Lets all get on the same page about what a gty room means with Celebrity

[villauk]

My cousin and I booked separately 2 gty 2A cabins thru a special from our travel agent. This was a couple of months ago for a Reflection March cruise. We have both been assigned 1C cabins next to each other, which we were hoping for. Just a fluke? My wife and I are elite so I can understand the upgrade, but my cousin has never cruised Celebrity.

 

This is where the confusion begins. Did you specifically book 2A GTYs or X balcony GTYs? I would suspect it was the latter which means you can be assigned any balcony cabin as a minimum ;). The 1C is not an upgrade, it's a balcony category that can be assigned when you book X GTYs - just the same as being allocated a 2A, 2D, 1B etc. It's not very often Celebrity actually specify particular category cabins for GTYs, it's usually Z(any inside), Y (any Oceanview), X (any balcony), XA (any Aqua cabin), XC (concierge cabin), W (suite) etc. - all as a minimum.

Edited December 20, 2015 by villauk

[amyr]

This is where the confusion begins. Did you specifically book 2A GTYs or X balcony GTYs? I would suspect it was the latter which means you can be assigned any balcony cabin as a minimum ;). The 1C is not an upgrade, it's a balcony category that can be assigned when you book X GTYs - just the same as being allocated a 2A, 2D, 1B etc. It's not very often Celebrity actually specify particular category cabins for GTYs, it's usually Z(any inside), Y (any Oceanview), X (any balcony), XA (any Aqua cabin), XC (concierge cabin), W (suite) etc. - all as a minimum.

 

I know you weren't asking me, but in our scenario I described above, both cabins we booked are listed as 2D GTY on our invoices. One is assigned as a 2B, the other we're still waiting for.

[villauk]

I know you weren't asking me, but in our scenario I described above, both cabins we booked are listed as 2D GTY on our invoices. One is assigned as a 2B, the other we're still waiting for.

 

Yes, you sometimes do see the obstructed views detailed, it's the nature of the beast, however I'm yet to see a 2A specifically stated (not saying it's not possible, but extremely rare) ;). The obstructed are occasionally highlighted differently, or are sometimes put in promos as a free upgrade from booking an oceanview ;).

[lienf]

This is where the confusion begins. Did you specifically book 2A GTYs or X balcony GTYs? I would suspect it was the latter which means you can be assigned any balcony cabin as a minimum ;). The 1C is not an upgrade, it's a balcony category that can be assigned when you book X GTYs - just the same as being allocated a 2A, 2D, 1B etc. It's not very often Celebrity actually specify particular category cabins for GTYs, it's usually Z(any inside), Y (any Oceanview), X (any balcony), XA (any Aqua cabin), XC (concierge cabin), W (suite) etc. - all as a minimum.

 

It was a 2A gty. I stand corrected if a 1C is not an upgrade from a 2A.

[stratixman]

GTY only means that one will get a cabin within the category you purchased the GTY. Nothing more. Depending on the fill factor for the cruise a GTY might be assigned into a higher category. GTY prices are the lowest in any particular category so anyone booking a GTY has absolutely no basis to complain about their cabin assignment. The old adage that you gets what you pays for applies to cruising - except that there is a chance, however remote, that you might get wonderful surprise in the form of a better cabin than you paid for. What's wrong with that?

[Cruzaholic41]

Lets all get on the same page about what a gty (guarantee) room means with Celebrity. I have heard too many people complaining that they did not get a good room or did not get to be by their friends room when they both have chosen guarantees. A guarantee room means Celebrity drops all that category’s rooms in a hat and the system chooses one for you. It does not matter if you have “special notes” in the reservation or not, the system will not “try to place you together”. The lesson is, guarantee room means random room, so if you get a room by your traveling party, you got lucky. Celebrity agents and travel agents should always tell you this up front and not make any promises. I have heard some travel agents say that they can make special requests that Celebrity keep the rooms together; they cannot. I just want to educate those that may not have a complete idea or understanding about what the guarantee room means.

 

So what? Why do you care what others think or hope for with a GTY? Do you work for Celebrity or something? If not, it's not you place to "educate those" other people.

[villauk]

It was a 2A gty. I stand corrected if a 1C is not an upgrade from a 2A.

 

So it was a TA 'special' 2A GTY, which means your minimum assignment would be a 2A. The same for the obstructed cabins. It all goes on remaining inventory. You pay the discounted rate for a minimum cabin category. You could book a Z inside and end up in a C1 - although, usually, they move other pax up along the line e.g. an oceanview to a balcony etc. I have also heard of XC placed in 1C cabins because X reassigned those cabins to concierge on particular sailings (there are posts on CC confirming this ;)).

 

Someone who purchases a W and is allocated a RS has not received an upgrade - they paid for a minimum 'suite', any suite could be assigned to their booking from a S2 to the PH. And what you see as remaining in the inventory online has no reflection on what is allocated - X decide if they want to upgrade other pax along the line and then assign a lower category to the GTY booking. They can also change those cabins right up until you are boarding if they need a particular cabin (rare occurrence, but it has happened) - this has also been highlighted on CC previously.

 

I do wonder if the new 'pay for upgrade' promo system that X have just introduced will start to lessen the chances of those better cabins being allocated to GTYs - only time will tell?

[Hlitner]

We have booked guarantee's quite often with the expectation that we get what we get :). But we always book the guarantee in a category we are willing to except. Most of the time (on multiple cruise lines) we get an upgrade within the same type of cabin (i.e. balcony to balcony). On Celebrity we generally book AQ cabins, so a guarantee is out of the question since we specifically want one of the aft AQ cabins (on S-Class ships) which are not directly under the pool deck.

