GTY Room Change

[Jbluebird]

We booked a Gty room and received the room number several days after booking.  In looking at the deck plans, the room is right above the casino. 😞   It's mid-ship, which would be perfect, but I'm concerned about noise coming up from the casino. I called to see if it could be changed to an upper floor, but was told at the time it couldn't be changed. Will they change gty rooms?  We're still several months out from the cruise and haven't made our final payment yet.

[c-leg5]

3 minutes ago, Jbluebird said:

We booked a Gty room and received the room number several days after booking.  In looking at the deck plans, the room is right above the casino. 😞   It's mid-ship, which would be perfect, but I'm concerned about noise coming up from the casino. I called to see if it could be changed to an upper floor, but was told at the time it couldn't be changed. Will they change gty rooms?  We're still several months out from the cruise and haven't made our final payment yet.

You can change to another room in the exact same category that is available. We have done it even recently. Or you can go back into guarantee pool and “ hope” for something better. It is unlikely they will change the assignment otherwise.

Edited January 6, 2023 by c-leg5

[Biker19]

16 minutes ago, Jbluebird said:

I called to see if it could be changed to an upper floor but was told at the time it couldn't be changed.

If you call, don't mention anything about the GTY.

[Jbluebird]

14 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

If you call, don't mention anything about the GTY.

Thank you for the suggestion!  Just called and there aren't any rooms left in our category. We could pay $2000 more for a higher category if we wanted.  We'll just hope either that the floor insulation is really good or we get a Royal Up offer. 🙂

 

[c-leg5]

Just now, Jbluebird said:

Thank you for the suggestion!  Just called and there aren't any rooms left in our category. We could pay $2000 more for a higher category if we wanted.  We'll just hope either that the floor insulation is really good or we get a Royal Up offer. 🙂

 

If you are still several months out lots of time for change. Check back nearer final payment when there will be cancellations, and holds released by TA ‘s.

[Jbluebird]

4 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

If you are still several months out lots of time for change. Check back nearer final payment when there will be cancellations, and holds released by TA ‘s.

Good to know, thank you!

[Morecruisesplz]

11 minutes ago, Jbluebird said:

Thank you for the suggestion!  Just called and there aren't any rooms left in our category. We could pay $2000 more for a higher category if we wanted.  We'll just hope either that the floor insulation is really good or we get a Royal Up offer. 🙂

 

Royal Up

[swoopy2110]

Don't understand why people complain about the room assigned when booking at GTY. It literally tells you they can assign you anywhere on the ship in that category as a minimum. It's the chance you take for booking at a lower rate.

[molly361]

1 minute ago, swoopy2110 said:

Don't understand why people complain about the room assigned when booking at GTY. It literally tells you they can assign you anywhere on the ship in that category as a minimum. It's the chance you take for booking at a lower rate.

It's like the people that book non-refundable and then get upset when they can't change their date and/or ship😇without a penalty

[pcur]

I don't think you will have much noise coming from the casino.  It's being above the music venues that are the problem, IMO.  

 

If you cannot change your room, take soft foam earplugs. 

[matj2000]

Why do people book GTY rooms

 

Then complain about what they get?

[Morecruisesplz]

4 minutes ago, pcur said:

I don't think you will have much noise coming from the casino.  It's being above the music venues that are the problem, IMO.  

 

If you cannot change your room, take soft foam earplugs. 

Or use a sound machine white noise app on your phone.

[Starry Eyes]

It really does not sound like a  terrible assignment.  If you are noise sensitive, you probably should reconsider booking gty cabins.  If you book gty again, you could get a far noisier location just before sailing with no chance of swapping.  Think hard before booking gty of noise really bugs you.

 

Still, assuming you booked under US/Canadian booking rules, you can watch for opportunities to swap.  First, identify your exact assigned cabin category (D3 or E1 or whatever).  Occasionally do mock bookings to see if any cabins in your exact category become available.  If ever one pops up that you like better, promptly call and ask to swap (call your travel agent if you used one or Royal if you booked direct).

 

Some have suggested RoyalUp.  I’d point out that using RoyalUp could take you noise-wise from frying pan into the fire.  You do not get to pick you location with RoyalUp; you could get an even noiser location (unless you carefully bid only on cabin categories that are only in quiet areas).

Edited January 6, 2023 by Starry Eyes

[c-leg5]

10 minutes ago, swoopy2110 said:

Don't understand why people complain about the room assigned when booking at GTY. It literally tells you they can assign you anywhere on the ship in that category as a minimum. It's the chance you take for booking at a lower rate.

Not sure any one is complaining but while there is an option available to move within the assigned category  I don’t understand the problem. There are all sorts of reasons why one location would be preferable to another to different people.

 

If the option wasn’t available, so be it. I agree it is a gamble you may get the minimum category within  the cabin type, you may do better. You may get stuck at the front or back, you may not. Some people actually choose to be aft, I would choose to be middle but I understand that with a guarantee I loose that option to choose to some degree. We are not overly fussy about cabin location and sometimes it makes sense to take a gamble. Sometimes it doesnt.

