Guaranteed Stateroom Not So Guaranteed?

[Haljo1935]

To go slightly off topic, recently on Carnival (which owns Princess), we paid in full for a specific cabin on a 7 day + 6 day B2B (13 days total). We booked the same cabin so we wouldn't have to move mid-cruise.

We aren't big Carnival fans (we've done about 10 cruises w/them), but loved the itinerary (fall foliage Canada/New England) and the location (aft corner wraparound balcony) so we booked and paid about 18 months out. Price was much better than either Princess or HAL were offering.

After about a year, we received notice of a ship swap with all cabin assignments TBD. We immediately looked at deck plans for the new and old ship and noticed the new ship was bigger so there shouldn't be an issue w/cabin assignments - move all existing passengers to their confirmed cabins then open it up for new bookings, right? And since the cabin we booked had the exact same number of cabins on the new ship, that would really be easy, right?

Nope, when we got the assignments, we had been moved to a lower grade cabin for both weeks in 2 different cabins on different decks and on different sides. So, we booked Port Deck 9. We were moved to Deck 7 Port and Deck 6 Starboard. Not even remotely same anything. Options given were keep what we got or cancel w/a refund if we did it immediately. If we waited to cancel we were subject to final policy w/refund as FCC and applicable fees.

Phone calls with literally hours of hold and talk time ended up with us being told all CCL contracts do NOT guarantee any specific cabin and even though them moving passenger to a different cabin is supposed to be comparable or better, that's not guaranteed, either. We were downgraded both weeks, neither cabin was comparable, certainly not better.

Ultimately when someone cancelled, we were able to snag a corner wrap (like we originally paid for) on a different deck and paid $60 for them to move us there (yep we paid to be upgraded to what we'd already paid for) for 1 week and got $12.50 OBC (you read that correctly - $12.50 OBCeach, $25 for the cabin) for staying in the other cabin for the other week. Were told to continue checking and if we find an opening we can call in again and pay to be moved.

So, the very painful lesson learned is that on CCL owned ships even a paid in full booking for a specific cabin does not necessarily mean you'll end up unpacking a suitcase in the cabin you think you paid for.

Thanks, @Dreamscaper for letting me share my experience. Again, I hope you have a great cruise and make some awesome memories.

That's what we're planning to do - not investing my hard earned $$ to knowingly be miserable - life's too short and cruising is too much fun.

@Steelers36 Based on these experiences, I am inclined to think CCL has made a wholesale change in business practices. CC forums are full of posts about mishandled ship swaps involving downgrades w/o compensation.

 

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by Haljo1935
Typo

[Hlitner]

WOW!  What a saga.  Our solution is quite simple.  We use an excellent cruise agent/agency (we actually use 2 different such agencies) which not only saves us money (often about 10%) but gets us the clout and experience of a real travel professional.    But the bottom line is that if the OP booked and paid for a "BA" guarantee that means that the cruise line must provide a category BA or better cabin!  If they cannot fulfill their obligation there needs to be some kind of financial "adjustment."

 

• When folks deal with any cruise line, they are simply a single customer dealing with a huge business.  The folks you talk to on the phone are essentially order takers/clerks who either work from home of in a small cubicle.  Much of what they say comes from "scripts" they can bring up on their monitors.  

 

Now consider that when you use a decent high volume cruise agency/agent, they have a lot more clout with any cruise line than a single person.  Unlike the cruise line employee, the cruise agency is working for you...not the cruise line.

 

This thread kind of makes me smile, as many folks who book direct with cruise lines say it "gives them control."  That is a real fallacy.   It is the cruise line that has control (and your money).  You have very little leverage when dealing direct with a cruise line...other than cancelling (and perhaps losing money).

 

Hank

[Haljo1935]

23 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

WOW!  What a saga.  Our solution is quite simple....But the bottom line is that if the OP booked and paid for a "BA" guarantee that means that the cruise line must provide a category BA or better cabin!  If they cannot fulfill their obligation there needs to be some kind of financial "adjustment."

