Is this something new?

[broadwaybaby123]

No this is not a new thing.  I did a GYT in 2019 on Serenade.

[stag]

You could end up an Obstructed Balcony room like this (Anthem):

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, iuki said:

Really?  We just booked a cruise a couple of weeks ago and selected our stateroom and was never told that.

You could have chosen a guaranteed room for less. Always been that way. Basically get assigned rooms that no one else "selected"/wanted. You may get lucky and get a room from a cancellation or upgrade. Or get a room over/under a bar/entertainment facility to provide "entertainment" in your stateroom until the wee hours of the morning. 

Edited June 16, 2022 by BirdTravels

[ReneeFLL]

6 hours ago, iuki said:

My niece called RCCL to book a cruise for her mom.  When she told the rep she wanted to choose their balcony stateroom, the rep told her that she would have to pay extra per person to select their own room, but if RCCL assigns the room, they would be guaranteed a balcony stateroom.  NEVER heard of this!  So they didn’t select a stateroom. I told her to call back and get a different rep.  Have any of you heard of this? Or is this something new?  She’s at work right now, so I don’t know if she’s had a chance to call them again.

Were they told what the price difference was? I have noticed lately sometimes it is very little or the same to pick your own room. Also when booking they will give you the best price. In other words it will be non-refundable. They don’t tell you this they just say it’s the best price. Not sure if they care one way or the other. 

Edited June 16, 2022 by ReneeFLL

[ONECRUISER]

7 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Then for sure you cannot do  gty as you cannot accept any location. You  need to pick which costs more 99% of the time.

Did see HC Guarantee before but was 8-10 years ago, and was close to Sail Date.

[Merion_Mom]

I think that the phone rep just didn't explain it very well.  😉 

[stacynray]

11 hours ago, iuki said:

My niece called RCCL to book a cruise for her mom.  When she told the rep she wanted to choose their balcony stateroom, the rep told her that she would have to pay extra per person to select their own room, but if RCCL assigns the room, they would be guaranteed a balcony stateroom.  NEVER heard of this!  So they didn’t select a stateroom. I told her to call back and get a different rep.  Have any of you heard of this? Or is this something new?  She’s at work right now, so I don’t know if she’s had a chance to call them again.

strange, I’ve never been charged in selecting a specific room. Either I can or can’t—meaning, if I go with the cheaper option with ‘guaranteed ocean balcony’ then it’s picked for me.

 

Otherwise it has you select the room number on the map before buying your cruise. The only time it’s more money is if you select a room above the class you initially selected.

[Kathscof]

Upon checking the prices for my Alaska cruise last month I frequently saw guarantee prices more than picking a cabin......they would switch which one was higher from time to time......so it’s not just “if you want to pick your cabin it’s more” I guess at those times it was “if you fit into what Royal is trying to do at the moment, you pay this much”

 

that being said, we got an amazing deck 7 balcony with an extended balcony I think? 

 

I’m with merion thinking that the agent just explained it really poorly....

[nelblu]

7 hours ago, stag said:

You could end up an Obstructed Balcony room like this (Anthem):

Doesn't look like a balcony cabin.  It's looks more like Oceanview.

[alohayall]

8 hours ago, nelblu said:

Doesn't look like a balcony cabin.  It's looks more like Oceanview.

And wouldn’t that be sad if you thought you were getting a normal balcony?

[orville99]

There have been occasions recently where the “we pick your room” option (GTY) was more expensive than the “you pick your room” option.

[orville99]

16 hours ago, stag said:

You could end up an Obstructed Balcony room like this (Anthem):

Reminds me of the navigator veranda cabins on Disney.

[AlohaLivin]

40 minutes ago, alohayall said:

And wouldn’t that be sad if you thought you were getting a normal balcony?

 Side note - love you screen name 😉 I actually have a t’shirt that I made that says Aloha Y’all  I am from Georgia, hubby is Hawaiian (and born in Honolulu 🌸)

[smokeybandit]

It was poorly phrased. You can get a discount with a guarantee room, not really that you pay extra to pick a room as if you were picking your seat on a flight.

