Cost of choosing your room (GTY vs non-GTY)

[helpthejuggler]

I am shocked by the difference in price between veranda GTY rate and the rate for a veranda.

 

For our July 13 cruise (12 nights) a 2D vs GTY is over 700GBP more (1050USD...87 USD pp/night). Or 70% of the cruise fare.

The XC >> C3 is 830GBP!!

 

Whilst some rooms are better located than others....could you consider this worth paying?

[ghstudio]

If you book a guarantee cabin, you are assigned a cabin and in the UK, you can not change it. (this is different in the US). If you book a guaranteed cabin, you have to assume you may get the least desireable cabin on the ship....and of course you save some money doing that. Only you can make that decision...just don't complain if you don't like the cabin assigned....,remember you chose to save the money by booking a guaranteed cabin.

[Mines]

I am shocked by the difference in price between veranda GTY rate and the rate for a veranda.

 

For our July 13 cruise (12 nights) a 2D vs GTY is over 700GBP more (1050USD...87 USD pp/night). Or 70% of the cruise fare.

The XC >> C3 is 830GBP!!

 

Whilst some rooms are better located than others....could you consider this worth paying?

In a word, no.

You have to be prepared to accept a bad location with obstructed view, but you could be lucky as well. We have never had a bad guarantee cabin, once we booked an ocean view guarantee and were given an aft balcony.

[skittl1321]

For that price difference, I'd gamble on getting a bad cabin! You could very well get a great one.

 

 

When booking NCL I was -shocked- to find out for my category (oceanview) the GTY cost MORE than selecting a room. Since they consider rooms near the kids clubs to be premium, I did not want to risk an 'upgrade'.

[Karen@Steve]

In the case above I would take the gty. The 2D is the worse veranda category you can get so you're not really risking anything and you might end up better in the long run.

[Scrapnana]

I am shocked by the difference in price between veranda GTY rate and the rate for a veranda.

 

For our July 13 cruise (12 nights) a 2D vs GTY is over 700GBP more (1050USD...87 USD pp/night). Or 70% of the cruise fare.

The XC >> C3 is 830GBP!!

 

Whilst some rooms are better located than others....could you consider this worth paying?

 

Unless I had been on the ship before and knew a specific cabin I wanted, I would not pay that much more. I would take my chances.

[sshayler]

We picked the GTY Veranda cabin for our July sailing and were visited by the upgrade fairy last week. Went from a 2C GTY to a 1C.

[smtcan]

In the case above I would take the gty. The 2D is the worse veranda category you can get so you're not really risking anything and you might end up better in the long run.

 

I agree. You cannot do worse than a 2D which is obstructed view, and you have a reasonable chance of a better cabin. We have booked a category C which is partially obstructed, but wouldn't pay additional money for a 2D.

[aquaclass]

Pro:

 

1. You can save a ton of $$$

2. you could get a cabin you would be happy with

 

 

Con:

 

1. You could be put in a cabin with the treadmills on the floor above you

2. or under one of the kitchens or under the buffet

or you could have a balcony that looks like:

 

 

or window washing equipment

 

 

or a "tunnel" balcony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

good luck !

[B17]

Hi there HTJ

Are you saying that the Gaurantee is higher priced than a 2D or the other way around.

 

I just booked a guarantee on our Celebrity cruise and got assigned a 2B within less than 24 hours. It wasnt a great cabin but I found another 2B available and got it switched over.

 

I take the opinion that no balcony cabin is a 'bad' cabin just that some are better than others.

[ILCruiser]

Keep in mind that the GTY category is a key tool in their inventory management. They can offer the GTY rates at a substantial discount to fill the ship without having to offer a refund or OBC to those that have already booked a 2D.

[JanineM]

If you aren't concerned about seasickness or movement (being at the very front or very back of the ship), nor do you care about a long walk to elevators, or a crummy view, then I'd say go for it. Only you can decide what would 'ruin' your cruise!

[smtcan]

Pro:

 

1. You can save a ton of $$$

2. you could get a cabin you would be happy with

 

 

Con:

 

1. You could be put in a cabin with the treadmills on the floor above you

2. or under one of the kitchens or under the buffet

or you could have a balcony that looks like:

 

 

or window washing equipment

 

 

or a "tunnel" balcony

 

http://c3270052.r52.cf0.rackcdn.com/slideshows/celebrity-solstice-balcony-9192-kimcheeboy.

 

good luck !

 

Don't be misled by the tunnel balcony picture. It is taken with a fish eye lens and bears no relation to the actual huge balcony which we enjoyed on a recent cruise. The fully obstructed one is a 2D, which is what you would be paying the additional money for.

Sheila

[B17]

Even the 2D's are not as bad as in the picture above which is obviously form Queen Mary (as per the name on the lifeboat). The 2D's do have lifeboats infront but the roof of the lifeboat is inline with the balcony rail so you can actually still see out. A 2C has the roof in line with the floor of the balcony.

[tiffnco]

We just booked our first GTY and already have an assignment. It was an Aqua Class GTY and we were assigned an A1. Not too shabby in my book...and we saved a ton!

[d4m]

Even the 2D's are not as bad as in the picture above which is obviously form Queen Mary (as per the name on the lifeboat). The 2D's do have lifeboats infront but the roof of the lifeboat is inline with the balcony rail so you can actually still see out. A 2C has the roof in line with the floor of the balcony.

