Disappointed with GTY booking...

[Bahbey]

First off, I need to say that a gty inside cabin was booked.  I knew not to expect anything great.  However, we booked 2 gty inside cabins, 2 per cabin.  Imagine my surprise when we got our rooms and the 2 people who have only cruised a couple of times were given a cabin overlooking the Promenade, and 2 people, one of which is Diamond + got the inside cabin at the front of the ship.  I would have thought that RC would be as loyal to the Diamond + person as they were to RC.  I know that with gty you get what you get, and I'm fine with that, but in this situation I think RC should have upgraded the cabin with Diamond + status.

 

 

 

[cruiselvr04]

It just doesn’t work like that.  Not always but most of the time, newbies seem to be given better cabins.  Perhaps to have them come back?  You can call and ask to move to a different cabin if you don’t like your location and it’s available.  Otherwise try for a Royal Up. As you know a Gty is not always great, but I’m betting you saved money doing it. 
 

The only way we’ll book one is if there’s nothing else left. 
 

Enjoy your cruise.

[little britain]

Status means nothing with gtys. 
The new cruisers will be happy and potentially book again though?

[BND]

You book guarantee and you get what they have available.  If status got people a better cabin, then a lot of people would book gty's.  We book the cabin we want as do a lot of people which is why gty get basically the leftovers.  

[Toddcan]

Although there might be people who claim they can guess the algorithms behind cabin assignments, I *suspect* when it comes to GTY - it's random as random gets - no algorithm or logic behind any of it. (yes, this is my guess on the algorithm, or lack thereof) They do hundreds of sailings a month, each with thousands of passengers. I believe they just take bookings, and use GTY's to fill in the gaps - randomly. 

 

But at the same time - you knew what you were getting with GTY - like you said.  I don't begrudge anyone getting a better cabin when that was a very real possibility - it's just how it played out.  

[Tatka]

   I’m really surprised D+ member isn’t familiar with this system. Level has nothing to do with cabin assignments. 
 

   Also if you think about it from the business standpoint … who do they need to impress and hook? You or new customers? As a loyal customer you already have bunch of benefits. 
 

 Another point… better for you and for company can be two different thing. We never book GTY insides as if we may get “better” outside rooms on lowest decks.  

Edited July 9 by Tatka

[dani negreanu]

9 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

The only way we’ll book one is if there’s nothing else left. 

 

This ^

 

2 hours ago, BND said:

We book the cabin we want as do a lot of people which is why gty get basically the leftovers.  

 

After 15 cruises where we booked the cabin we wanted [balcony and up], we had no choice but to book a gty -- the itinerary and the date worked well for us -- it was take it or leave it....

 

Deck 2.... here we come 😉

[smokeybandit]

So you're just upset that you thought your C&A status would play into how GTY rooms are assigned.

Now you know for next time.

[leaveitallbehind]

Call and see if they will move you to a different stateroom.  They will if they are available within your assigned category but you could always ask if they would move to the promenade as with your friends.  Never hurts to ask.  But I wouldn't count on D+ having any influence with that.

 

And as others have mentioned frequently your C & A status has nothing to do with bookings, in particular GTY's, nor do I understand why you think it should.  Your loyalty is rewarded by way of C & A tier levels which primarily provide on board benefits. 

 

The only booking benefit I am aware of is with a balcony discount with higher tiers, which IMO is not always a benefit of value as it is not combinable with all fare offers. 

 

No offense but whomever is D+ should be well aware of all of this.

Edited July 9 by leaveitallbehind

[Bahbey]

I'm really surprised at some of the negative comments.....I wasn't 'complaining', just that if all 4 of us were on the same reservation, I would've thought that the D+ would have been given the favorable room.  I know when you book a gty you get what you get, and I'm fine with that, after all, I'm on a ship.  It was just that in this particular situation, out of the 2 cabins, I thought the D+ would've gotten the better cabin.  That's all.  Sheesh.  

