Do you book "guarantee" cabins? Why or why not?

[cruisemom42]

I'm lucky I guess -- my cabin location doesn't matter that much to me. I have no mobility issues and don't care about cabin location (although, to be fair, I mostly sail on small ships, so getting around isn't a big deal).

 

I'll do a guarantee if there's a price advantage to doing so, or if it's the only way to get a cabin in the category I want. I'd never say no to an itinerary I like at a good price just because I couldn't pick a specific cabin.

[RJ2002]

When we first started cruising, we booked guarantees, in the hope we'd be upgraded. Aside from one suite upgrade on Princess long ago, we always ended up with the same cabin type, just in a different location.

 

Now, we select the cabin location we want at booking, and have our reservation marked for a "meta" upgrade only.

[dorisis]

The main reason I would book a gty would be to save money. But we need an accessible cabin or a suite, so we don't really have that option.

[trish1c]

We always do GTY for the savings. We have had cabins we wouldn't chose again but we don't spend much time in the cabin awake so it is a non-issue.

 

One time we booked 2 GTY cabins. I even called up the cruiseline & asked if possible could they put both cabins in the same lifeboat group. They were happy to accommodate us.

[BassettMom]

I've booked a guarantee cabin, usually when the category I want is sold out. I do have locations that I would prefer, but it's not a big deal if I'm somewhere else, so it's not that important to me to have to pick a specific location, although I've done that when I can. Surprisingly, the best upgrades I've gotten were when I booked a specific cabin (which goes to show that the upgrade fairy really does work in mysterious ways). The pros and cons of booking a guarantee is the "excitement" and anticipation of getting a cabin assignment (both a pro and a con since the anticipation of imagining where my cabin will be makes the time leading up to the cruise exciting, and at the same time it's a con since I find myself "obsessing" and checking more and more often the closer we get [emoji6]).

[wichitastatecruiser]

So far I've only booked 1 GTY and that's for my upcoming NCL Pride of America. I did so because they offered a deal I couldn't refuse! They had inside. ocean view and balcony GTY that included a free flight for your second person, 2 nights pre-cruise at the Waikiki Marriott, 20 comp photos and specialty dining 3 nights all for the "normal" price (my balcony GTY including pre-paid gratuity for 2 people ended up being $7900). Now I am leveraging the risk by having enough points on my NCL MasterCard for a free upgrade, so if I don't like my room assignment I will use the points!

[geoherb]

I'm waiting for my cabin assignments on our cruises next month on the Caribbean Princess. I booked us guarantees for both. One is a 3-day cruise and the other is a 4-day one. At the time I booked, I could not get us the cheapest fare. Our category of balcony cabin (the lowest one) did not have specific cabins available on one of the cruises. I know that we could end up in two different cabins and have to move our things the morning we have the turnaround in Fort Lauderdale. But we saved a lot of money--$175 per person.

 

If I got to pick my cabin, I'd choose a forward one on the Caribe Deck. That's a great location for us. But if we end up on the Riviera Deck in an aft cabin, we'll still have a great time.

[ibfishing2]

We booked a guarantee for the first time. We booked our upcoming Antarctic cruise onboard while on another cruise. The only available balcony cabin in our category was the LAST aft balcony cabin. We normally book mid ship, so we figured that it couldn't get any worse. We don't have motion or noise issues.

 

I sure hope we get an upgrade, (not holding my breath) but if not, at least we will be on the ship in a balcony.

[CowPrincess]

Interesting that some cruisers book guarantees for cost-savings. :) We book a long time out, and there's never a cost saving involved. I am starting to think we like "living on the edge" :D

 

Everyone's reasons make perfect sense for picking or not picking a cabin. Thanks for all the input!

[marco]

Keep in mind too, there's a difference between booking a "minimum guarantee", which would be an inside cabin at the least expensive priced category on the ship, and say, booking the least expensive balcony cabin as a "guarantee". If you absolutely don't want an inside cabin, don't book a "minimum guarantee" as you just may end up in one. But if you'd be happy with a balcony cabin on any deck, any location, chances are much better that you'd end up with an upgrade, and even if you didn't you'd still have a balcony cabin. Keep in mind, I'm not sure ALL lines offer a "guarantee" other then the "minimum guarantee".

[donnatello]

We also always book "minimum we've be happy with", but never the "minimum guarantee", which is the very minimum inside category.

[maywell]

Or you could winded up with a guarantee room due to a upgrade from a previous room category price going down from what you originally paid. For me it was a studio room that was about $1k when I booked it earlier this year to mini-suite GTY. So whatever location is picked by NCL, (could next to splash academy or staff service entrance for all I know) it will still be sweetest birthday surprise ever.[emoji1]

 

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