Guaranty Bookings???

[jas4141]

What does the guaranty room assignment mean when booking and how does it work? I understand that you receive the room assignment usually at checkin or shortly before. How do they determine the room that you'll get? If you're traveling with friends, are you able to get rooms near each other? I'd like feedback from those who have used this option and how you feel about it. Pros and Cons. Were you satisfied with your room....or is it best only to book with a definite room assignment??

 

I frequent this board often to review cruising detail and find it extremely helpful. I value the input from you veteran cruisers.

 

A newbie to cruising. Thanks in advance.

[Karynanne]

All the guarantee does is guarantee the price in the catagory that you've reserved. Some people get lucky and get a great cabin, but if you want a cabin in close proximity to friends, etc., then book a specific cabin. I personally have never booked a guarantee, because we always want specific decks, location, etc.

 

Karyn

[Bruin Steve]

What does the guaranty room assignment mean when booking and how does it work? I understand that you receive the room assignment usually at checkin or shortly before. How do they determine the room that you'll get? If you're traveling with friends, are you able to get rooms near each other? I'd like feedback from those who have used this option and how you feel about it. Pros and Cons. Were you satisfied with your room....or is it best only to book with a definite room assignment??

 

I frequent this board often to review cruising detail and find it extremely helpful. I value the input from you veteran cruisers.

 

A newbie to cruising. Thanks in advance.

I almost always book a guarantee when I can get one...

Here's the basic deal:

Instead of booking a particular cabin, you book only a guaranty that they will eventually place you in a cabin at the level of the guarantee or above...

Typically, the rate paid (especially on Celebrity, where I've done it twice) is significantly lower than the rate for choosing a particular cabin...

AND, there is a fairly good chance of getting an upgrade...Not necessarily from an inside to a balcony or from a balcony guarantee to a suite...but often an upgrade of some sort...

 

For example, once I booked an inside guarantee (meaning I might have been placed in the "worst" inside on the lowest deck) on Millennium and ended up with an inside midship on deck 8 (#8123)...

Another time, I booked a balcony guarantee on Constellation and got one of the 16 balconies on Deck 6 that's twice the size of the other balconies...

 

Especially with a balcony guarantee, it's always worth the gamble...Take a look at the deck plan and figure out which balcony you WOULDN'T sail in...it doesn't exist, does it? So, if you could save several hundred dollars and let them pick the cabin for you, why wouldn't you?

 

BTW, I've NEVER waited until boarding to find out my cabin assignment...I've always had it assigned PRIOR to receiving my docs--usually just after final payment...You can go onto the website and check periodically and eventually it shows up with your online booking...

 

Again, the question is whether you care which cabin you get...and how much is that worth to you? It may be with inside cabins, you don't want something on Deck two over the engines--and you're willing to pay more not to be there...Or maybe you think you absolutely MUST be midship--or you'll get seasick...or not want to walk a few extra feet to the elevators...

 

But, remember...ALL inside cabins are basically the same...All balcony cabins (except the ones with the oversized balconies) are basically the same...Is picking the exact cabin worth an extra $200 to you? An extra $400? $600?

Not to us...

 

Besides, YES, there is that chance they move you up a category or two or three...

 

Edit: Oh yeah, how they choose it...It's really just a marketing and flexibility thing for the cruise line...They can sell out a category and still continue to market cabins in that category...Some categories end up selling better than others...Eventually, if they oversell a certain category, they'll move up the guarantees...But, they really don't know which cabins will remain unclaimed until marketing is near complete and final payment day is passed...At that point, they know how many folks backed out of bookings and where the cabins are remaining...Specific cabin bookings are honored and guarantees are assigned cabins based on what's left...Also based on what they think they can still market...They may sell off the lesser cabins on last minute specials and move you up a notch or two...they may have some nicer cabins that went unclaimed...At this point, they'll assign you an unclaimed cabin AT THE LEVEL OF YOUR GUARANTEE OR HIGHER...

[Susan-M]

We booked a guarantee OV once - a week before sailing. The price was so low that I didn't think we could go wrong, but we ended up at the stern of the ship (Zenith) on Deck 5 ... with more engine noise than I was able to sleep through. I would rather spend a little more and be happy with my choice of cabins.

[Holly2]

We've booked a guarantee Family Ocean View which is now sold out. The prices on the other ocean views have gone down. Is there any way to know the price on the FOV if they aren't listing it?

Thanks for any ideas.

[luv2kruz]

It is a good value but take what you get. IMHO take it if its available.

[ocngypz]

We've booked a guarantee Family Ocean View which is now sold out. The prices on the other ocean views have gone down. Is there any way to know the price on the FOV if they aren't listing it?

Thanks for any ideas.

 

If the category is sold out, there is no price. If you are thinking of downgrading, you could do that as long as the new oceanview pricing is less than what you paid originally for your FOV.

[dmarch@islc.net]

Our last two cruises were both guarantees. We booked four to six months out and were very pleased. I'll book that way again as long as we are not sailing Zenith.

[jas4141]

Thanks, everyone for the input. I appreciate hearing about each of your experiences. It helps make a bit more sense out of this type of booking. Will probably give the guarantee booking a try sometime when available.