When does NCL assign guarantee Cabins?

[rodndonna]

We have an NCL guarantee inside booked for late January on the Viva.

 

Last week we received an email for bidding upgrades and we bid (fairly low)

 

Just noticed yesterday that our inside cabin is now actually assigned. Now that I see our cabin location which we really like, I am thinking to reduce our bid for fear of paying for an upgraded room in a crappy location.

 

Is it normal for NCL to assign a GTY cabin so far in advance? Is is something they do before the bidding process and we just didn't notice?

[shof515]

cabins can be assigned at anytime, there is no specific time

[RD64]

Cabins can also be reassigned.

[zqvol]

Cabins can be assigned at the time of booking all the way up until the day of sailing, you just never know when it’s going to happen. 

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, RD64 said:

Cabins can also be reassigned.

That is Urban Legend. Once assigned, rooms are not supposed to change. 
 

https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/cruise-faq/what-guarantee-stateroom-cene

 

“Once the stateroom has been assigned, there will be no changes.“

[rodndonna]

4 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

That is Urban Legend. Once assigned, rooms are not supposed to change. 
 

https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/cruise-faq/what-guarantee-stateroom-cene

 

“Once the stateroom has been assigned, there will be no changes.“

 

I hope you are right as we are going to redo our bid based on our assigned room.  I guess I can just keep checking and change bid if they reassign us to a location I don't like.

[ChiefMateJRK]

48 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

That is Urban Legend. Once assigned, rooms are not supposed to change. 
 

https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/cruise-faq/what-guarantee-stateroom-cene

 

“Once the stateroom has been assigned, there will be no changes.“

It actually happened to me in January, and it wasn't a guarantee room.  I booked a specific inside cabin and months later NCL just arbitrarily moved me to another.  The agent I spoke with had no idea why I had been moved.  This was months before the actual cruise, so highly unlikely that it was some sudden maintenance issue.  It worked out fine.  After a bit of productive complaining by me, they tossed in a hundred bucks of OBC, and I ultimately had another agent find us (and DD) a nice pair of inside cabins one deck down.  This was on the Sky, and they were actually the nicest inside cabins we've had on any ship.  😎

[RD64]

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

That is Urban Legend. Once assigned, rooms are not supposed to change. 
 

https://www.ncl.com/fr/en/cruise-faq/what-guarantee-stateroom-cene

 

“Once the stateroom has been assigned, there will be no changes.“

“Supposed to” being the operative words - anything is possible.

[tomk3212]

We've sailed with NCL for almost 20 years & almost always book a Sailaway/GTY cabin (usually inside).  We've gotten our cabin assignments anywhere from 3 months in advance (a European cruise on Gem) to, almost literally, the evening before sailing (we were using the NYC hotel's printer the night before to print our luggage tags!!).  In our experience we've NEVER had a cabin change EXCEPT when we've complained about price differential & gotten an upgrade (another European cruise) or 'won' the bidding lottery and gotten an upgrade (twice in the last 4 sailings).  That's our experiences with GTY cabins...

 

So as the ol' gambler sez, 'You pays you money and you takes you chances'...lol.

Edited October 23, 2023 by tomk3212

[BirdTravels]

17 hours ago, RD64 said:

“Supposed to” being the operative words - anything is possible.

Dude, the operative words are the company policy. Speculating on "what if the sky is falling" does not help the OP or anyone here on CC. It is Fake News.

 

“Once the stateroom has been assigned, there will be no changes.“

Edited October 23, 2023 by BirdTravels

[Barb Nahoumi]

To the OP,

 

If your cabin is to your liking, keep it and stay there.

[rodndonna]

2 minutes ago, Barb Nahoumi said:

To the OP,

 

If your cabin is to your liking, keep it and stay there.

 

That's what we are thinking - either removing our bid or at least dropping them to absolute minimal.

 

The only thing we really miss on an inside is not having a sofa to sit on (chair is just not the same!), but not sure if having an Ocean view with a sofa in a crappy location is any better than just having an inside cabin in a preferred location.

 

As as this is our first time on the Viva and only our second NCL cruise in 15 years. it's all a crap shoot for us anyway 😃

[Barb Nahoumi]

3 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

That's what we are thinking - either removing our bid or at least dropping them to absolute minimal.

 

The only thing we really miss on an inside is not having a sofa to sit on (chair is just not the same!), but not sure if having an Ocean view with a sofa in a crappy location is any better than just having an inside cabin in a preferred location.

 

As as this is our first time on the Viva and only our second NCL cruise in 15 years. it's all a crap shoot for us anyway 😃

We have never booked an inside, because we need a window to see out.  Depending upon the time of year that we cruise, we book balconies in warm seasons, or ocean views when it is chillier.

[Cruise Crazy Family]

On 10/23/2023 at 7:55 AM, tomk3212 said:

We've sailed with NCL for almost 20 years & almost always book a Sailaway/GTY cabin (usually inside).  We've gotten our cabin assignments anywhere from 3 months in advance (a European cruise on Gem) to, almost literally, the evening before sailing (we were using the NYC hotel's printer the night before to print our luggage tags!!).  In our experience we've NEVER had a cabin change EXCEPT when we've complained about price differential & gotten an upgrade (another European cruise) or 'won' the bidding lottery and gotten an upgrade (twice in the last 4 sailings).  That's our experiences with GTY cabins...

 

So as the ol' gambler sez, 'You pays you money and you takes you chances'...lol.

Hi, I have just booked an inside GTY cabin for me and my teen. We are experienced cruisers but we have never cruised inside. The reason is that it is last minute for an August cruise to Alaska, and it's either that or a Suite. Question: What gets assigned first... the guarantee cabins to something nice enough, or does everyone who bid on an upgrade get offered that first, and if there is anything left, then the gty cabins may get better assignments? The cost is already pretty high, so I am not thrilled at the idea of bidding, but I am also worried about posts I have seen about the Bliss observation lounge being near impossible to get seats and now we don't even have an oceanview room. Should I bid, or simply wear winter clothes and sit out on deck? LOL

 

Thanks!

[julig22]

1 hour ago, Cruise Crazy Family said:

Hi, I have just booked an inside GTY cabin for me and my teen. We are experienced cruisers but we have never cruised inside. The reason is that it is last minute for an August cruise to Alaska, and it's either that or a Suite. Question: What gets assigned first... the guarantee cabins to something nice enough, or does everyone who bid on an upgrade get offered that first, and if there is anything left, then the gty cabins may get better assignments? The cost is already pretty high, so I am not thrilled at the idea of bidding, but I am also worried about posts I have seen about the Bliss observation lounge being near impossible to get seats and now we don't even have an oceanview room. Should I bid, or simply wear winter clothes and sit out on deck? LOL

 

Thanks!

Well, since you are in an inside, nobody is bidding on that for an upgrade so kind of a moot point on your cabin assignment. If you are asking about how the bidding process is done, nobody really knows but I would assume that anyone in gty status will get their cabins assigned first, since they have paid for that category. Bid upgrades (if any) would be assigned leftovers - which could be anything from best to worst - depending on why they are available prior to the cruise.

Edited July 7 by julig22