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guarantee availability - downgrade?

meow!

By meow!,
in Oceania Cruises

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meow!

meow!

Posted
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Just a general question, if on Oceania, someone purchased a PH minisuite guarantee, paid for it in full, and at the end, nobody at PH or above cancels out, what happens to the one holding the guarantee? Will s/he be offered an A category instead? And if so, how much will be the compensation? Will Oceania also offer those holding cabin numbers some goodies to entice them to downgrade to free up a PH cabin?

 

We suddenly (unplanned) purchased a deal on Celebrity (too good to refuse) for a minisuite with busniness class air (special deal with an agency that cannot be named), 12 days Britisih Isles for a total of 2x$4000. We got a guarantee instead of a cabin number (last cabin snatched up just an hour before we gave our credit card number). It is now only two weeks to sailing time, and there is no minsuite available, while lots of concierge class remain. We have never had "guarantees" before, so we are asking the parallel question above to know what are our scores. Thank you.

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LHT28 Holiday Sharing Rare

LHT28

Posted
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I am sure Celebrity operates differently with their guarantees than Oceania.

You should ask on the Celebrity board as to how they deal/dealt with them.

 

In a recent case on Oceania people were offered $$ to downgrade to a C2 from A cabins, so anything is possibly;)

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meow!

meow!

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You should ask on the Celebrity board as to how they deal/dealt with them.
I already did that but did not get any reply to that question. I am hoping perhaps Oceania posters can offer some insight (espeically since Oceania ships are more often full, and therefore more chances of people with such experience)!
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meow!

meow!

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Yes, she said she didn't know, and perhaps we would get a cabin at the pier, but that is not very reassuring! We would be reluctant to accept a downgrade unless the offer is really sweet.

P.S. We already have our UA business class tickets issued, and the TA said she had just sent out our final documents yesterday via UPS. You are probably the daughter of the famous Jancruz, can you offer some insight?

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wripro

wripro

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There is no way to equate Celebrity with Oceania. First of all, I doubt that Oceania even sells PH guarantees as there are so few PHs and so much demand for them. A guarantee usually implies that if the category you booked is not available you will be upgraded. Since there are only Vista suites and Owners suites above PH and only 12 of those in total it would be near impossible to get upgraded. Contrast that with Celebrity which has so many more cabins in each category. As for your TA, "I don't know" is not a satisfactory answer. Tell her to find out, or at least to get an assurance in writing that you will not be downgraded, or if you are, what they are willing to offer you. If it were my TA I would also tell her I was not getting on the plane without these assurances.

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Leonid

Leonid

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You know nothing about what you speak. DW & I have a PH1 GUARANTEE for a SA sailing in 12/2008. We have an invoice, which chooses the price we will pay. We're not looking for an upgrade - just a PH1. And we expect to get it!!!

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Bruin Steve

Bruin Steve

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I have long ago stopped trying to guess what any cruise line does with its "guarantees"...

 

We had a "guarantee" sold to uson Oceania which was immediately converted to an assigned cabin...Some folks insisted that Oceania doesn't sell guarantees if their are assignable cabins available (though I guarantee that was not our experience)...Even so, Oceania has since changed their website to imply that the "guarantee" is more of a waiting list...

 

What most cruise lines do is to offer a limited number of guarantees in different categories as a way to give them some flexibility in their marketing...They either have the cabins available or they have a pretty good idea from their long experience that they will have the cabins available...They are not foolish enough to leave themselves in a situation to have a lot of unhappy customers or have to pay out some sort of incentive to downgrade...

 

It really only happens in rare instances...

 

The certainly don't offer a last minute guarantee unless they are pretty sure they can fill it...

 

So, yes, if they really find themselves in that crunch, they'll likely offer you something...but, I sort of tend to believe they'll be able to accommodate you in the end...

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Leonid

Leonid

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Sorry, but I don't see where O implies that a "guaranteed booking" is anything more than a repackaged waiting list. If one has an invoice with a deposit and total price listed, that more than implies one will get that category of cabin. From what I've learned from my TA, past sailings and cruises booked for future travel also enter into the equation.

Having done a priority wait list before and then finding out that two other couples were told that they, along with us, were #1 on the list, we will not go that route again.

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Bruin Steve

Bruin Steve

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Sorry, but I don't see where O implies that a "guaranteed booking" is anything more than a repackaged waiting list...

