You call That an UPGRADE!

[roxyandbailey]

My daughter booked online an obstructed oceanview on deck 8 on the Gem for a holiday cruise this December for her family of four. She and her husband are teachers and can only cruise during the school breaks and thus she is already paying twice the normal fare.  During the booking process it says you are getting a room (obstructed oceanview) on deck 8 and she checked no when asked if she wanted an upgrade to a porthole on deck 4. She booked a guarantee room which she thought meant any room on deck 8 obstructed oceanview.  Instead she was assigned a porthole room on deck 4. She is unable to change it to deck 8 as the rooms that hold 4 people are under a different category that are listed for sail-away. I guess NCL doesn't care about how morally wrong it is to mislead their cruise passengers to book something and than UPGRADE them to something worse. They are unwilling to un-upgrade her to an obstructed oceanview room even though they are available.

I am a platinum plus latitudes member and I am done with NCL. I am going to try MSC since they match my latitudes member and I will be a Gold member on their cruises. 

[MotownVoice]

Fortunately you're still outside of Final Payment range so you can forgo your deposit and just cancel if you want.  Then rebook on the phone and have the agent at NCL be very clear about what state room you are getting. 

[Cruiser_1977]

One thing I've learned is that UPgrade doesn't mean a higher deck. She went from an obstructed cabin to an unobstructed. I have learned they consider this an upgrade. This is simply one reason I won't book guarantee or early saver or any of the other discounted fares where I don't pick my cabin. However, I have also learned that the cruise lines basically can all change my cabin at anytime. She may have thought she was doing one thing....had she slowed down or asked the question she would have learned she was agreeing to another.

 

What is a guarantee stateroom?

 

A Guarantee stateroom (GTY) is one where there is no stateroom number assigned at the time of booking. A stateroom may be assigned any time after final payment has been received, up to the day of sailing. A Guarantee stateroom guarantees you a stateroom in the category you have paid for (Inside, Oceanview etc.). It does not guarantee deck, location or specific bed arrangements. Once the stateroom has been assigned, there will be no changes.

[BirdTravels]

This was a guarantee booking. NCL can assign any ocean view room. 

[Named-Tawny]

12 minutes ago, roxyandbailey said:

My daughter booked online an obstructed oceanview on deck 8 on the Gem for a holiday cruise this December for her family of four. She and her husband are teachers and can only cruise during the school breaks and thus she is already paying twice the normal fare.  During the booking process it says you are getting a room (obstructed oceanview) on deck 8 and she checked no when asked if she wanted an upgrade to a porthole on deck 4. She booked a guarantee room

I didn't think you could book GTY rooms in specific categories, only the broader categories (Inside, OV, Balcony, etc...).  How did she manage to book an obstructed oceanview guarantee?

[Birdie And Sue]

11 minutes ago, roxyandbailey said:

My daughter booked online an obstructed oceanview on deck 8 on the Gem for a holiday cruise this December for her family of four. She and her husband are teachers and can only cruise during the school breaks and thus she is already paying twice the normal fare.  During the booking process it says you are getting a room (obstructed oceanview) on deck 8 and she checked no when asked if she wanted an upgrade to a porthole on deck 4. She booked a guarantee room which she thought meant any room on deck 8 obstructed oceanview.  Instead she was assigned a porthole room on deck 4. She is unable to change it to deck 8 as the rooms that hold 4 people are under a different category that are listed for sail-away. I guess NCL doesn't care about how morally wrong it is to mislead their cruise passengers to book something and than UPGRADE them to something worse. They are unwilling to un-upgrade her to an obstructed oceanview room even though they are available.

I am a platinum plus latitudes member and I am done with NCL. I am going to try MSC since they match my latitudes member and I will be a Gold member on their cruises. 

 

 

She thought wrong.  Reading the description that is clearly stated it means you will get ANY cabin ANYWHERE on teh ship of teh type you book or higher.  There is nothing immoral about this at all, nothing even slightly misleading.  Failure on her part to read what she was booking is not a reflection of NCL in any manner.

[smplybcause]

So how GTY rates work is you get that category - or any category higher. So you could book an OD GTY and then get assigned an OA. For another example I booked an IF GTY which was on decks 8/9/10 (or something like that) but was assigned an ID down on deck 5. 

 

When you book GTY there's no way to guarantee that you won't be upgraded to what NCL has classed as a better category. (Works this way on any cruise, though some lines let you switch to another available room in your assigned category.)

 

If she's outside of final she could cancel and rebook, but the prices might be higher. If rebooking isn't an option she can watch the fares and then if fares drop then upgrade to a higher category.

[smplybcause]

Just now, Named-Tawny said:

I didn't think you could book GTY rooms in specific categories, only the broader categories (Inside, OV, Balcony, etc...).  How did she manage to book an obstructed oceanview guarantee?

 

When sub-categories start to sell out (or perhaps are sold out but NCL wants to still sell them) the category can go GTY. At that point you won't get any lower than the sub-category you booked on, but you could get higher. I've booked an IF GTY before and was assigned an ID room not too long after and frequently have seen sub-categories go GTY when I'm looking at cruises. 

