Extra fee to pick your own room has gotten ridiculous - time to move on?

[Morecruisesplz]

1 hour ago, bmc alabama said:

You mean the "extras" like gratuities?  Do you not pay those on RCCL?

 

To get a similar experience on Royal, you would have to pay for gratuities, wifi, at least the coke package, and for the unlimited dining plan.

Service on Virgin is great, buy I agree with you.

[LobsterStalker]

22 hours ago, Twenty2020 said:

 

I have not seen that for a while on a lot of Oasis class ships. Every GTY option has just been 'balcony'. 

that is all you see online but there are different categories that you do not see online available if you call or use an agent

[Blue Eyed Belfast Belle]

I agree that sometimes Solo travellers are locked out of gtys these days.

 

I used to choose gtys when available until once I was all the way forward on deck 4 on Vision and it was the 1 and only time I got sea sick!  🤢

[Miloomar]

You're looking at it backwards. It's not an upcharge to pick your own cabin, it's a discount to let royal stick you in whatever corner no one wants. 

[kirtihk]

1 hour ago, Miloomar said:

You're looking at it backwards. It's not an upcharge to pick your own cabin, it's a discount to let royal stick you in whatever corner no one wants. 

Exactly!  I unsuccessfully tried to explain it in a different way.

[Joebucks]

I've generally liked picking my room. For ~$100 it was nice to put myself close to locations I would spend most of my time at. There is no way I'd pay $400-$1000 for a room location though. 

 

This thread is also filled with absolute nonsense. Like more than usual.

[restasured]

On 2/4/2024 at 8:24 AM, firefly333 said:

I call it a way to advertise like they have cheaper cabins than I can book. Its misleading advertising since I cant book that rate. Solo been complaining forever and of course couples dont care who book gty. Dont know why solo cant book gty on royal. I can elsewhere, it's just royal. 

It is simple.  Solo has been 200% for as long as I can remember and only a few lines and ships have solo cabins.  I don't agree with the 200% but I have no problem with 150%.  The line loses revenue from the cabin, casino, drinks, etc.

[restasured]

On 2/5/2024 at 3:15 PM, 2chiefs said:

Absolutely true!! Our first cruise was in 1996 in an inside cabin on the Monarch of the Seas and we paid $2600 for two (for a 7-day cruise)! We can still find prices that low for OV's and sometimes Balconies today. Of course we didn't know what we were doing so we probably overpaid somewhat.

And that $2600 was in 1996 dollars.  We have the same experiences.  It is much cheaper to cruise today then 20 - 30 years ago.  But that is the same with airlines.  And the service and amenities show it as well.  All ships had white table clothes in the dining room every night.  Many still do but not all. Airlines used to have light meals for even short flights and you could actually get into a window seat without half the plane getting up and stand in the aisle.

[firefly333]

16 minutes ago, restasured said:

It is simple.  Solo has been 200% for as long as I can remember and only a few lines and ships have solo cabins.  I don't agree with the 200% but I have no problem with 150%.  The line loses revenue from the cabin, casino, drinks, etc.

You missed my pt. Or maybe dont realize if a couple can book a cheaper gty rate but not a solo, a solo is paying more than 200%. There have been a few threads asking why solo has to pay MORE than 200%. Other lines I can book a gty and 200% but not royal. I have to pay double the pick your own cabin rate, cant pay double the gty rate. 

 

Your answer doesnt make sense to me tbh.

[restasured]

On 2/4/2024 at 4:40 PM, Tatka said:

We always book our own cabin because we have a different idea with RCI what is a better cabin. Location is more important to us than a type of cabin.

 

Anyway, we use online agency and book well in advance. Often we pay less for selected room than for GTYs.

As well as we do.  We have booked twice in GTY but were fortunate and got cabins that were similar to what we wanted.  But we like midship and mid deck. So we typically book our cabin.  We get a fair number of "free" casino cruises (that usually cost twice what it would if we stayed out the casino) and have so far been able to pick our cabin.  Cruises we do have to pay for and want to go on we look at cost of each category and if the balcony in a location is more than we want to spend we look at oceanview and the interior.  We chose based on want, location and category.  ..

[Tatka]

We were using GTY on certain class of NCL ships where we knew every single cabin in this category and two categories up.

 

On Royal our friends booked GTY inside room on category which was on mid to upper floors and were assigned OV room which is technically higher category, but was located on the lowest deck. 

