Booking a Guarantee as a Platinum Guest

[Vidimom]

We are debating on booking a Balcony Guarantee on the Carnival Valor in September or taking the past guest offer of a 2 category upgrade a picking our cabin. We wondered if our chances of getting a better upgrade with the guarantee is better then the 2 category upgrade we would get as a past guest. I want to hear from others that have booked the guarantee and what type of upgrade did you end up with. We are wishing (the key word is wishing) for a possible upgrade to a suite by taking the guarantee but we would be fine anywhere on the ship as long as we have our balcony. This cruise we will finally be Platinum and didn't know if that would have any factor in the upgrade process. We will also be celebrating our 20th Anniversary on this cruise too. Your feedback is appreciated!

[coachj]

I have booked guarantees twice, once as a repeat guest <10 and once as a platinum member. Both times I was not upgraded. Speaking with a supervisor I was advised that upgrades were given by money not status. Its what you paid for the guarantee. not how many cruises. So if you buy the guarantee when it is rock bottom low ( my situation) and Carnival knows they will sell out the ship, dont expect an upgrade. My opinion is to pick your cabin with the 2 level upgrade.

[jleq]

While being Platinum will probably be a "factor"...just not sure how much of one it will be

[Vidimom]

I don't know if it will make a difference, but we do our booking with our PVP at Carnival that we do have a history with and have had wonderful service. We can get the assigned cabin for a lower price then the guarantee, but are still trying to decide if we want to take a cabin anywhere. We have never had a bad cabin on any of our cruises. We know the walls are thin, kids run in the halls, chairs slide on the deck so that aspect doesn't matter to us. Just wondering for those that have gotten these nice upgrades were they from a guarantee or offered because of a price drop.

[karmavacations]

I guess it is all random, but I had GREAT luck on the Miracle last April! I booked a 7A gty(obstructed balcony) and ended up in a category 11(suite). I am a Platinum guest...:)

[BrendaB1]

I'm Platinum & my status has had no impact on my past upgrades. Last cruise I booked a 1A & ended up with an upgrade to 4A on the Riviera deck. :( Carnival should be ashamed to put Platinum members on the Roviera deck after all the money we've spent to reach that level.

[PINEVIEW01]

I'm a platinum member and I just booked a 1A gty and the Carnival agent could have cared less. Had me in a 1A even though I said I wanted to be left 1A gty. I did two 1A gty last year as a platinum member and got 4A both times in those 299 closets on the Fantasy class ships. At least the 1A will have more room:D The best upgrade I every got was my very first Carnival cruise, 4A to a 6E. That was as good as it got on the Fantasy class ships short of a suite back than.

[extcat]

I'm Platinum & my status has had no impact on my past upgrades. Last cruise I booked a 1A & ended up with an upgrade to 4A on the Riviera deck. :( Carnival should be ashamed to put Platinum members on the Roviera deck after all the money we've spent to reach that level.

 

 

A shame to be down there with us common folks.

[sacleonard]

We are debating on booking a Balcony Guarantee on the Carnival Valor in September or taking the past guest offer of a 2 category upgrade a picking our cabin. We wondered if our chances of getting a better upgrade with the guarantee is better then the 2 category upgrade we would get as a past guest. I want to hear from others that have booked the guarantee and what type of upgrade did you end up with. We are wishing (the key word is wishing) for a possible upgrade to a suite by taking the guarantee but we would be fine anywhere on the ship as long as we have our balcony. This cruise we will finally be Platinum and didn't know if that would have any factor in the upgrade process. We will also be celebrating our 20th Anniversary on this cruise too. Your feedback is appreciated!

 

For our upcoming cruise, we booked a guarantee and got upgraded from 2 8As to an 8H and 8I. Long story, but we ended up on the phone with Carnival for another issue, and they explained some of the guarantee mystery.

 

Essentially, it's all about maximizing sales. For each cruise, they sell a number of guarantees, and they set aside rooms to cover the sales. Once they sell their allotment of guarantees, they will assign the rooms.

 

If sales are weak, they are more likely to assign guarantees to higher decks because it frees up more affordable rooms (increasing the likelihood of a sellout). But if sales are strong, or if it takes longer to sell through the guarantees, then your odds of an upgrade diminish.

 

When assigning rooms, they may consider several factors (price, level, # of rooms, etc.), but the best advice is to expect no upgrade (and appreciate it if it happens). Also, an upgrade from 8A to suite is possible, but unlikely... our 8H/8I was more than we expected.

