Celebrity gamble on a cabin game

[Punam]

Someone told me that there's a type of cabin availability game that happens. I'm not sure what else to call it. You can book a suite for instance and Celebrity guarantees that you'll be put into that class of cabin or higher if that one's not available. You have to prepared to accept wherever the cabin is though. Sometimes you won't know until you board the ship (really?), but if you're told say 2 months before departure and you want to cancel, you lose a percentage of your deposit. I'm probably not explaining this correctly, but Celerity cruisers might know what this is about. Has anyone experienced this? Ever ended up not knowing which cabin you have? Sounds a bit crazy. If Celebrity has those suites available why aren't they just showing them and selling them?

[Cruise Raider]

Someone told me that there's a type of cabin availability game that happens. I'm not sure what else to call it. You can book a suite for instance and Celebrity guarantees that you'll be put into that class of cabin or higher if that one's not available. You have to prepared to accept wherever the cabin is though. Sometimes you won't know until you board the ship (really?), but if you're told say 2 months before departure and you want to cancel, you lose a percentage of your deposit. I'm probably not explaining this correctly, but Celerity cruisers might know what this is about. Has anyone experienced this? Ever ended up not knowing which cabin you have? Sounds a bit crazy. If Celebrity has those suites available why aren't they just showing them and selling them?

 

All cruiselines I have sailed with do this ... it is called a guarantee cabin type. With Celebrity, we've not ever been given a bad cabin but have also not gotten anything better than what we've booked. We've lost the game on some other cruiselines ... which is why we will only continue to book guarantees on Celebrity and choose our cabins carefully on the others.

[dkjretired]

Someone told me that there's a type of cabin availability game that happens. I'm not sure what else to call it. You can book a suite for instance and Celebrity guarantees that you'll be put into that class of cabin or higher if that one's not available. You have to prepared to accept wherever the cabin is though. Sometimes you won't know until you board the ship (really?), but if you're told say 2 months before departure and you want to cancel, you lose a percentage of your deposit. I'm probably not explaining this correctly, but Celerity cruisers might know what this is about. Has anyone experienced this? Ever ended up not knowing which cabin you have? Sounds a bit crazy. If Celebrity has those suites available why aren't they just showing them and selling them?

 

It's called a guarantee and they do it for every cabin category. Usually the price is cheaper but as you said you are stuck with what they give you. I did it with an Aqua class cabin once and was very happy.

[jelayne]

I believe you are talking about booking a Guaranteed cabin. These are not always offered, or not offered for all categories. When they are you book a guarantee category (OV, veranda, Aqua. Etc) and at some point you will be assigned your cabin. It could be in 2 days, or in weeks and in some cases you find out when you get to the pier.

 

We recently booked a guarantee veranda and in about a week we got our cabin assignment. It was a 2c, which is a partially obstructed cabin.

 

If you decide to cancel any money you lose will depend on when you cancel, not the fact that you booked a guarantee. As with any booking if you cancel after final payment your start forfeiting money.

[Punam]

Thanks everyone! I'd be willing to wait and see what happens, but not so long that my deposit is affected. Anyone have any idea why a cruise line does this? I go to their site and don't see this suite as being available, yet I can book it as a guaranteed cabin. Why not just show me what's available, let me choose and pay and be done with it?

[cruisestitch]

Sometimes large travel agencies are themselves gambling. They block a number of rooms in hopes they will sell them. Later they release them back to the cruise line which can then distribute them to those who have booked guarantees.

[CEOofVacation]

Thanks everyone! I'd be willing to wait and see what happens, but not so long that my deposit is affected. Anyone have any idea why a cruise line does this? I go to their site and don't see this suite as being available, yet I can book it as a guaranteed cabin. Why not just show me what's available, let me choose and pay and be done with it?

The cruise line is using an actuarial model where it expects some cabins will become available due to last minute cancellations. Not very different from airlines overbooking their seats.

[Carole2313]

We saved $800 by booking a guarantee Sky Suite about 6 weeks ago and received our room assignment this week, and we're thrilled with the location. They gave us a S1 just off the first hump on the port side, a few cabins down from the elevators. Couldn't have picked it better myself.

