Guarantee Status

[cruisegirl1]

Booked an Eclipse 14 night cruise Wednesday ( for a sailing in 6 weeks) and took a Veranda Guarantee. We were assigned a 2B, deck 7 not too far aft. We are more than satisfied. We were expecting a 2D and hoping for a 2C.

 

Great way for us to save over $1100.

 

M

[karena1]

We did a guarantee for the first time this year. For Brilliance, we did a balcony guarantee, knowing the worst we would get is a Deck 7 balcony. Our balcony was slotted almost immediately. I called and changed it to another balcony within the same category so no extra cost. Got the balcony right at the end of the hump. Balcony is a bit smaller, but we are still on the hump and close to the elevators.

 

Right after we got the $399 guarantee, price went up to over $500 and is now at $594. So we got a good balcony for our 4 night cruise at an extremely good price.

 

Would I do guarantee a lot? Probably not, but in this case, we were willing to chance it since it was a 4 night cruise and I knew I would not be below Deck 7. So we were okay with it and it turned out great.

[Seattletravelagent]

In my experience, as a travel agent, I have booked dozens of guarantee cabins and have yet to hear a complaint. A guarantee is a very fine way to get a good cabin at a very low price. :)

[Lastdance]

We booked on guarantee for a 14 day Western European cruise. For the first seven days, a noise and creaking kept me awake, as we were in the Atlantic, but after that, I never heard another noise. Although I really missed my original cabin on the hump, I did just fine!

If you are somewhat of a risk-taker, you'll do fine with a guarantee. However, if you are picky like I tend to be, it may not be your cup of tea. Your bottom line should be: no regrets after the decision is made, and don't look back...:eek:

Edited November 22, 2013 by Lastdance

[teecee60]

A 15 night transatlantic cruise on Celebrity Reflection... :)

 

...for $449pp with a $250 OBC. :D

 

To me, that's one mighty fine reason to take even an inside GTY! ;)

[maddog2]

We have been on 18 cruises and have had a guarantee several times, we have been upgraded each time. Since we have cruised with Holland the most, when we book a guarantee we get upgraded everytime. The last time we went from an outside to a suite on the Zaandam:)

[terryinal]

Last year, I booked a 2C on Silhouette, figuring a partially obstructed balcony in the Med. was better than none. A few days later, there was a sale with a balcony gty same price as inside. I jumped on it. For a saving of $1200 I would be happy with any balcony, even a 2D. We ended up in a 2A on the hump. Great value. I book what I can afford, just to be on the ship. Insides, OV, balcony. Doesn't matter, as long as it is a bargain. EM

 

Like you I cruise so much all I want is on the ship. Cheap. I would rather cruise three times a yr on the cheap then one in a balcony

[lovemylab]

Can't figure out why anyone would book a cruise under a guarantee status. We have 26 cruises and always chose a specific cabin. There are too many variables with cabin location, deck, public spaces above or below etc. to risk an expensive cruise by having someon else determine where I'm staying for the cruise.

 

Do people think their chances are better for an upgrade if they are under a guarantee status? Would have to imagine that the percentage of anyone, regardless of booking status, that are upgraded is a minicule percentage.

 

I booked a guarantee on our Med cruise. I originally booked a specific cabin (inside) however 6 months before we sailed, Celebrity had a promotion where you get a balcony cabin for the price of an inside guarantee. By doing this we got a price reduction and we were assigned a cabin on the hump (triple sized balcony).

 

At the time of booking, I wasn't willing to pay $800 more per person for a balcony.

 

We don't spend a lot of time in our cabin so if the price is right, we would definitely book a guarantee again.

Edited November 26, 2013 by lovemylab

[bighairtexan]

I've completed 60+ cruises so I'm not making a "newbie mistake" when I book a guarantee. I RARELY do it, but if the price is SO tempting and if I know I'll be perfectly happy with the "worst" cabin in the category why not?

 

I was booked in an OV for my upcoming Reflection cruise. But the more I thought of it the more I decided I can't live w/o my balcony. Well a Concierge Class guaranty came up for a whopping $35pp more than the OV! Not per day but per the entire cruise. Put me in ANY CC cabin (w/ 5 points/day toward Elite+) for $35 TOTAL over ANY OV cabin (and 2 points/day toward E+) For me this was a no brainer.

[Janet987]

Redman, as you can read from all these good answers, Guarentees can be the least expensive way to enjoy a great cruise. You indicated in another thread you are in the situation past final payment date where current prices for OV are significantly less than you paid. Guarenty prices are usually offered when inventory is still high after payment date, and are the 'best deal' by class.

[PoppyandNana]

I appreciate all the insightful answers. I guess one question I still have is why do the cruise lines offer this type of booking in the first place. I guess space allocation has something to do with it.

