Guarantee cabin

[thinfool]

Overbooking is a thing....when it happens CC members post about it and the fabulous FCC's and OBC they receive if they are willing to change their whole vacation plan.  Try doing a search on CC for overbooking.

It is also so rare that I have seen video reports on the evening news about it.

[Harry Lake]

3 hours ago, BruceMuzz said:

Your Agent is correct. 

It appears that your cruise will be nearly full, is experiencing a lot of movement and changes in bookings. The Yield Computer is playing it safe by slowing down new bookings until all the changes have calmed down. The computer will leave a certain number of cabins empty to accommodate the Guarantees, but your chances of getting a good cabin out of this are diminishing.

The best cabin assignments will go to “special” Travels Agents, Frequent Cruisers, and full fare passengers. Guarantees will get the leftovers.

FWIW I NEVER want an upgraded anything! Cruise ship, airplane, etc. I just want to make it onto that ship.

[SbbquilterUT]

We snagged a Guarantee cabin for Aug 24 as the ship was sold out.  Surprisingly I noticed this week that we have a cabin assigned and I am very happy with it.  

[cruisemom42]

On 11/26/2023 at 5:51 PM, ldubs said:

I wonder if any cruise passenger has ever been "bumped" because of overbooking.  Reading all of the above, it seems highly unlikely.  

I read on these boards from time to time when someone gets a “move over” offer from their cruise line for an upcoming cruise, which is when the ship is oversold and trying to get passengers to switch to a different sailing. So it does happen.

[lardor]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I read on these boards from time to time when someone gets a “move over” offer from their cruise line for an upcoming cruise, which is when the ship is oversold and trying to get passengers to switch to a different sailing. So it does happen.

 

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I read on these boards from time to time when someone gets a “move over” offer from their cruise line for an upcoming cruise, which is when the ship is oversold and trying to get passengers to switch to a different sailing. So it does happen.

Does not work 4 me, This is the first leg of a B2B.....

[leaveitallbehind]

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

I read on these boards from time to time when someone gets a “move over” offer from their cruise line for an upcoming cruise, which is when the ship is oversold and trying to get passengers to switch to a different sailing. So it does happen.

I am not challenging your comments, but I have heard of this when a ship is being unexpectedly redeployed to a different region or itinerary, or being taken out of service for unplanned repairs or maintenance.  If being oversold can happen, then perhaps we have been fortunate as in 50+ cruises over 31 years it, gladly, has never happened to us.  As mentioned in an earlier post I would not react well if it did.....

[lardor]

3 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I am not challenging your comments, but I have heard of this when a ship is being unexpectedly redeployed to a different region or itinerary, or being taken out of service for unplanned repairs or maintenance.  If being oversold can happen, then perhaps we have been fortunate as in 50+ cruises over 31 years it, gladly, has never happened to us.  As mentioned in an earlier post I would not react well if it did.....

 

3 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I am not challenging your comments, but I have heard of this when a ship is being unexpectedly redeployed to a different region or itinerary, or being taken out of service for unplanned repairs or maintenance.  If being oversold can happen, then perhaps we have been fortunate as in 50+ cruises over 31 years it, gladly, has never happened to us.  As mentioned in an earlier post I would not react well if it did.....

Not my ship, I am on the first leg of a B2B

[GeezerCouple]

4 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I am not challenging your comments, but I have heard of this when a ship is being unexpectedly redeployed to a different region or itinerary, or being taken out of service for unplanned repairs or maintenance.  If being oversold can happen, then perhaps we have been fortunate as in 50+ cruises over 31 years it, gladly, has never happened to us.  As mentioned in an earlier post I would not react well if it did.....

As I mentioned above, this DID happen to us, but it was the cruiseline *trying* to "make us an offer we couldn't refuse".  It was strictly voluntary.

They offered us a very nice plan for an unfortunately completely different itinerary (probably a cruise that wasn't selling well, no surprise) AND a big amount of cash as well.

We weren't able to make the switch, but someone else was probably very happy to make a change like that.  If the cruiseline had trouble with that offer, they may have needed to up the quality of the offer (better suite, more cash back, both?).

