Are Guarantees really that bad?

[pcrum]

We upgraded from an inside to a balcony guarantee on the Epic on a TA sailing this past April from Port Canaveral to Barcelona and ended up in 14034, which is on the hump, and thus a larger balcony.  Two loungers could have easily fit on the balcony and I'm upset I didn't think to ask the room steward to bring us lounge chairs.In this photo, it's hard to see how large the balcony is, but it was wonderful!

 

We are doing a TA again on the Epic in 2021 and were so sad that "our" cabin was already booked.  We took the balcony next door, which is also on the hump, but not as large a hump so the balcony is not as deep. 

Edited November 14, 2019 by pcrum
spelling

[ShelleyQT]

On 11/12/2019 at 11:26 AM, valleyvillage said:

It's actually PrivaSea and it's the enclosed balcony type. 

 

I had a cove balcony on Carnival once and really liked it.  But on the Carnival ship, the cutout window was much bigger, coming lower to the floor.  With this picture, I can tell that I would be unable to see anything but sky as soon as I sat in the chair.  So this cabin would be a "no" for me.

[The Wanderer_112358]

I cruise a LOT different than most people do..

 

I always cruise Solo, as cheap as possible, as long a duration cruise as possible and always Sail-Away.

 

I really don't care where my cabin is.  Or really where the ship is going.  After sleeping in hostels in Mexico and Central America for $15 Dollars a night, any cruise cabin is utter luxury! 

 

I just like being out on the open ocean and not having to cook, clean or drive.

 

I always carry good ear plugs and I even have 12 hours of rain audio on my Android Tablet if it is REALLY noisy, like when drunks sit outside your hostel room and sing old Spanish songs all night.

 

People really are WAY too picky and spoiled.

 

For me cruising is about adventure, not luxury.

 

I travel Sail-Away deals on cruise lines like NCL because they are CHEAP!

 

But, that's just me.

 

[framboesa]

Always had good luck with GTY, even had upgrades when booked last minute ( couple of weeks/ days before the cruise). Actually we prefer the lower decks.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

On 11/12/2019 at 1:36 PM, mitsugirly said:

I can imagine that an interior could potentially be a bad spot for a guarantee if it's located over/under a venue with a lot of noise or by an area where you hear a lot of banging (I've had one of those rooms before). But what about a balcony? Would it be the same problem? I'm guessing yes but want to hear experiences from those of you that have actually booked a guarantee and what did you get? (I know YMMV but still want to hear the stories good or bad to get me motivated). 😄

There are definitely bad balcony cabins. On a cruise to the Mexican Riviera a few years ago we picked three BA cabins in a row on a deck where all of the other balcony cabins were mini suites and thought that that was a great deal. 

Well this was early in our 'cruising career' and I failed to look at what was above or below these cabins.

Well, the buffet was right above us and it seemed that we could hear chairs and tables being moved all night long.

That was the last cruise we booked without making sure that we booked cabins with cabins above and below us.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

On 11/12/2019 at 2:14 PM, mitsugirly said:

 

What does a "privacy balcony" mean? Can the TA change the room for you if you get a bad room? I thought they always asign these rooms like as little as days before the cruise and no time to make any switches??

A 'privacy balcony' is generally on a lower deck where the opening from the balcony is surrounded by steel in order to provide structural support not wide open like balconies on upper decks.

[xcell]

I booked a GTY, was assigned a mini-suite on the "hump" of the ship on deck 11.

 

So far pleased with the assigment (and the cost -- saved originally $700 if I had booked the balcony directly).

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Starry Eyes]

We have booked quite a few gty cabins and continue to do so.  It is luck of the draw.  Gty is not for everyone.  Noise sensitive people should think again.  Those who want to be close to elevator/stairs (mobility issues) should think again.  Those who want to be far from elevator (crowds or noise concerns) should also think twice.  If somebody is concerned about ship motion way forward or aft, a gty is a big gamble.  There are many reasons not to do it.  But, for flexible people it can work out.  We do not get sea sick (knock on wood).  We do not mind being close to or far from elevators.  We are not noise sensitive (though we have earplugs in travel bag just in case we need them)

 

We have been assigned a PrivaSea balcony.  We had windy, rainy weather on that cruise, so we used our PrivaSea balcony more than we could have useful a regular one.  I would not have picked it, but it was the correct one that time.  

