"Guaranteed Cabin" (unassigned): How does it work

I apologize if this subject has been discussed around before.

Being a complete newbie to cruising, how does this work? Our agent says that there are only a few unassigned cabins left on the Crown Princess and suggested to go with a guaranteed/unassigned inside cabin.

I know that the cruise can give you an upgrade but what does that depend on?

Also, if you arrive early in the port and check-in, does this increase your chances of getting a better cabin. Can you request a cabin away from the elevators and things like that, as in a hotel?

Thanks

I did not know that Princess offers "inside" or "outside" guarantees. Having said that, the guarantee, which is usually by category, simply means you will be assigned a cabin either in the category selected or better.

I once booked an outside guarantee on Holland America's Volendam and ended up with an excellent location in the highest "outside" cabin category (C for those who know HAL).

When booking guarantee, you do not have a cabin choice. You usually learn of your cabin assignment shortly before sailing. Periodically check your Cruise Personalizer on Princess' web site. Your cabin number eventually appears there. In very rare instances, you may not be assigned a cabin until check in at the port. Don't sweat it. That's often good news.

Upgrades are a complete mystery. being a first time cruiser, you're more likely receive one. They haven't "hooked" you yet.:p

I apologize if this subject has been discussed around before.

 

Thanks

Don't apologize. It would be a miracle if someone actually had a question that hadn't been discussed before. :)

Why not post a thread asking about dress codes? That's always fun.:rolleyes:

We have alwasy booked guar. inside cabins and have not been unhappy once. The last cruise we didn't know our location and cabin number until we checked in. We have always been in an inside and never upgraded to any kind of outside but no problem. Just make sure you don't mind being in an inside.

As the others have said, when you book a GTY cabin, you are guaranteed only that cabin category. You may or may not be upgraded and booking a GTY doesn't give you any edge or better chance of an upgrade.

You will receive a cabin assignment from right after booking until you board the ship. It could be any time. If you are assigned a cabin and like the location, have your TA mark your booking "No Upgrade." Otherwise, you could be moved again, possibly to a location you don't like.

I've booked GTYs several times and been happy. Others have been unhappy or expected an upgrade. As always, if you have a cabin preference, it's better to book the cabin you want.

I think maybe my TA is wrong. He said that there is a possibility of an upgrade of getting an outside cabin even though we would book an inside.

My understanding (from reading on the net) is that if you book a guaranteed inside you will get an inside, maybe be upgraded to a higher deck. I havent heard of being upgraded from an inside to an outside. Is this correct?

Also, is there a better chance of getting a preferred cabin (not necessarily an upgrade), if arriving early at the port (if still not assigned when checking online)? Since we are very light sleepers, the last thing we would want is a cabin next to a family with a crying baby.

Your cabin will already be assigned before you board so there is no possibility to check in early and make any specialy room requests like to be near or away from elevator or in a 'quiet' room - unlike a hotel. You could book a guarantee and be assigned a cabin weeks or months before your sailing or it could be assigned the week you depart.

I have heard of lucky people getting an upgrade from inside to outside or even balcony cabin but it has never happened to me, even though my TA has said "book a guarantee cabin and I will put in a request for an upgrade"....the best I have received has been to a higher deck.

Enjoy your cruise!

I have heard of people being upgraded from an inside to an outside. One couple on our last cruise was upgraded from a balcony to a mini-suite. We were upgraded from a BD to a BA in a great location on our first cruise. However, I think that most people get just what they paid for. Of course, you don't often here from them on these boards, just those who were upgraded.:rolleyes:

on our first cruise (HONEYMOON!!)on the Grand, we booked a balcony guarantee. We were originally assigned to one of those rooms that overlooks the promenade. A few weeks before our sailing I logged in and saw that we had been moved to a Caribe, midship!! It was PERFECT.

I have not booked a guarantee since then because we have taken the kids with us and needed rooms near each other. However, I probably would do it in the future.

We have booked a GTY room on the Dawn (9/9/06). Right now if I look at my reservations all it has is Category E. The TA said that was E (Emerald) deck. Is that right? How will I know if they have upgraded us? Will they fill in the Stateroom? Right now it is blank. Also, the TA said we would have a picture window but someone said EE (which I don't think we have) is only a small porthole. I have also heard you have to be careful that they don't tell you it is an upgrade and it really isn't???? How do we know for sure what we have? As if you couldn't tell, first time to sail. We had Princess book the flight thinking it was insurance against missing the ship. We are flying out of DFW and got a direct flight (American) to SEATAC, which is good. We land at 11:30, does that give us plenty of time to board? We were able to add our FF # to American website to get the miles. But the return trip is with United with a stop in Denver getting back to DFW at 10:00 at night. Next time I will book myself and come a day early, we are learning...........I have heard we we came out pretty good for them to book. What time does the ship get back in to Seattle? I assumed that is why they booked our flight late (3:00 pm). Thanks for any help, we are really excited!!!!