 

As a Platinum member, you have the ability to get an upgrade and pick your room, so if location is important to you, then you should take advantage of your status and pick a nice room.

[cruisinjerseygirl]

Our last cruise we booked a balcony guarantee...I told my pvp at that time that I didn't care anymore I was just happy to sail and as long as it was a balcony I would be happy and she said to me that she was pretty sure I would be upgraded...low and behold we were upgraded to an 8H! We are not Platinum and have a ways to go for that but we got a good upgrade...to me I don't really care about the upgrade as much as I would have in the past so if I get one then great, and if not then that's fine too...we are almost never in the room anyway. For our upcoming cruise there was an upgrade as past guest anyway so I booked at guarantee pricing and got a 2 category upgrade which works for us!

[keene state mom]

I am going on my first back to back in February we booked the 9A wrap for the first week, and a quarantee for the second week, This will be my 7and 8th cruise with Carnival first quarantee , they gave us the room next door which is the 9A extended balcony for the second week. We were very happy.

I will not have to pack up, just move out into the next.

[Knights on the Beach]

I have booked guarantees twice, once as a repeat guest <10 and once as a platinum member. Both times I was not upgraded. Speaking with a supervisor I was advised that upgrades were given by money not status. Its what you paid for the guarantee. not how many cruises. So if you buy the guarantee when it is rock bottom low ( my situation) and Carnival knows they will sell out the ship, dont expect an upgrade. My opinion is to pick your cabin with the 2 level upgrade.

I have not found that to be the case at all. We almost always book guarantee and have been upgraded every time. We expect the least, but have gotten some pretty good upgrades, location-wise. On the Glory and Legend (after booking BL) we were on Panorama deck, which I love. I always look for the best deal, so we are not paying high prices.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I'm Platinum & my status has had no impact on my past upgrades. Last cruise I booked a 1A & ended up with an upgrade to 4A on the Riviera deck. :( Carnival should be ashamed to put Platinum members on the Roviera deck after all the money we've spent to reach that level.

 

You are kidding... right??

 

Do you typically book lower category cabins? Perhaps that plays a role as well.

 

Tom

[Knights on the Beach]

You are kidding... right??

 

Do you typically book lower category cabins? Perhaps that plays a role as well.

 

Tom

I was thinking the same thing. It's the chance we (ANY of us) take when booking a guarantee. You get what you get.

[DGP1111]

Yes, I totally understand the booking terminology being discussed here, but I look at it a bit different when it comes to my cruises . . .

I book a 'guarantee' every single time, and am never upset with the outcome. Because I choose my exact cabin by number, based on it's location within the ship, and style of cabin. That way I'm guaranteed to have a cabin that suits me just fine from the moment of embarkation. And if there was any dissatisfaction, it would be my own fault, and not that of the cruise line or some fictitious upgrade fairy. (And if that fairy did try to visit prior to the sailing, I fear my dog would chew her up in his effort to find that special spot that squeeks the loudest - eww!):eek:

The only thing I wish Carnival could/would 'guarantee' to me is the dining time I desire. That's becoming a real issue. Oh, well. :rolleyes:

[Elaine515]

I'm Platinum & my status has had no impact on my past upgrades. Last cruise I booked a 1A & ended up with an upgrade to 4A on the Riviera deck. :( Carnival should be ashamed to put Platinum members on the Roviera deck after all the money we've spent to reach that level.

 

 

I'm Platinum and I'm proud to say that we always book a 4A inside cabin on the Riviera Deck and wouldn't want it any other way!!!

 

It's because of the price of the 4A Riviera Deck cabins that we can afford to be Platinum and I dont care if I'm on that deck forever as long as I'm on a ship!!!

 

And Yes, we have spent quite a bit of money (there's 4 of us) but I have become quite fond of the Riviera Deck :)

 

 

 

 

 

A shame to be down there with us common folks.

 

 

NOT FOR A SECOND... We are quite fond of the Riviera Deck and have no problem being there!!!!

[PINEVIEW01]

The only thing I wish Carnival could/would 'guarantee' to me is the dining time I desire. That's becoming a real issue. Oh, well. :rolleyes:

They do if your platinum:D That is one of the perks.

[shark Fan]

I'm Platinum and I'm proud to say that we always book a 4A inside cabin on the Riviera Deck and wouldn't want it any other way!!!

