Lost the GTY gamble, Escape BF cabin

[marktwothousand]

I just paid a full price upgrade and it looks like they temporary code they’re placing in my file for guarantee GTY balcony placement is BF. this looks exactly like where I didn’t want to be 😞 I was hoping to have a balcony For privacy. It looks like BF is deck 8 forward. I don’t mind the obstructed view by lifeboats so much, but this is really where I didn’t want to be. Could anyone shed light on how “bad” a balcony Escape BF could be?

[Sand and Seas]

1 minute ago, marktwothousand said:

I just paid a full price upgrade and it looks like they temporary code they’re placing in my file for guarantee GTY balcony placement is BF. this looks exactly like where I didn’t want to be 😞 I was hoping to have a balcony For privacy. It looks like BF is deck 8 forward. I don’t mind the obstructed view by lifeboats so much, but this is really where I didn’t want to be. Could anyone shed light on how “bad” a balcony Escape BF could be?

It's possible your BF Forward will be a 'secret' large balcony (next to the ClubSuite Large Balconies.)  Look at the BFs farthest forward.  Of course , smaller balconies above will look down on yours so less privacy.

 

Also close access to the District Brewhouse and other venues😎  Hope it works out for you!

[qdog123]

I love those cabins since they are so close to everything. I had the cabin next to the district brew house and it was fantastic. I could look out from my balcony and see how busy the bar was and I could quickly grab something from the bar and bring it back to room if I wanted. I also liked having my own bathroom so close to the bar. I actually have a similar cabin 3 doors down from food republic on my Joy sailing this fall.

 

The only negatives for the room behind the District:

- there is a fire door right in front of this room that separates the District from the cabin hallway. You’ll hear this in the room.

- the shuffleboard court is right outside your window, you’ll hear the clanking of the pucks.

- that’s it…

 

I love being so close to the action without being at the mercy of the elevators. I guess it’s up to you where you think you’ll spend more time. (I won the drinking contest on the escape the week I had that room, lol)

 

[marktwothousand]

Just now, Sand and Seas said:

It's possible your BF Forward will be a 'secret' large balcony (next to the ClubSuite Large Balconies.)  Look at the BFs farthest forward.  Of course , smaller balconies above will look down on yours so less privacy.

 

Also close access to the District Brewhouse and other venues😎  Hope it works out for you!

Ya. Thats what I was thinking, I really don’t like the look down, it’s exactly what I didn’t want 😞 I also had a frightening experience on the bliss being near the overhang and someone dropped a glass and the shards were all over my balcony. I didn’t see them and could have been seriously cut. 
 

hoping to plea my case on board but I won’t hold much hope. It was an upgrade from a studio, so…

[ChiefMateJRK]

11 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

I just paid a full price upgrade and it looks like they temporary code they’re placing in my file for guarantee GTY balcony placement is BF. this looks exactly like where I didn’t want to be 😞 I was hoping to have a balcony For privacy. It looks like BF is deck 8 forward. I don’t mind the obstructed view by lifeboats so much, but this is really where I didn’t want to be. Could anyone shed light on how “bad” a balcony Escape BF could be?

Full price upgrade?  Isn't that when you call them and ask to be switched to a specific cabin in a higher category?  That's how it has always worked for me.

[marktwothousand]

Just now, ChiefMateJRK said:

Full price upgrade?  Isn't that when you call them and ask to be switched to a specific cabin in a higher category?  That's how it has always worked for me.

Ya but the ship was so full they could only do a GTY

[marktwothousand]

Right now in my reservation it “says”  category “BF” with no room number. Does that mean necessarily that I would end up with BF or does everyone get BF as a placeholder until assignment? Or do you usually get placed where the code shows?

 

also some deck plans show BF only on deck 10 and 11 while others show them only on deck 8 so it really depends on what deck plans I look at… if it’s BF on 10 or 11 I’d be pretty happy 

[julig22]

What are you saying?  BF is balcony forward.  NCL doesn't have obstructed balconies as far as I know.

Different ship but I paid full price for GTY balcony, listed as BF-GTY.  Got my cabin assignment about 5 weeks prior to sail date, BC.

[Eggs2Go]

1 hour ago, marktwothousand said:

 

hoping to plea my case on board but I won’t hold much hope. It was an upgrade from a studio, so…

I've gotta laugh. I just upgraded from a sailaway balcony (no cabin assignment yet) into a studio cabin of my choosing with all the perks.  Was able to do when studio prices dropped after final payment. My PCC said he'd never heard of that move before. But I enjoy the studios, especially the lounge with that great morning coffee and breakfast treats. I didn't want to risk having a crappy balcony on a cold transatlantic cruise when I probably won't be sitting outside much anyway.

[marktwothousand]

6 minutes ago, julig22 said:

What are you saying?  BF is balcony forward.  NCL doesn't have obstructed balconies as far as I know.

Different ship but I paid full price for GTY balcony, listed as BF-GTY.  Got my cabin assignment about 5 weeks prior to sail date, BC.

