Question about room assignment for GOLD club members on Balcony Guarantee

[kbalthaser66]

Here is my question - I have sailed on Carnival many times I am a gold club member, getting very close to platinum. I am sailing on the Valor the end of September and recently upgraded my OV cabin for a Balcony Guarantee. Does anyone know if Carnival takes into consideration "member status" when doing the room assignments? I am hoping that we get a decent balcony room assignment (deck 7 in a perfect world) instead of a balcony right above say the dance clubs or the Ivanhoe Theater. I am a very light sleeper and I go to bed early and I am so praying that I am not in a room above a dance club with music thumping until the wee hours of the night. Does anyone have any advice on how I might be able to "sweet talk" my PVP to put a note in our file for a room in a quiet location? I booked Early Saver and it ended up working out well as we were able to upgrade from an OV to a Balcony for a minimal amount of money (slightly over $100) so I am very happy about that.

 

I would love any tips available from everyone.

[AdGuyMG]

Does anyone know if Carnival takes into consideration "member status" when doing the room assignments?

 

None whatsoever. Guarantees are assigned by the Sail Support team for the ship based on open availability and member status is not a factor. It's pretty much luck of the draw for Guarantees regardless of what your PVP says they can do.

[KarenMF]

If you truly need a quiet room, then a guarantee is not for you....

[hartsnvt]

People who book guarantee cabins need to look at the deck plans and if they have no problem with any of the locations, then they should book it. A guarantee is a terrible idea for someone who may have an issue with any cabin. I am sorry OP that you jumped on a guarantee rate for $100. Doesn't sound worth it to me.

[DebJ14]

Since guarantees are assigned late in the game I have found they are often the cabins nobody wants with public areas above and/or below them. We did a guarantee once on the Conquest- never again. We ended up in a balcony above the showroom. Between all the shows and rehearsals we about lost our minds from the noise. It is worth it to me to pay what it takes to get the location/cabin I want.

Edited August 4, 2014 by DebJ14

[boaterette]

They sure don't. I am platinum and it hasn't made one bit of difference a far as I can see.

[maxydu]

Well, the folks who have replied so far have made good points but we had a different experience so there is hope. We booked an ocean view cabin for our second cruise and we were upgraded to a balcony on the 7th floor. The reason the cabin wasn't booked was because it was directly across from the laundry/ironing room. Turned out to be a great cabin. No noise, and we were able to iron when no one else was using it!

Have only booked balcony cabins since then......Good Luck and think positively!

[tinyrose]

Both DH and I are platinum. I booked a guarantee and was assigned the worst cabin on the Freedom! It was NOISY, NOISY day and night!!! And that was the last time I booked a guarantee and I will NOT do it again. Once we were back home, I called my PVP and complained; she reminded me that it is the luck of the draw what you end up with. Never again!

[JerrynClaire]

Since guarantees are assigned late in the game I have found they are often the cabins nobody wants with public areas above and/or below them. We did a guarantee once on the Conquest- never again. We ended up in a balcony above the showroom. Between all the shows and rehearsals we about lost our minds from the noise. It is worth it to me to pay what it takes to get the location/cabin I want.

Not true at all.... I switched from a Veranda Deck interior midship on Dream to a guaranteed balcony this past week. My cruise doesn't sail till Aug 31st but I have already been assigned my balcony.... Veranda deck midship!!! Veranda deck is an EXCELLENT location on Dream... it has cabins above and below it so there is no deck noise.... Hardly a cabin "Nobody wants"

[Arizonagirl14]

It is all the luck of the draw. We did a last minute cruise and the only option was a guarantee room.. We lucked out and got a great room.

 

I have had friends who were not very luck in the room assignments. It's all depends on what is available when the rooms are assigned.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[AdGuyMG]

So from the replies above it pretty much confirms that Guarantee Cabin assignments are luck of the draw. Some have lucked out with prime locations on some sailings, others not so prime on other sailings.

 

But the OP's question wasn't whether to book a Guarantee or not. The topic comes up on several posts here every week. Her question was whether Carnival takes Past Guest status into consideration when assigning Guarantees.

 

I still say that due to time and logistical reasons, the answer is no, they do not.

Edited August 5, 2014 by AdGuyMG

[klfrodo]

Not true at all.... I switched from a Veranda Deck interior midship on Dream to a guaranteed balcony this past week. My cruise doesn't sail till Aug 31st but I have already been assigned my balcony.... Veranda deck midship!!! Veranda deck is an EXCELLENT location on Dream... it has cabins above and below it so there is no deck noise.... Hardly a cabin "Nobody wants"

 

Just so you know,, you can still be moved.

[IOPsychologist]

We are Gold and we booked a guaranteed balcony. One week before sailing, we were assigned to Spa Deck on Conquest...right next door to a prior booking on Valor where we paid full price. We definitely lucked out because they were both the cabins with the glass wall overhead that prevents looky lous or sun deck cleaning water from bothering us below. We will do a guaranteed balcony cabin again unless we want an aft extended balcony in the future.

[cruzn buckeye]

The last time I did a balcony guarantee, was a couple years ago. We were on a girls cruise. My cabin with 2 friends, ended up being on Veranda deck. Our other two friends were two decks directly below us. Both of our cabins were across from the room where the dishes are taken from room service orders. The cart was right outside our door, their too. Didn't sleep much on that cruise... they were banging dishes all night and early in the morning. The same was going on in my friends cabin. Called guest services.. it seemed to quiet down a little for one night.. then started again... just dealt with it after that. A piece of advice... if you are booking on the Victory... look for that large empty space on Veranda deck... do not book across from it!:rolleyes:

Oh... as far as if status or cruise level makes a difference... nope... it was my 24th cruise... with 140 days...

But thats okay, I knew when i booked we have no idea where we will end of... we wanted a balcony... and was very happy to have one.... anywhere on the ship.

Edited August 5, 2014 by cruzn buckeye

[kbalthaser66]

Everyone - thank you so much for your responses. It sounds like Carnival does not take into consideration ones status. I was just curious so thank you for responding. I am going to take the position that "whatever cabin I get - it beats being at work everyday" so I am going to enjoy my vacation and pray that the cabin fairies treat me well with a decent cabin. It is my sisters first time sailing with a balcony so I am grateful to be able to surprise her with that treat.

 

Hurry up September 21st, get here fast so we can board the Valor and start a fun "sister's cruise".

 

Kristine

[Stallion]

Depends how you look at it. Seems like the Platinum and Gold members are reporting getting placed on higher level categories WHILE paying far less than even an 8A or a cove balcony. I'm Platinum and Carnival has always put me in categories hundreds of dollars more expensive than I paid for my 3 guarantee cruises. Technically this time I saved $629 on a single balcony based on the cost of the category (Deck 9 mid under Lido Cabins) they gave me. I'll take the cash every time. Plus I'm never in my room when most of the problems seem to occur so it works out great for me. I personally believe there is much more in common between rooms than there are differences. The interiors of each cabin are essentially identical across identical categories. I haven't had a problem with noise in 21 cruises.

Edited August 5, 2014 by Stallion
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