Recent lead times for SB guarantee suite allocation?

[Isklaar]

The last time we booked a GTY we had our allocation quite close to departure date, I think it was 3 days prior. That was at least two years ago so the situation may have changed. 

I'd be interested to know how soon before departure Seabourn is allocating GTY suites recently. I've heard from friends who've had their allocation two weeks before departure, others have been allocated at the port.

What has been the experience of CC posters lately?

 

 

Edited November 17, 2019 by Isklaar

[rols]

our last two cruises .. pretty much dead on a week before. 

[saminina]

Check online at ten days.

[alwaysonaship]

Ours was about 2 weeks. I love guarantees..got a great cabin.

[galeforce9]

10 days (just). 

[alithecat]

Question. I have booked a Veranda OB/guarantee for the first time -- couldn't resist the price! When I logon and click on my booking number, it shows Suite: OB near the top right. Will this change to show my assigned suite number or is there somewhere else I need to look?

[sfvoyage]

13 minutes ago, alithecat said:

Question. I have booked a Veranda OB/guarantee for the first time -- couldn't resist the price! When I logon and click on my booking number, it shows Suite: OB near the top right. Will this change to show my assigned suite number or is there somewhere else I need to look?

Yes the OB will change to show your suite number.

[claudiaYVR]

Our group got our cabin assignments approximately 4 weeks before the cruise. We sail on Dec 2!!

[purpleally]

Two weeks to the day, Seattle time. Not there during the day Thursday but woke up Friday and there it was!

[firsttimers68]

We got ours about 3 weeks before. We also sail on 2 December.

[LEESRE]

Approx 8 days before we sail 

[jongbj]

12 days to go and still waiting 😉 

[Isklaar]

Thanks everyone.

From your responses it would seem that we may not have to wait until as close to departure as we did last time. I'll check at 10 days out. It seems more real once a suite number appears, a bit like when the documents arrive!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Funny, on our cruise last fall we had booked a cabin close to our friends, first Seabourn, so we didn't know that cabin assignments could be flexible (and our TA didn't think to tell us.)  So our cabins were changed without our knowing, and we didn't find out until we checked in.  They were great cabins, btw, across the hall from each other, but it was a bit disconcerting. 

[fudgbug]

12 hours ago, firsttimers68 said:

We got ours about 3 weeks before. We also sail on 2 December.

We sail on Dec 2 too...nothing yet.

[maddie2312]

5 hours ago, fudgbug said:

We sail on Dec 2 too...nothing yet.

Oh that’s interesting. We are sailing on Ovation 2nd December and got our GTY cabin allocation 10 days ago on the website and email then final documents a few days later. I’d posted in our roll that we received one with restricted view and interconnecting doors and I was concerned about noise in both directions. We were booked as V4 or better and this was a V6. I called my TA and mentioned my concerns and although it took a few days to hear from SB we’ve fortunately been allocated another suite which is a V5. It would have been nice to step out our door to the Sky bar but not worth the risk for 19 nights. I know the risks as we’ve had many GTY over the years and never had an issue anywhere but it definitely felt like when is an upgrade not an upgrade! 

[firsttimers68]

10 hours ago, fudgbug said:

We sail on Dec 2 too...nothing yet.

I'm assuming you have checked the Seabourn site? I kept checking back as we are a party of eight and requested cabins near each other, 3 couples are next to each other and one is 2 decks up. Hopefully you should find out soon. You never know they might upgrade you!

 

[Isklaar]

14 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Funny, on our cruise last fall we had booked a cabin close to our friends, first Seabourn, so we didn't know that cabin assignments could be flexible (and our TA didn't think to tell us.)  So our cabins were changed without our knowing, and we didn't find out until we checked in.  They were great cabins, btw, across the hall from each other, but it was a bit disconcerting. 

 

On one cruise we'd booked GTY and about a week before departure we were allocated a suite that we wouldn't have selected for ourselves if it was our choice.

I didn't bother to call my TA to try to change it, as I accepted it was a guarantee and that's the chance we took when we booked it, and the suite wasn't bad, it just wouldn't have been our choice. A few days before departure the suite was changed, without any input from us, to a better location.  For that reason I'm always a bit wary to check for suite allocation when on a guarantee fare until fairly close to departure. 

We've not had the experience of a change at the port (yet!) however I can imagine it would be quite disconcerting when that happens! 

[rols]

1 hour ago, Isklaar said:

We've not had the experience of a change at the port (yet!) however I can imagine it would be quite disconcerting when that happens! 

It is. On the one occasion it happened to us however it was a penthouse suite upgrade, which we didn't work out until we got to the suite, we just knew it was a different number. I'd been grumbling for an hour, but stopped after that. 

[Isklaar]

29 minutes ago, rols said:

It is. On the one occasion it happened to us however it was a penthouse suite upgrade, which we didn't work out until we got to the suite, we just knew it was a different number. I'd been grumbling for an hour, but stopped after that. 

 

That's a very welcome suite change!  

[Isklaar]

On a general note, for anyone not entirely familiar with SB's fare structure, there are times when a GTY is the ONLY option available to book. It's not always the case that you 'pay a lot less' as claimed above. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

On 11/19/2019 at 4:42 AM, Isklaar said:

 

On one cruise we'd booked GTY and about a week before departure we were allocated a suite that we wouldn't have selected for ourselves if it was our choice.

I didn't bother to call my TA to try to change it, as I accepted it was a guarantee and that's the chance we took when we booked it, and the suite wasn't bad, it just wouldn't have been our choice. A few days before departure the suite was changed, without any input from us, to a better location.  For that reason I'm always a bit wary to check for suite allocation when on a guarantee fare until fairly close to departure. 

We've not had the experience of a change at the port (yet!) however I can imagine it would be quite disconcerting when that happens! 

 

I am too.  My point was that our original booking wasn't a GTY, we had a room allocated to us when we booked.  Didn't know at the time that Seabourn bookings can be 'fluid'.

 

And I totally agree with you about GTY's.  I try to avoid them like the plague.  Only done it once, and that was a gamble to save a few thousand.  Ended up in the wheel-chair accessible cabin, so no big upgrade for sure, but we were satisfied (this was Regent.)

[Isklaar]

1 hour ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

I am too.  My point was that our original booking wasn't a GTY, we had a room allocated to us when we booked.  Didn't know at the time that Seabourn bookings can be 'fluid'.

 

And I totally agree with you about GTY's.  I try to avoid them like the plague.  Only done it once, and that was a gamble to save a few thousand.  Ended up in the wheel-chair accessible cabin, so no big upgrade for sure, but we were satisfied (this was Regent.)

Oh yes, that 'fluidity' has caught other posters and/or their TA out. It's not made clear enough by Seabourn when booking, or sometimes the TA doesn't ask the question of their client.

We choose guarantees now and then but for us it depends on cruise length and itinerary (only shorter cruises).  Also, we tend to be late bookers and there have been times when a guarantee was the only option available. 

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by Isklaar

[jongbj]

To get a little back on topic: ours was assigned exactly 10 days before the cruise. Not what we would have chosen ourselves, but they will be fine. We're taking my parents and it's nice they put is really close together (other side of the corridor). 

And when you play the OB game, you know you may not get your ideal suite. 

[Mauzac]

We are 15 days out and have an OB, and I really must stop checking the SB site!

 

We have never done OB before, we always choose our suite, but this was a bit last minute, it was an 'extra' cruise so we thought we'd try it.   And the saving was quite a bit.

 

When you find out which suite it is, do you bother to write it on your luggage tags?