Guarantee Stateroom?

[MaaDo]

Has anyone ever booked a Guarantee Stateroom? If so, how was your room and its location? We are thinking :confused: about doing it on the Navigator for an inside stateroom . We are trying to book an economical vacation, but don't want to be disappointed. Your suggestions are appreciated

[cb at sea]

An inside is an inside....unless you have some major location preference, you'll get AT LEAST what you pay for...and might (stress, might) get something MORE than you pay for!

 

If you aren't really particular about your cabin type and location, a guarantee booking is a great way to save money. If your vacation will be ruined because you're on, say, deck 2, a long walk from elevators, then it's best to book the specific cabin you want.

[Pat.bz]

We booked a 28 day b2b last year, and aside from the fact that we had to change cabins between cruises, no problem. When we got our cabin (for each cruise we weren't happy (one was most forward cabin on deck 2) but TA called and asked for another gty cabin more midship and thats what we got--we were very pleased. Would do it again.

[M&M Hayden]

as long as I'm on the ship I'm happy.

[friendofg]

I book guarantees all the time and am a former TA. Guarantees work well for my husband and me. :)

 

It really depends on what is more important to you: price or cabin location. With a guarantee, you don't usually get both.

 

I want an outside cabin - I need a window to feel okay (I'm very light-driven and my internal clock doesn't like insides anymore.) Other than that, I'm not too picky about where the window is.

 

You also have to deal with not having your cabin number right away, which is okay for us but drives some folks nuts.

 

Only you know whether or not you can plan a trip without knowing exactly where you're going to be but if it makes the trip fit your budget, I'd encourage you to go for it.

 

The only caveat from me? Do NOT book an inside guarantee hoping for an outside cabin. You will be disappointed about 95% of the time.

[shopper77]

I book guarantees all the time and am a former TA. Guarantees work well for my husband and me. :)

 

It really depends on what is more important to you: price or cabin location. With a guarantee, you don't usually get both.

 

I want an outside cabin - I need a window to feel okay (I'm very light-driven and my internal clock doesn't like insides anymore.) Other than that, I'm not too picky about where the window is.

 

You also have to deal with not having your cabin number right away, which is okay for us but drives some folks nuts.

 

Only you know whether or not you can plan a trip without knowing exactly where you're going to be but if it makes the trip fit your budget, I'd encourage you to go for it.

 

The only caveat from me? Do NOT book an inside guarantee hoping for an outside cabin. You will be disappointed about 95% of the time.

 

It also works well for us. We also have booked a guarantee inside cabin on all 5 of our rccl cruises. I agree with you about what is important. I would rather take 2 cruises that are priced right, than 1 with a higher price tag. We were luckly on one cruise and they upgraded us to an outside. On our last cruise we knew our cabin # 3 months before we left, and we were able to change it on 3 different occasions when a cabin open up in our category. Hope this helps.

[lleydens]

Has anyone ever booked a Guarantee Stateroom? If so, how was your room and its location? We are thinking :confused: about doing it on the Navigator for an inside stateroom . We are trying to book an economical vacation, but don't want to be disappointed. Your suggestions are appreciated

 

 

We booked guarantee on Navigator for our December cruise. We got category N, on the 6th deck above the dining room. We are happy with it, but we also don't spend much time in the cabin.

[jjb415]

OP has gotten good advice and I agree, if you are picky about location or are not willing to accept any cabin, Guarantee cabins may not be a good option. I book inside Guarantee cabins and have never gotten an upgrade to an outside or higher, but, have been able to change within the assigned category. There have been reports that changes with the category have not been possible lately.

[rdr525]

I pick a gty balcony. Done it 2x on RC and once on Princess. Princess' room was all the way forward but an upgrade. Room was great even if it was a long walk to aft(pool) etc.

Both times on RCCL we got a great room. Not too far off center.

Unless you have your heart set on a certain room or deck- it is great. You usually get better than u paid for

[Merion_Mom]

OP has gotten good advice and I agree, if you are picky about location or are not willing to accept any cabin, Guarantee cabins may not be a good option. I book inside Guarantee cabins and have never gotten an upgrade to an outside or higher, but, have been able to change within the assigned category. There have been reports that changes with the category have not been possible lately.

 

I was easily able to change my cabin assignment just this month.

[Rockfordcruiser]

I was easily able to change my cabin assignment just this month.

I just changed my DS NOV 28 GRTY 3 decks higher and aft. No issues. Fingers crossed now for upgrade ferry:)

[phred119s]

I switched my selected cabin on Navigator to an inside guarantee cabin in July for our Sept cruise. We ended up being assigned a PR stateroom. By the time of departure, the price per person in a PR cabin was almost as much as the two of us combined by getting it as a guarantee.

[brpt123]

I booked a guarenteed oceanview on the oasis about 4 weeks ago and got a room on the 10th floor. My cruise is the end of the week. I don't spend much time in my room and couldn't care less where it's located.

[Morecruisesplz]

I was easily able to change my cabin assignment just this month.

 

There you go... wondered how long it would take for someone to say just book the guarantee and then get it changed after the assignment to any open cabin.

[mamasue]

We've booked several GTY's..... inside, OV, and balcony.

Never had a bad one!

The best GTY we got was a balcony GTY.....ended up with an aft on the 9th floor..... it was awesome!!

[Merion_Mom]

There you go... wondered how long it would take for someone to say just book the guarantee and then get it changed after the assignment to any open cabin.

 

I think that you are trying to say that if you book a guarantee, you should be willing to accept any cabin that they assign.

 

But since Royal Caribbean gladly makes the switch, what is your beef?

[Morecruisesplz]

I think that you are trying to say that if you book a guarantee, you should be willing to accept any cabin that they assign.

 

But since Royal Caribbean gladly makes the switch, what is your beef?

 

Duh!

Why do you think that is why it is called a "guarantee" and sold for less? So that you can pick any cabin available and ask to be moved to it? How is that different from simply picking the cabin you want and paying the full price, not the lower rate for a guarantee? (oh, that's right ... you paid less then game the system!)

[Merion_Mom]

Duh!

Why do you think that is why it is called a "guarantee" and sold for less? So that you can pick any cabin available and ask to be moved to it? How is that different from simply picking the cabin you want and paying the full price, not the lower rate for a guarantee? (oh, that's right ... you paid less then game the system!)

 

Let me ask you: if the price drops on your cruisefare, do you call and get the reduction?

 

That's no more or less "gaming the system" than requesting a different cabin in a guarantee category. If RC wants to say "no", they can.

 

Neither I nor anyone else said that we would be upset if denied.

[J & G]

Has anyone ever booked a Guarantee Stateroom? If so, how was your room and its location? We are thinking :confused: about doing it on the Navigator for an inside stateroom . We are trying to book an economical vacation, but don't want to be disappointed. Your suggestions are appreciated

 

Ask yourself a few questions, especially if booking an inside guarantee:

 

1) Do I spend time in my cabin other than to shower, dress, and sleep? That is, do I think of my cabin as a retreat from the crowds and do I go there periodically to rest and recharge?

 

2) Is my cabin location important to me? That is, do I care about how far I am from such things as elevators, dining areas, pool, etc or whether or not I am below the disco?

 

3) Is the square footage of my cabin important to me? Do I want to have plenty of room to move around?

 

4) Am I expecting to book a guarantee and get upgraded to a better cabin (some cruise lines do that routinely.....it's a game.....)?

 

5) Last, but not least, will I be unhappy with the least desirable of the cabins in the category that I have booked?

 

 

If you can answer "YES" to any of these, you might want to reconsider booking a guarantee.

[Morecruisesplz]

Let me ask you: if the price drops on your cruisefare, do you call and get the reduction?

 

That's no more or less "gaming the system" than requesting a different cabin in a guarantee category. If RC wants to say "no", they can.

 

Neither I nor anyone else said that we would be upset if denied.

 

Wow... that's a stretch! Comparing asking for something that is a published benefit of booking in advance to asking for the cabin for which you paid less to allow RCL the right to assign the cabin to be changed to one you want to pick. They should say "sure, we can do that. It will only cost you the difference between the price of a guarantee cabin and today's price to book that cabin you want."

[Merion_Mom]

Wow... that's a stretch! Comparing asking for something that is a published benefit of booking in advance to asking for the cabin for which you paid less to allow RCL the right to assign the cabin to be changed to one you want to pick. They should say "sure, we can do that. It will only cost you the difference between the price of a guarantee cabin and today's price to book that cabin you want."

 

But THEY DON'T.

[Morecruisesplz]

But THEY DON'T.

 

For now.

 

They will soon! And we'll all be complaiing then!

 

Here is the deal: when folks can not wait to come here and post how they gamed the system and got over on RCCL and just by doing so encourage others to do the same, the possibility of that "advantage" eventually disappears. Think about the list of what we used to get and/or be able to do that is now gone because everyone decided to come to CC and brag about what they were doing:

 

- stand in line a purser's desk last night of cruise to cash out your OBC / now it is "use it or lose it"

- get cash in casino for travel or to cash out OBC / now pay ATM fees

- transfer to a t/a for additional OBC / now time limit; soon won't be able to do it at all

- price reductions up to sail date / now not after final payment

 

And I'm sure I've missed some. Can you not just keep your little secrets to yourself? Did you ever think that others know about it but are just smart enough not to post it here where it goes on the list in Miami of "things we have to stop letting them do." I know it feels good to post "I did this" and "I got that" and "wait until you here what I was able to do." But all I'm saying is that I think they are on to us and have figured out if they monitor CC we'll show them where to save money! (And I certainly don't mean you in particular or you personally -- I'm just using this example!)

[phred119s]

 

- stand in line a purser's desk last night of cruise to cash out your OBC / now it is "use it or lose it"

Not entirely true. I thought that too based on what I had read on here. I worked hard to spend my OBC (obtained by booking onboard the previous year). We didn't spend some of it, but I was ok with "losing" the small amount. My card on file was refunded shortly after we returned home.

[CruisinChris412]

Has anyone ever booked a Guarantee Stateroom? If so, how was your room and its location? We are thinking :confused: about doing it on the Navigator for an inside stateroom . We are trying to book an economical vacation, but don't want to be disappointed. Your suggestions are appreciated

 

That's the way we did it for our first and only cruise. We knew we wanted a balcony room but we didn't have the slightest clue where. Apparently, we were upgraded to a slightly bigger balcony room? And our room was on the starboard side right by front elevators/stairs.

[CodyC815]

I was easily able to change my cabin assignment just this month.

 

I can second that, I've been a balcony GTY on the Navigator twice, first I was assigned a D1 and was able to change it to 1692 aft, and just last week I was assigned an E2 and was able to switch to 7688, corner aft! Always check and see what's available in your category, people give up good cabins all the time.