Guaranty Cabin

[SoCalTraveler]

We have a guaranty balcony cabin on Cunard.  Fully paid.  A guaranty cabin was all that was available when we booked.  It is about two weeks to go before sailing, and about one week before we depart for Europe.  (Air paid by us separately, as have several hotels and excursions.)  Our cabin has not yet been assigned.  Any insight on when assignment will occur?  We can't print baggage labels until a cabin is assigned.  Our TA, who is great and has been our TA since 2006, can't get a response from Cunard.

 

I've seen two stories on these boards about Cunard overbooking and bumping, or trying to bump, booked guests.  

 

I know some cabins come up last minute.  We benefitted from that in 2019 when we booked two days before sailing and got a cabin that had previously been booked, with the passengers' names on the door and the steward calling security insisting we were in the wrong cabin.

[Ukulele girl]

I booked a guarantee cabin on H420 on Queen Anne leaving Southampton on 18th August only 10 days ago and paid in full. I was getting worried that the cabin hadn't been assigned but I went ahead and filled in my passport details and other information then up came the cabin number. I don't know if this was coincidence or perhaps it prompted the system to give us a number. Have you input your details yet?

 

I have had guarantee cabins many times with Cunard and never had a problem so I hope you find it isn't an issue. 

[SoCalTraveler]

Thank you for your response.  Yes, all of our details have been added, and have been for some time.  The Cunard site acknowledges that all of our information is in.

[Pushpit]

Guarantee staterooms are often allocated around midday UK time the day before departure, at least I have had a few cases like that. Other reports in this board have mentioned an allocation only at check-in. It really is very variable, since I've also had a confirmed stateroom pop up 100 days before departure. I have a Cunard Fare sailing in October - so not a guarantee - and it's still with nothing allocated yet. Mostly it will work, yes there are a couple of anecdotes out there where it nearly didn't and where it hasn't yet, but my working assumption is that you will get at least what you paid for. 

 

If you can't get luggage labels then just mention it at the luggage hatch, they are very much aware of this and they can work around it. They should have a list with your name on it. However your bag may be late to the stateroom, so consider packing your hand luggage with that in mind.

[BklynBoy8]

We were guarantee once thru our TA and was holding our breath when we would hear from Cunard. We kept in touch with the TA and still never heard until 13 days before.

 

Yes, we were now able to enter the My Cunard to print all the docu's needed.

 

Once we were on the QE2 and got an Upgrade right at the Check In Desk in the terminal several grades up. Surprise, yes! We were assured we would have no problem directing our luggage with the new location.

 

So sometimes Cunard can advise as soon as they can and some times up to the last minute.

 

Hope you hear soon....

[MozzaG]

1 hour ago, Pushpit said:

Guarantee staterooms are often allocated around midday UK time the day before departure, at least I have had a few cases like that. Other reports in this board have mentioned an allocation only at check-in. It really is very variable, since I've also had a confirmed stateroom pop up 100 days before departure. I have a Cunard Fare sailing in October - so not a guarantee - and it's still with nothing allocated yet. Mostly it will work, yes there are a couple of anecdotes out there where it nearly didn't and where it hasn't yet, but my working assumption is that you will get at least what you paid for. 

 

If you can't get luggage labels then just mention it at the luggage hatch, they are very much aware of this and they can work around it. They should have a list with your name on it. However your bag may be late to the stateroom, so consider packing your hand luggage with that in mind.

Usually with a Cunard Fare you get a choice of cabin at the time of booking. At least we have always found that. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

55 minutes ago, MozzaG said:

Usually with a Cunard Fare you get a choice of cabin at the time of booking. At least we have always found that. 

 

Yes, Cunard Fare includes choice of cabin. Our Lowest Fare (or something like that) is a guarantee. "Sailing Soon" is usually a guarantee. And sometimes there are promo fares as well.

