Guaranteed Stateroom Not So Guaranteed?

[Guest ldtr]

On 6/3/2023 at 10:00 PM, DallasGuy75219 said:

OP had a BA guarantee, just like I have an IA guarantee for Island later this month.  While a "midship" guarantee might be a bit nebulous (although it could probably be proven out that all rooms sold as midship interiors or balconies on a particular ship are in fact IA or BA, respectively), BA and IA by definition reflect a midship location, not "anywhere on the ship". 

 

If Princess doesn't assign OP in a BA or better, there's a valid claim for breach of contract, regardless of whether Princess' practice is to ignore the guaranteed category when assigning guarantee cabins.

Lets say it is a breach of contract (one that states that even if you have an assigned room they can technically move you anywhere on the ship if they feel the need), In which case they can make you whole by giving you a full refund.  So it really comes down to if they do not have that room available which do you want another, similar room, elsewhere on the ship, or a refund of all money paid to Princess and your reservation cancelled.

 

There is a reason why I never, ever book a guarantee.

Edited June 5, 2023 by ldtr

[Dreamscaper]

4 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Lets say it is a breach of contract (one that states that even if you have an assigned room they can technically move you anywhere on the ship if they feel the need)

I did not see anywhere that says that a Guar / BA is not guaranteed to be a BA.  When booking they say that they can put you in the guaranteed category or comparable - two categories lower is NOT a comparable location.  Why pay EXTRA to book guaranteed BA if you're not going to get it?  

[Guest ldtr]

On 6/3/2023 at 8:44 PM, Haljo1935 said:

Thanks @Dreamscaper and sorry for your experience and frustration. while I'm familiar w/Guarantees, I haven't seen them as the only option. I have always had the choice between selecting a specific cabin or letting Princess assign as a Guarantee. 

Perhaps the ship is near capacity so that was all they were offering. Just a thought.

Again, sorry your experience is not off to a good start. I hope you get it straightened out and have a fabulous cruise.

FWIW, we love the aft cabins - the wake views are amazing and we've been blessed to some pretty incredible wildlife shows.

Safe travels and do let us know the final outcome - a lot of people here are rooting for you!

Once the number of open cabins in a particular section drops below a certain level (known only to the cruise line) they remove the selection option and only allow guarantee for that area.  Of course when you select that you are basically putting yourself on a wait list for any cabins that are available in that area.  Now with ships occupancy going up, there are fewer cancellations and the odds of a situation like this one increase.  At least they are offered a similar cabin elsewhere on the ship, unlike some recent Royal Caribbean situations where some of those with guarantees found their cruise canceled when they arrived at the pier.

 

If they do not have a cabin in that area available they do not have one.  They are not going to boot someone else out.  The best you can hope for is either an upgrade in another area (if one is available, because the center of the ships tend to sell out first), A similar cabin in another area with some kind of OBC or refund of the difference (hard to determine exactly what they difference might be but probably not very much), or a full refund with a canceled cruise (either initiated by the cruise line or by the passenger).

[DallasGuy75219]

12 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Problem is that when they reach that point there are very few or no rooms available and you are basically on a wait list for the fairly few rooms that are in that area at the best of time.

And that's entirely Princess' fault for overselling guarantees.

[Guest ldtr]

1 minute ago, Dreamscaper said:

I did not see anywhere that says that a Guar / BA is not guaranteed to be a BA.  When booking they say that they can put you in the guaranteed category or comparable - two categories lower is NOT a comparable location.  Why pay EXTRA to book guaranteed BA if you're not going to get it?  

Every booking I have received from Princess contains the following  "Princess may be required to change the location of your stateroom. In the event your stateroom is moved you will receive a Cabin Change Notice. Stateroom locations are based on availability."

 

Check the fine print.  

 

In this case they do not have availability, with no open cabins in that area.

 

Yep, why pay extra.  Now you know.

[Guest ldtr]

19 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

And that's entirely Princess' fault for overselling guarantees.

Yep, same as airlines, hotels, and just about every other form of travel. At least they did not oversell the ship.

[Dreamscaper]

10 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Every booking I have received from Princess contains the following  "Princess may be required to change the location of your stateroom. In the event your stateroom is moved you will receive a Cabin Change Notice. Stateroom locations are based on availability."

 

Check the fine print.  

 

In this case they do not have availability, with no open cabins in that area.

 

Yep, why pay extra.  Now you know.

Interesting you left off the first half of the first sentence in the fine print you quote.  The full print says:  "Due to operational guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control, Princess may be required to change the location of your stateroom. In the event your stateroom is moved you will receive a Cabin Change Notice. Stateroom locations are based on availability."

 

This was not a change due to a US Centers for Disease Control situation.

 

Also, I received no Cabin Change Notice.