We have booked a GTY room on the Dawn (9/9/06). Right now if I look at my reservations all it has is Category E. The TA said that was E (Emerald) deck. Is that right? How will I know if they have upgraded us? Will they fill in the Stateroom? Right now it is blank. Also, the TA said we would have a picture window but someone said EE (which I don't think we have) is only a small porthole. I have also heard you have to be careful that they don't tell you it is an upgrade and it really isn't???? How do we know for sure what we have? As if you couldn't tell, first time to sail. We had Princess book the flight thinking it was insurance against missing the ship. We are flying out of DFW and got a direct flight (American) to SEATAC, which is good. We land at 11:30, does that give us plenty of time to board? We were able to add our FF # to American website to get the miles. But the return trip is with United with a stop in Denver getting back to DFW at 10:00 at night. Next time I will book myself and come a day early, we are learning...........I have heard we came out pretty good for them to book. What time does the ship get back in to Seattle? I assumed that is why they booked our flight late (3:00 pm). Thanks for any help, we are really excited!!!!

We have booked a GTY room on the Dawn (9/9/06). Right now if I look at my reservations all it has is Category E. The TA said that was E (Emerald) deck. Is that right? How will I know if they have upgraded us? Will they fill in the Stateroom? Right now it is blank. Also, the TA said we would have a picture window but someone said EE (which I don't think we have) is only a small porthole. I have also heard you have to be careful that they don't tell you it is an upgrade and it really isn't???? How do we know for sure what we have? As if you couldn't tell, first time to sail. We had Princess book the flight thinking it was insurance against missing the ship. We are flying out of DFW and got a direct flight (American) to SEATAC, which is good. We land at 11:30, does that give us plenty of time to board? We were able to add our FF # to American website to get the miles. But the return trip is with United with a stop in Denver getting back to DFW at 10:00 at night. Next time I will book myself and come a day early, we are learning...........I have heard we came out pretty good for them to book. What time does the ship get back in to Seattle? I assumed that is why they booked our flight late (3:00 pm). Thanks for any help, we are really excited!!!!

On the Dawn all the E catagory cabins are on the Emerald deck. From the picture, they all appear to have windows rather than portholes. When you have been assigned a cabin it will appear on the cruise personalizer online. They you can check the deckplan to see what catagory you have been assigned. We have a GTY on our next cruise (9/18/06) and haven't received our cabin assignment yet. On our first cruise we had a GTY and received our # long before the cruise.

Your flights are really pretty good even if you had booked them on your own. Getting to Seattle at 11:30 AM gives you plenty of time to get to the ship. Are you using the Princess transfers? The return flight isn't bad either particularly considering that Seattle is 3 hours behind Eastern time. As a matter of fact, I don't see how you can make it from west coast to east coast in such a short amount of time. You are very lucky. Since your flight leaves at 3 PM you will probably leave the ship fairly late and can have a nice leisurely morning before you disembark.

Have a great cruise. You are going to LOVE Alaska!

Thanks for the quick response! I will watch the cruise personalizer. We live in Longview Texas and will fly out of Dallas. We leave Seattle at 3 stop in Denver at 6, leave at 7 and get to Dallas at 10. Where do yall live? Thanks for attaching your pictures! It has been such fun looking at all the pictures and reading the reviews! We are so exicted, we have no idea what to expect. It looks like it is SO pretty up there. We are celebrating our 40th anniversary, I have even gotten 2 new black dresses for the formal nights. The rest of the time I plan to be warm and comfy. Please let me know if you have anymore tips, thanks!!

I almost always book a gurantee at the level I am willing to accept and the price I am willing to pay, if I get upgraded fine, but if I don't, I don't get upset. Sometimes I have gotten "upgraded" but it is usually the same type of cabin ie I guranteed a balcony cabin on deck x but was "upgraded" to a balcony on deck y.

Thanks for the quick response! I will watch the cruise personalizer. We live in Longview Texas and will fly out of Dallas. We leave Seattle at 3 stop in Denver at 6, leave at 7 and get to Dallas at 10. Where do yall live? Thanks for attaching your pictures! It has been such fun looking at all the pictures and reading the reviews! We are so exicted, we have no idea what to expect. It looks like it is SO pretty up there. We are celebrating our 40th anniversary, I have even gotten 2 new black dresses for the formal nights. The rest of the time I plan to be warm and comfy. Please let me know if you have anymore tips, thanks!!

