Booking GTY when is cabin assigned?

[holidaydude]

We have a booking for early January and have booked on a guarantee basis.

 

When is the cabin likely to be assigned?

 

Any comments on experience much appreciated.

[MS52]

We’re booked for January 18th for a guarantee and received our cabin assignment yesterday. They had told us we might not know until day of embarkation. We received a nice upgrade.

Check myvikingjourney.com - we didn’t receive any kind of notification, it just showed up.

 

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[doglover3]

We paid for a guarantee for a cruise in June 2018. Our cabin was assigned when we made final payment last month. We also received no notice, I just picked it up when I looked at our MVJ account. We got a small upgrade, though prices had dropped a little, so it was basically the equivalent of what we had paid.

[Lobes1]

We have a guaranteed stateroom for the cruise departing on December 17th. We just received our stateroom assignment today, four days before departure. We did not receive an upgrade on our PV2 guarantee, but our adult children, who had a V1 guarantee, were upgraded to a DV2 stateroom. Their upgraded stateroom was assigned about two weeks ago.

[stretchcruz]

Ed and Mary Ellen from sunny Tucson.....have a great time!! Nice upgrade for your kids!! From sunny Tucson AZ as well!!!:):):)

[Clay Clayton]

We booked a V2 in June or July for our TA in March 2018 as V1 were all sold out. Sometime after final payment in September, we were assigned a V2 stateroom. We were disappointed given that now there are much cheaper V1 (huh, went from sold out to having a sale?), V2 and DVs than what we paid. After much discussion with Viking, they offered and obc which was almost equal to the amount that would have ended up in our pocket had we canceled and rebooked at the new fare. Not happy about it and in the future we will not be likely to book a guarantee. Given there are still staterooms available at most levels for our cruise, I don't understand why Viking didn't just bump us up to the category that is now listed at what we paid...would have made us ecstatic and not likely to have cost them anything. So much for good will I guess.

 

Congrats to all of you who won the guarantee lottery! LOL

[Les Picantins]

I find this information to be frustrating. When I booked our cruise for January 25 a few months ago I had requested a V3 guaranty. My travel agent was informed by Viking that they do not offer GTY bookings and was given only one cabin option 4011 which is the forward most cabin in that category. Later on I noticed that other cabins were available in the same category.

 

I do not appreciate being misinformed.

[Peregrina651]

I find this information to be frustrating. When I booked our cruise for January 25 a few months ago I had requested a V3 guaranty. My travel agent was informed by Viking that they do not offer GTY bookings and was given only one cabin option 4011 which is the forward most cabin in that category. Later on I noticed that other cabins were available in the same category.

 

I do not appreciate being misinformed.

 

You really should take this up with the folks at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. They would like the chance to clear up any miscommunications.

[Les Picantins]

You really should take this up with the folks at TellUs@vikingcruises.com. They would like the chance to clear up any miscommunications.

 

Thanks for the advise. I just sent them a message. I'll post when they reply.

[Les Picantins]

The good news is I received a reply the same day.

 

The bad news is the reply itself which leaves me more puzzled than I was before.

 

The response to clarify their guaranty policy is: "we do not have the facility to be able to book or hold guaranteed cabins"!

 

So if this is indeed true, how did all of you manage to do so?

[Fpacifico]

The good news is I received a reply the same day.

 

The bad news is the reply itself which leaves me more puzzled than I was before.

 

The response to clarify their guaranty policy is: "we do not have the facility to be able to book or hold guaranteed cabins"!

 

So if this is indeed true, how did all of you manage to do so?

 

Their agents offered the guaranteed cabin at a special price, only had two available at the time. I was told that they usually will upgrade you but that didn’t happen in my case. I was given a room assignment almost immediately after booking and I was told that they do this initially, then I was told that a mistake was made in my reservation and someone deleted the info that I paid for a guaranteed cabin. So I was told that this was reversed but upon receiving my documents, that was not specified and I was told by an agent, that I was not being upgraded even though there were available rooms. So my advice, pick your own cabin and pay the extra. That’s what I did on our river cruise right after this happened.

[Nebakenezer]

My last 3 trips with Viking have been #GTY - I've been upgraded nicely each trip. I've used the same Viking travel consultant for each of my trips and it was actually her suggestion to go #GTY in the first place.

[Fpacifico]

My last 3 trips with Viking have been #GTY - I've been upgraded nicely each trip. I've used the same Viking travel consultant for each of my trips and it was actually her suggestion to go #GTY in the first place.

 

Lol, oh well. I should have you call for me next time. Lol

[Les Picantins]

Based on what I have been reading on this thread and other threads regarding GTY bookings on Viking it appears that it is a regularly practiced option in the US.

I have not seen any posts from other pax from Europe regarding GTY cabins.

Maybe I live in the wrong country.

[shoo74]

We booked in late January 2017 for a cruise departing on April 22, 2017. GTY was the only option for us when booking a V1 room at that time. Our rooms were assigned a few weeks ahead of our departure date and we were upgraded to PV2 rooms! We were so pleased!

[Nippy Sweetie]

We certainly were not informed about the possibility of guarantee rooms when I booked. However, I told the Viking booker exactly what I was prepared to spend (lowest V1) and was then assigned a DV4 for that cost including flight, gratuities and silver spirits package. This seemed a good deal to me. Hope it turns out that it was!

[Pyroforyou]

This discussion and the same topic discussion that is still in the top topics are the same thing. It may be interesting to say how many times you have cruised with Viking and our GTY V1 was upgraded to a DV4. For our upcoming cruise we had to take a GTY V2 and dont know our room assignment yet.