 

• ...This thread kind of makes me smile, as many folks who book direct with cruise lines say it "gives them control."  That is a real fallacy.   It is the cruise line that has control (and your money).  You have very little leverage when dealing direct with a cruise line...other than cancelling (and perhaps losing money).

 

Hank

Saying the cruise line "must" provide category xxx (fill in as appropriate) or better is not true - citing my recent experience as a case. You are correct that it is the cruise line that has control and passengers have little leverage. That is true regardless of booking direct or engaging a TA.

I do use TAs; I also book without them. I didn't say whether I used one for my debacle.

While TAs can certainly provide clout and value, I don't know one who would draw a line in the sand for @Dreamscaper and be prepared to pull their bookings had Princess not moved her back to a BA.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Haljo1935

[DallasGuy75219]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Agree with contacting PCL mgmt, but I for one am not prepared to think a wholesale change has occurred without more than one known case being reported.  I am thinking it was a one-off situation until we see more of the same.

I have an IA guarantee booked on Island departing June 28.  Ship is sold out for 3- and 4-passenger cabins.  There's a single oceanview cabin available; that's the lowest category available for assignment, but more availability at higher categories, especially balconies.  Slightly more availability if you consider accessible cabins.  Princess is still selling guarantees but at some point will have to stop selling those and start processing (more?) upgrade bids to be able to make guarantee assignments in lower categories.  Of course I'll gladly take a free upgrade (which would at least have a window for a 14-day cruise) but the whole purpose of upgrade bids is so they can sell, not give away, upgrades.  But there are only 12 IA cabins on Island so not a huge chance of one of those opening up from an upgrade or cancellation.

 

Will report back on I wind up with.

Edited June 5, 2023 by DallasGuy75219

[Hlitner]

16 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Saying the cruise line "must" provide category xxx (fill in as appropriate) or better is not true - citing my recent experience as a case. You are correct that it is the cruise line that has control and passengers have little leverage. That is true regardless of booking direct or engaging a TA.

I do use TAs; I also book without them. I didn't say whether I used one for my debacle.

While TAs can certainly provide clout and value, I don't know one who would draw a line in the sand for @Dreamscaper and be prepared to pull their bookings had Princess not moved her back to a BA.

It does not get to the level of "pulling  bookings" but is just a matter of personal relationships and clout (which comes from volume and contacts).  We do a lot of guaranteed bookings (we generally could care less about our cabin location) with many cruise lines, including Princess.  The terms of a guarantee are basically a minimum guarantee.  It is, in every sense, a contract with the deposit being "consideration" for the guarantee.  If the cruise line cannot fulfill their obligation there can obviously be a negotiation, a cancellation (with return of all monies) or acquiescence by the cruiser And yes, cruise lines sometimes get themselves into oversold situations where they cannot fulfill their obligation.  But cruisers are not lambs for the slaughter and do have some rights :).

 

We had a situation with Oceania where they did a major itinerary change about 3 weeks prior to a cruise.  Part of the change was that they moved the debarkation port over 1500 miles to another country (which created some major problems for us).   Rather than simply accept the changes we cancelled the booking and than O said, OK, we will give you a future cruise credit.   We said "No,"  your change went beyond a reasonable itinerary change, caused us difficulty with air arrangments, and caused some other issues.  We wanted a full refund!  They said "No" and we took the issue to their executive suite and were quickly granted our full refund.  Failing that, we would have likely filed with our credit card to reverse our charges (because the cruise they offered was not what we had booked).

 

I mention this episode, because folks get pushed around because they let it happen!  There are times when consumers need to fight back  No guarantee that the consumer can win a fight, but it does happen more than many folks might expect.   The reality is that "negotiation" does settle most problems, and a high volume agent/agency is usually in a better position to negotiate.

 

Hank

[suzyed]

On 6/3/2023 at 2:55 PM, Nicole&Pete said:

When I book through an agents website you pick the type and sub category of cabin like BA for example and under that you have a choice of rooms one of which is guarantee. If you have booked guarantee surely that is guarantee for a BA at least.

 

Doesn’t guarantee a location but does guarantee a category I thought?

Yes, that has been my experience.

[Guest ldtr]

18 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

If a guest books GTY BC (Balcony), they are to get BC or higher - not BD, BE, BF,  Not Oceanview, not Inside.  

There is the line on the booking form that says "Stateroom locations are based on availability".

Since this is an independent sentence  It stands on its own.

 

Since the sub codes are pretty much all based upon location this would seem to indicate that the location guarantee only exists if there is availability.

 

 

[Dreamscaper]

11 minutes ago, ldtr said:

There is the line on the booking form that says "Stateroom locations are based on availability".

Since this is an independent sentence  It stands on its own.

 

Since the sub codes are pretty much all based upon location this would seem to indicate that the location guarantee only exists if there is availability.

 

 

So if I book into a penthouse suite and pay for it, they can turn around and say "oh, we have none available, here's an inside cabin instead, but thanks for all that extra money"?

 

An extreme example (our downgrade wasn't that extreme of course), but hey, it's based on availability, right?

 

There's also fine print that says "Actual stateroom may not be furnished as shown".  I would still expect a proper bed despite that fine print.

 

They have the technology to only book the same number of staterooms for each category that they have in stock.  If there is an overbooking by one or two before the system catches up, then bump the oversold bookings a level higher, not two levels lower.  Right now I can't make a new booking for a BA because their inventory systems knows that there are none available.

[Guest ldtr]

Just now, Dreamscaper said:

So if I book into a penthouse suite and pay for it, they can turn around and say "oh, we have none available, here's an inside cabin instead, but thanks for all that extra money"?

 

An extreme example (our downgrade wasn't that extreme of course), but hey, it's based on availability, right?

 

There's also fine print that says "Actual stateroom may not be furnished as shown".  I would still expect a proper bed despite that fine print.

 

They have the technology to only book the same number of staterooms for each category that they have in stock.  If there is an overbooking by one or two before the system catches up, then bump the oversold bookings a level higher, not two levels lower.  Right now I can't make a new booking for a BA because their inventory systems knows that there are none available.

Considering that the Penthouse is not in the same Meta category clearly not and as with the bed comment clearly an absurd comparison.  After all that language only states location not category.  

 

Though I have been on cruise line where the beds could not be put together in some cabins and as such would not be the same as the queen bed configuration usually shown.

 

As I said before your options are basically to get a full refund, or accept what they have available and work for at least the difference between minimum guarantee and potentially some other OBC as compensation (maybe a couple hundred in value).  If this particular cruise is that important the stay on it.  If not then your travel party has time to cancel and look for another cruise that meets your criteria.

 

Your case is a good example of why one should not book guarantees, especially if location is important. Mid ship cabins pretty much always go first,

 

With the recent changes making the lowest category  in each meta category guarantee only, that is pushing more bookings to the center even earlier in the booking process.  It also means that more cabins in the bow and stern are available when it comes down to allocating cabins.  Especially now that occupancy is now getting back to pre covid numbers.

 

With these changes making some bookings non-refundable, making lowest meta category non-refundable, guarantee only, blocking higher capacity cabins from showing for people booking two people.  Some of the old norms concerning bookings are clearly gone.

 

There used to be language in the old cruise contract that stated that room assignments could be changed by the cruise line.  That language is not in the current contract, or at least I could not find it in the US version. Though I doubt that the cruise line has given the ability to shift people around as needed up so I expect they are covered somewhere.  Though the comment about location determined by availability would certainly cover it.

[voljeep]

I think, at least for me, this is the first time I've ever heard on a passenger with a GTY being 'degraded' to a lower cat than what they booked

[Guest ldtr]

17 hours ago, Hlitner said:

It does not get to the level of "pulling  bookings" but is just a matter of personal relationships and clout (which comes from volume and contacts).  We do a lot of guaranteed bookings (we generally could care less about our cabin location) with many cruise lines, including Princess.  The terms of a guarantee are basically a minimum guarantee.  It is, in every sense, a contract with the deposit being "consideration" for the guarantee.  If the cruise line cannot fulfill their obligation there can obviously be a negotiation, a cancellation (with return of all monies) or acquiescence by the cruiser And yes, cruise lines sometimes get themselves into oversold situations where they cannot fulfill their obligation.  But cruisers are not lambs for the slaughter and do have some rights :).

