GTY vs "Flexible" - what's the Difference?

[SetAnOpenCourse]

I was booking on the HAL website, but was confused by the "Flexible in your stateroom choice?" question after selecting a stateroom (an interior). I booked "Guarantee" on our other 3 cruises, without disappointment, and I am open to an upgrade/upsell. I think this fast-approaching (May 1) cruise has many open cabins at this point. However, if I select a stateroom and indicate we're "flexible", would HAL give us a chance decline the reassignment? If they would not, the logical choice seems to go with a GTY at a slightly lower price. I appreciate any information or insights.

[jtl513]

With "flexible" you choose a specific cabin but will accept an upgrade. With Gty you don't choose a cabin, just a class level. You are much more likely to get an upgrade with the Gty. In neither case do you get a chance to refuse the change. In both cases you may receive an upsell offer, but it is more likely with the flexible IMO.

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Edited March 7, 2014 by jtl513

[SetAnOpenCourse]

Thanks jtl513. I'll think of the "flexible" option as a sort-of "pseudo guarantee". I guess the HAL website was clear, but it seemed improbable that there would in fact be a gray area between the two options.

 

I've read quite a few threads on CC about GTYs, and searched for an answer before posting. I'm a bit surprised that I did not find my question addressed - it is very specific but it seems fundamental to booking wisely.

[K&RCurt]

Thanks jtl513. I'll think of the "flexible" option as a sort-of "pseudo guarantee". I guess the HAL website was clear, but it seemed improbable that there would in fact be a gray area between the two options.

 

I've read quite a few threads on CC about GTYs, and searched for an answer before posting. I'm a bit surprised that I did not find my question addressed - it is very specific but it seems fundamental to booking wisely.

 

Basically with a GTY you give up any say in what cabin you will be in, usually the GTYs are in the lowest category of a given stateroom, so in most cases any other cabin assigned really is an upgrade. If you choose a specific cabin then click the "flexible" box you give HAL the ability to move you from that cabin, to another in the same or higher category. This may or may not be an "upgrade" in your eyes. A "fer instance", on our upcoming cruise we booked a VB on the aft of the Westerdam. The wake view was important to us so we did not click the "flexible" box. We preferred knowing we had a wake view veranda to the possibility of an upgrade to even an SS or S on the sides of the ship. As it turns out we got a good upsell offer and ended up with an aft corner S suite.

 

We pick a cabin we want and choose not to risk an upgrade that doesn't feel "better" to us. Of course we will have to look more carefully for this on future cruises when the categories of the cabins gets shuffled.

[SetAnOpenCourse]

Thanks K&RCurt. You answered the next question which popped up in my head - whether or not there's a chance of an upsell if I do not select "flexible". I will not select it, now that your post confirms there is that chance. I think we would not prefer some of the oceanviews over the interior "K" which we're booking, while we do like the possibility of paying more for the right stateroom.

[catl331]

... usually the GTYs are in the lowest category of a given stateroom,

Actually you can do a Gty at any level at any time. Several times we have booked VE Gty many months out just to avoid the possibility of a deck 4 cabin with a steel railing. We have always gotten VA or VB when we did that.

[Tampa Girl]

As it turns out we got a good upsell offer and ended up with an aft corner S suite.

 

And how nice was that!

[K&RCurt]

Actually you can do a Gty at any level at any time. Several times we have booked VE Gty many months out just to avoid the possibility of a deck 4 cabin with a steel railing. We have always gotten VA or VB when we did that.

 

 

Good to know catl331! I only was going by what I was offered on the website. The GTY never appealed to us, so i never looked further into it.

 

And how nice was that!

 

Very nice! I got the email with the offer an immediately emailed my PCC. She called me back as soon as she got in the next morning. The first upsell offer was "meh", but the second one was pretty good. I didn't want to push it to see if there would be another!

[SetAnOpenCourse]

Very nice! I got the email with the offer an immediately emailed my PCC. She called me back as soon as she got in the next morning. The first upsell offer was "meh", but the second one was pretty good. I didn't want to push it to see if there would be another!

 

K&RCurt: Did you immediately email your PCC to say that first upsell offer was not of interest, in order to (hopefully) prompt a 2nd offer? Was the 2nd offer chiefly a result of your PCC's initiative? Although I'm not counting on an upsell offer, I'd like to know if reaching out to the PCC is a better strategy than just ignoring an initial offer if it's not the right deal for us. Although we do get email from a PCC, so far (i.e. for our 3 prior cruises) we've only booked via the HAL website.

