letting Carnival pick your room

[sittingonthedock]

Was looking at booking a balcony room on the Magic sailing in a couple weeks and thought about saving a little money and letting them pick my room. Has anyone had any luck or horror stories doing this.

Edited June 29, 2015 by sittingonthedock

[bluejay555]

Wait. You get a discount for letting Carnival pick your room? I didn't know that! I have to recommend a cove balcony though. One below the restaurant (instead of below the galley). I'd pick it myself...

[elliair]

What if you don't like the cabin where they stuck you? NWIH would I ever have a cruise line pick my cabin for me. Did that once on Princess and we got stuck under the Lido deck with Movies Under the Stars blasting. Pay the extra and be happy. JMHO.

[sittingonthedock]

What if you don't like the cabin where they stuck you? NWIH would I ever have a cruise line pick my cabin for me. Did that once on Princess and we got stuck under the Lido deck with Movies Under the Stars blasting. Pay the extra and be happy. JMHO.

 

That's kinda what I'm leaning towards have a feeling I would get stuck in the very front of the ship. I'm sure they do that so they can fill the cabins no one wants for a reason. Thanks

[KenMo]

Yeah, I would never let the cruise line pick my cabin.

 

I could get put over the disco, under the casino, etc. That would not make me a happy camper at all.

 

I'll pay extra and pick my cabin.

[Lisichka]

On my cruise last year I let Carnival pick. Then once they assigned it I decided to upgrade and pick my own.

[bakersdozen12]

On my cruise last year I let Carnival pick. Then once they assigned it I decided to upgrade and pick my own.

 

Was this because you didn't like the room location that they assigned to you? I mean, I'm assuming so, but just curious.

[Jenhem31]

I did that for my last Carnival cruise which we booked last minute. We had an interior so didn't really care about the location and were very happy with the result. Deck 8, aft right by the elevators. We loved it. I'd never let them pick my balcony location though.

Edited June 29, 2015 by Jenhem31

[pirate4me2]

I did that for my last Carnival cruise which we booked last minute. We had an interior so didn't really care about the location and were very happy with the result. Deck 8, aft right by the elevators. We loved it. I'd never let them pick my balcony location though.

 

We had the same exact experience on our Sunshine sailing. I was very happy with the results.

[iheartmarshall]

I took this chance on our first cruise on the Conquest and ended up with a balcony and OBC so in that sense, it was nice. But our cabin was over the Alchemy Bar and part of Henry's nightclub so at night, we could faintly hear the music and vibrations from below. However I came prepared with a travel fan (it goes everywhere with me!) and earplugs so that helped to cover the noise a good bit. After a couple nights, the vibrations actually helped us fall asleep rather than keep us up.

 

Looking back, I may be willing to take the risk again but it would depend on the ship and I would have to carefully study what rooms were still available before switching to a guarantee rate. I knew there was a chance we could be stuck on Deck 6 above all the clubs but we got a good chunk of OBC and got to go upgrade to a balcony, so the pros outweighed the cons for us. I just made sure to know what to expect and packed accordingly.

Edited June 29, 2015 by iheartmarshall

[sjcruiser]

I've done it several times, going from IS to BL when the rates have dropped rock bottom, and have been satisfied with my room and location each time. I just did a Pack-N-Go rate for family members going from an OCV to a BL this weekend, and they haven't had their rooms assigned yet, but I'll let you know how they make out. You do take a chance, but I think it's worth it, to me.

[Towel Critter]

We went this route a couple of times in years past and were well pleased with the balcony stateroom's Carnival assigned to us - no complaints at all. Both times we got rooms on one of the higher decks and in the vicinity of mid-ship. Still, I'm not a big risk taker and prefer to choose my own room, unless there are HUGE savings to be gained by doing the "Guaranteed Balcony" route.

[RjayB]

The one and only time we have let Carnival pick our room, it was the worst cabin we have ever stayed in. Fantasy class Empress deck right under the galley. I don't know what they were moving around at 3am, but it was loud!