 

We had a situation with Oceania where they did a major itinerary change about 3 weeks prior to a cruise.  Part of the change was that they moved the debarkation port over 1500 miles to another country (which created some major problems for us).   Rather than simply accept the changes we cancelled the booking and than O said, OK, we will give you a future cruise credit.   We said "No,"  your change went beyond a reasonable itinerary change, caused us difficulty with air arrangments, and caused some other issues.  We wanted a full refund!  They said "No" and we took the issue to their executive suite and were quickly granted our full refund.  Failing that, we would have likely filed with our credit card to reverse our charges (because the cruise they offered was not what we had booked).

 

I mention this episode, because folks get pushed around because they let it happen!  There are times when consumers need to fight back  No guarantee that the consumer can win a fight, but it does happen more than many folks might expect.   The reality is that "negotiation" does settle most problems, and a high volume agent/agency is usually in a better position to negotiate.

 

Hank

In my case if I was as dissatisfied as the OP I would cancel the cruise.  Was on the way to the  air port getting ready to  board a flight to Tahiti for a cruise on the Pacific Princess when I got a notice that my cabin was changed for operational reasons.  The new cabin was unacceptable.  Called Princess and told then that and that if I could not get my old cabin back to cancel the cruise.  They told me that it was not possible.  At that time they had a reconciliation department that handled these issue.  They got on the phone and we worked out a solution that got us in a cabin that was acceptable.  There was not a doubt in my mind that the solution would not have been satisfactory if we had not been willing to cancel the cruise immediately.  We would have still gone to Tahiti, just turned it into a land vacation.  Once you get locked in that a given vacation is your only option then your ability to deal with setbacks goes down considerably.

[Guest ldtr]

Just now, voljeep said:

I think, at least for me, this is the first time I've ever heard on a passenger with a GTY being 'degraded' to a lower cat than what they booked

Depends upon how one defines category.  Clearly they have not been cases involving meta categories.  Less clear involving subcategory locations,

[voljeep]

1 minute ago, ldtr said:

Depends upon how one defines category.  Clearly they have not been cases involving meta categories.  Less clear involving subcategory locations,

"at least for me" - not even 'subcategory' ex. BA to BF

should be BA or better, no excuses by Princess - very pro passenger on this one for me.

 

Princess CAN make it happen

[Guest ldtr]

12 minutes ago, voljeep said:

"at least for me" - not even 'subcategory' ex. BA to BF

should be BA or better, no excuses by Princess - very pro passenger on this one for me.

 

Princess CAN make it happen

Should they certainly  Atleast offer compensation. Are they obligated to for a guarantee that is far less clear.

[Cruise Raider]

47 minutes ago, voljeep said:

"at least for me" - not even 'subcategory' ex. BA to BF

should be BA or better, no excuses by Princess - very pro passenger on this one for me.

 

Princess CAN make it happen

It appears that Princess now shows their meta categories as guarantees … not like before when you could book their sub-meta categories as a guarantee.  Also, their guaranteed cabins are cheaper but are also listed as having non-refundable deposits.  This all seemed to happen about a month or two ago.  

If I am picky about my room location, which I oftentimes am, I don’t leave it up to fate.  I choose my cabin in the location I want.  I also like to keep my deposit refundable.  
 

One more point, not directed towards you .. for casino discounts, by logging into one’s personalized, they are usually available for booking online.  So, the prices are already known.  I believe it’s different if the sailing is comped through the casino.  
All of the problems could have been avoided by one just making the booking online … one can see exactly what they are getting and for the exact price they would be paying.  
 

 
 

Edited June 6, 2023 by Cruise Raider

[Steelers36]

9 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

It appears that Princess now shows their meta categories as guarantees … not like before when you could book their sub-meta categories as a guarantee.  Also, their guaranteed cabins are cheaper but are also listed as having non-refundable deposits.  This all seemed to happen about a month or two ago.

