Balcony Guarantee What Cabin Did You End Up With

[judatt]

I just finished reading through this entire thread. Very interesting as we have used gty often. We sail almost exclusively with rccl and celebrity.  Thought it would be interesting to give you some of our experiences over the years. We used to do balcony guarantees and now that I’m retired we often do suite guarantees. I can remember in the old days getting an assignment and noticing there were other cabins in the same category and calling and getting switched to another cabin in the same category. Haven’t done that lately though.
Did a suite gty on celebrity and got the sky suite that adjoins the penthouse suite and is used as a second bedroom for penthouse if needed. Great suite and huge bathroom. 

did a suite gty on oasis a couple of years ago and when I looked at the app 4:days prior to sailing I saw we were assigned a junior suite. I called and told the agent I thought we had booked a regular suite guarantee and he said that’s what you got and it’s a great one. I hit the refresh button on the app and walaa we are in a crown loft suite and it was indeed sweet! Don’t know what happened and how it originally showed the junior suite. 

weve done a couple of transatlantics and a transpacific using gty and each time got a junior suite but they were all very nice with good locations. 
Overall, for us we have been very happy with our gty selections and wouldn’t hesitate to use gty on most any cruise. 

[tvlworm]

On 11/23/2019 at 7:26 AM, Biker19 said:

Not sure if it's still possible but some time ago some folks reported being able to ask to be put back into the GTY pool on their existing reservation/category - you upgraded, slightly different thing.

There wasn't any issue with the original Central Park balcony we were assigned so we didn't have a reason to go back to the neighborhood guarantee.  The offer to the oceanview balcony guarantee happened when I called to see what our options were with the price drop.  

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, tvlworm said:

There wasn't any issue with the original Central Park balcony we were assigned so we didn't have a reason to go back to the neighborhood guarantee.

Just wanting to point out to others what going back into the GTY pool usually means.

[Paulette3028]

We have a GTY cabin booked on Adventure for 2/23/20 cruise.  No cabin assignment has come yet.  When we did our check in when it opened up on our Set Sail Pass that we can print it shows us in a specific Muster station.  Have no reason to print the set sail pass until it shows a cabin assignment yet.

[tvlworm]

Pleasantly surprised at how quickly our newest assignment was received!  Oceanview guarantee, room 6702.  

 

[shofer]

We booked our 2/20 cruise in July with a GTY 4-D ocean view balcony.   Received our cabin assignment beginning of this month.  A 1-C balcony with a large balcony.  It is more aft than we would normally choose but not knocking it.

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, shofer said:

A 1-C balcony with a large balcony.  It is more aft than we would normally choose but not knocking it.

An upgrade and an early assignment - consider yourself lucky.

[Paulette3028]

On 11/28/2019 at 3:45 PM, Paulette3028 said:

We have a GTY cabin booked on Adventure for 2/23/20 cruise.  No cabin assignment has come yet.  When we did our check in when it opened up on our Set Sail Pass that we can print it shows us in a specific Muster station.  Have no reason to print the set sail pass until it shows a cabin assignment yet.

Now it is 1/3/2020 for our cruise on AD on 2/23/2020 and still no cabin assignment.  They will eventually.  Our doc's will be ready on Sunday, so MAYBE we will get a surprise when we see them...just curious.

 

[Biker19]

Just now, Paulette3028 said:

.just curious.

 

Have you looked at your SetSail pass for deck/muster location?

[Ocean Boy]

43 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

Now it is 1/3/2020 for our cruise on AD on 2/23/2020 and still no cabin assignment.  They will eventually.  Our doc's will be ready on Sunday, so MAYBE we will get a surprise when we see them...just curious.

 

I am on AD 1/18/20 with a balcony GTY and still have no cabin, deck, or muster number.

[Ocean Boy]

45 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Have you looked at your SetSail pass for deck/muster location?

I did read the bar code as you suggested and if those last four numbers end up being my cabin I will be quite happy with the location.

[luisc25]

I have a Question; When guarantee room are available? How far from sailing? When I booked my cruise last July for May 2020 it wasn’t available, Maybe because I had 3 people? Is it only available for 2 people?

[luisc25]

On 11/29/2019 at 2:59 PM, tvlworm said:

Pleasantly surprised at how quickly our newest assignment was received!  Oceanview guarantee, room 6702.  

 

Sweet and a saving! Even tho I like higher rooms.

[TravelMadBrits]

72 days to go and my set sail says REPRINT for deck number and GTY for stateroom.  May be it’s too early? March 16th sailing from Dubai & they are still selling guarantee balconies which is what I have. 

