New questions re Guarantees

[Two if by Sea]

Hi,

 

I've seen lots of questions about guarantees but not these; please excuse if I missed them in my search:

 

(1) Why can't you get a guarantee if you're booking with 3 people? From a certain cabin class upwards, ALL cabins will accommodate 3 people but they won't let you book a guarantee.

 

(2) I did a quick check and if we were booking on the Maasdam with 2 people, they would let us book an "S" guarantee if we wanted to. Why would we want to? What would be the point? It doesn't seem to be any cheaper than a regular "S" booking, nor are there any real opportunities for an upgrade. Or are there -- has anyone ever booked an "S" guarantee and ended up with the PH suite?

[GmaPajama]

... It doesn't seem to be any cheaper than a regular "S" booking, nor are there any real opportunities for an upgrade. Or are there -- has anyone ever booked an "S" guarantee and ended up with the PH suite?

Before we became "educated" about specific S cabins, we had one with a balcony that was pretty much covered by the Lido Deck Overhang. We look at the deck plans more carefully now, and realize that particular cabin (S043, Ryndam) would have probably gone to a guarantee if we'd not picked it ourselves. We've learned to leave nothing to chance.

[Stevesan]

Hi,

 

I've seen lots of questions about guarantees but not these; please excuse if I missed them in my search:

 

(1) Why can't you get a guarantee if you're booking with 3 people? From a certain cabin class upwards, ALL cabins will accommodate 3 people but they won't let you book a guarantee.

 

(2) I did a quick check and if we were booking on the Maasdam with 2 people, they would let us book an "S" guarantee if we wanted to. Why would we want to? What would be the point? It doesn't seem to be any cheaper than a regular "S" booking, nor are there any real opportunities for an upgrade. Or are there -- has anyone ever booked an "S" guarantee and ended up with the PH suite?

 

(1) What answer did the cruise line(s) give you?

 

(2) That seems a no brainer except, as you say, to gamble for the PH.

[kakalina]

1. The reason is that there are a limited number of rooms that can used by more than two persons. The method they use for upgrading is based on folks in cabins getting bumped up to better cabins. They can't do this if one needs a specialized cabin. A guarantee means you are willing to be moved wherever there is space in that catagory. If you have special needs then you can't be moved anywhere.

2. It has happened, not often.

[CDRMark]

All 'S' cabins are NOT equal, nor are they equally desirable. Port/Starboard; Forward/aft; near the Neptune, etc.

I do not remember who, but someone here has been upgraded to the PH.

Cheers

Mark

[jtl513]

I do not remember who, but someone here has been upgraded to the PH.

Krazy Kruizers was recently moved to the PH for the 2nd half of a b2b on the Maasdam. Is that what you might have been thinking of?

[waiting2retire]

Unless I am mistaken (not being able to afford a suite :( ), if an SY guarantee was booked, there is a chance of being upgraded to an SA, SB or SC category which has full suite amenities, eg. access to the Neptune Lounge, breakfast in the Pinnacle grill, concierge service, etc.

 

Bonnie

[Two if by Sea]

Right, on the Vista-class ships there is a point to an SY-guarantee. But on the Maasdam I don't see the point to an S-guarantee, and yet they sell them (and at the same price as a specific cabin, at least on the cruise I was searching on).

 

Someone asked what did the cruise line say about the 3-person issue. It was my TA, not the cruise line, but all they said was that not all cabins will accommodate 3 people. But that is not true once you reach a certain cabin class, and S is certainly within that cabin class. But they won't even let you book an S-guarantee with 3 people (not that I'd want to). So my best guess is that the computer just wasn't programmed to do it, but that there is no rational reason for it.

[RuthC]

Someone asked what did the cruise line say about the 3-person issue. It was my TA, not the cruise line, but all they said was that not all cabins will accommodate 3 people. But that is not true once you reach a certain cabin class,....

Where are you getting the idea that above a certain category all cabins are triples? I don't think that's how it goes.

Do you think this because they all have a couch? If that's it, then I understand your confusion, but not all couches convert to a bed. Some are just couches.

[KAKcruiser]

I have the exact same question. All S suites accomodate three people so why can't you book a guarantee for three people? This has bugged me for a long time.

[RuthC]

All S suites accomodate three people

Not according to HAL's deck plans, they don't. I just looked at the deck plans for Navigation and Veranda Decks. Some cabins on each deck are triples, but certainly not all of them are.

[Stevesan]

Right, on the Vista-class ships there is a point to an SY-guarantee. But on the Maasdam I don't see the point to an S-guarantee, and yet they sell them (and at the same price as a specific cabin, at least on the cruise I was searching on).

 

Someone asked what did the cruise line say about the 3-person issue. It was my TA, not the cruise line, but all they said was that not all cabins will accommodate 3 people. But that is not true once you reach a certain cabin class, and S is certainly within that cabin class. But they won't even let you book an S-guarantee with 3 people (not that I'd want to). So my best guess is that the computer just wasn't programmed to do it, but that there is no rational reason for it.

 

I'm the someone who asked.

 

I seldom expect a TA to know much, if anything, about cruising. The cruise line seems the likely source. If you have a real need to know, and since you went to the trouble to ask I presume you do, try calling them and let us know the reply.

[KAKcruiser]

Most S suites hold four people. The ones that are marked triple are the exceptions. So, again, I am sure that all S suites can hold at least three people.

[Two if by Sea]

All S suites accomodate 3 people

 

Not according to HAL's deck plans, they don't. I just looked at the deck plans for Navigation and Veranda Decks.

 

If you look at the Maasdam deck plans literally, NONE of the S suites, nor the PH suite, accomodate 3 people, since none of them have the little symbols that indicate triples or quads. But that is clearly incorrect. I don't have personal information and my TA was clueless but based on the general cabin descriptions I believe that all S and PH suites accomodate up to 4.

[jtopicz1]

So, dumb question here :D Are triple or quad occupancy cabins generally larger than double occupancy. Or are there simply triple and quad cabins assigned as such to keep HAL and other lines from going over what the governing authorities may allow them to carry capacity wise on certain decks or areas of the ship. For example (COMPLETELY FAKE NUMBERS).... there are 100 cabins on the deck and a maximum occupancy of 300 but all cabins are roughly the same size. Would some cabins just be assigned a specific number over 2 persons to meet the capacity limits.

 

Jim

[Two if by Sea]

I seldom expect a TA to know much, if anything, about cruising. The cruise line seems the likely source. If you have a real need to know, and since you went to the trouble to ask I presume you do, try calling them and let us know the reply.

 

The question is moot, because nobody could think of any reason why I would WANT an "S-GUAR". Nor can I, unless there is a substantial (i.e. > 1%) chance of an upgrade to the PH suite. And probably not even then. We don't NEED a PH suite, and I think I'd feel uncomfortable traveling quite THAT luxuriously at my point in life. It's disconcerting enough to think we can manage an "S".