Crown Princess

[ajsdad]

Just booked our first Princess Cruise. Booked Guaranteed B1 Balcony. Curious what are the chances that we get bumped to a mini suite. Am I right that is what we might get bumped to? Also Since B1 is the best balcony type, (assuming based on the price) If we dont get bumped we would always still add up with a room mid ship, right?

[Pam in CA]

Just booked our first Princess Cruise. Booked Guaranteed B1 Balcony. Curious what are the chances that we get bumped to a mini suite. Am I right that is what we might get bumped to? Also Since B1 is the best balcony type, (assuming based on the price) If we dont get bumped we would always still add up with a room mid ship, right?

When you book a GTY, the only thing guaranteed is a cabin in the category you booked, or better. The vast majority of upgrades are the same cabin type; relatively few are from a balcony to a mini-suite. For most Princess ships, you will most likely be assigned a B1 balcony cabin. If you are booked on the Royal Princess, you could be assigned a "Deluxe" balcony cabin which is a little larger but not a mini-suite.

[rdsqrl]

Relative to your chances of being upgraded to a minisuite, bear in mind that there is one whole deck (plus 16) minisuites; there are four whole decks (plus 42) balconies. Your odds are not good.

As for where B1 cabins are, may I suggest in the non-snarkiest way possible that you examine the deck plans? I would never book a guaranty in any category (or a specific cabin, for that matter) unless I knew exactly where all the cabins in that category were. A few minutes homework by you will make your booking experience much more happy and eliminate possible angst when you get your assignment.

It sounds like it's important to you to have a cabin midships. Why not select a specific one and mark it "do not upgrade"? There's no price break in choosing a guaranty within a particular category.

[paul929207]

Anything is possible, but if you really want a mini, call your TA or Princess and pay for the upgrade

[fishin' musician]

A large factor on the likelyhood of getting upgraded is if the ship is sailing at capacity. If you are sailing in a soft season like November, early December, January or February, the chances are better than sailing spring break or mid-summer. There are exceptions like Mediteranean itineraries this summer where high airfares are apparently keeping folks on this side of the pond. There are some real bargains on these cruises.

[AttilaTheFun]

In the future, you may want to title your post with something more descriptive than just the name of your ship, such as "Balcony Guarantee questions" which tells people what your question is about.

[jjhob]

we booked a balcony guarantee for a med cruise next week. At first we were upgraded to the top balcony on Lido deck. When we went into pay, we were offered a mini suite for an extra $12. We were then upgraded to the minisuite AA. So it could happen! That was just our experience though. I think you have to be happy with the lowest category, just in case there are no upgrades, otherwise book the category that you want.

[IECalCruiser]

Just booked our first Princess Cruise. Booked Guaranteed B1 Balcony. Curious what are the chances that we get bumped to a mini suite. Am I right that is what we might get bumped to? Also Since B1 is the best balcony type, (assuming based on the price) If we dont get bumped we would always still add up with a room mid ship, right?

The Upgrade Fairy is fickle and might upgrade a lower category balcony cabin before a Guarantee B1 but you never know. Regarding the balcony cabin you would be assigned if you get no upgrade, you would be assigned one of the 28 Cat B1 cabins in the center of Caribe deck. The Caribe deck balconies are the larger 9'x9' balconies, are half covered and are the best balcony cabins IMHO. If you are upgraded to a mini-suite it would be to one of the Dolphin deck minis with a 9'x7' fully uncovered balcony.

 

You are on the Crown, but it appears that the only Cat B1 cabins are on Caribe deck of the Island, Coral, Diamond, Sapphire, Caribbean, Crown, Emerald and Ruby.

[Floppy McTurnriver]

Just booked our first Princess Cruise. Booked Guaranteed B1 Balcony. Curious what are the chances that we get bumped to a mini suite. Am I right that is what we might get bumped to? Also Since B1 is the best balcony type, (assuming based on the price) If we dont get bumped we would always still add up with a room mid ship, right?

 

my cruise is next week in the Med, we originally booked a GTY balcony (lowest category). Shocked to receive email from TA last week that we were upgraded to mini suite on Dolphin deck (free - no supplement). Not complaining that's for sure. Rest of family booked GTY oceanviews (lowest categories) and all were upgraded to balconies (Caribe deck).

 

Med market must be very, very soft this summer. On top of the free upgrades, the price of the cabins must have dropped 4-5 times over the last 6-7 months.

 

this is only our 5th sailing with Princess and we've been upgraded 4 times with them, although this is the biggest bump yet.