[K&RCurt]

K&RCurt: Did you immediately email your PCC to say that first upsell offer was not of interest, in order to (hopefully) prompt a 2nd offer? Was the 2nd offer chiefly a result of your PCC's initiative? Although I'm not counting on an upsell offer, I'd like to know if reaching out to the PCC is a better strategy than just ignoring an initial offer if it's not the right deal for us. Although we do get email from a PCC, so far (i.e. for our 3 prior cruises) we've only booked via the HAL website.

 

No, I just ignored the first upsell offer. As far as I know our PCC had nothing to do with making the offer, but was just aware that it was put out for our cruise.

 

We have used a TA in the past, booked directly on-line and this is our first time with the PCC. We decided to go with her because we met and got to become friends with her on a previous cruise on the Eurodam.

[SilvertoGold]

Thanks K&RCurt. You answered the next question which popped up in my head - whether or not there's a chance of an upsell if I do not select "flexible". I will not select it, now that your post confirms there is that chance. I think we would not prefer some of the oceanviews over the interior "K" which we're booking, while we do like the possibility of paying more for the right stateroom.

 

 

Upsells go out to everyone in the category HAL is offering.

[Tampa Girl]

Very nice! I got the email with the offer an immediately emailed my PCC. She called me back as soon as she got in the next morning. The first upsell offer was "meh", but the second one was pretty good. I didn't want to push it to see if there would be another!

 

You couldn't have done better unless you got the PH!

[cruz chic]

Upsells go out to everyone in the category HAL is offering.

No, that is not true. On my Eurodam cruise last October I badly wanted an upsell to a suite. Everyone that was on my roll call in my same category (that booked direct with HAL) got that upsell. My TA called to get the same thing and was told I was not eligible.

Edited March 7, 2014 by cruz chic

[SilvertoGold]

No, that is not true. On my Eurodam cruise last October I badly wanted an upsell to a suite. Everyone that was on my roll call in my same category (that booked direct with HAL) got that upsell. My TA called to get the same thing and was told I was not eligible.

 

Could be a lot of reasons, perhaps you got a really good price, OBC, some perks, etc. Then it is not a case of apples to apples.

 

It can depend on the price you pay and what goes with it! That can put you outside the 'category" HAL is aiming at.

[cruz chic]

Could be a lot of reasons, perhaps you got a really good price, OBC, some perks, etc. Then it is not a case of apples to apples.

 

It can depend on the price you pay and what goes with it! That can put you outside the 'category" HAL is aiming at.

 

No, that's not it. I paid top dollar, got no OBC and no perks. Not everyone gets offered the same upsell as you previously stated. Believe it or not, they pick their audience. I paid $4000 for a plain balcony cabin (VH guarantee) by the time I left it was going for $2800. Hal doesn't look at everyone the same way. Please don't make excuses for them.

Edited March 8, 2014 by cruz chic

[lizzies_mom]

Not everyone gets the upsell offer in the category, at least not when the offers first go out. I was following the roll call for our 2012 Ryndam TA and knew that some roll call members had gotten upsell offers from Verandah (now Vista) Suites to Deluxe/Neptune Suites. We were finishing our packing in the evening, readying for our flight to Barcelona the next day when Holland America called us with an upsell offer. They explained that we had not gotten earlier offers because our booking was linked to that of our friends because we wanted to dine with them with fixed seating. But they had two Neptune cabins, and we had our upsell for about half of what the original offer had been.

[lizzies_mom]

Should have probably added that linked bookings such as ours do not get the offers because they may not want people at the same table to find that one party got the same category room for $1000 less than the other.

[cruz chic]

Not everyone gets the upsell offer in the category, at least not when the offers first go out. I was following the roll call for our 2012 Ryndam TA and knew that some roll call members had gotten upsell offers from Verandah (now Vista) Suites to Deluxe/Neptune Suites. We were finishing our packing in the evening, readying for our flight to Barcelona the next day when Holland America called us with an upsell offer. They explained that we had not gotten earlier offers because our booking was linked to that of our friends because we wanted to dine with them with fixed seating. But they had two Neptune cabins, and we had our upsell for about half of what the original offer had been.

 

You reminded me of another situation on my Veendam cruise to Bermuda a few years ago. A person was offered and upsell but they were not interested but I was. My ta could not get Hal to bite. Again, I paid top dollar for that cruise. I've learned 2 things. The first one is to book directly with Hal to increase my chances. The second is not to have several cruises booked at one time. Hal needs to realize they don't have me in the bag. I'm not going to reward bad behaviour by booking many cruises with them in advance.