Upgrade request was denied.... :(

[cruiserRay55]

I guess I don't understand why, if you needed cabins close together, you just wouldn't have selected your own cabins. Yes it costs more but then you wouldn't have this issue.

 

Someone else did they same thing recently and was angry because the cruise line wouldn't move someone else to accomodate them. That's the risk you take with guarantee cabins.

 

When I booked the cabins, there were still tons of cabins available. I thought maybe we still have some room to play after the cabins were assigned. Guess I am wrong.

[Clarea]

When I booked the cabins, there were still tons of cabins available. I thought maybe we still have some room to play after the cabins were assigned. Guess I am wrong.

That's the part that is missing in the equation - you don't know when assignments will come, and what the inventory will be at that time.

[PH8]

And if your cabins are far apart, you will have to have one parent/ minor child in each one.

[bubba2012]

I am thinking maybe my travel agent didn't even call Royal Caribbean. Below is the partial of the email.......... "I have a road block….RCCL have monitor the changes on this booking..... Blah blah blah....... Therefore, they will not put this reservation back to guarantee pool"

 

 

I may be wrong, but perhaps it's your TA. I don't know what your relationship is but they may just be tired of the back and forth. Not saying it's not part of their job, but seems more like they are just wanting you to accept it. I hope it works out for you.

[Merion_Mom]

The one time that I booked a guarantee and kept asking to be thrown back into the pool:

 

The ship: Anthem of the Seas

 

The category: Balcony X

 

 

First assignment: Didn't like the cabin location. There were NO other (I forget exactly, but let's call it) D6 cabins.

 

Throw us back in!

 

Second assignment: Didn't like this cabin location, either. There were no other D7 cabins.

 

Throw us back in!

 

Third assignment: Didn't like the cabin location, but this time there were plenty of D5 cabins.

 

Took the assignment, then called up and said, "I would like to switch from D5 cabin XXXX to D5 cabin YYYY."

 

And it was so.

 

:)

[Merion_Mom]

Now back to the OP:

 

If you need two cabins for two parents and two children, DON'T book guarantee cabins.

 

Seriously.

 

It's a personal motto, but one that I think Royal Caribbean may have in mind here, too.

 

"Your failure to plan does not constitute an emergency on my part."

[cruiserRay55]

I may be wrong, but perhaps it's your TA. I don't know what your relationship is but they may just be tired of the back and forth. Not saying it's not part of their job, but seems more like they are just wanting you to accept it. I hope it works out for you.

 

I am also thinking the same thing. We had bothered him too many times.

[cruiserRay55]

Now back to the OP:

 

If you need two cabins for two parents and two children, DON'T book guarantee cabins.

 

Seriously.

 

It's a personal motto, but one that I think Royal Caribbean may have in mind here, too.

 

"Your failure to plan does not constitute an emergency on my part."

 

Thanks for your advice. Lesson learned.

[cruiserRay55]

Would you imagine having a business and selling a product for $10,

then 2 months later you find you can't sell as many as you thought so you reduce the price to or you come up with a better more valuable product that you can still sell for $8

If all the previous buyers from 2 months ago came to you and demanded $2 refund and gave you back the original product for the new one, would you do it?

 

Better yet, if you had sold out and you realize you could get $15 for your product, would you demand all your customers to came back and give you $5 more?

 

If the cruise goes up in price, as in many cases it does, if Royal Caribbean calls you to pay more money after final payment would you?

 

If current policy doesn't ban people to do so, I don't see any reason why we can't take advantage of it.

[cruiserRay55]

I'm not familiar with a rule limiting how often you can go back into a pool, so I can't really advise if you can get around it.

 

Thank you for your response, anyway.

[bubba2012]

I am also thinking the same thing. We had bothered him too many times.

 

The TA may or may not have known or understood your situation. It sounds like you need two rooms close by, and perhaps the TA should've warned you about this ahead of time by booking a guaranteed room assignment. I would still try and work with the TA to work out best possible solution or ask him if you can contact RCI directly if he doesn't have the time to do so.

[cruiserRay55]

The TA may or may not have known or understood your situation. It sounds like you need two rooms close by, and perhaps the TA should've warned you about this ahead of time by booking a guaranteed room assignment. I would still try and work with the TA to work out best possible solution or ask him if you can contact RCI directly if he doesn't have the time to do so.

 

Maybe I am wrong. I always thought if two reservations are linked to each other. There are bigger chance that both of the cabins would be assigned close to each other. Not necessary next to each other, at least close to each other. Guess it is not the case for me. Both of cabins are far from each other. Not just one time, twice. Two cabins are even under different category. Let me wonder whether Royal Caribbean did that on purpose.

[LMaxwell]

There's no rule regarding how many times you can go back in the pool. However, if there are no more GTY slots available, there is no pool to go back in to. While it is possible you have annoyed your T/A, I kind of doubt that because it's not really much work on their end if there is still room in the GTY pool.

 

I certainly don't blame you for trying to maximize your results under the current rules.

 

I do feel that all TA's should advise ANYONE booking multiple GTY's and / or involving children that it is a BAD idea.

 

I also feel Royal should stop allowing gaming of the GTY system and simply assign rooms either at the pier or maybe 1 or 2 days before and you get what you get and that's it. Too many misunderstandings and people upset when they can switch rooms on one cruise and then not the next.

