Booking a Guarantee as a Platinum Guest

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

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 :)

 

Good Move.

 

Something tells me that the Maitre d' in question did not receive anything in his envelope... :D LOL

 

Tom

[dan40]

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.

 

I have been posting this kind of info on "upgrade threads" for a long time. We all joke about the "Upgrade Fairy" when in reality its the sales dept.

Upgrades are a tool to fill a ship, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE. There is no logic to any other reason. Some say they get upgraded all the time, yes, that's possible if almost all your cruises are done on off peak times. And if you consider going from an A to C, or D to be a good upgrade, staying in the same number category.

 

If a ship is selling well there will be very few upgrades. If sales are slow, there will be many upgrades.

 

I'm Platimum and have been upgraded to the next number category once. Never more than one number higher and only that one time. Upcoming cruise I booked a BL [which is an 8A or better] so far, I'm in an 8C and expect to remain there.

 

Dan

[mjbearit]

I really don't think that booking directly with a PVP has anything to do with where you end up either. We booked a BL (balcony guarantee) with a CCL PVP. We ended up with an 8C. I was talking to him on the phone the other night about a possible future cruise to AK and he looked at his computer and genuinely sounded surprised when he said "Oh, I see you got an extended balcony, congratulations!". Just based on that conversation I don't think they have much, if any, input. Now of course just in case I did tell him that if they needed to resell our current rooms they should feel free to move us into a couple of cat 12s and we would promise not to complain. Guess what happened the very next day? Nothing! We are still in an 8C! LOL! Hey, sometimes you just gotta put it out there and see if anything happens! :D

[Vidimom]

Like i posted earlier, we did book but are having doubts about our cabin. Has of you had that odd shaped cabin on any of the Conquest class ships? We like the idea of a large balcony, but heard the cabin it's self is smaller and no couch. I don't really use a couch but I am also concerned since it's near the rear of the ship and we have always stayed forward. Any information would be helpful. BTW, we are in cabin #7434 on the Valor

[cruzn buckeye]

Like i posted earlier, we did book but are having doubts about our cabin. Has of you had that odd shaped cabin on any of the Conquest class ships? We like the idea of a large balcony, but heard the cabin it's self is smaller and no couch. I don't really use a couch but I am also concerned since it's near the rear of the ship and we have always stayed forward. Any information would be helpful. BTW, we are in cabin #7434 on the Valor

Hi Vidimom,

We were in this cabin on the Glory and loved it. Love the long balcony. The one thing that I loved the most was the fact that the bed faces the balcony. so you can see the ocean and the sky when you draw your drapes.

We always left our curtains open in this cabin. The only drawback is that the bathroom door is very close to the bed. So you have to walk past the door to open it. Still we loved that cabin! No couch, just a table and one chair.

[firefly333]

Hi Vidimom,

We were in this cabin on the Glory and loved it. Love the long balcony. The one thing that I loved the most was the fact that the bed faces the balcony. so you can see the ocean and the sky when you draw your drapes.

We always left our curtains open in this cabin. The only drawback is that the bathroom door is very close to the bed. So you have to walk past the door to open it. Still we loved that cabin! No couch, just a table and one chair.

 

Iv never sat on one of the couches in my cabins, we use them to pile our night clothes or stuff we buy, whatever. I guess Im not too organized huh? You mean Im supposed to SIT on the couch?? Oh goodness.

[Vidimom]

If I am not mistaken, we sailed with you on the Destiny in 2001. We were on board when 9/11 happened. If you are the ones I remember, I have a group shot of everyone taken on the staircase of our CC group. It included a couple that the wife was in a wheelchair (Jennifer) and her husband Chris. I remember running into them in San Juan before our cruise.

 

We are looking forward to this cabin. I don't care about a couch, but do love my balcony! We can't swing a suite this cruise so this will fill the void!

[cruising forever]

Are you the same one who used to live in SC?

[cruzn buckeye]

If I am not mistaken, we sailed with you on the Destiny in 2001. We were on board when 9/11 happened. If you are the ones I remember, I have a group shot of everyone taken on the staircase of our CC group. It included a couple that the wife was in a wheelchair (Jennifer) and her husband Chris. I remember running into them in San Juan before our cruise.

