Balcony Guaranteed - Worth the Risk?

[BigWino]

Considering booking a balcony guaranteed rate to save $300 over getting to select stateroom ourselves. When will we find out what room we are assigned? Do they offer upgrades if you don't like it? What are my chances of getting a room with an obstructed view?

 

The real concern is winding up with a balcony with a view of a lifeboat. What are the chances this will happen?

[Viesczy]

From my experience the obstructed view balconies typically block the view if you're looking down, or if you're sitting on the floor looking out and one of the life boat towers are by your balcony.

 

Here's an example of what I mean:

 

 

Not that bad, for $300 less, I'd deal with it. Honestly, how much time are you on your balcony? We always book them (not by my choice), but we might spend 20 mins a day on our balcony.

[amyh13]

We did it once and got a great room. I do think it had something to do with the fact that we have 4 in a cabin and those cabins are limited in number. We ended up on the Spa Deck of the Valor. Liked is so much we booked the same deck for the next cruise.

[BigWino]

I spend a lot of time on the balcony. If you're in Balcony Guarantee is it possible to get balcony-obstructed view or is that a different rate that is lower than guarantee even?

[Port of Tampa]

For me it is not just the view that is important it is the location of the room. I prefer a quiet room with rooms above, below and on the side/s vice being above or below a disco, casino, supply closet, galley, etc... I would never let Carnival chose my room location for that reason.

 

Cheers and happy cruising.

[firemanbobswife]

What ship are you on?

 

With the guarantee you will get whatever is left over after any potential upsells are offered to the balcony people. Could be the best cabin, could be the worst cabin (as in under the lido, or above the disco, etc), or anything in between. If you are picky you could be sadly disappointed. If not and you feel like rolling the dice, go for it.

 

You can't switch once it's assigned. Some said they have before but that was a while back if I remember correctly. You're not supposed to be able to. That's the whole point of a guarantee. You can't save that kind of cash and then try and dictate to them when you're not satisfied.

[falkcor]

first question, which ship are you sailing on? seeing you're from MD i assume maybe the pride? i'm asking only because spirit class ships are the ones with the problem of rooms with the lifeboat obstructed views - it is not really an issue on other classes of ships.

 

i've booked balcony guarantee twice...

 

once on pride, i was concerned as you are about the obstructed view balconies. my PVP said although possible it wasn't likely, as there aren't that many of them in comparison to standard balconies, and that there wasn't a lot of them in inventory. booked 3 rooms - and all were 8C, adjacent to #6139 on deck 6 forward - good rooms, close to the forward elevators, with passenger decks above and beyond, right down the hall from the suites.

 

on splendor, booked 4 rooms - and all were 8D, adjacent to 8407 on deck 8 aft - great rooms, close to the aft elevators, one flight of stairs from aft lido and the buffet, with passenger deck below and lido buffet above (never heard a thing!). i've picked rooms on lido before for the convenience and this was actually almost better, because we were right at the stairs to get to the action of the aft pool or buffet area and didn't have to walk 1000 ft across the ship lol.

 

so there, that's my experience. i might recommend you get or ask your pvp about what inventory looks like. i've run mine through a series of questions about what availability was in different categories (obstructed, 8A, B, C etc.) just to get an idea of what kind of gamble i was making. one time on a relatively last minute cruise (within 60 days) i decided to choose my room on lido (which was great too) instead (and pay for it). if i recall correctly, for the pride sailing we knew the rooms within a few days of booking - probably like 90 days out, and for splendor also within a few days of booking, probably also about 90 days out. i might have been lucky but my experience is that we knew our assignment within no more than a week or two (i can't remember exact # of days but definitely not more than 2 weeks).

[falkcor]

You can't switch once it's assigned. Some said they have before but that was a while back if I remember correctly. You're not supposed to be able to. That's the whole point of a guarantee. You can't save that kind of cash and then try and dictate to them when you're not satisfied.

 

i neglected to address that - firemanbobswife is correct that you cannot just say 'i don't like this room / location' and go back to the pool or pick a room...

 

however, i believe that if you do not like the room / location, you can upgrade yourself to a different room and pay the difference in prevailing rate or booking type. for instance, if you are assigned an obstructed balcony 7A, you could call and PAY to upgrade to say an 8A, 8C, specific room etc.

 

think of an example of if you got a 7A and decided you wanted to upgrade to a suite, do you think carnival would say no? i've not known carnival to be averse to taking more of your money. so that's a valid option however you lose the benefit of the cost savings of the initial guarantee.

[originalgeek]

We are one for one on getting an awesome gty balcony. Only been on one Carnival cruise and we got Conquest cabin 8237. Cabins above and below, close to forward elevators, fantastic view and no noise from anywhere. Balcony was private and unobstructed.

 

We got our assignment 80 days from sail date. But in reading through CC i think we may have been the exception more than the rule. I've seen more reports of getting your room 2~3 weeks out than 11 and change. And I've heard some don't get their room assignment until they show up at the port and check in. That would have driven me crazy lol.