[Janet987]

I appreciate all the insightful answers. I guess one question I still have is why do the cruise lines offer this type of booking in the first place. I guess space allocation has something to do with it.

They offer it so every ship, every week will leave port completely full. The use of Guarentees, TA group rates, plus upsells, and the occasional complementary upgrade allow them to fill each cabin. An empty cabin does not support the ship's major revenue sources...casino, alcohol and excursions, as well as pay for the crew who are paid by tips.

[sound_guy0918]

The main reason we booked GTY on both of our cruises was price...for CCL I booked online direct on their website and the savings was substantial. We also happened to score an aft-view cabin which was terrific. (So upgrades do happen!)

 

For our upcoming X cruise, we booked GTY because that's what the TA's package deal included...so we got a great rate on a "2C-or-better" stateroom (still $75 cheaper than the last-minute discounts available now for 2C) plus the 1-2-3 package, plus OBC's. from both X and the TA. If we had booked a specific 2C cabin we would have paid more and lost the OBC's. We were assigned a 2C (forward cabin on a good deck) but I have no major complaints about the location. Even if we would have got the "lifeboat-view" balcony I would have been extremely happy with the deal we got.

 

Happy Cruising!

[Ugaaucruisers]

Are the GTY cabins offered on every cruise? Do you have to ask for them? I've looked at several cruises and none of them seem to have a GTY category.

Thanks.

[dmk]

I am confused.:confused:

I've read a few posts where people have booked a guarantee. When assigned their cabin, they didn't like it. So, they say, that they were able to change the assigned cabin to another one in the same category. Naturally, only if other cabins were available in the same category.

Has this happened to you? I'd like to know. It would make a big difference to me.

[AlbertaCruisers]

I appreciate all the insightful answers. I guess one question I still have is why do the cruise lines offer this type of booking in the first place. I guess space allocation has something to do with it.

 

My other thought on guarantees is it allows them to fill rooms without making other people mad that booked a specific category at a specific price. For example, for our cruise a couple of weeks ago on the Summit, right up to the cruise there were TONS of cabins left, but they never did decrease the price of any of the categories (for example a 2B remained $3000 for a week for 2 people right up to the end, which is very expensive in my opinion, I booked a 2C for next November and paid $1700 for a week for 2 people), but what they did do was introduce guarantee cabins in each category (inside, ocean view and the various balconies) for more reasonable prices, a regular balcony guarantee was $1600 for two people for 2 weeks. In that way they could fill cabins without making someone mad that paid a higher price for a specific category. For example, if someone paid the $3000 for the 2B two weeks before that and then they decrease the price back to $1700 or so, then the person that booked the 2B would be mad. No basis for this, just a thought because I found it odd there were so many rooms left and the categories were not being reduced in price to fill the ship.

[1cruiselvr]

Are the GTY cabins offered on every cruise? Do you have to ask for them? I've looked at several cruises and none of them seem to have a GTY category.

Thanks.

A gty booking is not always available, in other words, not every cruise offers it. Only sometimes when the cruise line feels like offering it for whatever reason. If there is a particular cruise you are interested in and there is currently no gty booking available, keep checking back. Sometimes it shows up. If you are checking on X website, you have to choose the cruise, then cabin category (inside, OV, balcony, etc) and then the subcategory under that before the choice - gty will show up. Hope this information helps.

Edited November 27, 2013 by 1cruiselvr

[BosoxI]

About half of our 40 or so cruises have been guarantees. Last week we decided to take a 5 day quicky leading into a 14 day cruise we booked long ago. Why? Because the gty was $250 less than the A2 and $470 less than the A1. The A2s were under the solarium and quite tolerable, while the A1s with the exception of 3 staterooms by the elevator were all good. We wound up in an A1 away from the elevator and saved almost a thousand dollars. There have been times when we wound up in a balcony cabin far forward, a bit rocky but we are not prone to motion sickness. We are prone to look for decent deals so we can cruise more often. GTYs are not for everyone, that's for sure.

[ehfl]

Can't figure out why anyone would book a cruise under a guarantee status. We have 26 cruises and always chose a specific cabin. There are too many variables with cabin location, deck, public spaces above or below etc. to risk an expensive cruise by having someon else determine where I'm staying for the cruise.

 

Do people think their chances are better for an upgrade if they are under a guarantee status? Would have to imagine that the percentage of anyone, regardless of booking status, that are upgraded is a minicule percentage.

 

We always book guarantee when available. It just doesn't makes sense for us to pay more for a cabin that is identical. We don't care about location, or deck. We don't care about public spaces above or below....we've never had any noise from outside the cabin (except for the anchor raising or lowering), and in any case, my partner's snoring would drown out the loudest disco.

