A cautionary tale------- Guarantee cabin

We booked our 2018 QE World cruise from San Francisco to Southampton mid June, 2016. We wanted an A-1 Club balcony, but there was no availability even that far out, so we accepted a Guarantee, believing that something would open up. We are in the US, so we did not get any discount for taking this.

Last month we were given our assignment. We have an A-1 alright, but we have 8092, a handicapped cabin. This is the only Club Balcony accessible cabin.

What can be wrong with that you ask? Well, we are able bodied and we will be in that cabin for 93 days. Not a short week getaway but 93 days.

When we called customer service the "home based" agent asked why we would not want to have such a large cabin as it appeared to be better and larger than the rest. One thing that we all need to remember is that the home based agents have probably never seen the inside of a Cunard ship, let alone have knowledge of the individual cabins.

We were given an assurance by this home based agent who consulted with her supervisor that the cabin could be made more amenable to able bodied people and that we would be taken care of.

We wrote to Onboard services where we learned that we were down for a complimentary upgrade. (As is everyone on the planet, but I digress)

On Monday of this week I called again to see if there had been any change in status.

Well, no but if we are willing to pay we could be placed on the pay for upgrade standby list. ABSOLUTELY we would be willing. Well, we are #13. I do not think that we stand a chance.

On Thursday my husband called the head office and spoke with a gentleman who, like the other agents, could not understand why we would be disappointed in getting a cabin which although it is larger, lacks chairs for us to sit on, has less hanging space in the cupboard, and has a television like the one in your mother's back bedroom. Really small. And apparently difficult for two people to see at the same time.

We could have a cocktail party in there because of the size, but nobody could sit down.

We are on this ship for 93 days, We booked 18 months ago. We accepted Guarantee because there was no availability at that time. We have no need for an accessible cabin, and I am certain there is someone who would have needed it at some point in this cruise.

WE have asked if we might be given a respite from segment to segment. We would like to have the amenities of a regular cabin. At this moment the situation is in the hands of the "berthing" department. We will see if there is any chance to be moved out.

So I am here to warn others. Be very careful when booking a guarantee. There are 13 cabins of this Club Balcony grade we booked, and we got #13.

I plan on doing a "live from" blog. This should be interesting .

I’m not sure what your issue is.

You got allocated an accessible cabin, obviously no one else had requested it.

I’m not sure what your issue is.

 

You got allocated an accessible cabin, obviously no one else had requested it.

I understand that. We expected a regular cabin, one in which we could have a place to relax and enjoy the ambience of some of the 7-9 days stretches. With only the bed and a straight backed chair in the room, that will be problematic.

I had hoped that I would have room in the wardrobe to accommodate 93 days worth of clothing.

My mistake was in thinking that once a cabin in our grade became available due to cancellations etc in that 18 month period, it would have been allocated to us.

I am simply letting others know that this is not going to be the case. I wish that I had known that at the time.

I understand that. We expected a regular cabin, one in which we could have a place to relax and enjoy the ambience of some of the 7-9 days stretches. With only the bed and a straight backed chair in the room, that will be problematic.

I had hoped that I would have room in the wardrobe to accommodate 93 days worth of clothing.

My mistake was in thinking that once a cabin in our grade became available due to cancellations etc in that 18 month period, it would have been allocated to us.

I am simply letting others know that this is not going to be the case. I wish that I had known that at the time.

Having seen the repairs being made to furniture, on A deck [i think] as we tendered, I assume there might be ''spare'' furniture'' on-board. If that's the case, d;you think it might be worthwhile asking if you can have more chairs etc? It sounds as if you will have the space.

Having seen the repairs being made to furniture, on A deck [i think] as we tendered, I assume there might be ''spare'' furniture'' on-board. If that's the case, d;you think it might be worthwhile asking if you can have more chairs etc? It sounds as if you will have the space.

Thank you, we have every intention of doing that. Not sure how the layout will work. But we will have to do whatever we can to make it more pleasing.

I would think they had a hard time finding one cabin that is available for the entire 93 days. They probably think they did you a favor. I have been in handicaped rooms and they are larger for a wheelchair to maneuver easily.

I feel sure if there is spare furniture they would be happy to let you use it. I guess just another reminder, if people are not willing to take "any" cabin, they need to not book a guarantee.

