Promised a guaranteed balcony with 0% obstruction but given a obstructed view. Sailing in less than 25 days (Any tips)?

[Rmar2023]

Hi All- I booked a Euro cruise almost 10 months ago. We are really excited. However much to my dismay, Royal Caribbean didn't honor their 0% obstruction guarantee. I got a room assigned this week and a bit upset. My group was split up to different ends of the ship. Not great, but part of the nuisance of booking a guarantee. However, the thing I am upset about is that I booked a balcony guarantee with 0% obstruction and I was given a obstructed view. Seeing as I paid $5k for this cruise, I find this very upsetting. No one knows anything at Royal Caribbean and can't do anything for me. Evidently booking a balcony guarantee with 0% obstruction means nothing. I paid extra to make sure I was given 0% obstruction. Am I pretty much screwed at this point? Sailing is less than 25 days out. I have called, emailed, tweeted, everything you can think off.

[ARandomTraveler]

If you booked through Royal Caribbean and you have a receipt or email that says you booked a 0% obstruction room, and can show them that the room you got is obstructed, there should be no problem. Just ask them to change your room to another available one. 
 

If you didn't book through Royal Caribbean you're gonna have to take it up with whoever you booked with.

 

Regardless, I thought you were allowed to call and ask for a room switch once your cabin was assigned, are they not allowing you to do that, or are they just telling you that they don't know what you're talking about as far as booking a "0% obstructed" room?

Edited May 9, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[jwlane]

1 minute ago, Rmar2023 said:

0% obstruction guarantee.

Never seen that---what can you produce to substantiate?  GTY I've seen always includes a caveat of possible obstruction.

[Rmar2023]

Thank you, I have also done that and waiting on their response. I booked directly, but they are acting very oblivious. They wanted me to to pay an additional $1,000 to get out of the obstructed view when I already booked a non-obstructed view. Very frustrating. Thank you for your tip. 

[topnole]

I’ve never heard of a zero obstruction guaranteed cabin and I’ve booked a lot of cruises on Royal?   Are you sure that is what you booked or did a Travel Agent hand you BS info?  

[CruisingHogFan]

I’ve never heard of a 0% obstruction guaranteed room? The whole point of these is Royal can put you in any cabin in that category at a lower rate.

 

Sounds like something a TA made up?

[Rmar2023]

No travel agent used. I booked this directly approx 10 months before the sailing. As you can see it says stateroom obstructed: 0%. It was about $300 cheaper (at the time) to book a guarantee that could include a obstructed view but I paid the additional upcharge to make a it a non-obstructed view. I sail bi-annually with Royal for the past 14 years and never came across this before. Am I pretty much screwed?

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by Rmar2023
Edit

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, Rmar2023 said:

Hi All- I booked a Euro cruise almost 10 months ago. We are really excited. However much to my dismay, Royal Caribbean didn't honor their 0% obstruction guarantee. I got a room assigned this week and a bit upset. My group was split up to different ends of the ship. Not great, but part of the nuisance of booking a guarantee. However, the thing I am upset about is that I booked a balcony guarantee with 0% obstruction and I was given a obstructed view. Seeing as I paid $5k for this cruise, I find this very upsetting. No one knows anything at Royal Caribbean and can't do anything for me. Evidently booking a balcony guarantee with 0% obstruction means nothing. I paid extra to make sure I was given 0% obstruction. Am I pretty much screwed at this point? Sailing is less than 25 days out. I have called, emailed, tweeted, everything you can think off.

It would help to know the ship and the category of balcony guarantee that yiu originally booked (found on your invoice), I am guessing that you are on either Anthem or Odyssey.

 

The only categories thst you can book are

 

XB - balcony guarantee which can include obstructed balconies, and ifvtjis is a Quantum class ship it will most likely be what you are assigned.

 

XN - neighborhood balcony gty, this applies to Oasis class ships and there are no obstructed balconies on these ships.

 

Or a specific category category guarantee such as a 2D or 4D guarantee which iChat would guarantee you a cabin in that category or higher.

