Booked an Inside Sailaway...but was assigned a studio?

[PortFees45]

7 minutes ago, zqvol said:

OP would have been better off staying in the studio instead of an inside, but he/she will figure that out. There is much less usable space in an inside than in the studio because there are oof everything, plus the bathroom takes a lot more square footage.

I've been on 20 NCL cruises. I know what I'm doing. I'll take a room that at least resembles a normal hotel room with a bigger bed, bigger bathroom over some creepy claustrophobic neo-light hibernation capsule. 

[ColeThornton]

3 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

I've been on 20 NCL cruises. I know what I'm doing. I'll take a room that at least resembles a normal hotel room with a bigger bed, bigger bathroom over some creepy claustrophobic neo-light hibernation capsule. 

 

 

However if you haven't stayed in a Studio you wouldn't know that your description is way off.   The vast majority of people love the Studios.  They are a perfect size for one person and efficiently laid out.

 

Glad you got your issue fixed.  Enjoy your cruise.

[jcscv]

Interesting...I've been looking at booking an inside room, and paying the supplement, and was surprised to find this to be less expensive than a studio.  

[rhapsodybluezz]

I have been in a Studio three times and loved it. They are perfect for solo travelers.  Guess they aren't for everyone, enjoy your cruise.

[All-ready2cruise]

23 minutes ago, jcscv said:

Interesting...I've been looking at booking an inside room, and paying the supplement, and was surprised to find this to be less expensive than a studio.  

That's only a sailaway inside; the studio cabin is generally booked with a single perk/fas promo and the cabin is your choice. 

IMO, that's a big plus. 

[perditax]

Interesting, this would explain why the MANY available studios on that sailing suddenly disappeared between yesterday and today—they “upgraded” a bunch of people, probably single sailors taking up cabins that might be booked by two or more people instead. 

 

More bodies in rooms = more onboard spend. 

 

That’s literally all there is to it. Pack ‘em in tight.

 

I like studios fine but I’m glad OP got their desired category back. They seemed well informed on what they did and did not want. 

Edited June 24, 2019 by perditax

[joshgates]

16 minutes ago, perditax said:

Interesting, this would explain why the MANY available studios on that sailing suddenly disappeared between yesterday and today—they “upgraded” a bunch of people, probably single sailors taking up cabins that might be booked by two or more people instead. 

 

More bodies in rooms = more onboard spend. 

 

That’s literally all there is to it. Pack ‘em in tight.

 

I like studios fine but I’m glad OP got their desired category back. They seemed well informed on what they did and did not want. 

 

They also put entertainers in them if they need to free up more insides, had it happen on my first cruise (was pretty fun and interesting actually).  

[perditax]

1 minute ago, joshgates said:

 

They also put entertainers in them if they need to free up more insides, had it happen on my first cruise (was pretty fun and interesting actually).  

 

Interesting, thanks.

[hallux]

2 minutes ago, joshgates said:

 

They also put entertainers in them if they need to free up more insides, had it happen on my first cruise (was pretty fun and interesting actually).  

There were some contractors in the studios on my Bliss sailing.  I'm not sure what they were working on but they had nametags on.

[JohnChiang]

This was obviously an error.

 

Once I had booked an ocean view GTY on NCL and was assigned an inside cabin. A quick call fixed the problem. However, nowadays the calls aren't quick anymore.

[lepidoptera]

4 hours ago, jcscv said:

Interesting...I've been looking at booking an inside room, and paying the supplement, and was surprised to find this to be less expensive than a studio.  

 

It really depends. A lot of the time studios are cheaper but once they start getting full I have seen cruises where it is cheaper for an inside with the supplement. I was price tracking a cruise I took in a studio last year and the prices shot up after I booked so that a studio was at one point $300 more than an inside. 

[PortFees45]

2 minutes ago, lepidoptera said:

 

It really depends. A lot of the time studios are cheaper but once they start getting full I have seen cruises where it is cheaper for an inside with the supplement. I was price tracking a cruise I took in a studio last year and the prices shot up after I booked so that a studio was at one point $300 more than an inside. 

And remember there's no sailaway rate for studios. 

 

I'd have considered keeping the studio if I could have had a perk, but that wouldn't have been the case since it was a sailaway booking. 

[CookieShip]

Glad you got the correct room back after all that. 

 

I might of given the Studio a try myself, they always seems to be pricier than an inside even if paying a full solo supplement!

[NYcruzzer]

8 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

After 90 minutes on hold, they switched me to an ID inside. Not great, but within the realm of what I knew to expect when booking.

 

Glad you were able to switch..When you initially booked were you charged the single supplement ? Or was this a last minute "sail away fire sale" ?

[PortFees45]

5 minutes ago, NYcruzzer said:

 

Glad you were able to switch..When you initially booked were you charged the single supplement ? Or was this a last minute "sail away fire sale" ?

$649 no supplement

[NYcruzzer]

23 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

$649 no supplement

 

Thanks for sharing.. This is good heads-up info for any single cruisers getting last minute sail away rates with no single supplement. I guess NCL felt that your original inside room could be sold or reassigned to 2 or more passengers if you were assigned a Studio..