 

We just left a b2b on Sun with sailaway balcony cabins and sailaway inside cabins.  The first sailaway balcony was deck 8 near aft (over the theatre); we heard late show if we returned to cabin early in evening.  Sometimes we felt the bass a bit.  It did ended early enough and was soft enough that we were not seriously disturbed (again, we are not noise sensitive...somebody else would be miserable).  We did not hear any rehearsals; maybe they were lower volume or we were just out enjoying ourselves.  The second sailaway balcony was deck 10 starboard below the spa; quiet and convenient.  Mind you, had it been on port, it would have below the fitness center.  Or if it had been further aft, it would have been below the pool deck.  So there were potentially noise cabins in the same category close by.  We found the second cabin very convenient, but would have been happy anywhere.  That’s the key the a gty...be happy anywhere.  Both inside sailaway cabins were assigned just 2-3 days before the cruise; one was deck 9 forward and the other deck 8 mid.  Both were fine cabin assignments.  Luck of the draw.  

[trish1c]

The only "bad" cabin we ever had with a GTY was a handicapped cabin on the Gem.  The problem was the zero barrier shower.  The water would flow out of the tiled bathroom, under the door & soak the carpet in the cabin.  The floor was always wet.  It's grossed me out thinking about the amount of mold that must have been under that carpet 

[ray98]

Nope.  I would guess on over 50% of our cruises we have went with a GTY.  It has certainly saved a great deal of money over the years.  I have never been infatuated with trying to find the 'best' cabin, they are all the same once you get inside.  We used to travel with a white noise machine which we have now replaced with a cell phone app, noise has never been a concern anywhere from a cruise ship to a hotel downtown with nearby construction.

[Arzeena]

On 11/12/2019 at 1:51 PM, mitsugirly said:

 

 

Yea I know but want to hear the stories...good or bad. I need some encouragement. 😄

Knock wood, never had a really bad GTY balcony. But it is a gamble. Good gamble for the price.
Glad to hear you are cruising again. Hope you are all healed. Wish you the best!

Also wanted to add....never had a bad sailaway assignment on the Escape. We luck out with far better GTY assignments on RC and Celebrity. And cannot comment on Carnival since we never tried a GTY with them.

Edited November 16, 2019 by Arzeena

[dcipjr]

We've booked GTYs on 3 occasions:

 

• A GTY inside on a last-minute cruise on the Star; we were assigned a mid-ship inside on deck 4. 👍
• A GTY obstructed oceanview on the Dawn; we were assigned a porthole all the way forward on Deck 5, under the theater. 👎
• A GTY balcony on the Escape; we got assigned a midship balcony on Deck 10 just past the forward elevators. 👍

Our most recent GTY was one of the best balcony cabins we ever had. I couldn't have picked a better location. Plus the sailaway rate was too good to pass up. 

 

Even the not-so-good porthole cabin we had wasn't so bad. I would book a GTY again, especially on a cruise 7 days or shorter. Longer than that, I think I'd want to pick my location.

 

 

[mitsugirly]

On 11/13/2019 at 1:44 PM, delaware32 said:

Just  came back from a 14 day on the Gem . We started out in a deck 11 inside and watched prices on the gty balcony and availability so that we would have a sense as to location . So an additional $150 pp + all the promotional perks ended up in a deck 8 fwd . balcony . It was a quiet location with no issues . We have done this 2 other times and the balcony locations were good . Hope your recovery continues well and you are soon up and about .

 

Good to know you've ended up with good locations that you like. Thanks for the recovery thoughts. 

 

 

On 11/13/2019 at 2:15 PM, candigirl41 said:

• My friend and I just booked a last minute cruise on the Joy.  We did a balcony guarantee and a day or so later we were given a great location on deck 12 near the aft elevators.  This is a great location for me.  I don't like being forward so this was great news.

Candi

 

That's great. 

 

 

On 11/13/2019 at 4:27 PM, PRgymnast said:

All of my NCL cruises have been balcony guarantees.

 

Getaway - don't remember if it was BX or BF but got Spa Balcony for no extra charge

Pearl - got regular balcony, good location

Bliss - BF to BA

Encore - BF to BA

 

So it's been really good for me, especially that first one. Still haven't heard about my Encore bids but I doubt they'll get accepted as they're barely above minimum. 

