Advantage to Booking Guarantee Cabin

[carlsbadguy]

For the same price I have an option of booking a specific Cat A4 or a guarantee Concierge Cabin on the Marina.  There are 4 specific cabins I can choose from at this time or go with the guarantee. Is there an advantage.disadvantage going with the guarantee?

[LHT28]

GTY   you are on the ship......someplace  You may or may not get a better cabin

If you like to choose your location  book a specific cabin number ..you may still get  an off to upgrade  or not 

JMO

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, carlsbadguy said:

For the same price I have an option of booking a specific Cat A4 or a guarantee Concierge Cabin on the Marina.  There are 4 specific cabins I can choose from at this time or go with the guarantee. Is there an advantage.disadvantage going with the guarantee?

Those are both Concierge class with the only possible  difference being location. 

IMO, you should book a specific cabin initially and let your TA (preferably one who is a member of O's Connoisseurs Club) know that you may be interested in upgrade offers (the availability of which will depend on itinerary).

 

Another consideration for the larger "O class" ships is the availability of some extended balcony cabins. If possible, I'd opt for a less expensive B3 with extended balcony even though the questionably valuable Concierge perks would be lost (IMO, the only value I see is a bit earlier date pre-cruise specialty restaurant reserving and some "free" laundry at a significantly higher cabin cost).

[Guindalf]

If you are booking a GTY, look at the deck plans and find the least desirable stateroom in that class. If it is acceptable to you, go ahead and book. That way you won't be disappointed and you could, in fact, be delighted with the result. You will not get anything lower than that and it's possible you'll get a higher rated room up to and including a suite for much less money!

 

We used to book GTYs all the time but I like to have a room close to the elevator as I'm limited in movement. We booked a gty on the NCL Getaway, only to find it has two sets of elevators - aft and midships - and, you guessed it, our cabin was all the way at the front of the ship! Still had a great vacation, but would have preferred to not have to walk down long corridors with cabins on both sides just to get to the room. There were many times I needed something from the room but decided to do without rather than go on a trek!

[Flatbush Flyer]

50 minutes ago, Guindalf said:

.....You will not get anything lower than that and it's possible you'll get a higher rated room up to and including a suite for much less money!

OP will need to remember that s/he is booking an Oceania cruise (where most of the exotic itineraries sell out quickly after announcement).

 

And when there are empty higher class cabins available (e.g., short Caribbean cruises), most will become filled with paid upsells rather than free GTY upgrades.

[sammiedawg]

Guarantee cabins should be a little less money.  Some of the online discounters and even full service TA ‘s have their best prices on guarantee cabins.  On occasion we have booked them for more expensive cruises. 

Don’t expect big upgrades,  book what you are satisfied with.  

[Jancruz]

On 7/7/2019 at 3:38 PM, sammiedawg said:

Guarantee cabins should be a little less money.  Some of the online discounters and even full service TA ‘s have their best prices on guarantee cabins.  On occasion we have booked them for more expensive cruises. 

Don’t expect big upgrades,  book what you are satisfied with.  

The truth is there is no advantage to booking a GTY on Oceania, so I wouldnt UNLESS there are no cabins available 

and to get on the ship you have to take the GTY..

Jancruz1

[jwindham]

Our first cruise on Oceania was a GTY Penthouse. We got a call from our TA over Labor Day weekend and it was a private sale and we got it for only $200 each more then what we were in. It never went on the web page. Since any PH would have been good for use we were tickled. We ended up in a PH1. Julia

[Jancruz]

7 minutes ago, jwindham said:

Our first cruise on Oceania was a GTY Penthouse. We got a call from our TA over Labor Day weekend and it was a private sale and we got it for only $200 each more then what we were in. It never went on the web page. Since any PH would have been good for use we were tickled. We ended up in a PH1. Julia

If you didnt have a GTY you would have gotten the same offer..

Jancruz1

[StanandJim]

13 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

If you didnt have a GTY you would have gotten the same offer..

Jancruz1

+1

Oceania and their revenue department deliberately keep their discount systems difficult to decipher.  

[jwindham]

All of that may be but we were offered this and took it and were happy. Would do it again. Thanks for the info though. I appreciate it. Julia

[Kingofcool1947]

On 7/6/2019 at 7:07 AM, carlsbadguy said:

For the same price I have an option of booking a specific Cat A4 or a guarantee Concierge Cabin on the Marina.  There are 4 specific cabins I can choose from at this time or go with the guarantee. Is there an advantage.disadvantage going with the guarantee?

 

Do you like taking chances and uncertainty?  Does it matter the location of your stateroom?  Do you need or want a butler?

Good luck, and enjoy your cruise.  

[Petoonya]

On 7/6/2019 at 7:35 AM, Guindalf said:

If you are booking a GTY, look at the deck plans and find the least desirable stateroom in that class. If it is acceptable to you, go ahead and book. That way you won't be disappointed and you could, in fact, be delighted with the result. You will not get anything lower than that and it's possible you'll get a higher rated room up to and including a suite for much less money!

 

 

 

Your words should be a footnote below every guarantee offering. On all cruises.