BL vs 8A guarantee Miracle

[CANBRFAN]

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between booking a BL or a 8A guarantee on the Miracle? I booked an 8A but I'm really not sure what the difference is except for the cost since they are both guarantees.

[vacruizer]

A BL guarantee on Spirit Class ships will get you the possibility of an obstructed view balcony (category 7). Booking 8A cuts that chance out.

[kujobie]

A BL guarantee on Spirit Class ships will get you the possibility of an obstructed view balcony (category 7). Booking 8A cuts that chance out.

 

That is not correct. Cat 7 is considered oceanview, not balcony. You will not get one of these cabins. You may get an obstructed view balcony, but you will not get cat 7 which is french doors with no balcony. To the OP, there is no difference between 8a gty or BL gty. The price you see on Carnival's site next to the 8a is the cost for an assigned cabin. You can get a gty in that category, but you should pay the lower price, the one that shows next to BL.

[vacruizer]

Per two TAs and a Carvival PVP I've talked to, they can put you in an obstructed view balcony if your book the BL guarantee rate vs. an 8A guarantee. The cat 7A is the obstructed view balcony. It's the category 5A with the French doors but no balcony.

 

Check out the deck plans on the Carnival website - 7A is included with the balconies and 5A with oceanview.

[silentbob007]

7A are balcony rooms, but with lifeboats obstructing the view straight down (and perhaps small parts above the railing). I actually booked a 7A GTY on the Miracle (cheapest) and was upgraded to a 9A obstructed.

[CANBRFAN]

Thanks for all your help. I really don't care what cabin I get as long as it's a balcony and from what I read, booking an 8A will get me a balcony cabin w/o an obstructed view so I'll stick with the 8A and cross my fingers.

[clemhen]

CANBRFAN,

The Miracle is having past guest upgrades right now. We booked an 8A and upgraded to an Aft cabin-panorama that we picked, for the 8A price. You may want to look into this...The past guest code I think is DP3, I just called my PVP directly.

[CANBRFAN]

Thanks so much for that information, I will call my TA tomorrow and ask her. I'm just wondering though if she booked me into an 8A because of the price I paid. She may have configured the past guest rate into her price but who knows, I will have to ask. What is an Aft cabin-panorama? Thanks!

[clemhen]

Our cabin is on the very back of the ship, a little larger balcony, on the panorama deck.

I would have your TA call in the morning. My mom was actually my TA for my last cruise, we saw the same kind of deal on-line she called for us and we picked our cabin.

We also noticed on this booking that the prices of our sailing had gone down all together, so we not only got upgraded, picked a great cabin (I hope!!), but also saved $30pp.

One tip...look at the deck plan today and have several cabin #s you might be interested in, so when she calls tomorrow you will have an idea of what you want. Good luck...

[kujobie]

Per two TAs and a Carvival PVP I've talked to, they can put you in an obstructed view balcony if your book the BL guarantee rate vs. an 8A guarantee. The cat 7A is the obstructed view balcony. It's the category 5A with the French doors but no balcony.

 

Check out the deck plans on the Carnival website - 7A is included with the balconies and 5A with oceanview.

 

I stand corrected on the room type. But the bottom line is that 7a is categorized as an OV cabin on Carnivals site, at least on the Spirit class ships. Go in as if you are going to book a cruise and when you get to the cabin category selection page, you will see 6a and 7a grouped under the OV category. The Balcony catgory begins with the BL gty and then starts at 8a and goes up. So... If you book a BL gty, you will not get a 7a. I have asked this of at least two Carnival reps and this it what I was told. So I guess it depends on who you talk to.

[Boston6]

Check for Resident rate discounts too. It was cheaper than past guest for me by $280.

[KAWS]

We booked a balcony guarantee because the 8A (assigned room) was $100 more. My kids didn't care where they were on the ship so I figured I'd save the money. When we received the invoice it said 8A guarantee and the TA said that's because 8A IS the lowest level of the balcony rooms so they would get at least that. Imagine our joy when the TA called us back last week and said the kids were upgraded to a cat 11 suite! So for us the balcony guarantee was definitely a good move.

 

So understand that you can anything from an 8A upwards and if the lowest level 8A is alright with you, then go for it and see if the upgrade fairy pays you a visit.

 

Kim

[lhall85917]

We booked a balcony guarantee because the 8A (assigned room) was $100 more. My kids didn't care where they were on the ship so I figured I'd save the money. When we received the invoice it said 8A guarantee and the TA said that's because 8A IS the lowest level of the balcony rooms so they would get at least that. Imagine our joy when the TA called us back last week and said the kids were upgraded to a cat 11 suite! So for us the balcony guarantee was definitely a good move.

 

So understand that you can anything from an 8A upwards and if the lowest level 8A is alright with you, then go for it and see if the upgrade fairy pays you a visit.

 

Kim

 

Nice upgrade! I'm assuming it is on Miracle since thats the title of this thread? When are you sailing?

[KAWS]

Yes, we're on the Miracle on March 11/07 out of Tampa. We're pretty happy with our upgrade. Hubby and I also have a suite (paid for that though) but we got an aft wraparound. I think Carnival has been good to/for us! :D :D

 

Kim

[Knights on the Beach]

I stand corrected on the room type. But the bottom line is that 7a is categorized as an OV cabin on Carnivals site, at least on the Spirit class ships. Go in as if you are going to book a cruise and when you get to the cabin category selection page, you will see 6a and 7a grouped under the OV category. The Balcony catgory begins with the BL gty and then starts at 8a and goes up. So... If you book a BL gty, you will not get a 7a. I have asked this of at least two Carnival reps and this it what I was told. So I guess it depends on who you talk to.

We were also told this by our TA and I believe it is true. And yes, when you click on book now, it does show 7A under oceanview cabins and the 8A as the lowest category balcony cabin you can book. BUT, just to make things confusing, if you click on details, the 7A does not show up under oceanview but under balcony:

 

 

"Includes stateroom categories: Standard Balcony 8A, 8B, 8D, 8F and 8H Extended Balcony 8C, 8E, 8G and 8I Balcony Sateroom (obstructed view)* 7A."

 

I guess this is because the balcony picture is more accurate than the oceanview picture for the 7A. I decided not to worry about it and trust my TA. He's never steered me wrong yet. We booked a BL on the Legend and were upgraded to 8H (Panorama deck).

[Cruise Cat]

CANBRFAN,

 

The Miracle is having past guest upgrades right now. We booked an 8A and upgraded to an Aft cabin-panorama that we picked, for the 8A price. You may want to look into this...The past guest code I think is DP3, I just called my PVP directly.

 

CANBRFAN - You should do this. You can get an 8F for that 8 GTY price!