First post...questions, please!

[firstcruiserDB]

Wow, I am so impressed with this site and all of the helpful posters! Thanks so much for being here for those of us looking for cruise answers! I'm sure many really appreciate your help! I've learned so much in the past few weeks from you all!

 

My DH and I are going on our first cruise in late June to celebrate 25 years together! We are so excited.....Here's a couple of questions we have (believe me, there will be tons more as we get closer to our cruise!)

 

1. We booked with a TA and haven't heard much from her. We booked a guarentee room months ago with the hope (of course!) of an upgrade. Will we hear about our assigned room before or after our final payments have been made? Should I be encouraging her to call Carnival regarding our placement?

 

2. I've been checking on the "book/modify" page but continue to get TBA. We are 88 days out. Should I continue to check it everyday or am I wasting my time? I'm really anxious to find out about our placement!

 

3. Once final payment has been made, will our hope of an upgrade be over or is it done after that time?

 

Thanks so much for any and all answers! I really appreciate your help! I am sooooo addicted to this site!!:)

[wwinfl91]

First congratulations on deciding on trying cruising. I hope you have a great cruise and become a regular visitor to CC.

 

I will to provide some answers to your questions.

 

1. I would definitely contact the TA you used and find out if they had any additional information on your cruise. You may not hear about your cabin assignment until after your final payment depending on how your TA handles guarantees. A lot of time Guarantees may not be assigned until 3-4 weeks before the ship sails. We have never been on Carnival so I don't know how they handle it. We have used guarantees a couple of times and a couple of times we didn't know our cabin assignment until we got our paperwork (3-4 weeks before the cruise). One time we went to the ship with no cabin assigned until we got to the port and then they told where we would be sleeping.

 

2. For your own sanity I would suggest checking maybe two or three times a week until you get within the 6 week time frame of your cruise. By the way calling Carnival won't help if you booked through a TA. All they will tell you is to contact your TA.

 

3. Even after final payment and even if you have a tentative cabin assignment there is a possibility that you could still be upgraded. That has happened to us once and occurred when we got to the dock to board the ship. We had one cabin and we got moved to another cabin on the "better" deck (higher category).

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Happy ks]

I think sometimes you may be able to find out in advance. It may not be too late to book a specific cabin if you want to be certain of what you get. When you book a guarantee, you should always book the minimum you will be happy with. I've only ever booked one guarantee room before, it was on Carnival. We did not get upgraded and did not find out our room assignment until we checked in at the port. You might post your question on the Carnival board, perhaps someone there will be able to give you a more definitive answer.

 

BTW, Happy Anniversary and have an awesome cruise!

[jcanino]

My DH and I are going on our first cruise in late June to celebrate 25 years together! We are so excited.....Here's a couple of questions we have (believe me, there will be tons more as we get closer to our cruise!)

 

1. We booked with a TA and haven't heard much from her. We booked a guarentee room months ago with the hope (of course!) of an upgrade. Will we hear about our assigned room before or after our final payments have been made? Should I be encouraging her to call Carnival regarding our placement?

 

You may not find out about your cabin until you reach the port and look at the manifest. Your TA should be checking to see if you are eligible for any price differences that could place you in a higher category. With Carnival, the normal upgrade is inside cabin to inside cabin, oceanview to oceanview and so on. On occasion, they will upgrade from inside to oceanview or oceanview to balcony. You will more than likely not hear about your cabin assignment before your final payment.

 

2. I've been checking on the "book/modify" page but continue to get TBA. We are 88 days out. Should I continue to check it everyday or am I wasting my time? I'm really anxious to find out about our placement!

 

Personally, I think you are wasting time. I know that you are excited and anxious, but it normally does not happen this early. If your cabin assignment is not on your documents and it still says TBA when they arrive about 4 weeks prior to your cruise, look at the back of the Sail and sign form and you might see it there.

 

3. Once final payment has been made, will our hope of an upgrade be over or is it done after that time?

 

It is normally done after final payment is made.