Booked a guarantee/ Got the shaft

[rucruizin]

This will be our first sailing with HAL and I am looking forward to it. BUT...we bokked a gruarantee because that was hte only way we could have a balcony. Se we had a BC guarantee.

 

I've been watching the imiigration form and finally received a cabin assignment a couple days ago. We were assigned cabin #6106 which is at the VERY front of the ship. my only other experience with a similar cabin was terrible. It was too windy to ever use our balcony. I prefer to be all the way aft.

 

I sent an email to both HAL and my TA and both have told me I am out of luck and stuck with this cabin.

 

Can anyone tell me something to make me feel better about this cabin because right now I'm ticked!

[Budget Queen]

Go and have a good time with your savings. Rule of thumb, if you are specific for a certain cabin/location, then guarantees are not for you. I most always book guarantees, and don't care where I end up. That is what a guarantee is. :)

[rucruizin]

Go and have a good time with your savings. Rule of thumb, if you are specific for a certain cabin/location, then guarantees are not for you. I most always book guarantees, and don't care where I end up. That is what a guarantee is. :)

 

Savings??? We paid $3500 for the guarantee which was the only thing available. All baclony cabins were sold out and we were on a waitlist. When we cleared the waitlist this was our only option and we took it because we wanted a balcony. Of all those BC cabins I would have been totally happy with either of them in the back. Even if we had no other options then the BC cabins we had a 50/50 chance of getting one that would be suitable for us.

 

I guess I'm not feeling lucky because I am stuck with the crappy cabin and that's that.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We book suites and always select them pretty far forward - we like them. Unless the wind is really up we have never had it windy on our verandah.

[K&RCurt]

I truly don't understand what you have to be angry about. Was the cabin assigned to you a BC or higher catagory? This is the issue with guarantees you can be assigned to ANY cabin in the catagory you booked or above. In all likelyhood the "prime" cabins will be taken up by folks who book specific cabins, to avoid the less desireable cabins. With ships sailing at full capacity the likelyhood of a big fat upgrade by booking guarantee are quite low.

[sail7seas]

Sorry to hear you are not happy with your cabin assignment but, I am sure you knew, when you went ahead and booked a guarantee, you could be assigned any cabin in that category. You always had the option to not book if you were not happy about 'having' to book a guarantee.

I don't think it fair to say you got the shaft.....you got exactly what you booked.

 

I think you may be pleasantly surprised though and find you enjoy your cabin more than you expect. I hope so.

 

[crystal808]

I had a foreward cabin (2nd from front) on the Carnival Valor last year. The balcony was fine, and wasn't too windy. Unless you've had other experiences where that location "was" too windy, I wouldn't worry about it!!

 

Enjoy your cruise! :)

 

(And to borrow a phrase(!)...."Do What You Like...Like What You Do...Life Is Good!")

 

Paul ;-)

[rucruizin]

Yes, I understood what I was getting into when I booked the guarantee. No I wasn't looking for a "big fat upgrade." Where that assumption came from I'm not sure???

 

I would be perfectly happy to be in one of those BC cabins in the back, in fact that's what we were hoping for, we didn't want a midship location like everyone else semms so interested in.

 

I did have a very bad experience with a balcony cabin in the front...it was sooooo windy we were unable to use the balcony at all when the ship was moving.

 

I'm not happy with the location based on that BUT I posted this not to get bashed for booking a guarantee and to be told that I got what I deserved. I was hoping that I could get someone who had experience with this cabin who can ease my mind.

 

That's all.

[jhannah]

Yes, you did mention wanting someone to say something to make you feel better. But you used "ticked" and "got the shaft" to indicate your displeasure. I don't think anyone is "bashing" you at all. Just pointing out that a guaranteed cabin category is just that ... the booked category or higher. There is no placement preference involved. Hopefully once you get on the ship you'll get that "gee, it's better to be here than anywhere else right now" feeling and really enjoy yourself.

[caviargal]

 

I'm not happy with the location based on that BUT I posted this not to get bashed for booking a guarantee and to be told that I got what I deserved. I was hoping that I could get someone who had experience with this cabin who can ease my mind.

 

That's all.

 

Perhaps you should start a thread asking specifically about this cabin on this ship.

 

I have had great responses in the past when doing this. The title of your thread does not make it clear what info you are seeking.

[Bucky3]

What ship are we talking about?

[sail7seas]

I'm not happy with the location based on that BUT I posted this not to get bashed for booking a guarantee and to be told that I got what I deserved

 

 

I'm sorry you feel bashed but I think it might be because of 'linguisitics' as Jim pointed out. Here you feel people are saying you got 'what you deserved', but it's a matter of you being assigned what you bought. You bought a BC and that is the cabin you are assigned to.

 

I have been on Rotterdam in the "PS"....it is as far forward as passenger cabins go. We loved it! Verandah was great.

 

[ekerr19]

I would be perfectly happy to be in one of those BC cabins in the back, in fact that's what we were hoping for, we didn't want a midship location like everyone else semms so interested in.

 

I don't think anyone here is bashing you - if you knew specifically what you wanted or didn't want perhaps your TA should have made it known to HAL. GTY is always a roll of the dice, just as you might get a cabin you like, you may also get one you dislike.