[Morecruisesplz]

36 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Not sure any one is complaining but while there is an option available to move within the assigned category  I don’t understand the problem. There are all sorts of reasons why one location would be preferable to another to different people.

 

If the option wasn’t available, so be it. I agree it is a gamble you may get the minimum category within  the cabin type, you may do better. You may get stuck at the front or back, you may not. Some people actually choose to be aft, I would choose to be middle but I understand that with a guarantee I loose that option to choose to some degree. We are not overly fussy about cabin location and sometimes it makes sense to take a gamble. Sometimes it doesnt.

Simple: you booked a guarantee for a lower price. Be happy with your choice and $s saved. Dont take a cabin from someone who is considering it and is willing to pay the going rate. Or pay more and get the cabin you wanted. Just because you can (for now) does not mean you should.

 

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, c-leg5 said:

Not sure any one is complaining but while there is an option available to move within the assigned category  I don’t understand the problem. There are all sorts of reasons why one location would be preferable to another to different people.

 

If the option wasn’t available, so be it. I agree it is a gamble you may get the minimum category within  the cabin type, you may do better. You may get stuck at the front or back, you may not. Some people actually choose to be aft, I would choose to be middle but I understand that with a guarantee I loose that option to choose to some degree. We are not overly fussy about cabin location and sometimes it makes sense to take a gamble. Sometimes it doesnt.

I'm complaining. I booked a last minute inside gty. I got a studio, not a regular inside. Suites and balconies sold out, .. had I known a studio was possible I wouldn't have booked it. 1 loyalty pt a day not 2 . 

 

I didnt even know the ship had studios. 

[c-leg5]

6 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I'm complaining. I booked a last minute inside gty. I got a studio, not a regular inside. Suites and balconies sold out, .. had I known a studio was possible I wouldn't have booked it. 1 loyalty pt a day not 2 . 

 

I didnt even know the ship had studios. 

Well, I might complain about that too! 
 

I have never had that happen since I haven’t booked a guarantee for one, in fact i thought you had to go through special hoops to book a guarantee for one? Maybe it was a special single guarantee price? There aren’t many ships with single studios -  not sure what category that would come under since they obviously couldn’t give it to a couple. Did you pay a two person guarantee rate?

Perhaps your TA can advise you regarding categories for going forward?

Edited January 6, 2023 by c-leg5

[Starry Eyes]

27 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I'm complaining. I booked a last minute inside gty. I got a studio, not a regular inside. Suites and balconies sold out, .. had I known a studio was possible I wouldn't have booked it. 1 loyalty pt a day not 2 . 

 

I didnt even know the ship had studios. 

I recall seeing another unhappy report on cruisecritic of a solo gty booking receiving a studio assignment (it was months ago, I think).  
we are going to have to watch for that hazard when they do let us book gty as solos.

Edited January 6, 2023 by Starry Eyes

[Morecruisesplz]

45 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

I recall seeing another unhappy report on cruisecritic of a solo gty booking receiving a studio assignment (it was months ago, I think).  
we are going to have to watch for that hazard when they do let us book gty as solos.

Do only new ships have studios?

[firefly333]

10 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

Well, I might complain about that too! 
 

I have never had that happen since I haven’t booked a guarantee for one, in fact i thought you had to go through special hoops to book a guarantee for one? Maybe it was a special single guarantee price? There aren’t many ships with single studios -  not sure what category that would come under since they obviously couldn’t give it to a couple. Did you pay a two person guarantee rate?

Perhaps your TA can advise you regarding categories for going forward?

I don't think he knew it was a possible outcome either. I paid more than the pp rate and applied the dp340 code to it. 

[firefly333]

Just now, fredmdcruisers said:

Do only new ships have studios?

Radiance isnt new

[Morecruisesplz]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Radiance isnt new

Yes, I know. Must have missed the Radiance reference.

[c-leg5]

44 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

I recall seeing another unhappy report on cruisecritic of a solo gty booking receiving a studio assignment (it was months ago, I think).  
we are going to have to watch for that hazard when they do let us book gty as solos.

I could understand if there was a single person guarantee pricing but if I am paying the rate for a two person cabin i would expect to get at least the minimum two person cabin.

[Starry Eyes]

28 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

I could understand if there was a single person guarantee pricing but if I am paying the rate for a two person cabin i would expect to get at least the minimum two person cabin.

Yeah, if I paid a single supplement, I’d be unhappy if I were assigned a studio.

 

Frequently solos are not able to book gty cabins.  Now having seen this issue twice on CC, it seems like a pitfall one should watch for if one is offered to opportunity to book a gty as a solo.  Forewarned is forearmed.

39 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Do only new ships have studios?

IDK.  I usually travel with DH and never looked at studios.

[Jbluebird]

I guess all I can say is Wow to the negative comments...I wasn't complaining just looking for some helpful advice.  We haven't been able to cruise in many years so we're very happy to be going.  If the room can be changed, that's great, but we're still going to go and have a great time no matter where the room is because in reality most of the time on a cruise is not spent in your room. And Thank you to the folks who actually offered advice, not criticism.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Jbluebird
Needed to add more information.