Why do you not choose a cabin when booking

[KroozNut]

In our case, the worst cabin we ever had is one we chose! Didn't know any better at the time.

May I ask how you came to your decision to choose that specific cabin, and what made it so bad?

[DaveOKC]

We stopped booking gty when the fleet-wide mass recategorization a few years back turned everything topsy-turvy from our perspective. What used to be VE and VF on deck 5 of Vista and Signature ships became V or VA, and the high-deck VA and V that we like became VE and VF! Now we choose a VE or VF or deck 7 or 8 and specify "DNU".

 

Agree with you! My idea of a good cabin location does not seem to line up with HAL's idea and rating system, so we almost always pay a bit more to pick our cabin. Then we mark the reservation "do not upgrade".

 

Funny thing is. with the new grading system, the cabins we like are now often lower priced than the ones we would avoid! Work out great for us.

[KroozNut]

Agree with you! My idea of a good cabin location does not seem to line up with HAL's idea and rating system, so we almost always pay a bit more to pick our cabin. Then we mark the reservation "do not upgrade".

 

We do exactly the same.. easy and uncomplicated. Best of all, no surprises!

[catl331]

May I ask how you came to your decision to choose that specific cabin, and what made it so bad?

It was the first time we decided to try the Lower Promenade. Unfortunately we hadn't learned yet that being under the galley was a bad idea! We've since chosen several other LP cabins, just not under the galley. Edited April 17, 2018 by catl331

[AV8rix]

And my good luck just continues (see my post #26 on this thread)! Paid for an MM guar -- the only thing I've EVER booked in my 8 years on HAL. Today I received my assignment -- K7072 on Zaandam! Love that location! My own "private" aft deck. Of the approximately 80 staterooms on that deck, only about 5-6 don't have their own balcony so that big aft open deck which, incidentally, runs abeam of the whole ship, belongs to us (the occupants of the few insides on that deck)!

[mor mor]

I do not think this is the case. The reason lines offer guarantees is because there are cabins which have NOT been selected and the line wants to get the highest price possible for them. A gty might be the only thing offered, but, if you insisted, they would have something available for you - just perhaps not at the price you want to pay for it.

A gty has been our ONLY option for our coastal cruises.

[Roz]

A gty has been our ONLY option for our coastal cruises.

 

That has been my experience when booking HAL's Coastals, which tend to be the last leg of Panama Canal cruises. I've done several and always had to book a GTY.

 

Roz

[DaveOKC]

That has been my experience when booking HAL's Coastals, which tend to be the last leg of Panama Canal cruises. I've done several and always had to book a GTY.

 

Roz

 

 

Same here - always only guarantees available. I do not blame HAL though, as they most times are just a few days at the beginning or end of a long cruise, so they do not want to tie up cabins that can be sold to longer cruisers (plus it gives them more options to fill slow moving categories).

[Roz]

I've gotten some pretty good fares on those Coastals, so much so that I've been able to book a Neptune Suite on some of them, so I'm not going to complain about having to book a GTY - First World Problem. :cool:

 

Roz

[catl331]

A gty has been our ONLY option for our coastal cruises.

 

That has been my experience when booking HAL's Coastals, which tend to be the last leg of Panama Canal cruises. I've done several and always had to book a GTY.

We could only book a gty on one segment of a Grand Mediterranean.

[Javaholic]

I’ve done both, depending on the cruise. Our upcoming Europe cruise was about $200 cheaper to book a guaranty. So we have a gty unobstructed ocean view. We have 11 ports in 12 days, they’re all 9-12 hr port days, so it doesn’t matter to us where we end up. We’ll pretty much only be in the cabin to sleep.

 

On heavy sea day cruises, we’ve booked a specific balcony cabin because we will spend more time in it.

 

Our cruise coming up is pretty sold out, no expectations of any kind of upgrade at all.

[Lovely other]

Because the cheapest guarantee is what I can just about afford usually :cool:

[catl331]

Our cruise coming up is pretty sold out, no expectations of any kind of upgrade at all.

There's still hope. Even on sold out cruises, lower categories tend to be oversold and upper categories undersold, so upselling and upgrading still goes on. And there always some last minute cancellations to open up higher cabins. We were once the beneficiaries of one of those.

[DaveOKC]

There's still hope. Even on sold out cruises, lower categories tend to be oversold and upper categories undersold, so upselling and upgrading still goes on. And there always some last minute cancellations to open up higher cabins. We were once the beneficiaries of one of those.