[Birdie And Sue]

What part of this did she not comprehend?

"What is a Guarantee?

 A Guarantee Stateroom has no cabin number assigned at the time of booking. You are guaranteed to sail in the category you have chosen, or higher.

If you have specific requirements, for example proximity to elevators or window type, a Guarantee is not recommended.

 

When will you know your stateroom number?

Any time after final payment has been received and up to the day of sailing.

Why pick a Guarantee?

    You have a chance of being upgraded to a higher category!
    You will never get a lower category. For example, if you choose the Oceanview Guarantee you will always get an Oceanview or higher.
    You might end up staying in a location you never considered. The deck and location of a Guarantee Stateroom can be anywhere on the ship."

 

 

[biker@sea]

37 minutes ago, roxyandbailey said:

My daughter booked online an obstructed oceanview on deck 8 on the Gem for a holiday cruise this December for her family of four. She and her husband are teachers and can only cruise during the school breaks and thus she is already paying twice the normal fare.  During the booking process it says you are getting a room (obstructed oceanview) on deck 8 and she checked no when asked if she wanted an upgrade to a porthole on deck 4. She booked a guarantee room which she thought meant any room on deck 8 obstructed oceanview.  Instead she was assigned a porthole room on deck 4. She is unable to change it to deck 8 as the rooms that hold 4 people are under a different category that are listed for sail-away. I guess NCL doesn't care about how morally wrong it is to mislead their cruise passengers to book something and than UPGRADE them to something worse. They are unwilling to un-upgrade her to an obstructed oceanview room even though they are available.

I am a platinum plus latitudes member and I am done with NCL. I am going to try MSC since they match my latitudes member and I will be a Gold member on their cruises. 

 

I like deck 4 !

Smoothest ride on the ship.

 

Deck 8 on Gem zig zags and has more foot traffic.

 

.

Edited September 9, 2019 by biker@sea

[Bra_BE2014]

Upgrade or downgrade is  not related to the deck number. It is related to the category type. 

[NLH Arizona]

42 minutes ago, MotownVoice said:

Fortunately you're still outside of Final Payment range so you can forgo your deposit and just cancel if you want.  Then rebook on the phone and have the agent at NCL be very clear about what state room you are getting. 

I agree with you, they should cancel and then rebook a cabin they are satisified with, but they will probably pay a higher price then the guarantee rate.  I could never choose the guarantee rate, because it is a gamble, as you can either get a great cabin or a not so great cabin.

 

BTW, not sure anyone who read the information on guarantee rate would have been mislead or how it is in some way morally wrong.

Edited September 9, 2019 by NLH Arizona

[ColeThornton]

I don't understand why the daughter is paying twice the normal fare.  

[roxyandbailey]

She is within final payment so she can not cancel her cruise 😞

I have not experienced a guarantee as we usually book a room number.

[roxyandbailey]

Christmas cruises are very expensive.

[NLH Arizona]

3 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

I don't understand why the daughter is paying twice the normal fare.  

I guessed she was saying, because they were cruising over a holiday, the fare is more expensive.

[adam_s_allen]

49 minutes ago, MotownVoice said:

Fortunately you're still outside of Final Payment range so you can forgo your deposit and just cancel if you want.  Then rebook on the phone and have the agent at NCL be very clear about what state room you are getting. 

Final payment date is 120 days out

[ColeThornton]

6 minutes ago, NLH Arizona said:

I guessed she was saying, because they were cruising over a holiday, the fare is more expensive.

 

 

Hmmmm.   Maybe.  Guess I've never thought of cruise lines having one "normal fare". 

[Kalum]

It is very clear what a GTY cabin is

...just read it...and she is a teacher...ouch...

[NLH Arizona]

18 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Hmmmm.   Maybe.  Guess I've never thought of cruise lines having one "normal fare". 

I didn't either, I just have always know that some times of the year, especially holidays are more expensive, so I would never say I paid double because I chose to cruise on a holiday.

[Son of a son of a ...]

Man, Yoda-strong lately has been the NCL hate.

[newmexicoNita]

This is the reason we stopped booking GTY cabins. All a GTY cabin is saying, as others have posted here is: you will get a cabin in a certain category or possibly a higher cat. the deck, the view, etc has little to do with it. Tell your daughter (which has been true for us) the lower decks can be a great experience. they are smoother, closer to activities and easy access to the gangway. 

[All-ready2cruise]

I will book GTY cabins; however, only balcony or above. 

[BirdTravels]

On a full cruise (like a holiday cruise) a GTY will get you the room that no one else would pay money for. The Deck 4 room over crew areas (and maybe something like the laundry) with some sounds day and night. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

20 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

I don't understand why the daughter is paying twice the normal fare.  

I wondered that myself.  Have been tied to the school calendar for the last 27 years and have never paid twice the normal fee.

My first thought was to cancel and rebook which is what I would do immediately.  Many others have already suggested this action.  Lesson here is don't book a GTY category.  But there's still tome to "fix" it.