 

Again, VOLUNTARY.  There was absolutely no reason at all to react badly. 

"Just say no." 😉

 

GC

[GeezerCouple]

6 hours ago, lardor said:

 

Does not work 4 me, This is the first leg of a B2B.....

Then they very likely wouldn't offer it to you.

 

But note:  These offers, at least the ones we are familiar with, are NOT being made to someone with a "guarantee".  The offer we received was when we had a confirmed reservation with a suite number selected ages ago.

 

The cruiseline was trying to entice some others to "move", so they could adjust accommodations so that all guarantees had what they were guaranteed or better.

 

However, they could certainly try to entice a "guarantee" to move.  I have no idea how they (or their algorithms) select the offers and the "offer-ees".

 

GC

[leaveitallbehind]

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

As I mentioned above, this DID happen to us, but it was the cruiseline *trying* to "make us an offer we couldn't refuse".  It was strictly voluntary.

 

Again, VOLUNTARY.  There was absolutely no reason at all to react badly. 

"Just say no." 😉

 

GC

OK so I see that with a voluntary situation, in which case I most likely would still say no - if done at the terminal, already there, packed, have to get a flight back home, etc. - not likely worth it.

 

But what would be the case if everyone offered said no - as I think would be a very possible likelihood.  If they were truly overbooked, would they not be forced to bump someone at the terminal?  How would you react to that?  Or was the overbook offer made in advance of the actual sailing date?

 

BTW - on  which cruise line did you experience this?

Edited November 28, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[GeezerCouple]

3 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

OK so I see that with a voluntary situation, in which case I most likely would still say no - if done at the terminal, already there, packed, have to get a flight back home, etc. - not likely worth it.

 

But what would be the case if everyone offered said no - as I think would be a very possible likelihood.  If they were truly overbooked, would they not be forced to bump someone at the terminal?  How would you react to that?  Or was the overbook offer made in advance of the actual sailing date?

 

BTW - on  which cruise line did you experience this?

 

This is NOT "done at the terminal"!  WHY would they wait until then?  (They do not want angry - possibly screaming?? - pax at the dock who are being denied passage!)

This is done WELL IN ADVANCE, when everyone has time to consider, "Do I want the cruise we booked, or do we want this other cruise, at this great deal!??" 😉

 

And the cruise line has PLENTY OF TIME to "go down their list", trying to find "an offer that <someone/someones> can't refuse".

 

This is a GOOD THING not not a bad thing, for goodness sake!

Someone who thinks it's "a better deal" can take it.  Those who do not think that, "Just say no", etc.

This process may involve "bumping" (as you call it) someone from one category to a *better* category, with or without some extra $$.

We are NOT interested in "upgrades" like that, because we do care just where our cabin or suite is located.  (We do not want to risk near a noisy area, etc., and we choose accordingly up front.  Others may be delighted to have a "better deal" if they are not worried about placement.)

 

And they'll just keep making a better offer until they can have a cabin or suite to assign to ALL of the guarantees.

 

You keep making this into a negative that almost never happens.

I'm not sure if it ever happens this way.  I suppose it could if there were some repair absolutely needed that kept a cabin or suite out of commission at the last minute...  But that's not at all what we are discussing here.

 

These "adjustments" DO happen, and no one is "unhappy", unless one considers that someone might not be happy with their "guaranteed" assignment... in which case the problem is *theirs* for making a "guarantee".  The guarantee is to be on the ship with the category selected or better.  Full stop.

GC

 

[leaveitallbehind]

19 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

This is NOT "done at the terminal"!  WHY would they wait until then?  (They do not want angry - possibly screaming?? - pax at the dock who are being denied passage!)

This is done WELL IN ADVANCE, when everyone has time to consider, "Do I want the cruise we booked, or do we want this other cruise, at this great deal!??"

 

You keep making this into a negative that almost never happens.

What was never clear in your discussion was WHEN this occurred, only that it occurred, which is why I asked for clarification.  Having this discussion in advance makes perfect sense and would not be an issue - but that timing was not clear.  And I am not making it into a negative - my responses all along were assuming it was done at the terminal at boarding - which I indicated and stated that was the reason I would not be happy.

