Is a "Guaranteed Cabin" Worth It?

First of all, thanks very much for all the replies concerning inside cabins vs. balconies. With that being said, we still haven't made up our minds. There's just so much to digest.

Can someone enlighten us as to this guaranteed cabin selection? I assume you get whatever cabins are left over. Is that a bad thing? If so, why does the rate seem to be a bit higher? Is there a chance that if all the inside cabins are gone, you get an upgrade to an ocean view? Does going on the last or second to last cruise of the season matter one way or the other? If anyone has ever done the guaranteed cabin, would you do it again?

Thanks in advance!

Rates for a guarantee are usually the lowest for a particular grade of cabin. Provided you are satisfied with the "worst" cabin in the grade you pay for, you will be fine. It is possible to get a higher grade than what you paid for and sometimes people do get upgraded from inside to oceanview or oceanview to balcony, etc. Don't expect an upgrade and then you won't be disappointed if you don't get one.

I would not pay more for a guarantee than I would pay if I chose my own cabin in a particular grade.

The booking pattern on each cruise is different, so there is no way to predict what the outcome of a guarantee (GTY) booking is going to be. How the cruise lines determine the outcome is a well kept industry secret.

The only thing you know about a GTY booking is that you will receive a cabin at the level you book into, or higher. Yes, you might say that is "leftovers", but that doesn't make it a bad thing, if you understand that most cabins in any given class of cabin are identical. In the cases where we have booked into a GTY, the price has been the same as the level we booked into, or a little below. So there is generally no price difference if the cabin assigned is in the level we booked into. If we get upgraded above the level, then we saved some money.

The general and very common advice here about booking a GTY is to book the GTY at a level you will be happy at. If you won't be happy in anything less than a balcony cabin, don't book an inside GTY, hoping to get a balcony. You will most likely be disappointed.

Only you can decide if it is "worth it", which is totally a personal value judgment that is different for everyone.

The general and very common advice here about booking a GTY is to book the GTY at a level you will be happy at. If you won't be happy in anything less than a balcony cabin, don't book an inside GTY, hoping to get a balcony. You will most likely be disappointed.

Agree with Bruce and others!

Make sure you are happy with the GTY level you book.

LuLu

You've been given some excellent advice. The only downside to a guarantee is that you have no control over where your cabin will be. Some people don't care as long as they get a good price and get on the ship. Others want to be mid-ship for stability, near the water, high up, at the aft end - you name it. The very best locations go early to those paying full freight.

You have to decide whether price versus choice is more important to you.

I think it's better to know what cabin or suite your in. That way no surprise's!

I have read where some people got good upgrades and they loved their cabin. And then some people were disappointed that they got an obstructed view, others complained that they were so far away from everything.

We prefer to choose our cabin -- that way we know what we are getting.

A Category Guarantee should never be more $$ than a Cabin assignment in that same category ?????

Recheck your search or contact a good TA for more options (including additional discount or OBC)

Be sure that you can accept the least desirable location in the category , (or higher)

When we booked a Guarantee (over 35 times now) we never received the Category booked , always better even if only 1 category upgrade.

First of all, thanks very much for all the replies concerning inside cabins vs. balconies. With that being said, we still haven't made up our minds. There's just so much to digest.

Can someone enlighten us as to this guaranteed cabin selection? I assume you get whatever cabins are left over. Is that a bad thing? If so, why does the rate seem to be a bit higher? Is there a chance that if all the inside cabins are gone, you get an upgrade to an ocean view? Does going on the last or second to last cruise of the season matter one way or the other? If anyone has ever done the guaranteed cabin, would you do it again?

Thanks in advance!

no it is not necessarily 'what's left over' that being said, we prefer to have full control over location ( especially deck) so we do not like doing GTY's at all.

if you truly could care less where you are and are content to get no more than what you paid for, then a GTY is great way to save a few dollars.

but if you pay for an inside and expect a oceanview, you will be disappointed.

when you cruise is pretty much irrelevant, as is where. no one really knows how or who gets upgraded, but it is generally accepted that if you want a particular class of cabin, you pay for it.

