Doing the "Cabin's not yet assigned and the cruise is in 3 weeks" Anticipatory Wiggle

[halloweengirl]

Gaaaaaah! I know it's normal to not have an assignment at this point when one's on "Guaranteed" status, but the suspense is killing me :-P My In-Laws booked hubby and I in an MM Guar, and we're fine with that (first cruise, ILs paid, we're not going to spend much time in our room, etc.), but an upgrade would be cool. Hubby and I keep fantasizing about getting bumped to a suite, hee hee.

 

We know that we'll likely still have our inside cabin, but it's fun to dream :)

 

So excited! I still would like to lose 10 lbs or so though, so I do need the 3 weeks! :)

 

Anyone else on the 3/17 Zuiderdam?

[eroller]

I'm sailing next Saturday (3/3) and still don't have a cabin assignment. I sail on all the lines (NCL, Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, etc.) and I don't think I've ever waited so long for a cabin assignment. For whatever reason, HAL likes to wait until the last minute. I'm not sure why they do and most other lines do not?

 

I have to admit having a guarantee is fun because it's like gambling. You never know will happen and there is a chance you will get something better. Unlike gambling, there is no risk as you know the minimum grade of cabin you will receive.

 

Even so, I prefer knowing my cabin number in a more timely manner than HAL provides. I was not able to book a specific cabin when I made my reservation. It was guarantee status only.

 

Ernie

[Sale Away]

:D I start looking on the sites that show which cabins are available in various categories to see what's still unbooked. If you haven't gotten your assignment yet, you're probably out of luck hoping to get a balcony. I just checked your sailing and all balconies on up are showing as sold out. But the good news is there seem to be quite a few Oceanviews still unsold. Then again there seem to be a lot of available Insides too.

 

So here's hoping the Upgrade Fairy tosses some dust your way!

[hammybee]

I have heard that the longer the wait, the greater the likelihood of an upgrade. My crystal balls says you are going to get a window.

[SakeDad]

:D I start looking on the sites that show which cabins are available in various categories to see what's still unbooked.

 

I was told most of those sites "project" what they believe will be available as opposed to a live availability chart. Hope I'm wrong. I booked a 5/20 trip today and was told by HAL there are 8 GTY cabins still avail in my category. I'm hoping for the upgrade too but at this point I'll be happy to wait until i'm at the dock to get assigned.

[Funny Daddy]

Gaaaaaah! I know it's normal to not have an assignment at this point when one's on "Guaranteed" status, but the suspense is killing me :-P My In-Laws booked hubby and I in an MM Guar, and we're fine with that (first cruise, ILs paid, we're not going to spend much time in our room, etc.), but an upgrade would be cool. Hubby and I keep fantasizing about getting bumped to a suite, hee hee.

 

We know that we'll likely still have our inside cabin, but it's fun to dream :)

 

So excited! I still would like to lose 10 lbs or so though, so I do need the 3 weeks! :)

 

Anyone else on the 3/17 Zuiderdam?

 

Hal does not bump you up, I have close to 300 days on Hal and they don't do this, never book an inside room , it's a waste, for a little bit more you can see the ocean!!

[halloweengirl]

Thanks all! And that's a neat sneaky trick w/seeing what's still available.

 

PimpDaddy, I would have booked an outside w/verandah, but In-Law's (HAL veterans) booked and paid as a gift, so I'm not complaining. I've always wanted to go on a cruise and hubby and I couldn't afford it these days :-P Kind in laws! We only had to get our plane tix.

 

Like I said, I'm just happy to be there! :) To us, cabins/hotel rooms are for sleeping only--we're adventurers!

 

Besides, IL's got a suite, so we can always hang out with them if we need in-cabin ocean views :)

[halloweengirl]

PimpDaddy, also, I'm not trying to be argumentative, but my in-laws get bumped up ALL the time (2 cruises a year).....apparently it's some sort of magical formula w/HAL loyalty and a hefty dose of luck.

 

But I don't care if we have to sleep in a tender, we're going to the Carribbean! :-P

[debsjc]

We are on the Noordam 10 March and had a VF GTY, the cabin number appeared on the HAL website immigration form on 12 Feb, so about 4 weeks out. It's was a little upgrade for us from a VF to a VB

 

Good luck with yours halloweengirl, I hope you get a great cabin, it sounds like you are going to have a lovely trip anyway. :D

[Navy_Chief]

Some GTYs post 4 weeks out, some 2 weeks out, some you don't find out until your pierside. It depends (IMO) on how the ship is selling. Both HAL cruises I've been on were GTYs; Both times we got an upgrade but only for "Like" rooms (Oceanview G to E; Veranda VF to VB) I don't recall seeing anyone go from an "Inside" to an "Outside" or an "Outside" to a "Veranda". At any rate, we were happy with the "upgrade" in both cases. On Rotterdam, we didn't find out until we were pierside (mostly because we were in Athens staying with Niki's family for 10 days prior to sailing and I had no access to the internet); on Noordam it was 2 weeks out.

[kakalina]

Hal does not bump you up, I have close to 300 days on Hal and they don't do this, never book an inside room , it's a waste, for a little bit more you can see the ocean!!

 

 

Sorry Daddy: I have 15 cruises with HAL, out of 15 guarantee inside cabins we have only been in an inside cabin 4 times. I say that is one hal ;) of an upgrade record from HAL. We were once went from a guaranteed inside to a full suite! True. There were extenuating circumstances, but it can happen.

[kelmac]

I agree with kakalina!

We have cruised HAL four times, all with inside guarantees.

Veendam--upgraded to outside cabin

Volendam--upgraded three cats to inside cabin

Zuiderdam--upgraded to a large outside cabin (handicap cabin)

Westerdam--no upgrade, stayed same cat booked

 

It's a crap shoot, but you never know? Most of cabins were assigned 7 -- 10 days before sailing. For some reason, three of the assignments were posted on a Sunday morning. Not sure why?

 

Cabin type and location has never been a huge priority with us. Booking inside guarantees sure makes cruising four times a year more affordable!:)

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[Sale Away]

I was told most of those sites "project" what they believe will be available as opposed to a live availability chart. Hope I'm wrong. I booked a 5/20 trip today and was told by HAL there are 8 GTY cabins still avail in my category. I'm hoping for the upgrade too but at this point I'll be happy to wait until i'm at the dock to get assigned.

 

It has to be live... they actually show you specific cabin numbers you can book. The Travel Gnome only appears wooden. ;)

[hammybee]

Sorry Daddy: I have 15 cruises with HAL, out of 15 guarantee inside cabins we have only been in an inside cabin 4 times. I say that is one hal ;) of an upgrade record from HAL. We were once went from a guaranteed inside to a full suite! True. There were extenuating circumstances, but it can happen.

 

18 cruises here and never once an upgrade. Of course when we travel 3 to a cabin, this takes us out of the race. We also tend to sail in prime time and this too makes it unlikely, when we sail as 2. But someday.....

[calbob]

Does anyone have a site where you can actually see what cabins are booked on a specific ship...We too are GTY, for the March 17, out of SAN, for an SY, and it would be interesting to see what cabins are taken...

 

Thanks..

[richkinkade]

I'm going on the Mar 11 sailing of the Veendam. I booked an inside guar, and it's still showing GUAR on the immigration form. I've noticed, however, that neither HAL nor Expedia shows any cabins available, and Orbitz and VTG show only ocean view cabins available. (Orbitz shows Cat E as the cheapest available, but won't show sppecific cabins). I've bet my wife a nickle we're getting a window. I'll know soon.