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, luisc25 said:

When guarantee room are available? How far from sailing?

It varies, sometimes never.

[Biker19]

5 hours ago, TravelMadBrits said:

 May be it’s too early?

Probably, but have you checked the SetSail pass bar code for an assignment (you'll need a bar code decoding app/site - last 4 numbers is the cabin)?

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, TravelMadBrits said:

Hi yes, this is the setsail pass, it just has DX on the bottom... 

That bar code has a number associated with it - your booking number and, if assigned internally, your cabin. It has to be decoded to find those numbers. 

[Ocean Boy]

29 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

That bar code has a number associated with it - your booking number and, if assigned internally, your cabin. It has to be decoded to find those numbers. 

So before I actually got my cabin assignment I read the bar code and the last four numbers definitely were not my cabin, it was just my reservation number.  I received my cabin last evening and now when I read the bar code the numbers do match my cabin. It has been appended to my reservation number. As a bonus,  I also ended up with an even better location than what I thought I was getting.

 

I also just read the bar code that is listed above and though I don't want to post here what I got, it certainly does not look like a cabin number. So I think that until you get a cabin assignment reading the bar code just brings up your reservation number. At least that is certainly what happened in my case. I would also note that my reservation on the website as well as in the RCI app both seemed to update close to the same time.

[Biker19]

38 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

So before I actually got my cabin assignment I read the bar code and the last four numbers definitely were not my cabin, it was just my reservation number. 

The bar code has the booking number and usually some numbers or characters after it (usually after a dash). It may or may not be the assigned cabin - the number is more likely to be the assigned cabin if some deck/muster station is also listed on the SetSail pass. Also, it is very possible that after the initial internal assignment by RCI, they can still move you before you ever see the official assignment.

[Pegopolly]

Finally received our allocation two days ago for Jewel OTS in two days time! 

[Paulette3028]

9 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

So before I actually got my cabin assignment I read the bar code and the last four numbers definitely were not my cabin, it was just my reservation number.  I received my cabin last evening and now when I read the bar code the numbers do match my cabin. It has been appended to my reservation number. As a bonus,  I also ended up with an even better location than what I thought I was getting.

 

I also just read the bar code that is listed above and though I don't want to post here what I got, it certainly does not look like a cabin number. So I think that until you get a cabin assignment reading the bar code just brings up your reservation number. At least that is certainly what happened in my case. I would also note that my reservation on the website as well as in the RCI app both seemed to update close to the same time.

We just read the bar code with a bar code detector.  If that is the cabin....all is fine.  Time will tell.  If we get a different cabin, all is fine.  We will be on the ship!

[Ocean Boy]

54 minutes ago, Paulette3028 said:

We just read the bar code with a bar code detector.  If that is the cabin....all is fine.  Time will tell.  If we get a different cabin, all is fine.  We will be on the ship!

Just check to make sure there are numbers AFTER your reservation number and that you are not mistaking the last four digits of your reservation as a cabin number like I originally did. When I did get my cabin I was very pleased!

[M-H-B]

Received cabin assignment yesterday at exactly 30 days out from sailing - Ovation of the Seas - Balcony Guarantee and received 9312 which is an 8D cabin, right at the back of the ship. Deck is great, not thrilled with location - particularly as the price of the cruise has dropped alot and if I was booking the same guarantee today, I'd be paying $600AUD less 😞

[mikemul65]

I am on the Grandeur of the Seas which only has one deck of balcony rooms and I booked one of those rooms using the guarantee program.  I fully understand that RC assigns rooms up to the day of sailing but not sure why this is an issue on this ship with such limited availability.  Can I read anything into this or since this a small ship, it is more likely that the department that assigns cabins will get to it eventually as they are more focused on the larger ships with more complicated assignments?

[Canmilitarywife]

6 minutes ago, mikemul65 said:

I am on the Grandeur of the Seas which only has one deck of balcony rooms and I booked one of those rooms using the guarantee program.  I fully understand that RC assigns rooms up to the day of sailing but not sure why this is an issue on this ship with such limited availability.  Can I read anything into this or since this a small ship, it is more likely that the department that assigns cabins will get to it eventually as they are more focused on the larger ships with more complicated assignments?

I was told they can assign it GTY room the morning you check in to sale. As they have royal up offers where people can bid for a better room, you will wait. Someone is willing to pay for a balcony that’s not obstructed view or is slightly larger. I have GTY balcony for my March 22 sailing and also put a bid in for a royal up off.