Edited August 3 by 3rdGenCunarder

[Pushpit]

1 hour ago, MozzaG said:

Usually with a Cunard Fare you get a choice of cabin at the time of booking. At least we have always found that. 

Yes, the big exception is that if you are (for example) a middle sector of 3 linked sailings, with the first and/or last sector overlapping the middle one, that I think is too complex for the robots. So some Cunard Fares have a choice of no cabin at the time time of booking, but it's not a Saver or an Early Saver fare. I paid the extra for the no-cabin-choice Cunard Fare because there was an OBC on it greater than the differential. 

[NavyPanda]

1 hour ago, MozzaG said:

Usually with a Cunard Fare you get a choice of cabin at the time of booking. At least we have always found that. 

 

You often have a choice of cabin when booking Cunard fare, but one of those choices can be a Guarantee cabin.

 

When I've booked the lowest grade inside cabin on a Cunard fare, I've always chosen a 'Guarantee' cabin, rather than a specific number. The logic being that given the very small number of cabins in the lowest grade (Queen Victoria only has 11 IF grade cabins for example) then the chances of a nominal upgrade are far greater than if I chose a specific cabin. My presumption is that Cunard will book far more than 11 cabins at IF grade for each sailing and are forced to upgrade bookings and the ones likely to go first are the ones which still need to be assigned. This has worked for me every time so far, I've not experienced the delights of an IF cabin yet!

[vsbc]

I am on QA now. We had a guaranteed Q6 forward cabin. About two weeks before sailing we was upgraded to a Q5 at the stern.

[Jellifer]

8 days before my first Cunard trip on QV and no cabin assignment as yet on my BF guarantee. Interesting to hear when other cabins were assigned so thanks for that!

[Jellifer]

On 8/4/2024 at 7:59 PM, Jellifer said:

8 days before my first Cunard trip on QV and no cabin assignment as yet on my BF guarantee. Interesting to hear when other cabins were assigned so thanks for that!

 

Update - had my cabin assigned this morning. Went from a BF to a BC so happy bunny!

[carlmm]

On 8/6/2024 at 2:02 PM, Jellifer said:

 

Update - had my cabin assigned this morning. Went from a BF to a BC so happy bunny!

Congratulations.

One question, please: Did Cunard or your TA directly inform you? Or did you have to find out yourself?

[Jellifer]

4 minutes ago, carlmm said:

Congratulations.

One question, please: Did Cunard or your TA directly inform you? Or did you have to find out yourself?

I got an email from my TA but my friends didn’t, had to check their bookings themselves 

[SoCalTraveler]

12 days to go. I checked my booking.  No cabin assigned yet.  Thus, we can't print luggage tags.  Everything else is up to date.

 

(We booked a cruise on a Wednesday once which left in two days.  Plenty of time to print luggage tags and to get our shareholder credit. Not enough time for the cruise line to notify security, the check-in desk, the stewards, the frequent traveler director; enough time to notify the tour director and the Maitre'd.)  

[carlmm]

On 8/7/2024 at 5:28 PM, SoCalTraveler said:

12 days to go. I checked my booking.  No cabin assigned yet.  Thus, we can't print luggage tags.  Everything else is up to 

 

If I may ask, have you received your cabin assignment by now? If so, when?

[SoCalTraveler]

Cabin assigned this morning, with six days to go to sailing.  Upgraded one step from BF to BE.  

[carlmm]

27 minutes ago, SoCalTraveler said:

Cabin assigned this morning, with six days to go to sailing.  Upgraded one step from BF to BE.  

Thank you. Thus, there appears to be a new pattern of assignments just 6 days out. 

I guess, I will have to wait one more week for my 26th August QV cabin number.

[SoCalTraveler]

We've booked guaranty cabins twice.  In reach instance, it was because that was all that was offered.  In the first case, a cruise on Celebrity from Iceland, assignment occurred fairly quickly.  Here, we booked less than two months ago.