MJSailors Posted July 19, 2019 #1 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Perhaps someone on CC has information regarding booking Deluxe Balconies on Regal Princess and Sky Princess. Yesterday, I was checking prices for a British Isles cruise on the Regal Princess for late May/early June 2020. I wanted a Deluxe Balcony,so I did a dummy booking. When I clicked on choosing that cabin category, it came up Reserved with the note that the cabin would be assigned before embarkation. I did notice that if I selected a Balcony cabin or a mini-Suite, I could proceed with choosing a cabin. I called Princess and questioned the rep about what I had found. Her explanation was that Princess withheld the option for customers to book a Deluxe Balcony of their choosing. I asked if Princess was reorganizing the cabin categories and she had no information to answer my question. I then asked if Reserved was the same as Guarantee and she said yes. Today, I looked at a Caribbean cruise on the Sky Princess for late February 2021. When I tried to book a Deluxe Balcony,the same Reserve notation came up. My question to CC readers is,has anyone experienced the notation of Reserve when trying to book a Deluxe Balcony in the next year or two on Regal class ships ? Does anyone have information as to why this may appear on the Princess booking web site? Thanking you in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cherylandtk Posted July 19, 2019 #2 Share Posted July 19, 2019 It probably has to do with capacity. When bookings first open, you have the option of selecting your own room as well as having princess select the room for you. As specific rooms are taken by passengers, the first option goes away and all you see is the option to have princess assign the room for you. While February 2021 may seem like a long ways off, I’ve seen categories go to the guarantee only status that early before, especially on a new ship. Or, it could just be the princess IT techs monkeying with their systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CATGUY7 Posted July 19, 2019 #3 Share Posted July 19, 2019 (edited) I attempted to book the 12 day BI cruise leaving 5/27/20, and it allowed me to choose a stateroom (B709) or place a reserve and have it assigned. **Sorry, just realized that was the Premium Deluxe Balcony. Got the same Reserve notice with the Deluxe... I’m no help. Edited July 19, 2019 by CATGUY7 Wrong Information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynight Posted July 19, 2019 #4 Share Posted July 19, 2019 I just went into the Princess web site for a late May 2020 sailing on both the Sky and Regal. In both cases deluxe balconies were available and you could select a cabin. I would suggest you work with your T.A. to select a cabin you like. I did not look at every sailing in May and June and it is possible that on some sailings deluxe balcony cabins are reaching capacity, thus Princess assigns them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deliver42 Posted July 19, 2019 #5 Share Posted July 19, 2019 I did a mock booking last night for Dec,2020 and got the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Jeter02 Posted July 19, 2019 #6 Share Posted July 19, 2019 I usually just have my travel agent take care of everything because she's always able to select the cabin where to the public in might just be like guaranteed where princess will just assign you otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffybunny22 Posted July 19, 2019 #7 Share Posted July 19, 2019 I just did a deluxe balcony for June 2020 on the sky on Tuesday and I chose the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJSailors Posted July 20, 2019 Author #8 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Thank you for the replies. Perhaps the Reserve notation appears due to limited availability. Both the BI cruise in lateSpring of 2020 and the Caribbean cruise on the Sky in mid-winter 2021 are popular cruises and months. The number of Deluxe Balcony cabins maybe limited for these cruises. After all,these cabins could be in high demand as they offer a bit more room and a sofa bed without having the extra cost of a mini-Suite. Although ,we do like the curtain in the Regal class mini-Suites because one of us can nap, while the other reads or uses an iPad in the sitting area of the cabin. We have taken many cruises on Princess (Platinum level,close to Elite). Whenever we plan for a cruise, I check prices and available cabins on the web site. Then,I call Princess,and with the appropriate deck plan available to me, I discuss booking a certain cabin with the phone representative. We have always obtained the cabin we want this way. Never had an issue in doing so. That is why I was a bit surprised to see the Reserved come up regarding Deluxe Balcony selections. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootman4U Posted July 22, 2019 #9 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Perhaps you should CALL Princess and ask 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJSailors Posted July 22, 2019 Author #10 Share Posted July 22, 2019 Yes, Bootman4u, I did call Princess . The answer was a decision by Princess to withhold the option to choose a cabin. In booking our past ten cruises,I have never seen the notation, Reserved. I have seen the notation Guarantee, usually very close to the cruise date. I was checking on CC to see if others have seen this. I explained all this in my original post. May I respectfully suggest that you READ posts before you respond. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pompeii Posted July 22, 2019 #11 Share Posted July 22, 2019 I noticed this same thing on my Sept 2020 Mediterranean on the Enchanted. All the deluxe balconies were reserve options, and only regular or obstructed balconies would let me choose an actual room. For the fun of it, I also looked at a couple of Enchanted's itineraries in April 2021, and found the same thing. Like you suspected when you called Princess, I think they are still working out categories, at least on the Enchanted. Maybe if not enough people spend the extra for deluxe, they will be recategorized as regular balconies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted July 22, 2019 #12 Share Posted July 22, 2019 On 7/19/2019 at 3:57 PM, MJSailors said: Perhaps someone on CC has information regarding booking Deluxe Balconies on Regal Princess and Sky Princess. Yesterday, I was checking prices for a British Isles cruise on the Regal Princess for late May/early June 2020. I wanted a Deluxe Balcony,so I did a dummy booking. When I clicked on choosing that cabin category, it came up Reserved with the note that the cabin would be assigned before embarkation. I did notice that if I selected a Balcony cabin or a mini-Suite, I could proceed with choosing a cabin. I called Princess and questioned the rep about what I had found. Her explanation was that Princess withheld the option for customers to book a Deluxe Balcony of their choosing. I asked if Princess was reorganizing the cabin categories and she had no information to answer my question. I then asked if Reserved was the same as Guarantee and she said yes. Today, I looked at a Caribbean cruise on the Sky Princess for late February 2021. When I tried to book a Deluxe Balcony,the same Reserve notation came up. My question to CC readers is,has anyone experienced the notation of Reserve when trying to book a Deluxe Balcony in the next year or two on Regal class ships ? Does anyone have information as to why this may appear on the Princess booking web site? Thanking you in advance. Try putting in 3 guests and see if you get to choose a specific cabin. I had cabins come up (Sky) in that scenario and I just asked my TA to grab one that I saw was available and would be ok for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deliver42 Posted July 22, 2019 #13 Share Posted July 22, 2019 I've had the same problem, can't book a particular cabin. No thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJSailors Posted July 23, 2019 Author #14 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Thank you,Pompeii,Colo Cruiser and deliver42. I continue to find it puzzling that on some cruises Deluxe Balcony cabins can be selected and others not. Also, we will not book under the new promotion because,while the obc is a perk, the deposit is 10% of the cruise fare and non- refundable ( as I understand the terms of booking). This promotion ends in early September,so we will wait to check the terms of the next promotion to decide on booking a British Isles cruise. With all this, I am thinking that Princess is not as customer friendly as it used to be.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelers36 Posted July 23, 2019 #15 Share Posted July 23, 2019 52 minutes ago, MJSailors said: Thank you,Pompeii,Colo Cruiser and deliver42. I continue to find it puzzling that on some cruises Deluxe Balcony cabins can be selected and others not. Also, we will not book under the new promotion because,while the obc is a perk, the deposit is 10% of the cruise fare and non- refundable ( as I understand the terms of booking). This promotion ends in early September,so we will wait to check the terms of the next promotion to decide on booking a British Isles cruise. With all this, I am thinking that Princess is not as customer friendly as it used to be.. Your last comment appears to be proving itself at least somewhat true. If you contact Princess or your TA, you will find that the current Landmark Sale promotion also has a refundable deposit (RD) option. And another bonus is, you might find for your particular cruise of interest that the RD option is the same or cheaper. Go figure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs02 Posted July 23, 2019 #16 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Is it possible that some rooms have been booked out by TA to sell? Some TA seem to have this option on inside cabins. I've also noticed that grade IA midship inside are cheaper than ID aft inside again seems very strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wineglass Posted July 23, 2019 #17 Share Posted July 23, 2019 I recently changed my cabin on a BtoB from Ft Lauderdale to St Petersburg. I found the same problem, all Dlx balcony cabins were to be assigned. I picked the deck/area of the ship I wanted , then called Princess. Several of my choices were available and I changed the cabin with no problem. If you are using an agent, they should be able to do the same. Just call and tell them what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Itchy&Scratchy Posted July 23, 2019 #18 Share Posted July 23, 2019 a choice of a deluxe cabin is still possible for our 2019 Thanksgiving sailing on Regal Princess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted July 23, 2019 #19 Share Posted July 23, 2019 In the scenario where it is a GTY only my TA can see cabins available that I cannot. Thats why I suggested putting in 3 or 4 people to see if it shows cabins sometimes that works. Like I said when that happens I just let the TA know and they are able to grab it for me. I have been able to do it this way quite a few times. I won't do the GTY route unless I absolutely have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJSailors Posted July 23, 2019 Author #20 Share Posted July 23, 2019 Interesting about the deposits,Steelers36. If there is an option for a refundable deposit,why not list it in the booking information ? Seems to me that Princess has not been forthcoming with information. At least that is my observation since researching this British Isles cruise . Perhaps we will need to consider HAL or Celebrity for such a cruise. Not certain their fares,cabin selection process, deposits or booking process would vary from what I have observed about Princess though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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