First of all, thanks very much for all the replies concerning inside cabins vs. balconies. With that being said, we still haven't made up our minds. There's just so much to digest.

Can someone enlighten us as to this guaranteed cabin selection? I assume you get whatever cabins are left over. Is that a bad thing? If so, why does the rate seem to be a bit higher? Is there a chance that if all the inside cabins are gone, you get an upgrade to an ocean view? Does going on the last or second to last cruise of the season matter one way or the other? If anyone has ever done the guaranteed cabin, would you do it again?

Thanks in advance!

Did it once, would not do it again. You have no idea where on the ship that you will be located. It's not worth trying to save money over.

We usually book inside guarantees simply to get the best possible price. We wouldn't book a guarantee if a specific numbered cabin was available at the same price as long as we were happy with it.

We certainly wouldn't book a guarantee because of the possibility of an upgrade. In 15 or so cruises we usually do get an upgrade to the category we have booked, but only once has it been a 'proper' upgrade ie. inside to outside. Most of the time we simply keep the inside cabin we have booked, but get upgraded a category or two within that grade.

You have to look at the cost difference and see if it's worth it for you. If we were in the habit of booking outsides or balconies we might be a bit fussier, but an inside cabin is pretty much the same, wherever it is. No chance of a blocked view, anyway :)

I'd also say that we have never been unhappy with any cabin we have been allocated from a guarantee. We generally take the attitude that any cabin is better than not being on the ship, but I know many people are a lot fussier.

Booking on a GTY basis is ideal for people who want to save a some money, do not get disappointed at life's shortcomings, never get sea sick, do not mind walking the entire length of the ship every mealtime being fit, healthy and have good mobility, are not control freaks or at all fussy if at a tender port they drop the anchor from next to your cabin and be a person who can sleep through a rock concert and always wake up happy despite the wife having a go at you for the predicament you might find yourselves in. Otherwise probably better to chose your own cabin if you know what you are doing and what you want. Consider Cruise specialist travel agents if you are unsure.

Regards John

One thing to keep in mind. When a cruise gets a lot of bookings by group organizers where blocks of cabins are held, as they approach the first payment deadline many of the previously assigned cabins will free up and become available.

A common characteristic is that a booking may be confirmed (in any cabin category) but only as a guarantee because all the cabins have been spoken for. The cruise lines know how many blocked rooms will probably open up at the first payment deadline so they will take a reservation on a standby (guarantee) basis. That means you are "guaranteed" a cabin in the booking category but the actual cabin will be assigned later.

That means that, in that case, a "guarantee" just means you are guaranteed a cabin in the category (or higher category) that you want and at the actual price. That way you are good to go on the cruise you want.

We have been happy with guarantee category cabins, but that is usually because it was a fairly last minute booking at a great price. I would only book a guarantee cabin if I was getting a good deal.

If booking a guaranteed inside, I don't expect anything other than the cave-like inside, and I plan to spend plenty of time outside of the cabin.

If you don't care where your room is located than some take the chance with a guarantee hoping for an upgrade.

For us we do care where we are located not wanting to be very far forward on a ship so we don't go with a guarantee.

No right or wrong but comes down to personal preference.

Keith

For our first cruise (coming up in just a few days!) we went with a guaranteed cabin to save some money since we were going with inside cabin anyway. Much to our delight, we actually ended up with an oceanview about mid-ship. I will definitely post reviews afterward, but I am looking forward to being able to see the ocean from our room when we had not planned to. :)

For our first cruise (coming up in just a few days!) we went with a guaranteed cabin to save some money since we were going with inside cabin anyway. Much to our delight, we actually ended up with an oceanview about mid-ship. I will definitely post reviews afterward, but I am looking forward to being able to see the ocean from our room when we had not planned to. :)

CONGRATULATIONS! We call that experience a visit from the upgrade fairy on these boards.

