Guarantee stateroom?

[roupa]

We have booked a "guaranteed", no obstruction, veranda stateroom for a summer 2022 cruise... a specific one was not available at the time of  booking.   Was told we would get an upgrade if nothing becomes available in our category.  We are not at all fussy about location as long as we get a veranda with no obstruction.

In the past, we have always booked a specific stateroom.  Will appreciate comments/opinions from anybody with the experience of booking with a guaranteed stateroom.

[lv2cruisgrl]

13 minutes ago, roupa said:

We have booked a "guaranteed", no obstruction, veranda stateroom for a summer 2022 cruise... a specific one was not available at the time of  booking.   Was told we would get an upgrade if nothing becomes available in our category.  We are not at all fussy about location as long as we get a veranda with no obstruction.

In the past, we have always booked a specific stateroom.  Will appreciate comments/opinions from anybody with the experience of booking with a guaranteed stateroom.

We have done it twice, first time we got a great room with great location. Second time it was a room we didn't like because of noise. So I guess we are 50/50. 

[Want2Cruise 701]

If you’re not happy with your assigned cabin, you can move it to another cabin in the same category providing there’s one available. 

[Hlitner]

We have been booking guarantees on Celebrity and many other lines for decades.  Guarantees are fine (and can sometimes be a lot better than fine) for those of us who are not choosy about cabin location.  But we always tell folks that if they are choosy about location a guarantee is not a good idea.  As to upgrades,  they do happen but most of the time it will be a slightly better category in the same type of cabin.  Again, that is all about location as many upgrades simply change location and not anything having to do with the physical cabin.  

 

Years ago we used to get some nice upgrades with guarantees but that is now rare since mass market lines (including Celebrity) now prefer to push "upsells" rather then free upgrades.  We still do get some nice upgrades on the luxury lines (such as Seabourn) with guarantees but one can never be sure what they will get with a guarantee other then  a cabin in the selected or better category.

 

Hank

[davekathy]

...🎲🎲

[Stockjock]

I've had good luck with GUAR cabins on MSC, being upgraded from an OV to a balcony.  Only did one GUAR on Celebrity, but they assigned me the next day and literally gave me the worst cabin in the category booked.  I was able to move to a slightly better location within the same category, but certainly there was no upgrade involved.

Edited October 30, 2021 by Stockjock

[sasset]

Never booked one as we are choosy, but several years ago, on a Summit New England/Canada cruise, we met a couple that had booked a veranda guarantee and ended up with a Family Veranda. 

[Stockjock]

It probably also depends on when you book the GUAR cabin, in many cases.

In my case, I booked very early when the ship was pretty much wide open.  Celebrity probably thought, "We're going to have the hardest time filling those bow cabins over the theater, so put him there".  And they did.  Right over the theater and as far forward as physically possible.

Later, it all boils down to what is available.

Edited October 30, 2021 by Stockjock

[kimlovesfl]

I've done guarantee many times. The worst I've had is a partially obstructed balcony cabin, with a lifeboat below us. Hardly obstructed at all. Best I've had is a mid-ship location. This is with Celebrity and Princess. We are not picky on cabin location. We are more concerned with price. 

 

Our next trip, in January 2022 on the Millenium, I booked a guaranteed Aqua class cabin for the same price as a balcony, and WITH the AI perks. We were assigned 9046 a few weeks after booking. 

[canderson]

22 hours ago, sasset said:

Never booked one as we are choosy, but several years ago, on a Summit New England/Canada cruise, we met a couple that had booked a veranda guarantee and ended up with a Family Veranda. 

Oh, WOW!  That WAS an upgrade!  Bet they were really surprised at how much extra space they got both inside and on the veranda!

[kwokpot]

With the move up bidding process there's no incentive for Celebrity to give you an upgrade to a different cabin type no matter how many available cabins there are, it's just not going to happen. Case in point I'm on the Edge right now with my parents who reserved a guarantee inside cabin. Despite being Elite they were assigned the lowest category inside cabin even though there were many, many deluxe inside cabins and more than 30 Oceanview cabins available. We have under 1000 on this sailing and Celebrity couldn't even give an Elite member a deluxe inside cabin. 

[t18c97]

Maybe it's because we're first time Celebrity cruisers but we got upgraded from a Celebrity suite guarantee to a Royal Suite 11 months prior to the cruise. Maybe they wanted to get us spoiled so we'd book those upper suites if we did any future cruises. Guess that worked since we haven't even cruised with them yet and already booked a Royal Suite for a 2023 cruise. 

[lobsternight]

Took my mother on the Infinity a few years back and booked a GTY veranda.  At the terminal we were upgraded to a concierge veranda.  Was a nice change, and we certainly enjoyed the veranda.  In particular I enjoyed the embarkation lunch in the MDR, those morrocian ribs were the best  

[Arizona Wildcat]

On 10/30/2021 at 9:39 AM, roupa said:

We have booked a "guaranteed", no obstruction, veranda stateroom for a summer 2022 cruise... a specific one was not available at the time of  booking.   Was told we would get an upgrade if nothing becomes available in our category.  We are not at all fussy about location as long as we get a veranda with no obstruction.