 

The fact is that you can experience noise from many different causes, and there is no way to guarantee perfect silence no matter what cabin you get. So why pay more? Experienced travelers always carry earplugs anyway, so I don't see why people feel the need to fret over minor things.

[vladamsoh]

I recently returned from a cruise where we booked a guaranteed suite on Celebrity Constellation. We had booked 3 Concierge cabins and had enjoyed all the price decreases. After final payment the price on the guaranteed suite dropped $100 below what we had paid. It was too late to get the price drop but could still upgrade our cabins. After researching cabin locations, I concluded the lowest level suite (Sky Suite) would be a good cabin no matter where it was on the ship. It was a slight crap shoot that we would still be close together but most of the available suites were all on deck 6 midship to aft. A few days after changing, we were assigned Sky Suites on deck 6 so I was happy with that. A couple of days before departure, I was printing our Express passes and saw the category now said "Royal Suite." Woohoo! What a treat and there's no way we would have ever experienced that given it's around $5000 pp for that category. We did get that maybe once in a lifetime upgrade but I think the guarantee suite category is a pretty safe bet. If we had only had the Sky Suite I will have still be quite happy. Will definitely do it again. I don't know that I would in a lower level but I might.

[1cruiselvr]

I recently returned from a cruise where we booked a guaranteed suite on Celebrity Constellation. We had booked 3 Concierge cabins and had enjoyed all the price decreases. After final payment the price on the guaranteed suite dropped $100 below what we had paid. It was too late to get the price drop but could still upgrade our cabins. After researching cabin locations, I concluded the lowest level suite (Sky Suite) would be a good cabin no matter where it was on the ship. It was a slight crap shoot that we would still be close together but most of the available suites were all on deck 6 midship to aft. A few days after changing, we were assigned Sky Suites on deck 6 so I was happy with that. A couple of days before departure, I was printing our Express passes and saw the category now said "Royal Suite." Woohoo! What a treat and there's no way we would have ever experienced that given it's around $5000 pp for that category. We did get that maybe once in a lifetime upgrade but I think the guarantee suite category is a pretty safe bet. If we had only had the Sky Suite I will have still be quite happy. Will definitely do it again. I don't know that I would in a lower level but I might.

So to clarify, you paid no extra $$ but were moved to a Sky Suite GTY because of the $100 decrease in your CC GTY booking after final payment? So you had no additional financial investment, just a phone call to ask for SS GTY consideration?

[fourel]

My son and I booked late for a Disney cruise and had a guarantee rate. We didn't care where the cabin was as long as we were on the ship. We got a great inside room with plenty of room for the two of us. I will do a guarantee rate again.

[rvalente74]

A gty booking is not always available, in other words, not every cruise offers it. Only sometimes when the cruise line feels like offering it for whatever reason. If there is a particular cruise you are interested in and there is currently no gty booking available, keep checking back. Sometimes it shows up. If you are checking on X website, you have to choose the cruise, then cabin category (inside, OV, balcony, etc) and then the subcategory under that before the choice - gty will show up. Hope this information helps.

 

Sorry, newbie cruiser here...

 

More questions:

For me, in Celebrity site, it appears in the reservation: Best cruise fare shown.

Is it a GTY booking?

If is not, what is the difference during reservation process that will show me it's a GTY?

 

Now that I've already booked, and I find an interesting GTY, can I cancel the previous reservation and apply the credit (because I already made all the payment) to this GTY?

[1cruiselvr]

Sorry, newbie cruiser here...

 

More questions:

For me, in Celebrity site, it appears in the reservation: Best cruise fare shown.

Is it a GTY booking?

If is not, what is the difference during reservation process that will show me it's a GTY?

 

Now that I've already booked, and I find an interesting GTY, can I cancel the previous reservation and apply the credit (because I already made all the payment) to this GTY?

I'm not sure it's the same outside of U.S., but best cruise fare shown is not gty booking. After you select a category (inside, outside,etc) then either some cabin choices will be provided or Guarantee. There is no difference in the reservation process but most of the time there is no GTY option as it is up to Celebrity to decide which cruises/categories they will offer it. Another helpful way is to use a travel search engine to check cruise prices and cabin choices. They will show the gty as an option as well. Hope this helps. I know it can be confusing. Also, TA's know if a gty booking type is available so you can always call and ask.

[Tiggertastic]

we gave up out side hump for a guarantee on a week Fjord cruise because the price had dropped by $1500 each! We still got a C2 with a great larger balcony and each time we walked down the corridor we remembered that each trip was at least $100 saved. Yes of course I am going to take the guarantee, the saving paid for my dad and step mum to come along.