book veranda guarantee, ever get concierge or aqua class?

[susiesan]

I am looking into booking a veranda guarantee on the Nov. 29, 2021 Millennium sailing from Fort Lauderdale. As of today, after final payments have been made, I looked at the web site as to make a dummy booking and counted available cabins. There are 98 veranda cabins open to book. There are 88 concierge class verandas, and 49 aqua class verandas. I know this may not be 100% accurate.

 

Has anyone ever booked a veranda guarantee and been assigned one of the other class cabins? 

On a similar note, has anyone ever booked an outside guarantee and been put in a veranda or higher cabin? As of today there are 176 outsides available to book.

 

[Mark_T]

These days, with the 'MoveUp' system, it is far more likely that they will resolve any oversell situations with paid upgrades rather than free ones.

 

... but... any time you ask if something 'ever' happened, the answer is almost certainly 'yes', but it isn't likely...

[ela123]

I’ve booked a few verandah guarantees and have only ever been allocated a verandah on the 6th or 7th deck

[gold1953]

I could only  happen if they oversold verandas.

I have booked inside and got oceanview

[Travelexpert35]

I booked a Verandah guarantee on the Millenium for our Transpacific in 2019 and received a 2A aft cabin on Deck 7. I was very pleased with the location and cabin. I wouldn’t do a guarantee again on a Transpacific or Transatlantic as we could easily have been put in a forward cabin and it was rough sailing for a few days.

[susiesan]

5 hours ago, gold1953 said:

I could only  happen if they oversold verandas.

I have booked inside and got oceanview

That is what I am hoping for, oversell the lower cost veranda cabins. That's the maximum fare I am willing to pay for this sailing. If the verandas sell out and all that is left is verandas in concierge and aqua class, and Celebrity won't give me the veranda price, then I won't go. At that time of year there will be plenty of other last minute cruises available on other ships and with other lines. I have found that the 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the least expensive time of year to cruise. I have always got spectacular prices on cruises in this low season.

[upwarduk]

The number of available cabins is probably due to decreased occupancy, a maximum of 50% on Silhouette sailings.

[Mark_T]

5 hours ago, susiesan said:

That is what I am hoping for, oversell the lower cost veranda cabins. That's the maximum fare I am willing to pay for this sailing. If the verandas sell out and all that is left is verandas in concierge and aqua class, and Celebrity won't give me the veranda price, then I won't go.

That's where the 'MoveUp' offers cut in and although you are unwilling to pay more there is almost always someone out there that will pay just a bit more to get one of those cabins and free up a Veranda for you...

[ela123]

I’ve also found that when I’ve booked a guarantee my cabin has been allocated very shortly after booking. Sometimes the very next day 

[gold1953]

8 hours ago, susiesan said:

That is what I am hoping for, oversell the lower cost veranda cabins. That's the maximum fare I am willing to pay for this sailing. If the verandas sell out and all that is left is verandas in concierge and aqua class, and Celebrity won't give me the veranda price, then I won't go. At that time of year there will be plenty of other last minute cruises available on other ships and with other lines. I have found that the 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the least expensive time of year to cruise. I have always got spectacular prices on cruises in this low season.

Chance is slim to none as the cruises are sailing at reduced capacity due to covid. As others have said they offer move up deals so some in veranda will bid to move up so what you booked will be what you get. I f you are counting on this then you will be disappointed and should be looking at other lines

Lower cost veranda is not the same category as concierge and Aqua class

[gerelmx]

@susiesanFor this sailing there are Veranda GTY, Concierge GTY and Aqua GTY, so you will get the category that you choose.

[susiesan]

6 hours ago, upwarduk said:

The number of available cabins is probably due to decreased occupancy, a maximum of 50% on Silhouette sailings.

This cruise is in December. Is Celebrity still going to sail at 50% capacity 3 months from now? Isn't the winter Caribbean one of the most lucrative times for cruises to be full?

[FlorenceItaly]

3 minutes ago, susiesan said:

This cruise is in December. Is Celebrity still going to sail at 50% capacity 3 months from now? Isn't the winter Caribbean one of the most lucrative times for cruises to be full?

Typically, first week in December is among one of the lowest pricing, I believe.

[susiesan]

5 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Typically, first week in December is among one of the lowest pricing, I believe.