In the past, we have always booked a specific stateroom.  Will appreciate comments/opinions from anybody with the experience of booking with a guaranteed stateroom.

We dud a guarantee twice.  Both times were assigned a cabin with an obstruction.   Once we're able to get the cabin quickly changed.  The other time no.

As others said the idea of a guarantee cabin being upgraded is likely only a memory.  Am sure someone with a veranda will bid on an upgrade.  It is all about the $$ today.

[jagoffee]

4 hours ago, kwokpot said:

With the move up bidding process there's no incentive for Celebrity to give you an upgrade to a different cabin type no matter how many available cabins there are, it's just not going to happen. Case in point I'm on the Edge right now with my parents who reserved a guarantee inside cabin. Despite being Elite they were assigned the lowest category inside cabin even though there were many, many deluxe inside cabins and more than 30 Oceanview cabins available. We have under 1000 on this sailing and Celebrity couldn't even give an Elite member a deluxe inside cabin. 

As long as there are cabins available in the GTY category that they booked,  it is what I would expect.    
It is only if their lowest  booked category was not available that I would expect a free upgrade.  This is assuming that they booked the lowest cost inside cabin that was available.  As you point out the higher level cabins are likely to be offered under the Move Up bid program.  It does make me wonder if a GTY booking can bid.  Was that option available to them?

[kwokpot]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

As long as there are cabins available in the GTY category that they booked,  it is what I would expect.    
It is only if their lowest  booked category was not available that I would expect a free upgrade.  This is assuming that they booked the lowest cost inside cabin that was available.  As you point out the higher level cabins are likely to be offered under the Move Up bid program.  It does make me wonder if a GTY booking can bid.  Was that option available to them?

Yes move up was offered. That's my point, these days there's not much chance of being complementary upgraded on a guarantee cabin unless as you said the minimum category is not available. In my parents case the guarantee was just listed as an inside cabin. I don't think a deluxe was offered as a move up and all other move up bids were much more expensive, $300/pp for a Oceanview without all included. 

[nunuc2000]

We almost always book a specific cabin to ensure we're happy with location. But... we did book a gty once, on NCL, for a stupid low price of just 499CAD each for a 19 day from San Francisco to Santiago Chile... the price was too good to pass up!!! The gty was for an inside, and we ended up being assigned an inside handicapped room, even though we didn't require that, but that's what they gave us - it ended up being a great room with all that extra space! 

[jagoffee]

5 hours ago, kwokpot said:

Yes move up was offered. That's my point, these days there's not much chance of being complementary upgraded on a guarantee cabin unless as you said the minimum category is not available. In my parents case the guarantee was just listed as an inside cabin. I don't think a deluxe was offered as a move up and all other move up bids were much more expensive, $300/pp for a Oceanview without all included. 

We agree.  
Unless they have the AI with their current booking, they would not have received the AI with a winning bid.   They must have received a really good deal on their inside GTY as I would have thought that the starting bid would have been lower than $300 per person for the OV, but I would not know.  

[upwarduk]

The one and only GTY that we booked was on Eclipse in her inaugural season in 2010. We were very lucky to be assigned 2A hump balcony, on deck 7.

However, nothing can be guaranteed post COVID. On our recent staycation, the entire Deck 6 was reserved for staff, so that they were not sharing cabins. Also cabins on that deck were used for isolation in case any staff tested positive.

So, whatever anyone tells you here, situations can change in an instant.

Edited November 1, 2021 by upwarduk

[rissy808]

I booked an Oceanview Stateroom - Guarantee for a great price on the Eclipse for Oct 2023.  I just logged on and confirmed our room was already selected and we were assigned a Veranda, deck 6 and forward ship.   

 

I would recommend doing the guarantee rate if you get a good deal and not primarily concerned about room location.  I have only been on two prior cruises so I don't have a lot of experience with what cabins are great/terrible.   I typically choose my cruises/vacations based on affordability first, so I will always go with the cheapest rate and then just roll with it!  Blessed to even go on any vacation and spend time with family//friends/relax! 

[retired dude]

On 10/31/2021 at 1:42 PM, kwokpot said:

With the move up bidding process there's no incentive for Celebrity to give you an upgrade to a different cabin type no matter how many available cabins there are, it's just not going to happen. Case in point I'm on the Edge right now with my parents who reserved a guarantee inside cabin. Despite being Elite they were assigned the lowest category inside cabin even though there were many, many deluxe inside cabins and more than 30 Oceanview cabins available. We have under 1000 on this sailing and Celebrity couldn't even give an Elite member a deluxe inside cabin. 

that is the way it  is, for those of us that have been trained in the travel industry .we were  always taught to  advise "location picky" customers to avoid guaranteed cabins like the plague....do your homework and you can get just as good a deal by buying at the right time from the right vendor and get a cabin that you can be comfortable in. When spending what cruises cost today, why not be happy with your cabin and it's location....just sayin'