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Trying to understand the "guarantee" reservation


calteacher
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You need to compare prices of specific cabin vs. guarantee cabin in the exact same category, and have different prices, to say that guarantees are a lower price. How can you do that if there is no opportunity to book an assigned cabin?

 

The only times I've seen significantly cheaper guarantees have been when I've already booked a specific cabin and I'm checking for price drops. I book early and usually see prices go up--can't believe how much more the last few NS are going for on our winter K'dam cruise!!! Sometimes after final payment, I've seen guarantees cheaper than what I booked. But even that isn't a fair comparison because I'm comparing prices from different times.

 

Cruise pricing is getting to be almost as confusing as airfare pricing! :eek:

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For several months prior to booking my current cruise I kept track of every available cabin by cabin number on a daily basis in order to monitor bookings and thus be able to time my booking for the lowest possible price. (A recent study showed that HAL has the largest price reductions during the 50 days before sailing of any of the cruise lines and I try to take advantage of that...:-) I intended to book an inside guarantee (as I always do) but, by the time the final price reductions had occurred there was only a $50 difference for the 23 day cruise between inside guarantees and obstructed ocean view so I booked the ocean view guarantee.

At the time that HAL pulled this cruise and indicated it was "sold out" (a couple weeks ago) there were 90 "unallocated" ocean view cabins and only one of them was an obstructed view (two of them were port hole cabins.) That means that 90 people had made "guarantee" bookings for ocean views. And the "unallocated" cabins were the highest priced in that category (C,D,DA,DD).....what was actually sold out were the lowest price cabins (HH,H,F,E.) The obstructed ocean view guarantees were priced at $1399; the "unallocated" ocean view cabins were priced from $1759 to $1819.

Most of the 90 people who booked ocean view guarantees are going to get higher priced cabins than they paid for.

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Most of the 90 people who booked ocean view guarantees are going to get higher priced cabins than they paid for.

If they do, it will be because they got an upgrade, not because they got a lower price for a given cabin category.

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Sometimes after final payment, I've seen guarantees cheaper than what I booked. But even that isn't a fair comparison because I'm comparing prices from different times.

Ah, yes. There's another wrinkle. One not only has to compare exact cabin categories, but also exact times, when comparing prices of selected cabins vs. guarantees.

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You're comparing two different cabin categories. Just because you got an upgrade doesn't mean the price of your SB as a guarantee would have cost less than an SB as an assigned cabin.

 

There wasn't an option to book an assigned SB. When you ask for a Neptune Suite and say that they allocate the cabin they give you the SB guarantee category. There is no difference between the two.

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That's my point, Ruth. Almost all of them are going to get "upgrades" which is the answer to why people book guarantees. The odds are very good that you will get more than you paid for.

 

More in terms of cabin grade, but sometimes an upgrade isn't "better" to some people. An upgrade can be a better grade on a lower deck, or a better grade in a noisy place. You have to look at the categories above your guarantee and make sure there isn't a cabin you'd hate to be upgraded to.

 

For example, on QM2, I book a specific "sheltered" (metal front) balcony. I actually likes these balconies, but it would be nice to be upgraded to a glass-front balcony. Unfortunately, between those two categories are the obstructed balconies, which I do not want--those lifeboats are so orange that on a sunny day, the room glows orange. So I always have my TA mark "do not upgrade." (Cunard keeps messing around with the obstructed balcony category. For a while they were a lower grade than sheltered, but I think now they're "better" than sheltered again.)

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There wasn't an option to book an assigned SB. When you ask for a Neptune Suite and say that they allocate the cabin they give you the SB guarantee category. There is no difference between the two.

Which means, in your example, you can't say that a guarantee cabin costs less than a selected one. There is no possibility to compare the two in the same category.

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Not 100% correct Ruth.

 

On my upcoming cruise on the Veendam I booked my first guarantee cabin. I wanted a Neptune (SA). My TA said why not book a guaranteed SB. It was quite a bit cheaper than an SA.

 

There are only two SB suites on the Veendam. Either of these are acceptable to me but with only two of them we stand a good chance of getting an SA.

 

If that is the case I won't mind where it is but I will have saved quite a bit of money.

 

I did basically the same thing. I had previously booked an SB, only one of four and two are handicapped. I originally booked at $2699 and re-booked at $2199. There was another price drop and I noticed that:

- HAL was offering SB "We select your room" for $1699 PP, significantly less than my original booking. There were no "you select" SB options available. The SA were listed as $1899 PP. This SA price was for the "We select your room" option or the "you select" option.

I called my PCC and told her it looked like I could re-book at the "We select your room" SB option reducing my cruise price by another $500 PP and that HAL would either assign me to my old room or upgrade me to an SA. She told me that was correct and re-booked me in the same SB room at the new price.

 

I originally booked this cruise at $2699 (plus $135 taxes and fees) with $200 OBC and HSC included. Right now, I have the same perks but the price is now $1699 plus taxes and fees. Not bad for a seven day Neptune suite. We do not have a drink package.

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That's my point, Ruth. Almost all of them are going to get "upgrades" which is the answer to why people book guarantees. The odds are very good that you will get more than you paid for.

don't bet on that. HAL will upsell and may even upgrade people who selected cabins before the guarantees.

 

I have no idea how the upsell fairy works and no magic wand;) But I have been on an number of roll calls with a LOT of guarantee cabins and very few got an upgrade. They ended up in the exact category they booked.

 

The higher cabins seemed to go to those willing to pay a bit.

 

Or, if they paid for one, then maybe they get the free upgrade.

 

No idea how it works, but I wouldn't count on all those people getting a better category. JME though and JMO.

