4a sold out

[serene56]

PCBeach--nice upgrade- But is this on a ship that dont have balconies--only suites?? Like the fantasy class ships.

 

Its an amazing upgrade and these do not happen all that often.

[Earthworm Jim]

So basically we have 3 theories about what it means to IS or 4A guarantees when all the 4A cabins are shown as beng sold out:

 

My theory: It means you will get and upgrade to at least 4B.

 

glrounds' theory: It means someone will get an upgrade to at least 4B, but not neccessarily the people with a guarantee. The cruise line may first offer it to people that booked a specific 4A cabin but paid more than the guarantee people.

 

serene56's theory: It means nothing at all if the cruise line tentatively has assigned the guarantees a cabin in 4A. If so, it looks sold out for the moment, but if down the road the cruise isn't selling that well and they want to free up some cheap 4A cabins to help sell out, they might bump the guarnatees up then. If it sell out without the help, you might stay where they temporarily assigned you.

 

Your best bet is don't go by my theory, because I'm not nearly knowledgable about cruising as the proponents of the other two theories, both CC veterans.

[serene56]

I may be a vetern to Cruise critic but every time I cruise i learn stuff I never knew.. Like that Legend cruise...I took it from reading these boards that the earlier I book and pay for a cruise the better my chances of being upgraded. poo-- unfounded. Thats also being a repeat cruiser many times over on Carnival also.

 

I do agree that if cabins are not selling well for a sailing I think they will clear out inside cabins and upgrade those so they can seel them cheaper.

[Littlegoo75]

We have a 4a guarantee on the Valor for Feb 6th because that was all that was available aside from the bunk bed cabins. I have no idea where we will end up, in the worse case scenerio we are on a lower level inside cabin where we won't feel too much motion, best case scenario, we get an upgrade. I really don't care because we kind of decided at the last minute to take this cruise, it's a brand new ship, we won't be in the cabin all that much anyway, and we have a balcony cabin to look forward to on our European cruise on the Liberty in October. So we will arrive at the ship expecting a 4a cabin and just be surprized if we get something better.

 

One thing I am worried about, since it appears as though this ship is sold out or almost sold out, how do they decide who gets bumped? What is the pecking order with that?

[STANCPA44]

I am leaving on 11/28 on the Victory. I booked a balcony guarantee, check the Carnival web site and still no room assigned. I used the modifier method it supposely gives the details of the trip including your room number.

Maybe the upgrade fairy will be very kind, there are a number of 11 still open.

stan

[nwindiana]

Stan, We are also booked on 11/28 (2 cabins). I booked in early Feb and we have no room assignment either. I have gone on and as of yesterday there were 1 catagory 12, 4 category 11, 15 balconies and 14 oceanviews still available. When I booked with Carnival my PVP told me we had great odds to move up. He told me that they would contact me and still haven't.:confused:

[erRN2be]

My theory on upgrades...there is no rhyme or reason to the upgrades.

 

:) :) :) :) :)

[mandrews2u]

I have only cruised 3 times, and the one to alaska next July being our first carnival cruise. We always just book a particular cabin, could anyone explain this guaranteed thing from scratch A to Z,, what is a 4a? is that the lowest deck , I am sooooo confused I do know what an inside, outside, balcony, aft balcony are, and that's it, please someone educate me so that I can save in the future and maybe cruise more often, I really would rather cruise more than less and really don;t care where on teh ship I'm at, we picke dthe balcony for the alaska cruise because friends told us it was an absolute must, so we splurged.

[serene56]

on carnival all categories are assigned a number with a letter

The letter represents the floor its on--with "A" being the lowest

 

4= inside cabins

6 all ocean view cabins

8 all balconies

11 & 12 suites

 

A-riveria B main-- etc etc

some ships have cat 5A which are obstructed ocean views---it has french doors that open and look into a life boat--one can not go out side on these categories- thats why its an oceanview

another is a 7A which is an obstructed balcony- you can look oout fine.. but can not look down into the water as the life boats are under your balcony.

 

To book a gauarantee the cruise lines can put you anywhere within the category that you booked. WQhat category did you book?