[1025cruise]

I'd be willing to bet the computer that does the guarantee assignments has no clue about your status. It just assigns cabins based on the rules it knows.

[leaveitallbehind]

8 minutes ago, Bahbey said:

I'm really surprised at some of the negative comments.....I wasn't 'complaining', just that if all 4 of us were on the same reservation, I would've thought that the D+ would have been given the favorable room.  I know when you book a gty you get what you get, and I'm fine with that, after all, I'm on a ship.  It was just that in this particular situation, out of the 2 cabins, I thought the D+ would've gotten the better cabin.  That's all.  Sheesh.  

Well now you and the D+ know.  C & A loyalty status has nothing to do with GTY stateroom assignments.  Nor should it discriminate by that IMO.

 

But re-read your first comments - I just did.  To me at least it certainly sounded like you were unhappy, if not complaining.  And I think most of the responses were factual and addressed your comments and not negative.  Perhaps it just seems that way since they don't support your position. JMO.

Edited July 9 by leaveitallbehind

[The Fun Researcher]

Funny because I, as a seasoned cruiser, would prefer the quiet inside cabin at the front of the ship.  We've sailed in those a lot.

 

 

[neverbeenhere]

For us Pandemic time cruisers (all those extra points), one could reach D+ with only a few cruises.

[leaveitallbehind]

6 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

For us Pandemic time cruisers (all those extra points), one could reach D+ with only a few cruises.

What extra points? We've cruised six times since the restart, commencing with the first month it reopened, with no "extra" points. We also had several cruises that were booked and cancelled from the pandemic.  Please clarify.

Edited July 9 by leaveitallbehind

[Hoopster95]

Having booked several GTYs in the past, the last assignment I received had me thinking that sometimes there's an actual person making the assignments.... sometimes, maybe?

I don't know, just guessing, just wondering.

 

I scored a deck 10 aft balcony on Brilliance (I chose the room), Hawaii-Vancouver repo this past April. I stayed on board for the first Alaska sailing as a b2b, however I had booked a balcony GTY for the 2nd sailing. Both sailings were booked around 2 months prior to sailing and after final payment.

 

There were a good 50 balcony cabins available for that 2nd sailing, various categories, various decks and various areas of the ship. But I was assigned only three days after booking the farthest aft balcony on the starboard side only 5 doors away from the aft balcony I was moving from, so that my move was minimal and with the same stateroom attendant.

 

Coincidence? Likely. Just made me wonder.

[neverbeenhere]

13 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

What extra points? We've cruised six times since the restart, commencing with the first month it reopened, with no "extra" points. We also had several cruises that were booked and cancelled from the pandemic.  Please clarify.

 Cruises from re-start until December 31, 2022 were ringing in "double" points. So, Solo in a suite was good for 6 points a night.

[Another_Critic]

36 minutes ago, neverbeenhere said:

 Cruises from re-start until December 31, 2022 were ringing in "double" points. So, Solo in a suite was good for 6 points a night.

I did solo in balcony with no solo supplement + 4 points a night = 🙂

[Tatka]

1 hour ago, The Fun Researcher said:

Funny because I, as a seasoned cruiser, would prefer the quiet inside cabin at the front of the ship.  We've sailed in those a lot.

 

 

Well... if you are not prone to seasickness and you don't hit storms.

We are not prone... but once we booked GTY (on Princess) and ended up in the very aft of the ship on the highest deck. We still were not sick, but experience was more than interesting. We literally were rolling in our beds all the time. 🙂

 

 

[Mum2Mercury]

15 hours ago, Bahbey said:

First off, I need to say that a gty inside cabin was booked.  I knew not to expect anything great.  However, we booked 2 gty inside cabins, 2 per cabin.  Imagine my surprise when we got our rooms and the 2 people who have only cruised a couple of times were given a cabin overlooking the Promenade, and 2 people, one of which is Diamond + got the inside cabin at the front of the ship.  I would have thought that RC would be as loyal to the Diamond + person as they were to RC.  I know that with gty you get what you get, and I'm fine with that, but in this situation I think RC should have upgraded the cabin with Diamond + status.

