Booked guarantee rate, cabin assigned, price went down - do I need to give up cabin?

[MisterBill99]

Pretty sure they meant they couldn't change cabins again, no mention of no price drops allowed

No, she said I could not rebook a guarantee more than once. I am not sure what would happen if the price changed again, but that is what she told me. It would be interesting to hear from someone with experience with this (or trying to do this).

I wouldn't gamble my cabin for $75.

However, as always, YMMV

Well, in my case I had a D7 (which I had already gotten via guarantee) and everyone else who had booked a GTY had gotten a better category. And someone had reported that RCCL rep told them that they try to avoid giving DO cabins as guarantees, and all indications were that it was true.

[Starry Eyes]

No, she said I could not rebook a guarantee more than once. I am not sure what would happen if the price changed again, but that is what she told me. It would be interesting to hear from someone with experience with this (or trying to do this).

 

Well, in my case I had a D7 (which I had already gotten via guarantee) and everyone else who had booked a GTY had gotten a better category. And someone had reported that RCCL rep told them that they try to avoid giving DO cabins as guarantees, and all indications were that it was true.

 

I hope you get to find out what happens if there is another price drop on your category (or a better gty one!) before final payment...how could I not wish you a price drop!?! And I really think the T should do their best to get you that hypothetical future price drop, else you could cancel and book direct. I could understand the cruise line objecting to putting you back into the pool at the same rate over and over again, but I cannot see why they'd deny you a price drop just because you'd gotten gty price drops before. You would not be gaming the system by taking price drops though one could say you are gambling your current assignment to an oversized balcony.

 

I for one do not blame you for giving it a shot. A big balcony, even partially obstructed, does not sound like a serious hardship to me.

[John&LaLa]

No, she said I could not rebook a guarantee more than once. I am not sure what would happen if the price changed again, but that is what she told me. It would be interesting to hear from someone with experience with this (or trying to do this).

 

Well, in my case I had a D7 (which I had already gotten via guarantee) and everyone else who had booked a GTY had gotten a better category. And someone had reported that RCCL rep told them that they try to avoid giving DO cabins as guarantees, and all indications were that it was true.

 

Key word, try to avoid. Look, you do what you want and I'll do what I want. FWIW, I never take insurance because that doesn't bother me. We all have different priorities

Edited October 2, 2015 by John&LaLa

[MisterBill99]

I hope you get to find out what happens if there is another price drop on your category (or a better gty one!) before final payment...how could I not wish you a price drop!?! And I really think the T should do their best to get you that hypothetical future price drop, else you could cancel and book direct. I could understand the cruise line objecting to putting you back into the pool at the same rate over and over again, but I cannot see why they'd deny you a price drop just because you'd gotten gty price drops before. You would not be gaming the system by taking price drops though one could say you are gambling your current assignment to an oversized balcony..

If I were in the UK, where apparently you cannot change your cabin assignment after being assigned a guarantee cabin, it might be a different story taking my chances giving up a decent cabin. I'm sure that if RCCL will allow me to go back into the pool if the GTY price drops, my TA will do it. I only have a couple of weeks to go before final payment, anyway. I'm almost definitely not going to get a lower price in any of the normal balcony categories since those are all several hundred dollars higher than what I'm paying.

I for one do not blame you for giving it a shot. A big balcony, even partially obstructed, does not sound like a serious hardship to me.

I got home and told my wife about it and she was upset about the obstructed view balcony. Then I pointed out that she rarely sits on the balcony anyway (the main use it to dry bathing suits), so why should she care. And then I told her we had a huge balcony, so she was OK with it.

[Starry Eyes]

Though only a couple weeks, I will still hope you get another price drop on a balcony gty before final payment. And should prices of other balcony categories drop, having a lower cost might help you get an inexpensive upgrade. If not, you will have plenty of space to dry bathing suits...and you can even stash them behind obstructions out of eyeshot of others. Have a wonderful cruise and spend that savings on something fun or memorable.

[goodycruising]

I can't comprehend why in Australia we can't even ask for a change on one guarantee assignment. We booked a B2B gty balcony on both legs of a Radiance cruise, and were assigned E cabins that were 5 cabins apart. We asked to change one of them to the same cabin as the first leg, which was still open, and were categorically told NO. No changes allowed at all.

 

Yet in the US you can ring and pester them for months with request after request. I don't understand the different conditions for each country. I really has been a thorn in our side not to be able to change one small thing. The cabin we asked for was more forward that the one we were assigned. It was not even like we were asking for a better position!

 

Lets face it, we are ringing the same Guatemala call centre aren't we? I know for sure we are not ringing Australia. The call centre people are very helpful within the guidelines they work under, but why are the conditions so different for each country for booking with an international company?

 

I presume if a US resident booked on the same Radiance cruise they could chop and change and throw the cabin back into the pool etc?

 

Does it annoy me so much I am tempted to cancel both cruises. Yes it does. Several times a week.

