Stateroom Allocation

[arizonaperson]

Well Princess phone representatives are not as well versed as they use to be.

I don’t know how you booked your cruise, but if you have a travel agent, I would highly recommend contacting them and having them reassure you.

And for your next cruise, if you don’t have a travel agent, I highly recommend getting one. ( they are there for you and a very good one that cruises lots can answer just about everything, & you have a direct method of contact) A lot of your frustration probably could have been avoided.
Princess definitely advertises when you book a guarantee cabin -all the ins and outs and here’s what it says below as others have also provided .

So perhaps you just missed that. I understand that it was the only way to get a mini suite cabin on your particular cruise ….was to do a guarantee. 
 

Princess Guarantee cabin(straight from a Princess booking)

Stateroom Details

If you create this booking for the selected stateroom type and fare, then the location of your stateroom will be assigned prior to embarkation. You will receive your room assignment within your requested stateroom type.

Should you prefer to confirm your stateroom in your ideal location today, then please check availability in other ship locations. Select the option to choose your own stateroom.

 

Just an example a 7 day cruise in a balcony cabin

Passenger chooses cabin starts at $949.00

Princess chooses cabin starts at $929.00

So your choice.

Edited October 11 by arizonaperson

[Vooshee]

I guess what added to the uncertainty was that just about the entire deck that we chose  is comprised of MINI -SUITES. Actually all 166 of them. ! There is a small quantity of inside cabins.

So, I guessed it wouldn't be too hard to allocate a Stateroom number. 

I am not interested in how many suites were available at time of booking but having paid the full fare, I really do expect to be allocated a stateroom number, now. 

 

Thanks for your contribution. I do appreciate it . 

[paddingtonbear]

7 minutes ago, Vooshee said:

I guess what added to the uncertainty was that just about the entire deck that we chose  is comprised of MINI -SUITES. Actually all 166 of them. ! There is a small quantity of inside cabins.

So, I guessed it wouldn't be too hard to allocate a Stateroom number. 

I am not interested in how many suites were available at time of booking but having paid the full fare, I really do expect to be allocated a stateroom number, now. 

 

Thanks for your contribution. I do appreciate it . 

I think what everyone is saying is that you didn’t pay full fare. You actually got a discount - albeit a small one - for Princess to guarantee a cabin. 

[startedwithamouse]

19 minutes ago, Vooshee said:

I guess what added to the uncertainty was that just about the entire deck that we chose  is comprised of MINI -SUITES. Actually all 166 of them. ! There is a small quantity of inside cabins.

So, I guessed it wouldn't be too hard to allocate a Stateroom number. 

I am not interested in how many suites were available at time of booking but having paid the full fare, I really do expect to be allocated a stateroom number, now. 

 

Thanks for your contribution. I do appreciate it . 

You're going to have to wait. 

 

You may even be on a different deck. They can give you a cabin anywhere, any deck, any location. They just guarantee you'll be on the ship in the category you chose.

Edited October 11 by startedwithamouse

[Vooshee]

3 hours ago, paddingtonbear said:

I think what everyone is saying is that you didn’t pay full fare. You actually got a discount - albeit a small one - for Princess to guarantee a cabin. 

I actually took a screen shot at the time of the different categories available for this cruise and their prices. The price of $4809 for the mini suite incl Princess Plus package for each pax = $9618 and that is the amount I paid. No discount.

I also took a screen shot of the Booking summary which states, in part " your stateroom will be assigned prior to embarkation". So, no argument from me on that one but it does pose the question for defining a  timeline for " prior to embarkation". Everyone's expectations are different. A bit like asking " how long is a piece of string". For what it's worth, I looked up the terms and conditions posted by Princess for the processing of cancelled shore excursions. In part .." all refunds will be processed in due course, but delays should be anticipated.." That's a very broad statement and is consistent with  the " prior to embarkation " generalisation. It seems to me that as far as Princess is concerned when it comes down to them providing some degree of  certainty to its guests that "it's their way or the highway". " FEEL THE LOVE " I don't think so!. It's time to move on. 

[arizonaperson]

Just one more picture …

when you book a cruise it definitely tells you if you’re booking a guarantee(OP never said if he or she booked the cruise themselves or through  princess or through a travel agent …so perhaps this is why they didn’t realize what they had really booked.?) and gives you information on if you don’t want a guarantee, choose something else .

While they …Op/author apparently wanted to go on this particular cruise and had no other choice of a mini suite with cabin assignment….But it’s definitely spelled out. 

