Oversold GTY Oceanview Balcony

[Dthorne1]

Just got a call with 5 days until our cruise leaves that they oversold the guaranteed ocean view balcony and want to put us inside. Has this ever happened to anyone? Thought the whole point of a guarantee was you were guaranteed at least that category at a minimum 

[Dthorne1]

Diamond Plus members as well.

[Biker19]

Just now, Dthorne1 said:

Has this ever happened to anyone? Thought the whole point of a guarantee was you were guaranteed at least that category at a minimum 

That is quite rare but it has been reported before - welcome to full ships again. Negotiate as much OBC as you can, otherwise just say no - others will jump at whatever they offer and move.

[molly361]

What are they offering you to do it?

[cruisegirl1]

Inside (neighborhood) balcony or inside cabin?  What type of balcony guarantee did you have? 
 

I hope you get it worked out. 
 

m

[Biker19]

Just now, cruisegirl1 said:

What type of balcony guarantee did you have? 

It's in the OP - OV balcony.

[Biker19]

[molly361]

4 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Inside (neighborhood) balcony or inside cabin?  What type of balcony guarantee did you have? 
 

I hope you get it worked out. 
 

m

It's in the title of his thread OV balcony

[molly361]

2 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

OP is on the Harmony according to his/er posting history.  I detect a pattern starting second oversold sailing on what USED to be a slow week 

Edited November 21, 2022 by molly361

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, molly361 said:

OP is on the Harmony according to his/er posting history.  I detect a pattern starting second oversold sailing on what USED to be a slow week 

I assume the options will be similar/same.

 

Biker, who now expects a deluge of "I'm never booking GTY again" type posts.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Biker19

[Dthorne1]

33 minutes ago, Dthorne1 said:

Just got a call with 5 days until our cruise leaves that they oversold the guaranteed ocean view balcony and want to put us inside. Has this ever happened to anyone? Thought the whole point of a guarantee was you were guaranteed at least that category at a minimum 

They want to put us interior room.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, Dthorne1 said:

They want to put us interior room.

Similar situation and all we had to pay was port fees and taxes.  The rest was refunded.  

[dada2199cc]

ignore this comment

Edited November 21, 2022 by dada2199cc

[Ozark_Kid]

21 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Similar situation and all we had to pay was port fees and taxes.  The rest was refunded.  

It's been years ago but we had a similar deal happen.  We agreed to cruise a few weeks later and only had to pay port fees and taxes.  The rest was refunded. 

[SG65CB]

30 minutes ago, Dthorne1 said:

They want to put us interior room.

 

Did they offer any compensation?

[Morecruisesplz]

20 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

It's been years ago but we had a similar deal happen.  We agreed to cruise a few weeks later and only had to pay port fees and taxes.  The rest was refunded. 

I'd be all in for a free cruise!

[pattak619]

Maybe I’m misunderstanding,but why would you have to pay taxes and port fees for a cruise that THEY cancelled!

[Morecruisesplz]

1 hour ago, pattak619 said:

Maybe I’m misunderstanding,but why would you have to pay taxes and port fees for a cruise that THEY cancelled!

If I understood correctly, some have reported only having to pay port fees and taxes when their guarantee category cabin sells out. Not the OP but others.

[SG65CB]

1 hour ago, pattak619 said:

Maybe I’m misunderstanding,but why would you have to pay taxes and port fees for a cruise that THEY cancelled!

They are giving a 100% refund (including refunding taxes, fees, and cruise planner purchases).

 

On top of that they are giving a free cruise. If you take the free cruise you need to pay the port fees and taxes for that cruise. Not for the cruise that was canceled. 

[Jasukkie]

The refund and the free cruise is a great deal if you can be flexible with dates. Just moving to an inside cabin without compensation is not acceptable. 

[Engineroom Snipe]

15 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Again, this is why I like to read cruise critic posts. I was not aware of this policy because I never had the need to use it. I do book GTY cabins so it is important to be prepared for negotiations should this occur. One does not have to take the offer but it could be advantageous with the right circumstances and compensation.

[Biker19]

34 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

One does not have to take the offer but it could be advantageous with the right circumstances and compensation.

I seem to recall one report several years ago when the poster got booted anyway, though I don't recall the specifics. When oversold, even folks without a GTY booking may get the offer to move to another sailing. For folks with flexibility, it can be lucrative.

[mek]

9 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

I seem to recall one report several years ago when the poster got booted anyway, though I don't recall the specifics. When oversold, even folks without a GTY booking may get the offer to move to another sailing. For folks with flexibility, it can be lucrative.

I had this happen years ago on NCL.  We had a 10 nt. Panama Canal booked and they called us with several offers - the best one, which we took, was a 14 nt cruise up the west coast of South America from Santiago through the canal, and ending in Ft Lauderdale including air, which we had not yet booked for the original cruise.  The deal was worth several thousand $'s for us to change.

 

[Stealthdog]

16 hours ago, Dthorne1 said:

Just got a call with 5 days until our cruise leaves that they oversold the guaranteed ocean view balcony and want to put us inside. Has this ever happened to anyone? Thought the whole point of a guarantee was you were guaranteed at least that category at a minimum 

 

Did you book direct or thru a TA?  How you booked may change how you want to respond.  Some TAs have built relationships inside the cruiseline (and private excursion group) companies that can definately help.

 

Reading this thread, it appears that it has happened in the past and customers are often offered a 100% refund and 100% fcc.  If this is an option for you, are there any other cruiselines debarking the same day as your current cruises?  Often the last minute deals are great.

 

If you want to stay on this sailing and accept the downgrade, Id assume you should get some kind of refund for moving to a lower category cabin?  Id also look to get something in addition to that from them - OBC, free wifi, specialty dining, etc.

 

Sorry this has happened to you and can totally relate to the stress you are going through.  Hopefully some of the comments on this thread are helpful.

 

 

[ZoeyVictoria]

The same thing happened to us on the Brilliance in February 2020. Booked a guarantee (only choice available) on Sunday, and received a call on Monday about the overbooking. We were offered a full refund plus any sailing out of Tampa for February, March, or April for only port fees/taxes. Thank goodness we chose the next sailing at the end of February, because we all know what happened soon after. 
 

You have a fantastic opportunity to cruise on the Wonder any time during the remainder of 2022 and all of 2023 for only port fees/taxes, plus a refund of what you paid for the overbooked cruise. It might be possible to use your refund for another cruise during the same time period of the original one and you will still have a free cruise on the Wonder to look forward to before the end of 2023.  Sounds perfect to me!