won't show us the room

[Pia1913]

With only 2 posts, and not knowing their way around CC, she/he probably doesn't know where to find the orginal post!:D:eek:

 

Or could be a troll. OK Larry, I'll reserve judgment.

[Sharke_boy]

Solution--- Book direct with Princess. Travels agents reading this board will disagree with this comment any they will be the ones responding the fastest to this reply, but I can tell this has never happened to me,, You should always get a specific room assigned if not you will be very very surpirsed...(jaw dropping) .when you board, and your room is in a horrible location or at a lower catagory because the Princess direct books have taken the others, try calling your agent for help from the pier...I seen this too many times and felt for these people Also booking direct the price given the current market is the same or LOWER-- I'm an Elite Princess status and have never booked through an agency and always get a specific room assigned, and can call Princess directly to make changes to my dining tmes AND>.... IMPORTANT HERE-- booking direct you can change rooms simply by calling Princess... you cannot do either of these things (room change or dining time changes) when booking through an agent.

[itsajoke]

If the cabin isn't a guarantee, then perhaps the cabin the OP is looking at a waitlisted category. But in any event - the travel agent sure should know this!

[asctony]

Solution--- Book direct with Princess. Travels agents reading this board will disagree with this comment any they will be the ones responding the fastest to this reply, but I can tell this has never happened to me,, You should always get a specific room assigned if not you will be very very surpirsed...(jaw dropping) .when you board, and your room is in a horrible location or at a lower catagory because the Princess direct books have taken the others, try calling your agent for help from the pier...I seen this too many times and felt for these people Also booking direct the price given the current market is the same or LOWER-- I'm an Elite Princess status and have never booked through an agency and always get a specific room assigned, and can call Princess directly to make changes to my dining tmes AND>.... IMPORTANT HERE-- booking direct you can change rooms simply by calling Princess... you cannot do either of these things (room change or dining time changes) when booking through an agent.

 

Have never found that booking directly with Princess would ever save or equal the price I have received from a TA.

[sirwired]

Solution--- Book direct with Princess. Travels agents reading this board will disagree with this comment any they will be the ones responding the fastest to this reply, but I can tell this has never happened to me,, You should always get a specific room assigned if not you will be very very surpirsed...(jaw dropping) .when you board, and your room is in a horrible location or at a lower catagory because the Princess direct books have taken the others, try calling your agent for help from the pier...I seen this too many times and felt for these people Also booking direct the price given the current market is the same or LOWER-- I'm an Elite Princess status and have never booked through an agency and always get a specific room assigned, and can call Princess directly to make changes to my dining tmes AND>.... IMPORTANT HERE-- booking direct you can change rooms simply by calling Princess... you cannot do either of these things (room change or dining time changes) when booking through an agent.

 

If a category is GTY-only, it's GTY-only; it doesn't matter who you book with. All the websites and Princess direct all share the same availability database. And if you book a GTY, you will NEVER, EVER, be stuck in a lower category, even if you book through BillyBob's House 'o Cheap Cruises. I am quite certain that if people ended up in a lower category than what they paid for "too many times", we'd here about it right here. But we don't. Because it never happens.

 

Maybe you've always gotten an assignment ahead of time because you book a category that usually has specific assignments available. Some categories like BG and BF, usually (always?) have nothing but GTY's, no matter who you book with, or when you book.

[Pia1913]

Solution--- Book direct with Princess. Travels agents reading this board will disagree with this comment any they will be the ones responding the fastest to this reply, but I can tell this has never happened to me,, You should always get a specific room assigned if not you will be very very surpirsed...(jaw dropping) .when you board, and your room is in a horrible location or at a lower catagory because the Princess direct books have taken the others, try calling your agent for help from the pier...I seen this too many times and felt for these people Also booking direct the price given the current market is the same or LOWER-- I'm an Elite Princess status and have never booked through an agency and always get a specific room assigned, and can call Princess directly to make changes to my dining tmes AND>.... IMPORTANT HERE-- booking direct you can change rooms simply by calling Princess... you cannot do either of these things (room change or dining time changes) when booking through an agent.

 

You are soooooooooooooooo wrong. :rolleyes:

[WeBeGone]

Solution--- Book direct with Princess. Travels agents reading this board will disagree with this comment any they will be the ones responding the fastest to this reply, but I can tell this has never happened to me,, You should always get a specific room assigned if not you will be very very surpirsed...(jaw dropping) .when you board, and your room is in a horrible location or at a lower catagory because the Princess direct books have taken the others, try calling your agent for help from the pier...I seen this too many times and felt for these people Also booking direct the price given the current market is the same or LOWER-- I'm an Elite Princess status and have never booked through an agency and always get a specific room assigned, and can call Princess directly to make changes to my dining tmes AND>.... IMPORTANT HERE-- booking direct you can change rooms simply by calling Princess... you cannot do either of these things (room change or dining time changes) when booking through an agent.

 

You really shouldn't post a reply unless you know what you're talking about, and obviously you don't:

 

Booking a GTY saves money and you will never be assigned a lesser category. If you want an assigned cabin, book an assigned cabin.

You can always get a lower price with an agent who discounts (and most do).

You can make any changes necessary through your agent - but changing rooms depends on availablity and category.

 

For someone claiming to be elite, you are seriously uninformed.

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

If you want to know your cabin number when you book, don't book a guarantee! It's that simple.

[TracieABD]

If you want to know your cabin number when you book, don't book a guarantee! It's that simple.

Agreed...

 

I have done both, and everytime that I have booked a guarentee, I have been in a better room (upgraded) than the one that I paid for. Just sayin'...:)

[mr green]

If you want to know your cabin number when you book, don't book a guarantee! It's that simple.

 

Unfortunately Princess

[mr green]

Unfortunately Princess

 

Sorry post should have been canceled.:o

 

john

[Pam in CA]

Solution--- Book direct with Princess. Travels agents reading this board will disagree with this comment any they will be the ones responding the fastest to this reply, but I can tell this has never happened to me,, You should always get a specific room assigned if not you will be very very surpirsed...(jaw dropping) .when you board, and your room is in a horrible location or at a lower catagory because the Princess direct books have taken the others, try calling your agent for help from the pier...I seen this too many times and felt for these people Also booking direct the price given the current market is the same or LOWER-- I'm an Elite Princess status and have never booked through an agency and always get a specific room assigned, and can call Princess directly to make changes to my dining tmes AND>.... IMPORTANT HERE-- booking direct you can change rooms simply by calling Princess... you cannot do either of these things (room change or dining time changes) when booking through an agent.

And, you've always paid more than you would have booking through a TA. Who you book with has absolutely no bearing on whether, when you book a GTY, you get assigned a cabin immediately. It all depends on the number of cabins available and the number of people wanting to book a specific category. As an Elite, I'm astonished that you would post this misinformation.

[24butterfly]

THere were only 2 posts for the original poster.....Haven't heard from them since........

[shepp]

You really shouldn't post a reply unless you know what you're talking about, and obviously you don't:

 

Booking a GTY saves money and you will never be assigned a lesser category.

For someone claiming to be elite, you are seriously uninformed.

 

Well, um, sorry, but...booking a Guarantee on Princess does not save you money. A guarantee in any particular category will cost precisely what an assigned cabin in that category will. The only times that money-saving thing may be true is if you the only cabins available in lower-priced categories are GTYs. E.g., on the Sapphire, there are only 4 inside cabins in the lowest-priced category, M, so it's pretty much always a guarantee situation. I booked an M GTY for less than I would have paid for any specific cabin then available, and ended up with a 6-cat. upgrade. So I got a cabin at a discounted price, though as far as I'm concerned, all insides are pretty much the same.

 

Hey, since you were so astringent, before you correct someone, you might - also - know what you're talking about.

[Steelers36]

Anyone ever experienced Princess not telling them their cabin number until after they pay in full. Cruise is two months away. We have never cruised before. There is no explanation they are giving our agent.

 

Your agent is incompetent, inexperienced - or both.

[vmom]

Well, um, sorry, but...booking a Guarantee on Princess does not save you money. A guarantee in any particular category will cost precisely what an assigned cabin in that category will. The only times that money-saving thing may be true is if you the only cabins available in lower-priced categories are GTYs. E.g., on the Sapphire, there are only 4 inside cabins in the lowest-priced category, M, so it's pretty much always a guarantee situation. I booked an M GTY for less than I would have paid for any specific cabin then available, and ended up with a 6-cat. upgrade. So I got a cabin at a discounted price, though as far as I'm concerned, all insides are pretty much the same.

 

Hey, since you were so astringent, before you correct someone, you might - also - know what you're talking about.

 

I understand what you are trying to say that a guarantee is not priced cheaper than a cabin in that same category...however when you look at the bottom line, a guarantee can mean a substantial savings in money, so to say that booking a guarantee does not result in a savings of money is not quite accurate.

 

The practical aspect of it is that often there are a very limited number of cabins at the lowest priced category within a cabin type (ex a BG balcony cabin). Many people such as myself aren't particular about cabin location, so book the cheapest cabin category within a cabin type and that often means booking a guarantee. I and many others are booking a guarantee as a money savings stategy.

