Princess "Guarantee" rates

[Ken076]

Carnival offers a separate Guarantee booking for the Inside (IS), OceanView(OV) and Balcony (BL) Categories that is normally less expensive than booking a specific Cabin/Category.

 

This doesn't seem to be the case with Princess; based on the web site, you can book a guarantee at the same rate as a specifc cabin. It looks like the only advantage to booking a Guarantee is the hope of an upgrade?

 

ken

[Toto2Kansas]

Carnival offers a separate Guarantee booking for the Inside (IS), OceanView(OV) and Balcony (BL) Categories that is normally less expensive than booking a specific Cabin/Category.

 

This doesn't seem to be the case with Princess; based on the web site, you can book a guarantee at the same rate as a specifc cabin. It looks like the only advantage to booking a Guarantee is the hope of an upgrade?

 

ken

 

 

Exactly, With Princess you book a guarantee in a certain category, and you are guaranteed that category OR above (but not always above). There is no real price break for booking a guarantee on Princess, just the hope that an upgrade comes along.

[paul929207]

Yes, except that you have the same chance of an upgrade if you book a cabin.

[choochella]

Don't hold your breath waiting for that upgrade though. It's the luck of the draw. We have never been upgraded. I was asking my TA about it, and she stated that she sails all the time and has never been upgraded. Her parents have been upgraded on every cruise they have taken. Go figure.

[Robinob]

We book guarantees all of the time. RCCL and Princess follow the same procedure. This year we saved $1600.00 with the guarantee. Have the same level cabin (JS) but a better location. We have never been upgraded but have always received a HUGE discount.

[Times Prince]

Exactly, With Princess you book a guarantee in a certain category, and you are guaranteed that category OR above (but not always above). There is no real price break for booking a guarantee on Princess, just the hope that an upgrade comes along.

We've now used guarantees three times and was upgraded from the class of our original assignment once, and assigned a better category cabin for our guarantee in the same class the other two times.

 

I don't know if one would call it an upgrade if the cabin assigned was, say, a BA when you had a BF guarantee. It certainly is nice. In reality it is just an assignment.

 

The key is to book the guarantee you will find acceptable. For us that's a balcony cabin, typically BF or BG, whichever is the lowest offered. There are only a small number of these cabins, and somebody will be assigned those cabins. You don't really get a choice on where the cabin is, other than it will be as Toto said above. It is kind of exciting to wait and finally get an assignment. The assignment could happen in months, or on the same day as your booking, which is what cinched the deal on our coming South America cruise.

[toberman]

You don't really get a choice on where the cabin is,

 

Actually, sometimes you do .... We booked a BG and got assigned a BB, but not exactly where we would like to be on the ship. I called my TA and he was able to get our choice of cabins, anywhere on the ship in the same category. :D

 

Doug

[Schplinky]

We book guarantees all of the time. RCCL and Princess follow the same procedure. This year we saved $1600.00 with the guarantee. Have the same level cabin (JS) but a better location. We have never been upgraded but have always received a HUGE discount.

 

Really? We're big RCL fans and are Diamond in their program but it always seems that when we book a guarantee in their program, we get the lowest possible category available that would conform to our guarantee.