Upgrades on GUAR for Past Cruisers?

[BamaBelle]

I am thinking about sailing sometime next month or so on the Conquest. I have sailed with Carnival twice before and my travel companion has sailed with Carnival three times. We had room assignments in the past, but are considering booking a GUAR this time to see if we can do better. If we book a 1A GUAR, 4A GUAR or a 6A GUAR, what in your experience could realistically be our upgrade category chances on each of these and also be put on a higher deck than the Riveria compared to ones who book the same GUAR but are not past Carnival cruisers? We are 55+ if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance to all who respond.

[GoinCruisin]

Upgrades are random and have no rhyme or reason... your age doesn't make a difference. Book the lowest category you will be happy with. Most upgrades are deck to deck, not IS to OV, OV to BL, etc. You may get upgraded, you may not... it's a gamble... if you are not concerned with cabin location, etc. and you don't necessarily want to be right beside the rest in your party, it is a good way to go to save a few bucks... good luck!

[ppeckham]

I booked a 1A on the Jubilee when she was still doing the 5-day out of Galveston. We were bumped up to a 4C. I wasn't crazy about the location of the cabin - far aft of the ship. We heard loads of vibrations and the odor was a bit overwhelming at times.

 

I'd rather book a specific cabin. But that's my preference.

 

If you don't mind where you end up, then book the guarantee at the lowest level you'd accept, as the previous poster noted.

 

Good Luck!

[cantw82cruise]

GC is right it's just a crap shoot. You have to determine if the reward out weighs the risk. We booked a GTY balcony for our up coming cruise on the Legend. This is the first time we have done the GTY. Right now we are in an 8H cabin. If that holds we will have saved about $300. We figured we will be happy with any balcony on the ship so thought we would try this and see how it shakes out. Good luck and happy cruising.

[jewopaho]

Did you check to see what's available? A month isn't much time, and the ship may well be sold out (or close to it). If anything is still open, you'll likely be assigned a specific stateroom, since those who booked guarantees have already been placed - and such an option probably won't be available. Price may be another issue, since those last-minute deals are fewer and further between - and upgrades so close to the sail date are highly unlikely. Happy hunting!

 

Al

[The Cruisers]

Like many of the posters have said, booking a guarantee is no guarantee that you will be upgraded. The last two times we been on a Carnival cruise we booked an 8A guarantee because we at least want a balcony. The last cruise we went on we got just that, an 8A cabin. On the previous cruise we were upgraded to an Category 11 mini suite. I think that is highly unusual, but we didn't complain. On our upcoming Nov. 12 cruise on the Liberty, we booked an 8A guarantee. Hopefully we'll get lucky and get an upgrade. If not, we'll at least have our balcony.