 

Awesome!! Now did you book the BX and then they gave you the chance to bid on a higher category?

 

On 11/13/2019 at 7:03 PM, pcrum said:

We upgraded from an inside to a balcony guarantee on the Epic on a TA sailing this past April from Port Canaveral to Barcelona and ended up in 14034, which is on the hump, and thus a larger balcony.  Two loungers could have easily fit on the balcony and I'm upset I didn't think to ask the room steward to bring us lounge chairs.In this photo, it's hard to see how large the balcony is, but it was wonderful!

 

We are doing a TA again on the Epic in 2021 and were so sad that "our" cabin was already booked.  We took the balcony next door, which is also on the hump, but not as large a hump so the balcony is not as deep. 

 

 

I booked one of those long balconies before and it was amazing! So much room. I also didn't think to ask about getting some loungers out there. 

 

 

On 11/13/2019 at 10:18 PM, ShelleyQT said:

 

I had a cove balcony on Carnival once and really liked it.  But on the Carnival ship, the cutout window was much bigger, coming lower to the floor.  With this picture, I can tell that I would be unable to see anything but sky as soon as I sat in the chair.  So this cabin would be a "no" for me.

 

Yea I had one on Carnival and loved it as well. We were on a really low deck and it was awesome being so close to the water. 

 

16 hours ago, The Wanderer_112358 said:

I cruise a LOT different than most people do..

 

I always cruise Solo, as cheap as possible, as long a duration cruise as possible and always Sail-Away.

 

I really don't care where my cabin is.  Or really where the ship is going.  After sleeping in hostels in Mexico and Central America for $15 Dollars a night, any cruise cabin is utter luxury! 

 

I just like being out on the open ocean and not having to cook, clean or drive.

 

I always carry good ear plugs and I even have 12 hours of rain audio on my Android Tablet if it is REALLY noisy, like when drunks sit outside your hostel room and sing old Spanish songs all night.

 

People really are WAY too picky and spoiled.

 

For me cruising is about adventure, not luxury.

 

I travel Sail-Away deals on cruise lines like NCL because they are CHEAP!

 

But, that's just me.

 

 

Good way to look at things. I try to do the same. 

 

14 hours ago, framboesa said:

Always had good luck with GTY, even had upgrades when booked last minute ( couple of weeks/ days before the cruise). Actually we prefer the lower decks.

 

Glad to hear it. 

 

8 hours ago, SouthLyonCruiser said:

There are definitely bad balcony cabins. On a cruise to the Mexican Riviera a few years ago we picked three BA cabins in a row on a deck where all of the other balcony cabins were mini suites and thought that that was a great deal. 

Well this was early in our 'cruising career' and I failed to look at what was above or below these cabins.

Well, the buffet was right above us and it seemed that we could hear chairs and tables being moved all night long.

That was the last cruise we booked without making sure that we booked cabins with cabins above and below us.

 

Aww, sorry to hear about your bad experience. 

 

8 hours ago, SouthLyonCruiser said:

A 'privacy balcony' is generally on a lower deck where the opening from the balcony is surrounded by steel in order to provide structural support not wide open like balconies on upper decks.

 

True. I like those cabins though.

 

8 hours ago, xcell said:

I booked a GTY, was assigned a mini-suite on the "hump" of the ship on deck 11.

 

So far pleased with the assigment (and the cost -- saved originally $700 if I had booked the balcony directly).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thats awesome!! Great save.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PRgymnast]

7 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

Awesome!! Now did you book the BX and then they gave you the chance to bid on a higher category?

 

 

No, I booked BF.  Unless you're referring to Getaway, when there was no bidding system yet.

[mitsugirly]

On 11/16/2019 at 8:59 AM, Starry Eyes said:

We have booked quite a few gty cabins and continue to do so.  It is luck of the draw.  Gty is not for everyone.  Noise sensitive people should think again.  Those who want to be close to elevator/stairs (mobility issues) should think again.  Those who want to be far from elevator (crowds or noise concerns) should also think twice.  If somebody is concerned about ship motion way forward or aft, a gty is a big gamble.  There are many reasons not to do it.  But, for flexible people it can work out.  We do not get sea sick (knock on wood).  We do not mind being close to or far from elevators.  We are not noise sensitive (though we have earplugs in travel bag just in case we need them)

 

We have been assigned a PrivaSea balcony.  We had windy, rainy weather on that cruise, so we used our PrivaSea balcony more than we could have useful a regular one.  I would not have picked it, but it was the correct one that time.  

