guarantee stateroom question

[coffee39]

Is it cheaper to book a guarantee than to pick your actual stateroom? If not then why would people book a guarantee? What are the advantages?

 

We have only been on one cruise and that was the Sapphire Princess. Are all showers as small as the ones on princess or do the other cruise lines such as Carnival, NCL, RC or HAL have larger showers?

 

Thanks for your help.

[wrp96]

On most cruiselines it is cheaper to book a guarantee than a specific stateroom in the same category. I believe on Princess though there is actually no discount for booking a guarantee over a specific stateroom in the exact same category.

[cb at sea]

One advantage which CAN happen (but doesn't always!) is that gtd. bookings will sometimes get upgraded! The downside is that they may put you in the least desirable area in the catagory that you book. It's a gamble, but for folks who really don't care much about the cabin, it's a bargain!

[Bill S]

We have booked a "guarantee" cateory 5 times on HAL and have been assigned cabins in a higher category 4 of those times. The price for a guarantee cabin on HAL is the same as it is for booking a cabin in the same category, so it is not cheaper on HAL to book "guarantee". However, as mentioned, we have been assigned cabins which would have cost more, and in one case a lot more.

For us, the key element in deciding to go with a guaranteed category, is to do a thorough study of the ship's deck plans to see what is above an below the cabin categories we consider. Also, we only book a category that we will be happy with if we are assigned to that category cabin. That is most important playing in the "guaranty" playground. The one time that happened to us, we wound up in a cabin which worked out very well for us, location-wise on the deck on which our cabin was located.

 

We have sailed once on Celebrity and on 9 different HAL ships, and the showers have been a decent size. HAL's bathrooms are typically larger than most other cruise lines, from what I have read and experienced. Hope this helps! :)

[98Charlie]

We've used guarantees a number of times and never have been disappointed. We take them when there is a significant savings. One cruise our guarantee was priced less than some of the upper category oceanviews.

 

Charlie

[cherylandtk]

And as for the bathroom question, I think Princess has the smallest showers around...but somehow that never seems to be a deal breaker.

[98Charlie]

And as for the bathroom question, I think Princess has the smallest showers around...but somehow that never seems to be a deal breaker.

The bath configuration for our balcony cabin on Dawn Princess was such that, in order to sit square on the commode, my right foot would be in the shower:eek: (And, I'm not Big & Tall)

 

Charlie

[kat89447]

I know that NCL has very large showers. Guarentees are fine IF you are happy with ANY cabin in that type. Remember your best and worse are very subjective. You will be given whatever is left after people that book specifically for their room. Yes you can get upgraded, but you can also get put right over the anchor or under the kitchen. If you are a heavy sleeper or get up early or rarely spend any time in your room it might be the way to go. I have a child and book a specific room for this reason, I spend a lot of time in my room and prefer something near the middle of the ship. Don't take this wrong, but there are tons of posts of people booking gty and then being mad about their room assignment. They also get mad because they not only didn't get that upgrade so many people seem to get but they are in the worst place they could be in their opinion. It's goes back to you get what you pay for and in my opinion you lose all rights to snivel. I am not pointing fingers at you or anyone in particular, but if you search you will see many people that blame the cruiseline for their stateroom pick and bash entire cruises because they figure they were entitled to something more than they agreed to in the beginning. Sorry my vent lol. Like anything else in cruising it is a matter of preference. Just know what you are getting into before you book.

[DukeFamily]

I know gty is cheaper on Carnival - we just did that for our last cruise and were very happy with our cabin. I've cruised Princess, Celebrity, RCI and now Carnival In addition to the cabin itself being larger, I think Carnival had the largest shower of any I've had. The shower took up the entire width of the bathroom - there was plenty of room in it. You could even pick up the soap when you drop it!

[FUN33]

Is it cheaper to book a guarantee than to pick your actual stateroom? If not then why would people book a guarantee? What are the advantages?

 

We have only been on one cruise and that was the Sapphire Princess. Are all showers as small as the ones on princess or do the other cruise lines such as Carnival, NCL, RC or HAL have larger showers?

 

Thanks for your help.

It's difficult to "lose" on a GTY stateroom. Your guaranteed of getting what you paid for (and expected). You can end up in a MUCH better cabin for the same price.

 

We have booked GTY multiple times and have always received an upgrade. Sometimes the upgrade is no big deal but twice we paid for a balcony and received a suite.

 

No promise of a suite, but you never know. We most often book GTY when going at the last minute. GTY are not always offered by the cruise line. Usually they are only available the closer you get to the actual sailing.

[Tinkrbell]

We are trying our first gamble with a guaranteed cabin on our cruise next year. I am hoping for the best. The price was hard to beat.