Are you willing to pay full price for peace of mind?

[Peachypooh]

We always pick the exact cabin we would be happy with. Quiet location with an unobstructed view are high on my list. Because of this I no doubt pay higher prices than those willing to take a guarantee or bid on an upgrade. Even though I am not made of money this is OK with me. However I do check prices from time to time and a couple of times before final payment I was able to get either a price reduction or added onboard credit.

How do you feel about your own situation. Are you willing to have the cruise line assign you a cabin in exchange for a lower price? Full disclosure we did book a balcony guarantee on a Celebrity ship once and was upgraded to their lowest level suite and the location wasn't bad at all. I guess we lucked out.

[AliceIn]

We always pick the exact cabin we would be happy with. Quiet location with an unobstructed view are high on my list. Because of this I no doubt pay higher prices than those willing to take a guarantee or bid on an upgrade. Even though I am not made of money this is OK with me. However I do check prices from time to time and a couple of times before final payment I was able to get either a price reduction or added onboard credit.

How do you feel about your own situation. Are you willing to have the cruise line assign you a cabin in exchange for a lower price? Full disclosure we did book a balcony guarantee on a Celebrity ship once and was upgraded to their lowest level suite and the location wasn't bad at all. I guess we lucked out.

 

We book the category we want - and then we don't worry about upgrades, wondering about locations, etc. No doubt we pay a higher price, but we have exactly what we want at the get go. I just can't see hoping for an upgrade, and then being disappointed if I ended up with something different than I expected.

[wdsted]

We have booked a couple of guarantees in the past, but no longer. One cabin was right above the theatre, the other one was fine. But with no perks [emoji483] [emoji899] for guarantees, forget about it.

 

 

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[Two Wheels Only]

Exact ship

Exact category

Exact stateroom

...wife and I usually disagree on itinerary so that's 50/50 (I lost on next cruise).:(

[biker@sea]

We booked more than a dozen cheap last minute cruises and don't care much about the bedroom. As long as we can do a cruise for under 2,000 door to door I will sleep in a broom closet if need be.

[Pauser]

I book the exact cabin I want. I wait to make final payment in case there's a price drop, but I don't want a different cabin from the one I book. I'm a light sleeper and don't want to chance being in a noisy location.

[PlayCousin]

We booked more than a dozen cheap last minute cruises and don't care much about the bedroom. As long as we can do a cruise for under 2,000 door to door I will sleep in a broom closet if need be.

 

 

This. I've got my share of issues but cruise stateroom snob is not one of them. Over the years I've never had a bad room (even guarantees) although once or twice my neighbors were less than desirable but what control do you have over that? I usually set a budget first and then try to make everything else fit. Heck, I might be willing to bus tables or clean a few staterooms for a discount on my next cruise.

[ColeThornton]

No.

[fiftyguy]

Yes, we always book early so we get the cabin and spot we want on a ship. I'm sure we are paying more than most but we never look back. We've enjoyed OS on a few recent cruises and, for us, it was worth the extra dollars.

We're sailing on a cruise this coming Friday with GK and it will be a different cruise than sailing by ourselves but it will be a fantastic time. This time is a 2 bedroom suite. We're in countdown mode.

[Seminole1975]

No way would I let the cruise line pick my room. I want to be able to choose where my cabin is. I am a very light sleeper. With my luck, we would get a room right under the Garden Cafe! I guess my answer to the question is: yes I am willing to pay the full price to get the cabin I want. (I did check on the pricing for my upcoming cruise. I booked an upgrade when the price went down before my final payment date. I did not want to wait for the bidding process).

Edited June 24, 2017 by Seminole1975

[Remm1024]

I choose the room category and room number.

 

 

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[Ask4Jay]

No aft-facing cabin? We don't go. So, we want an aft cabin that is surrounded by other cabins, below and above. That's our only requirement. Has been on all our cruises. Have passed up upgrades. We want to have access to a balcony overlooking the propeash and the wake. Our own private realm - without piped-in music. We don't care about the activities on the rest of the ship. Just the two of us and our balcony.

 

 

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[Cruzncutie]

We book a year or more ahead of time to get the suite we want on the ship we want. The closest we've booked was about 3 months before sailing. We make a point to look at dates that include the 3rd & 4th sail free promo. I don't like surprises so booking a guarantee cabin is out the question.

 

 

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[mertziek]

We book the cabin we want. Not interested in playing Russian roulette with bidding or guarantees. So it does cost us a bit more but we don't go on vacay that often so when we do go, we want it to be the cabin we desire.

[sfaaa]

I will definitely go Guarantee to save a few bucks. More money in my pocket means I get to cruise more or buy extra drinks on the ship.

[Two Wheels Only]

Another thing to consider is that before prices drop, they usually went up.

Sometimes, booking super early (as soon as new bookings open) gets a great price before the rise and fall price-rollercoaster.

[Linda the Book Lover]

This. I've got my share of issues but cruise stateroom snob is not one of them. Over the years I've never had a bad room (even guarantees) although once or twice my neighbors were less than desirable but what control do you have over that? I usually set a budget first and then try to make everything else fit. Heck, I might be willing to bus tables or clean a few staterooms for a discount on my next cruise.

 

I do not consider myself a cruise stateroom snob. I just happen to enjoy choosing my cabin and knowing I have what I want. I believe everyone has a choice on how they spend their money and none of us is the better than another based on those choices. Before the bid process my DH did call the upsell number and got a suite for a "sweet price" for he and his brother from an unobstructed oceanview. Years ago (let's say over 20 years-maybe more) when the DH and I were much younger we lucked out on a guarantee on Carnival. We decided we enjoyed our time in the cabin relaxing on our balcony in quiet as much as doing things especially in the late evening/night. Yep we may pay more though we watch for price drops but we are both happy with our cabin choice.

[garycarla]

I would think the vast majority of folks pick their cabin when they book. I also think that lots of those folks do not pay full price. One does not allows equal the other.

[hawk/hornfan]

When I book a cruise I find the itinerary I want, the ship that matches where I want to go. The I research the ship, cabins, and price, then call my T/A . She knows I like balcony, mid ship with a floor above and below of nothing but cabin space. Yes I pay more, but never have paid cruise lines listed price and always get obc,and any perks that are available. However I usually book over a year out. One cruise I saved over a $1000 pp by booking early.

But to each their own. What works for you is all a good thing.

[stormynow]

Been cruising since 1978 and still would not know a quiet room location. Stuff happens.

[cb at sea]

If it's a "suite guarantee", I'd go for it. But a regular cabin...I'm with you...I want the location I want.

[gymbomb]

After one miserable cruise trying to sleep right above the laundry which woke us up several times each night, I always choose my exact cabin!

 

 

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[April42749]

The so called "free perks" are of no value to me....so I get guarantees.

 

I book the cheapest....and if the location is horrible..I upgrade myself (or if the price drops I'll upgrade myself).

 

 

So far, I only had one cruise where my self imposed upgrade was mandatory.

 

 

I'd prefer to pick my cabin, but NCL is making that impossible.

[Two Wheels Only]

I'd prefer to pick my cabin, but NCL is making that impossible.

Why not pick your own stateroom and choose "Norwegian Rate" or pick a promo that doesn't have an additional cost?

[Hearthosesteeldrumsplayin]

I definitely pick my cabin of choice...whether it is aft, Haven, or next to friends. I will consider the upgrade bid for cabins that I would like to try out (but those are usually HAVEN, so I don't think I will have issues with where they place me). :)