 

We just left a b2b on Sun with sailaway balcony cabins and sailaway inside cabins.  The first sailaway balcony was deck 8 near aft (over the theatre); we heard late show if we returned to cabin early in evening.  Sometimes we felt the bass a bit.  It did ended early enough and was soft enough that we were not seriously disturbed (again, we are not noise sensitive...somebody else would be miserable).  We did not hear any rehearsals; maybe they were lower volume or we were just out enjoying ourselves.  The second sailaway balcony was deck 10 starboard below the spa; quiet and convenient.  Mind you, had it been on port, it would have below the fitness center.  Or if it had been further aft, it would have been below the pool deck.  So there were potentially noise cabins in the same category close by.  We found the second cabin very convenient, but would have been happy anywhere.  That’s the key the a gty...be happy anywhere.  Both inside sailaway cabins were assigned just 2-3 days before the cruise; one was deck 9 forward and the other deck 8 mid.  Both were fine cabin assignments.  Luck of the draw.  

 

Thanks for telling your stories. It really is just a luck of the draw and if I decide to book this, I'll have to go in with an open mind. 

 

On 11/16/2019 at 9:05 AM, trish1c said:

The only "bad" cabin we ever had with a GTY was a handicapped cabin on the Gem.  The problem was the zero barrier shower.  The water would flow out of the tiled bathroom, under the door & soak the carpet in the cabin.  The floor was always wet.  It's grossed me out thinking about the amount of mold that must have been under that carpet 

 

Oh wow and here I had been trying to book a handicapped room, but they only had 1 and it was an interior. I would have thought they would have something to prevent the water from going out. That's a slip hazard. Yikes!

 

 

On 11/16/2019 at 9:37 AM, ray98 said:

Nope.  I would guess on over 50% of our cruises we have went with a GTY.  It has certainly saved a great deal of money over the years.  I have never been infatuated with trying to find the 'best' cabin, they are all the same once you get inside.  We used to travel with a white noise machine which we have now replaced with a cell phone app, noise has never been a concern anywhere from a cruise ship to a hotel downtown with nearby construction.

 

Wow, really? 50%? You go! That gives me hope. I use a white noise alarm clock at home. I'm wondering if I should be bringing it with me just in case. 

 

On 11/16/2019 at 10:27 AM, Arzeena said:

Knock wood, never had a really bad GTY balcony. But it is a gamble. Good gamble for the price.
Glad to hear you are cruising again. Hope you are all healed. Wish you the best!

Also wanted to add....never had a bad sailaway assignment on the Escape. We luck out with far better GTY assignments on RC and Celebrity. And cannot comment on Carnival since we never tried a GTY with them.

 

Good to know you haven't had really bad luck with the GTY balcony. That's awesome!

 

Not healed at all. Still an open wound on the "bad" side and I'm still learning to walk but plan on taking my wheelchair with me. 

 

On 11/16/2019 at 12:12 PM, dcipjr said:

We've booked GTYs on 3 occasions:

 

• A GTY inside on a last-minute cruise on the Star; we were assigned a mid-ship inside on deck 4. 👍
• A GTY obstructed oceanview on the Dawn; we were assigned a porthole all the way forward on Deck 5, under the theater. 👎
• A GTY balcony on the Escape; we got assigned a midship balcony on Deck 10 just past the forward elevators. 👍

Our most recent GTY was one of the best balcony cabins we ever had. I couldn't have picked a better location. Plus the sailaway rate was too good to pass up. 

 

Even the not-so-good porthole cabin we had wasn't so bad. I would book a GTY again, especially on a cruise 7 days or shorter. Longer than that, I think I'd want to pick my location.

 

 

 

Thanks for your story. Good to know.

[amberjohn]

I did several cruises selecting regular cabins.  Three years ago (because of the HUGE price difference) we booked sailaway/guaranteed cabins.  We may lose out at some point but for the past 3 cruises the cabins/location were better than when we selected the more expensive ones.  You don't spend much time in the cabin and I think it's worth taking a gamble?  We'll let you know how it turned out this time in a couple of weeks?