[Curtzilla]

58 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

You missed my pt. Or maybe dont realize if a couple can book a cheaper gty rate but not a solo, a solo is paying more than 200%. There have been a few threads asking why solo has to pay MORE than 200%. Other lines I can book a gty and 200% but not royal. I have to pay double the pick your own cabin rate, cant pay double the gty rate. 

 

Your answer doesnt make sense to me tbh.

I travel mostly solo and use a ghost companion whenever I need to get around this.

[ldubs]

On 2/4/2024 at 6:26 AM, smokeybandit said:

And they didn't know they oversold the cruise until the day of? No that's called CYA in a country that still is leery of covid.

 

 

They know they are oversold.  They don't know how many no shows until the day of.  

[ONECRUISER]

On 2/7/2024 at 6:09 AM, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

I agree that sometimes Solo travellers are locked out of gtys these days.

 

I used to choose gtys when available until once I was all the way forward on deck 4 on Vision and it was the 1 and only time I got sea sick!  🤢

Booked a Cruise last yr with a pretend Cabin Mate, only way get an assigned Balcony Cabin. If I'd done Solo only option was Guarantee IN/OV and no Balcony assigned or guarantee. So told my Daughter I Booked us on a Cruise and I wasn't taking her...shes in College anyway. 

[Blue Eyed Belfast Belle]

3 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Booked a Cruise last yr with a pretend Cabin Mate, only way get an assigned Balcony Cabin. If I'd done Solo only option was Guarantee IN/OV and no Balcony assigned or guarantee. So told my Daughter I Booked us on a Cruise and I wasn't taking her...shes in College anyway. 

When your daughter is a no show do you still get your double points?

 

[CruisingWalter]

On 2/4/2024 at 8:36 AM, 2chiefs said:

For instance today I mock-booked a balcony cabin on Adventure for May 16, 2025 and the price is $395 higher to be able to pick your own room.

 

That's pretty standard across the entire industry. The difference between GTY and a true guaranteed stateroom is usually a few hundred to $500 or more. You're not going to find it much better on other cruise lines. I never ever ever purchase GTY nor do I recommend it to my friends. I want to know where my cabin is going to be, not leave it up to the luck of the draw or possibly not even have a cabin on the ship. 

[CruisingWalter]

5 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Booked a Cruise last yr with a pretend Cabin Mate, only way get an assigned Balcony Cabin. If I'd done Solo only option was Guarantee IN/OV and no Balcony assigned or guarantee. So told my Daughter I Booked us on a Cruise and I wasn't taking her...shes in College anyway. 

 

You can get an assigned balcony as a solo unless all of the categories are closed for solos. Did you work with a TA or just booked it yourself? Working with a TA, they have ways around the 'no solo cabins' available issues. 🙂

[ONECRUISER]

8 hours ago, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

When your daughter is a no show do you still get your double points?

 

I did

[ONECRUISER]

6 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

You can get an assigned balcony as a solo unless all of the categories are closed for solos. Did you work with a TA or just booked it yourself? Working with a TA, they have ways around the 'no solo cabins' available issues. 🙂

It was closed

[not-enough-cruising]

17 hours ago, firefly333 said:

You missed my pt. Or maybe dont realize if a couple can book a cheaper gty rate but not a solo, a solo is paying more than 200%. There have been a few threads asking why solo has to pay MORE than 200%. Other lines I can book a gty and 200% but not royal. I have to pay double the pick your own cabin rate, cant pay double the gty rate. 

 

Your answer doesnt make sense to me tbh.

Just book an imaginary friend, easy peasy

[Tree_skier]

10 hours ago, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

When your daughter is a no show do you still get your double points?

 

No I don't think you get the double points.  That's the downside.

 

Edit:  If @ONECRUISER says he got them then I am wrong.  He travels solo all the time and would be more knowledgeable. I just thought I read somewhere here on CC that said no double points unless booked as a single.

Edited February 9 by Tree_skier

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Tree_skier said:

No I don't think you get the double points.  That's the downside.

 

Edit:  If @ONECRUISER says he got them then I am wrong.  He travels solo all the time and would be more knowledgeable. I just thought I read somewhere here on CC that said no double points unless booked as a single.

I think it also depends on when you drop the 2nd pax. It's not a given you will get 2 pts as a solo booked as a double. Some have not gotten it.

[silentbob007]

I was just pricing a cruise where the GTY was more expensive than choosing the cabin ... that was a first for me. 🙂