Yes, it is. That's one of the reasons I am looking at a cruise that week. Over the last 40 years of cruising on many different lines I have found these 3 weeks in December to be the best time and value for Caribbean cruises. Most people are busy getting ready for Christmas and too busy for a vacation. Plus in normal times, the ships are not full.

[Mike45LC]

I'm sorry, but I doubt you will get a free upgrade.  The cruise is not going to be full-capacity, so there will likely be available cabins in your category.  As others have said, if Celebrity has no available verandas for you, they will offer other guests an upgrade for $$ to free up a veranda cabin for you.  Only if they can't sucker someone into paying for the upgrade will they give you a free upgrade.  

 

However, please remember that if you simply get your paid-for guaranteed cabin, you will still be getting a great cruise!

[Stockjock]

I did a fairly recent OV GUAR on an upcoming Celebrity sailing.  The next day, I received what was possibly the worst OV cabin on the ship.  They put me on the bow of the ship in the furthest possible cabin forward, just over the theater.  I was able to move back a few cabins so I am no longer right over the theater, but I wouldn't hold my breath in terms of upgrades.  

I think the cruise line with the best shot at an upgrade in terms of category is MSC, but they have some serious customer service issues going on.  On a cruise I just cancelled, booked an OV GUAR, got a midship balcony with a lifeboat below it, but it only obstructed when looking down.  Asked 2 agents if I could move to an available aft cabin.  First said no, second said yes and moved me.  Unfortunately, I had to cancel due to the uncertainty of a Europe cruise during these Covid Times.

Edited September 6, 2021 by Stockjock

[hcat]

11 hours ago, gerelmx said:

@susiesanFor this sailing there are Veranda GTY, Concierge GTY and Aqua GTY, so you will get the category that you choose.

Exactly.... OP  will get the category they booked..and possibly not the best of the group..unless they do a move up bid and win!

[gold1953]

20 hours ago, susiesan said:

This cruise is in December. Is Celebrity still going to sail at 50% capacity 3 months from now? Isn't the winter Caribbean one of the most lucrative times for cruises to be full?

Covid rules!!  Nothing from the past factors into this disaster. None of us can tell you what you want to hear. Even if the ship sails full ,what you want is highly unlikely due to the move up bid system

[hcat]

We always book  the cabin we want...and then follow price reductions, if any. Rarely do we move around unless something much better turns up, or we hear something very neg about the booked cabin..

 

Cruisers who  want  " value bookings" sometimes luck out, other times not so much,   As mentioned by gold1953,  Covid changes things..capacity, bookings, etc,

Maybe O P should try lines that make move up  or bargains easier. It  will be interesting to see what happens!

[curtsfan]

On 9/4/2021 at 4:07 PM, Mark_T said:

These days, with the 'MoveUp' system, it is far more likely that they will resolve any oversell situations with paid upgrades rather than free ones.

 

... but... any time you ask if something 'ever' happened, the answer is almost certainly 'yes', but it isn't likely...

We booked a concierge class stateroom on the Edge last month & was upgraded to Aqua-class without paying a dime.  First time that has ever happened!   At the airport on our way home, we bumped into people who had come  off one of the Royal Caribbean ships & he said that everyone who booked an inside room was upgraded to balcony.   But both ships weren’t full, so that’s why we/they got upgraded.  

[Mark_T]

18 minutes ago, curtsfan said:

We booked a concierge class stateroom on the Edge last month & was upgraded to Aqua-class without paying a dime.  First time that has ever happened!   At the airport on our way home, we bumped into people who had come  off one of the Royal Caribbean ships & he said that everyone who booked an inside room was upgraded to balcony.   But both ships weren’t full, so that’s why we/they got upgraded.  

It is less likely to be down to the ship not being full, more likely there is a profit/convenience motive behind it.

 

... but as I said earlier, you can never say that something doesn't ever happen, it is just really rare and enjoy it when it does happen.

[justcrusn]

I have two points to offer:

1. When booking guaranteed cabins, we do not start below concierge. The reason is the obstructed view cabins with lifeboats. There are no obstructed view concierge cabins (afaik).

 

2. We have booked concierge guarantee and then been assigned aqua class, so, YES, it has happened but I don’t know how that affects your odds.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[curtsfan]

1 minute ago, Mark_T said:

It is less likely to be down to the ship not being full, more likely there is a profit/convenience motive behind it.

 

... but as I said earlier, you can never say that something doesn't ever happen, it is just really rare and enjoy it when it does happen.

Believe me, we enjoyed it😃