Guarantee Cabin - Worth It?

[travln1234]

I can swing a one way North or Southbound Alaskan balcony cruise next summer, but if I book a G guarantee...I could technically swing a B2B. But is it worth it? What's the likely hood of an upgrade? Anyone know if the Radiance fills up in June? IDK. Sometimes less is more with one cruise and a balcony, but when I factor in airfare and train fare for my family...I think a B2B with a RT airfare instead of open-ended might be easier with a lesser room. I just wonder if the upgrade fairy would visit. Any thoughts?

[Ashland]

I can swing a one way North or Southbound Alaskan balcony cruise next summer, but if I book a G guarantee...I could technically swing a B2B. But is it worth it? What's the likely hood of an upgrade? Anyone know if the Radiance fills up in June? IDK. Sometimes less is more with a balcony, but when I factor in airfare and train fare for my family...I think a B2B with a RT airfare instead of open-ended might be easier. I just wonder if the upgrade fairy would visit. Any thoughts?

Go for it...great deal...We just did the northbound (2nd time) on ROS a B2B out of YVR would have been great regardless of cabin/location...well worth it take the chance.

[DonnaK]

I would go for it too.

[teddie]

If you are not fussy about cabin location, I would go for it.

 

When we did a guarantee, our cabin was assigned pretty quickly. From that point, I was able to keep on eye out for available cabins prior to final payment date, and changed my cabin within my assigned cabin's category three times, ending up with a cabin in the area I really preferred.

 

It was worth the lower fare for us!

 

Teddie

[Zigggypup]

Since we are spending your money..........go for it !!!!

[travelberlin]

I would go for it in Alaska. As far as I have learned ship does not rock much in Alaska.

The only reason I would not take a guarantee is because I prefer midship due to ships rocking.

[dplusd]

B2B out of Vancouver is how we plan to go to Alaska, just to avoid the difficulty of flying to or from Alaska.

 

FYI, Princess offers 14-day cruises which are really a 7-NIGHT northbound and 7-night southbound packaged as a single 14-night cruise. The 14-night price is significantly less than booking the two 7-night cruises as a B2B. This option isn't always available but you can search for Alaska 14-night cruises to check availability.

 

Princess may also have a slight edge in ports since they can sail into Glacier Bay, which Royal Caribbean can not.

[travln1234]

Thanks, all!

 

I've cruised Princess to Alaska twice before, both the Southbound and Inside Passage. Glacier Bay is stunning, but I've been there twice. RCI offers Icy Strait and Seward, neither of which I've been to, hence my choice in RCI. Though, admittedly, I am also looking at Princess, but it's a second choice at this point.

 

I don't mind where on the ship. Alaska is fairly smooth and I've been at the very front of the ship (with an excellent view of the port side of the bridge), in the middle, and aft. It all feels the same to me (I get motion sickness no matter what, so I wear the patch behind the ear). Location isn't a big deal, I just don't want to be on the very bottom decks.

[higgib]

If you are not fussy about cabin location, I would go for it.

 

When we did a guarantee, our cabin was assigned pretty quickly. From that point, I was able to keep on eye out for available cabins prior to final payment date, and changed my cabin within my assigned cabin's category three times, ending up with a cabin in the area I really preferred.

 

It was worth the lower fare for us!

 

Teddie

 

Does this only work for bookings from the US? I have 2 gtys booked for AOS for the Fjords next month. I asked if poss if the 2 cabins could be close together as one is for us, and the other for our daughters. When they were assigned, they were 5 decks apart. I asked both RCCL and our British TA if it was possible for one of the cabins to be changed so that it was closer to the other ones (I don't care whereabouts on the ship we are). I was told that absolutely no changes can be made to gty cabin assignments. :confused:

[ticktoneer]

If you are not fussy about cabin location, I would go for it.

 

When we did a guarantee, our cabin was assigned pretty quickly. From that point, I was able to keep on eye out for available cabins prior to final payment date, and changed my cabin within my assigned cabin's category three times, ending up with a cabin in the area I really preferred.

 

It was worth the lower fare for us!

 

Teddie

It's really really annoying that we can't change GTY cabins in the UK

 

You have to get a nice operator who doesn't really care in breaking the rules to be able to do it over here.

[suezyq50]

If you are not fussy about cabin location, I would go for it.

 

When we did a guarantee, our cabin was assigned pretty quickly. From that point, I was able to keep on eye out for available cabins prior to final payment date, and changed my cabin within my assigned cabin's category three times, ending up with a cabin in the area I really preferred.

 

It was worth the lower fare for us!

 

Teddie

I didn't realize once assigned a cabin, you could change it. Good info.

