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Sail away rooms

Badgeaz

By Badgeaz,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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Badgeaz

Badgeaz

Posted
Posted

I'm thinking of booking for dec this year 10 day southern early dec it would be just me and the wife. Right now on the website it's $500 per person.We are currently booked on princess same time frame. My wife is on princess with her mom in alaska and they are hating princess. My question is has anyone booked a,sail away and gotten better than they thought for cabin asssignment

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Maniacal Cruiser

Maniacal Cruiser

Posted
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I am sure someone has. Remember when you book a Sail Away rate you will booking a general class of cabin (or better) such as Inside, Ocean View, Balcony. You re not booking a specific level of cabin such as Ii, I2, IA, etc. When you book a sail away you can get ANY cabin of that class or higher ANYWHERE on the ship. Window, Portals, and/or balconies may be obstructed view.

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mking8288 "Live from...." Rare

mking8288

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OP, well, you are still nearly 3 months from sailing - if you are booking a Sail Away ("no-frills) GTY stateroom, i.e. Inside or OV, I am guessing - they might or might NOT assign you a specific cabin now or close to sailing; and, you are okay with that.

 

Well, you might still get a second chance, under the Upgrade Advantage bidding offer option, if there are still unsold inventories in the higher categories for you to consider to bid for. Maybe with a barely minimum, poor bid or just slightly more; and, see whether they will accept your proposed bid and upgrade ... no extra frills but also not losing anything. The amount, is very likely, still less than a straight booking or upgrade price, to offer to NCL to accept or hold & consider. IMHO.

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dogboy

dogboy

Posted
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I'm thinking of booking for dec this year 10 day southern early dec it would be just me and the wife. Right now on the website it's $500 per person.We are currently booked on princess same time frame. My wife is on princess with her mom in alaska and they are hating princess. My question is has anyone booked a,sail away and gotten better than they thought for cabin asssignment

You'll get a good cabin and it's a great price.

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JenTX4NYC

JenTX4NYC

Posted
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I'm thinking of booking for dec this year 10 day southern early dec it would be just me and the wife. Right now on the website it's $500 per person.We are currently booked on princess same time frame. My wife is on princess with her mom in alaska and they are hating princess. My question is has anyone booked a,sail away and gotten better than they thought for cabin asssignment

 

I always book a sail away [balcony] and typically get a room better than the bottom of the class in terms of balconies.

 

I actually called last night because the sail away for our cruising is now about $70 per person less than what we paid and they said if they had a room available to make up the price difference they would upgrade us... but they don’t. It’s all good, we got pre-paid gratuities which are worth more than the $70 pp and they aren’t offering it now, so we are still ahead.

 

Anyways, you really can’t go wrong with a sail away unless you have a very specific room request... if you’re flexible, you’ll save a boat load and have a great time!

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JamieLogical "Live from...." Rare

JamieLogical

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I have never booked a Sail Away, because I am all about that drink package! However, I did book a GTY once. I booked a GTY IC (which is one of the lower inside categories) and ended up getting into a nice I1 on Deck 10. However, I then won an Upgrade Advantage bid and ultimately ended up in a BA on Deck 10.

 

If you don't care about the Free at Sea perks, then Sail Away can be a great deal!

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WickedRed

WickedRed

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I've done the sailaway interior a couple times and a gty inside once. Honestly, the worst room I've had was with the GTY had me above the theatre on the Dawn. Even that wasn't all that bad, just some muffled noise for a couple hours IF I was in my room during a show. If you don't mind leaving the risk of room choice to chance and the perks don't thrill you, then go for the sailaway. Bring ear plugs just in case.

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havenfan

havenfan

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You have no certainty and will not be able to indulge your preferences when booking a GTY but you are not actually more likely to get the worst* possible cabin, particularly if you book the GTY or Sail Away when all the other cabins in that category are sold out. NCL sell the GTY in that situation because they expect to upgrade someone out of the category. When they do so, they do not put the open cabin back onto the system and ask if anyone would like to move; they just give that open cabin to whomever has the GTY booking. So you could end up with the best* cabin in the category if the previous holder gets an upgrade. It really does become a complete lottery.

 

* I am using "best" and "worst" to represent whatever your preferences may be, since there is little agreement on what people prefer in a cabin.

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gymbomb

gymbomb

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I will never do any kind of guarantee room again unless I know I am ok with the location of every room in that category and above. The cruise where we were woken up multiple times every night because our room was right above the hydraulic machinery in the laundry room was the last time I will ever do that!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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mef_57

mef_57

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I booked Sail Away balcony for November and was assigned 8th floor family balcony. But it is over the theatre rather than over the disco, so I'm good...as long as the people on the other side of the connecting door are into loud parties every night. It isn't by the elevators, nor by a service room.

You might later be offered an upgrade bid, but no guarantee there either.

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Badgeaz

Badgeaz

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Very much appreciate the input. This cruise is about the interiary. Not the cabin selection. And I have noticed there are some Oceanview cabins still avaliable. So a,free upgrade would be ok also. I'll know more tomorrow when my wife pulls into ketichan if we are cancelling our princess booking for same time frame

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Maniacal Cruiser

Maniacal Cruiser

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I booked Sail Away balcony for November and was assigned 8th floor family balcony. But it is over the theatre rather than over the disco, so I'm good...as long as the people on the other side of the connecting door are into loud parties every night. It isn't by the elevators, nor by a service room.

You might later be offered an upgrade bid, but no guarantee there either.

 

 

We prefer close to the elevators.

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Itchy&Scratchy Great Review Rare

Itchy&Scratchy

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Very much appreciate the input. This cruise is about the interiary. Not the cabin selection. And I have noticed there are some Oceanview cabins still avaliable. So a,free upgrade would be ok also. I'll know more tomorrow when my wife pulls into ketichan if we are cancelling our princess booking for same time frame

which Princess are they on now and which Princess ship would you be on on your next trip?

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IrieBajan54

IrieBajan54

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As a solo, I always book Sail Away which allows me to cruise more often. Not interested in so-called FREE stuff which would mean booking the next category up and roughly $1000 more. Have always ended up with good cabins (knock on wood :) ). My cruise in a few weeks, the Sail Away category was IX and I was assigned category ID on deck 10. Great location with cabins above and below.

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KruzPrincess

KruzPrincess

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I booked a sailaway for my upcoming Alaska cruise on the Bliss. I don’t drink, so I decided I didn’t need the amenities for an extra $1000. I bought a dinner package for $87. I was assigned an inside cabin that was pretty far forward, but not bad in any way as far as I can tell. I bid for an upsell and was given a mid-ship balcony. I’m really happy with how it all worked out.

 

I was on the Ruby Princess for 2 cruises last year and both cruises were fine. At one port in Alaska, Juneau maybe, many of the excursions come back at the same time and the lines to get back on the ship can be horrible if you get in that mix. I’m sure that could happen on any ship if timing is unfortunate. For me, it was bad last year because it was pouring rain the whole time. They had two lines to reboard. Princess is fine for me and it’s my normal cruise line of choice, but I’m really liking NCL lately. I hope you enjoy it.

 

 

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