Guaranteed cabins

[funnybunny70]

Hi

Please can you tell me is it worth booking a guaranteed cabin or is it a risk?

Many Thanks

[SLRoth]

Hi

Please can you tell me is it worth booking a guaranteed cabin or is it a risk?

Many Thanks

 

 

We booked a balcony guarantee on the Getaway for Nov. 13th. We were given a midship balcony on the 9 floor about 13 rooms or so from the elevator. We are super excited! At the time we booked the balcony was only $100 more than the inside. We also received UBP, SDP, 3rd person free and $100 OBC.

 

On a prior cruise, we booked Guarantee inside on Carnival and were shocked to learn upon boarding we'd been upgraded to a Spa Suite. We didn't have a balcony, but we had floor to ceiling windows, with a large bathroom, sitting area and table. We were ecstatic. We also had never cruised carnival before so it wasn't like we'd racked up loyalty points.

 

Word of advice, don't book a guarantee in a category where you are hoping to be upgraded to the next level up. I think that seldom happens. But, for example, if you'd be happy with a balcony anywhere on the ship then it's a great deal.

Edited November 1, 2016 by SLRoth

[BaWBarmy]

A guaranteed cabin can be considerably cheaper but you run the risk of being put in a cabin that most people wouldn't choose, it could be noisy for instance, or right in one corner of the boat. We also noticed when booking our next cruise that guarantee cabins are usually not eligible for promotions such as the Free at Sea.

[ray98]

If you are picky and would let a cabin placement ruin your trip then don't. I am a pretty easy going person and understand if I book an inside GTY I may end up on the bottom deck far away from everything. I accept that as a condition of saving $$$ and any upgrade is simply a bonus.

[ray98]

We also noticed when booking our next cruise that guarantee cabins are usually not eligible for promotions such as the Free at Sea.

 

Only the lowest class GTY is excluded.

[disneyg1rl]

Only the lowest class GTY is excluded.

 

Please elaborate. My understanding was that all Guarantee cabins are GTY class (within their category, e.g. balcony) and that all GTYs do not include the Free at Sea.

[esm54687]

Please elaborate. My understanding was that all Guarantee cabins are GTY class (within their category, e.g. balcony) and that all GTYs do not include the Free at Sea.

 

Current promos are NOT applicable to categories IX, OX, BX & MX

 

"X" are your typical "guarantee" staterooms but there are times that NCL may deem a specific category (not ending in "X") as "guarantee" because of a surplus in inventory. In this case, they are eligible for promos.

[luckyinpa]

i had a recent thread about this regarding insides. and just with 3 examples on that thread, id never get a guarantee room based on those alone.

 

they did say that balcony and Mini had less chance of bad rooms

[luckyinpa]

i do have an additional comment. iv'e been researching guarnatees extensively this week and i find there are many categories of insides that turn out to be guarntees. also even with balconys you may see a category that is 100 or 200 higher than the 'guarantee balcony' but that turns out to be a guarantee as well. though it is possible because so close to sailing that the category is sold out. but then why would you pay for a 800 balcony guarantee when u could pay 600

 

i dont get that pricing at all.

[djmess]

i had a recent thread about this regarding insides. and just with 3 examples on that thread, id never get a guarantee room based on those alone.

 

they did say that balcony and Mini had less chance of bad rooms

 

I've done guarantees twice in the last several months. One was on the Escape about a week prior to sailing. I booked an IX Guarantee. I knew I would not get a free at sea perk and that was just fine with me. I ended up in an accessible Inside cabin on deck 12 if I remember correctly, that was actually quite wonderful. But for the cost for 2 of us getting on the ship, I would have taken the "worst" cabin on the ship, luckily I got a great inside cabin.

 

My latest booking was a Guarantee OK Category on the Pearl. I know these are obstructed ocean view. The price for the OK category was $100 total more for 2 people than an inside and came with 2 free at sea perks. So I felt if I was willing to take an inside, then taking a window cabin with a lifeboat as a view would not be bad. I could possibly have been upgraded to an oceanview cabin but on a lower deck. Which for me would have been fine. But I ended up with exactly the category I booked. OK, obstructed view (getting the best lifeboat view on the ship) and on Deck 8 which I'm very happy with.

 

So, it really depends on how important a cabin is to you and your cruise. For me, not important at all

[ray98]

Please elaborate. My understanding was that all Guarantee cabins are GTY class (within their category, e.g. balcony) and that all GTYs do not include the Free at Sea.

 

You have to find somewhere that breaks down the codes, side by side is best. For example, here is one for the NCL Epic showing all the interior categories. There are actually 4 inside guarantee categories, IX is the only one that does not include the perks.

 

Interior

Studio / T1

 

Family Inside / I1

 

Mid-Ship Inside

IA

IB

IC

 

Guarantee Inside

ID

IE

IF

IX

[ray98]

i do have an additional comment. iv'e been researching guarnatees extensively this week and i find there are many categories of insides that turn out to be guarntees. also even with balconys you may see a category that is 100 or 200 higher than the 'guarantee balcony' but that turns out to be a guarantee as well. though it is possible because so close to sailing that the category is sold out. but then why would you pay for a 800 balcony guarantee when u could pay 600

 

i dont get that pricing at all.

 

You have to research where the guarantee cabins for that code are located. For example with inside cabins, IX may be limited to deck 3-4 FWD while IE may be decks 7-11 mid-ship. They are both inside guarantees but one has a more preferable cabin location as the bare minimum. Also, the IX would be excluded from perks while the IE would not.

Edited November 1, 2016 by ray98

[djmess]

You have to research where the guarantee cabins for that code are located. For example with inside cabins, IX may be limited to deck 3-4 FWD while IE may be decks 7-11 mid-ship. They are both inside guarantees but one has a more preferable cabin location as the bare minimum. Also, the IX would be excluded from perks while the IE would not.

 

Excellent point

 

And one has to remember that not every ID,IE, IF or whatever category is always run as a guarantee. There are times when you get to select a cabin in a given category. So that would mean you are guaranteed at the minmum what that category indicates and under the current promotion, you would get to select 1 free at sea perk for an inside cabin

 

This even holds true for a couple BX cabins. I can't remember exactly which ship, but there are actual cabins that carry that category code. So if you book into a BX and are able to select your cabin, remember that any time you book into an "X" category, right now with the current Free at Sea promotion, you would NOT get any perks

[luckyinpa]

so true about researching where things are. just by chance i ran into so minis that are guarantee on the deck plans and they are forward and dont look bad per se. didnt know they put guarantee on the plans as i've never researched it before