I would think they had a hard time finding one cabin that is available for the entire 93 days. They probably think they did you a favor. I have been in handicaped rooms and they are larger for a wheelchair to maneuver easily.

 

I feel sure if there is spare furniture they would be happy to let you use it. I guess just another reminder, if people are not willing to take "any" cabin, they need to not book a guarantee.

I agree with your last sentence but we took the guarantee because the A-1 was supposedly sold out 18 months ago. The Guarantee option is not one I would ever take again, especially for such a long period onboard.

I mistakenly thought that we would have a cabin in our grade found for us in that period of time. (And we did, but not one that we ever thought we would be given)

My travel agent obviously dropped the ball. We told her that we would be happy to pay for an upsell should one become available, (and they did but we were not informed).

This is for a World Cruise so I know that they are used to people needing a cabin for the duration. I would have thought that the long segments would have been allocated and then the shorter ones. But what do I know?

We also are not comfortable with a handicap cabin . Bigger does not equal better for us , no matter what the category is .

We stopped booking guaratee's after getting one of those twice .

93 days , I can't imagine doing that . I hope things work out for the OP.

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I’m not sure what your issue is.

 

You got allocated an accessible cabin, obviously no one else had requested it.

I can see what the issues are:

a) It's may not true that no one else has requested it. It's only that it's not been requested for 93 days in a row. Obviously those 93 days are made up of smaller segments, maybe 10 different ones ? So that disabled cabin could have gone to say 10 different people over the 93 days, but that can't happen now.

b) I happened to stay in a disabled room in a hotel recently for work. It was just 1 night. But whilst everything was at the right height if you are in a wheelchair (the bed was low, the wash basin was very low and so on), it was not at the right height if you are able bodied. It was only one night, so it did not matter. But I'd not have liked it for days on end.

So Cunard have blocked other people that really need the cabin in the first place and it's not really suitable for you. No one wins - everyone loses.

I can see what the issues are:

 

a) It's may not true that no one else has requested it. It's only that it's not been requested for 93 days in a row. Obviously those 93 days are made up of smaller segments, maybe 10 different ones ? So that disabled cabin could have gone to say 10 different people over the 93 days, but that can't happen now.

 

b) I happened to stay in a disabled room in a hotel recently for work. It was just 1 night. But whilst everything was at the right height if you are in a wheelchair (the bed was low, the wash basin was very low and so on), it was not at the right height if you are able bodied. It was only one night, so it did not matter. But I'd not have liked it for days on end.

 

So Cunard have blocked other people that really need the cabin in the first place and it's not really suitable for you. No one wins - everyone loses.

Thank you and MCC Retired for understanding the dilemma.

We have told Cunard that we are willing to move cabins frequently if needed.

We booked this grade for the Club Balcony dining room.

Any A-1 cabin is generally no larger than any other balcony cabin. So switch us.

Supposedly the A-1 cabin is called that because it is in a "better" location than the other balcony cabins, except this one is port side and a much lower grade balcony accessible cabin in the same location is starboard. So we did not even get the "better deck placement" My husband is 6'1. That lower bed, desk and sink are going to be difficult. Yes, the shower is larger. Great. We are not. We have no need for extra space in the shower.

We are patiently waiting (sounds like I have called one too many help desks) until the end of this week before we pursue other options. There has to be a solution.

There are still cabins in other segments being advertised. I do not think that it would take more than a half an hour (our average time on wait when we have called) to allocate cabins that would turn this incredible disappointment into a happy experience.

World cruises are not inexpensive. We have offered to pay more for a better alternative.

I want this to be as exciting as it was when we first booked. Instead we are dreading this.

AND yes, I am glad that we are "lucky enough" to take something like this. But we also paid a hefty price for the experience.

Considered "downgrading" to a non-club cabin ? Perhaps get on board credit as compensation?

Considered "downgrading" to a non-club cabin ? Perhaps get on board credit as compensation?

The reason we chose A-1 was for the dining. If we were able to downgrade and keep the dining we would find that acceptable.

To downgrade for onboard credit is not something we are interested in if it means losing our dining. We had a massive amount of choice in regular balcony cabins when we booked 18 months ago. We are also willing to pay more to get a better option.