I am not sure what you are saying above.  The change Princess made was to make all of the lead-in category cabins (i.e. the lowest level in each major - "meta" - category to be GTY only and booked with NRD's).  These are typically the "F" cabin types (or "E"'s when no "F"'s exist).

 

A guest can still book a GTY cabin at the "A" thru "E" levels if they so choose.  In fact, sometimes, PCL may only offer a BA Balcony as a GTY with none available to personally select.  

 

Princess.com may display cabins to choose from when electing that option, or they may show GTY only option.  What we don't see as users of Princess.com, is if they are showing cabins, there is still an option to book GTY in that category.  Example:  You are shopping a cruise and looking at BB cabins in mid-fwd and mid-aft locations on multiple decks.  In all views, a number of cabins are offered.  If you were using a 3rd party booking engine, or an agent you were talking to was live on POLAR, they could book you a BB GTY.

 

There is an anomaly I'd like to mention.  Obstructed and Partially-Obstructed Balconies on Royal Class ships are lower category then Regular Balcony (BW for example).  Many (most?) of us would consider a mid-ship BW with a larger balcony to be much more desirable than any BF (or perhaps even BE).  From a sample I was shopping, Princess is selling the BW's with Refundable Deposits.  Go figure.

[dreaminofcruisin]

19 hours ago, Hlitner said:

WOW!  What a saga.  Our solution is quite simple.  We use an excellent cruise agent/agency (we actually use 2 different such agencies) which not only saves us money (often about 10%) but gets us the clout and experience of a real travel professional.    But the bottom line is that if the OP booked and paid for a "BA" guarantee that means that the cruise line must provide a category BA or better cabin!  If they cannot fulfill their obligation there needs to be some kind of financial "adjustment."

 

Now consider that when you use a decent high volume cruise agency/agent, they have a lot more clout with any cruise line than a single person.  Unlike the cruise line employee, the cruise agency is working for you...not the cruise line.

 

Congratulations that you have found agencies that work well for you! (2 even!) 

 

My experience has not been the same as yours working with agencies....and yes...they are large high volume agencies....I have now been through 4 agents at 3 different agencies. I never found them to be worthwhile. My experience was that they call Princess and talk to the same people that most of us talk to. If they get a clunker, they relay the same bad messaging and insist that they are correct. Even if I have insisted they call back, they continue to tell me that's the way things are, even though I have read differently here on CC. I've pretty much given up on them and figured I have a better chance to present my case to a Princess rep myself, even if it means waiting on hold on the phone for a long time.

 

It would be wonderful if people could share their great TAs so we could all find them...and don't suggest talking to people on cruises. That's where my last one came from. They raved about her, but I think they thought they were getting special deals when in reality they were things they would have gotten just booking online.

 

I don't doubt that you have good agents. Just please don't assume that everyone can find them.

[PMGS247]

59 minutes ago, voljeep said:

"at least for me" - not even 'subcategory' ex. BA to BF

should be BA or better, no excuses by Princess - very pro passenger on this one for me.

 

Princess CAN make it happen

 

I generally agree here, if a guarantee was secured in a specific cabin category and they have that in writing then it's very simple & straight forward.

 

Unlike CATEGORY, I didn't originally think ship location (midship vs mid-aft, mid-forward, etc.) could be a valid thing to have guaranteed, but now I'm wondering...

 

I've been on the Princess site and I can't seem to replicate a guarantee for a category myself. If I choose Midship Balcony and I'm forced to "Reserve a Guaranteed Stateroom" (i.e. the little map with clickable cabins isn't avaialble), no where from there on out in the booking process does it say a specific category.  I haven't gone so far as to actually lock down a hold or put down a deposit, I don't want to bother with cancelling or getting a call from my PVP, but based on this experience it does say under the heading of 'Midship' that 'Selecting this option will guarantee a stateroom assignment in this location or a comparable location prior to sailing." Obviously the word comparable is a little loose and there'd be some room for debate in any other ship location, but the way they break up your location choice, midship would seem to be midship without an equivalent alternative.  I can totally understand how someone would go through this process and assume they were guaranteed a midship location, even if they weren't told a specific cabin category.