 

I'm not sure why you're defending them to the point of twisting the quoted fine print, but I've seen there are many people here who swing widely to Princess defenders and Princess haters, no matter what happens.  I think I've been entirely reasonable with my expectations.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Dreamscaper
clarification

[voljeep]

31 minutes ago, ldtr said:

 

If they do not have a cabin in that area available they do not have one.  They are not going to boot someone else out. 

yes, they do - it's called a 'move over' offer with "usually" great compensation - free cruise and current cruise fare as refundable credit on the move over cruise selected.

[DallasGuy75219]

12 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Yep, same as airlines, hotels, and just about every other form of travel. At least they did not oversell the ship.

Princess doesn't have a cabin left in the category you booked? Your fault for booking a guarantee and expecting the category Princess guaranteed you.

 

Princess oversold guarantees for your category? Other travel industries oversell too.

 

🙄🙄🙄

[Guest ldtr]

8 minutes ago, Dreamscaper said:

Interesting you left off the first half of the first sentence in the fine print you quote.  The full print says:  "Due to operational guidelines from the US Centers for Disease Control, Princess may be required to change the location of your stateroom. In the event your stateroom is moved you will receive a Cabin Change Notice. Stateroom locations are based on availability."

 

This was not a change due to a US Centers for Disease Control situation.

 

Also, I received no Cabin Change Notice.

 

I'm not sure why you're defending them to the point of twisting the quoted fine print, but I've seen there are many people here who swing widely to Princess defenders and Princess haters, no matter what happens.  I think I've been entirely reasonable with my expectations.

You did receive notice about your assigned cabin.  Not defending them only pointing out the reality of booking a guarantee.  The booking notice I looked at did not include the CDC language.  

[Guest ldtr]

9 minutes ago, voljeep said:

yes, they do - it's called a 'move over' offer with "usually" great compensation - free cruise and current cruise fare as refundable credit on the move over cruise selected.

Yep if they oversell the ship.  Or if they oversell all of the cabins in a meta category.  Not so much for a location on a guarantee.

[Dreamscaper]

3 minutes ago, ldtr said:

You did receive notice about your assigned cabin.  Not defending them only pointing out the reality of booking a guarantee.  The booking notice I looked at did not include the CDC language.  

They sent me no notice, I just happened to notice they booked me into the lower category spot in my Manage My Cruise section.  That's not a Notice.  And the reality is I have a Booking Confirmation with a Guar / BA and it does not state they can move me "anywhere on the ship" other than within that CDC language on my own confirmation.

 

But I don't see any point in continuing the "argument" on this point.

[Steelers36]

On 6/3/2023 at 11:30 AM, PescadoAmarillo said:

But if this is the case, Princess shouldn’t be charging different fares for guarantee cabins in different parts of the ship, which I *think* they are doing. 

 

On 6/3/2023 at 12:00 PM, Dreamscaper said:

I think @PescadoAmarillo is correct.  Edwina tried to tell me that they can put you *anywhere* on the ship, which is a garbage reply as they DO charge you higher prices for the better "guaranteed" categories.  Perhaps that was a breakdown in communication and she meant  or didn't realize that it meant they could put you in any category you book or HIGHER (at the same price you initially booked at).  From what I've seen in another thread here, it's possible to book and request no upgrades though.

 

In our situation they booked us into a LOWER category stateroom, and thus began our saga!

If a guest books GTY BC (Balcony), they are to get BC or higher - not BD, BE, BF,  Not Oceanview, not Inside.  

[Steelers36]

On 6/3/2023 at 12:29 PM, startedwithamouse said:

 

They can put you anywhere on the ship, it's always been this way. They are hoping customers click the guaranteed in a certain section of the ship, as it brings more revenue in. Our TA advised us if we book guarantee, always choose the cheapest rate.

 

We always book all the way forward (cheapest) guarantee. Only once have we ended up in a forward cabin, and it wasn't on deck 5 or 15, i.e., cabins above and below us. We usually don't book sailings which are full to capacity.

 

Guaranteed means your cabin TYPE is guaranteed, as stated below, but not the location. Princess can put you anywhere on the ship. 

 

 

I'd need a Princess mgr on the record interpreting it the way you have.  If I book a BB Category and elect GTY, they cannot give me a BC thru BF cabin.

[Steelers36]

On 6/3/2023 at 6:30 PM, SCX22 said:

I sympathize with your frustration.

 

I almost always book guarantee and have always been assigned a stateroom in the meta/location category that I booked or better.  It's great when the meta upgrade goes through.