[Kathscof]

10 minutes ago, Rmar2023 said:

No travel agent used. I booked this directly approx 10 months before the sailing. As you can see it says stateroom obstructed: 0%. It was about $300 cheaper (at the time) to book a guarantee that could include a obstructed view but I paid the additional upcharge to make a it a non-obstructed view. I sail bi-annually with Royal for the past 14 years and never came across this before. Am I pretty much screwed?

 

Not much experience for me, but could the 0% obstructed be because the room didn't exist yet?

 

Also, are there no other rooms of your specific category that are better options? (like 4N, 7D..just made those up haha)

[Biker19]

11 minutes ago, Rmar2023 said:

Am I pretty much screwed?

That is likely a standard invoice their IT system spits out for all ships not taking into account that some ships have obstructed balconies. The X GTY booking on Q class ships most of the time ends up with an assignment on deck 6 and many of those are "obstructed". The chances of RCI doing anything based on the 0% listing on the invoice is very low.

[plethera1]

2 minutes ago, Kathscof said:

Not much experience for me, but could the 0% obstructed be because the room didn't exist yet?

 

Also, are there no other rooms of your specific category that are better options? (like 4N, 7D..just made those up haha)

This is a good point.  It may be an indicator of how much obstruction your room has and since a room wasn't assigned it was 0%.  I'd be interested to know if the OP was told it was 0%.

[topnole]

So that is the booking confirmation. What was the category and what did they tell you when you were booking (before you got this documentation)?   I see it says guarantee, but that is it.  One would assume a special category of guarantee would have additional coding with the GTY coding.  

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, Rmar2023 said:

No travel agent used. I booked this directly approx 10 months before the sailing. As you can see it says stateroom obstructed: 0%. It was about $300 cheaper (at the time) to book a guarantee that could include a obstructed view but I paid the additional upcharge to make a it a non-obstructed view. I sail bi-annually with Royal for the past 14 years and never came across this before. Am I pretty much screwed?

 

Unfortunately that is just an IT screw up thet the 0% obstructed shows up.  

 

On Odyssey when you book a gty it is most likely thst you will be assigned an obstructed guarantee.

 

There is also no mention of getting a non obstructed cabin on the website as you are booking, it is only after you book that you see this onbtjr invoice.

 

Unfortunately you will be stuck with this cabin. 

[Rmar2023]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Yep- seems that I am stuck here. Lesson learned. Another group I am traveling who booked at the same time and got the same type of confirmation got a really great room, so just confusing overall how this all works. Thanks everyone

[Kathscof]

2 minutes ago, Rmar2023 said:

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Yep- seems that I am stuck here. Lesson learned. Another group I am traveling who booked at the same time and got the same type of confirmation got a really great room, so just confusing overall how this all works. Thanks everyone

but do check to see if there are better available rooms with the same category you are assigned, you can normally (I don't know if there are any restrictions) switch rooms that way after you get a gty assignment 

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, Rmar2023 said:

Another group I am traveling who booked at the same time and got the same type of confirmation got a really great room, so just confusing overall how this all works.

You can get any balcony with a GTY booking and the other group got luckier than you.

[Rmar2023]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

You can get any balcony with a GTY booking and the other group got luckier than you.

Sadly that's the truth. 

[topnole]

2 minutes ago, Rmar2023 said:

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Yep- seems that I am stuck here. Lesson learned. Another group I am traveling who booked at the same time and got the same type of confirmation got a really great room, so just confusing overall how this all works. Thanks everyone

If there is an open cabin in the exact category they ended up assigning you,

there is a chance you could switch.  It will still be obstructed (same category),

but maybe closer to others in your group.  
 

Also, you may find this to be no biggie once onboard.  View could be just fine or

you don’t spend as much time out there regardless.   Don’t sweat the small stuff.  You saved by booking the guarantee.  That is a win.  Enjoy the view you’ll have and don’t let it ruin your trip.  

[Rmar2023]

1 minute ago, topnole said:

If there is an open cabin in the exact category they ended up assigning you,

there is a chance you could switch.  It will still be obstructed (same category),

but maybe closer to others in your group.  
 

Also, you may find this to be no biggie once onboard.  View could be just fine or

you don’t spend as much time out there regardless.   Don’t sweat the small stuff.  You saved by booking the guarantee.  That is a win.  Enjoy the view you’ll have and don’t let it ruin your trip.  