Says cabin assignment in this location or a comparable location prior to sailing. Of course it never spells out that you’re going to find out your cabin assignment in October for a January cruise. I’m sure it’s happened ,but OP just needs to be patient. Hope they come back and tell us that they’ve got their cabin assignment Soon .
Honestly, it can happen at any time that’s why they say up until sailing. If a cabin number and location is important to you ,you should never book a guarantee cabin. You know that when you book.
yes, totally frustrating that the OP cannot understand this and thinks that Princess Customer Service should bend over backwards and give them an answer, etc. etc. -it’s clearly stated. I think they just missed this piece of paperwork somewhere along the line?

I still say get a travel agent that understands you and you will have a lot less frustration. Many many people have had issues with the princess 800 number as the language barrier might be an issue ?

 

so perhaps they just didn’t understand what the OP was asking. I really don’t know. 
 

 

 

Edited October 11 by arizonaperson

[downtheback]

@arizonaperson

 

OP booked a guarantee stateroom but didn't understand what it meant. Now they're just chucking a hissy because they still don't understand it.

[arizonaperson]

50 minutes ago, downtheback said:

@arizonaperson

 

OP booked a guarantee stateroom but didn't understand what it meant. Now they're just chucking a hissy because they still don't understand it.

Yes, exactly how I  interpreted the op/ author. Hopefully “ they” understand with all the comments/ help that has been given.

Patience is of the essence.

[FLAlaska]

Here is a very general overview of what booking a guarantee cabin means.. And this applies to all cruise lines. It seems you may not have truly understood what  guarantee cabin means

 

https://lifewellcruised.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-guarantee-cabin/

[lorri111]

We have a slightly different situation. We had originally booked a Crown cruise for Sept 2025 where we picked our cabin as usual, then it was affected by the change that occurred at this time to several cruises due to dry dock issues. So in Sept we were issued a new cruise number and were able to rebook our dining but have not been assigned a cabin, just says "Guar/BB". First time I have never had a cabin number, have always chosen one myself. A bit annoying, can't even cancel and rebook with a specific cabin as it oddly says that every category except interior is listed as sold out - obviously not all sold out so far out, but I assume they are still reworking the other affected cruises and as ours is only 2 nights they are holding off allocation till the dust settles.

[Vooshee]

7 minutes ago, lorri111 said:

We have a slightly different situation. We had originally booked a Crown cruise for Sept 2025 where we picked our cabin as usual, then it was affected by the change that occurred at this time to several cruises due to dry dock issues. So in Sept we were issued a new cruise number and were able to rebook our dining but have not been assigned a cabin, just says "Guar/BB". First time I have never had a cabin number, have always chosen one myself. A bit annoying, can't even cancel and rebook with a specific cabin as it oddly says that every category except interior is listed as sold out - obviously not all sold out so far out, but I assume they are still reworking the other affected cruises and as ours is only 2 nights they are holding off allocation till the dust settles.

Yes. My wife and I feel " a bit at sea" on this issue.

We've always had the pleasure of selecting our own State Room and Deck as you have. The last thing we want to do is have Stateroom number allocated when we arrive at the Ship. There always seem to be other challenges on embarkation day. Good luck .

[Vooshee]

4 hours ago, FLAlaska said:

Here is a very general overview of what booking a guarantee cabin means.. And this applies to all cruise lines. It seems you may not have truly understood what  guarantee cabin means

 

https://lifewellcruised.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-a-guarantee-cabin/

Thank you for posting this. If you live in the U.S.I sense that there is a lot more details on topics such as mine that is disclosed by the Cruise lines to potential guests. As I have previously stated, I paid exactly the amount for my stateroom that was advertised on the Princess website. There was no additional $ incentive  offered for me to book a guaranteed cabin. At the time I booked, the entire deck ,comprising mini suites with the exception of a few inside cabins was classed as guarantee cabins. Anyway, I won't let this happen again .

[SCX22]

1 hour ago, Vooshee said:

Anyway, I won't let this happen again .

By booking guarantee, Princess will assign you a cabin when it’s convenient for them, not when it’s convenient for you.  Like I said before, Princess took your money so they have to make space for you on the sailing.  Not sure what the obsession with knowing so far in advance.  Can’t even understand the liking to stay organized argument.  I like to stay organized too, but it’s literally checking your email or your Travel Summary for an alphanumeric value.
 

Same ship, same mini suites (unless you get assigned an accessible or get upgraded to a suite).

