guarantee cheaper?

[mommy5]

I'm confused about the guarantee cabin. Is there an advantage to booking this way? This means you are sure to get a cabin in what area you saved but is it less expensive than booking a specific room?

[LARGIN]

The price is the same.. You book a guarantee hoping for an upgrade to a higher class of cabin. Sometimes this works and sometimes it does not and in some cases you might end up in an area on the ship that you do not like.

[Toto2Kansas]

I'm confused about the guarantee cabin. Is there an advantage to booking this way? This means you are sure to get a cabin in what area you saved but is it less expensive than booking a specific room?

 

Booking a guarantee in a particular category is no less expensive then booking an assigned stateroom in that same category. BUT, some category cabins seem to only sell on a guarantee basis, and those are usually the lowest in each cabin type.

When you book a guarantee you are guaranteed that category stateroom OR better (but not always better). Sometimes even higher category staterooms that you may be assigned to can be in a far forward or bad location. Directly over or under a lounge or public area.

If you book a guarantee you are telling the cruise line that you are willing to accept whatever they assign you in that category or above, and you really have no say so in the matter as to where you end up on the ship.

If you aren't particular where your cabin is located, or on what deck, or if you happen to have a busy public deck above you or a lounge below, then it can be a very good deal. But always check all cabins above that category, and remember, you could end up in one that you would not be satisfied with.

The old saying to never book anything less than you would be comfortable staying in, is the best way to go.

[caribill]

Booking a guarantee in a particular category is no less expensive then booking an assigned stateroom in that same category. BUT, some category cabins seem to only sell on a guarantee basis, and those are usually the lowest in each cabin type.

 

The lowest category cabins in a class (inside, obstructed oceanview, etc) are often only four or even less in number*, so it is no surprise they quickly are reserved and then the category goes to a guarantee status being all that is available.

 

For example, category M on the Golden Princess includes only two cabins.

[mommy5]

Thanks for the info. We will probably pick the area we like and let the TA just book one of the cabins there. Now if there were a discounted advantage to booking a guarantee... maybe!

[Pam in CA]

Sometimes, but not always, a GTY is less-expensive but it depends on the sailing. I booked a GTY for my Pacific Princess cruise as my TA had an oceanview GTY that was quite a bit less than the other categories. Since it's a small ship, I don't care about location as you can walk from one end to the other in less than five minutes. I booked months ago and am still waiting for my cabin assignment.

[Traveling Bob]

Sometimes, but not always, a GTY is less-expensive but it depends on the sailing. I booked a GTY for my Pacific Princess cruise as my TA had an oceanview GTY that was quite a bit less than the other categories. Since it's a small ship, I don't care about location as you can walk from one end to the other in less than five minutes. I booked months ago and am still waiting for my cabin assignment.

 

For my next sailing on Princess in Oct., we booked an AE GTY and were given an AC 2 weeks later. So we saved a few bucks, but a mini is a mini and the better location didn't make much difference for us. For my last (in Feb), we booked the least expensive full suite on HAL and that's what we got; but we weren't notified of the cabin number until a week before sailing. I guess that it depends on the particular cruise and how it's bookings are going.

[rich52us]

We are sailing on Ruby 11/13/11 E. Carib. We booked an AE Mini guarantee over 6 months in advance. We were assigned an AA! So we're paying AE rates for an AA Mini, and yes we saved money. It's the first time we did the Guarantee thing and it worked out well for us. You have to be prepared to accept the locatation of the lowest cabin in the class, and be happy with that, and ecstatic with any upgrade:D.

[kim826]

For our January Grand Princess cruise we booked the cheapest balcony guarantee and received the most expensive balcony (sorry I can't remember the letter category right now). I was very surprised at the upgrade.

[Beopthtuh]

prefer to choose the cabin i like rather than take a chance of getting a bum cabin .

like people say its a chance you take getting an upgraded in same category