Guarantee Cabin warning. Lesson learned, check the ship map first.

[parrotfeathers]

I'd say your glass is now 3/4 full.  Enjoy your 11 days no matter where you are going.

[birdie16]

2 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

Celebrity’s Solstice Class ships, Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse, Silhouette and Reflection all have semi and totally obstructed balconies.  If you try Celebrity.

Thanks for the heads up.  I will not be booking guarantee again.

[birdie16]

Just now, parrotfeathers said:

I'd say your glass is now 3/4 full.  Enjoy your 11 days no matter where you are going.

Yes, thank you.

[Arzeena]

1 minute ago, LibertyGirl7 said:

Glad it worked out for you!  I wouldn't be happy with that cabin either.  I don't like even looking down at the lifeboats let alone sitting directly next to one.  Maybe Royal (if they don't already) could say guaranteed obstructed view balcony in their description to help with this.

Royal sells the obstructed view balcony as its own category. However if you book a Balcony GTY, you can be put literally anywhere on the ship....in any category balcony obstructed or not.

We have booked balcony GTY many times on Q class ships and have always been put on deck 12 or 10. We actually purchased once an obs balcony on deck 6 because one could not beat that price. It was not bad at all. I was not disappointed.

[birdie16]

20 minutes ago, molly361 said:

I read this thread but don't see where it is RCL's  mistake  when it was you who choose a less expensive guarantee stateroom and didn't do your homework.    Did I miss something?  You wanted to save money and took the gamble.

 

It;s like those that choose a non refundable rate and then get mad when they get charged to change the ship and/or date

Actually, at the time I booked only a guarantee was available.  When I started this thread I even said it was my mistake, lesson learned.  My point was, I wrongly assumed a guarantee balcony would guarantee a balcony, not an obstructed balcony.  I was only trying to warn other people before they made the same mistake I did.  

 

Edited to add...The part about RCCL getting the blame is another subject.  Our itinerary was changed too late for a refund, many of us feel it was poor planning on RCCL.  It was also the way they handled that situation, totally unrelated to this cabin issue.

Edited April 2, 2019 by birdie16

[nelblu]

2 hours ago, birdie16 said:

That is why I didn't hesitate to book a guarantee balcony.  I had never heard of a ship with an obstructed view balcony cabin.  That is why I said I should have looked closer at the ship map.

 

Booked a balcony guarantee on Anthem and the agent told me that it's a 5D designated cabin.  Looked at a TA ship's deck plans and it covers deck 8-12, well above the lifeboats and saved about $450 from select your cabin.  Just for your information, on the Anthem there's also a obstructed balcony guarantee option which may be the type that you selected and it was some $150 cheaper than my balcony guarantee.

[birdie16]

5 minutes ago, nelblu said:

 

Booked a balcony guarantee on Anthem and the agent told me that it's a 5D designated cabin.  Looked at a TA ship's deck plans and it covers deck 8-12, well above the lifeboats and saved about $450 from select your cabin.  Just for your information, on the Anthem there's also a obstructed balcony guarantee option which may be the type that you selected and it was some $150 cheaper than my balcony guarantee.

I believe RCCL needs to add the "obstructed guarantee balcony" category on all their ships that have them so there are no unpleasant surprises.

[retiredgram]

36 minutes ago, birdie16 said:

Thank you for all your help!  My TA was able to grab cabin 12160 for me.  It cost me almost $1,000 but at least I will not be looking at a lifeboat for 11 days.  The very sad truth is my husband and I have decided this will be our last cruise with Royal Caribbean.  I am so disgusted and we haven't even gone on the cruise yet.  

You were able to change your cabin to one you wanted in the first place, so it seems like you should be happy, not disgusted. Do not go into your cruise feeling this way.  Things in life do not always  go the way we want,  but yours has worked out.

Enjoy your cruise and sit on your balcony and have few glasses of wine.

[birdie16]

39 minutes ago, AnnaNicole said:

11

Nights

Hawaii Cruise

02 MAY 2019 - 13 MAY 2019

Ship: Ovation of the Seas

PORTS OF CALL: Honolulu - Oahu - Hawaii  Honolulu - Oahu - Hawaii  Kilaeua Volcano- Evening Sail  Lahaina - Maui - Hawaii  Lahaina - Maui - Hawaii  Victoria - British Columbia Vancouver - British Columbia

Step 01:Stateroom Guests :

2 Adults

Change | 

Step 02:select the type of stateroom you would like : Balcony

Change | 

Step 03:select your specific stateroom

STATEROOM OPTIONS XB 2E 1E 2D 4D 8D 7D 6D 5D

XB

 

Guaranteed Balcony

OCCUPANCY: 2 ADULTS

£2,488.00

Staterooms may vary in size and configuration from those pictured.