 

 

[DCPIV]

This probably has been more than adequately explained, but here's my take.

 

It's just a new way of showing the "guarantee" fare that's been around for years and years and years.  

[iuki]

17 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Were they told what the price difference was? I have noticed lately sometimes it is very little or the same to pick your own room. Also when booking they will give you the best price. In other words it will be non-refundable. They don’t tell you this they just say it’s the best price. Not sure if they care one way or the other. 

I did a mock booking and did discover for the first time that it shows both prices.  Never saw that before.  I gather it’s a don’t ask don’t tell if you don’t book online.  😂

[iuki]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

It was poorly phrased. You can get a discount with a guarantee room, not really that you pay extra to pick a room as if you were picking your seat on a flight.

 

 

That makes sense.  That’s good marketing.  👍

[Nunagoras]

On 6/15/2022 at 10:26 PM, iuki said:

My niece called RCCL to book a cruise for her mom.  When she told the rep she wanted to choose their balcony stateroom, the rep told her that she would have to pay extra per person to select their own room, but if RCCL assigns the room, they would be guaranteed a balcony stateroom.  NEVER heard of this!  So they didn’t select a stateroom. I told her to call back and get a different rep.  Have any of you heard of this? Or is this something new?  She’s at work right now, so I don’t know if she’s had a chance to call them again.

Pretty much everything has been said. Guaranteed is always less expensive than pick your own. Unique problem might have been the less than stellar way the rep has said that to someone that really wasn't aware of the way things go.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, Nunagoras said:

Guaranteed is always less expensive than pick your own.

Need to careful with absolutes, RCI has had a few times when that was not true.  

[AlohaLivin]

48 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Need to careful with absolutes, RCI has had a few times when that was not true.  

Correct, I actually saw one a month back where it was $1000 more to choose your own GS than to have them choose it (IT insanity I assume) 😳

[Merion_Mom]

20 hours ago, stag said:

You could end up an Obstructed Balcony room like this (Anthem):

 

12 hours ago, nelblu said:

Doesn't look like a balcony cabin.  It's looks more like Oceanview.

 

3 hours ago, orville99 said:

Reminds me of the navigator veranda cabins on Disney.

 

Those cabins are actually good choices.  Other obstructed view cabins on this class of ship often are 75% obstructed by lifeboats and/or davits.  These are the cabins all the way forward, with a LARGE round opening with nothing blocking the view. 

 

 

 

[ONECRUISER]

15 hours ago, Kathscof said:

Upon checking the prices for my Alaska cruise last month I frequently saw guarantee prices more than picking a cabin......they would switch which one was higher from time to time......so it’s not just “if you want to pick your cabin it’s more” I guess at those times it was “if you fit into what Royal is trying to do at the moment, you pay this much”

 

that being said, we got an amazing deck 7 balcony with an extended balcony I think? 

 

I’m with merion thinking that the agent just explained it really poorly....

Agree, many times have seen Guarantee Cabins little to Hundreds more then Pick your Own.

[Nunagoras]

19 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Need to careful with absolutes, RCI has had a few times when that was not true.  

Sure! I was talking in a normal market day. There are obviously some specific promos or selling points when that couldn't be the case. Thanks!

[FamilyCruiserUK]

On the uk website. If there are three people in the room then you can pick room.

 

If two people in the room you have option of rcl picking it guarantee basis 

Or 

Pay a little more and pic your own. 

 

Always been that way as far as i can rememeber

 

 

 

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, Nunagoras said:

I was talking in a normal market day.

You may find that all kinds of folks come out of the woodwork anytime anyone makes some absolute statement with their exception to that statement - it's a good idea to qualify just about any statement. I'd venture to guess the few times the pick your own cabin is cheaper than a GTY, it's likely an RCI pricing mistake, not a promo.