[SouthLyonCruiser]

21 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

Or they just oversold the cruise and hoped I wouldn't complain. 

 

The SMALLEST inside stateroom is larger than a Studio. Every bathroom in an inside is larger than a Studio. The website clearly indicates studios as being a lower category than an Inside. I'm pretty claustrophobic and an Inside was going to be bad enough. I would have NEVER booked a Studio, or an IX if I thought there was any chance of landing in a Studio. I expected lowest Inside category or higher. 

 

I booked direct through NCL.com, so I'm coming up on 30 minutes on hold "waiting for a supervisor."

Your time on the phone to NCL is another good reason to use a travel agent and let them spend their time on the phone.

[robin13]

You are the third person I have heard about getting a studio when they booked an inside sail away rate!!  If they did this to me I would have reacted the same way as you as I am not a big fan of the studio cabins.  I have sailed in them twice and to me they are like a big closet.  As for the studio lounge I used it on cruise but not the other. 

 

I'm glad to hear that they changed your cabin but it makes me mad that they are doing this to their solo guests who booked an inside cabin and getting a studio.  And please don't insult my intelligence and tell me that a studio cabin is an upgrade from an inside cabin.  That is what they were telling the other people and most everyone disagreed with NCL.

 

I guess it comes down to if I wanted a studio cabin I would have booked a studio cabin.  NCL are you hearing this???

[WickedRed]

robin13 speak for yourself.  I for one would be happy with a studio if I had booked a sailaway interior.  Chances are I booked the sailaway because it was cheaper than the studio.  A better solution would be to have someone at NCL call or sent an email to the solo traveler and ask if they would be happy with a studio instead of an interior.     

[robin13]

On ‎6‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 8:10 AM, WickedRed said:

robin13 speak for yourself.  I for one would be happy with a studio if I had booked a sailaway interior.  Chances are I booked the sailaway because it was cheaper than the studio.  A better solution would be to have someone at NCL call or sent an email to the solo traveler and ask if they would be happy with a studio instead of an interior.     

Um, I am speaking for myself WickedRed!!  I'm just stating that if I booked a inside cabin then frigging give me an inside cabin.  If I wanted to book a studio then I would have booked it.  I'm glad that you would be happy with a studio if you had booked an interior but most of the people that were discussing this issue in another forum were not.  And yes someone at NCL should contact the person that they are deceiving but they won't as most people would tell them no thank you I want what I paid for.

[PortFees45]

If NCL is going to do this, they need to EXPLICITLY make clear that studios are a higher category than an Inside.

 

Right now it's the exact opposite. They line up the cabins studio, inside, oceanview, balcony, mini-suites, suites/haven. If you can (correctly) infer from how they present those options that a mini-suite is a higher category than a balcony, then the same should be true for studios vs. insides. 

 

Has NCL pushed back against other people who like me demanded to be switched out of the studio? 

[DaCruiseBug]

I honestly don't care if anyone says a studio is better then an inside room. A studio is 99 square feet and an inside room is a minimum of 135 square feet. That's a 35% difference. A studio isn't a higher or lower category...it's a unique category all on it's own since it's the only room that limits occupancy to 1 person.

 

NCL is just being shady and probably oversold the inside cabins so they figured they'd put the 1 person in a studio. The only way i'd ever accept a studio if I booked an inside guarantee is if they threw in 1 perk since EVERY studio category includes a perk. Otherwise it's a downgrade and not what I paid for.

[newmexicoNita]

On 6/24/2019 at 10:55 AM, PortFees45 said:

I've now been on hold with NCL waiting for "a supervisor" for coming up on an hour. My phone is almost too hot to touch.

 

I've never had a pre-cruise booking issue with NCL before. Is this par for this course? 

all I can say about the long wait, our TA was saying a day or so ago, she has gotten to the place she just dials the cruise lines, NCL being the worst, puts her phone on speaker and does her thing. The wait has gotten awful she said. I have to call them and keep putting it off, but have free time today so will attempt to get through.  

I am glad to read you finally got what you booked but let me add: Beerman2 is right. It seems like you do prefer to post your negative experiences over your positive ones. 

[PortFees45]

5 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

I honestly don't care if anyone says a studio is better then an inside room. A studio is 99 square feet and an inside room is a minimum of 135 square feet. That's a 35% difference. A studio isn't a higher or lower category...it's a unique category all on it's own since it's the only room that limits occupancy to 1 person.

 

NCL is just being shady and probably oversold the inside cabins so they figured they'd put the 1 person in a studio. The only way i'd ever accept a studio if I booked an inside guarantee is if they threw in 1 perk since EVERY studio category includes a perk. Otherwise it's a downgrade and not what I paid for.

Amen

[hallux]

7 hours ago, DaCruiseBug said:

A studio isn't a higher or lower category...it's a unique category all on it's own since it's the only room that limits occupancy to 1 person.

 

I agree with this.  It may be "lower" in the list, but SOMETHING has to be at the bottom of the list.  It's a unique category for sure, for a solo cruiser I'd put it at equal to the lowest category inside, it has some "perks" that those don't but those have some benefits over the Studio.