 

Real life example if anyone wants to try, also includes screen shot.

Sailing: 10/31/23 out of FLL, Caribbean Princess 5 day sailing to Princess Cays/Grand Turk.

Balcony/2 guests.  Midship/Deck 12.  You can't pick a room and are forced to a Guarantee.  It tells you you'll get something in this location or comparable.  If something here or beyond this point in the process actually mentions a stateroom category, I can't find it.  I could swear that's how it worked, but at this exact moment I can't seem to replicate it. 

 

 

 

 

[Dreamscaper]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

As I said before your options are basically to get a full refund, or accept what they have available and work for at least the difference between minimum guarantee and potentially some other OBC as compensation (maybe a couple hundred in value).  If this particular cruise is that important the stay on it.  If not then your travel party has time to cancel and look for another cruise that meets your criteria.

 

Your case is a good example of why one should not book guarantees, especially if location is important. Mid ship cabins pretty much always go first,

It's not that easy for us to just say "oh well, cancel it".  We are traveling with a family member and her girlfriend and there was very little available in the window of time we all had available.  We also have flights and hotel booked, the friend has booked her holiday time off, etc.  

 

We have been reverted back to the aft cabin, category BD when we had booked a "guaranteed" BA, and price adjusted back down again.  But it took six hours on the phone to get that - up until yesterday they had us booked into an upgraded room and billed us an extra $1,100.

 

I absolutely agree there should be some form of OBC or other compensation offered.  There is none.

 

Again, live and learn, I fully expected a guarantee to be a guarantee (with the possibility they'd move us to comparable or better if they couldn't honour the guaranteed BA, not put us down to a BD without even lowering our price or offering any compensation).

 

Why they moved us down to a BD from a paid for BA is yet another question - I see there are still BB categories available.

[Cruise Raider]

28 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I am not sure what you are saying above.  The change Princess made was to make all of the lead-in category cabins (i.e. the lowest level in each major - "meta" - category to be GTY only and booked with NRD's).  These are typically the "F" cabin types (or "E"'s when no "F"'s exist).

 

A guest can still book a GTY cabin at the "A" thru "E" levels if they so choose.  In fact, sometimes, PCL may only offer a BA Balcony as a GTY with none available to personally select.  

 

Princess.com may display cabins to choose from when electing that option, or they may show GTY only option.  What we don't see as users of Princess.com, is if they are showing cabins, there is still an option to book GTY in that category.  Example:  You are shopping a cruise and looking at BB cabins in mid-fwd and mid-aft locations on multiple decks.  In all views, a number of cabins are offered.  If you were using a 3rd party booking engine, or an agent you were talking to was live on POLAR, they could book you a BB GTY.

 

Ahhh yes!  You are correct!  My mistake … 

[voljeep]

4 minutes ago, PMGS247 said:

 

I generally agree here, if a guarantee was secured in a specific cabin category and they have that in writing then it's very simple & straight forward.

 

Unlike CATEGORY, I didn't originally think ship location (midship vs mid-aft, mid-forward, etc.) could be a valid thing to have guaranteed, but now I'm wondering...

 

I've been on the Princess site and I can't seem to replicate a guarantee for a category myself. If I choose Midship Balcony and I'm forced to "Reserve a Guaranteed Stateroom" (i.e. the little map with clickable cabins isn't avaialble), no where from there on out in the booking process does it say a specific category.  I haven't gone so far as to actually lock down a hold or put down a deposit, I don't want to bother with cancelling or getting a call from my PVP, but based on this experience it does say under the heading of 'Midship' that 'Selecting this option will guarantee a stateroom assignment in this location or a comparable location prior to sailing." Obviously the word comparable is a little loose and there'd be some room for debate in any other ship location, but the way they break up your location choice, midship would seem to be midship without an equivalent alternative.  I can totally understand how someone would go through this process and assume they were guaranteed a midship location, even if they weren't told a specific cabin category.

 

Real life example if anyone wants to try, also includes screen shot.

Sailing: 10/31/23 out of FLL, Caribbean Princess 5 day sailing to Princess Cays/Grand Turk.

