New to Cabin Gty

[Lineaway]

I have never booked a Balcony Gty before. I am also new to Princess. Our cruise is in Jan. so I assumed that a cabin would be assigned at the last minute. However, I have read some posts that people have gotten assigned months in advance. My question is when they assign a cabin do they send an email or do you have to keep checking the princess website?

[uppitycats]

I have never booked a Balcony Gty before. I am also new to Princess. Our cruise is in Jan. so I assumed that a cabin would be assigned at the last minute. However, I have read some posts that people have gotten assigned months in advance. My question is when they assign a cabin do they send an email or do you have to keep checking the princess website?

 

Generally you'll want to keep checking the website. When they assign cabins depends on how quickly..or slowly..the cruise fills up. The faster it fills, the sooner you'll know what cabin you've gotten. good luck!

[spyro1952]

I have never booked a Balcony Gty before. I am also new to Princess. Our cruise is in Jan. so I assumed that a cabin would be assigned at the last minute. However, I have read some posts that people have gotten assigned months in advance. My question is when they assign a cabin do they send an email or do you have to keep checking the princess website?

 

I booked a GTY BF for my cruise on 7/28. As soon as I paid my balance, I was assigned a BB category. It's sounds like a great upgrade but actually the cabin is right under the Horizon Court on Riviera deck so it's really not that great. I'm traveling solo and a sound sleeper so hopefully I can sleep thru the early morning breakfast crowd.

I hope you get a good cabin.

[Maraprince]

I booked a GTY BF for my cruise on 7/28. As soon as I paid my balance, I was assigned a BB category. It's sounds like a great upgrade but actually the cabin is right under the Horizon Court on Riviera deck so it's really not that great. I'm traveling solo and a sound sleeper so hopefully I can sleep thru the early morning breakfast crowd.

I hope you get a good cabin.

 

 

You can "give it back" and ask for another cabin assignment. We did that on our first and only guarantee balcony on our 6/22 sailing. We were worried that we made a mistake by doing so. Our cabin was about 4 from the front of the ship and all the way up on Aloha deck which has completely covered balconies. Surprisingly we ended up with a great upgrade and on Caribe deck (largest balconies other than suites), almost mid ship, and just loved the new assignment. You may want to try this if you are really not happy with the cabin. Things change daily and you may get a better located cabin.

 

MARAPRINCE

[cdngrl]

if you booked directly through princess, they will send you a notification. it may say "emergency notification" so don't worry when you see that!

 

if you booked through a ta you may not be informed right away. i check the cruise personalizer daily-multiple times! to see if i have a cabin number yet.

 

you're right, some have been assigned cabins months in advance (i have as well) and some have not been assigned yet when they have left to begin their travels and are notified at the pier or check-in.

 

good luck, i hope its a pleasant surprise for you!

[Pam in CA]

With a GTY, you can be assigned a cabin right away or when you check in for your cruise. Keep checking your Personalizer in My Princess on the website. Also, when booking a GTY, you could be assigned a cabin anywhere on the ship, as long as it is in the category you booked, or better. There is no guarantee you'll be booked in a higher category.

[tennisobo]

Another point: Keep checking the personalizer at Princess.com. When you do get an assignment, if you think it's a really good one, call your TA(if that's how you booked) or Princess (if you booked with them) and have them mark your reservation No Further Upgrades. We just got a BB on Caribe for our balcony gty. The original assignment was a BA on Aloha. Our TA called Princess to see if they would change me to a BA on Aloha instead. Those were all full so they put me in the BB. I don't want to be upgraded again to BA on Aloha since those balconies are smaller than on Caribe. That's why I'm now marked No Further Upgrades. Keep checking your Personalizer. It's kind of fun to see where you end up. :)

[Dachsie5]

I booked a GTY BF for my cruise on 7/28. As soon as I paid my balance, I was assigned a BB category. It's sounds like a great upgrade but actually the cabin is right under the Horizon Court on Riviera deck so it's really not that great. I'm traveling solo and a sound sleeper so hopefully I can sleep thru the early morning breakfast crowd.

I hope you get a good cabin.

Hi

I had a BB Balcony directly under the HC on a recent cruise and never heard a sound from above.

Have fun on your Cruise!

[janina]

I booked a GTY BF for my cruise on 7/28. As soon as I paid my balance, I was assigned a BB category. It's sounds like a great upgrade but actually the cabin is right under the Horizon Court on Riviera deck so it's really not that great. I'm traveling solo and a sound sleeper so hopefully I can sleep thru the early morning breakfast crowd.

I hope you get a good cabin.

We just had a cabin on the Riviera deck and loved the location. Just used stairs to Horizon and pools. Loved walking down the hall to the aft pool. Didn't hear any noise from above us at all, this was on the Emerald.

[berniebw]

OK, stupid question. What is a GTY cabin and how do you book one? I'm assuming they are cheaper.

