Guaranteed Cabin under Select Fare

[Scriv]

Has anyone any experience of booking a Select Fare in a particular grade but getting a Guaranteed Cabin instead and not being able to choose the cabin?

 

I am interested to know what people have ended up with and whether Select bookings have any preference to the Savers when it comes to allocation of the cabins?

 

Thank you.:)

[mygo1999]

Has anyone any experience of booking a Select Fare in a particular grade but getting a Guaranteed Cabin instead and not being able to choose the cabin?

 

I am interested to know what people have ended up with and whether Select bookings have any preference to the Savers when it comes to allocation of the cabins?

 

Thank you.:)

Yes the last cruise on Ventura I booked a select fare but because we wanted two inside cabins together they said they would arrange it. It didn't turn out well one cabin was even the other odd so they were next to each other back to back but a long way by corridor, I might as well have saved money by just booking a guaranteed cabins.

 

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[the english lady]

Has anyone any experience of booking a Select Fare in a particular grade but getting a Guaranteed Cabin instead and not being able to choose the cabin?

 

I am interested to know what people have ended up with and whether Select bookings have any preference to the Savers when it comes to allocation of the cabins?

 

Thank you.:)

 

Scriv this type of booking came to light when you could start booking Britannia. Of course the main thing with select fare s is that you can chose your cabin. You should/would get your cabin allocated ahead of any saver fare.

I haven't yet managed to work out if people who pay select fares like this get upgraded ahead of normal select fare payers, who chose their cabin, but said they would accept upgrades.

Hopefully you will get replies that will clear the mud

[Scriv]

Yes, I have heard about this concerning Britannia bookings - my daughter has one on Britannia in June.

 

Ours is for Azura in May, so I will report back.

[Scriv]

Mygo1999 - were your cabins in the same grade you booked?

[mygo1999]

Mygo1999 - were your cabins in the same grade you booked?

They were slightly higher but I have been upgraded to a higher grade of cabin when booking an early saver.

 

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[Scriv]

They were slightly higher but I have been upgraded to a higher grade of cabin when booking an early saver.

 

But was that some time ago?

 

It seems to me that in the last year or so they have given the better upgrades to the Select Bookings, sticking to their pledges in their blurb?

Edited February 25, 2016 by Scriv

[the english lady]

But was that some time ago?

 

It seems to me that in the last year or so they have given the better upgrades to the Select Bookings, sticking to their pledges in their blurb?

 

Scriv, it all a bit muddy isn't it.

From posts I think they are giving upgrades to select bookings first,

The question is do they give it to a select fare payer who said they would accept upgrades first, or do they upgrade the person who paid select, but on a guarantee basis. It should be the former I think. They would have booked first ,as there would still have been cabin choices available.

As select fares are always available, how "sold out" does a grade have to be for it to be select, but guarantee?

[mygo1999]

But was that some time ago?

 

It seems to me that in the last year or so they have given the better upgrades to the Select Bookings, sticking to their pledges in their blurb?

No it was October this year.

 

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Edited February 26, 2016 by mygo1999

[the english lady]

No it was October this year.

 

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Mygo1999 As I am still trying to work out the muddy waters of booking.

What actual grade/position of cabin did you pay for. ie fore/aft balcony , and what did you end up with ie mid ships balcony. Was it the same grade of cabin, just in a better position?

[mygo1999]

Mygo1999 As I am still trying to work out the muddy waters of booking.

What actual grade/position of cabin did you pay for. ie fore/aft balcony , and what did you end up with ie mid ships balcony. Was it the same grade of cabin, just in a better position?

The cruise in October was an extra last year because my sister in law wanted to try a cruise. So I just booked an inside cabins, we got an inside cabins in a forward midships and they were fine but not close together although numbered next to each other, it might just have been someone inexperienced allocating the cabins and they didn't now odd are starboard and evens are port. It was just an bit iritating.

 

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[the english lady]

mygo1999

Yes the last cruise on Ventura I booked a select fare but because we wanted two inside cabins together they said they would arrange it. It didn't turn out well one cabin was even the other odd so they were next to each other back to back but a long way by corridor, I might as well have saved money by just booking a guaranteed cabins.

so working from what you said you booked fore/aft cabins (no numbers but they are normally the cheapest of a type by position) and ended up in a forward mid ships. Not soo far forward as the fore ones ,but not the mid ship ones On a deck plan there are usually lots of different colours but the fore/aft are usually one colour, then the inbetweenies another colour, then the mid ships a 3rd colour.

I think the allocation of cabins is done by computer software ,rather than a human. maybe the parameters for your allocation was numbers close together (without the software taking into account that as you found numbers were close ,but port and starboard)

Your last sentence also brings us back to how full does a grade have to be for it to be sold as guarantee.

[Scriv]

English lady -

 

The allocation of dining preferences does seem linked with which fare you pay and I believe also according to how early. I have heard discussions of this in the MDRs.