[ticktoneer]

Does this only work for bookings from the US? I have 2 gtys booked for AOS for the Fjords next month. I asked if poss if the 2 cabins could be close together as one is for us, and the other for our daughters. When they were assigned, they were 5 decks apart. I asked both RCCL and our British TA if it was possible for one of the cabins to be changed so that it was closer to the other ones (I don't care whereabouts on the ship we are). I was told that absolutely no changes can be made to gty cabin assignments. :confused:

It's so much better for us in the UK to book through a US travel agent

 

:-)

[travln1234]

May I ask another question? (Okay, 2, since that was technically a question.) Am I missing something here...on the RCI website, I can't find any guarantee cabins to book. Also can't find them on 2 online TA sites, either. Where do I go to book a guarantee?

[Ashland]

May I ask another question? (Okay, 2, since that was technically a question.) Am I missing something here...on the RCI website, I can't find any guarantee cabins to book. Also can't find them on 2 online TA sites, either. Where do I go to book a guarantee?

GTY (guarantee) are not always available..you have to watch for them and this varies greatly usually depending on how cabin sales are going for a particular catagory/itinerary etc. A JS GTY worked out great for us once on an Alaska cruise...we ended up with a GS :D

[Gig103]

Thanks, all!

 

I've cruised Princess to Alaska twice before, both the Southbound and Inside Passage. Glacier Bay is stunning, but I've been there twice. RCI offers Icy Strait and Seward, neither of which I've been to, hence my choice in RCI. Though, admittedly, I am also looking at Princess, but it's a second choice at this point.

 

I don't mind where on the ship. Alaska is fairly smooth and I've been at the very front of the ship (with an excellent view of the port side of the bridge), in the middle, and aft. It all feels the same to me (I get motion sickness no matter what, so I wear the patch behind the ear). Location isn't a big deal, I just don't want to be on the very bottom decks.

 

Two chances in each port on a B2B would be great in the event one of your excursions are cancelled due to weather (happened to us in Juneau). But your two new ports aren't particularly interesting IMO, so think about if you really want to see the major ports of call two more times.

The best thing about a one way trip is going to Denali afterwards. It's stunning!

[cruise luvr]

I have booked and inside guarantee on 2 cruises. Both were upgraded to an outside cabin. I didn't expect and outside cabin and would have been just fine in an inside cabin. So, if it doesn't matter to you - go for it!

[lisiamc]

We book guarantees about half the time, and have never been upgraded in the 8 times we've done it on various cruise lines. If you can save enough money to go B2B, and can live with the category guaranteed, go for it!

[Snowbath]

This is what is indicated on RCCL's website when looking at the guaranteed seaview balcony:

 

Stateroom with Balcony Guarantee

 

With this selection, you are guaranteed to receive a stateroom within a selected category, anywhere on the ship. Room assignments may be determined at any time after your reservation has been completed and paid in full up to the day of sailing.

 

According to this, you don't get assign a cabin before you pay in full. Is this right?

 

 

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[Clarea]

This is what is indicated on RCCL's website when looking at the guaranteed seaview balcony:

 

Stateroom with Balcony Guarantee

 

With this selection, you are guaranteed to receive a stateroom within a selected category, anywhere on the ship. Room assignments may be determined at any time after your reservation has been completed and paid in full up to the day of sailing.

 

According to this, you don't get assign a cabin before you pay in full. Is this right?

That has not been my experience. We have been assigned staterooms before final payment.

[English Rose]

I just booked 2 inside guarantee cabins. Straight away I was allocated 2 inside cabins on deck 9. There was then a price drop. I changed to outside guarantees and again, straight away I was allocated 2 cabins on deck 3 for the same price. Happy with that....

[Snowbath]

I just booked 2 inside guarantee cabins. Straight away I was allocated 2 inside cabins on deck 9. There was then a price drop. I changed to outside guarantees and again, straight away I was allocated 2 cabins on deck 3 for the same price. Happy with that....

 

I'm curious, what date are you sailing?

 

 

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[voyager89]

Can someone explain to me how those upgrades work?

 

Only cruised once, and took an inside guaranteed cabin, dont even know why, I was pretty much blinded as I knew nothing about cruises and my TA was not helpfull at all. Only when I got my reservation number I logged in to RC.com and found out I had a cabin assigned already. Didnt even wonder about upgrading but when I went to the front desk to get some pills I saw a sign saying we were sailing full capacity and no upgrades were available.

 

We are doing our second cruise in January and will pick another guarantee inside cabin. We would now be gold C&A if it makes a difference. How would we go about getting an upgrade?

[Clarea]

Can someone explain to me how those upgrades work?

 

Only cruised once, and took an inside guaranteed cabin, dont even know why, I was pretty much blinded as I knew nothing about cruises and my TA was not helpfull at all. Only when I got my reservation number I logged in to RC.com and found out I had a cabin assigned already. Didnt even wonder about upgrading but when I went to the front desk to get some pills I saw a sign saying we were sailing full capacity and no upgrades were available.

 

We are doing our second cruise in January and will pick another guarantee inside cabin. We would now be gold C&A if it makes a difference. How would we go about getting an upgrade?

Upgrades are very rare anymore. Besides having a very high number of C&A points (by taking many cruises), there's nothing else I can think of that you can do to increase your probability of receiving an upgrade.