[gizfish]

Definitely bring the white noise machine.  Even if you are in a "good" location it helps with all the ambient noise.

Edited November 19, 2019 by gizfish

[Starry Eyes]

14 hours ago, mitsugirly said:

 

Oh wow and here I had been trying to book a handicapped room, but they only had 1 and it was an interior. I would have thought they would have something to prevent the water from going out. That's a slip hazard. Yikes!

 

 

 I have been assigned accessible cabins and have traveled with a brother who requires one.  The showers are barrier free with peripheral drains.  Ideally all the water goes down those drains, but the world is less than ideal.  Sometimes the drains do not work as well as they should or the ship movement causes extra water flow. People just ask the stewards for extra towels and make dams around the shower to stop excess water.  Not a difficult problem to solve.   The drains worked well for us; I was surprised how little water was on the towels

[luckyinpa]

if sailaways are cheap because no perks,why cant you choose the cabin?

[trish1c]

2 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

if sailaways are cheap because no perks,why cant you choose the cabin?

Cabin selection like "free" seat selection on some airlines is now considered a perk.   The cruise line is in business to make money.  Anything they can add revenue to will be done that way.  You can always pick if you pay.   

[Budget Queen]

1 hour ago, luckyinpa said:

if sailaways are cheap because no perks,why cant you choose the cabin?

Because it gives NCL the option to sell specific cabins for more.   

[Budget Queen]

KI just about always book Sail Away which are guarantees.   Frankly being encouraged by the successful assignments in the past has NOTHING to do with future assignments.  Of course there are undesirable cabins you can get and totally unpredictable what you’ll get.     I’ve done 22 SA guarantees-  this year.  And no way do those assignments mean anything for future assignments.    You start over new each time.  😀 

[ColeThornton]

3 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

KI just about always book Sail Away which are guarantees.   Frankly being encouraged by the successful assignments in the past has NOTHING to do with future assignments.  Of course there are undesirable cabins you can get and totally unpredictable what you’ll get.     I’ve done 22 SA guarantees-  this year.  And no way do those assignments mean anything for future assignments.    You start over new each time.  😀 

 

 

Am I reading that correctly, you have been on 22 cruises so far this year?

[Budget Queen]

18 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Am I reading that correctly, you have been on 22 cruises so far this year?

Well on number 20 right now on the Epic.   Just added on the last 2 on the Jewel 12-1 b2b.    So yes will be the year total.    

[mitsugirly]

15 hours ago, amberjohn said:

I did several cruises selecting regular cabins.  Three years ago (because of the HUGE price difference) we booked sailaway/guaranteed cabins.  We may lose out at some point but for the past 3 cruises the cabins/location were better than when we selected the more expensive ones.  You don't spend much time in the cabin and I think it's worth taking a gamble?  We'll let you know how it turned out this time in a couple of weeks?

 

Yea, I don't spend much time in the cabin to begin with, except for sleeping/showering/changing, so I figured it just might be worth the gamble.

 

10 hours ago, gizfish said:

Definitely bring the white noise machine.  Even if you are in a "good" location it helps with all the ambient noise.

 

I definitely will. There have been times I wished that I had remembered to bring it (not because of the noise, but I just sleep better).

 

3 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

 I have been assigned accessible cabins and have traveled with a brother who requires one.  The showers are barrier free with peripheral drains.  Ideally all the water goes down those drains, but the world is less than ideal.  Sometimes the drains do not work as well as they should or the ship movement causes extra water flow. People just ask the stewards for extra towels and make dams around the shower to stop excess water.  Not a difficult problem to solve.   The drains worked well for us; I was surprised how little water was on the towels

 

That's what I was thinking too...just ask for more towels to catch anything that might not go in the drain. But, the cruise I'm looking for doesn't have any accessible cabins left so I guess it's not going to be an issue for us. :(  I was really hoping to find one available.

 

48 minutes ago, Budget Queen said:

KI just about always book Sail Away which are guarantees.   Frankly being encouraged by the successful assignments in the past has NOTHING to do with future assignments.  Of course there are undesirable cabins you can get and totally unpredictable what you’ll get.     I’ve done 22 SA guarantees-  this year.  And no way do those assignments mean anything for future assignments.    You start over new each time.  😀 

 

Good point you make...and I want to be you when I grow up. :D