guarantee...good or bad thing?

[Boatingmom]

Can anybody who has ever booked a Princess guarantee report on their experience? I know you no longer have the opportunity to choose location however they can't really downgrade can they? For my booking there were no more minis in the lower priced cat. It was more affordable to book the guarantee than the next level up. I will keep checking fares but was just wondering how bad can it be? Any positive experiences?Keeping my fingers crossed.:o

[Nan_Sea]

We have only booked guarantee once and it was a good experience for us. You are guaranteed the category you booked or better. Better can be subjective however.

[mollyanne]

We've only booked one guarantee with Princess and were upgraded from the lowest balcony category to the highest. We were happy with that.

[Musky Ike]

"upgrade" is always a subjective term as it depends on personal preference. We have had good luck with guarantees (obstructed to unobstructed, OV to balcony etc.) The key is to only expect to get the category you paid for, the rest is then gravy:) IMHO guarantees are not for those who are particular or stress out with not knowing your room, sometimes right up to sailing, otherwise if you are laid back it can be fun.

[dorisis]

If you will be satisfied with any cabin in the category you choose, then go ahead. You might even be upgraded to a higher category. The times we have booked guarantee on Princess have worked out well.

[Nan_Sea]

I think the trick to it is to check what the possibilities are for upgrade from the category you purchase. If you would be happy with any of those then do it.

[PghCruiseGrrrl]

I've booked a guarantee twice. Both times I booked a guarantee of the lowest category of balcony. The first time I received a mid-aft Caribe. The cruise I will be going on shortly I have a mid Caribe. I am not picky about where I am on the ship (just happy to be there :D ), so I have no problem with it.

[Grannycb]

Our experiences have been mostly good.

 

Inside guarantee = inside on deck 7 forward.

Inside guarantee = midship balcony.

Inside guarantee = OV midship.

OV guarantee = obstructed view over the theater. Ugh! Really loud.

Balcony guarantee = midship but under the pool deck. OK but noisy.

Balcony guarantee = midship on deck 10

Balcony guarantee = midship deck 12 (not under pool).

Most of the time guarantee cabins are fine. Once in a while you get less than anticipated.

[snrlnd]

We normally book a guarantee and almost every time we were upgraded from the lowest balcony category to the highest. Never had a bad experience.

[PenguinLife]

We booked a Balcony GTY cabin 60 days out for the first time for our upcoming cruise and we were immediately assigned a category BB (next to top level of balcony category) cabin on Aloha deck, mid ship forward, in what I would consider to be a good if not possibly not great location, although time will tell.

[xltiny]

I almost always book guarantees in the lowest categories and have generally had pretty good success.

 

2012 - Inside Guarantee - Assigned Deck 5 Mid-Aft under the Casino, was really afraid it would be noisy but being a Panama Canal transit the Casino was empty...

 

2013 - Obs OV Guarantee - Assigned Deck 8 Forward right by the theater Obstructed OV, Could only hear the theater if you were in the hallway, there was a lot of traffic due to a crew bar (supposedly) near there so around 6ish at night there would be a lot of crew coming and going.

 

2013 - Booked BB Balcony Guarantee - Upgraded to Deck 9? mid aft Mni-suite.

 

2013 - Booked IC Guarantee - Assigned Deck 12 mid-ship Interior cabin, nothing special but was happy with it.

 

2014 - Booked IE Guarantee - Assigned aft Premium Oceanview Deck 15, this was a treat with the floor to ceiling windows and what I assume must be the same finishing that the suites next door had.

 

2014 - Booked IE Guarantee - Assigned deck 11 or 12 aft balcony.

 

2014 - Booked IF Guarantee - Assigned fwd Deck 10 Premium Balcony

 

2014 - Booked IE Guarantee - Assigned mid-aft Deck 10 Premium Balcony

 

2014 - Booked IF Guarantee on Royal Princess - TBA

 

On an "X" cruise I also recall we booked some weird lowest category (want to say ZZ) inside guarantee and ended up with a midship/middeck inside cabin.

 

Just my $0.02

[JStar]

It has always worked well for us. Generally book an inexpensive balcony and end up with top category balcony. Like some others we are not real picky about location so it has worked well for us.

[Whimsy]

I almost always book guarantees in the lowest categories and have generally had pretty good success.

 

2012 - Inside Guarantee - Assigned Deck 5 Mid-Aft under the Casino, was really afraid it would be noisy but being a Panama Canal transit the Casino was empty...

 

2013 - Obs OV Guarantee - Assigned Deck 8 Forward right by the theater Obstructed OV, Could only hear the theater if you were in the hallway, there was a lot of traffic due to a crew bar (supposedly) near there so around 6ish at night there would be a lot of crew coming and going.

 

2013 - Booked BB Balcony Guarantee - Upgraded to Deck 9? mid aft Mni-suite.

 

2013 - Booked IC Guarantee - Assigned Deck 12 mid-ship Interior cabin, nothing special but was happy with it.

 

2014 - Booked IE Guarantee - Assigned aft Premium Oceanview Deck 15, this was a treat with the floor to ceiling windows and what I assume must be the same finishing that the suites next door had.

 

2014 - Booked IE Guarantee - Assigned deck 11 or 12 aft balcony.

