Cruise pricing, choosing room vs. choosing "guarantee"

[SuperLarz]

Hi Everyone,

 

I have a question about cruise pricing. I was recently reading a thread that was quoting what some people had paid for their staterooms and they were MUCH lower than what we paid. (We booked an A1 AquaClass and chose our stateroom. We also received the Classic drink package, but no OBC or gratuities).

 

So (naturally I was wondering if I got screwed, lol) and I went onto the Celebrity site to see what the prices are now for a similar sailing. The AQ "base" price was listed at about $600 less, per person, than what we paid. But as I looked further, I saw that that price was for an "AquaClass guarantee", and the price to choose your AQ room was almost double the entire rate!!

 

So, I guess I'm wondering what most people do? Do you choose a "guarantee" room and save a considerable amount, or do you pay more to choose your stateroom? And is there always such a big disparity between the prices? (the AQ "guarantee" was about $2500 for 2 people and to choose your room was $4800!)

 

Also, where do you typically find the best deals? I am very new to this (only my second cruise, and our first on Celebrity) and so I booked through the X website, and used the 123GO promo for the beverages.

Should I have compared prices somewhere else??

 

I am very pleased with our stateroom (we have an aft room with an extra large balcony) and I am also excited to be able to eat in Blu. But after upgrading the drink packages and pre-paying our gratuities we are now over $4200 for this cruise, not including airfare or excursions.

 

Is it typically this expensive if you want to choose your own room, etc, or are we paying top-dollar because I didn't know where to get a better deal? (And I do realize that we chose to pay more for AquaClass, but it was only about $100 more pp than a balcony room, and I really wanted Blu, so it seemed worth it.)

 

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences!!

Thank you!!

[vedettes1]

I also am interested in the "guarantee" option. When I look at a cruise on Celebrity website and go to "Book Now" all I get are "choose your stateroom" options. How do I access the "guarantee" option?

[4774Papa]

I saved $900 changing from a specific Veranda cabin to an unspecified Veranda guarantee. Our cabin turned out to be on deck 6, and was the same as we had booked on deck 7 , except the balcony was a little smaller and the lifeboats kept us from seeing down the side of the ship. We were very happy. There are cabins that we might have been disappointed with, but we would roll the dice again.

 

Regarding Aqua, a guarantee would probably get you a cabin on deck 9, which is just below the pool deck. We had one on our British Isles cruise, but there was not much activity on the pool deck, since the weather was chilly.

 

Aqua cabins on deck 11 are more expensive and more desirable. You won't likely get one with a guarantee.

[happy 2 b cruising]

Hi Everyone,

 

I have a question about cruise pricing. I was recently reading a thread that was quoting what some people had paid for their staterooms and they were MUCH lower than what we paid. (We booked an A1 AquaClass and chose our stateroom. We also received the Classic drink package, but no OBC or gratuities).

 

So (naturally I was wondering if I got screwed, lol) and I went onto the Celebrity site to see what the prices are now for a similar sailing. The AQ "base" price was listed at about $600 less, per person, than what we paid. But as I looked further, I saw that that price was for an "AquaClass guarantee", and the price to choose your AQ room was almost double the entire rate!!

 

So, I guess I'm wondering what most people do? Do you choose a "guarantee" room and save a considerable amount, or do you pay more to choose your stateroom? And is there always such a big disparity between the prices? (the AQ "guarantee" was about $2500 for 2 people and to choose your room was $4800!)

 

Also, where do you typically find the best deals? I am very new to this (only my second cruise, and our first on Celebrity) and so I booked through the X website, and used the 123GO promo for the beverages.

Should I have compared prices somewhere else??

 

I am very pleased with our stateroom (we have an aft room with an extra large balcony) and I am also excited to be able to eat in Blu. But after upgrading the drink packages and pre-paying our gratuities we are now over $4200 for this cruise, not including airfare or excursions.

 

Is it typically this expensive if you want to choose your own room, etc, or are we paying top-dollar because I didn't know where to get a better deal? (And I do realize that we chose to pay more for AquaClass, but it was only about $100 more pp than a balcony room, and I really wanted Blu, so it seemed worth it.)