 

We are looking forward to this cabin. I don't care about a couch, but do love my balcony! We can't swing a suite this cruise so this will fill the void!

 

Yes Vidi, that is us! I have that pic too. What started out as a great cruise, I believe we departed on 9/9, turned out to be so sad. I remember everyone in the dining room standing up and singing along when the waiters sang

"God Bless America". Tears were flowing everywhere. Our maitre'd said that there were people from 47 different countries working on that ship but "today, we are all Americans". It was very hard being so far away from home when your country was being attacked. And then when they shut down the airspace above the U.S.A we had no way of knowing when or how we would get home to our families. We were sitting on the beach in the morning on Antigua when we got news of the attacks. I can remember there being a man there whose brother worked in the towers. He must have felt so helpless. sorry...it just brings back memories...

 

You will love that cabin! We also do not need a couch. It was so perfect being able to see the sky and ocean when you wake up in the morning from your bed...My opinion is the only cabins better than these are the wraps..

I loved the Valor. Cruised on her in 2006.

[ParrotRob]

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.

 

"All that money" for ten 1A's, you mean? :rolleyes:

[jetskier]

There is a seperate department within Carnival that does the upgrades. Some PVP's know who to call but have no influence on the outcome. Mine was able to call to see what I had been assigned and was told I was tentatively penciled in for a certain cabin. But it was subject to change as the ship inventory was sold.

Dave

[iluvindia]

We can get the assigned cabin for a lower price then the guarantee.

 

 

take the assigned cabin then-why risk not knowing where you are going to end up and paying more for it? dumb logic

 

 

 

 

i

[Vidimom]

Yes, I am one in the same! We moved to Florida almost 4 years ago so our daughter could finish high school here and get into the college she wanted under the Bright Futures Scholarship which I am glad to say, she has a full ride at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

 

Are these my retired police friends? I am sorry, I am not good with names but remember you well. I have your pictures in my album from the Victory cruise I took with my DM. I hope to one day soon, take her on another one. My step dad is terminal and she is busy taking care of him. This will be the 2nd time she has dealt with losing a spouse. She told me she won't do it again.

 

Looks like you have been very busy on the high seas! We still try and cruise at least for our anniversary every year and have only missed a few.

 

I went to work for Publix and love it! I am the Personnel Director at one of the largest stores in Gainesville, FL.

 

Good to hear from you! Email me at vidimom64@yahoo.com and I will keep in touch with you.

 

Cruzn Buckeye! I will never forget that trip either. It was a very memorable trip in more ways then our original planned vacation. We were in a store in Antigua right near the pier and immediately went back to the ship to see what was going on. Boy not a great day for anyone but I will give Carnival a lot of credit for the way they handled things on board with a moment of silence, support for those that needed it and trying to keep everyone informed!

 

I would love to meet up with the two of you on one of our future cruises since the two of you seem to always be cruising!

 

Thanks for the info on the cabin. We are getting excited about it. I have read some terrible posts about them but like I originally said, I love my balcony and don't need a couch anyway!

 

Do you have any pics of the cabin? I would love to see what it looks like and how actually big the balcony is!

 

You are also welcome to drop me an email. It's always great to reconnect with my CC friends!

[cruising forever]

Ha ~ small world!!!!!!!!

You got mail :)

[popsec]

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

 

Doesn't always work that way. We sailed from the 14th-18th on the Fascination and then on the 18th (for our platinum status cruise) on the Miracle. We were assigned late seating...and for the past 9 cruises have always requested early seating (you'd think they'd have that figured out by now!). Anyway, I stood in line for 45 min. to speak to the Maitre D to request a seating change. I was told that early seating was full. I told him that we were platinum on that cruise and I thought we were guaranteed our seating request. He informed me that we weren't "on the books" as platinum. It seems that our last cruise, which ended the day we sailed on the Miracle, hadn't registered on the computer. Anyway, it finally got straightened out but this Maitre D was pretty rude.....