My reason for this posting is to let others know that the guarantee option is not always a good one. As I said before, I was under the mistaken assumption that should a regular A-1 open up in the period of time between June 13, 2016 and February 5, 2018 it would be assigned to us. One would have thought that 20 months would have been long enough.

We had the same issue on Princess. I called to make a reservation and was assigned cabin such and such. All information noted, thanked the agent and hung up. I went into the deck plans and saw this particular cabin was an accessible one. I did not know they could assign an accessible cabin to someone who had not requested one. I have family members and friends who are indeed in need and I would not under any circumstances knowlingly accept one.

I waited a couple of weeks to see if we would be moved, to open the cabin for someone who requested it, nope. So I called the 1-800 number, explained the situation, and was told, yes, we could be moved, BUT, it would cost us more money and lose any perks with our booking. I told her in no uncertain terms about assigning cabins to those who didn't need it and hung up. I scanned the main home page of Princess, down where there are listings of different department...I came across the accessible section, there was an email address, so I emailed that department, told THEM of the situation.

An hour later, I received an email back, asking for my sailing and cabin number, FIVE minutes later I received an email back....we were MOVED, no extra cost and didn't lose any perks, WITH a thank you for being considerate of my fellow passengers.

SO, if you want to be moved, try the accessible section, or call and ask for that department to be moved.

We had the same issue on Princess. I called to make a reservation and was assigned cabin such and such.

I scanned the main home page of Princess, down where there are listings of different department...I came across the accessible section, there was an email address, so I emailed that department, told THEM of the situation.

 

An hour later, I received an email back, asking for my sailing and cabin number, FIVE minutes later I received an email back....we were MOVED, no extra cost and didn't lose any perks, WITH a thank you for being considerate of my fellow passengers.

 

SO, if you want to be moved, try the accessible section, or call and ask for that department to be moved.

What a wonderful, positive response. I truly appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I will try that today.

I thank you for your input.

What a wonderful, positive response. I truly appreciate you taking the time to respond.

I will try that today.

I thank you for your input.

You are welcome— make sure you insist no further charges or loss of perks and maybe you will be offered some OBC for your inconvenience. Good luck

We were upgraded to a disabled cabin because the 'accept upgrade' box was ticked for us when we originally booked a cabin. We weren't on a 'guarantee'.

The upgrade was some three weeks before sailing and we were uneasy about it because we might be taking a cabin that might have been required by someone disabled making a late booking. I contacted Cunard and was told that, generally speaking, disabled people didn't want disabled cabins. They prefer regular cabins and in most cases can get their wheelchairs and motability scooters through the cabin doors.

There were a number of downsides with the disabled cabin. The bathroom was huge and the bedroom space was possibly smaller. There seemed to be less storage space as a result and some was at a lower level. There were pull switches in the bedroom and bathroom which I accidentally pulled more than once with an immediate telephone call from reception. One was by the bed and easily pulled in the middle of the night when feeling for the light switch when half a sleep.

The large bathroom seemed to have less than normal shelf space for shavers, deodorant cans and tooth brushes etc. Presumably because people in wheelchairs would not be able to reach them. There was no bath but a huge shower cubicle that could accommodate about 10 standing!

One of the most annoying points was that the door to the small balcony was more central than at one end. There was a ramp from the patio door to the balcony so all the balcony furniture had to be squeezed into one end. It didn't fit in where the ramp was.

We didn't really enjoy the disabled cabin as compared to a regular cabin, particularly when we were told disabled people didn't want them, so why should we!

An interesting dilemma for such a long cruise.

There are I think some circumstances where such a cabin would not prove suitable for an able bodied person. If for instance you were tall like me, lets say over 6 feet with a medical history of back problems, then it would be prudent to ask the height of essential in cabin facilities, wash basin, toilet, bed comes to mind. If such facilities were significantly lower than normal height then there is an argument that allocating such a disabled cabin could have a significant negative impact on health.

Of course by agreeing to a saver or upgrade Cunard could argue that any cabin in that grade or higher could be allocated, however, Cunard also have an over riding duty of reasonable care and health and safety towards its customers.

A letter from a doctor could also help in such a scenario to customer services by recorded delivery.