 

Did I say it was?

All I said was that back in 2006, it was somewhat confusing...and that they've since tried to clarify it on their website, pretty much describing it as a "waiting list"...

 

Still, I don't think ANY cruise line sells a lot of guarantees, no matter how they administer it, unless they have a pretty good idea they will have the proper cabins available...

 

They do it ...even though the category MAY be sold out...because experience tells them that a lot of reserved cabins drop off...especially as you get to the "full payment" date...but even afterwards...If you're booking 350 cabins or 1,800, there are a certain number of folks who will have to cancel...

 

The cruise lines have to estimate this...and they typically do it conservatively...they really don't want to be left with people holding guarantees and no cabins to accommodate them...They don't mind upgrading some of these...if the cabins would otherwise go unused...but they really don't want to do that either...

 

I've booked "guarantees" on Oceania, on Celebrity, on Royal Caribbean and on Carnival...All of the ships were ultimately "sold out", but I've always ended up with a cabin--usually assigned considerably before the sail date...I've rarely been significantly upgraded...but I've NEVER been downgraded or asked to accept less on ANY cruise, any cruise line ...As I said, they KNOW what they're doing...They are not just selling guarantees with no idea as to where the cabins will come from...

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Leonid

Leonid

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Thank you for the compliment. All I have done is state the obvious. Bruin Steve said that a guarantee is akin to a wait listing. Not so no matter how contorted ones logic. A guarantee is as advertised.

Don't know from where you're coming. Are you having a bad day?

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Leonid

Leonid

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Regent & Oceania are two different lines. That an entertainer got bumped to a crew cabin means nothing. How does that relate to someone who has a guarantee ? Beats me!

As for Wripro, your response is hilarious! you really do seem to be having a bad day. Hope all is well in the near future.:rolleyes:

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Jana

Jana

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Meow!,

 

I don't think they can downgrade you. I don't think that's how Celebrity works; there are instances, even on Oceania, where the company will entice you to take another cruise on a less-sold-out date or a package that makes it worth your while to take a lesser cabin, but they can't downgrade you from the guarantee category you've booked.

 

I've never had a guarantee either -- until now, and it's just so close to departure that I'm lucky to get it. I'm fussy about my location so guarantees scare me but for this cruise, with the knowledge that I'll at least be in a B, I'm quite happy.

 

Still, I don't think ANY cruise line sells a lot of guarantees, no matter how they administer it, unless they have a pretty good idea they will have the proper cabins available...

 

Yes, that's called yield management and the cruise lines learned it from the airlines!

 

Jana

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billie5

billie5

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Wripro,

Your professionalism in dealing with Leonid is really commendable. I would not have had the patience myself. You are, of course, a very active contributer to CC, so I am sure you have read all sorts of extreme contributions.

 

Leonid is, not surprisingly, completely wrong. Invoice and deposit notwithstanding, cruise lines have great flexibility in dealing with many things, including overbooking. In fact, Oceania actually makes this clear in their ticket regs:

 

"GUEST BOOKINGS

As a condition of its business, We retain the right to overbook Guest accommodations. In the event that the Guest accommodation referenced in this Ticket/Contract is overbooked, or if We determine that the Ship is overbooked, We may, at Our discretion, deny boarding to any Guest and, at Our further discretion, refund all monies paid or offer another cruise or CruiseTour in substitu"

 

The only ultimate right the passenger has is to get his/her money back.

 

It is not just cruise lines. All common carriers have their own sets of restrictions at one end, and exceptions at the other, which are quite different from other merchants.

 

The only thing which is certain, in any pseudo-legalistic discussions, is that common sense has little to do with what is allowed or not allowed.

 

Bill

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Leonid

Leonid

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Billie5 - Extreme contributions? Completely wrong? Gotta LOL at your remarks! Seems that facts. or lack thereof, get in the way of a rational response.

Suggest you talk to a good TA before you response on this issue. And yes, I've read the "boiler plate", which you cited. So?

In addition, find the post by FDR on involuntary bumping - should open your eyes!

Seems as if you are having one of those days!:rolleyes:

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Leonid

Leonid

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On the contrary! I want posters to way in with their comments - as long as they are based on rational thought and facts and not emotional responses! It seems that some people don't like to have their posts questioned. That's the beauty of this web site. One can question and contest. That's life!

I don't have to throw rocks. Seems like some people need that release.

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