Edited October 3, 2015 by goodycruising

[MisterBill99]

Though only a couple weeks, I will still hope you get another price drop on a balcony gty before final payment. And should prices of other balcony categories drop, having a lower cost might help you get an inexpensive upgrade. If not, you will have plenty of space to dry bathing suits...and you can even stash them behind obstructions out of eyeshot of others. Have a wonderful cruise and spend that savings on something fun or memorable.

Well, I'm about to find out whether I can book the category again because I just got notification of yet ANOTHER price drop (down another $90 PP). I'll emailed my TA and will post again when I hear if it worked.

Edited October 3, 2015 by MisterBill99

[Clarea]

Well, I'm about to find out whether I can book the category again but I just got notification of yet ANOTHER price drop (down another $90 PP). I'll emailed my TA and will post again when I hear if it worked.

Odd to have price drops so soon after one another. Wonder what's going on.

[MisterBill99]

Odd to have price drops so soon after one another. Wonder what's going on.

 

Too many unsold cabins?

 

My TA responded and said she'll call RCCL n the morning and see what they say.

Edited October 3, 2015 by MisterBill99

[John&LaLa]

I can't comprehend why in Australia we can't even ask for a change on one guarantee assignment. We booked a B2B gty balcony on both legs of a Radiance cruise, and were assigned E cabins that were 5 cabins apart. We asked to change one of them to the same cabin as the first leg, which was still open, and were categorically told NO. No changes allowed at all.

 

Yet in the US you can ring and pester them for months with request after request. I don't understand the different conditions for each country. I really has been a thorn in our side not to be able to change one small thing. The cabin we asked for was more forward that the one we were assigned. It was not even like we were asking for a better position!

 

Lets face it, we are ringing the same Guatemala call centre aren't we? I know for sure we are not ringing Australia. The call centre people are very helpful within the guidelines they work under, but why are the conditions so different for each country for booking with an international company?

 

I presume if a US resident booked on the same Radiance cruise they could chop and change and throw the cabin back into the pool etc?

 

Does it annoy me so much I am tempted to cancel both cruises. Yes it does. Several times a week.

 

US call center is in Oregon, lovely folks

[Biker19]

Odd to have price drops so soon after one another. Wonder what's going on.

 

I think today's drop is the usual weekend discounting. In the past when there were prices drops before final, even bigger ones followed after final. Of course few folks will take advantage of this price drop since it's on the X GTY rate only and as the OP has found out the cabin assignment may not be a good one. The issue is one of flexibility, will you gamble a cabin location in exchange for the substantial savings (over $1K for folks who booked a D category).

Edited October 3, 2015 by Biker19

[goodycruising]

US call center is in Oregon, lovely folks

I did not know that. I don't actually know where we get through to. I just thought I saw here that it was all in one place now. Must do some more research.

[Starry Eyes]

Well, I'm about to find out whether I can book the category again because I just got notification of yet ANOTHER price drop (down another $90 PP). I'll emailed my TA and will post again when I hear if it worked.

Gotta love price drops! I hope you are able to take advantage, if you do that you like the next assigned cabin...or at least the spending money.

[brillohead]

I can't comprehend why in Australia we can't even ask for a change on one guarantee assignment. ........ Does it annoy me so much I am tempted to cancel both cruises. Yes it does. Several times a week.

 

I'm inclined to believe that it has something to do with the differences in laws from one country to the next. I know that there are some extreme differences in the booking rules for UK vacationers, and I imagine the same holds for Aussies.

 

If it's so bothersome for you, you might try booking through a USA travel agent in the future.

[Hoopster95]

I booked a guarantee balcony (cat X) on Anthem in January. I was assigned a D7 cabin almost immediately and was able to switch it to something with a bigger balcony. Yesterday I noticed that the price of guarantee went down ($75 total for 2 people) so I asked my TA to get me the lower price. She said that I would need to give up my cabin and go back into guarantee state. Is that correct? I told her to do it, since I had read that others who booked cat X got better than the D7 I was assigned (although I was happy with the cabin I switched to).

 

BTW someone on our roll call thread called Royal and was told that they try to avoid giving DO (obstructed view) cabins for guarantee bookings. That was my original fear when booking the guarantee cabin to begin with, and was thrilled when I got the D7.

 

A few positives for you to keep in mind:

 

• As of right now I'm seeing a whopping $1700 CAD (approx $1250 USD) difference in price from a gty to the next category of balcony... you scored big time!!!
  
• You're itinerary is one of the best RCL offers in the Caribbean imho
  
• The ship is utterly incredible!!!
  
• There is no way imho that you will favor either a D7 or D0 balcony over spending time in the ginormous and beautiful solarium or Two70 for example. I think your balcony will be somewhat more meaningless on Anthem than on RCL classes of ship.
  

 

Just my 2 cents... You are going to have an amazing cruise and experience even if you slept on the floor of the Windjammer! :D

There are not a whole lot of balconies left on your 1/3/16 sailing from what I can see so my guess is others have booked gty's because of the price since the time you were assigned, RCL assigned, and used up the allotment of D7's before moving down the chain.... likely assigned D8's to the next group of gty's.... now only has D0's left in the pool to see if cruisers opt to pay the much higher price to stay away from the D0's.