 

If you booked an gaurantee inside cabin--you can be put anywhere. If you booked an oceanview cabin you will be put in any category of a 6 or higher. (you can not be downgraded to a 5A. but can be put into a 7A if your ship has them. a balcony- any cabin that has a balcony--not the 7As (that would be a downgrade)

You will NOT know your cabin assignement until at least 7 weeks before you sail. some people only find out when they get to the pier.

Booking a gaurantee is cheaper=--if you do not care where you cabin is== then its worth taking the chance for a free upgrade. If you would hate the fact of being put under a public lounge or disco--book your set cabin

[Forchunut1]

Question regarding upgrades. We are on the Valor 1/2/05. We have 5 cabins, all 4a's. I already know that I have been upgraded as Carnival called my TA and asked her if it was OK to upgrade me. For the last couple of months there have been no 4a, 4b, 4c or 4d cabins available. Now, today when I looked, all those are now again available. Do you think this means that we may all have been upgraded? Is that how they make cabins available that weren't previously? :confused:

[serene56]

What happens right before final payment is a lot of people cancel so they dont have to pay a penalty. Also a lot of agents hold blocks of cabins in hopes they can sell them. Final payment comes due and you wont find a lot of availabilty until about 10 later=

 

Did you pick certain cabins?? Coz if you booked gauarantees I dont know why carnival would ask if you wanted to be upgrade. (keep an eye on your pricing-if it comes down call your agent.

[Forchunut1]

We didn't pick certain cabins unless our TA did it without telling us. I should probably ask her, although I don't really care where my cabin is. I could be in the very smallest inside cabin there is and I will still be happy - I'll be on a brand new ship. :)

 

So far, the prices are about $200 pp more than what we paid. We booked last July and got a good rate.

[mandrews2u]

ok, couple more questions, so if you get a guaranteed, than you pay a cheaper rate than if you actually picked a specific cabin? Also are you telling me that basically anytime I think I may want to go on a specific cruise but don't really know for sure, I can put a deposit, hold a guarantee cabin and change my mind right up until the time the final payment is due and I do not lose any money if I cancel? Also If I picked a specific balcony cabin ( which I did) how would I know if the price came down on that specific cabin? I mean if there are cheaper ways to cruise than the way my hubby and I have been doing it, I want to know, cause I really just want to go.I rather get put in any cabin if it means I can afford to cruis emore, thanks everyone!!!

[Earthworm Jim]

ok, couple more questions, so if you get a guaranteed, than you pay a cheaper rate than if you actually picked a specific cabin?

Yes, but in exchange you are accepting that they can put you anywhere, as long as it as least the level cabin that you paid for.

 

Also are you telling me that basically anytime I think I may want to go on a specific cruise but don't really know for sure, I can put a deposit, hold a guarantee cabin and change my mind right up until the time the final payment is due and I do not lose any money if I cancel?

If you book at the Carnival website, yes, up to 71 days in advance. If you book with some other travel agent, you'll have to go by whatever their policy is.

 

Also If I picked a specific balcony cabin ( which I did) how would I know if the price came down on that specific cabin?

You could go to Carnival.com or any of the online websites that sell cruises and see what the current price is for the class of cabin you booked on your sailing. We aren't allowed to mention specific travel sites, but you could try any of the big name ones (many of the places that sell airline tickets also have cruises) or follow the ads you see on these boards. Or go to google.com, type in "cruise", and you'll get a ton of links you can follow to get prices.

[glrounds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandrews2u

ok, couple more questions, so if you get a guaranteed, than you pay a cheaper rate than if you actually picked a specific cabin?

 

Earthworm Jim's Response:

Yes, but in exchange you are accepting that they can put you anywhere, as long as it as least the level cabin that you paid for.

 

As a general rule, YES, Jim. However, I've seen some price quotes on some categories of particular ships on some online sites, where the GUARANTEE is priced above the actual selection of a cabin in that category. IMHO because the available good cabins in that category are already taken and the purchasers are hoping for a category upgrade. They, in effect, can't do any worse than what's left so opt for the GUARANTEE.