 

2014 - Booked IF Guarantee - Assigned fwd Deck 10 Premium Balcony

 

2014 - Booked IE Guarantee - Assigned mid-aft Deck 10 Premium Balcony

 

2014 - Booked IF Guarantee on Royal Princess - TBA

 

On an "X" cruise I also recall we booked some weird lowest category (want to say ZZ) inside guarantee and ended up with a midship/middeck inside cabin.

 

Just my $0.02

 

Looks like you have done well with booking GTY cabins!

[PescadoAmarillo]

We don't generally book guarantees, but if it's the only option (and sometimes it is), we do. In fact, we have one coming up in 14 days. No cabin assignment and every category on the ship is waitlisted. I'm not concerned, just curious to see what we'll eventually end up with. I find the anticipation of it kind of fun.

[caribill]

We don't generally book guarantees, but if it's the only option (and sometimes it is), we do. In fact, we have one coming up in 14 days. No cabin assignment and every category on the ship is waitlisted. I'm not concerned, just curious to see what we'll eventually end up with. I find the anticipation of it kind of fun.

 

Let us know what you get.

[PenguinLife]

For me I like finding a bargain, and in the case of my upcoming cruise booking a GTY balcony cabin was about 30% cheaper than booking the BB cabin I ended up being assigned.

[lor74]

Booked a G balcony for my upcoming cruise. Booking was done 2.5 months ago when there were plenty of balconies available. We leave in 3 days and still have not been assigned a cabin. 👎

 

 

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[lor74]

Princess is listening....since my post I have been assigned my cabin....a BC balcony....Riviera deck, and not under the pool. I am happy :)

[minabruuke]

I have been very pleased with my guarantee assignments:

cruise 1: booked lowest category inside, assigned midship obstructed ov (that had barely any obstruction)

cruise 2: booked lowest category obstructed ov, assigned to a Caribe balcony

cruise 3: booked lowest category balcony, assigned to a midship mini suite

cruise 4: booked lowest category inside, assigned to an IB

cruise 5: booked lowest category obstructed ov, assigned to the highest category obstructed oceanview (midship, barely obstructed)

I love the anticipation and surprise of a guarantee. Sure, I may some day not have the best of luck with an assignment but I will be totally fine with what I get.

[OCruisers]

As long as you are OK with not knowing where you will be on the ship and it not absolutely important to you, it's normally is a good deal for many. ;)

LuLu

[Boatingmom]

Thanks all. I am BOOKED a M F guarantee. I don't really care where they put us as long as there is a sofa in the cabin. That's why i am not in a balcony .i wanted wanted the cheapest mini. Sure I like the aft or extended balcony butforthe price I was able to book. A second cabin

[PescadoAmarillo]

Let us know what you get.

I have an update to report...we are booked on six cruises and had originally booked everything from specific IB cabins to IF Gtys. We booked what was available at the time, and, where we had specific cabins, marked them Do Not Upgrade.

 

After final payment, our first cruise priced dropped. We had EZ Air with this one, and didn't want to mess that up, but I asked (cause it never hurts...). Princess upgraded us from the lowest inside guaranty, refunded a tiny bit and set up a little more OBC ($20?) to a specific ObOV on Deck 3. Very nice. For three more cruises, we were in specific cabins on Deck 8 (Pacific Princess) and hoped that our two IC guarantees would be assigned to that same deck (to minimize issues with moving on multiple turnaround days).

 

Just today we were told that Princess moved us for all six cruises to the same cabin (not the one we were originally assigned) on Deck 3, ObOV. Although we had marked some bookings Do Not Upgrade, and prefer to be close to a pool to eliminate the need to take an elevator wet after a swim, this ship is so small and we face so much tendering that the prospect of being close to the tenders and not having to move at all between cruises far outweighs those considerations.

 

We are very pleased.

[COMBOY]

Can anybody who has ever booked a Princess guarantee report on their experience? I know you no longer have the opportunity to choose location however they can't really downgrade can they? For my booking there were no more minis in the lower priced cat. It was more affordable to book the guarantee than the next level up. I will keep checking fares but was just wondering how bad can it be? Any positive experiences?Keeping my fingers crossed.:o

 

Sure, they can downgrade you w/ a refund of the fare difference, but that's rare. With a GTY you need to look at the deck plans and see if you would be happy with any of those cabins within that GTY category (color coded). Upgrades are always a possibility, but should never be expected. If you are upgraded or assigned a cabin within the GTY you paid for, but are somehow unhappy with the location you can always call Princess and see what options you may have subject to availability. Nothing is in stone. They want you to be happy. Even if the nothing is available you can keep calling back and seeing if something better comes along before departure. They might offer you a very nice upgrade with a small fee, etc. It never hurt to ask. I booked a Obstructive view outside GTY and was worried about the view, but was very happy with what I received.

Edited October 15, 2014 by COMBOY

[icat2000]

I book inside guaranteed most of the time. I don't mind where I am on the ship as I don't get sea sick nor do I have mobility issues. I have been moved up a couple of times.

[pppatpc2]

We have booked the guarantee inside every time and although we have not been dissapointed. They usually give us something very nice. The savings usually are enough to at least buy a wine package or nice excursion.