Balcony guarantee question

[Ideb]

I just booked my first cruise with Royal Caribbean. I wanted an ocean view exterior balcony, but a balcony guarantee was much less expensive than choosing the cabin myself. As soon as I booked, it said something like room type is "neighborhood balcony guarantee". Does this mean I will definitely get an interior balcony and an ocean view one is out? I wish there was a way to pay a little more for an exterior balcony guarantee, (but not full price) because it seems like the interior and exterior balconies should be two different categories.

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, Ideb said:

I just booked my first cruise with Royal Caribbean. I wanted an ocean view exterior balcony, but a balcony guarantee was much less expensive than choosing the cabin myself. As soon as I booked, it said something like room type is "neighborhood balcony guarantee". Does this mean I will definitely get an interior balcony and an ocean view one is out? I wish there was a way to pay a little more for an exterior balcony guarantee, (but not full price) because it seems like the interior and exterior balconies should be two different categories.

Royals website is horrible lately for distinguishing between neighborhood balcony and Oceanview balcony guarantees.

 

If it said neighborhood then that is what you get, Central Park or Boardwalk balcony.

 

Most sailings will have both types available so I would call and ask what the difference to upgrade to an Oceanview balcony guarantee is.

 

It sounds like right now you have a category XN and you want a category XB. 

 

 

[nelblu]

I looked at an Oasis sail on October 9th and most of the balcony cabins were not available.  However, the website distinguishes between Central Park guarantee, Boardwalk guarantee and Oceanview balcony guarantee.  One of the odd pricings that came up was adjoining Oceanview balcony with no matching was available, but some $300 cheaper than a non-adjoining one.

 

Another odd presentation, where an Oceanview balcony was available, when you select the deck and section of the vessel, the aft and forward were there was a premium of some $350 higher than the mid- section.  The mid-section showed as "inclusive", but when you select that section. it shows some $500 more.

 

[Ideb]

6 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Royals website is horrible lately for distinguishing between neighborhood balcony and Oceanview balcony guarantees.

 

If it said neighborhood then that is what you get, Central Park or Boardwalk balcony.

 

Most sailings will have both types available so I would call and ask what the difference to upgrade to an Oceanview balcony guarantee is.

 

It sounds like right now you have a category XN and you want a category XB. 

 

 

I didn't see anywhere that I could pick only an ocean view balcony guarantee. I will try giving them a call today. Thank you

[Ideb]

33 minutes ago, nelblu said:

I looked at an Oasis sail on October 9th and most of the balcony cabins were not available.  However, the website distinguishes between Central Park guarantee, Boardwalk guarantee and Oceanview balcony guarantee.  One of the odd pricings that came up was adjoining Oceanview balcony with no matching was available, but some $300 cheaper than a non-adjoining one.

 

Another odd presentation, where an Oceanview balcony was available, when you select the deck and section of the vessel, the aft and forward were there was a premium of some $350 higher than the mid- section.  The mid-section showed as "inclusive", but when you select that section. it shows some $500 more.

 

My cruise isn't until next summer so I would think there would still be some balconies of both types still available. I had some trouble with the website also. When I put in all of our names, birthdays, etc for 4 of us to book the cruise, the price dropped by almost $1000 and the page came back up to enter our info again but this time with only space to enter 2 people so I had to start all over. It worked correctly the 2nd time.

[nelblu]

Also. one item that you should be aware is that prior to the pandemic, they differentiated and showed ocean view balcony guarantee both obstructed and not obstructed.  I asked the Royal agent, and he told me that when you book an Oceanview balcony guarantee, you may get an obstructed view.

Edited August 17, 2022 by nelblu

[Starry Eyes]

5 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Also. one item that you should be aware is that prior to the pandemic, they differentiated and showed ocean view balcony guarantee both obstructed and not obstructed.  I asked the Royal agent, and he told me that when you book an Oceanview balcony guarantee, you may get an obstructed view.

Obstructed balconies are more of a concern on some ship class than others.

 

From the neighborhood balcony vs oceanview balcony discussion, I’ll infer that the OP is sailing on an Oasis Class ship.  I do not think there are any badly obstructed oceanview balconies on Oasis class.  Oh, there may be some with a lifeboat tucked below your cabin so you cannot see straight down to the water, but your general view is still wonderful.  
 

A small percentage of the neighborhood balcony views might be partial blocked by water slide or ship structure.  OP does not seem to want those anyway.
 

I book gty balconies fairly often on Oasis class and I do not worry about obstruction.
 

The trade offs are that you might end up in a noisier location (deck 14 is reported to be nosier from pool deck above, though some people still like it because it is so convenient to that pool deck) or you might end up far forward/aft with long walks to cabin and perhaps more motion.

[brillohead]

This is why it's a good idea to book with a KNOWLEDGEABLE travel agent, particularly if you're not well-versed in the booking process.

OP, I hope you get this figured out.

[twangster]

4 hours ago, Ideb said:

I didn't see anywhere that I could pick only an ocean view balcony guarantee. I will try giving them a call today. Thank you

 

They are not available on every cruise.  It sounds like they are not offered on your sail date.  

[Starry Eyes]

52 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

They are not available on every cruise.  It sounds like they are not offered on your sail date.  

Sometimes they are offered but one cannot see them on the poorly designed Royal booking site.  That happened to me recently.  I priced a cruise and though I’d do XN; XB did not show on Royal’s website.  When I called to booked, XB was available at reasonable price so I booked it instead.

 

 

[Morecruisesplz]

16 hours ago, Ideb said:

I just booked my first cruise with Royal Caribbean. I wanted an ocean view exterior balcony, but a balcony guarantee was much less expensive than choosing the cabin myself. As soon as I booked, it said something like room type is "neighborhood balcony guarantee". Does this mean I will definitely get an interior balcony and an ocean view one is out? I wish there was a way to pay a little more for an exterior balcony guarantee, (but not full price) because it seems like the interior and exterior balconies should be two different categories.

Use a TA.