 

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and experiences!!

Thank you!!

 

It's all about supply and demand for your particular cruise. If the price goes down you maybe able to get a price adjustment if it is before final payment. If you have a promotion attached to your booking you may lose it if you want the lower price. Guarantee's are not offered on all sailings. They are great if you don't care about location, it's a gamble. My advice is once you book keep watching the site and maybe you can get a better deal. One more tip, prices usually go down after final payment, so you may want to look into booking at that time as well. We always travel in Aqua, we do it for Blu. Hope this information helped a little.

[Tommy3putts]

I'm still what you'd call a cruise and CC newbie and others are better suited to address the guarantee question. But here is my experience with my 2014 booking. I quickly learned that the price of any cruise will change going up and down. In order to take advantage of the drops you need to know when they occur. There are several web services if you don't have anTA. There is a service that does it for 1.00 per cruise. Just fish around on google by using "cruise price monitoring" and it should give you the site. If thee is a drop before final payment you should be able to take advantage of it.

 

Cheers

[mrsdoc3]

I have booked guarantee a couple of times (balconies and insides).

 

You usually end up with a less desirable location, but that hasn't been an issue for me so far.

 

First time I did it (on Carnival), booked a guarantee balconcy for husband and me and an guarantee inside for our four kids. We ended up with a cabin way aft, and the kids ended up with what Carnival classes as an inside -- french doors that open to a view of the lifeboats. They were happy -- got some natural light and some fresh air.

 

Second time I did it (on Celebrity), booked two guarantee balconies. Husband and I ended up about 2/3 back, but the kids ended up with the last balcony on the slant of the hump!

 

If you're not picky about where your cabin is, guarantee is usually a pretty good deal. But ALWAYS shop around -- you just never know what you might find.

Edited January 30, 2014 by mrsdoc3

[vedettes1]

Sorry to be so ignorant, but how do you go about booking a guarantee room?

[SuperLarz]

It's all about supply and demand for your particular cruise. If the price goes down you maybe able to get a price adjustment if it is before final payment. If you have a promotion attached to your booking you may lose it if you want the lower price. Guarantee's are not offered on all sailings. They are great if you don't care about location, it's a gamble. My advice is once you book keep watching the site and maybe you can get a better deal. One more tip, prices usually go down after final payment, so you may want to look into booking at that time as well. We always travel in Aqua, we do it for Blu. Hope this information helped a little.

 

Our cruise is in 9 days!! We embark on February 8th, and it is over Valentine's Day. Not sure if that affected the price.

Also... We didn't book it until after Christmas, which I believe was after "final payment". It was kind of a last minute decision. I am actually amazed that we got the stateroom that we did!

 

So... guarantees are best if you are not picky about where your stateroom is. Got it.

For this cruise, I was picky. After much research I knew I didn't want to be on deck 9 with the large overhang. For me, I need as much sun as I can get!! And it's our 20th anniversary and I wanted it to be amazing!

 

Thank you all for the information! You are always so helpful!

 

So, you CAN sometimes adjust the price if you find a better deal and it is not after "final payment". Is that correct?

Is there a "rule of thumb" as to when is the best time to book? I see some people booking over a year in advance!

 

Thanks again!

[happy 2 b cruising]

Sorry to be so ignorant, but how do you go about booking a guarantee room?

 

They are not available on every cruise, usually come out after final payment. If you book direct on X monitor the site or call your TA when you see the rate appear.:)

[SuperLarz]

Sorry to be so ignorant, but how do you go about booking a guarantee room?

 

I'm not positive, but when I just went to the X website and looked up a particular cruise (as if I was going to book it) I was looking at the AquaClass rooms and "AquaClass Guarantee" came up as the first option available that I could choose. Then, below that, it showed A1 and A2 and the specific rooms that I could choose in each category. This option was almost double the price of the "guarantee" option.

[SuperLarz]

They are not available on every cruise, usually come out after final payment. If you book direct on X monitor the site or call your TA when you see the rate appear.:)

 

So, does that mean it's possible to adjust your rate (and switch categories) AFTER final payment?

 

Or, is it more of an option for people who are doing last-minute booking?

 

Thanks!