 

Have a great cruise! :D

Edited October 3, 2015 by Hoopster95

[John&LaLa]

I think today's drop is the usual weekend discounting. In the past when there were prices drops before final, even bigger ones followed after final. Of course few folks will take advantage of this price drop since it's on the X GTY rate only and as the OP has found out the cabin assignment may not be a good one. The issue is one of flexibility, will you gamble a cabin location in exchange for the substantial savings (over $1K for folks who booked a D category).

 

I would gamble on my cabin for $1,000. ;)

[MisterBill99]

So, my TA was able to get the price reduction and I'm back in the unassigned pool. We'll see if they assign it tomorrow.

 

PS my TA said they weren't going to give me the price drop originally since it was a weekend special (as someone here had suggested) but they agreed to it.

Edited October 4, 2015 by MisterBill99

[MisterBill99]

A few positives for you to keep in mind:

 

(snipped)

 

There are not a whole lot of balconies left on your 1/3/16 sailing from what I can see so my guess is others have booked gty's because of the price since the time you were assigned, RCL assigned, and used up the allotment of D7's before moving down the chain.... likely assigned D8's to the next group of gty's.... now only has D0's left in the pool to see if cruisers opt to pay the much higher price to stay away from the D0's.

 

Have a great cruise! :D

Agree with all of your points about why the guarantee rate is an amazing deal for my cruise. However.. what's strange about how they assigned the cabins was that I got a D7 and was the first on my thread to switch. Then other people got D4/D5 (maybe D3). So it was not in any specific order. And when I did my first price drop, I released D7 cabins, although I guess at that point maybe the number of those available for sale at regular price had dropped below some level.

[mrsbojamp]

I'm so tempted to try because I could save another $300 right now, but I don't want to lose my D1!

[Clarea]

So, my TA was able to get the price reduction and I'm back in the unassigned pool. We'll see if they assign it tomorrow.

 

PS my TA said they weren't going to give me the price drop originally since it was a weekend special (as someone here had suggested) but they agreed to it.

Nice that you can get hold of your TA on the weekend.:) Let us know what you get.

[Starry Eyes]

Agree with all of your points about why the guarantee rate is an amazing deal for my cruise. However.. what's strange about how they assigned the cabins was that I got a D7 and was the first on my thread to switch. Then other people got D4/D5 (maybe D3). So it was not in any specific order. And when I did my first price drop, I released D7 cabins, although I guess at that point maybe the number of those available for sale at regular price had dropped below some level.

 

Good luck with the new assignment.I look forward to hearing how it works out.

 

As far as I know, no outsider can really understand how they will assign gty cabins. Certainly it does not appear to be a simple, linear process. You seem to have a positive attitude, which bodes well for an enjoyable cruise. Enjoy.

[MisterBill99]

I'm so tempted to try because I could save another $300 right now, but I don't want to lose my D1!

Yeah, that is a tough one! Do you really use your balcony that much? BTW given that this (my price drop, at least) was a weekend special, you probably have to decide quickly. BTW, my online reservation is showing "obstructed view balcony guarantee", same as yours did.

 

Interestingly, on the RCCL invoice, it does say Weekend Special in a separate line, and the actual $1369 price, no more of the BOGO with discount.

Edited October 5, 2015 by MisterBill99

[MisterBill99]

Nice that you can get hold of your TA on the weekend.:) Let us know what you get.

Yes, I really appreciate being able to do that. Also she usually responds when I email her at 10pm on weekdays (she is a one person agency with the place that sells franchises to individuals). And she doesn't charge me for changes or cancellations. And I can generally get the perks/OBC that are competitive to what I could get with one of the big "C" agencies.

 

Still no assignment. I'll check again mid-day tomorrow.

[MisterBill99]

Good luck with the new assignment.I look forward to hearing how it works out.

 

As far as I know, no outsider can really understand how they will assign gty cabins. Certainly it does not appear to be a simple, linear process. You seem to have a positive attitude, which bodes well for an enjoyable cruise. Enjoy.

Well, it would appear that being Diamond doesn't play into it! And yes, I have a positive attitude because to me, saving this kind of money is more important to me than whether I have a great balcony.

 

This cruise has an interesting booking history for me. I originally booked a DO cabin for $1929 last December. Then in April, they started the "balcony for the price of an outside" promotion and I was able to switch to a D4 for $1849 (DO also that price). Then in September they made the cruise available on the BOGO promotion which dropped the price another $100 or so, but at the same time the guarantee became available so I switched to that for $1499 and I got the D7. And now that has become $1369. So I'm basically $560 less than I started at and if I have a DO, it's no worse than I started with!

 

BTW if anyone has ever questioned if the "fish" price watch site is worth the small amount you have to pay to monitor cruises, I can tell you that this cruise has made it well worth it for me.

[denatravels]

 

 

 

BTW if anyone has ever questioned if the "fish" price watch site is worth the small amount you have to pay to monitor cruises, I can tell you that this cruise has made it well worth it for me.

 

 

Can you clarify something for me: can't you just type in your new cruise info into the RCCL website to check for price drops? Why do you need to pay for this- are they seeing price drops that nobody else can see? Never understood this one....