Help please - when Princess says they will assign a Premium room, what exactly will you get ?

[brockmom]

Hello

if all rooms are sold out and they say , we don’t currently have any rooms available in this location, 

Princess will assign a room before sail …..what exactly do you get ?

thank you

[cr8tiv1]

You are booked on a Guarantee.  That means you will be assigned a room in that specific category or better (in the eyes of Princess).  You could be assigned a room anywhere on the ship (forward/aft/midship/higher floor/etc).  

 

Voyages are currently running at 102% occupancy according to several YouTubers I follow.  That is due to more than 2 passengers per cabin.  They have also mentioned that some Guarantees are not being honored.  Princess will make move over offers to those with cabins to see if they can accommodate those booked with a Guarantee.

 

I, personally, would never take that risk.  Same reason why I do not fly family and friends standby.

[reedprincess]

You have booked a guarantee.

 

You're Guaranteed the category you booked. Or, better (in the eyes of Princess).

 

If you've booked a Premium category cabin - you'll get one. Or, better...

 

And, the cabin can be assigned at any time, between booking and embarkation....

 

 

[memoak]

I am not even sure what you mean by Premium.  If you got a guarantee premium balcony you will get that category or better but no choice on location

[brockmom]

Good to know

thank you !

[Cruise Raider]

Premium cabins on the Crown/Grand class ships tend to be midship on the Caribe deck or aft facing balcony cabins.  These cabins have larger balconies than those on the other decks but are the same exact balconies you can get on the Caribe deck just forward or aft of the premium section.  It’s all about location.  The aft facing cabins are just that and usually have larger balconies.  We love the two that are available on the Dolphin deck. 

 

On the Royal class ships, the premium balcony cabins are located forward, aft or midship, in addition to aft facing cabins, but think all of those ones might be premium deluxe cabins (meaning they have a small couch in the cabin).  Not all but most of these cabins have larger balconies.  We love the aft facing ones on the Baja deck.  

But booking a guarantee, you won’t have a choice of cabins.  You will get that cabin type or better.  We will only book a guarantee or bid up on a premium balcony cabin on the Crown/Grand class ships, as we don’t really like sailing in a cabin all the way forward.  
 

I’ve not sailed on any Sun class ships so can’t say what those are.  The deck plans will show where these are located, though.  
 

[Wishing on a star]

I do not know your plans,  but I wonder if you are seeing an issue with the way Princess holds back Deluxe Balconies for more than two guests.  (this could be Deluxe OR Premium Deluxe)

If this is what you are seeing, you can pull up your cruise, like you are making a new booking, enter three guests, and see if it will then show you which Premium Deluxe balconies there are to choose from.

Sometimes the two of us have just booked a standard balcony...  But we have also done a 'work-around' to get one of these when it was important to us to have a cabin in that area.

 

[JF - retired RRT]

7 hours ago, brockmom said:

Good to know

thank you !

If you get a cabin that you don't like (location wise), you can ask to be moved. However, if the ship is full...

[jeromep]

@brockmom, as I like to tell the staff I supervise, precision in language and using the same vocabulary amongst ourselves and our customers helps us ensure that everyone involved in a conversation knows exactly what everyone is saying to each other.  That said, what is the cabin category code that you have booked?  This is usually a two letter code or a letter and number code.  Your guarantee cabin will be assigned to a particular category code and what you paid for your cruise is the value of a cabin in that category code.  You may be "upgraded" to a higher value cabin code (in the eyes of Princess), should space run short in the cabin category you have booked.  Sometimes this is great, sometimes you go from an unobstructed window cabin, to an obstructed balcony, so while Princess sees the balcony as a higher value cabin, and prices it as such to somebody that selects that specific cabin, it might not be an upgrade that you were looking for or value.

 

So, you certainly won't be downgraded to a lower category code which is priced below what you paid in the category you have booked, but you may be placed in a higher priced cabin category, although it may not be a cabin that you personally feel would be worth the extra cost or might not be in a place on the ship that you prefer or would pay a premium for.  Now, you won't pay a dime more than your agreed upon cruise fare for the "upgrade", but you might be surprised as to what Princess considers an upgrade, should you be upgraded.

 

We did a guarantee once, we were pleased with what we got, but I don't think we'd do a guarantee cabin again unless it was an itinerary that we just couldn't pass up, or a time in our schedule where this was the only way we could schedule in a cruise.

[brockmom]

Thanks again to all of you for the info.

I had clicked balcony and 3 choices came up - 

When I realized the aft / sunset balcony as we call them , was a premium but already sold, I was wondering where they could put someone if they had no cancellations.

so that is why I asked.

thanks again everyone 

🙂

[Wishing on a star]

We understand, brockmom!

But, you need to know that the answers might be very different, depending which ship you are booking.   In any case, you will be assigned a cabin in that Category or a Higher Category.  Location could be anywhere onboard.

 

If they have to do upgrades, then the next higher category from a Premium Deluxe Balcony would be a Mini-Suite.  And, these do not have the larger/deeper balcony or that AFT view.

 

Also, again, if you are booking for the two of you, you might be seeing the RESERVE only because Princess can hold these cabins back, and only show them available for 3 or 4 guests.

 

Let us know which ship,  and even which sailing...

Did you select Premium Balcony or Premium Deluxe Balcony?  ('Deluxe means slightly larger, with a little two seater mini-sofa)

Then we can give you more specific answers.