 

Hank

[iancal]

Our last five Celebrity cruises have all been booked as balcony gtys...and booked inside the final payment window. Sometimes we get a cabin assignment within 24 hours, sometimes a week prior to sailing.

 

When we book, we assume that we will get the worst room in the category. We have always been very pleasantly surprised. On two of our Med cruise we we assigned cabins with a large, extended balcony. We fully realize a time will come when we do get the worst cabin in the category. But the savings trade off to date by booking late and booking gtys have been substantial.

 

We do the same on other cruise lines. Our goal is to get on the ship, have a balcony cabin, and a cabin that is in good condition/good working order.

[Hlitner]

So what? Why do you care what others think or hope for with a GTY? Do you work for Celebrity or something? If not, it's not you place to "educate those" other people.

 

Ouch! Not sure you reflect the attitude of most folks who exchange info here on CC. Personally, we are willing to listen to anyone's opinion and the "education" we have received from blogging here on CC has taught us much and also saved us a lot of money over the years.

 

Hank:mad:

[thecruise_guy]

So what? Why do you care what others think or hope for with a GTY? Do you work for Celebrity or something? If not, it's not you place to "educate those" other people.

 

Actually it is my duty to educate those who are not well informed on Celebrity's policies so that they do not look idiotic. Unlike you, I would rather my fellow cruisers be educated on these types of situations. These forums are for learning and for sharing vacation experiences and if you do not have use for either one, you may delete your account.

[lienf]

So it was a TA 'special' 2A GTY, which means your minimum assignment would be a 2A. The same for the obstructed cabins. It all goes on remaining inventory. You pay the discounted rate for a minimum cabin category. You could book a Z inside and end up in a C1 - although, usually, they move other pax up along the line e.g. an oceanview to a balcony etc. I have also heard of XC placed in 1C cabins because X reassigned those cabins to concierge on particular sailings (there are posts on CC confirming this ;)).

 

Someone who purchases a W and is allocated a RS has not received an upgrade - they paid for a minimum 'suite', any suite could be assigned to their booking from a S2 to the PH. And what you see as remaining in the inventory online has no reflection on what is allocated - X decide if they want to upgrade other pax along the line and then assign a lower category to the GTY booking. They can also change those cabins right up until you are boarding if they need a particular cabin (rare occurrence, but it has happened) - this has also been highlighted on CC previously.

 

I do wonder if the new 'pay for upgrade' promo system that X have just introduced will start to lessen the chances of those better cabins being allocated to GTYs - only time will tell?

 

 

You are correct. It was a 2A TA special, so I knew at least where we would be. We had booked a gty once before and it was a great price, but we did not know where the location would be. It was OK, but probably won't do that again. Might book gty in the future if it is balcony cabin that we would be comfortable in, like a 2A.

[txjim09]

Actually it is my duty to educate those who are not well informed on Celebrity's policies

Wish there was a Like button

[Aquahound]

Actually it is my duty to educate those who are not well informed on Celebrity's policies so that they do not look idiotic.

 

Who do you work for? :confused:

[thecruise_guy]

I started my own business so at the present time I work for myself and do quite a bit of cruising with Celebrity.

[awhfy]

We've just recently booked our first gty CC cabin & been assigned 1154 on Solstice. I can't find any info on the sticky about cabins, but it's a CC & location looks ok. We usually book CC2 & would have this time, but gty was all that was available--guess we'll give it a shot

[FloridaGirlLovesToCruise]

The OP is correct. The assignment of guarantee cabins is done by a computer and does not take into account Captains Club status, special requests, or anything else. Whether the assigned cabin is good or bad is purely a matter of chance -- but obviously it will be one that no one has booked. We've done it twice this year and were assigned excellently-located C2 cabins on a CC guarantee. But we were lucky to get a cabin we would gladly have paid the full price for.

 

 

 

Bottom line: you are getting a discount in return for entering a cabin assignment lottery. If you aren't willing to take the risk, don't enter the lottery.

 

 

After final payment it seems that many cabins open up. I wasn't able to get my Captain's Club free one category upgrade when I booked our cruise we are taking next month. It was booked over a year out and I wanted to be on the port side for this S. America sailing. All C-2 cabins on the port side were gone.After final payment, I was able to move from a C-3 to a C-2 and had my choice of port side cabins. Seems like if you book a guarantee cabin and don't like the one assigned, there is a good chance you can switch it for another in the same category. I did that myself when I booked a guarantee cabin about a month out on the Reflection leaving from Miami to the Caribbean.

[dutchclogs]

Were you able to get captains club upgrade even though after final payment? (I had understood that upgrade must be at time of booking?

[roxievegas]

Back in September I booked my husband and I for B2B2B starting in April. The first leg and second leg of the trip we booked a Conceirge cabin, same room and the third leg was a veranda (my brother is joining us and that is the highest category I could get him to book). Watching the prices on the 2nd leg, I decided to pay up and go to a suite gty. I called this morning and I had to pay an additional $2100 for the suite ( 9 day trip ) but this is a Christmas present to us. I will be interested to see what they assign us to. I did use a big box travel agency and I asked him what he thought I would get when assigned. He said the sky suite, but you never know, I could get lucky and get higher. I asked if I could change locations for the suite, if I don't like the deck I get, and he said no, but I could pay more and get better location if that is what I want. I will keep you updated as to what we get assigned.