 

Thanks,

BernieBW

[Parvatiiv]

OK, stupid question. What is a GTY cabin and how do you book one? I'm assuming they are cheaper.

 

Thanks,

BernieBW

 

I guarantee. They do tend to be cheaper, but it depends on how quickly your category (such as balcony) fills up, so you have the chance of either ending up with a "leftover" cabin or could potentially be upgraded if your category sells out. You could potentially not get your actual cabin assignment til very close to sail date. I've done them before and have always had wonderful results.

[Pam in CA]

OK, stupid question. What is a GTY cabin and how do you book one? I'm assuming they are cheaper.

A GTY is a "guaranteed" cabin in the category you book. Sometimes it's cheaper, lots of times it isn't. What it means is that you are willing to accept ANY cabin in that category anywhere on the ship. You are guaranteed that category, or better. Some people think they have a better chance of a free upgrade to a higher category but that's not necessarily true. A free upgrade is dependent on supply and demand, and whether you book a specific cabin or a GTY and leave the booking with the default "will accept an upgrade", you have a chance of being upgraded.

 

If you or someone you're traveling with gets seasick, booking a GTY is probably not a good idea because you could be assigned a cabin far forward on a higher deck. You have already indicated that you would accept it so you might not have a choice. Sometimes, if you reject it, they'll put the cabin back in the pool but you're still taking your chances.

 

I've booked my first GTY for March 2013, and I did it only because my TA had a special group pricing for the GTY plus it's on the Pacific Princess where no cabin is far away from anything.

[Mycruises62]

I booked a Gty in April for our upcoming November Hawaii cruise. In May I was updgraded to a BA. Keep checking Princess website.

 

Good luck! you will get a better catagory.

 

Mike

[Lineaway]

I appreciate all the responses. I will keep checking the Princess website. I don't make full payment until Nov.

[caribill]

OK, stupid question. What is a GTY cabin and how do you book one? I'm assuming they are cheaper.

 

Thanks,

BernieBW

 

I guarantee. They do tend to be cheaper.

 

A GTY is a "guaranteed" cabin in the category you book. Sometimes it's cheaper, lots of times it isn't. What it means is that you are willing to accept ANY cabin in that category anywhere on the ship. You are guaranteed that category, or better.

 

When you book a cabin in a category and cabins are available, you can choose between a specific cabin or a GTY. The price will be the same.

 

If there are no specific cabins left to select from and there is not a waitlist for that category, then you can pick a GTY which will usually cost less than a higher category which has specific cabins available. The price may be less than, the same, or higher than when specific cabins were available in that category. Pricing will depend on how well the voyage is selling, so can be higher if there is a big demand or lower if Princess is having trouble selling out.

 

As others have said, a GTY means you will get a cabin that will at least be in the GTY category, but might be in a higher one. Assignment can come almost as soon as you finished the booking or as late as when you get to the checkin counter for your cruise. 99% of the time, it will be assigned no longer than a week before sailing.

[spyro1952]

Hi

I had a BB Balcony directly under the HC on a recent cruise and never heard a sound from above.

Have fun on your Cruise!

 

Great! Thanks for the info. I think I'll be fine.:)

[holleygirl75]

first time I booked unobstructed gty. got what I booked. 2nd time I booked fully obstructed gty and was upgraded to an unobstructed. This time booked BF gty. still waiting for cabin.

[Lineaway]

I booked a GTY that I was told was sold out. There are only 4 cabins that I know of in this level. The next level up has 2 cabins left. I am hoping for those cabins to sell out so I can get in the next cat. If I mis calculated I can live with the lower GTY. Of course I would like the Carribe deck or a Suite but if I keep my expectations low I won't be disappointed. Most important is I wanted to try Princess and this gets me onboard.

 

Thanks for the replies.

[Pam in CA]

I booked a GTY that I was told was sold out. There are only 4 cabins that I know of in this level. The next level up has 2 cabins left. I am hoping for those cabins to sell out so I can get in the next cat. If I mis calculated I can live with the lower GTY. Of course I would like the Carribe deck or a Suite but if I keep my expectations low I won't be disappointed. Most important is I wanted to try Princess and this gets me onboard.

Hoping is good but expect to get the category you booked. Trying to figure out how many cabins are left in each category and your chances will drive you crazy because you don't have access to a key ingredient: demand. That can include passengers in lower categories as well as yours. The upgrade fairy is fickle and sometimes doesn't make sense.

[berniebw]

Thanks for the info! I think I'll stick with chosing my cabin.

[Jerichohill]

As an example, I booked a gty Balcony for a Golden Princess cruise and got a BB balcony, which was about 100 bucks cheaper than the BF if I had booked (the BB is better, by all rights).

[ChrisB123]

Once you have your gty assigned, does it/can it ever change?