I appreciate you were looking forward to your cruise and would not want to cancel it. However if such a scenario applied to you the advice I would then give would be to send a recorded letter to Cunard Customer Services with a strict timescale to either re allocate the cabin to a non disabled or provide a full refund. If neither was forthcoming then an application to the On Line Small Claims/County Court would seem appropriate, the argument being that the refusal to offer a suitable cabin would breach their terms of duty to reasonable care, health and safety, which in turn would amount to a breach/unfair terms and conditions of contract.

Apologies if this seems long winded but having presented complex cases at the COA for the SofS over the years, I like nothing better than a challenge with large corporate companies if they fail to listen to their customers.

An interesting dilemma for such a long cruise.

There are I think some circumstances where such a cabin would not prove suitable for an able bodied person. If for instance you were tall like me, lets say over 6 feet with a medical history of back problems, then it would be prudent to ask the height of essential in cabin facilities, wash basin, toilet, bed comes to mind. If such facilities were significantly lower than normal height then there is an argument that allocating such a disabled cabin could have a significant negative impact on health.

Of course by agreeing to a saver or upgrade Cunard could argue that any cabin in that grade or higher could be allocated, however, Cunard also have an over riding duty of reasonable care and health and safety towards its customers.

A letter from a doctor could also help in such a scenario to customer services by recorded delivery.

I appreciate you were looking forward to your cruise and would not want to cancel it. However if such a scenario applied to you the advice I would then give would be to send a recorded letter to Cunard Customer Services with a strict timescale to either re allocate the cabin to a non disabled or provide a full refund. If neither was forthcoming then an application to the On Line Small Claims/County Court would seem appropriate, the argument being that the refusal to offer a suitable cabin would breach their terms of duty to reasonable care, health and safety, which in turn would amount to a breach/unfair terms and conditions of contract.

Apologies if this seems long winded but having presented complex cases at the COA for the SofS over the years, I like nothing better than a challenge with large corporate companies if they fail to listen to their customers.

I like your spunk. :)

We are on record with Cunard and they are supposedly going to respond by this upcoming Friday.

Everyone is empathetic, but for some reason, nobody seems able to correct something which to me seems fairly straight forward. My husband is like you, over 6 feet tall. he is also almost 70 so we do not need him to become crippled as a result of the lack of accessibility of the cabin for the able bodied.

On many of the other cruise lines the Accessible cabins are indeed attractive and larger than the others in the same category. On Cunard there is tremendous space, but things like furniture and storage and a television that can be seen by two people are missing.

I am trying to figure out your abbreviations. COA? Court of America? S of S? Secretary of state?

I know that the CEO is a graduate of New York University School of Law. He is in his mid 40s and probably knows some of the same attorneys that I do. One of his cohorts was a regular in my house during the 80s, My daughter is a lawyer in Boston, but this is not her area of expertise. And besides, we have invested far too much time and energy into planning this.

As you might imagine, small claims court is probably not the place for a cruise of this cost. We paid for the A-1. We expected an A-1 to be assigned at some point during the 20 months since we booked. We just did not anticipate that we would be put into this situation.

I just urge people who are in this same position to avoid a Guarantee at all costs.

My impression was that they took the bookings, knowing that many would be canceled (in the USA, no penalty) and that by giving guarantees, they would work things out when the final payment was complete. It appears that they oversold this cruise. (BIG TIME)

Let's just say, I am not impressed.

Have you thought that the reason you were unable to be allocated a standard A1 could be because the people who had booked the other A1s had specified the cabin they wanted and didn't want an upgrade?

Hopefully, you will be sorted out one way or another. I fully understand about wanting the flexible dining option which Britannia Club allows you.

Have you thought that the reason you were unable to be allocated a standard A1 could be because the people who had booked the other A1s had specified the cabin they wanted and didn't want an upgrade?

Hopefully, you will be sorted out one way or another. I fully understand about wanting the flexible dining option which Britannia Club allows you.

There were no A-1s available at the time of booking otherwise we would have booked one. We took the Guarantee option under the mistaken belief that if an A-1 opened up it would be allocated to us.

We do not want anything that we did not ask for. We paid for an A-1 and while it is true, that is what we got, it is not within the normal expectations for a 93 day cruise.

An interesting dilemma for such a long cruise.