We celebrated our 40th anniversary last year in Alaska (actually our anniv. is July 31 but we celebrated on the May cruise). I will say that the pictures pale in comparison to actually being there. They can not begin to show the vastness or the beauty of the place. Biggest tip - don't overpack. I know you think that you will need everything that you plan to pack but on the first trip I came back with probably 30% unused. On the second trip I packed less and only came back with about 20% unused. Just be sure that you bring clothes to layer and have a good breathable rain jacket (something like Gore-tex). Don't pack heavy boots unless you plan to do some serious hiking but do bring comfortable walking shoes and wear them on the plane. There is a good chance that you will be doing some waiting in line to board the ship. The same will be true when you disembark. Oh, how I envy you. I am ready to go back again.

I don't know how I missed the fact that you are from Texas. I misread the airport code and thought you were flying out of Dulles. :o BTW, this southern girl loves to hear ya'll. We live in Newport News VA by way of Atlanta and Jacksonville FL.

There is a place on the Princess website that ask if you are celebrating an anniversary or anything. What do they do if you are and I assume there is a charge? We are scheduled for 9/9, when will we get our package with the paperwork? We are using a TA, will they send it to her? We have filled out the personalizer. Can't believe how many cruises people take, (2 a year?) Do they offer you a good deal while on the ship to sail again? Is that the time to book? If you get a soda card, does that apply to coffee, latte, every drink but acohol? If so, how much are they? I have always heard about the chocolate bar, but don't see anything on the princess website for it. Do they not have it on the Dawn? I understand they don't have the midnight buffet (which is fine with us). Thanks for your help!!!:)

There is a place on the Princess website that ask if you are celebrating an anniversary or anything. What do they do if you are and I assume there is a charge? We are scheduled for 9/9, when will we get our package with the paperwork? We are using a TA, will they send it to her? We have filled out the personalizer. Can't believe how many cruises people take, (2 a year?) Do they offer you a good deal while on the ship to sail again? Is that the time to book? If you get a soda card, does that apply to coffee, latte, every drink but acohol? If so, how much are they? I have always heard about the chocolate bar, but don't see anything on the princess website for it. Do they not have it on the Dawn? I understand they don't have the midnight buffet (which is fine with us). Thanks for your help!!!:)

If you fill out the anniversary or birthday thing they'll put balloons around your door. No charge. Maybe a cake at dinner, not sure about that.

Documents will be mailed to your TA 4 to 6 weeks before the cruise.

If you book another cruise while onboard you pay a reduced deposit and get a shipboard credit (amount depends on the length of the cruise you book). You don't have to select a specific cruise, you book on board and have four years to actually select a cruise.

The soda card only applies to drinks from the "gun" (coke, sprite, etc).

If you are celebrating a birthday or anniversary you will receive balloons on your door and a cake (little individual cake) in the dining room the night of your choosing. Your TA can arrange that for you. It doesn't have to be the exact date of the event. We usually choose one of the formal nights for the celebration. On our last cruise I actually celebrated my birthday twice - once on the second formal night and once at tea on my actual birthday. It was a tea for all the CC group ladies and the organizer of the tea surprised me with the cake. It was really fun!

With the soda cards you can get as many fountain drinks as you want either at one of the bars or in the dining rooms. They serve only coke products. Last year the cost was $22 for a 7-night cruise and more for a longer cruise. They put a sticker on your cruise card and you show it when you want a soda. There is also a specialty coffee card that gives you a certain number of drinks. This is not unlimited like the soda card. There is also an ice cream card that is new this year I think. However, you can get free ice cream every afternoon in the Horizon Court and in the dining rooms during lunch and dinner.

Our upcoming cruise is one booked using a future cruise deposit that we made on our last cruise. The deposit was just $100 pp rather than $250 and we each get a $100 shipboard credit on this cruise. It is a win-win situation. You have 4 years to use the deposit and if you can't use it you can get it back. You can't lose.

BTW, if you have filled out all the forms online you don't have to do it again when you receive your documents. You might want to print out your online passenger information (immigration) forms and take them with you just in case there is some sort of mixup or question.

Have a great first cruise. You're going to Alaska? You will be hooked!

Thanks so much for your help!! I'm not sure which is going to be the most fun, Alaska or reading CC, I know I am hooked to thqta already!

Thanks so much for your help!! I'm not sure which is going to be the most fun, Alaska or reading CC, I know I am hooked to thqta already!

CC is great but Alaska is way BETTER!!!!:D

Oops, accidental post

If you fill out the anniversary or birthday thing they'll put balloons around your door. No charge. Maybe a cake at dinner, not sure about that.

 

Documents will be mailed to your TA 4 to 6 weeks before the cruise.

 

If you book another cruise while onboard you pay a reduced deposit and get a shipboard credit (amount depends on the length of the cruise you book). You don't have to select a specific cruise, you book on board and have four years to actually select a cruise.

 

The soda card only applies to drinks from the "gun" (coke, sprite, etc).

It’s only two years now.

It’s only two years now.

Two years now, four years then. Either way I think the person you responded to has already used the FCDs they had banked...IN 2006