Yes another GTY question...

[flyingaggie02]

This is our first time doing a gty, so I am a little anxious to find out our cabin assignment.

 

My question is this.... have any of you with experience doing guarantees seem to get an upgrade when cabins are assigned closer to sailing or even day of?

 

We are 26 days out of sailing and our cabin is still not assigned. I understand it may not be assigned until I get to the pier, just curious to see if others seem to luck out the longer it takes. We have booked a deluxe gty and while I am not banking on it, it would be nice if we got upgraded to a mini suite or even full suite.

 

Also, do special occasions play any role in cabin assignment? it is our 10 year anniversary and it is noted on our account, just curious.

 

Thanks for any info!

[GweninTX]

No rhyme or reason- just dumb luck in my opinion!

[rdsqrl]

Some people think that the closer to sailing it gets, the better your odds of an upgrade. I personally don't think it matters; I've gotten assignments right away and later on and been upgraded both ways. I've also not gotten any upgrade at all . . .

 

Remember that the only criteria probably under consideration by the Upgrade Fairy (or the algorithm that represents her in real life) is revenue: can they resell your cabin easier than they can sell the cabin they're upgrading you into? It's doubtful there's a variable in that algorithm representing special occasions or number of times sailed with Princess, especially since about half the rest of the passengers are celebrating a special occasion and/or brand-new Princess cruisers.

[TracieABD]

We typically have gotten our assignment right after final payment. It has always come with a category upgrade. I have never received a meta-upgrade. But, I am one to book the cabin category that I can be happy in.

 

I just booked a gty on the Sapphire sailing in 11 months. I booked a BF gty and have been assigned a BD on the Caribe Deck. Works for me!:) This is the fastest I have ever been assigned!

[Musky Ike]

You got me thinking so I looked back and our best upgrade was when we had had a "special Occasion" noted on the personalizer. Coincidence maybe, maybe not, only the upgrade fairy knows for sure.

[Boyshockeymommy]

We always book a gty inside cabin in the lowest category. My opinion is that you only sleep and shower there, so it doesn't really matter where you lay your head. On our first Carnival cruise, we got exactly what we paid for. On our second Carnival cruise, we were upgraded to a cabin with a window at the very front of the ship. Our first Princess cruise, we got exactly what we paid for. Our second cruise, we were upgraded to an obstructed ocean view room (a lifeboat was hanging in front of the window, but if you stood on your toes, you could see the ocean. LOL) It was still a nice cabin. This time, (my 3rd Princess cruise, first for my three friends) we hope to get an upgrade, but if I don't, it doesn't matter to me.

 

I get to eat the same food, go to the same shows, and take the same trips as all of those people who paid much more than I did. And that's all that matters to me.

 

Kimm

Edited February 12, 2014 by Boyshockeymommy

[Working 2 Cruise]

I assume you booked a balcony guarantee?

 

I have never seen an upgrade from balcony to full suite... Sometimes, and very rarely, people get upgraded to mini-suites but again the odds of that are very slim. You may get a category or two upgrade or one to the Caribe deck. There are a lot more balconies than minis or full suites...

[Working 2 Cruise]

I just checked your cruise. There are only 2 minis available for booking. You should have a great cruise in your deluxe balcony and on a great ship! Have fun!

[saltypeer]

This is our first time doing a gty, so I am a little anxious to find out our cabin assignment.

 

My question is this.... have any of you with experience doing guarantees seem to get an upgrade when cabins are assigned closer to sailing or even day of?

 

We are 26 days out of sailing and our cabin is still not assigned. I understand it may not be assigned until I get to the pier, just curious to see if others seem to luck out the longer it takes. We have booked a deluxe gty and while I am not banking on it, it would be nice if we got upgraded to a mini suite or even full suite.

 

Also, do special occasions play any role in cabin assignment? it is our 10 year anniversary and it is noted on our account, just curious.

 

Thanks for any info!

 

We have tried the GTY route once......and we won't do it again.

 

Very much 'luck of the draw' and unfortunately for us we were panicking a little as we didn't find out our cabin number until the night before we travelled (2 days before cruise departed). When the cabin assignment was posted, we got the impression we had been forgotten about as we were given no upgrade and a cabin right at the front.

 

We do, of course, understand that there is no reasoning for who gets what, but at least we were sailing and the cruise was great.

 

From then on, we always pick & choose our cabin. Not everyone's way to go but we are happier doing that.

 

Don't worry about not having your assignment. If you paid, you will be accommodated.........somewhere.

 

Pete

[OhioDogLover]

I would always rather book a guaranty, but then I am one of those people who really doesn't care that much about the cabin. I can't do an inside because I need to have some kind of window (obstructed is just fine). DH likes balconies. We booked a balcony guaranty for our upcoming CB cruise. It is now about 38 days out and we don't have a cabin yet. I check periodically to see because I am curious. This is the closest to the cruise that we have ever not had the cabin assignment, but I am sure it will work out just fine.