A 'Guaranteed Balcony' means that you pay a low price for a Balcony category room. However, your room number won't be confirmed at the time of booking, but a little later on - this happens between full payment being made and before the sailing departs. ***NOTE THAT GUARANTEED ROOMS ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE EXISTING PROMOTION***

 

SELECT YOUR OFFER

£2,488.00

Lowest price

VIEW AVAILABLE STATEROOMS

2E

Obstructed Ocean View Balcony

OCCUPANCY: 2 ADULTS

£2,542.00

Staterooms may vary in size and configuration from those pictured.

Two twin beds that convert to Royal King, sitting area with sofa, full bathroom and private balcony. Stateroom: 198 sq. ft. Balcony: 55 sq. ft.

SELECT YOUR OFFER

£2,542.00

Lowest price : Discount MORE ABOUT THIS OFFER 

SELECT YOUR STATEROOM

We have selected a great stateroom for you, however, please feel free to select your own.

Stateroom no.

 All decks Deck 6 

 All Positions Midship Aft 

6222

Deck 6

Midship

VIEW THIS STATEROOM

6708

Deck 6

Aft

VIEW THIS STATEROOM

Thank you for posting your help.  I saw the price you posted and thought, dang, I really got screwed...then I noticed you were quoting Euro!  Haha!  I really do need to start paying more attention.

[birdie16]

2 minutes ago, retiredgram said:

You were able to change your cabin to one you wanted in the first place, so it seems like you should be happy, not disgusted. Do not go into your cruise feeling this way.  Things in life do not always  go the way we want,  but yours has worked out.

Enjoy your cruise and sit on your balcony and have few glasses of wine.

Again, it is not the cabin situation that has me disgusted.   We have had other issues with this cruise and we are not even in Hawaii yet, this was just sort of the last straw.  I am happy I was able to change the cabin, not so happy it cost another $1K.  Thank you.  

Edited April 2, 2019 by birdie16

[nelblu]

7 minutes ago, birdie16 said:

I believe RCCL needs to add the "obstructed guarantee balcony" category on all their ships that have them so there are no unpleasant surprises.

 

My experience with the RCL website, at least for the Q class, offers 3 different like balcony guarantees:  A) RCL picks your cabin (usually cheapest fare), B) You select "obstructed balcony guarantee", and C) You select "balcony guarantee."

 

I selected the I choose balcony guarantee as I was told that it was not anobstructed balcony cabin.  This is the first time that I'm choosing this option and hoping that the RCL Agent was not giving me some bull s--t.

Edited April 2, 2019 by nelblu

[birdie16]

Just now, nelblu said:

 

My experience with the RCL website, at least for the Q class, offers 3 different like balcony guarantees:  A) RCL picks your cabin (usually cheapest fare), B) You select "obstructed balcony guarantee", and C) You select "balcony guarantee."

 

I selected the I choose balcony guarantee as I was told that it was not anobstructed balcony cabin.  This is the first time that I'm choosing this option and hoping that the RCL Agent was not giving me some bull s--t.

I booked through an agent.  My only option at the time was a balcony guarantee.  Nothing was said about an obstructed balcony cabin guarantee.  I would never have agreed to the guarantee if I had thought there was a chance I had an obstuction.

[voyager70]

4 minutes ago, nelblu said:

 

My experience with the RCL website, at least for the Q class, offers 3 different like balcony guarantees:  A) RCL picks your cabin (usually cheapest fare), B) You select "obstructed balcony guarantee", and C) You select "balcony guarantee."

 

I selected the I choose balcony guarantee as I was told that it was not anobstructed balcony cabin.  This is the first time that I'm choosing this option and hoping that the RCL Agent was not giving me some bull s--t.

 

Hopefully you won't get assigned an obstructed view.  I called the C&A desk before booking our cabin on Anthem and was told there was a very good chance I'd be assigned an obstructed view if I booked a guarantee, even though the website made no mention of it.  I chose to pay a little more to select our room.  Hope it works out well for you.

 

 

 

[nelblu]

5 minutes ago, birdie16 said:

I booked through an agent.  My only option at the time was a balcony guarantee.  Nothing was said about an obstructed balcony cabin guarantee.  I would never have agreed to the guarantee if I had thought there was a chance I had an obstuction.

 

I usually do my homework on both RCL and TA website prior to contacting my TA.

[birdie16]

Thank you to all of you that offered help and support.  Yes, I goofed and should have looked at the ship map.  The largest ship we have ever cruised has been the Voyager Class.  Everyone on these boards talked about how fantastic these big new ships are that I guess I jumped on board without looking more at the details.  As I have said, when I booked with my agent only a Balcony Guarantee was available.  

 

The point of my thread is to let others know if you book a guarantee balcony you could end up with an obstructed view.  I was unaware this ship had lifeboats blocking the balcony cabins.  It was my mistake that I did not research that more and I hope others can learn from my mistake.