PERFECT. this was the response I was looking for and I was able to corroborate it with another thread where someone said the same thing… the guarantee booking shows BF when you make it but this is just the MINIMUM it seems…

 

Hoping they will take into account that I’m not upgrade bidding on this and it was a full cost ($700) upgrade and assign the bidders first and at least give me something not crappy…

also, anyone know when they usually get assigned? This is for a 10 day European on september 2. Do they usually assign bidders first and then leave the full cost payers till the end? Thanks 

 

 

 

 

 

[marktwothousand]

51 minutes ago, Eggs2Go said:

I've gotta laugh. I just upgraded from a sailaway balcony (no cabin assignment yet) into a studio cabin of my choosing with all the perks.  Was able to do when studio prices dropped after final payment. My PCC said he'd never heard of that move before. But I enjoy the studios, especially the lounge with that great morning coffee and breakfast treats. I didn't want to risk having a crappy balcony on a cold transatlantic cruise when I probably won't be sitting outside much anyway.

Interesting bc:

- they don’t usually let you downgrade if the price difference is LESS

- I would have kept the balcony especially for that long cruise. Even if it is TA a balcony is still a balcony and beats a studio by 1000x.

 

I was a hardcore studio cruiser but I have done balconies the last two sailings and I’m starting to become one of those people who “can’t go back”! I love my balconies and I DO like that it’s a place to get sun without being in public and having to make sure you keep up appearances for it.

 

Whenever I had a studio I always dreaded wanting to go outside after a late night because it always meant MAJOR getting ready so I look presentable in public. 

[billslowsky]

29 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

I was a hardcore studio cruiser but I have done balconies the last two sailings and I’m starting to become one of those people who “can’t go back”! I love my balconies and I DO like that it’s a place to get sun without being in public and having to make sure you keep up appearances for it.

 

I'm with you.  With the balcony you can sit out in the air without having to find your way through the hallways and up to an outside area...  especially late night or early morning when you can basically do it in your underwear if you so choose.

[Eggs2Go]

 

The studio was $6 MORE than the sailaway balcony, and of course I also then had to pay the charges for getting drink package perk. I agree that balconies are the way to cruise in comfort, but I still will book a studio or a balcony, depending, depending (but never an inside b/c it's the extra niceties that make a studio cabin desirable). Suppose it was having drinks included on a long T/A that put me back in a studio this time.

Good luck on getting a balcony you can enjoy thruout your cruise. It's especially nice to have on a port intensive itinerary like yours where you can then go relax any hour of the day or night. I know it's a worry when waiting for a cabin to be assigned, but I think you're going to be okay, particularly since you paid full dollar. Please let us know how this story ends. And I'll raise my glass to a happy sailing for you.

[marktwothousand]

24 minutes ago, billslowsky said:

I'm with you.  With the balcony you can sit out in the air without having to find your way through the hallways and up to an outside area...  especially late night or early morning when you can basically do it in your underwear if you so choose.

I’ll keep my comments to myself on that one 🤪

[kylenyc]

1 hour ago, marktwothousand said:

Interesting bc:

- they don’t usually let you downgrade if the price difference is LESS

I was able to go from a studio to a balcony when the balcony was cheaper. I did not get a refund of the difference, and my PCC said NCL would only do it once as a courtesy. Any future change had to be an upgrade (price had to be higher). Going from a guarantee balcony without Free at Sea to a Studio with Free at Sea if the latter is cheaper, seems similar to me.

 

Your experience may differ. Your PCC or the NCL agent they get on the phone might disagree.

Edited August 20, 2022 by kylenyc

[kylenyc]

P.S. I would stalk a travel site a few times a day that allows you to see available cabins in that category or for a good price drops, upgrade into a higher category balcony in a good location if the price is right, . If you see one open up call your TA or PCC to get it. Not that it will happen to you, but my first and only sailaway/guarantee was a disaster. I'd rather book the bare minimum cabin I'm happy with, keep looking for price drops, and then upgrade into them with the cabin I want, not the cabin NCL wants to give me.

 

I think if it as many people are looking for upgrades. They will upgrade from a less desirable cabin into a more desirable cabin. What's left over are the least desirable cabins that go to those who have the sailaway/guarantee cabins.

Edited August 20, 2022 by kylenyc

[phillygwm]

1 hour ago, marktwothousand said:

I was a hardcore studio cruiser but I have done balconies the last two sailings and I’m starting to become one of those people who “can’t go back”! I love my balconies and I DO like that it’s a place to get sun without being in public and having to make sure you keep up appearances for it.

 

My very first NCL cruise was in an Epic studio.  It was OK and it was novel at the time.  I'd never cruised previously because I didn't want to share a room and I didn't want to pay single supplement.

 

When I got back I got a call from CAS asking me when I planned to cruise again (suffice to say, I didn't do well in the casino that trip!)  They comped me a balcony and, at the time, waived the SS for my friend's room.  Except for my last (weekend) cruise,  which was just to Nassau, I've only done balconies or better since.  I don't necessarily spend a lot of time sitting out there but it's nice to have the view.