 

Since then, I pay very close attention to the floor plans when deciding which stateroom to choose. The only bad thing that has happened was having incredibly inconsiderate next-door balcony neighbors, but that is not Carnival's fault. :p

[Halfpint012]

We did this last time. Loved the room they chose so much I booked the exact same room for my cruise in October

[rhelms]

Just received my room assignment for my upcoming cruise on the Dream. Great room mid ship close to the elevators on deck nine. Who would have thought. Great job Carnival!

[Jay Sam]

I have only let the cruise lines pick my cabin twice, and I am in favor of picking my own.

 

On Holland the cabin was great, the same category as we paid for, but forward, when I like aft better.

 

On NCL, also the same category as we paid for, but quite a distance from the elevators.

 

If you particularly like forward, mid-ship or aft then pick your location. Also if you want to be away from noisy areas, like the dance bar, etc.

[duffer1]

I let Carnival pick once...was not a problem.

[skittl1321]

That's kinda what I'm leaning towards have a feeling I would get stuck in the very front of the ship. I'm sure they do that so they can fill the cabins no one wants for a reason. Thanks

 

I like the very front of the ship. Nothing "stuck" there.

 

But yes, Carnival has guarantee rates to fill rooms. Keep in mind that you can get any room in the category you book, OR anything above that category. There may be rooms in technically higher categories that you consider a downgrade.

 

You should ONLY book this rate if you will be happy anywhere on the ship.

 

We've done it before and were just fine with the room we ended up in; we have no reason to think it was a bad room, or one we ended up stuck in.

 

But I find guarantee rates are rarely lower than other rates now, that we just select our room ourselves. When we first cruised the price difference was LARGE so it made the unknown worth it.

[Joeinmo]

This actually worked out pretty well for my fiancé and I. We had booked an inside cabin back before Christmas. When checking prices a few months ago I noticed that I could upgrade to a balcony for $50 total. Granted I had no control over the location, but we agreed that the upgrade was worth the chance. Checked our booking a week or so ago and found that the room assignment had changed from TBA to a spa level balcony!:eek:

I realize that most bookings don't go that way, but it did for us! :D

[summersigh]

What if you don't like the cabin where they stuck you? NWIH would I ever have a cruise line pick my cabin for me. Did that once on Princess and we got stuck under the Lido deck with Movies Under the Stars blasting. Pay the extra and be happy. JMHO.

 

We always pick our own cabin ... on a deck between other decks of cabins. We had a junior suite on RCCL one time that was under the adult pool area and it was a nightmare all night long as service carts clacked noisily over the floor all night long. Never again ! :)

[Rosefloater]

We've let Carnival pick our cabin a few times. One time we ended up in a cabin on the Paradise under the beginning of the galley. Luckily it was a pretty quiet spot. Another time we ended up in an aft area OV on the Inspiration. Our last cruise on the Miracle we upgraded from a 4k cabin that we picked to a balcony guarantee. We understood that we might get the worst obstructed balcony, but we were surprised when we got an extended balcony.

[dmdiver]

We've only booked Gty twice. The first time we ended up upgrading to a balcony and got to select our cabin in the end. The 2nd time we booked IS Gty and ended up on Lido deck in a handicap room. It had less closet space, but it was adequate. The nice thing about it is that there was no step up into the bathroom & the bathroom was huge with a larger shower.

[Briitini]

I booked a guarantee and they assigned me a balcony on deck 6. A few days later they emailed me to call about upgrading for $30. I upgraded to a lido balcony.

Edited June 30, 2015 by Briitini

[karessamom]

Just received my room assignment for my upcoming cruise on the Dream. Great room mid ship close to the elevators on deck nine. Who would have thought. Great job Carnival!

 

We have GU BL but don't have our assignment yet we sail the 9th of Aug. it's probably a little early still though

[Vitality08]

A few years ago, I upgraded to a guarantee balcony. My room was assigned about 2 or 3 weeks before the cruise. I was very happy.

 

Just yesterday, I switched my military rate to the 12 hour sale which required letting Carnival select my room. The savings was $70 each for me and my friend. We decided the savings was worth the risk. We have our fingers crossed for a slight upgrade. We'll see.