 

Ohiodoglover

[flyingaggie02]

Thanks for all the reassurance everyone! We actually got our assignment today with 23 days to go before sailing. I am happy to say we did get a slight upgrade. We booked a DF gty but were assigned a DB.

 

No complaints from us and we are Very pleased!

[geoherb]

That's great that you're happy with your assignment. The only people who should ever book guarantees are those who will be happy in any cabin in their category or any higher category--the ones who don't need to be in a particular location on the ship and won't mind the noise from being above or below something. We've ended up in cabins below the pool deck where the noise from above might have bothered some people. We've also been above the theater and could hear the shows going on it in. We've been almost all the way forward (which was great if you like to feel the motion) and almost to the back of the ship (which doesn't have as much motion, but had some vibration).

 

I just booked us yesterday for a cruise on the Ruby. We generally go with guarantees, so my travel agent was surprised when I picked out a specific cabin. We are going to be in a BD balcony on the Caribe Deck. I did not want to go with the guarantee and end up on a higher deck with a smaller balcony. Those cabins are technically upgrades but not really as nice.

Edited February 15, 2014 by geoherb

[timetravler]

I'm not 100% sure but every time I booked a guarantee cabin, my travel agent puts in a nice note to Princess how nice it would be for us to get a upgrade. So far 3 cruise and 3 upgrades from F category to at least BB category. But only once was I upgraded to a mini suite and that was not a guarantee cabin. That was pure luck. But I would be fine with a F category cabin if I didn't get a upgrade. That is what you must do is pick a category you can live with and then hope for something better.

[skf]

We had a GTY Minisuite in Emerald last April. Our cabin was assigned early; but, about two days before departure we were upgraded to a Minisuite handicap room. Great large cabin!

Just the luck of the draw, but we don't mind a little good luck.

Steve & Pete

[geoherb]

I'm not 100% sure but every time I booked a guarantee cabin, my travel agent puts in a nice note to Princess how nice it would be for us to get a upgrade. So far 3 cruise and 3 upgrades from F category to at least BB category. But only once was I upgraded to a mini suite and that was not a guarantee cabin. That was pure luck. But I would be fine with a F category cabin if I didn't get a upgrade. That is what you must do is pick a category you can live with and then hope for something better.

There used to be a category F, which was an obstructed view. I think Timetravler means a BF category. Going from an IF or OF (under the new category designations) to BB would be a great upgrade. There are not many passengers who get upgraded from one type of cabin to another--from an inside to ocean view, from an ocean view to balcony, etc. Our best upgrades were from obstructed ocean views to unobstructed ones, including once to a deluxe ocean view on the Sapphire.

[timetravler]

There used to be a category F, which was an obstructed view. I think Timetravler means a BF category. Going from an IF or OF (under the new category designations) to BB would be a great upgrade. There are not many passengers who get upgraded from one type of cabin to another--from an inside to ocean view, from an ocean view to balcony, etc. Our best upgrades were from obstructed ocean views to unobstructed ones, including once to a deluxe ocean view on the Sapphire.

Yes I did mean a BF. Still not use to the new categorys

[youngm3571]

We got a nice upgrade today for alaska grand in september. Got a prem balcony. Coincidentally i paid most of the bill an hour earlier

 

 

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[caber]

On our 18th January Emerald Princess cruise a lot of the people on roll call had booked guaranteed cabins, all catagories, and we all got our cabins allocated 4 days before we boarded. Some got the category they had booked and others a little higher. We booked the cheapest balcony grade available at time of booking and were given a B4 aft cabin on B deck. It was lovely.

[Momma Mojito]

We too have always booked a gty in the category that we would be happy with, and usually been upgraded. When you book a guarantee category you just have to remember that this category is the one you will be satisfied with!!

[TessM]

Recently, I did an gty for the first time. I booked an IB gty and 5 days before sailing got assigned an OF.

 

I don't usually book inside cabins, but I would have been happy if I had ended up in an inside.

[cdnphotogirl]

When I booked out cruise in Oct (before the huge sale started) I was advised I had been put on a list for an upgrade. The sale included being put on the upgrade list. I called and was advised there was no room left on the upgrade list for the sale however as I booked before the sale so my name was ahead of all those people on the list. Here is hoping something comes of it!:D I have really good luck at getting good parking spots so I am hoping that luck plus the fact we are celebrating an 80th birthday plus another will provide us with an upgrade in which to park ourselves for the cruise.

Edited March 2, 2014 by cdnphotogirl

[julie3fan]

I booked a GTY on the Star's LA/Hawaii April 4th sailing and assumed I'd get an email when my cabin was assigned. When I looked at my booking on their website yesterday I was surprised to see the cabin had already been assigned. No upgrade, YET, but I'm hoping the 4 luggage tags I printed out will become obsolete closer to the sail date. Keeping my fingers crossed! :D

 

Julie

[caribill]

When I booked out cruise in Oct (before the huge sale started) I was advised I had been put on a list for an upgrade.

 

Everyone is put on the list for "will accept upgrade" unless they ask to not be put on that list.