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I have no doubt that HAL has been attempting to upsell. I am sure that is why cabin assignment now takes so long. Though there are only 4 days left and I have not received an upsell offer yet...:-) About a month ago all 20 of the C category (the highest category ocean view) cabins disappeared from inventory one day. Four days later they returned 14 of them to available inventory. I assume they upsold the other 6. I assume they tried to upsell all 20...:-)

 

But, they don't have 90 obstructed ocean view cabins on the Maasdam....:-) The whole ship only has 340 ocean view cabins and this particular cruise with the 90 unallocated ocean views is just a segment of the cruise....the other longer segment had about half of the cabins allocated to it.

 

My experience with guarantees (43 cruises) is that I have gotten a better than the least expensive cabin (which is what I have always booked with guarantees) every time, without exception. My June cruise on the Celebrity Summit I paid for the lowest inside and got the highest priced inside. My NCL cruise coming in November I paid for an IF guarantee and they have already assigned me an IC cabin. And, of course, there has been the occasional significant upgrade like my Carnival inside guarantee that resulted in a "Junior Suite" cabin (tiniest balcony I have ever seen....:-)

 

Booking guarantees has become popular because people frequently get more than they paid for. There really wouldn't be any other reason to do it...:-)

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That's my point, Ruth. Almost all of them are going to get "upgrades" which is the answer to why people book guarantees. The odds are very good that you will get more than you paid for.

Getting 'more than you paid for' is entirely relevant. An 'upgrade' to a cabin directly above the disco (for example) may not be more than you paid for.

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My June cruise on the Celebrity Summit I paid for the lowest inside and got the highest priced inside.

 

This is a totally misleading post. Bottom line is that higher price does not necssarily mean a 'better' cabin. There are so many other factors to consider with regard to cabin selection and especially location.

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Getting 'more than you paid for' is entirely relevant. An 'upgrade' to a cabin directly above the disco (for example) may not be more than you paid for.

I've been quite happy with my cabin assignments. I've taken quite a few guarantees and I have never ended up over the disco. On my last cruise I was a little concerned because I searched cruise critic and someone said " bring your earplugs" for the room I was assigned. It was not over a disco and it was one of the most quiet rooms I ever had. Seems to me that person did not ever stay in that room. It made me wonder why a person would say such a thing. I would happily book it again. I have gotten some pretty nice upgrades too.

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Even people who select their specific room can be upgraded, sometimes to their dislike. So if you select a specific room for its specific attributes, be sure to have your reservation marked Do Not Upgrade. Upgrades from specified rooms are not too common but do happen, and often disappoint. m--

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This is correct. There is no lower price in booking a guarantee over an assigned cabin. The potential for an upgrade without additional charge appears to be greater with a guarantee, however.

Isn't the potential for a free upgrade if you pick your own cabin virtually zero?

 

I just booked a Koningsdam cruise for next June and went for a VH guarantee even though there are cabins available. I figure there is a decent chance I'll get an upgrade, and hopefully it won't be under the Lido or near the crew smoking area at the front of deck 4 that I've read complaints about in some reviews.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Forums mobile app

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Isn't the potential for a free upgrade if you pick your own cabin virtually zero?

 

I just booked a Koningsdam cruise for next June and went for a VH guarantee even though there are cabins available. I figure there is a decent chance I'll get an upgrade, and hopefully it won't be under the Lido or near the crew smoking area at the front of deck 4 that I've read complaints about in some reviews.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Forums mobile app

No. People with assigned cabins may be upgraded.

 

Chances are much better in a guarantee though ;)

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Even people who select their specific room can be upgraded, sometimes to their dislike. So if you select a specific room for its specific attributes, be sure to have your reservation marked Do Not Upgrade. Upgrades from specified rooms are not too common but do happen, and often disappoint. m--

 

Not if they have their reservations marked "Do Not Upgrade". They may still get an upsell offer, but they should not be upgraded.

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Well, this is weird! I’m 7 days out and have received neither my assignment nor an upsell/upgrade offer -- I booked a guarantee, as I have always done. This is the first time that this has ever happened – to me, at least. At first I thought it is because I’m paying a fraction of the rack rate because I qualify for casino offers. But I’ve used casino offers before and have always experienced the upsell/upgrade routine and then the final assignment much sooner than what is happening this time.

 

I’m wondering if this is because I’m unwillingly having to start on the 1-day corporate-junket segment out of Seattle. When I booked the casino rate I told my PCC that I would willingly give up one day in order to be able to board in Vancouver and not have to experience the booze-cruise segment. But – curiously – the terms of the casino offer mandated boarding in Seattle.

 

Anyway, I suppose the delay is because they have to do a lot more assignment juggling when there is a short segment tacked onto the front of the main cruise.

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Isn't the potential for a free upgrade if you pick your own cabin virtually zero?

The odds of an upgrade seem to be lower when a passenger selects a specific cabin, but are definitely not 'virtually zero'. I know for a fact they happen, as it has happened to me.

 

As a matter of fact, I was upgraded from a carefully selected cabin that I had marked 'do not upgrade'. I had picked an outside cabin with a good location, that was shower-only. I was upgraded to a balcony cabin with a tub. :( Those high sides were a killer, and very dangerous. (but the porch was really great. :D).

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Not if they have their reservations marked "Do Not Upgrade". They may still get an upsell offer, but they should not be upgraded.
Once we chose a specific cabin, said "DNU", and yet were moved to a different cabin three doors down the hall at the same grade. We never learned the reason why, but I suspect that the cabin we chose, which had a connecting door to the adjacent cabin, was given to someone who wanted two connecting rooms. The room we were given did not have one.

 

In reality I believe in the fine print HAL reserves the right to give you any cabin they please, at or above the level you chose, DNU or not! RuthC just said it happened to her.

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