 

Older ships, for example, might have Premium Balconies that are often located on Deck 10 (Caribe)

The newer Royal Class ships have Premium Deluxe Balconies that are often located on Deck 9 (Dolphin)

 

If a wake-view is what you hope for, then know that inside of the cabin will be standard.  The outside balcony is deeper/larger on some decks than others.

Check deck plans.

Yes, they could be sold out, as these are in demand!

So, the odds of getting a wake-view might be against you.

Edited June 19 by Wishing on a star

[geoherb]

I always say look at the cabins in the category you booked the guarantee and all higher category cabins. If there's a cabin among these you would not want, you might get it. I usually book a guarantee and hope for an upgrade. But I'm not picky about where I end up on the ship.

 

The problem is that when people book a mid-ship guarantee, many don't realize that they could end up being upgraded to a forward or aft cabin that Princess has decided is a higher category. 

Edited June 20 by geoherb

[Wishing on a star]

Exactly,  a mid-ship balcony could be upgraded to a far forward deluxe balcony.

A Deluxe or Premium Deluxe balcony could be upgraded to a Mini-Suite with a very small balcony.  Or a cabin over a noisy venue...  etc.

There could be pros and cons to an upgrade.

Some people who are particular to a certain location and cabin try to have their booking marked NO UPGRADE.  

Edited June 20 by Wishing on a star

[Boku]

On 6/19/2024 at 4:36 PM, Wishing on a star said:

I do not know your plans,  but I wonder if you are seeing an issue with the way Princess holds back Deluxe Balconies for more than two guests.  (this could be Deluxe OR Premium Deluxe)

If this is what you are seeing, you can pull up your cruise, like you are making a new booking, enter three guests, and see if it will then show you which Premium Deluxe balconies there are to choose from.

Sometimes the two of us have just booked a standard balcony...  But we have also done a 'work-around' to get one of these when it was important to us to have a cabin in that area.

 

What makes you say Princess holds back deluxe balconies? In the UK we can book 2 passengers into a deluxe balcony, is this a US issue?

[Wishing on a star]

I do not know about the UK,  but yes, there are many times where this seems to be the case.

Sometimes, maybe depending on expected demand, these will show for two guest..  But, mostly not.  

[Canuker]

On 6/18/2024 at 9:27 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

You are booked on a Guarantee.  That means you will be assigned a room in that specific category or better (in the eyes of Princess).  You could be assigned a room anywhere on the ship (forward/aft/midship/higher floor/etc).  

 

Voyages are currently running at 102% occupancy according to several YouTubers I follow.  That is due to more than 2 passengers per cabin.  They have also mentioned that some Guarantees are not being honored.  Princess will make move over offers to those with cabins to see if they can accommodate those booked with a Guarantee.

 

I, personally, would never take that risk.  Same reason why I do not fly family and friends standby.

Not a reasonable comparison, cr8....

A guaranteed cabin means you will on board. A standby at an airport does not.

[Wishing on a star]

There are, RARE, cases of people getting move-over offers, sometimes very generous, to give up their cabin and take another future cruise.

Brockman,  this is not common.   Booking a RESERVE or GTY does not mean that you have a risk of not boarding the ship.   Move over offers are sent out to any given number of bookings, until the Cruise Line has the people who are willing to accept them.

I would make no assumption booking a RESERVE / GTY is anything like flying 'stand-by'.

Standby means you know that flights can be sold out, but you are wiling to be there at the airport, just in case.

Unfortunately, it does seem that people are getting move-over offers at the very last moment.

But the only reason that I would not book a RESERVE / GTY is because we can be picky about our cabin location.  

 

[cr8tiv1]

I don't know if this is the video I watched (not my normal YouTuber).  Skip to 3 minutes in.  I've never heard of this happening either, but this was a Carnival ship.  The passengers had a guarantee stateroom...and even was allowed to board.

 

 

1 hour ago, Canuker said:

Not a reasonable comparison, cr8....

A guaranteed cabin means you will on board. A standby at an airport does not.

 

1 hour ago, Wishing on a star said:

There are, RARE, cases of people getting move-over offers, sometimes very generous, to give up their cabin and take another future cruise.

Brockman,  this is not common.   Booking a RESERVE or GTY does not mean that you have a risk of not boarding the ship.   Move over offers are sent out to any given number of bookings, until the Cruise Line has the people who are willing to accept them.

I would make no assumption booking a RESERVE / GTY is anything like flying 'stand-by'.

Standby means you know that flights can be sold out, but you are wiling to be there at the airport, just in case.

Unfortunately, it does seem that people are getting move-over offers at the very last moment.

But the only reason that I would not book a RESERVE / GTY is because we can be picky about our cabin location.  

 

 

[geoherb]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I don't know if this is the video I watched (not my normal YouTuber).  Skip to 3 minutes in.  I've never heard of this happening either, but this was a Carnival ship.  The passengers had a guarantee stateroom...and even was allowed to board.

 

 

 

 

 

I've never heard of it happening on Princess. Carnival has done it more than once. Many years ago, Carnival had to deny people boarding in Baltimore two decades ago because fewer people canceled than they anticipated. 

[MacMadame]

This happened on Royal Caribbean back in Nov and it wasn't just one or two passengers but a handful.

 

It's pretty rare though.

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

I agree.  Rare...but not 100% guaranteed that they will assign you a cabin. 

 

My next cruise is still taking reservations/guarantees for every category.  But only Interiors and suites are showing availability.  2 months ago, the ship was 50% capacity.  I was crossing my fingers that the ship would remain below full.  People are cruising. Good luck to everyone waiting on an assignment.  I couldn't do it.