's less desirable for some reason? Can you insist -- excuse me, perhaps that language is too broad, might have sounded too "me-me-me" for some -- can you politely request, with a cherry on top, that the mighty mega cruise line, which is doing you a favor by taking your lousy money in the first place, that they accommodate you elsewhere? I'm taking care not to sound too selfish here.;)

Thanks again,

Sylvia

Thank you everybody, for your replies.

I am certainly not interested in depriving Princess or any other business of their well-earned profits. I am not sure where the snarky comments and the "me-me-me" came from. I was simply trying to understand a policy.

 

I made a mistake with the TA. I really didn't want to accept a guarantee from her, but I still thought she might be able to do something for me that I couldn't have done for myself. I now know otherwise. Lesson learned.

 

I'll be happy with any cabin we got at the minisuite level. This is our first cruise, ever, after thirty years of road trips and fly-and-drives all over the US and several countries. I've never used a TA before, and I doubt I will again.

 

Can you refuse an upgrade, if it's less desirable for some reason? Can you insist -- excuse me, perhaps that language is too broad, might have sounded too "me-me-me" for some -- can you politely request, with a cherry on top, that the mighty mega cruise line, which is doing you a favor by taking your lousy money in the first place, that they accommodate you elsewhere? I'm taking care not to sound too selfish here.;)

 

Thanks again,

Sylvia

Sylvia,

One of the many risks with a guarantee is an upgrade to a cabin or area that is not desirable for any number of reasons.

Since the cruise lines typically wait until the last moment to assign upgrades (hoping to sell the better cabins to full fare passengers), we rarely have anything else left for you on embarkation day.

Buying a guarantee is very much like betting in the casino. You are playing the odds that a better cabin than what you paid for will become available to you. You might win (not likely), and you can also lose (more likely). And just like in the casino, if you lose, it is not good form to ask for a refund or a second chance.

But with the new ME, ME, ME, ME, ME generation cruising these days, many of those people who gambled and lost on a guarantee cabin show up at the front desk, claiming their lives are forever ruined, demanding a proper upgrade to the cabin they really wanted but were (and still are) unwilling to pay for.

I am NOT claiming that you are one of those people.

But you may as well join them in trying to get a better cabin if there might be one available.

Good luck to you.

I hope it works out.