You will have a wonderful time. It's great that you scored a great cabin for your first cruise. Enjoy a very happy Thanksgiving on board.

To us it's worth it. Obstructions don't bother us . We don't care all that much about cabin placement. We think it's a great value. In all our years of doing GTYs we only ever got one "bad" cabin -- a handicapped accessible cabin on the Gem. When they removed the barrier to access the bathroom, it is usually a step up with a lip, all the water runs out of the bathroom & soaks the cabin carpet which was always squishy.

For "special" cruises, we book exactly the cabin we want, and pay full price. :)

But we also take last minute cruises where we're not too bothered about where we're going (Oh, no, not Casablanca again), nor where we sleep, so just have a guaranteed inside cabin. The last twice we've done this we've been upgraded to an obstructed outside ,and an outside. ;)

Don't know why some of the above responses were so incredulous over guarantee bookings sometimes being more expensive than the lowest priced cabin category within the particular cabin type. That's exactly what I have found on Royal Caribbean, with the cruise we took on Vision of the Seas and several others we researched while deciding. On Vision a Category K inside cabin was less expensive than the Inside Guarantee which did not specify a minimum category. Found the same issue on other RC ships and with oceanview and balcony cabins as well: at least when searching for cruises on their website whatever guarantees were available only specified the cabin type, not the applicable category within the type--and booking the lowest (or even next-lowest) category directly was cheaper.

For our first cruise (coming up in just a few days!) we went with a guaranteed cabin to save some money since we were going with inside cabin anyway. Much to our delight, we actually ended up with an oceanview about mid-ship. I will definitely post reviews afterward, but I am looking forward to being able to see the ocean from our room when we had not planned to. :)

Enjoy your cruise and will look forward to reading about it.

We haven't been on many cruises but have always booked a verandah (balcony) guarantee. My dh really does spend a good deal of time in the room - so we like the balcony. We have been upgraded in the balcony category every time - we have been very happy. We have another guarantee for the upcoming summer cruise.

Pat

Before some health issues forced us to become particular about where we were located we were happy with guarantees.

We booked our first guarantee for this upcoming cruise. (Guarantee balcony) The ship we are going on has no obstructed balcony rooms, so the "worst" view we could get is a room overlooking the lifeboats. On many ships, the "better" cabins are merely those located midship and those on higher floors. I don't care about either of those issues.

Now, keep in mind that some people like to make sure their room is not directly below and open deck (scraping deck chairs early am) or above a club (loud music late at night), etc.

I'd like to emphasize the comment re mobility earlier in this thread.

I just took a cruise recently (Celebrity Constellation, Nov 19) and had two thoughts when I saw my room assignment from a guaranteed-oceanview booking:

1) Woo hoo, 7th floor, apparently the best.

2) Um... whoa... very front; that's gonna be a haul.

And indeed, both impressions were spot on. The floor was indeed nice; just a few floors down from the 10th floor pools and spa, and pleasantly quiet.

But whoa man was it a major walk (or, as I ended up doing a lot, a jog) to get to nearly anything on the ship... dining, library, etc. At first, I was annoyed. It was a pain to go back whenever I forgot something in my room. But on the other hand I realized... dang, I'm eating a TON on this boat [imagine Homer Simpson image here], and frequent walking/jogging would do me good. Indeed, not only did I end up enjoying the long walks, but after the first evening, I stopped taking the elevators altogether and just walked/jogged the stairs many times each day.

My point is: if you're highly mobile and don't mind a bit of delays, then likely you're gonna be happy with most any room (even with noisy ones, you can wear earplugs to sleep). But if you have any impairment to your movement or hate walking, then you might be in for a nasty surprise.

Main takeaway: wow, ships are really really long nowadays!