Guarantee Balconys

[master_angler_dave]

My wife and I are looking at booking a guaranteed balcony for a January 2020 southern caribbean cruise out of San Juan Puerto Rico (Norwegian Epic). We have never booked a guaranteed balcony before, and it says it may be partially or fully obstructed. How often do people actually receive a fully or partially obstructed balcony.?  Is it a large percentage of the time, or more rare? Thanks for any help anyone can provide. 

[Essiesmom]

The first thing I would do is go to the board here for NCL and ask there about gty balconies on Epic.  And ask what the obstructions are for the different categories, and how many there are compared to unobstructed balconies.  And examine how you would feel if you were assigned one of those obstructed balconies.  EM

[evandbob]

With guarantees, you have to be willing to accept the worst cabin left, the one no one in their right mind consciously books.  If you are okay with that, it's a decent way to save money.  If not, book the type cabin you want.

 

Guarantees are a crapshhot, you are entering a gamble where the house has the edge.  The number of bookings on the ship will control the cabin you get; not only by obstruction, but by deck level and placement on the ship, forward, mid or aft.

Edited April 23, 2019 by evandbob

[leaveitallbehind]

How often are they assigned as GTY's?  Impossible to say, but it would depend on how many obstructed view balconies are not already booked at the time the GTY is offered and how many other standard balconies would be available to include in the GTY category.

 

But as others have said the obstructed view balconies, while priced lower, are the least popular to book, so they would be the most likely to be available with a GTY - especially with the lower pricing level associated with GTY's.  I would say to expect that your GTY assignment will be obstructed and you then will basically get what you paid for.  And if your assignment is not an obstructed view, then you will be pleasantly surprised.

Edited April 23, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[cb at sea]

Some "obstructions" are worse than others.  I would check on the NCL boards, and ask specifically about THAT ship.  The folks on that board will tell you if there are ANY bad balconies.  Sometimes, there are not....and the cruise line is simply "covering their ass" by making that disclaimer.

 

We've had partially obstructed cabins where you still had a full view....but there was a ladder or platform above us that we could see.....didn't affect our balcony enjoyment at all.

 

You pay less for a GTY booking and it can be a good deal.  If you're picky, then pay for and pick the exact cabin you'd be happy in!

 

[iancal]

We usually book balcony gtys.  We have never been disappointed.  The opposite in fact.

 

Keep in mind that your cruise is a long way out.  Keep watching for both fare reductions AND changes in cabin class groupings.

 

In some cases we have been re-fared at considerably lower prices and/or we have been able to switch from a gty to selecting a specific cabin.   Now, we mostly buy inside the final payment window.  Our experience is that cruises from San Juan tend to go down in price as the final payment date approaches.  It of course depends on supply and demand.

Edited April 24, 2019 by iancal