[happy 2 b cruising]

Our cruise is in 9 days!! We embark on February 8th, and it is over Valentine's Day. Not sure if that affected the price.

Also... We didn't book it until after Christmas, which I believe was after "final payment". It was kind of a last minute decision. I am actually amazed that we got the stateroom that we did!

 

So... guarantees are best if you are not picky about where your stateroom is. Got it.

For this cruise, I was picky. After much research I knew I didn't want to be on deck 9 with the large overhang. For me, I need as much sun as I can get!! And it's our 20th anniversary and I wanted it to be amazing!

 

Thank you all for the information! You are always so helpful!

 

So, you CAN sometimes adjust the price if you find a better deal and it is not after "final payment". Is that correct?

Is there a "rule of thumb" as to when is the best time to book? I see some people booking over a year in advance!

 

Thanks again!

 

If you search prior boards on CC there are many devoted to this question.

Working people and those with children usually need to book in advance, most retired people can wait to book after final payment. Depends on your lifestyle. The way to get the best deal is through ongoing research.

Some sites will do this for a fee or you may get lucky with a excellent travel agent {they usually give additional OBC}. Enjoy your cruise :)

[jackdiamond]

I believe that you wil find that all A-1s and A-2s are on the Penthouse deck on the S class ships.

[footer6]

SuperLarz You need to read the fine print. The 1-2-3 package does not come with the guarantee cabin. So you take the guarantee price and add the drink package and gratuities and you see the price difference. We had the drinks package last July in the Med and it was great

[VegasMark]

We usually shop around a bit once we find a cruise or two we want to book. Some agencies have better pricing/incentives than others. I've seen guarantee rates for most sailings. I'd only reserve a specific room if the difference is insignificant. I usually save $200-400/cruise (on insides) by booking a guarantee. To me this is worth the gamble, especially since we spend such little time in the room and don't mind running up ten flights of stairs. I'm sure there are plenty of folks reading this who think I am crazy. To each their own! I thank them for supplementing the cost of my trip! ;)

[ghstudio]

If you are in the US and book a guarantee cabin, then once they assign a cabin, you can request to have the cabin changed to any other cabin in the exact same class....that is, if they assign you a C3, you can request to change to any other C3.

 

If you want a C3 and they offer concierge guarantee, you really have nothing to lose unless you want a specific cabin. Ditto for Aqua guarantee vs A2. Make sure that the perks you want or expect come with the guarantee cabin categories....sometimes they don't.

 

Note: you can do this if you are in the US...if you are in some other country, I don't know the rules.

[Lsimon]

First off, if you book a guarantee you must be willing to accept the least desirable location and cabin on the ship which is at least the level that your booking guarantees. For some this is no problem as any cabin on the ship is fine for them. Others worry about noisy locations, odd shaped rooms, don't like one location or another for some reason or have other issues.

 

Second, guarantees are generally not offered unless they need to put cabins on sale. You won't see a guarantee for cruises that are far out. They use guarantees to sell remaining cabins when the cruise gets closer. They will just appear either on specials or online when the cruise line needs to put their inventory on sale to close it out. It offers flexibility to the cruise line and has other marketing benefits to the cruise line.

 

Guarantees are good for people booking closer to the sale date that are flexible as far as cabin location. They are not good for everyone.

[VegasMark]

First off, if you book a guarantee you must be willing to accept the least desirable location and cabin on the ship which is at least the level that your booking guarantees. For some this is no problem as any cabin on the ship is fine for them. Others worry about noisy locations, odd shaped rooms, don't like one location or another for some reason or have other issues.

 

Second, guarantees are generally not offered unless they need to put cabins on sale. You won't see a guarantee for cruises that are far out. They use guarantees to sell remaining cabins when the cruise gets closer. They will just appear either on specials or online when the cruise line needs to put their inventory on sale to close it out. It offers flexibility to the cruise line and has other marketing benefits to the cruise line.

 

Guarantees are good for people booking closer to the sale date that are flexible as far as cabin location. They are not good for everyone.

 

I agree with most of your message, but I do want to point out that Guarantees are not just available at the last minute. For example, we have a cruise coming up in March that we booked as a Guarantee six months out. I've booked many Guarantees in the past, and I know for sure they were all booked far in advance, as I need extra time to plan my leave and travel.