 

I am glad you clarified that.

 

And unless I missed it, you still have not identified on which cruise line this occurred with you.

[cruisemom42]

7 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

I am not challenging your comments, but I have heard of this when a ship is being unexpectedly redeployed to a different region or itinerary, or being taken out of service for unplanned repairs or maintenance.  If being oversold can happen, then perhaps we have been fortunate as in 50+ cruises over 31 years it, gladly, has never happened to us.  As mentioned in an earlier post I would not react well if it did.....

Yes, these weren’t situations where the ship was unexpectedly out of service. They were oversold situations. I agree they are not reported very frequently. But they can happen.

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

Yes, these weren’t situations where the ship was unexpectedly out of service. They were oversold situations. I agree they are not reported very frequently. But they can happen.

I can remember hearing of this situation before the pandemic, and just as you described. With cruising recovering, sooner or later on some line or other, move-over offers will eventually happen!

[shipgeeks]

Having been the recipients of a "bump", perhaps I can explain what occurred.

We were booked on a cruise departing on a Tuesday.  On the Friday before, we received a phone call asking if we'd be willing to be bumped, as it was oversold.  We were not ready to commit, so said no. But over the weekend, we decided the compensation was appealing, and decided we would.  We were not able to reach he agent over the weekend, but we called on Monday, said we would, and she said "fine, I'll take care of everything".  She did, and when we did the makeup cruise the following year, we appreciated the extra benefits.

I believe we were approached because we had booked air and transfers through the cruiseline, which meant they could do all the rebooking.

Possibly people living close to the departure port would be contacted first, as well.

If no one had accepted any of the offers, I suspect they would have increased the benefits until someone did.

 

[leaveitallbehind]

@shipgeeks what cruise line did this occur with?

[lardor]

Holland America

[SoloAlaska]

6 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

This is NOT "done at the terminal"!  WHY would they wait until then?  (They do not want angry - possibly screaming?? - pax at the dock who are being denied passage!)

This is done WELL IN ADVANCE, when everyone has time to consider, "Do I want the cruise we booked, or do we want this other cruise, at this great deal!??" 😉

 

And the cruise line has PLENTY OF TIME to "go down their list", trying to find "an offer that <someone/someones> can't refuse".

 

This is a GOOD THING not not a bad thing, for goodness sake!

Someone who thinks it's "a better deal" can take it.  Those who do not think that, "Just say no", etc.

This process may involve "bumping" (as you call it) someone from one category to a *better* category, with or without some extra $$.

We are NOT interested in "upgrades" like that, because we do care just where our cabin or suite is located.  (We do not want to risk near a noisy area, etc., and we choose accordingly up front.  Others may be delighted to have a "better deal" if they are not worried about placement.)

 

And they'll just keep making a better offer until they can have a cabin or suite to assign to ALL of the guarantees.

 

You keep making this into a negative that almost never happens.

I'm not sure if it ever happens this way.  I suppose it could if there were some repair absolutely needed that kept a cabin or suite out of commission at the last minute...  But that's not at all what we are discussing here.

 

These "adjustments" DO happen, and no one is "unhappy", unless one considers that someone might not be happy with their "guaranteed" assignment... in which case the problem is *theirs* for making a "guarantee".  The guarantee is to be on the ship with the category selected or better.  Full stop.

GC

 

Actually this is being discussed on the RCI board right now. 11 staterooms that were guaranteed were bumped at the terminal. Still details needed for the full story but it seems it does sometimes happen last minute.

[GeezerCouple]

11 minutes ago, SoloAlaska said:

Actually this is being discussed on the RCI board right now. 11 staterooms that were guaranteed were bumped at the terminal. Still details needed for the full story but it seems it does sometimes happen last minute.

 

OMG!

Thanks for pointing this out.