 

I have always assumed that the same goes with allocation of cabins within the various fares and the allocation of any upgrades if you have ticked the box.

 

So following that through, the Select bookings which have gone to a Guarantee grade have been made later in the day, so should by rights become eligible for upgrades after those who had booked earlier had their wishes dealt with.

 

I wonder though if there is some other plan behind the scenes like eg they are selling cabins off in batches first? I don't know - I really have no idea but I do wonder how long they will be able to get away with selling a Select Fare without the ability to choose your cabin? It does make the Select Fare a lot less attractive, don't you think?

 

Muddy, very muddy.

[groovechick]

Scriv,

I posted about this last year. For our 2015 Christmas cruise we tried to book Select in a particular grade as soon as the Britannia cruises were available, but were not allowed to choose our cabin, only given Guaranteed. We got the other Select "perks", such as first choice of dining preference, with no problem. I was told several times by cruise consultants at P&O that it was because they oversold the cruise and would then allocate cabins as people dropped out. They also refused to guarantee that our children would get a cabin next door to or across from us.

 

In the end we got the grade of cabin we requested and the location was great, C deck, just aft of the midships lifts, and the kids were next door but one to us, so that was fine. I don't know about upgrades, we were never offered one. I did have a conversation with one family who had booked after us, Early Saver I think they said, and been upgraded, which seemed rather unfair, but I have long since given up trying to fathom P&O's procedures. Our cabins were fine for us and we had a great holiday.

[B19]

We booked two HB grade cabins on B deck about a month ago for the March 18th Azura cruise on a select basis. We had asked for cabins next to each other. We assumed having adjacent cabins would lessen the chance of an upgrade. However we checked the E tickets last week to find we had been upgraded to a midships Superior balcony on D deck, two adjacent again, so were somewhat surprised but delighted. Strangely we have had no contact from either the TA or P&O to tell us of the upgrade.

[clivep]

But was that some time ago?

 

It seems to me that in the last year or so they have given the better upgrades to the Select Bookings, sticking to their pledges in their blurb?

 

It also depends a bit on what you consider an 'upgrade'?

 

Within a particular cabin type (inside, outside, balcony, suite) there are numerous grades. Consequently any change to a better grade or type would be considered an upgrade for a Select/Early Saver booking.

 

When dealing with Saver bookings then an upgrade would only be for a change in cabin type, which they say won't happen. From my experience and what I can see on the website, when you book a Saver fare you don't have a choice of cabin grade, you just get a guarantee for whatever cabin type you have chosen. The allocation of cabin can then be in any grade within that cabin type without it being an upgrade.

 

This means that a Saver fare can be allocated a better cabin grade than a Select/Early Saver fare (without any upgrade being offered to the latter) and is is still within their pledges as the Saver fare has not been 'upgraded'.

[groovechick]

We booked two HB grade cabins on B deck about a month ago for the March 18th Azura cruise on a select basis. We had asked for cabins next to each other. We assumed having adjacent cabins would lessen the chance of an upgrade. However we checked the E tickets last week to find we had been upgraded to a midships Superior balcony on D deck, two adjacent again, so were somewhat surprised but delighted. Strangely we have had no contact from either the TA or P&O to tell us of the upgrade.

 

We were upgraded 2 years ago on Azura, from an inside on Riviera deck, IIRC, so towards the top of the ship, to an outside on P deck (deck 5). We moved up about 5 tiers. Was a bit concerned about being low down in the ship, but it wasn't a problem and we loved having the window. We weren't informed by either P&O or the TA. Can't remember how I became aware of it, but I phoned the TA to check why the cabin allocation was different to what we had booked, and then was told we'd been given an upgrade.

[Scriv]

I mainly book Select and usually early on, but have done the odd Early Saver and one Saver.

 

In all my Select bookings up to now, I have been able to choose the cabin and have had some nice upgrades and when we had originally booked next to friends, we were also both upgraded and next to each other, which we were delighted with.

 

I understood that procedure. It was clear cut. When I booked the Savers I was lucky to be given a cabin high up in the grades of the selected category and was delighted with it.

 

But it still seems a bit odd to me to book and pay for a Select fare, but to be apparently treated the same as an Early Saver booking as regards the allocation of the cabin. Incidentally on this cruise there are no shuttles to pay for and we really don't mind which dining we are allocated.

 

Unless they really do give you priority over the Saver fares and better available cabins, it makes it a big gap between the prices just to be able to choose the dining and paying for any chargeable shuttles there may be.

 

Interesting.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Scriv

[Scriv]

Resurrecting this thread just to update the above and say I have today been allocated my 'Guaranteed' cabin - five and a half weeks before sailing and just as our E tickets have been made available on the CP.

 

We have an A Deck balcony cabin, a few grades above the grade booked so am very pleased.

 

It did seem strange not being able to choose a cabin though when booking Select.