Suite Guarantee with low suite inventory

[congonati]

I am currently booked on a cruise in an aft balcony. I was just checking prices and balconies are all sold out and the suite prices dropped significantly. So I looked at the suites and there is a suite guarantee option or you can choose your own room for thousands more. I check the choose your own room to see what the inventory looks like and they only have two suites left and they are both 2 bedroom owners suites at the aft next to my current cabin. If I upgrade to the suite guarantee, what are the chances of me getting assigned something other than the two available owners suites?

Edited June 2, 2022 by congonati
typo

[Biker19]

Just now, congonati said:

If I upgrade to the suite guarantee, what are the chances of me getting assigned something other than the two available owners suites?

Very good chance you'll get a JS - the inventory you see is not the whole picture.

[reallyitsmema]

2 minutes ago, congonati said:

I am currently booked on a cruise in an aft balcony. I was just checking prices and balconies are all sold out and the suite prices dropped significantly. So I looked at the suites and there is a suite guarantee option or you can choose your own room for thousands more. I check the choose your own room to see what the inventory looks like and they only have two suites left and they are both 2 bedroom owners suites at the aft next to my current cabin. If I upgrade to the suite guarantee, what are the chances of me getting assigned something other than the two available owners suites?

 

There is no way of knowing what you will get with a suite guarantee.  You will most likely get a JS and someone in a JS will end up with the other cabins through Royal Up.  We have done suite guarantees many times and have gotten a JS every time except once.  That time we ended up with a two bedroom grand suite!  Good luck!

[congonati]

It wouldn't be worth the price difference to get a JS. I would gladly pay the extra $1,200 to get concierge club access though.

[Cigar King]

33 minutes ago, congonati said:

I would gladly pay the extra $1,200 to get concierge club access though.

I'm not sure the access is worth 1200 bucks.

[Norwich Cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Cigar King said:

I'm not sure the access is worth 1200 bucks.

I agree not convinced it’s worth another 1200

[Tudy]

My experience with booking a guarantee when inventory was low was that I got what was showing. So I think that you have a chance, especially if it is close to your sail date. If your sail date is more than a week away, chances are more inventory will pop up.

[orville99]

46 minutes ago, congonati said:

It wouldn't be worth the price difference to get a JS. I would gladly pay the extra $1,200 to get concierge club access though.

Depends a lot on which ship. The only ships that would come close to being worth this much to us would be oasis class or quantum class.

[congonati]

 

2 minutes ago, Tudy said:

My experience with booking a guarantee when inventory was low was that I got what was showing. So I think that you have a chance, especially if it is close to your sail date. If your sail date is more than a week away, chances are more inventory will pop up.

It's a 14 night cruise fall of 2023, so a lot can happen between now and then. The drinks and the double points are appealing, but I would be really bummed to lose my aft balcony for a junior suite. Probably not going to go for it, but I may tell my friend about it and see how he fares. He's in an ocean view guarantee room.

[RosieRoo]

6 minutes ago, congonati said:

 

It's a 14 night cruise fall of 2023, so a lot can happen between now and then. The drinks and the double points are appealing, but I would be really bummed to lose my aft balcony for a junior suite. Probably not going to go for it, but I may tell my friend about it and see how he fares. He's in an ocean view guarantee room.

What is the category code for the suite guarantee?  If it’s WS that’s a Junior  Suite guarantee I believe. I have booked it before and it’s always ended up a JS. I would think now with the upgrade bidding your chances of anything better would be small. Love the aft cabins, especially on the Radiance Class. If it’s one of those you have, they’d have to pay me to move.

[Starry Eyes]

Years ago before RoyalUp, last minute guarantees seemed likely to be assigned those available upgraded cabins.  With RoyalUp, that is no longer so likely.

 

The OP’s cruise is a long way off.  Odds are high that somebody in a JS will cancel or swap to a different ship/sail date, freeing up a JS.  And even if that did not happen, the full suites are apt to fill via RoyalUp, freeing up a JS.

Edited June 2, 2022 by Starry Eyes

[reallyitsmema]

20 minutes ago, congonati said:

 

It's a 14 night cruise fall of 2023, so a lot can happen between now and then. The drinks and the double points are appealing, but I would be really bummed to lose my aft balcony for a junior suite. Probably not going to go for it, but I may tell my friend about it and see how he fares. He's in an ocean view guarantee room.

 

It would be a toss up for me whether I would book a suite guarantee this far out.  Since it is a 14 day cruise, that makes the $1,200 difference not that bad but ship would make a huge difference.  Looking at your posts, you are talking Serenade, which getting a JS really only gives you a larger cabin and double points.  I would likely only consider it if the additional points moved me to a different level in C&A.  Decisions, decisions.  I think I would pass. 🙂 

[HicksRA]

You can bet that they’ll Royal Up those 2 bedroom OS and those cabins won’t be awarded to a GTY. 
99.9% you’ll get a JS if you bid on a suite GTY regardless of what the current vacancies look like. 

[congonati]

37 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

 

It would be a toss up for me whether I would book a suite guarantee this far out.  Since it is a 14 day cruise, that makes the $1,200 difference not that bad but ship would make a huge difference.  Looking at your posts, you are talking Serenade, which getting a JS really only gives you a larger cabin and double points.  I would likely only consider it if the additional points moved me to a different level in C&A.  Decisions, decisions.  I think I would pass. 🙂 

Yeah, it was fun to ponder for a bit, but ultimately I am going to stick with my current cabin. The guarantee option already disappeared anyway. Maybe it was a mistake. 😆

[topnole]

1 hour ago, Cigar King said:

I'm not sure the access is worth 1200 bucks.

On a suite class ship it could be.  On the others,  not even close to worth it.  

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, congonati said:

 

It's a 14 night cruise fall of 2023, so a lot can happen between now and then. The drinks and the double points are appealing, but I would be really bummed to lose my aft balcony for a junior suite. Probably not going to go for it, but I may tell my friend about it and see how he fares. He's in an ocean view guarantee room.

They will start royal ups about a month out and odds i agree you get a JS 

 

So you would not get the free drinks or suite lounge with the JS. Unless you are ok with a JS and want the extra loyalty pt keep your aft balcony. 

[Jimbo]

Is the GTY you are seeing now less then what you are paying now, if so I think I might go with the GTY then, who knows you may get assigned the same exact cabin you have now for a lot less money then you are paying now.

[congonati]

14 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Is the GTY you are seeing now less then what you are paying now, if so I think I might go with the GTY then, who knows you may get assigned the same exact cabin you have now for a lot less money then you are paying now.

My current cabin category (Balcony) is sold out.

[Jimbo]

3 minutes ago, congonati said:

My current cabin category (Balcony) is sold out.

Web site I'm looking at doesn't even show a Suite GTY available for that sailing in September 2023. Is the GTY gone now?

[congonati]

21 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Web site I'm looking at doesn't even show a Suite GTY available for that sailing in September 2023. Is the GTY gone now?

Yes, it was gone within an hour of me seeing it available. Now it's just the two 2-bedroom Owners Suites left at $6k per person.