Balcony/2 guests.  Midship/Deck 12.  You can't pick a room and are forced to a Guarantee.  It tells you you'll get something in this location or comparable.  If something here or beyond this point in the process actually mentions a stateroom category, I can't find it.  I could swear that's how it worked, but at this exact moment I can't seem to replicate it. 

 

 

 

 

that price has more than DOUBLED since the cruise first came out 😉 - aft, I'm referencing 

[PMGS247]

5 minutes ago, voljeep said:

that price has more than DOUBLED since the cruise first came out 😉 - aft, I'm referencing 

 

LOL I know! I'm booked on this cruise at a lower rate for a mini-suite than what's shown in my screen shot for current regular balcony price.  I was hoping as a 5 day short cruise it might be less popular (crowded) but clearly not.  Going to be sold out soon.

[Steelers36]

27 minutes ago, PMGS247 said:

..................................but based on this experience it does say under the heading of 'Midship' that 'Selecting this option will guarantee a stateroom assignment in this location or a comparable location prior to sailing." Obviously the word comparable is a little loose and there'd be some room for debate in any other ship location, but the way they break up your location choice, midship would seem to be midship without an equivalent alternative.  I can totally understand how someone would go through this process and assume they were guaranteed a midship location, even if they weren't told a specific cabin category.

There are normally multiple equivalent mid-ship locations other than the deck on display.  As long as the deck doesn't have obstructions, nor public space above it, the mid-ship cabins are considered equivalent.  This even holds from ship to ship.  Mid-ship below a public deck (such as Lido) will be a lower category.

[Guest ldtr]

34 minutes ago, Dreamscaper said:

It's not that easy for us to just say "oh well, cancel it".  We are traveling with a family member and her girlfriend and there was very little available in the window of time we all had available.  We also have flights and hotel booked, the friend has booked her holiday time off, etc.  

 

We have been reverted back to the aft cabin, category BD when we had booked a "guaranteed" BA, and price adjusted back down again.  But it took six hours on the phone to get that - up until yesterday they had us booked into an upgraded room and billed us an extra $1,100.

 

I absolutely agree there should be some form of OBC or other compensation offered.  There is none.

 

Again, live and learn, I fully expected a guarantee to be a guarantee (with the possibility they'd move us to comparable or better if they couldn't honour the guaranteed BA, not put us down to a BD without even lowering our price or offering any compensation).

 

Why they moved us down to a BD from a paid for BA is yet another question - I see there are still BB categories available.

 Since you are still before final payment date. What is the cheapest guarantee you can find that includes your current deck and see if it is less than what you are paying. If it is then use it together with your booking document try and get the price adjusted to that amount either as a refund or OBC.

 

You can also try a letter describing what you booked, what your expectations were based upon the web site language, together with any info on the price difference between the mid ship guarantees and the location where you ended up. Stick just to facts, though you could mention the amount of confusion you faced with customer service, who apparently did not understand the current rules either. Ask for some compensation, at least the difference between those prices in guarantees. The base level guarantee does not apply since those are now non refundable, while yours still is.

 

 

[Guest ldtr]

46 minutes ago, Dreamscaper said:

It's not that easy for us to just say "oh well, cancel it".  We are traveling with a family member and her girlfriend and there was very little available in the window of time we all had available.  We also have flights and hotel booked, the friend has booked her holiday time off, etc.  

 

We have been reverted back to the aft cabin, category BD when we had booked a "guaranteed" BA, and price adjusted back down again.  But it took six hours on the phone to get that - up until yesterday they had us booked into an upgraded room and billed us an extra $1,100.

 

I absolutely agree there should be some form of OBC or other compensation offered.  There is none.

 

Again, live and learn, I fully expected a guarantee to be a guarantee (with the possibility they'd move us to comparable or better if they couldn't honour the guaranteed BA, not put us down to a BD without even lowering our price or offering any compensation).

 

Why they moved us down to a BD from a paid for BA is yet another question - I see there are still BB categories available.

Did you ask for a BB since your BA category was not available? That should be easily doable.

 

I am going to bounce a question off of my PVP and see if they can give any insight.