Well said, thank you for this your words. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by Rmar2023

[Funky Fusion FoodsJ]

44 minutes ago, Rmar2023 said:

No travel agent used. I booked this directly approx 10 months before the sailing. As you can see it says stateroom obstructed: 0%. It was about $300 cheaper (at the time) to book a guarantee that could include a obstructed view but I paid the additional upcharge to make a it a non-obstructed view. I sail bi-annually with Royal for the past 14 years and never came across this before. Am I pretty much screwed?

 

There should be more information on your receipt:  this could be for an interior room.  The 0% isn't guaranteeing you anything either, that is just showing 0% since the stateroom is unknown.

[Starry Eyes]

Please read further down on your invoice. In bright blue you should find the following statement (it is on my gty invoice that says GTY, 0% issued during that time period):

 

”If your stateroom is GTY (guarantee) or WLT (waitlist), once your room is assigned or confirmed, you’ll receive an updated invoice advising you of your location.  If your stateroom has an obstructed view, you’ll receive details once your room is assigned.”

 

So, per that statement, the 0% at the top was just a placeholder on the invoice until your cabin was assigned. Now that your cabin is assigned they can tell you the actual % obstructed.  I think they have now started putting “pending” in that spot so people will not be confused and disappointed.

[CruisingHogFan]

3 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Please read further down on your invoice. In bright blue you should find the following statement (it is on my gty invoice that says GTY, 0% issued during that time period):

 

”If your stateroom is GTY (guarantee) or WLT (waitlist), once your room is assigned or confirmed, you’ll receive an updated invoice advising you of your location.  If your stateroom has an obstructed view, you’ll receive details once your room is assigned.”

 

So, per that statement, the 0% at the top was just a placeholder on the invoice until your cabin was assigned. Now that your cabin is assigned they can tell you the actual % obstructed.  I think they have now started putting “pending” in that spot so people will not be confused and disappointed.

This is how one of mine reads. It’s the risk you take with a guarantee. Unfortunately the OP may have not understood it.
 

Hopefully works out for them! We were on Odyssey last March and some of those deck 6 rooms have hardly no view at all! There’s several maps of which ones are bad

[Starry Eyes]

39 minutes ago, Rmar2023 said:

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Yep- seems that I am stuck here. Lesson learned. Another group I am traveling who booked at the same time and got the same type of confirmation got a really great room, so just confusing overall how this all works. Thanks everyone

We recently sailed b2b on odyssey.  Both legs were booked as balcony gty, so Royal could have assigned an obstructed balconies or better for each leg.  One leg we got an obstructed balcony all the way forward.  The other leg we got non-obstructed midship.  
 

With gty balconies on Odyssey, some people will be luckier than others.  Don’t try to second guess dumb luck.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Starry Eyes

[Rmar2023]

Thanks everyone, will go ahead close out this thread. My receipt for the

9 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Please read further down on your invoice. In bright blue you should find the following statement (it is on my gty invoice that says GTY, 0% issued during that time period):

 

”If your stateroom is GTY (guarantee) or WLT (waitlist), once your room is assigned or confirmed, you’ll receive an updated invoice advising you of your location.  If your stateroom has an obstructed view, you’ll receive details once your room is assigned.”

 

So, per that statement, the 0% at the top was just a placeholder on the invoice until your cabin was assigned. Now that your cabin is assigned they can tell you the actual % obstructed.  I think they have now started putting “pending” in that spot so people will not be confused and disappointed.

This is what my booking says: 

 

”If your stateroom is GTY (guarantee) or WLT (waitlist), once your room is assigned or confirmed, you’ll receive an updated invoice advising you of your location."

No mention of the second line. It seems like I had really bad luck booking this:

 

 

[Starry Eyes]

1 minute ago, Rmar2023 said:

Thanks everyone, will go ahead close out this thread. My receipt for the

This is what my booking says: 

 

”If your stateroom is GTY (guarantee) or WLT (waitlist), once your room is assigned or confirmed, you’ll receive an updated invoice advising you of your location."

No mention of the second line. It seems like I had really bad luck booking this:

 

 

 

 

Can we see a picture?