[Fpacifico]

I really must be doing something wrong , lol

[Islandgirl02564]

I am leaving next Saturday and do not have a cabin assignment yet. Viking said I may not get my assignment until we board. Last year we also did a guarantee DV6 which travel agent suggested. Three weeks or so before cruise, we were upgraded to PV1. It was fantastic!. This cruise is suddenly sold out after seeing all kinds of availability mid-week. I heard from 2 people that they are offering PS cabins to PV customers via email for $800. (I am sure that they don’t want to give a suite to a DV guarantee.)

[vnb2003]

It seems that there is a confusion with GTY cabins. There is NO GTY category.

 

We wanted to book PV3 category that was available on Vikings website. When our TA actually talked to Viking only PV GTY was available. I asked TA what this means. Here you go: people book cruises 1-2 years in advance with the final payment much closer to the cruise departure. Your booking might be close to that final payment. If everyone is well or didn’t change their mind your category might be sold and you will be upgraded. If people cancelled their cruise, your category might freed up and you will have a cabin you paid for.

From the business perspective I perfectly understand Viking. They probably had a business analyses what scenario happens more often. It’s better to upgrade people once in awhile then to loose potential customers. Most of the people try to save some money.

 

IMHO you have to book the cabin you’ll be fine with to avoid disappointment before cruise even begins.

 

I know Viking watching CC and very often quick to reply on confusing or problematic subjects. I would really they confirm what my TA and TellUs told me to stop confusion/frustrations.

Edited April 7, 2018 by vnb2003
misspelling

[Islandgirl02564]

Thank you for the information. I do not blame Viking either for trying to sell cabins before giving them to guarantee cruisers. This cruise was slow to sell out, which may be the reason for late assignments. Throughout the process I have watched the sales and the V2 has been waitlisted several times, V and DV sold out or close to sold out and upper levels were open. The upper levels miraculously sold out in a day mid-week this past week. My guess is that although every cabin is sold out - according to the numbers of cabins sold (except Owners Suite), there are a number of people they have to move around and place from waitlist and guarantee. I know that I took the risk with guarantee but I wish I would know where we will be before we board. It would give us a sense of when we can get in our cabin, what amenities we would have, etc. I have not read on any any forums where anyone was assigned a cabin as late as when they arrived on board, so this probability is a surprise.

[vnb2003]

Thank you for the information. I do not blame Viking either for trying to sell cabins before giving them to guarantee cruisers. This cruise was slow to sell out, which may be the reason for late assignments. Throughout the process I have watched the sales and the V2 has been waitlisted several times, V and DV sold out or close to sold out and upper levels were open. The upper levels miraculously sold out in a day mid-week this past week. My guess is that although every cabin is sold out - according to the numbers of cabins sold (except Owners Suite), there are a number of people they have to move around and place from waitlist and guarantee. I know that I took the risk with guarantee but I wish I would know where we will be before we board. It would give us a sense of when we can get in our cabin, what amenities we would have, etc. I have not read on any any forums where anyone was assigned a cabin as late as when they arrived on board, so this probability is a surprise.

 

I perfectly understand. In my case at least I know the category I am in and OK with but I prefer to have a cabin. If I would have a cabin number, I could enjoy my planing time 100% without question "What if.."

[peterhenry]

OK, just booked. According to MVJ, my trip is in 293 days. Best I could do was a PV #GTY. Wanted a PV3, appears they are currently all booked. Absolute worst case... I get a PV3. There are only 16 of them, and I've booked them twice before. Best case, I get upgraded to PV2 or higher. 

As I see it, either way I'm fine. I don't think that there are any "bad" staterooms on the entire ship, and especially not PV or higher. Just have to wait it out for the next 9 months. 

[CCWineLover]

On 5/10/2019 at 5:20 PM, peterhenry said:

OK, just booked. According to MVJ, my trip is in 293 days. Best I could do was a PV #GTY. Wanted a PV3, appears they are currently all booked. Absolute worst case... I get a PV3. There are only 16 of them, and I've booked them twice before. Best case, I get upgraded to PV2 or higher. 

As I see it, either way I'm fine. I don't think that there are any "bad" staterooms on the entire ship, and especially not PV or higher. Just have to wait it out for the next 9 months. 

 

Hello Peterhenry:  Your logic is impeccable!  We had the exact same thoughts when recently booking a Viking cruise - also a long ways out.   Same thing with PV GTY as well.  Also thought - worst case is PV3 (which we've been in and it's just fine!) and best case maybe get upgraded - so a win/win situation as far as I'm concerned.

[OnTheJourney]

On 4/7/2018 at 6:02 PM, vnb2003 said:

It seems that there is a confusion with GTY cabins. There is NO GTY category.

 

We wanted to book PV3 category that was available on Vikings website. When our TA actually talked to Viking only PV GTY was available. I asked TA what this means. Here you go: people book cruises 1-2 years in advance with the final payment much closer to the cruise departure. Your booking might be close to that final payment. If everyone is well or didn’t change their mind your category might be sold and you will be upgraded. If people cancelled their cruise, your category might freed up and you will have a cabin you paid for.

From the business perspective I perfectly understand Viking. They probably had a business analyses what scenario happens more often. It’s better to upgrade people once in awhile then to loose potential customers. Most of the people try to save some money.

 

IMHO you have to book the cabin you’ll be fine with to avoid disappointment before cruise even begins.

 

I know Viking watching CC and very often quick to reply on confusing or problematic subjects. I would really they confirm what my TA and TellUs told me to stop confusion/frustrations.

 

So does this mean that there is also a chance that you might not get a cabin at all?