 

 

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[varoo]

Thanks everyone! I'd be willing to wait and see what happens, but not so long that my deposit is affected. Anyone have any idea why a cruise line does this? I

They do it for the same reasons that most hotels sell their rooms this way.

 

It gives them a great deal of increased flexibility in selling and assigning rooms.

 

Celebrity's exciting deals are usually sold as guarantees.

Many passengers (those who are not too picky about which exact cabin they get) like to book this way for the lower price, plus the chance of receiving an upgrade.

Edited September 8, 2017 by varoo

[Beejay4016]

Someone told me that there's a type of cabin availability game that happens. I'm not sure what else to call it. You can book a suite for instance and Celebrity guarantees that you'll be put into that class of cabin or higher if that one's not available. You have to prepared to accept wherever the cabin is though. Sometimes you won't know until you board the ship (really?), but if you're told say 2 months before departure and you want to cancel, you lose a percentage of your deposit. I'm probably not explaining this correctly, but Celerity cruisers might know what this is about. Has anyone experienced this? Ever ended up not knowing which cabin you have? Sounds a bit crazy. If Celebrity has those suites available why aren't they just showing them and selling them?

 

Go for it. It's usually a lot cheaper. With HAL we booked a guarantee verandah and got upgraded to what they now call a Vista Suite (just a slightly better positioned verandah but perhaps a tad bigger). We found out that we'd been upgraded before sailing, but didn't get our actual room number until a week beforehand. For our forthcoming Celebrity Cruise we booked a guarantee concierge. That cruise isn't until February, but we've already been assigned the cabin. We're very happy with it, like the position, and the saving was fantastic - Aus$2700 more if we opt to choose the concierge cabin ourselves. I have heard people complain that they ended up in a location they weren't keen on with a guarantee cabin, but I've heard many more who are thrilled with both the cabin and the savings. The amount we've saved should just about pay our bar bill.

[schiff1997]

If I book a Family Verandah guarantee on the Silhouette will I get a FV? There is only 2 of us sailing

[CruisingChick]

The cruise line is using an actuarial model where it expects some cabins will become available due to last minute cancellations. Not very different from airlines overbooking their seats.

 

And what if they don't become available? We booked a guarantee ocean view stateroom 22 days ago. We have still not gotten our cabin and we are 16 days until sailing. The cruise had been showing SOLD OUT up until yesterday when 2 OV and 1 Aqua cabins became available to book.

 

I don't understand why they are selling these cabins but we have not been assigned our cabin.

[cruise kitty]

And what if they don't become available? We booked a guarantee ocean view stateroom 22 days ago. We have still not gotten our cabin and we are 16 days until sailing. The cruise had been showing SOLD OUT up until yesterday when 2 OV and 1 Aqua cabins became available to book.

 

I don't understand why they are selling these cabins but we have not been assigned our cabin.

 

I've done a guarantee 3 times now, twice with verandah guarantee where I fully expected to get an obstructed view... it took forever to get an assignment with both, on one I was assigned a C3 & on another an AQ1... the one time I did an Aq guarantee I was assigned within 2 or 3 weeks & received an AQ2 which was fine by me, but the lowest category I could have received... long story short, I think the longer they take to assign you the better chance of getting an upgraded cabin. :)

 

fingers crossed for you that you get an awesome assignment

[jelayne]

If I book a Family Verandah guarantee on the Silhouette will I get a FV? There is only 2 of us sailing

 

Not necessarily, you could be assigned a Conciegre or Aqua cabin which are considered upgrades from a FV.

[BEAV]

Not necessarily, you could be assigned a Conciegre or Aqua cabin which are considered upgrades from a FV.

 

Which is why I've never booked category FV on a guarantee basis. To me, CC and or AQ represents a downgrade. If FV were the highest balcony category under S2, that would be a different story.....

[cb at sea]

Your are GUARANTEED to get AT LEAST the category of the GTY....if you book a balcony guarantee, you will get AT LEAST a balcony. If you book a "suite" guarantee, you will get AT LEAST the lowest category of suite....but with all GTY's, you could get something better! It's simply (usually) a cheaper way to book a cabin.

 

This option is NOT good if you are particular about WHERE on the ship you are...if you want an "aft" balcony...you need to book the one you want...if you want mid-ship, you might be unhappy if you are all the way forward, etc....