 

One of the posts there (on the RCI board) is pretty clear:

 

8 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

I don’t understand why Royal Caribbean wasn’t proactive by asking for volunteers in advance of this cruise.  Here on CC we saw copies of emails Royal sent for other overbooked cruises this year.  That price protection offer might have induced 13 or more people to volunteer to reschedule to another week while others might have volunteered for the refund plus 25% FCC if they’ve had a recent financial setback.  Those offers are only so-so for volunteers.  I think the offers are really poor for non-volunteers bounced the day of sailing without notice.

 

This is beyond comprehension...

😡

 

Someone(S?) made some huge mistakes here!

This wasn't just one couple, and not just two.......

 

And apparently they didn't give those "bumped at the dock" a HUGE "offering"!!

 

😱

 

Given the money at stake in each sailing with the big ships, it is only a tiny percent that would be needed IF PLANNED appropriately (!) to make a few volunteers very happy to take the "offer they can't refuse", and before they leave home.

Duh!

 

This is a new one to us!

And it would have been enough to cause us to say, Never RCI again for us, but that's not a cruiseline we've ever sailed with or ever planned to.  This episode just cements that understanding.

 

Unthinkable.

 

This does make me think back to an overbooked flight about 20 years ago.

They weren't getting volunteers.  So they started offering "perks", and the offers kept getting better and better.  It ended up with First Class tickets later in the day or the next day (including hotel costs) PLUS a nice sum of money.

No one ended up angry.

Several people apparently felt like they hit the jackpot.

(I was flying to a family member who was suddenly critically ill, or *I* would have jumped at that offer. 😉 )

 

GC

[datone]

Well this just happened in Australia.   13 couples who had guarantee bookings were given this letter at the dock.   By then, they have already had the expense of travelling to the port, maybe a pre-cruise hotel, and possibly taken annual leave etc.   Apparently only 2 couples ended up being able to board.  Getting this letter at the dock when you are ready to board is not a move-over offer.   It is pretty poor of Royal Caribbean and if it happened to me, I would be livid.

[Mick B]

OMG!

 

Well, this too is the first I have heard of this happening at the port at least.

 

I have had GTY rooms in the past, but only because we have really wanted to do a specific cruise and the fare for GTY was so much less than all other options.

We have been lucky in the past that all our GTY rooms were in good locations and we were given the cabin number well in advance so we could check to see where we were so had time to move if possible.

 

We have not used a GTY for a few years as we are now older and really need to make sure we are located in the right place inside the ship and away from nasty noises etc, so now paying a bit more to know where we will be is more important than saving a few £££s

 

However, I know some people are not bothered about where they are on board and may also be limited by cost, so I do not blame them for taking this option, but looking at what has just happened down under, I think anyone doing a GTY will have to be very careful if this sort of thing starts to become the norm.

 

Now, when I last checked, the terms for booking a GTY were these:

 

We pick your room

Just prior to cruising, we’ll assign you a room in your selected category. The room may have an obstructed view. If you need connecting rooms, please select your room instead.

 

You selected a Guaranteed Stateroom

Your room is guaranteed at minimum in the category selected and will be assigned prior to sailing. The exact stateroom, number, and location of the stateroom on the ship will be allocated by us (at our discretion). Staterooms allocated may be subject to obstructed views.

 

Now, I am no legal expert, but I am sure there is no mention of getting "bumped" if oversold, or for any other reason.

It seems to say your room is guaranteed. So what does this actually mean?

 

In the past if we selected an Interior GTY and they were all taken, then someone would be offered a free upgrade to say a balcony. Problem now is possibly due to things like the "Royal-Up" bidding program, there now seems to be the opportunity for money to be made out of certain spare cabins rather than just giving them away due to overbooking. 

 

I would suggest that anyone who is flying to a port and/or staying overnight or longer in an hotel before/after their cruise makes sure they get an assigned cabin beforehand. I would suggest using a TA and booking everything as a package through them and avoid booking a GTY room if you can or if there is no other choice for you, then to keep on at your TA to make sure you get an assigned cabin number before you travel - until you get it.

 

Again, I am no legal expert, but surely once they have given you an assigned cabin number before you arrive, surely they cannot then tell you that there is no cabin assigned to you. Looking at the letter posted above, I assume that the people affected down under were not given an assigned cabin number so is a situation like this only limited to those who have not been given a cabin number before boarding?

