GTY ROOMS on NCL

[SWEETCHIK]

I am going on the NCL Epic in March 2014 and have a Balcony-GTY. This is my first time booking a GTY room and am curious to hear back feedback to the room they assign.

 

Thanks!:)

[garycarla]

Chances are you will get a balcony, anywhere from the worst to the best. No general rule of thumb. Well, okay, most people get a decent one.

[sdmike]

The best approach would be to expect to get the worst balcony room on the ship, then be glad when you probably don't.

 

On the Epic there are some interesting rooms you may get. By interesting, I mean it might make sense to NOT book a GTY if these things would bother you:

 

Rooms over loud public areas - The Bliss lounge at the front of the ship will likely keep you up half the night with loud music if you are in deck 8 or even deck 9 balconies towards the front of the ship.

 

Hull balconies - Lots of balconies towards the front of the ship have enclosed hulls with smaller openings than standard balconies. You can get the details in the link in my signature area

 

Exposed balconies - Lots of balconies on deck 8 that have no roof to them and are exposed to the sun and eyes above. Some like the extra sun, some would prefer more privacy and fewer things landing on their balcony from above. There's a link to info on these rooms in my signature area as well

 

I'm not saying that you'll GET one of these rooms, but you need to be prepared if it happens. Before the ship sails they will likely upgrade high fare passengers to available suites and move down the list offering upgrades. The GTY bookings fill in at the back end into rooms still available. You might end up with a perfectly nice balcony, but you also need to consider the items above. If any of those would bother you, consider getting out of a GTY and into an actual room. Many of us here tend to be risk averse when spending a large sum of money on a cruise and would not really consider booking a GTY.

Edited February 22, 2014 by sdmike

[garycarla]

SDMIKE said it all very well.

 

You will also hear stories about people that upgraded to some awesome suite. Will it happen? Sure, right after you win the lottery. - LOL!

[2mygirl2]

We are sailing 3/23 and booked a balcony guarantee. FIrst time to book a guarantee. I was hoping to get upgraded. I usually pick our cabin becuase I dont want any surprises. I checked last night and we have a cabin number! I think it was 10197. Not a bad cabin. I cant find anything negative about it. I am sure there are worse balconies. I was worried I would get a cabin above a disco or theater! The only bad thing I can find is that there is a life boat a few decks below us, so when we look down, we see a life boat. However, when I look at pictures of the Epic, I think there are lifeboats pretty much along the entire side. So, Im happy! (Only, just found out mini suites are now cheaper than my gty balcony!)

[gooch47]

Not on the Epic, but we did OK with the GTY we got through CAS.

[ttnc4me]

My first reaction was to reply to garycarla by asking if there really is a such thing as a bad balcony. Then, sdmike gave such a great response.

 

Wow, #1, I'd be upset if I paid so much extra and got a bad balcony & #2, I wonder if those are the rooms that folks get booked into when they get the "upgrade fairy". I guess technically an upgrade, but I'd rather have inside than be stuck over the lounge.

[garycarla]

..., I'd be upset if I paid so much extra and got a bad balcony....

 

You usually pay a bit less for a GTY.

[sdmike]

My first reaction was to reply to garycarla by asking if there really is a such thing as a bad balcony. Then, sdmike gave such a great response.

 

Wow, #1, I'd be upset if I paid so much extra and got a bad balcony & #2, I wonder if those are the rooms that folks get booked into when they get the "upgrade fairy". I guess technically an upgrade, but I'd rather have inside than be stuck over the lounge.

 

yes, sometimes they will offer an "upgrade" from an inside to an undesirable balcony. Buyer beware for sure.

[ottmar]

My GTY was given simply the very worst inside cabin on the ship, the Gem. We have always booked a balcony in the last ten cruises but I just booked this cruise two weeks ago out of New York, 9 days to the Caribbean March 17.

 

We will miss the daylight but spend most of our time on decks anyway. My reasoning was out of NY in the wintertime the first and the last two days are too cold on a blacony so why spend the money.

 

At $475 an inside GTY sounded reasonable, well how bad could it get?

 

So why is cabin 4567 the worst? It is on the lowest deck and adjoines THREE other cabins, no kidding. But it is close to the medical center.

 

I have a sense of humor and it serves me right trying to save a few bucks, we'll enjoy the cruise anyway.

[sdmike]

My GTY was given simply the very worst inside cabin on the ship, the Gem. We have always booked a balcony in the last ten cruises but I just booked this cruise two weeks ago out of New York, 9 days to the Caribbean March 17.

 

We will miss the daylight but spend most of our time on decks anyway. My reasoning was out of NY in the wintertime the first and the last two days are too cold on a blacony so why spend the money.

 

At $475 an inside GTY sounded reasonable, well how bad could it get?

 

So why is cabin 4567 the worst? It is on the lowest deck and adjoines THREE other cabins, no kidding. But it is close to the medical center.

 

I have a sense of humor and it serves me right trying to save a few bucks, we'll enjoy the cruise anyway.

 

oh mercy. At least you're in good spirits about it. I hope you have a nice trip anyway

[carribeansol]

We have a GYT for 2 inside 1x on the epic in March. We needed them to be close but the GYT was much less. We ended up with 2 rooms next door to each other in the 1x category on deck 10. What we paid for....what we needed.

 

2 years ago we booked a inside GYT and ended up with the lowest deck, and the last room in the aft. Room locations was horrible, but easy access to food venues via elevator.

 

We never have much luck with GYT.

 

We have had calls from UpSell Fairy that we're great deals.