 

Not sure why on the Princess website, the guarantee selection reads as "Selecting this option will guarantee a stateroom assignment in this location or a comparable location...."  This to me reads, once the guarantee location category no longer has available staterooms to assign, then the booking is only eligible for meta upgrades in the same location.  In your example, you booked a BA, so you would only be eligible for an upgrade to DA, MA, M1; none of the suites are mid-ship so, 

 

Regardless, you got a downgrade, which defeats the purpose of booking a guarantee room. 

 

Would you have been willing to accept an upgrade even if it was was in a different location?  Like a Deluxe Balcony located forward?  (It's the next category up from BA.)

 

 

With a BA GTY, a guest could be assigned a DE and that is considered an upgrade to PCL, but perhaps not to some guests.

[Steelers36]

On 6/3/2023 at 7:14 PM, Cruise till you drop said:

I appreciate all the comments but still unclear on

1) can I get a guaranteed cabin on Princess or is it just guaranteed category ?

 

2) If yes to guaranteed cabin, how do you book this as I’ve never seen that asked on Princess website (if booking directly)

All GTY's have a cabin category.  It isn't just B?.  It is one of BF thru BA.  That said, I suspect most people booking a GTY seek out the lowest category offered and hope for the best.  I think that is why there is a lot of confusion and discussion here about the GTY meaning. 

 

Guests pay more as the letter category progress towards "A".  They cannot give you less without a down-grade compensation offer.

 

Edited June 5, 2023 by Steelers36

[dreaminofcruisin]

28 minutes ago, voljeep said:

yes, they do - it's called a 'move over' offer with "usually" great compensation - free cruise and current cruise fare as refundable credit on the move over cruise selected.

 

Yup. Exactly this. It could even be a 'move down' situation. We were once offered (and took) what I call a 'move down' to a lower category cabin on the same cruise. It came with a LOT OF OBC. There's no reason Princess couldn't find someone in a BA cabin that would go for this if the OBC was high enough...and if not....they could have bumped the OP to a mini-suite and that should have been at no charge to them. That being said, there wouldn't be a guarantee where on the ship the mini-suite would be....

 

Princess used to be really good at this and I have never heard them having the situation like on other cruise lines where people found their cruise cancelled...sad to hear.

 

[Steelers36]

On 6/4/2023 at 1:00 AM, DallasGuy75219 said:

OP had a BA guarantee, just like I have an IA guarantee for Island later this month.  While a "midship" guarantee might be a bit nebulous (although it could probably be proven out that all rooms sold as midship interiors or balconies on a particular ship are in fact IA or BA, respectively), BA and IA by definition reflect a midship location, not "anywhere on the ship".

You can say that all BA and IA cabins are a mid-ship location.  You cannot say the reverse because mid-ship on a cabin deck that is below a public space deck will not be A category.  Nor the Emerald deck on Royal Class where the mid-ship cabins are labeled as partially obstructed (but often favored among guests in the know).

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, ldtr said:

Lets say it is a breach of contract (one that states that even if you have an assigned room they can technically move you anywhere on the ship if they feel the need), In which case they can make you whole by giving you a full refund.  So it really comes down to if they do not have that room available which do you want another, similar room, elsewhere on the ship, or a refund of all money paid to Princess and your reservation cancelled.

 

There is a reason why I never, ever book a guarantee.

Right.  And that was my point earlier.  If assigned lower than a booked GTY BA, then the guest is entitled to some recompense and I have now read the OP received a cruise fare rebate for the differential between BA and BD.  It seems a surprising result as most guests seem to get an upgrade when their cabin category is unavailable.  Whatever happened here in total we may not fully understand, but it seems the guest was made whole, even though some additional goodwill benefit might have been appropriate.  In theory, a guest who had selected a BA could be moved down, but anytime this has happened that I have seen reported on CC forum, the guest has been notified and offered compensation for accepting the downgrade.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

26 minutes ago, Dreamscaper said:

They sent me no notice, I just happened to notice they booked me into the lower category spot in my Manage My Cruise section.  That's not a Notice.  And the reality is I have a Booking Confirmation with a Guar / BA and it does not state they can move me "anywhere on the ship" other than within that CDC language on my own confirmation.

 

But I don't see any point in continuing the "argument" on this point.

I don’t blame you for feeling this way. You had a BA guarantee. Princess owed you a cabin in that category or higher, not two categories lower. I don’t understand why some responders can’t seem to understand that and why they are trying to say you are mistaken. I know you are frustrated and I understand why. But, I would keep pestering Princess until they give you what you paid for. 

[SCX22]

20 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

With a BA GTY, a guest could be assigned a DE and that is considered an upgrade to PCL, but perhaps not to some guests.

 

Not looking to argue, but for your input.  How does the highlighted phrase read to you?  Do you think that Princess should axe this verbiage?  This reads to me as Princess will preserve your location category if you were to be upgraded.  So if you booked in location BA, for example, you would only only be eligible for upgrades to DA, MA, M1, to preserve the location.