 

It's because of the price of the 4A Riviera Deck cabins that we can afford to be Platinum and I dont care if I'm on that deck forever as long as I'm on a ship!!!

 

And Yes, we have spent quite a bit of money (there's 4 of us) but I have become quite fond of the Riviera Deck :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOT FOR A SECOND... We are quite fond of the Riviera Deck and have no problem being there!!!!

 

Hi, I want to party with you! When is you next cruise? Any cruise is as "fun" as is your attitude!:D

[Vidimom]

Well we did it, we are now booked! Not sure if we will stay where we are on the ship since I have read good and bad about the cabin already but we have plenty of time to decide at this point. Our PVP put us in an 8B - Cabin 7434 on the Valor which is one of those L shaped cabins since we were talking about loving our balcony and spending a lot of time out there. This cabins balcony is 75 square foot. It's almost double the size of the regular balcony cabins. We are assigned right now at the same rate as the guarantee so we can still go back to the guarantee if we want to. I have her watching for suite guarantees but there are not any right now. Any info on this cabin is appreciated. I know already it doesn't have a couch but that doesn't really matter to us anyway when we can sit on our balcony!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

They do if your platinum:D That is one of the perks.

 

Well... not exactly.

 

Don is Platinum - as a solo cruiser, he recently had problems getting the dining time he asked for. He was told that since he was SOLO - that he was basically S.O.L :eek:

 

Carnival dropped the ball here big time. Evidently there are two classes of Platinum.

 

Don, they didn't try to shortchange you on any other "perks", did they?

 

Tom

[cruisinjerseygirl]

Hi, I want to party with you! When is you next cruise? Any cruise is as "fun" as is your attitude!:D

 

 

You should sail with her! She is great to sail with you will have a great time! That attitude she has is not just on these boards! She is just that way in person! Love ya Elaine!

[DGP1111]

Well... not exactly.

 

Don is Platinum - as a solo cruiser, he recently had problems getting the dining time he asked for. He was told that since he was SOLO - that he was basically S.O.L :eek:

 

Carnival dropped the ball here big time. Evidently there are two classes of Platinum.

 

Don, they didn't try to shortchange you on any other "perks", did they?

 

Tom, thanks a bunch for your explanation here. . . . as well as the empathy. As you'd probably read earlier, that was three consecutive times being told "No" regarding the guaranteed dining as a solo Platinum passenger.

The only other 'shortchange' was that galley tour we both posted about earlier. It turned out to just be a big tease. But that was certainly nothing to throw my hands in the air about. Have done them before, and I guess stainless steel is basically stainless steel. :p

[Elaine515]

Tom, thanks a bunch for your explanation here. . . . as well as the empathy. As you'd probably read earlier, that was three consecutive times being told "No" regarding the guaranteed dining as a solo Platinum passenger.

The only other 'shortchange' was that galley tour we both posted about earlier. It turned out to just be a big tease. But that was certainly nothing to throw my hands in the air about. Have done them before, and I guess stainless steel is basically stainless steel. :p

 

 

We cruise as a family BUT last year on our Monday - Friday cruise we were told by the Maitre'D that we couldn't get our requested time even through we explained that as Platinum Members we were told we were guaranteed it. He told my husband NO, there was nothing he could do and we would have to take the late seating. After arguing with him unsuccessfully, now remember this was a Monday sailing, my husband went up to the Lido Deck, called Customer Service, and surprise, LO & BEHOLD, my husband was called over the intercom, got a huge apology, dinner was the time we wanted and a bottle of wine!!!

 

I think its total B***S*** .... single or not, you are Platinum and should get the seating you want....

 

 

Elaine :)

[Elaine515]

You should sail with her! She is great to sail with you will have a great time! That attitude she has is not just on these boards! She is just that way in person! Love ya Elaine!

 

 

 

LUV U 2 TALI.... :)

[LRene]

To the OP - I would never book a balcony gty hoping for a suite. If it's a special cruise (i.e. 20th anniversary) and you want a suite - book a suite gty. I would also not expect any more upgrades than anyone else for being platinum. In fact, in years of reading these boards, it seems more 1st time cruisers get upgraded (perhaps because they paid more not knowing where to find the deals in some cases.)

 

Don't count on getting your cabin assignment any faster though. I'm 6 days from sailing, platinum, suite gty, cruise is SOLD OUT and we still don't have a cabin assignment. :rolleyes: