Gurantee price > assigned room?

[JJPacer]

Ever seen Gurantee price > assigned room price? On our 2/8/13 So. Carib cruise the inside guarantee price is $1349.00. While an assigned inside room is $939.00 - $979.00. The same is true for OV & superior veranda cabins. We've never seen this kind of pricing. Have you?

[OVgirl]

Is it possible that the category designation is different for each of these prices?

If there is a special sale price for a higher category (L vs N or C vs H), they will usually be guarantees. That way they can sell more berths and worry about cabin assignment later.

On HAL, the pricing for a guarantee is not automatically lower than an assigned cabin.

Always check and double check before accepting the price.

[PathfinderEss]

Ever seen Gurantee price > assigned room price? On our 2/8/13 So. Carib cruise the inside guarantee price is $1349.00. While an assigned inside room is $939.00 - $979.00. The same is true for OV & superior veranda cabins. We've never seen this kind of pricing. Have you?

No I have never seen where the guarantee price was higher then the actual assigned cabin price for the same catagory room. Very strange to me, usually it is the other way around.:confused:

[happyglobetrotter]

Ever seen Gurantee price > assigned room price? On our 2/8/13 So. Carib cruise the inside guarantee price is $1349.00. While an assigned inside room is $939.00 - $979.00. The same is true for OV & superior veranda cabins. We've never seen this kind of pricing. Have you?

 

That could mean that guarantees inside are sold out and the price reverted to the brochure initial price.

[catl331]

Yes, I've seen that often when it gets close to the sail date. It basically means they don't want to sell any more guarantees for the category.

[n0w0rn3v3r]

I have never seen a different price on HAL for a guarantee. When speaking with a HAL PCC recently, I specifically asked about guarantee prices and was told the price for a guarantee was the same as the price for an assigned cabin.

Do online or B&M TA's allow for different pricing?

[brucory]

Yes, I've seen that often when it gets close to the sail date. It basically means they don't want to sell any more guarantees for the category.

 

Interesting interpretation (and it seems there are a few) :rolleyes:

 

Guess it depends where you are looking...

 

On some sites, you can only buy guarantees close to sailings...

 

Often, guarantees are not available in early sales. My theory was that most early bookers like to have an allocated room to know where they will be.

 

Not sure if there is any merit to that, but I know I like late bookings normally and I very much LIKE guarantees!!!

 

:D:D:D

[Cinder Again]

I was told one time that the most expensive, and the cheapest categories of cabins with assigned rooms sell out first, so they use the guarantee cabin for fill ins, as they only promise you a category at least that good, and they can upgrade those guarantees as the lower categories sell out.

[SilvertoGold]

From what I can see the NN is $1349 available only as a Guar, while the K has lot of availablility at $959. L is Guar at $939.

An easy choice!

[OVgirl]

You sometimes will see the lowest category priced higher and only available as a guarantee. I think HAL will use these categories for flash sales.

In the past I have booked guarantee cabins just by asking for it. And it was at least 6 months before sail date.

 

Just shows that you have to do your research.

[Randyk47]

I have never seen a different price on HAL for a guarantee. When speaking with a HAL PCC recently, I specifically asked about guarantee prices and was told the price for a guarantee was the same as the price for an assigned cabin.

Do online or B&M TA's allow for different pricing?

 

To the best of my knowledge and experience there are no savings in booking a guarantee versus a specific cabin in the same category. The only "savings" is if you book a category and get assigned to a higher and more expensive category. Internet and brick and mortar agencies sometimes have lower prices than HAL's published fare. Most of the Internet agencies do that by discounting, actually rebating, a portion of their commission. Supposedly they're able to do that because of pure volumn of bookings made which hampers the typically smaller brick and mortar agencies. I've also heard, though can't personally confirm, that larger agencies, both Internet and brick and mortar, are able to get or negotiate better or lower fares by block purchasing a number of cabins within a category. We do have a friend locally who is a TA with the largest local travel agency in town. She says there's no way her agency can match Internet based agencies and they don't even try. They're lucky if they book a dozen cruises a week while, according to her, the larger Internet agencies book literally hundreds a day. Actually if it weren't for corporate travel accounts she and the agency she works for wouldn't survive.

[n0w0rn3v3r]

Thanks Randy

[SailorMom37]

We booked the Zaandam about 5 months out for our upcoming cruise (Saturday!!!), guaranteed BC veranda. It was significantly lower than a BC booked with an actual room number, but we did book through a travel agent...

However, I do remember that through HAL the guarantee was cheaper, we just saved more through the agent.

As far as I can tell, there are only like 6 BC's on the ship - so I was surprised they would see this level as a guarantee (it's the cheapest veranda).

The only downside - we get on the ship Saturday and don't have a cabin number yet! Not that that is a big deal for us, but I'm just curious!

[JJPacer]

We have seen the lowest category of cabins become a guarantee, selling at a reduced fare, after final payment. This is the first time we have seen the price for the lowest category (typically the guarantee cabins) higher than the price of an assigned cabin. We'll keep watching the prices. I'm curious if they will drop the guarantee price or make it a flash sale.

 

We booked our assigned cabin last fall and we're happy with our choice. It's just curiosity on our part, not a desire to change cabins or get a lower price.

 

With the pricing they have, HAL wanted cruisers to choose an assigned cabin, rather than choose the 'guarantee' arrangement. Maybe it's a new marketing strategy to see if it works as well as the "old guarantee" arrangement. If it works as well as they hope, it willl save HAL a lot of time in assigning those cabins.

 

We were cruious if anyone else had seen this marketing strategy on other HAL sailings.

[jtl513]

This is the first time we have seen the price for the lowest category (typically the guarantee cabins) higher than the price of an assigned cabin. We'll keep watching the prices. I'm curious if they will drop the guarantee price or make it a flash sale.

This has happened on a couple of cruises that we've been on, right around the time they start assigning cabins 3 to 2 weeks out. The price never dropped again before sailing.

 

As other posters said, it seems as if at some point they decide they've booked all the guarantees that they want, and therefore make it "unattractive" to do so. I think I recall reading once about a newbie who booked a G or H cabin at a higher price than a specific C to F because she thought the higher price meant that was the top of the category! :eek:

[JJPacer]

The price for the guarantee categories under discussion have been this way since final payment was made. We are 37 days prior to sail date. I'll let you know if the price changes any prior to sailing.