[calbred01]

I would also suggest researching the ship, We booked a gty. OV (and never had sailed with X) found out that we were given a cabin number almost right away! Usually I do not find out our cabin until right before sailing. Since we are saling on Century I found out our cabin was directly across from the Childrens Center (all other ships I have been on did not have cabins near them at all). Since we are sailing in March I am afraid of families with spring breakers so I waited until CC class went on sale for CA residence and booked for only 50.00 pp more. It just depends on price but ships have different layouts so just a heads up!:D

[TMLAalum]

So, does that mean it's possible to adjust your rate (and switch categories) AFTER final payment?

 

Or, is it more of an option for people who are doing last-minute booking?

 

Thanks!

 

You can switch to a higher category for the same or greater amount after final payment. However, no rebates or OBC if the price is lowered for your paid-in-full cabin. On our October Silhouette cruise, we were booked in AQ class. Someone on our roll call posted about availability for Suite GTY cabins. Although we were paid in full for our AQ cabin, we called our warehouse TA and for $100 more per person made the switch. It was well worth it as we ended up with a Sky Suite 1, got $45 more OBC from the TA and 2 "free' nights of specialty dining!

 

I've been hoping for a similar opportunity for our upcoming cruise but so far nothing that works for us:(

Edited January 31, 2014 by TMLAalum

[happy 2 b cruising]

You can switch to a higher category for the same or greater amount after final payment. However, no rebates or OBC if the price is lowered for your paid-in-full cabin. On our October Silhouette cruise, we were booked in AQ class. Someone on our roll call posted about availability for Suite GTY cabins. Although we were paid in full for our AQ cabin, we called our warehouse TA and for $100 more per person made the switch. It was well worth it as we ended up with a Sky Suite 1, got $45 more OBC from the TA and 2 "free' nights of specialty dining!

 

I've been hoping for a similar opportunity for our upcoming cruise but so far nothing that works for us:(

 

Just curious as to how many days the suite gty became available before you cruised. How many days was you cruise? That was a great deal for the suite.

[DebbieMacG]

They do release gty's in advance. My daughter booked a gty for a 27th July sailing 5 weeks ago and has been assigned her cabin. I booked a gty a week ago for a 30th May sailing and have been assigned my cabin, we are both more than happy with them :)

 

They are often only released nearer sailing date but not always, the earliest I've seen is someone who booked a Gty OV in June 2012 for a November 2013 sailing! :)

[TMLAalum]

Just curious as to how many days the suite gty became available before you cruised. How many days was you cruise? That was a great deal for the suite.

 

Our cruise departed 10/31 for 13 nights. I recall that the Suite GTYs were offered @8/25, so 9 weeks out. Final payment was due a week or ten days prior. The suite GTY may have been offered initially as a Tuesday special, which at that time was for new bookings only and we weren't eligible. Sometimes what's offered as a Tuesday special morphs into regular pricing after that if there aren't enough takers on Tuesday.

[LynnTTT]

I can't speak for the Aqua class, but:

We booked a veranda cabin on the Reflection just about 5 weeks before sailing. It was a "guarantee" cabin and I fully expected to get the worst cabin, with an obstructed view etc. We got our assignment this week when we completed our sign in. ( the cruise is Feb 8-15) . We are on deck 9, towards the front of the ship starboard side. No obstruction. So we are happy. It was better than the cabin choices available at the time we booked as I recall.

[happy 2 b cruising]

Our cruise departed 10/31 for 13 nights. I recall that the Suite GTYs were offered @8/25, so 9 weeks out. Final payment was due a week or ten days prior. The suite GTY may have been offered initially as a Tuesday special, which at that time was for new bookings only and we weren't eligible. Sometimes what's offered as a Tuesday special morphs into regular pricing after that if there aren't enough takers on Tuesday.

 

Appreciate your response, final payment is next month so I will stay on top of price changes before and after final payment. As we know it's all about supply and demand on your particular cruise. I noticed the lower priced cabins usually offer the GTY's earlier than Aqua and Suites.