I need help booking our next cruise please.

[FunCruiser56]

Another big vote for Celebrity Solstice, a beautiful ship!. We have sailed twice on it on its Hawaii cruise and never felt bored. We found plenty to do, if we wanted to or just to relax in the Adults only Solarium. Aqua Class is very nice if you want to pay a bit more, you do get the smaller exclusive dining room Blu execellent food and service! Plus use of the Thermal beds is very nice after a long day of touring. Otherwise the non suite cabins are all the same so book what you can afford. Celebrity seems to offer up more deals that include beverage packages and OBC.

We really love the Corning Glass shows on the ship, works of art created before your eyes by very talented craftsmen and women.

You really can't go wrong with this ship, probably will be our choice also for 2019-20

[CupcakeSusie]

Hubby has decided he wants to go back to the South Pacific. Not New Zealand. I'm not sure if I'm thrilled or disappointed haha. Looks like we'll wait to go to NZ.

 

Are the bigger ships still going to Mare rather than Lifou? I see a cruise for Voyager which says it's going to Lifou.

 

I guess I can get over the dress code thing if we sail with RC again. I would probably prefer ovation over voyager though. Does Celebrity Solstice do South Pacific cruises? I only found NZ itineraries for her.

[CupcakeSusie]

Tell me about gty cabins please - I booked one for our first cruise and I had no idea what I was doing haha.

 

If I book a balcony guarantee, at I definitely going to get a balcony? I tried calling RCI to ask questions but the info I got was super confusing.

 

I'm eyeing off a cruise and the free balcony upgrade in the xb-gty is good value.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Tell me about gty cabins please - I booked one for our first cruise and I had no idea what I was doing haha.

 

If I book a balcony guarantee, at I definitely going to get a balcony? I tried calling RCI to ask questions but the info I got was super confusing.

 

I'm eyeing off a cruise and the free balcony upgrade in the xb-gty is good value.

 

A guarantee booking guarantees that you will get the cabin type you booked or better. So if you book a balcony guarantee, you'll get a balcony. It probably won't be the best balcony cabin on the ship, it could possibly be the worst, but it will be a balcony.

 

On RCI the guarantees are essentially for the lowest category in each cabin class. I'm not sure what the codes are on RCI - D3 or E3 maybe? The lowest category cabins are usually right the way forward or aft. You will get one of those cabins or better, so if you are lucky you could end up in a much nicer cabin in a better location than you paid for but, then again you could end up in a cabin right at the bow.

 

Carnival guarantees appear to be similar to RCI.

 

Princess does guarantees a little differently. For a start, the guarantee options only show up when the ship is filling up, and not always for all cabin categories. So it is possible to book a guarantee in the best category of a class ie for balcony a BA not a BF, but you pay the BA price, you don't get it cheaper. But you are guaranteed to get a cabin in that class or better. We booked a cruise a couple of years ago. I wanted an IA but there were none available. I dithered over it for a while and was just going to book a lower category when an IA guarantee popped up. I took it and got a cabin right next to the laundrette. It was a great location and not at all noisy.

 

Don't get confused with the Princess "Choose for Me" option. This allocates you a cabin in the lowest available cabin in a class at the same price as you would pay if you selected that cabin yourself. If there are no cabins left in the lowest category then the price will be higher and it will assign that better category. I reckon this option is a trap for newbies.

 

I'm not sure how Celebrity and P&O handle guarantees, if they have them at all.

 

Hope this helps.

[CupcakeSusie]

Thanks for that. Last time we got a balcony mid ship and it was great.

 

When I called RCI, one person she said it was an oceanview guarantee with a free balcony upgrade, but I might not get a balcony. The next person said it was a balcony guarantee. So I have no idea what to believe.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks for that. Last time we got a balcony mid ship and it was great.

 

When I called RCI, one person she said it was an oceanview guarantee with a free balcony upgrade, but I might not get a balcony. The next person said it was a balcony guarantee. So I have no idea what to believe.

 

Hmmm! That one is tricky. It very much depends on the wording of the offer. What cruise is it?

[CupcakeSusie]

Here's the wording in terms and conditions:

 

Eligible bookings will be able to book a Balcony (category X or XB) at the price of an Ocean view (category I or 8N or 2N). o Bookings must be made in Balcony stateroom (category X or XB) in order to qualify for the offer; a limited number of staterooms are available. o Balcony Upgrade is based on 'guarantee' stateroom (category X or XB.) The exact stateroom grade, number and location on the ship will be allocated at the discretion of Royal Caribbean International. o No cabin requests permitted.

[OzKiwiJJ]

This is how I read that:

 

You're booking a balcony guarantee - X or XB - but will be charged the price of an Oceanview cabin (I, 8N or 2N).

 

There is a limited number of X/XB cabins available at that price so once they are gone the guarantee price will probably revert to the normal balcony guarantee price.

 

Because you're booking an X or XB you will get a balcony, you shouldn't be downgraded to an oceanview.

 

RCI will allocate your balcony cabin as per normal for a guarantee.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Check the prices carefully though. I looked at a few cruises through an online TA website.

 

In all cases the price of the X cabin was the same as the I cabin, but in some cases the I cabin price was dearer than other oceanview cabins even though it is a lower category. So in those cases the X price may be the original X price. In other cases the I price was lower than other oceanview cabins so the X price probably is a true deal.