[leck57]

2 hours ago, Vooshee said:

Thank you for posting this. If you live in the U.S.I sense that there is a lot more details on topics such as mine that is disclosed by the Cruise lines to potential guests. As I have previously stated, I paid exactly the amount for my stateroom that was advertised on the Princess website. There was no additional $ incentive  offered for me to book a guaranteed cabin. At the time I booked, the entire deck ,comprising mini suites with the exception of a few inside cabins was classed as guarantee cabins. Anyway, I won't let this happen again .

 

I have fully understood your point of view and this situation from your initial post. While I don't really know what is of concern as you'll get a cabin that you have paid for, I do agree that this situation is annoying. Princess are making most cabins guarantee cabins now and it is annoying. Some months ago I booked a Spain and France cruise for April next year and it is a 21 day cruise that can also be sold as a 7 day cruise followed by another 14 day cruise. Both the shorter cruises have heaps of cabins available to pick your cabin, but the 21 day cruise is almost all guarantee. Like 6 cabins per deck were available as not being guarantee and none in the locations I wanted.

So, I share your annoyance but it is possible/probable that you'll have the same situation in the future. I've had to cop this twice now and I just go with it, annoying as it is. At the end of the day, I was allocated cabins in the area I wanted and it beats work. I'm a control freak and like to have everything set out so I share your grief.

[paddingtonbear]

8 minutes ago, leck57 said:

 

I have fully understood your point of view and this situation from your initial post. While I don't really know what is of concern as you'll get a cabin that you have paid for, I do agree that this situation is annoying. Princess are making most cabins guarantee cabins now and it is annoying. Some months ago I booked a Spain and France cruise for April next year and it is a 21 day cruise that can also be sold as a 7 day cruise followed by another 14 day cruise. Both the shorter cruises have heaps of cabins available to pick your cabin, but the 21 day cruise is almost all guarantee. Like 6 cabins per deck were available as not being guarantee and none in the locations I wanted.

So, I share your annoyance but it is possible/probable that you'll have the same situation in the future. I've had to cop this twice now and I just go with it, annoying as it is. At the end of the day, I was allocated cabins in the area I wanted and it beats work. I'm a control freak and like to have everything set out so I share your grief.

If you want to choose a specific cabin you need to start looking and book as soon as possible after the cruise is released. About 18 months prior to sail date. My cruise was booked out for the cabin category I was looking at 15 months prior to sailing. 

A lot of people will cancel their bookings up until final payment and some cabins will be released back to the general public which can be seen on the websites. 

[john watson]

5 hours ago, Vooshee said:

Thank you for posting this. If you live in the U.S.I sense that there is a lot more details on topics such as mine that is disclosed by the Cruise lines to potential guests. As I have previously stated, I paid exactly the amount for my stateroom that was advertised on the Princess website. There was no additional $ incentive  offered for me to book a guaranteed cabin. At the time I booked, the entire deck ,comprising mini suites with the exception of a few inside cabins was classed as guarantee cabins. Anyway, I won't let this happen again .

 

Sometimes, if you want a mini-suite you will have to let it happen or book a different grade for the cruise. I believe the cruise line does this to gain flexibility particularly regarding the upgrade bidding system and moving passengers into different locations. There might be 200 mini-suites specifically unallocated with 190 passenger groups booked into them. That is ten vacant cabins. Conversely there might be 5 suites which have not been booked and therefore empty. The cruise line will calculate how to increase revenue by the greatest amount where there is potential to upgrade passengers based on their bids. In this scenario up to 5 passenger groups that have made a bid have the potential to be upgraded to suites. If none have made a bid they could still be upgraded to vacate mini-suites where a plethora of bids have been made to upgrade into one of those by balcony cabin people.

 

 

Regards John

[john watson]

On 10/10/2024 at 8:34 PM, Therese S. said:

I understand your frustration about not being able to select your cabin when booking.  When we booked our 54 day cruise on the Island Princess a full two years out before departure to Tahiti, Australia, NZ at the end of December 2023  there were no inside cabins to choose from, all were listed as guarantee.  So we had no options but to choose guarantee or not book at all.  I dont know why Princess does this especially for a cruise so far out in March 2026.  I also dont like not being able to choose my cabin and stuck with a guarantee as you never know where you'll end up.  Could be in a room I would never pick if given the opportunity. 