 

So, like blind men examining an elephant, you might get a trunk or you might get a butt but it's still all an elephant. The way to tell if it's worth it is to ask yourself if the 300 dollars is worth getting the worst possible room available in your category. If you can live with the worst they got, spend your 300 bucks on fun!

[RHilla619]

It's a pure $300 gamble, you could luck out and get an awesome balcony in a prime location, or you could strike out and get an obstructed balcony below the nightclub.

 

If your not picky about where your room is, and aren't a light sleeper I would take the $300 gamble.

 

But if having a not so great room would ruin your trip, I wouldn't take the $300 gamble.

[DebJ14]

We gambled once on a balcony guarantee and lost. We had a cabin on deck 6 right above the main theater. Unfortunately, several of the dancers and new singers just arrived on the ship and so they had to have extra rehearsals for the show. They were held very early in the morning and very late at night. It was as if our bed was in the theater.

 

As far as a suite guarantee goes, we have been happy with those on Conquest Class and Dream Class because any of the suites would have been fine. Both times we got well located Ocean Suites. We actually prefer the layout of them to the GS.

Edited August 18, 2016 by DebJ14

[cherbear4000]

I did a balcony guarantee and ended up with a great room on the 8th deck mid.

[Anjanu]

I just booked a balcony guarantee and got my assigned cabin. It's in the front of the ship and I'm a midship kinda gal but oh well, no biggie.

[cmukid87]

I have done guarantee rooms 4 times. Each time I got one of the higher room categories.

 

Of course this was interior but each time I was given a 4E.

[MistyRo76]

I used to do Guarantee cabins all the time...but that was back when it was me traveling with my sister or a friend. Back then, we were always out late at night and up on deck early in the morning. We didn't really care what our cabin was or where it was located.

 

But now that I am cruising with my husband and our daughter, location is much more important to us. We want to have a nice view and know that our cabin is in a quiet location (not above the nightclub or under the Lido deck). So for that reason, we don't book guarantees any more. I think you have just a good of a chance of getting a great cabin as you do getting a lousy one. It really just depends on what is important to you.

[Seago2]

I have done a guarantee multiple times and always gotten a great room. No problems. I'm to the point now that I always book a guarantee unless I have a back to back.

[richstowe]

From my experience the obstructed view balconies typically block the view if you're looking down, or if you're sitting on the floor looking out and one of the life boat towers are by your balcony.

 

Here's an example of what I mean:

 

 

Not that bad, for $300 less, I'd deal with it. Honestly, how much time are you on your balcony? We always book them (not by my choice), but we might spend 20 mins a day on our balcony.

Good info but your picture is a bit unfortunate in that its perspective aims downward toward the life boat .

Normally the very top of obstruction is level with the floor of the balcony . From the bed you will not see the obstruction .

 

As falkcor posted , you can always upgrade to a more expensive cabin if you are unhappy with yours . If last minute prices have gone down , as happened to me , it can be a great deal to upgrade at next to nothing. If prices have gone up , enjoy what you were given . ;)

[TifffanyD]

I love playing the guarantee lottery! Once we booked a balcony guarantee and got a huge extended balcony with 2 loungers and 2 regular chairs. Another time we got an angled balcony (extra space!) with a connecting door to others we were travelling with who booked guarantee. It's worth a shot to me.

[golfb4cruzing]

We only did it once. We were given first balcony cabin off the bow. It sucked and the wind was crazy on the balcony. Never went that route again.

[Drazil65]

We are too particular about our location, I research each ship we book and find the perfect balcony (for us always midship and deck 7 typically). No amount of money is worth it for us to not know where we will be located. If you are alright with them giving you a random cabin and dont care that much about location then it will probably work out well for you.

 

We use and enjoy our balcony alot so I have to be the one to choose.

[amandaaa04]

We did guaranteed balcony for next week and ended up with obstructed view.

[msmayor]

A guarantee is a good idea only if you know you can be perfectly happy in the absolute worst cabin of the category you are booked into AND upwards...because you could indeed get an upgrade...to the worst cabin in the next category, which may be worse than a lower category depending on your desires.

 

When I considered booking a balcony guarantee on HAL (there are several levels of balcony types) I checked which category had solid steel railings, so I would know to book my guarantee in a stateroom HIGHER than thoat category...because a solid railing would be a huge disappointment for me.

[BoDidly]

Go for it, at that price. :D

[BigWino]

We pulled the trigger and went for it. Working against us, but helping with the decision was the two rooms we could pay more for were either an extended balcony right outside the entrance to Camp Carnival or an obstructed mid ship balcony. Since neither option felt like an upgrade and ran $3-400 more we are rolling the dice on the guarantee. We are trying this on Pride's September 25 sailing.

[JMAE]

Considering booking a balcony guaranteed rate to save $300 over getting to select stateroom ourselves. When will we find out what room we are assigned? Do they offer upgrades if you don't like it? What are my chances of getting a room with an obstructed view?

 

The real concern is winding up with a balcony with a view of a lifeboat. What are the chances this will happen?

 

We have used guaranteed a few times and it worked out for us. We had an obstructed view and regular balcony cabins. Both were great for us. The difference is on some of the obstructed view balconies you can't look straight down. I would go guaranteed and save the $300 for on board fun!!!