[CupcakeSusie]

Thanks for your advice - the xb is about $850 cheaper (for two of us) than the balcony cabins, and on par with an oceanview.

 

The gamble worries me though.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Thanks for your advice - the xb is about $850 cheaper (for two of us) than the balcony cabins, and on par with an oceanview.

 

The gamble worries me though.

 

If you're happy to have any balcony cabin (or better) on the ship then it's worth the gamble.

[MicCanberra]

Agreed, a guarantee balcony for the price of a Ocean view cabin is normally a good thing unless the price for an ocean view is higher than the balcony cabin (which can happen occasionally).

[GUT2407]

Thanks for your advice - the xb is about $850 cheaper (for two of us) than the balcony cabins, and on par with an oceanview.

 

The gamble worries me though.

As long as location doesnt bother you I say grab it.

[CupcakeSusie]

It's very tempting.

 

I guess if we're assigned an obstructed view or right at the bow I could call them and tell them I'll pay extra to move to a different room.

[MicCanberra]

That is the lottery of getting a guarantee cabin.

[The_Big_M]

I guess if we're assigned an obstructed view or right at the bow I could call them and tell them I'll pay extra to move to a different room.

 

I wouldn't rely on this. RCL Australia normally do not permit this in the same grade. They do permit upgrades to be purchased, but that would be at the prevailing rate for that category, which I suspect would be a fair bit more than this guarantee special.

 

It would also rely on availability at that time - and they may only assign your guarantee a couple of weeks before departure, at which time either (or both) availability may have fallen and price may have increased. Basically, this fallback has risk to it.

[CupcakeSusie]

Someone IRL challenged me - wanted to know why I wouldn't consider Carnival. I've always seen them as a bit more budget, but I was told pretty plainly that they've upped their game. If we forget about the dress code thing, would you think (from what you know of me) that I would enjoy Carnival? They're certainly a lot cheaper ... but in life you do tend to get what you pay for :/

 

Having said that - we have one of our kids at uni and the other going soon. Our budget is going to be a lot tighter.

 

I'm open to honest opinions.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We did a 9 night Carnival South Pacific cruise late last year and, yes, I did enjoy it. Perhaps not as much as Princess - apart from the Piano Bar most of the lounges and bars weren't to our taste in the evenings, and the Serenity area was always crowded, but we had a fun cruise.

 

The meals in the MDR were excellent, possibly the best overall that we've had. Consistently good every night with plenty of variety. The Buffet was reasonable too.

 

A cruise is what you make it. I'll happily recommend Carnival for South Pacific cruises. Just take a sense of humour with you - the decor of the public areas is so bad it's hilarious.

[CupcakeSusie]

Haha really? Tell me more! I love bad decor :D

 

Thanks for your post. Maybe we do need to consider Carnival!

[OzKiwiJJ]

We were on Legend. It has urns! Hundreds of "silver" urns. There are urns holding up the staircase banisters, urns as the base of bar stools, giant urns instead of pillars. In the Atrium there were niches with urns all the way up one side so we nicknamed that area the mausoleum. :')

 

It didn't help that another CC member wondered if those urns contained the ashes of passengers who had passed away on cruises!

 

Apparently Spirit has "gold" goblets / chalices instead. Not sure if that's better or not.

[mr walker]

Susie, if the Carnival itinerary, timing & pricing works for you, then you will be fine with them.

 

We are RCL cruisers in the main, having done 10 cruises, with 3 more booked. Our first was with RCL, and I guess that set the tone for what our expectations were/are. It just seems a fit for us.

 

We have done two Carnival Cruise (Legend & Spirit) & enjoyed both - we wouldn't hesitate to go with them again. There were some things they did better & some things they did worse, but overall quite comparable. The reported bad décor is irrelevant to us :D

 

We have done 1 cruise with Princess (Sun) & enjoyed it - the ship, food & staff were comparable with the other 2 lines, but it was not such a good fit for us, & at this stage in our lives, we would opt for RC as 1st choice & Carnival as 2nd. That said, I would never knock back an invite on Princess from family or friends.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Everyone is different. We started on Princess so that set our expectations. RCI is my least favourite of the four lines we have cruised on so far but we still enjoyed that cruise.

[MMDown Under]

We were on Legend. It has urns! Hundreds of "silver" urns. There are urns holding up the staircase banisters, urns as the base of bar stools, giant urns instead of pillars. In the Atrium there were niches with urns all the way up one side so we nicknamed that area the mausoleum. :')

 

It didn't help that another CC member wondered if those urns contained the ashes of passengers who had passed away on cruises!

 

Apparently Spirit has "gold" goblets / chalices instead. Not sure if that's better or not.

 

Thanks for the mental picture. I saw photos of those "urns" somewhere on CC and can't help laughing, "what were they thinking?".

 

Then I remember those rolls of gaudy gold chain for sale in Dubai, which obviously appealed to that market. As you say everyone is different in taste.

[mr walker]

Everyone is different. We started on Princess so that set our expectations. RCI is my least favourite of the four lines we have cruised on so far but we still enjoyed that cruise.

 

Guess that's what makes the world go round :) It would get very crowded on the one ship if we all preferred the same one, and what would the fare be??????.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Guess that's what makes the world go round :) It would get very crowded on the one ship if we all preferred the same one, and what would the fare be??????.

 

Exactly! And it's nice to try other lines/ships occasionally, just for a change, even if they aren't your favourite. Even individual ships change from cruise to cruise, depending on the crew onboard at the time.