 

We have cruised in very forward cabins as well - never had a problem with the wind yet, perhaps your bad experience was an isolated incident?

 

We will be in the very forward verandah cabins on our upcoming Noordam cruise - we have the first three portside reserved, I'll be sure to check if the wind is a problem.

 

I hope it works out OK for you. :)

[dsawyer]

I know you are disappointed in your cabin assignment today. But try not to let it ruin your cruise excitement. Even though at this moment it is hard to fathom, I promise there will be plenty of things about your cruise that you will love and when you actually get on the ship, the location of the cabin may be better than you anticipated. It may even be a lot less windy than you expect.

 

Who knows? Ask your TA to fax the inventory dept. and request a move to another cabin should one become available.

 

You might be pleasantly surprised when you arrive on the ship.:)

 

I understand your disappointment because cabin location is also important to me.

[Grumpy1]

I see by your signature that you will be on Volendam. There are 4 BC cabins, two forward and 2 aft. Your cabin is NOT all the way forward. C6104, a large handicap cabin, is forward of yours. Depending on how solid the bulkhead on the forward side of the balcony is, you should have a good windbreak. I have a BC booked on the Rotterdam, but i booked the specific cabin, aft. I was offered a gaurantee BC, but I like to know where I will be and almost always book specific cabins. If the forward BC had been the only cabin available, I would have booked it.

 

What ship and cabin were you in that had the wind problem forward?

[Atomica]

Sorry to hear the upgrade didn't work out as you had hoped.

 

Every ship though is designed differently. I noticed you are sailing on the Volendam. Looking at the deck plan, you are directly behind the outer staircase that takes people up to the Navigation and Lido decks. That bulkhead wall should catch most of the wind and push it around your balcony.

 

That being said, that's the risk with a guarantee. I know you had no other choice, but at least you were able to get a balcony cabin, guarantee or no :)

[Atomica]

Sorry, looks like Grumpy and I just posted the same thing! lol

[cruisequeen10]

You could still get upgraded again. Maybe to a cabin that you would be comfortable with or higher. Hey, you are on the ship aren't you. If you don't want that cabin, I am sure that someone else will. I am always in an inside, because of the cost factor. If I could afford one of those fancy suites, I would. Just have a great cruise.

[fllcruiser]

Rucruizan,

 

I was in 6109 on the Volendam, about three doors down. Loved my balcony did not have a problem with wind. One set of stairs and I was at the Ocean Bar, two flights had me at the spa and three the Crows Nest. I normally go for aft cabins but must say, this turned out to be a pretty good location for me.

[bepsf]

RU--

 

I see you've never sailed on HAL ships before--

--Volendam is quite a bit different from the other ships you've sailed on...

...you may end up actually liking your location.

 

Lighten up - you're going on a cruise!

;)

[Rebecca J]

Hi Rucruisin, I have not been far forward on a balcony on Holland. But I had the first balcony room on the Millennium and I thought is was great. We loved it and never had a wind problem. Hopefully, that will be the case here.I am looking forward to smooth seas and blue skies on this cruise, but whatever we get, I know we are going to have a fabulous time.

Rebecca J

[usha]

Look at the bright side: less possibility of having sidestream cigarette or cigar smoke from other balconies bothering you. That's a definite plus.:)

We've had far forward balcony cabins (albeit, not on Volendam), and never had a problem with too much wind. Maybe that windy cruise you remember was just a very windy cruise, and it was too windy on everyone's balcony?

[O2cruise]

I was just getting ready to respond pretty much the way Usha did. I have had one cruise where the wind came across the port side of the ship (the side we had chosen) almost the whole cruise ... not so pleasant for balcony sitting while sailing. But, that was only once out of quite a few cruises so hopefully the wind on your balcony on your prior cruise will be the same - one of those one-time flukes.

Marie A

[DesertDiva]

What's a "little wind" when you live in New Mexico? You should be used to it!:D

 

I'm just kidding you since I live in the southern part of the state and the wind gusts are up to 50 m.p.h. today!:eek:

 

It was too windy to ever use our balcony.

[kryos]

Savings??? We paid $3500 for the guarantee which was the only thing available. All baclony cabins were sold out and we were on a waitlist. When we cleared the waitlist this was our only option and we took it because we wanted a balcony.

I would say go and enjoy your cruise and don't worry about the cabin location. Even if it is too windy sometimes to use your balcony while you are at sea, there will be plenty of times in port, when you'll want to have a nice relaxing breakfast there, or a drink before dinner, and the balcony will be fine for that.

 

To me, the real benefit of the balcony is to have a nice view of the port and the surrounding area. When you're at sea, really, what is there to look at?

 

I hate to say it, but you have no choice but to make the best of this. It may not be the cabin you would have chosen, but a guarantee means the cruise line can make the assignment. I realize you did not get a bargain here, but you still chose to take the guarantee and now you have to live with it. You say you had no choice, but actually you did. You could have skipped the balcony and taken a different type of stateroom ... or chosen to cruise in your preferred accommodations on another date when you could have selected your cabin.

 

Like I said, I wouldn't get all stressed about it. Go and enjoy. You'll get enough use out of your balcony to make it worthwhile.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita