Balcony Guarantee Horror Stories

[Lupush]

Howdy All,

 

I primarily cruise NCL and book my plans well in advance.  I am looking at a last minute cruise with my Son on Freedom of the Seas on 8/8, and am about to pull the trigger on a Balcony Guarantee Stateroom.  This would be the first time I've ever booked a cabin without knowing the location in advance, and was hoping to hear if anyone has any horror stories (or positive experiences) to share.  Thank You in advance for your help!

[IrishComet]

Book the Guarantee, and if you don't like the location, you may be able to upgrade through Royal Up

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, IrishComet said:

Book the Guarantee, and if you don't like the location, you may be able to upgrade through Royal Up

 

Or move to another available balcony in the same category for free.

 

Additionally, not sure what balcony on the ship you would truly consider a "horror story." Everyone has their location preferences but would a less desirable one actually ruin your cruise?

[Sunshine3601]

When you get assigned your cabin if you unhappy with the location check and see if there is a cabin on royal websites that you prefer.    Usually no additional cost to move to another cabin in same category (i.e. 2d to another 2d).

[Another_Critic]

 

I've booked guarantee (inside, oceanview, balcony) on 16 of 44 cruises.  I've had 0 horror stories.  And several happy upgrades.  YMMV.

[Lupush]

11 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

I've booked guarantee (inside, oceanview, balcony) on 16 of 44 cruises.  I've had 0 horror stories.  And several happy upgrades.  YMMV.

Have you had to pay for the upgrades or have they been complimentary?

[Lupush]

37 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Or move to another available balcony in the same category for free.

 

Additionally, not sure what balcony on the ship you would truly consider a "horror story." Everyone has their location preferences but would a less desirable one actually ruin your cruise?

I was in a cabin years ago on NCL Getaway that was just below the nightclub.  Definitely ruined that experience for me.  Didn't sleep for a week.

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, Lupush said:

I was in a cabin years ago on NCL Getaway that was just below the nightclub.  Definitely ruined that experience for me.  Didn't sleep for a week.

 

That sucks. Sorry to hear. I had RC Freedom class balconies in mind when I asked that though since that's what the poster asked about.

[Another_Critic]

9 minutes ago, Lupush said:

Have you had to pay for the upgrades or have they been complimentary?

Complimentary.  Some were the same type of cabin (IS->IS, OS->OS, BAL->BAL), but a higher category than the lowest.  Others were upgrades to different cabin types (IS->OS, IS->BAL, OS->BAL).

 

I actually did book an Inside Guarantee on my last cruise, but Balcony prices dropped below the Inside price, so I switched to an assigned Balcony for less money.

 

Edited July 13, 2022 by Another_Critic

[Lupush]

49 minutes ago, IrishComet said:

Book the Guarantee, and if you don't like the location, you may be able to upgrade through Royal Up

How far in advance of the sailing do cabins get assigned?

[Another_Critic]

3 minutes ago, Lupush said:

How far in advance of the sailing do cabins get assigned?

Anytime from booking until sail date.  Often 30 days before sail date.

[Lupush]

11 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Anytime from booking until sail date.  Often 30 days before sail date.

Thanks!  I'm inside of 30 days so hoping I'd get assigned immediately. 

[Norwich Cruiser]

We were recently informed for our Navigator cruise one week before sail date.

 

We’ve only bid twice on royal ups both times the minimum bid were successful each time and happy with the upgrades.

[Lupush]

7 minutes ago, Norwich Cruiser said:

We were recently informed for our Navigator cruise one week before sail date.

 

We’ve only bid twice on royal ups both times the minimum bid were successful each time and happy with the upgrades.

Thanks for the info.  What were your upgrades and what did you bid? 

[cynt]

If the worse cabin is ok with you, book it. If you're picky don't do it. If you're scared don't do it. I only book guarantee and use Royalup when I don't care what cabin I get and I'm just trying to get on the ship and cruise.

[reallyitsmema]

1 hour ago, Lupush said:

Thanks!  I'm inside of 30 days so hoping I'd get assigned immediately. 

If you have been assigned a cabin, you can see it in the app or on the website if you log into your account. 
 

Another way is to do your check in and put your set sail pass in your iPhone wallet if you are an iPhone user. Then look at the pass in the wallet and the last digits are your cabin number. If not assigned, it will have gty. 

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, Lupush said:

Thanks!  I'm inside of 30 days so hoping I'd get assigned immediately. 

 

It could happen at any time. We got two recent GTY's officially assigned 16 days out each. I knew our cabins as soon as we checked in 45 days out via the bar code trick mentioned above.

[matj2000]

I am curious of which balconies on a ship are so bad 

 

That when you got the location

 

It was considered a "Horror Story"??

[lb0103]

To avoid the problem the above poster mentioned before I book a GTY I look at ship layout and the floor above and below to make sure I know the worst I can get. I have had GTY that weren't very scenic, but nothing that ruined our cruise.

 

[Another_Critic]

I've booked oceanview or oceanview balcony guarantees.  Boarded the ship and ended up with a parking lot view.  😲 

[sowhat]

10 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

Or move to another available balcony in the same category for free.

 

We book gty balcony cabin because  of the price. Only had one poor located cabin which was on deck 14 on Oasis, water pipes for the pool above ran next to room
Some markets will not allow you to exchange  cabins without  a extra  cost as they say you are going from a gty to a named cabin.

[OCSC Mike]

37 minutes ago, sowhat said:

We book gty balcony cabin because  of the price. Only had one poor located cabin which was on deck 14 on Oasis, water pipes for the pool above ran next to room
Some markets will not allow you to exchange  cabins without  a extra  cost as they say you are going from a gty to a named cabin.

Some markets? Meaning outside the US?

 

We’ve booked quite a few GTY’s and being able to move for free has always made up for most of the “risk” to me, although I’d still chance it.

[sowhat]

38 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Some markets? Meaning outside the US?

 

We’ve booked quite a few GTY’s and being able to move for free has always made up for most of the “risk” to me, although I’d still chance it.

You're very lucky,  we have been always informed that a change of cabin location would change  the booking from gty to named

[Cruise a holic]

I wouldn't book a guarantee unless a full suite GTY.  You might be very lucky- or be over or under a noisy public place or venue.    I  do not like to gamble-  Some people are very lucky- others not-  The ships are now getting very crowded so it is likely that the "good" cabins are taken quickly.  

 

 

[OCSC Mike]

19 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

I wouldn't book a guarantee unless a full suite GTY.  You might be very lucky- or be over or under a noisy public place or venue.    I  do not like to gamble-  Some people are very lucky- others not-  The ships are now getting very crowded so it is likely that the "good" cabins are taken quickly. 

 

Like most things cruise-related, it's all personal preference.

 

I don't care much about my cabin and often book interior GTY's to save money since it's just a place to sleep, shower, and change to me. On my upcoming B2B, I got one undesirable location on deck 3 and one perfectly OK location on deck 6 (by my own preferences of course).

 

I was just about to text my TA to move the deck 3 for free to a better location when I happened to win a small RoyalUp to a promenade view. Then I moved my deck 6 to a higher deck just b/c I could and we tend to spend more time on the higher decks.

 

Totally understandable why others value their cabin type and location more than I do. Everyone has different preferences and it's great to have so many options.