[marktwothousand]

9 minutes ago, kylenyc said:

P.S. I would stalk a travel site a few times a day that allows you to see available cabins in that category or for a good price drops, upgrade into a higher category balcony in a good location if the price is right, . If you see one open up call your TA or PCC to get it. Not that it will happen to you, but my first and only sailaway/guarantee was a disaster. I'd rather book the bare minimum cabin I'm happy with, keep looking for price drops, and then upgrade into them with the cabin I want, not the cabin NCL wants to give me.

 

I think if it as many people are looking for upgrades. They will upgrade from a less desirable cabin into a more desirable cabin. What's left over are the least desirable cabins that go to those who have the sailaway/guarantee cabins.

Well, see, that’s the problem. For some reason this sailing went guarantee-only for balconies a couple weeks ago. You can’t check inventory on any popular travel booking sites even if you wanted to because the whole balcony category is blanked out as GTY now.
 

The only non-guarantee balconies available for the sailing at this point are special ones like aft, family, spa, etc. 

 

also, I should clarify that this isn’t technically an “upgrade”, it was a re-fare. NCL transferred my full value of what I paid for the studio to the new fare. The only upshot is that they did allow me to apply a 10% off coupon to the re-fare.

[kylenyc]

5 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

Well, see, that’s the problem. For some reason this sailing went guarantee-only for balconies a couple weeks ago. You can’t check inventory on any popular travel booking sites even if you wanted to because the whole balcony category is blanked out as GTY now.
 

The only non-guarantee balconies available for the sailing at this point are special ones like aft, family, spa, etc. 

 

also, I should clarify that this isn’t technically an “upgrade”, it was a re-fare. NCL transferred my full value of what I paid for the studio to the new fare. The only upshot is that they did allow me to apply a 10% off coupon to the re-fare.

The Category BA is $50/pp more than the BF. I can see the cabin selection. Seems worth the extra cost to me. Good luck!

[marktwothousand]

1 minute ago, kylenyc said:

The Category BA is $50/pp more than the BF. I can see the cabin selection. Seems worth the extra cost to me. Good luck!

Please tell me how you found that. I will call my agency right away and pay the difference if they let me. 

[kylenyc]

13 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

Please tell me how you found that. I will call my agency right away and pay the difference if they let me. 

If you are using a travel agency, just call them and ask them how much it costs to upgrade from your category BF to a BA and that you see it's only $50 per person difference now. They can tell you what cabins are available. At the same time, look at the NCL deck plan on NCL.com to see if the cabin is in a good location before agreeing to the upgrade (nothing noisy above, below, etc.). Usually BAs are in good locations.

 

Sorry but CC doesn't allow us to give names of other TA websites. You can google search for online cruise booking sites. Try each of the top search results and do a mock booking. Eventually you'll find a site that lets you see all of the cabins that are available. They show the deck plan and a little dot on each available cabin.

 

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by kylenyc

[marktwothousand]

Hmmm… thanks @kylenyc but on my end all I see is below…

once you click into “balcony” there are no other categories. You’re forced into GTY. I checked one of the other “popular” big box travel agencies and I was able to see some other balconies but nothing even remotely priced close to what I paid. In fact I counted about 60 cabins total available on the cruise PERIOD. Inside and out. This is going to be one JAMMED cruise…

 

Perhaps it’s a bug?

 

[marktwothousand]

You know what, I think I just figured out what the problem is.

 

I am on the last sailing before the dry dock.

 

i noticed today, on the “other social media” site which has a group for the sailing, MANY people from the Philippines, Singapore, India are in the group. Upon investigating their profiles, many have backgrounds as ship engineers, crew, etc.

 

i am getting a sense that many cabins may be held back for the joining crew (possible quarantine even?) and that also may explain why there are so few cabins left. 
 

i may be starting another thread about the crew turnaround and dry dock soon. Hold tight. 

Edited August 20, 2022 by marktwothousand

[kylenyc]

@marktwothousand

 

Escape Sept 2, 2022. I counted over 50 balcony cabins category BD/BC/BB all the same price. Oddly a few dollars cheaper than what you see on NCL

Again, NCL does not show you every category and cabin that's available. I'm saying you should look up the info on another site THEN call your TA armed with the information.

Edited August 21, 2022 by kylenyc

[marktwothousand]

1 minute ago, kylenyc said:

@marktwothousand

 

Escape Sept 2, 2022. There are over 50 cabins category BD/BC/BB all the same price. I counted at least 50 cabins.

Thanks a LOT for this and That’s about what I counted. I think we’re actually in agreement here! But what Might not be clear is that There isn’t solo pricing on those cabins you point out. 
 

The only way I was able to get solo cruiser pricing on a balcony was to go with guarantee. Otherwise the prices were in the $thousands range as it shows in your pic. (Double what I paid)

 

my rate was far, FAR less than that… oh well. I guess the upshot is that maybe I’ll get placed on one of the remaining 50-60 cabins, which are all decent to me. I’ve been right above the waterfront before and didn’t mind it/notice atall, except for the broken glass dropped on the landing in front of me. (I was just unlucky on that one)

 

i have a feeling the ship is starting to shut down/take on new crew for the drydock after our sailing and that’s what’s happening.