 

The 2D we had on Equinox was not at the rail but more than a foot above it.

[jackdiamond]

Has anyone had any experience booking a gty AQ on the S class ships?

[hurwitz5]

We have booked GTY cabins and we have been fine with the assigned cabin (including many inside cabins). We go on 2 - 3 cruises per year, plus 3 trips to Los Angeles to visit our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughters. We travel a lot, so we don't obsess over each trip. We cruise on Celebrity because we enjoy the ambiance, food, service and entertainment. The cabin isn't that important to us - as long as we are on a Celebrity cruise. We would rather have an inside GTY cabin on Calebrity than a balcony or suite on Carnival or NCL.

[tiffnco]

Has anyone had any experience booking a gty AQ on the S class ships?

 

Yep...just did for the first time. I figured you really couldn't go wrong since it's in AQ...and we were given an assignment just days after booking...in an AQ1...not too shabby. :D

[helpthejuggler]

If you aren't concerned about seasickness or movement (being at the very front or very back of the ship), nor do you care about a long walk to elevators, or a crummy view, then I'd say go for it. Only you can decide what would 'ruin' your cruise!

 

Hi there HTJ

Are you saying that the Gaurantee is higher priced than a 2D or the other way around.

 

I just booked a guarantee on our Celebrity cruise and got assigned a 2B within less than 24 hours. It wasnt a great cabin but I found another 2B available and got it switched over.

 

I take the opinion that no balcony cabin is a 'bad' cabin just that some are better than others.

 

Hi Bradbury / B17,

 

Long time since we saw you, hope you are both well. A lot of water under the bridge since Eclipse..

 

My post was about the significant premium that selecting your own room was being given. I have done GTY a few times on 3 cruise lines and the outcome has been OK to very good. We have even had one of those lifeboat views on QM2 and it was not a problem.

 

In the past the premium has been 10-20 GBP per day between a GTY and self-select (different cruise lines also) which I was happy with and for short trips it did not matter. Longer trips if the availability is limited I have paid extra to select a room.

 

My surprise is the substantial price difference this time. I wondered if others were finding the same. We all know it is a gamble. I did not know about the US passengers extra freedom to get a reallocation. I can't see any reason why it would differ...a gamble should be a gamble for everyone?

 

We have been booked on Equinox for a while now. We took a AX GTY and were quickly allocated a FWD A2 #1515 which looks decent and well located for things we like.

 

I gave the Veranda difference earlier 700GBP, Concierge was 830GBP, our AX saves 950GBP at todays prices.

Given that difference I am amazed that anyone would think it worth not taking a gamble.

 

Yes I know there are some poor rooms, probably less so for Concierge Class. I don't gamble in the casino, but will try my luck with a GTY as there is more chance of winning.

 

Gamble or not if the room was bad for any other reason than view, distance from prime location, a little noisy etc, I would still complain while on board if it did not meet the 'Modern Luxury' advertising tagline that I bought. We have one noisy room when we saw you on Eclipse --we selected it...Doh!. We complained and they did what they could to make us happy with gifts and trying to fix the problem.

The late nights probably did not help that time..

 

I love a long walk to/from dinner so would rather be fwd or aft than mid. Love the sea to be rough and feel like we are sailing. So GTY is great for us as we like the rooms others do not, so we like A2 over A1.

 

We would have to sink for it to ruin my cruise....even then I would hope for a nice desert island.

[Essiesmom]

I will be on Silhouette in two days time. I originally booked a 2C, but a few days later there was a summer solstice special, verandah gty for price of an inside! I jumped on it, for the savings of over $1200 I would take any verandah they gave me. I got assigned a terrific location, a 2A on the flat of the hump. I love gtys. EM

[jackdiamond]

Yep...just did for the first time. I figured you really couldn't go wrong since it's in AQ...and we were given an assignment just days after booking...in an AQ1...not too shabby. :D

Thank you for your reply; and, congratulations.

[Lsimon]

Keep in mind that the GTY category is a key tool in their inventory management. They can offer the GTY rates at a substantial discount to fill the ship without having to offer a refund or OBC to those that have already booked a 2D.

 

Bingo! Guarantees also give them the flexibility to put people into whatever hasn't sold as the cruise date gets closer and closer - which is why there tends to be a lot of small upgrades with guarantees. The flip side of hoping for an upgrade is that guarantees also help them sell the cabins that no one would normally pick if they were selecting their own cabin location.

[Kartgv]

For me the decision depends on the length of the cruise. On a short cruise, I can live with a cabin that's less than optimum, on a long cruise it would matter more. If you have mobility or sea-sickness issues, or difficulty sleeping in noisy locations, then I'd want to choose my own cabin rather than leave it to the 'luck of the draw'. If none of these bother you, then go with the cheaper route and be happy with what you get.

 

Our only time booking a guarantee cabin ended with our being put in a full suite on Princess; I expect that used up all our luck and wouldn't expect that outcome twice in one lifetime!

[CathyCruises]

For that kind of money, I would definitely take the guarantee! Since all the cabin are created equal inside, the exact location is only worth a tad more to me, like the $50/pp we paid to pick our 1B on a 15 day cruise. I wouldn't have paid much more than that though.