 

I think the problem with fitting passengers into cabins on longer cruises like say 100 day world cruises is that not everyone does the full voyage.  It is broken down early into long sectors like say 54 and 46 days.  Then they might later split those into even shorter sectors, like 32 and 27 days. These might be a series of sectors which overlap and this might give rise to gaps if they mix the two groups up. On top of that we have the three and four in a cabin people which is another dilemma. So the objective the cruise line has is fill the ship up as much as possible and make sure that people doing more than one sector stay in the same cabin throughout. To make things easier they do not allocate cabin numbers early on and can fit everyone in better with a later decision. Generally knowing your cabin number from the day you book is not that crucial.

 

Regards John

[FLAlaska]

7 hours ago, Vooshee said:

Thank you for posting this. If you live in the U.S.I sense that there is a lot more details on topics such as mine that is disclosed by the Cruise lines to potential guests. As I have previously stated, I paid exactly the amount for my stateroom that was advertised on the Princess website. There was no additional $ incentive  offered for me to book a guaranteed cabin. At the time I booked, the entire deck ,comprising mini suites with the exception of a few inside cabins was classed as guarantee cabins. Anyway, I won't let this happen again .

We all live and learn . And you are right, guarantee isn't always a lower fare and might just be what is available. But don't fret. Yes, you might have to wait until last minute but it won't cause you trouble except a little anxiety.  And yes, you do run the risk of a not so good location but there is always a possibility of an upgrade. Either way, don't let it ruin you cruise, you will be fine!

[arizonaperson]

I really thought I was being helpful,factual, & empathetic to the op with all my responses ,but….

Many on CC are/ were trying to help OP.

Maybe helpful to another cruiser reading this thread in the future.

 

 

Edited Sunday at 04:25 PM by arizonaperson

[cruzsnooze]

On 10/10/2024 at 6:32 PM, Vooshee said:

To put a bottom line through all this , all I wanted was for someone at Princess to be more reassuring when I phoned and in light of the fact that Princess conveniently fails to mention this detail in any of their 'preachings' I find it quite unprofessional. If one defines " customer service" as providing a standard of service that meets the expectations of the customer, then Princess has failed.

Reassuring about what exactly? You will get a cabin in the category you booked or higher.  

[downtheback]

On 10/13/2024 at 6:26 PM, Vooshee said:

Yes. My wife and I feel " a bit at sea" on this issue.

We've always had the pleasure of selecting our own State Room and Deck as you have. The last thing we want to do is have Stateroom number allocated when we arrive at the Ship. There always seem to be other challenges on embarkation day. Good luck .

Your stateroom will be assigned in advance of you arriving at the port. Up to 72 hours, but generally at least a week out.

 

On 10/13/2024 at 6:41 PM, Vooshee said:

As I have previously stated, I paid exactly the amount for my stateroom that was advertised on the Princess website. There was no additional $ incentive  offered for me to book a guaranteed cabin

You seem to have misunderstood this point. The price of the "guarantee stateroom" as advertised includes the inventive/discount. It is not a separate advertised line on your cruise fare. The fact that no other staterooms were available in your category means that you weren't able to see that price difference. Here is what it looks like when you get the choice (two examples)

[Mara4166]

3 hours ago, downtheback said:

Your stateroom will be assigned in advance of you arriving at the port. Up to 72 hours, but generally at least a week out.

 

You seem to have misunderstood this point. The price of the "guarantee stateroom" as advertised includes the inventive/discount. It is not a separate advertised line on your cruise fare. The fact that no other staterooms were available in your category means that you weren't able to see that price difference. Here is what it looks like when you get the choice (two examples)

It may be a regional thing, but in the UK, I have never seen a price difference for a guarantee versus pick your own.

 

Personally we would never book a guarantee room.  The room selected is as important (or more important) than the itinerary for us.  We want a large aft balcony for relaxing and have decided to not cruise when we cannot get a cabin we want. 

[FLAlaska]

There are times where you do not see a discount because Guarantee is all that is available.

[Butters530]

I also am a bit of a control enthusiast and it is also hard for me to not know my cabin assignment. We are booked in a mini suite guarantee on Princess in mid January for a western Caribbean cruise. Previously on my first cruise - we traveled RC and had a balcony guarantee. We were moved up a category to a Spacious Oceanview balcony. This was awesome. Hoping for the same luck on this cruise on CB. If not, I know I will love my mini suite. I am just curious how cruise lines decide who booked guarantee gets the upgrade. New travelers to the cruise lines? It would be cool to know how it all works. 
 

Best of luck to OP! 

[candy4040]

Last year I had booked an interior guarantee pm deck 16.  Day of sailing I was upgraded to an unobstructed view balcony for no additional charge.  (deck 8 and not really an obstructed view.  I was a pretty happy cruiser.