So you are fine with your room.  But upset that someone else got a better room?  

 

Also, let's note that the Promenade Cabin wasn't technically an upgrade ... it is an Inside.  

7 hours ago, BND said:

If status got people a better cabin, then a lot of people would book gty's. 

That's an interesting statement.  I never thought about it that way before, but it makes perfect sense.  

7 hours ago, BND said:

gty get basically the leftovers.  

Disagree.  We almost always book an Inside Guarantee, and we usually end up mid-ship Deck 6.  While Deck 6 isn't considered a favorite deck, it's become our favorite, and most people do like mid-ship.  

We've always been 100% satisfied with our Guarantees.  

[OldCaver]

8 hours ago, BND said:

You book guarantee and you get what they have available.  If status got people a better cabin, then a lot of people would book gty's.  We book the cabin we want as do a lot of people which is why gty get basically the leftovers.  

Which is why they're cheaper. 🙂

[Another_Critic]

I recently booked a Neighborhood Balcony GTY.  Rec'd assignment (CP balcony) when I made final payment.  I then switched to a "double wide" CP balcony.

[leaveitallbehind]

3 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

 Cruises from re-start until December 31, 2022 were ringing in "double" points. So, Solo in a suite was good for 6 points a night.

Guess I need to double check my account as I did not recall that and sailed several times during that period.  But now that you mention it, it does ring a bell. Rusty brain strikes again!  LOL  Thanks for the clarification.

 

Not that it would matter much as we've been D+ since 2012 and not likely to reach Pinnacle regardless.  (Also been cruising more with Celebrity than RCCL since then, so it still would be a long climb).

Edited July 9 by leaveitallbehind

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Guess I need to double check my account as I did not recall that and sailed several times during that period.  But now that you mention it, it does ring a bell. Rusty brain strikes again!  LOL  Thanks for the clarification.

 

Not that it would matter much as we've been D+ since 2012 and not likely to reach Pinnacle regardless.  (Also been cruising more with Celebrity than RCCL since then, so it still would be a long climb).

 

Double points t applied to all booking made before September 30th 2021 for years 2021 and 2022.

 

By 2012 we had 4 cruises with RCI.

 

We lost about 7 points during conversion as our 9, 9  and 10 cruises counted as 1 credit (7 points). Since 2016 we started cruising more and more with Royal, but still cruised with all other lines... Became D in 2018 and D+ in 2022. Nice itins from NJ "switched" us to RCI completely. If nothing bad will happen we will become P in 8 years or so. This is not our main dream... we are good with just sailing and being  D+  now.

 

 

Edited July 9 by Tatka

[Bruin Steve]

We just went through this with our first segment of the World Cruise coming up in a couple of weeks (we booked two).  Usually pick our cabin...but OV Guarantee was all that was available,  Figured "What's the worst that can happen?".  Thought "maybe we get a window at the very front or back of the ship".

Well, it was worse.  We got a Deck Two cabin (the ship has only a few--rest of deck two is crew quarters) with a TINY porthole.  Usually, we would have called and had them change it for another available OV--and there was one.  But, since the assignment was not yet "official", they wouldn't do that.

BTW, we are D+...but, officially, they say it is all RANDOM (I don't think it is--it seems that they go out of their way to give the newbies the better assignments). 

 

Anyway, that left us to deal with "RoyalUp".  I put in bids for everything I could )Of course we couldn't bid on a REAL OV cabin--one with a real window--because the system considered us to already be in an OV).  Not to take any chances, I went a little over the minimum bid level for a balcony...and, along with a lot of others, did get one.  Cost me an extra $500.  Of course, had I been able to actually book a balcony at the time of booking, I would have gladly paid another $500...and save myself a lot of stress.  I'll probably never book another guarantee....