[nelblu]

Just now, voyager70 said:

 

Hopefully you won't get assigned an obstructed view.  I called the C&A desk before booking our cabin on Anthem and was told there was a very good chance I'd be assigned an obstructed view if I booked a guarantee, even though the website made no mention of it.  I chose to pay a little more to select our room.  Hope it works out well for you.

 

 

 

 

As I mentioned, I looked at a TA's website that has the coloring of the cabin type and the 5D cabin should be above the lifeboats.  Prior to the enhanced website, RCL used to display color cabin by types.

[birdie16]

39 minutes ago, LibertyGirl7 said:

Glad it worked out for you!  I wouldn't be happy with that cabin either.  I don't like even looking down at the lifeboats let alone sitting directly next to one.  Maybe Royal (if they don't already) could say guaranteed obstructed view balcony in their description to help with this.

Exactly!  Very misleading.

[A2Mich]

I get what you’re saying, to a point.  The first balcony cabin we ever had was courtesy of the upgrade fairy.  We had booked an ocean view guarantee on a Carnival PanCanal cruise, and ended up getting a badly obstructed balcony, much like the lifeboat obstruction photo on this thread.  We were somewhat pleased to have a door that opened and allowed us to get some fresh ocean air, but we had to stand to see anything other than an orange lifeboat. 

[helen haywood]

Unless the cruise line you are booking with offers both a Balcony Guaranty and an Obstructed Balcony Guaranty (and I’ve never seen both offered) keep in mind that normally a guaranty may give you the worst cabin.  You must be happy with the savings to risk this possibility.  The OP did not know her ship had obstructed balconies but many ships do.  In addition you could be given a cabin extremely high up or very far forward or aft or far from elevators or a connecting cabin or one over a night club or under the galley or next to a crew door...  I would rather pay a bit more and choose my own cabin.

[nelblu]

What I found fascinating with this exercise is that there are only a few cabin #s on the Anthem's Aug. 29 9 night sail that one can select and it's priced higher. Therefore, conclusion is that there are no cabin below D2 types available at this time.   Did a mock booking and my "You select balcony guarantee"  was priced $59 less due to their "Deal" promo.  Enough for one Chops' dinner with 18% grats.

 

Ps does not make any sense why price drops if there are insufficient cabins available.

Edited April 2, 2019 by nelblu

[taglovestocruise]

26 minutes ago, nelblu said:

 

As I mentioned, I looked at a TA's website that has the coloring of the cabin type and the 5D cabin should be above the lifeboats.  Prior to the enhanced website, RCL used to display color cabin by types.

You are right, 5D'S start at deck 10 and above.

[reallyitsmema]

39 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

Unless the cruise line you are booking with offers both a Balcony Guaranty and an Obstructed Balcony Guaranty (and I’ve never seen both offered) keep in mind that normally a guaranty may give you the worst cabin.  You must be happy with the savings to risk this possibility.  The OP did not know her ship had obstructed balconies but many ships do.  In addition you could be given a cabin extremely high up or very far forward or aft or far from elevators or a connecting cabin or one over a night club or under the galley or next to a crew door...  I would rather pay a bit more and choose my own cabin.

 

People also need to remember that when they book lower GTY categories, they could also end up with and obstructed balcony as any balcony would be considered a better cabin that an inside or oceanview cabin.

 

My Mom sailed with us on Anthem and booked a super studio guaranty, which is a solo cabin.  We knew from research that she might end up with a cabin for two as there are very few super studios on the ship.  She ended up with one of the obstructed balconies on deck 6.  Larger cabin for her, view of the side of a lifeboat, but she was fine with it.

[Judyrem]

BTW, my aft cabin I chose has a partially obstructed view, but it is only the wrap around steel bar. I saw a picture of it and the balcony was quite spacious and I still had a great view with a bit of a bar on the horizon.

 

[ONECRUISER]

4 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Another thing to know about Quantum class - because of the very large proportion of balconies in relation to all cabins on the ship, OVs are sometimes more expensive than balconies. The price spread between insides, OVs and balconies is some of the lowest of any ship class.

Agree. Bet at one point while waiting to sail half the cruises I booked had cheaper Balconies then OV, though few were XB... Times have changed, when I first Cruised on Royal none of their ships had Balcony cabins. When they finally got them couldn't afford one. Had to Cruise all 5 of us in an OV with only 140sq ft cabin...

Edited April 2, 2019 by ONECRUISER

[copter]

I don't often use travel agents as I enjoy making my own bookings and doing my own research, but based on the information posted, I would put more blame with your TA than RCCL.  You pay the TA to provide you with a service and part of the service is providing you with pertinent information related to your booking. If you were not warned of the possibility of a GTY resulting in an obstructed view, then I don't believe they did their job.  Just my 2 cents worth and I really hope you enjoy your cruise.