 

Yes the cabins in the lowest category are priced the same as the guarantee, but when cabins aren't available (an often there are not cabins available as you pointed out) , it is cheaper and a way to save money to book a guarantee rather than go up a category or so to be able to pick out a cabin.

 

Therefore, practically speaking, booking a guarantee can be a money savings strategy. I have to respectively disagree with your statement that "booking a guarantee does not save you money".

 

I personally saved $200 per cabin on our last cruise by booking a BG guarantee since there were no cabins left to choose from in the lower balcony cabins categories and it would have cost more to go up to a category that had cabins left to select a specific cabin.

[sirrah231]

I understand what a guarantee cabin is ... we're sailing on the Coral in March and have booked a BG guarantee ... it sounds like we get what we get ... great possibility for an upgrade, but potential for an upgrade to a less desirable location (near all-night restaurant or loud kiddie pool or whatever) is that the case? It's our first cruise, so I hope the cruise fairy is looking down on us ...

[sirwired]

Yes, a BG GTY can literally be any balcony cabin on the entire ship. However, if you read about the "quirks" of the cabin ahead of time, you can bring things to make it better. For instance, noisy cabins can be countered with bringing a white noise machine...

[Pam in CA]

I understand what a guarantee cabin is ... we're sailing on the Coral in March and have booked a BG guarantee ... it sounds like we get what we get ... great possibility for an upgrade, but potential for an upgrade to a less desirable location (near all-night restaurant or loud kiddie pool or whatever) is that the case? It's our first cruise, so I hope the cruise fairy is looking down on us ...

You'll get a balcony cabin, which is what you booked. Every booking on Princess, whether it's a GTY or a specific cabin, is marked "Will accept upgrade" as the default for the booking, so there really isn't any better chance of getting an upgrade by booking a GTY than a specific cabin, certainly not a "great possibility." Everything depends on the number of cabins in a category booked and the number of requests for that category so this dynamic can change from cruise-to-cruise.

 

One thing to remember is that one person's idea of an upgrade is not necessarily someone else's. There's a perception that the higher the deck, the better the cabin but that's not true. The Caribe deck balconies are better than one on Aloha deck, for instance, but the cabin itself is exactly the same. Chances of your being upgraded to a mini-suite (which IMHO is really an upgrade rather than a different cabin location) are slim.

[Bebekat57]

You can always go directly to the Princess.com website and contact one of their TAs. I always book my own. If I have questions, the Princess TA is always extremely helpful. Good luck!

[sirrah231]

You'll get a balcony cabin, which is what you booked. Every booking on Princess, whether it's a GTY or a specific cabin, is marked "Will accept upgrade" as the default for the booking, so there really isn't any better chance of getting an upgrade by booking a GTY than a specific cabin, certainly not a "great possibility." Everything depends on the number of cabins in a category booked and the number of requests for that category so this dynamic can change from cruise-to-cruise.

 

Sorry I wasn't clear ... guess I should have said "higher possibility" of receiving a balcony cabin upgrade, precicesly because of your reasons stated. We booked a BG, and after looking over the deck plans, there are fewer BG rooms than BF, BD, etc. ... so IF BGs get overbooked, then we could get bumped up. Whereas there seem to be plenty of some other categories ... chances of overbooking are less.

[Pia1913]

You can always go directly to the Princess.com website and contact one of their TAs. I always book my own. If I have questions, the Princess TA is always extremely helpful. Good luck!

 

They should be helpful, especially since you're paying more.

[Sharke_boy]

Reviewing these posts it's clear there is a large differences in opinions, and that's ok. I'm aware of my statement, am very informed and predicted in my reply the responses that I would receive, and the group that would be posting them... I stated earlier booking direct with Princess provides the lowest risk in receivng the room (GTY or other) that you would like. That's a given. If you've ever seen anybody trying to contact their agent at the dock day of boarding because their room is not what they wanted or paid for ----not a great scene-- In the news lately it was mentioned that American Airlines is being taken off Expedia due to costs... and savings ... Southwest never did list... CUK will follow -Micky A. is a smart business man, and as margins shrink.........

[YaddaBest]

I have had very good luck booking guarantees in the past few years. You can pay for the cabin location you like or take a chance. I have never gotten anything less then a BC when I booked Balcony Guarantees which would have cost me at least another $150 per person. Thats the worse I have ever gotten and have had mostly BA and BB category. Not had as much luck when I have booked inside and outside cabins but usually get upgraded a bit closer to the middle of the ship. Like Outside obstructed I usually go from the G category to F or FF cabin.