 

Very true. Just a month ago we got an upsell offer 5 days prior to the cruise on a sold out cruise. It must have been a last minute cancellation as there was only one cabin available. You just never know.

[Javaholic]

Well, I won't hold my breath - but it would be a great surprise! I also go by the theory to book what I'll be happy with. We've done a gty several times and never been upgraded, but also never been unhappy with our cabin.

 

Everyone else in our group has a balcony, but I just couldn't see paying for it (about $1200 more) - we'll rarely be there.

[jskinsd]

Last month I booked the Zaandam for next week to Alaska in a inside cat N guaranteed as a solo. Kept monitoring prices. Today oceanview cat F guarantee is offered at a lower price for a single. Called travel agent and asked for an upgrade. Got the cabin at the same cost. Not a bad upgrade (cabin with a view) to Alaska for zero costs. I do this all the time. Just get me on the ship at an inside guarantee and something better always comes up at little or no costs. I would not have asked for the upgrade if it was in a lower category. I little research on deck plans is all you need. You will never be surprised on the cabin you receive. That is part of the fun at trying to get your cruise at a better rate than you already agreed to. For me it is a WIN WIN situation. In the last six years I have done over 30 weeks in Alaska on various cruise lines with many agents and I have never been disappointed with guarantees.

[winddawn]

I recently booked a verandah guarantee. I got a free inside cabin casino offer which also had the option to pay a very reasonable upcharge for a verandah guarantee. My only option on the offer was a guarantee, but it was such a good deal I think its worthwhile. I had a free inside cabin guarantee offer last time I sailed HAL and received a large inside. That was the first time I sailed on HAL in an inside cabin and was surprised how small the cabin was compared to inside cabins I've sailed in on other lines.

[DaveOKC]

I recently booked a verandah guarantee. I got a free inside cabin casino offer which also had the option to pay a very reasonable upcharge for a verandah guarantee. My only option on the offer was a guarantee, but it was such a good deal I think its worthwhile. I had a free inside cabin guarantee offer last time I sailed HAL and received a large inside. That was the first time I sailed on HAL in an inside cabin and was surprised how small the cabin was compared to inside cabins I've sailed in on other lines.

 

I assume the size of the inside cabins vary by ship on HAL, with the newer ships having the smaller ones.

[RuthC]

I assume the size of the inside cabins vary by ship on HAL, with the newer ships having the smaller ones.

The size of the insides varies more by class of ship than by ship itself, with (you're correct) them getting smaller overall as the class gets newer.

However, within a class, there are different sizes of inside cabins. Some are tiny, while others are larger. There are even a few that are huge!

[Protseq]

We will be testing your MM theory in a couple months. We are on what I think will be a popular cruise. I am not expecting an upgrade from MM. Tom :)

 

We went from MM to outside obstructed mid ship. No problem with that guarantee selection. Tom:)

[*Miss G*]

We went from MM to outside obstructed mid ship. No problem with that guarantee selection. Tom:)

Thanks for reporting back!

[RedHeadTexan]

For the Zaandam July 2nd sailing we initially booked an HH partially obstructed ocean view and I picked my cabin. A few weeks ago the Vista suite guaranty was the same price that I paid for my HH. I looked at the deck plans and decided that I would be fine with the less desirable locations. So, we took the guaranty. I should know our cabin assignment in two weeks. :)For a 14 day Alaska cruise I felt a balcony would be awesome and this was the only way I could afford it.

 

Lisa

[*Miss G*]

For the Zaandam July 2nd sailing we initially booked an HH partially obstructed ocean view and I picked my cabin. A few weeks ago the Vista suite guaranty was the same price that I paid for my HH. I looked at the deck plans and decided that I would be fine with the less desirable locations. So, we took the guaranty. I should know our cabin assignment in two weeks. :)For a 14 day Alaska cruise I felt a balcony would be awesome and this was the only way I could afford it.

 

Lisa

That is awesome! Congratulations!!

[Hlitner]

We often do not bother booking specific cabins, unless there is a compelling reason. Guarantees will often get you an upgrade and we generally do not care too much about our cabin location. Over our 100 plus cruises we have actually had numerous problems with carefully chosen cabins whereas our guarantees have usually left us happy cruisers.

 

Hank

[RedHeadTexan]

We were assigned our cabin today. We are in a vista suite 6205 (vista suite guaranty) on the Zaandam. Cabins above us and the Kings Room below. It is a fantastic location that is close to the aft public deck. I am doing my happy dance.!!! :hearteyes:

 

Lisa