There are I think some circumstances where such a cabin would not prove suitable for an able bodied person. If for instance you were tall like me, lets say over 6 feet with a medical history of back problems, then it would be prudent to ask the height of essential in cabin facilities, wash basin, toilet, bed comes to mind. If such facilities were significantly lower than normal height then there is an argument that allocating such a disabled cabin could have a significant negative impact on health.

Of course by agreeing to a saver or upgrade Cunard could argue that any cabin in that grade or higher could be allocated, however, Cunard also have an over riding duty of reasonable care and health and safety towards its customers. .

I believe if someone has issues like you state above, most would be intelligent enough to not select a guarantee cabin. There is this thing called "due diligence" and it goes both ways. By selecting a guaranteed cabin you are telling the cruise line you will accept what they give you. If you really won't take anything, do not select it. Cruise at another time, find another cruise line, there are other options. Yes, we know you were taking a gamble, hoping someone would cancel or upgrade. You took the gamble and lost. Don't let the above poster talk you into a lawsuit.

I believe if someone has issues like you state above, most would be intelligent enough to not select a guarantee cabin. There is this thing called "due diligence" and it goes both ways. By selecting a guaranteed cabin you are telling the cruise line you will accept what they give you. If you really won't take anything, do not select it. Cruise at another time, find another cruise line, there are other options. Yes, we know you were taking a gamble, hoping someone would cancel or upgrade. You took the gamble and lost. Don't let the above poster talk you into a lawsuit.

There is no way I want a lawsuit. I have little interest in that. If I had wanted a lawsuit, my former primary care physician would have been first on my list.

I did my due diligence and even asked my agent if I should purchase a higher grade cabin. She convinced me that there would most likely be many cancellations in the 20 months and that we would get a cabin.

This was for a World Cruise. Pretty difficult to look for another.

There are 13 cabins in our class. I did not book a Q-7 for instance and then decide that no, I wanted something that was not disabled. I would have known that the cabin was designated as such, and unless I got a great deal, would not have chosen it. I have looked at those online and the Youtube videos are actually attractive.

We did not get a bargain.

Bananavan apologies for the thoughtless abbreviations in my last post. COA is Court of Appeal, SofS is indeed Secretary of State, in my case for The Home Office (UK). My post was from a UK perspective although the central argument applies. The small claims limit in the UK is £10,000 and is a very easy on line procedure here in the UK as both sides cannot usually be granted legal/representation costs which makes it here in the UK a popular avenue for consumer problems. Due diligence can only be applied up to a point, no perspective able customer is going to know the height of essential amenities of a disabled cabin in advance if in the unlikely scenario they are allocated such an unpopular cabin.I doubt a County Court Judge is going to think it reasonable that a customer should second guess such specific information when making any such booking, however these are my thoughts which is why an independent judiciary is sometimes a useful tool if reasonable requests fail. I would not advocate similar advice to an American when court costs and risks could be higher. Whatever happens good luck.

I did my due diligence and even asked my agent if I should purchase a higher grade cabin. She convinced me that there would most likely be many cancellations in the 20 months and that we would get a cabin.

To be honest it sounds like the person you should be blaming (suing) is your agent.

Were they blinded by the commission and when they discovered there were no other cabins available were worried your wallet was closing so told you what was necessary to keep it open.

To be honest it sounds like the person you should be blaming (suing) is your agent.

 

Were they blinded by the commission and when they discovered there were no other cabins available were worried your wallet was closing so told you what was necessary to keep it open.

Although my agent is very well acquainted with Princess and HAL and others, apparently she was not familiar with Cunard.

I made the original booking with Cunard and transferred it to my agent.

Our wallet was not going to close and she knew that. We are taking Overland tours as well so it is not a money thing.

We have no interest in going Queens Grill for that length of time, but paying for an upgrade is not something we would shy away from.

There are not that many accessible cabins on the ships so to anticipate that this might be the one we were assigned would be something that nobody would have anticipated. This would be the only Club balcony accessible cabin. There are 39 A-1, A-2 cabins. I am certain that in that period of time there will be someone who actually will need it. And if anyone needs a really big shower, I know where to find one. I am a small woman so the extra space is not needed.

One might have thought that this would have been needed at some point in the 93 days that we were onboard.

I am sharing the story so that if anyone is in the position I was, they have the opportunity to correct in time.