Why gty cabin?

[hsaroya]

Hi, everyone! I've noticed that many people have mentioned booking a gty cabin as they pay a cheaper rate. Anytime I've booked, however, the rates for a gty and a self selected cabin are the same. Could this be because I've only ever cruised during peak Christmas holidays and the lower gty price isn't offered?

 

If the prices tend to be the same, why would people still choose the gty? Is it because they're hoping for an upgrade?

 

Enquiring minds want to know....mainly because enquiring minds have way too much time to kill on their hand before their Aug, 2014 Med cruise!!

[Aquahound]

If they were the same, I would just pick the room I want. That hasn't been my experience though. When I've booked GTY, it's because it was significantly cheaper.

[CruiserBruce]

Sometimes GTY are cheaper. Many times they are at the entry level for that type of cabin- for example, at the cheapest balcony cabin price level. Sometimes they are midrange in the cabin category. It varies by cruise and cruise line.

 

An upgrade is definitely a driver of people who book GTYs. As is commonly stated here, you should never book a GTY expecting an upgrade. You should always book at the minimum level you will happy with, because that level might be what you end up with.

[Krazy Kruizers]

There are people here who book guarantees on a regular basis and many times they do get an upgrade -- I see it quite often on the HAL board -- and many times it is the same people getting the upgrades.

Some people are lucky and get some nice upgrades. I have read where some people were unhappy with the location of the cabin that they were assigned.

We prefer to just book the cabin we want.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We only book guarantees if they are a lot cheaper than choosing our own cabin. We don't book them in the hopes of an upgrade, although we have had small upgrades every time we have booked one, but only within categories; example, balcony to higher level balcony--never, so far, say, balcony to suite.

[BruceMuzz]

Not too many years ago, booking a guarantee cabin had a reasonable chance of an upgrade.

 

Not so today. And too many people are learning that the hard way.

 

Several of the major cruise lines now have internal policies that ALL staterooms MUST be sold - at any price - before the ship sails.

Those who have booked guarantee cabins get whatever is left over.

Basically they get the cabins that nobody else wanted (usually for very good reasons) - at a slight discount.

 

Today on most cruise lines, the people in the guarantee cabins are the ones complaining the loudest. First because they received no upgrade, secondly because they ended up with a lousy cabin, and third they think if they complain loudly enough and long enough, we will relent and give them the upgrade they lost out on. This rarely happens, because we very rarely have other cabins to give them.

 

Except for a very few cabin categories, choosing to buy a guarantee is a fool's game. The only thing it accomplishes is dumping undesirable cabins on people who will grudgingly put up with them to save a buck.

 

At the front desk on nearly every cruise ship afloat, whenever they receive a guest complaint, the first question they ask is, "Is it a guarantee?". If it is a guarantee cabin, the response to the complaint is usually quite different than the response to a regular fare cabin.

[Sinppu]

Not too many years ago, booking a guarantee cabin had a reasonable chance of an upgrade.

 

Not so today. And too many people are learning that the hard way.

 

Several of the major cruise lines now have internal policies that ALL staterooms MUST be sold - at any price - before the ship sails.

Those who have booked guarantee cabins get whatever is left over.

Basically they get the cabins that nobody else wanted (usually for very good reasons) - at a slight discount.

 

Today on most cruise lines, the people in the guarantee cabins are the ones complaining the loudest. First because they received no upgrade, secondly because they ended up with a lousy cabin, and third they think if they complain loudly enough and long enough, we will relent and give them the upgrade they lost out on. This rarely happens, because we very rarely have other cabins to give them.

 

Except for a very few cabin categories, choosing to buy a guarantee is a fool's game. The only thing it accomplishes is dumping undesirable cabins on people who will grudgingly put up with them to save a buck.

 

At the front desk on nearly every cruise ship afloat, whenever they receive a guest complaint, the first question they ask is, "Is it a guarantee?". If it is a guarantee cabin, the response to the complaint is usually quite different than the response to a regular fare cabin.

 

One of these days it would be nice to hear if Bruce has any positive comments about passengers.

With the amount of negative experience Bruce seems to have, I'd definitely quit my job and find something more fun -or at least less not fun.

 

I book gty cabins for the price.

If you pay a dollar, you get a dollar's worth.

Easy to live with that decision.

[Aquahound]

Except for a very few cabin categories, choosing to buy a guarantee is a fool's game. The only thing it accomplishes is dumping undesirable cabins on people who will grudgingly put up with them to save a buck.

 

I don't know if it's all or most, but I do know that some cruise lines will allow you to change your cabin to another open room within the same category if you don't like your assignment. So if they "dump" an undesirable room on the passenger, the passenger can still change it.

[CruiserBruce]

One of these days it would be nice to hear if Bruce has any positive comments about passengers.

With the amount of negative experience Bruce seems to have, I'd definitely quit my job and find something more fun -or at least less not fun.

 

 

While I agree with your comments, I also see what BruceMuzz is saying. For some people, there is a manic drive to get just a little more, for just a little less. A couple success stories just boosts that drive for even more for even less.

 

At one time, a couple people on each cruise booking GTYs may have been a relatively happy ending for everyone. But so many have heard about great successes with GTY bookings, now tons of people seek that pay less/get more manic satisfaction. Well, there are only so many great cabins, or the Penthouse, to get upgraded to. However, there are many more people seeking something for nothing, or at less something for so much less than everyone else is paying.

 

To be fair, we have two GTY bookings right now. Both are at entry level suite category. However, we are very familiar with each ship involved, so we know there isn't a "bad" cabin to be assigned to. So you don't see me asking daily "what sort of upgrade do you think we can get?" "Help me figure out what cabins are available so I know what we will be assigned" "When will my GTY be assigned?" And so on.

[John Bull]

If they were the same, I would just pick the room I want. That hasn't been my experience though. When I've booked GTY, it's because it was significantly cheaper.

 

 

Same goes for us. When we're talking big price differences.

 

But Bruce is right, we wouldn't take the risk without a big reduction.

For instance, on Thomson everyone's on a g'tee unless they pay £35 ($52) per cabin to make a specific choice. We research deck-plans & forums and pay that little extra to avoid being lumbered with a lousy location.

 

A potential upgrade isn't a driver for us, though we did get a P&O upgrade to a very acceptable location on a higher deck & a Princess upgrade from balcony to junior suite :cool:

 

JB :)

[MCAT48]

Our last cruise we booked Gty because there were no cabins to chose from in the inside catergory. We booked 2 months prior to our cruise and receive the Gty assignment about 3 days later and were very happy with the cabin.

[FTLcruisers]

we have been on so many Caribbean cruises that we sail in inside cabins. We rarely spend much time in the cabin so really don't care where it's at so saving money by booking a qty works for us. If we get an upgrade, great; if not, that's ok too. When we do European cruises, we always get a balcony and pick the cabin we want.

 

Marianne

[mtwingcpa]

If the prices tend to be the same, why would people still choose the gty? Is it because they're hoping for an upgrade?

 

I tend to book last minute (after the final payment date) and at that time gty's might be the only available cabins. I've always been happy with the result, but fully realize there is a risk of getting stuck with something less than perfect.

[donaldsc]

I prefer not to have one as I like to pick my cabin but sometimes there is no choice. If you are stuck with a guarantee, you can specify "do not upgrade" as some upgrades are really downgrades.

 

DON