[LMaxwell]

Maybe I am wrong. I always thought if two reservations are linked to each other. There are bigger chance that both of the cabins would be assigned close to each other. Not necessary next to each other, at least close to each other. Guess it is not the case for me. Both of cabins are far from each other. Not just one time, twice. Two cabins are even under different category. Let me wonder whether Royal Caribbean did that on purpose.

 

Because those were available cabins and revenue metrics did not support them being sold soonest. No one did it to you on purpose, rather the software picked cabins that others didn't want. The linking of reservations has no impact on it at all. If you need cabins near each other do not ever book GTY. All TA's know this and should explicitly advise clients to this fact.

[Ourusualbeach]

Maybe I am wrong. I always thought if two reservations are linked to each other. There are bigger chance that both of the cabins would be assigned close to each other. Not necessary next to each other, at least close to each other. Guess it is not the case for me. Both of cabins are far from each other. Not just one time, twice. Two cabins are even under different category. Let me wonder whether Royal Caribbean did that on purpose.

 

We've also had guarantees assigned in different categories, and same category but different decks. It's a gamble and you have to be prepared to accept the worst that they can give you.

 

Back in 2012 I was able to book guarantee cabins however the website allowed me to select that I required connecting cabins. It took a bit of time on the phone but they did eventually assign me cabins that were beside each other. That option disappeared a few website updates ago.

[bubba2012]

Maybe I am wrong. I always thought if two reservations are linked to each other. There are bigger chance that both of the cabins would be assigned close to each other. Not necessary next to each other, at least close to each other. Guess it is not the case for me. Both of cabins are far from each other. Not just one time, twice. Two cabins are even under different category. Let me wonder whether Royal Caribbean did that on purpose.

 

I'm not a cruise expert so I don't know if a cruise line looks at this prior to making assignments. Again, keep working with the TA for a resolution. Just see what your options are. I'm sorry you have to deal with this prior to trip. I would call RCI and see what they can do. Maybe nothing, but not calling guarantees it.

[LMaxwell]

I'm not a cruise expert so I don't know if a cruise line looks at this prior to making assignments. Again, keep working with the TA for a resolution. Just see what your options are. I'm sorry you have to deal with this prior to trip. I would call RCI and see what they can do. Maybe nothing, but not calling guarantees it.

 

"Sorry, you will have to call your TA" is the only thing RCI will say.

[cruiserRay55]

Because those were available cabins and revenue metrics did not support them being sold soonest. No one did it to you on purpose, rather the software picked cabins that others didn't want. The linking of reservations has no impact on it at all. If you need cabins near each other do not ever book GTY. All TA's know this and should explicitly advise clients to this fact.

 

The reason I am wondering whether Royal Caribbean did that on purpose is that I checked cabin assignment almost every two days before they were assigned. There were many connection cabins available the day before the cabins were assigned. However, our cabins were still be assigned far far away. It happened twice!! Very suspicious. :)

[cruiserRay55]

I'm not a cruise expert so I don't know if a cruise line looks at this prior to making assignments. Again, keep working with the TA for a resolution. Just see what your options are. I'm sorry you have to deal with this prior to trip. I would call RCI and see what they can do. Maybe nothing, but not calling guarantees it.

 

Thanks. Actually, everything is fine. Both of inside cabins are next to each other. I was just denied to upgrade to ocean views guarantee cabin. Not a big deal. Just curious about the reason.

[LMaxwell]

The reason I am wondering whether Royal Caribbean did that on purpose is that I checked cabin assignment almost every two days before they were assigned. There were many connection cabins available the day before the cabins were assigned. However, our cabins were still be assigned far far away. It happened twice!! Very suspicious. :)

 

Selecting a location vs a gty is an extra cost option. they were banking on people selecting those cabins before they assigned the GTY's. If you book a GTY you can not stipulate that they be connecting or even adjacent. Again, no one made a conscious decision to do anything to you. It's not suspicious. The second you asked for two GTY's and mentioned you want them near each other your TA should have told you not to book GTY.

 

So, again, I place no blame on you, and I think it is fine that you are trying to maximize your situation under the current rules, but the current rules stink and Royal should revise them to avoid these types of situations in the future.

[Merion_Mom]

If current policy doesn't ban people to do so, I don't see any reason why we can't take advantage of it.

 

Why? Because you had specific needs.

 

When you book a guarantee cabin, you must ALWAYS be prepared to take the "worst" cabin in that category. Otherwise, do not utilize the guarantee system.

[Merion_Mom]

Thanks. Actually, everything is fine. Both of inside cabins are next to each other. I was just denied to upgrade to ocean views guarantee cabin. Not a big deal. Just curious about the reason.

 

I am glad that you have two adjacent cabins. Have a great cruise.

[reallyitsmema]

Thanks. Actually, everything is fine. Both of inside cabins are next to each other. I was just denied to upgrade to ocean views guarantee cabin. Not a big deal. Just curious about the reason.

 

Didn't you pay to get them both in the same category or did I not understand that? If you did pay, then one of those cabins is no longer a guarantee. That could be your issue.

[bubba2012]

Thanks. Actually, everything is fine. Both of inside cabins are next to each other. I was just denied to upgrade to ocean views guarantee cabin. Not a big deal. Just curious about the reason.

 

That's good to hear. Enjoy your vacation.

[GUT2407]

Interesting. Maybe they are getting stricter about guarantee room change requests.

 

In my opinion, not before time.

 

Seems to defeat the whole concept of a guarantee to let you then say "No I want that one instead".