 

With the affected cruise being in Australia and for only 8 nights, I might assume that most passengers were fairly local so may not have splashed out on flights/hotels, but that is no excuse for this sort of thing.

I only hope that ALL cruise lines take a good look at what has just happened here and start to put procedures in place to make sure something like this does not happen again.

 

Imagine if you had done several cruises with a cruise line and really enjoyed it and then finally got some of your family and/or friends to take the plunge and join you for their first cruise after telling them how good it is, to then have this sort of thing happen right at the pier. 

Surely that would cause a lot of hassle for the cruise line. Surely they would not want any bad publicity that such a thing may generate.

 

Yes, it's great if you live near the port, and/or are retired, or have enough cash that you do not need to work or need to work so often.

However, some of us do have to work and also have to save up for a fairly long time and plan things way ahead as we also need to book time off work not just to cover the cruise time, but the travelling time before and after too, which only leaves few days left to take later that year, so taking the option to move to a later cruise may not be possible.

 

One last thing,

I will be on the Jewel for the TA next April. I have booked my TA and have got my cabin number, got my flights from LHR to MIA, got my Sudan booked from the airport to FL, got my Hotel in FL booked and another Sudan to the ship. I have done all of this to hopefully avoid the disappointment those poor people in Australia are probably currently feeling.

 

Mind you, even with all of the above booked, There could still be a train strike in the UK causing problems getting to London. Or works on the Tube delaying/diverting via buses etc. Then there could be a air traffic controllers strike or baggage handlers strike at LHR the day of the flight. BA may have overbooked the flight, US border officers may delay my entry into the US as I have a common name and normally have to go and wait for hours to be seen by a supervisor. And yes I have had all of those things happen and some in the same holiday too.

So, what am I really looking forward to?... well getting on the ship and stuffing my face at the WJ and then getting a Krakencolada poolside and enjoying my 15 night cruise back to the UK with no nasty night flights!

 

Imagine how we would feel after getting through all of the above hassles only to be told at the pier that they don't have a cabin for us - especially since we are sailing back to the UK and therefore have no hotel or flight home booked.

 

We will all have to keep an eye on this sort of event at the pier and hope it was a one-off and not something that may start to become the norm. 

 

Mick.

Edited November 29, 2023 by Mick B
spelling

[shipgeeks]

11 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

@shipgeeks what cruise line did this occur with?

Princess

[ceeceeDee]

What part of 'guarantee' does the cruise line not understand?!!!

 

The definition of guarantee is a formal assurance (typically in writing) that certain conditions will be fulfilled.

 

This was definitely not adhered to and to leave these passengers standing forlornly at the terminal is reprehensible.

[BruceMuzz]

1 hour ago, ceeceeDee said:

What part of 'guarantee' does the cruise line not understand?!!!

 

The definition of guarantee is a formal assurance (typically in writing) that certain conditions will be fulfilled.

 

This was definitely not adhered to and to leave these passengers standing forlornly at the terminal is reprehensible.

When you pay a Walmart price for a Walmart cruise, on a Walmart cruise line, you get a Walmart experience.

[slidemaster5]

Unfortunately, most Cruise lines probably have an "out clause" in the terms and conditions. Note the following from NCL:

 

10. Changes and cancellation by us

(2) Pre-departure cancellation: a. Occasionally, it may be necessary to cancel confirmed holiday arrangements. In the event we are prevented from performing your contracted holiday arrangements as a result of unavoidable and extraordinary circumstances (see clause 11) and we notify you of this as soon as reasonably possible, we have the right to terminate your contract. In this situation, we will refund all monies you have paid to us within the period prescribed by the legislation applicable at the relevant time from the effective date of cancellation (see clause 10(1)d) but will have no further or other liability to you including in respect of compensation or any costs or expenses you incur or have incurred as a result. We will of course endeavour to offer you alternative holiday arrangements where possible which you may choose to book (at the applicable price) in place of those cancelled.

 

Assuming NCL can make an argument that Clause 11 applies then the only remedy for the passenger is a refund.