Moving guarantee cabin location

[stuartgrn]

Hi. Looking at booking our first cruise with NCL and had a question about guaranteed stateroom. With Royal and Celebrity we have booked guaranteed cabins and when they have been allocated we have been able to phone customer service and move the cabin within the same cabin level if available. Is this the case with NCL or are you stuck with whatever cabin you are assigned? Thanks.

[spanishguy1970]

in our experience, you are stuck with whatever cabin you are assigned, usually all the way forward or aft. There have been times that we have gotten mid ship guarantee..The only way you are able to change is if you pay extra in the section you want.

[nwcruiselover]

My experience is the same as Spanishguy1970.  When I have booked a sailaway rate, where the cabin is a guarantee, the representative has stressed that I have to be willing to accept whatever cabin they assign me within the general category (inside, OV, or balcony) and that they would not move me to another cabin.  The only way I know of  to get a better cabin location is to actually pay the going rate for the cabin you want.  I have been happy with what they have assigned me, so I haven’t put this to the test.  

[FLAHAM]

Stuck.

[Nclgetawaymenhoney]

Yes it's random, but once assigned calling to change and being successful, odds not in your favor

[robin13]

I did my first and last guarantee cabin booking several months ago.  I had heard stories from various people that had no issues with their cabin locations so I thought to save money I would try one as well.  So I booked a balcony guarantee cabin on the Epic and when I got the cabin number I discovered that it was so far forward that I was almost at the pointy end of the ship.  That part wasn't so bad as my last cruise on RCCL I was in an inside cabin that was at the front of the ship.  The bad part was that the balcony cabin was an "enclosed" balcony which I discovered in the small print on my booking notice.  I had no idea NCL even had these balconies.  I looked at a picture of one and it looked like a big picture window surrounded by metal.  I'm sorry but that isn't my idea of a balcony so I called my NCL guy and he said the only way to change the cabin was for me to pay for it.  So I shelled out another $200 to change cabins so I would have a normal balcony.  So the answer to your question is you are stuck unless you pay to change the cabin location.

[Shanlon42]

Also, sometimes they may assign you a room that is considered an upgrade but may not seem like one to you. For example you may want an Obstructed Oceanview with a picture window (OK) but be “upgraded” to a Porthole (OG).

[Nola26]

On 4/7/2019 at 8:42 PM, FLAHAM said:

Stuck.

Well I can think of two non free options. 

 

1. Call and pay the upgrade fee to get something you prefer

 

2. Bid for higher category cabins, still no choice in location and no guarantee you'll win.

 

We were given midship balcony days after booking guarantee, hopefully we like it.

[cruisencrazy]

It depends on the category you are booking.  If you book mini suite, you are likely to end up with a good location.  We aren’t that picky and usually book last minute, so we frequently book guarantees. The only time we have gotten an awful cabin assignment was on another cruise line and I was able to get it changed. If I were booking the cruise early, I would probably not book a guarantee. We secured the cabin we wanted for our August cruise. It will be less stressful if you book a specific cabin. No matter what, you’re going on a cruise...wahoooo 🥳

[tomk3212]

We've done the GTY Inside on EVERY cruise we've ever taken with NCL so I can speak from a lot of experience re: the inside cabin GTY rate:

 

1) First off, we're not fussy; just getting onto a cruise ship for a low price is the be-all & end-all for us.  So we really don't care where our cabin is as long as it isn't Decks 3 or 4...lol

 

2) We've gotten our cabin # assigned anywhere from a month before to the day before sailing.  The TA cruise we're taking in 2 weeks we got our cabin assigned a month before sailing.

 

3) Location?  WIDELY varying.  This time we're all the way in the front on the Getaway on Deck 13.  If I had to give a percentage I'd say out of the 16 or so cruises we've taken we've been mid-ship over 70% of the time.  We've been as low as Deck 5 on the Breakaway & Spirit & as high as 13 on the Getaway this sailing.

 

Chance of changing your cabin once assigned? Slim & None, as the old gambler said.  We got stuck midship on Deck 5 for our Breakaway cruise last October & it actually didn't turn out badly at all...

 

4) We have noticed that as we ascend the NCL preferred customer ladder (Bronze to Silver to Gold & now Platinum) that our cabin locations have also improved.  Coincidence?  Maybe...

 

5) Hint: if you have an NCL CC book directly with them rather than online.  It DOES make a difference!  Our best cabin locations & cabins have been when we booked with our CC rather than online.  We don't do TAs at all.

 

6) We've been "bumped up" on TWO occasions by our aforesaid CC; once to a window-view & another time to a balcony.  While the extra room in the balcony IS nice & we DID appreciate the sensation of seeing outside the ship for once (lol) we figure that for amount of time we spend in our cabin the extra $$ is simply not worth it.  For the same amount of $$ we'd rather go on more cruises than one cruise in a balcony or higher.  

 

I can't speak for the GTY rate on the other cabin categories but this is how the GTY rate works on Inside cabins based on our experience.

 

Have a great cruise...wherever you end up!
 

[Mid43]

I have been successful in changing my Sail Away assigned room to within the same category on 2 occasions, one other time I tried, I was unsuccessful. I book Guarantee rooms all the time (15+ cruises) and am generally happy with the assignments.

It doesn't hurt to reach out to whomever you booked the cruise with, and maybe they can assist.

Doesn't hurt or cost you anything to ask.