 

Your understanding of being eligible for an upgrade from your location and/or meta category or getting compensation for a meta/location downgrade when booking a guarantee is my understanding as well and has served me well over the years.

 

[Haljo1935]

2 hours ago, Dreamscaper said:

Update:  I finally managed to reach Daniel and he got us back into the originally assigned stateroom in the aft at the original booking price for the aft category.  So we did not get our guaranteed BA, but we are no longer being charged an extra $1,100 for that mini suite either.  Our invoice price *has* gone down from the original booking price by $258 (note this is all in Canadian dollars, not American), which I imagine is the price difference in the categories at the time we originally booked. ...

He said his hands were tied from here and offered to put me through to customer service again if I wished.  I'm taking a breather, not sure if it's worth any further stress over this anymore.  While I'm glad we're no longer stuck with that extra charge, I am disappointed in how this has all gone down...

@DreamscaperDreamscaper glad to hear you have been able to get out of the extra charge that you did not voluntarily incur and are at least back in a category that was more to your original plan. Even though not exactly what you booked, you aren't paying more to get less.

I hope this doesn't sour your trip and that you have a great cruise!

Edited June 5, 2023 by Haljo1935

[azbirdmom]

2 hours ago, Dreamscaper said:

Update:  I finally managed to reach Daniel and he got us back into the originally assigned stateroom in the aft at the original booking price for the aft category.  So we did not get our guaranteed BA, but we are no longer being charged an extra $1,100 for that mini suite either.  Our invoice price *has* gone down from the original booking price by $258 (note this is all in Canadian dollars, not American), which I imagine is the price difference in the categories at the time we originally booked. 

 

There is NO offer of any compensation for all this time, stress, and breaking of our original contract - you'd think they'd give us some OBC or a specialty dining credit or *something* - it would cost them very little and show us that they actually cared about what they've put us through LOL.  Instead he made it sound like he was doing us this huge favour, telling us how much work he put into getting us to this point.

 

He also repeated what Edwina had claimed, that this guaranteed location was not an actual guarantee.  I pointed out that it said Guar / BA on our booking contract, and he was kind of "oh" .  I'm not sure if that meant he realized he was mistaken, or if it was just an "oh well".  This might be a question I put to Princess via Twitter as I think it's a very important thing to know for anyone paying extra for those guaranteed categories if they won't honour them.

 

He said his hands were tied from here and offered to put me through to customer service again if I wished.  I'm taking a breather, not sure if it's worth any further stress over this anymore.  While I'm glad we're no longer stuck with that extra charge, I am disappointed in how this has all gone down, and I'm sure I'll be writing to corporate at some point to let them know what Princess has put me through.

 

It does appear that the new "Princess chooses" guarantee option is to put you in any cabin in that category.  The older way you would book a cabin type which would indicate the price underlying your booking and would assure that you would be assigned a cabin that is that type of better.  It seems like your reservation booked the old way and Princess is administering it the new way which is BS.  You paid for at least a BA and that is what you should get.  I hope you shoot an email off to senior management indicating what has happened to you and that Princess isn't giving you what you paid for.

[Steelers36]

7 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

It does appear that the new "Princess chooses" guarantee option is to put you in any cabin in that category.  The older way you would book a cabin type which would indicate the price underlying your booking and would assure that you would be assigned a cabin that is that type of better.  It seems like your reservation booked the old way and Princess is administering it the new way which is BS.  You paid for at least a BA and that is what you should get.  I hope you shoot an email off to senior management indicating what has happened to you and that Princess isn't giving you what you paid for.

Agree with contacting PCL mgmt, but I for one am not prepared to think a wholesale change has occurred without more than one known case being reported.  I am thinking it was a one-off situation until we see more of the same.

[Steelers36]

46 minutes ago, SCX22 said:

 

Not looking to argue, but for your input.  How does the highlighted phrase read to you?  Do you think that Princess should axe this verbiage?  This reads to me as Princess will preserve your location category if you were to be upgraded.  So if you booked in location BA, for example, you would only only be eligible for upgrades to DA, MA, M1, to preserve the location.

 

Your understanding of being eligible for an upgrade from your location and/or meta category or getting compensation for a meta/location downgrade when booking a guarantee is my understanding as well and has served me well over the years.

 

 

IMO, the comparable location is another deck in same category.  I have never thought that making a GTY booking looking at a certain deck means you are going to be located on that deck.  Most cabin categories occur in multiple locations.

 

Another example is that B level cabins ... say IB or BB... exist in both Mid-Fwd and Mid-Aft sections.  Just because I may have clicked on a Mid-Fwd section of deck plan to book, does'nt mean that is my location.  I could end up with a B level iMid-Aft and fhat is comparable.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Steelers36