To Guarantee or Not to Guarantee..........

[SeaSeaRiders]

What do you think?

 

Does Carnival, move you up from your inside guarantee to possibly an outside cabin or maybe even a balcony room? Or do they basically stay in the same categories, inside to better inside or outside to better outside? I have been told by a Carnival TA, that some people have paid for an inside cabin & have wound up in a balcony room. You may be able to tell that I am a little skeptical with that statement. So I am here to ask all of you. How good of a room have you gotten with a guarantee? Or have you even gotten "stuck" with a room you really would not have picked if you had the choice?

 

Thanks..................

[TropicsR4me]

I usually select which stateroom I want but for my cruise on the Legend on 12/11/2005 I went with a Cat 1A guarantee with the hope that I will be upgraded to something else since I have booked it so far in advance. I figure I have nothing to lose by trying this since I have nowhere to go but up in cabin category, time will tell. I have read on these boards that many people have been upgraded while some others have not. Depends if the "Upgrade Fairy" visits your reservation :) . As long as I am on a ship with drink in hand, what could be better???

[neverenufcruising]

Best rule of thumb is book a guarantee at the lowest class you'll be happy with and hope to be visited by the "upgrade fairy". If you book lower than what you want and don't get the upgrade you'll be stuck.

[miclane001]

I booked an oceanview guarantee last year on the Triumph and was upgraded to a balcony. I was afraid to press my luck this year on the Victory, so I booked a balcony guarantee. An upgrade would be great but I'll be happy with the balcony no matter what.

[cantw82cruise]

We booked a balcony gty for our Legend cruise coming next April. I checked the other day and the price had more then doubled. Now they don't even have it listed as a possible option. Does anyone know why they would pull that option? Do you think they were getting to many people taking that?

[crzndeb]

I did book an inside 4a guar and got upgraded to a 9a on the Spirit in Jan of 2003......but do not, i repeat, do not book a guarantee with hopes of an upgrade. If you absolutely could care less where you are on a ship, then go ahead and book a guarantee.

If you are a first time cruiser and you're not sure what to expect, then don't book a quarantee. There have been one too many instances on this board where people booked a guarantee and then were not happy because they were under a lounge, got a forward room, got an aft room, to low on the ship, to high on the ship....get my drift.

Like I said, if you really, really, really, don't care, then go for a guarantee for your desired cabin type.

 

Just to add...booked a 4a again on the Elation over Thanksgiving and got a 4d....just fine with me....

[Bsan1221]

I always book guarantee. I have always lucked out.

 

I booked once on the Carnival Spirit a 4A guarantee and was upgraded on an extended balcony.

 

I booked on the Victory a 1A and was upgarded to a window. However, I am very persistent I call carnival at least once a week to see what can be done.

[cruzrdi]

On my last two cruises, I booked outside guarantee and hoped for a balcony, but it never happened! I was happy with what I had, though. My next cruise I have booked a balcony guarantee.

[GoinCruisin]

Always book what you will be happy with... those inside to balcony upgrades are VERY few and far between... even OV to balcony are few and far between. The upgrades are generally moving you up within the same category. We booked an OV guarantee last year (booked 4 months out) and were upgraded 3 decks. Booked this one (OV guarantee 15 months out) and were upgraded one deck.... it's all good, because I wanted an OV, and didn't care where :D

[cmez]

The only upgrades I've received so far is the same category but up a couple of decks. On Pride, we booked an 8A and got upgraded to an 8I, Paradise booked a 4A got a 4D, and on our upcoming cruise on Conquest... we booked an 6A and got upgraded to 6B. I'll continue to book GTY I like to be surprised with what we get!

[lucyjohnz]

On 8 cruises, we did one guarantee on Celebrity and got upgraded from the forward outside porthole cabin to the higher outside (but not Balcony) cabin - this cabin was also a slightly larger outside cabin. On all the other cruises, we picked our cabin and got that cabin.

 

On an upcoming 5-day cruise on Ectasy, we decided to do a 6A guarantee - I figure that the best we're going to get is 6D which is higher up in the ship - since the difference in price between 6A and 6D is about $110/pp, I'm willing to gamble that we'll get at least a 1 deck upgrade (difference in price - $40/pp) to a 6B and I just don't want to gamble on getting a porthole cabin or an inside cabin.

 

I think guarantees are probably a better gamble on ships that have more differences in cabins types. On the Fantasy class ships, you really only have 3 kinds of cabins - insides, outsides and suites where suites are about 10% of the total # of cabins. Your chances of getting a suite upgrade are slim if you guarantee an inside or outside cabin. So, moral to the story, on this type of ship, don't do an inside/outside guarantee hoping for a balcony. Do gamble if you want to be higher in the ship but don't want to pay more money.

[judyf]

That is the question!

 

It depends if you will be happy if you get the gty! I love it buy others don't!

 

Go with what you will be happy with.

[christineross7]

i just got the shaft of a guar - we booked a guar oceanview and we were "upgraded" to a much higher deck -you know the one with the lifeboats and are being told that it is completely obstructed - to me this is not an upgrade! I feel that the guar thing is a way to fill the undesireable rooms - you are moved there and then told it is an upgrade and there is nothing you can do! we are going to go and forget this and have a great time -it is just a shame to be tricked - pick your room and stay with it -in the past that is what we did and we were very satisfied. happy sailing!

[MommyJamiex4]

We just got back from the Triumph and booked a guarenteed inside cabin (which I assumed was on the riveria deck). Amd we ended with an inside on verandah. I think it was a nice upgrade.I could care less where my room was, just happy to be aboard,LOL>

[ppeckham]

I've booked both a guarantee and a specific cabin.

 

First guarantee was a 4A and that's what we got. But we booked fairly late. Plus it was the summer time - peak cruising.

 

Second guarantee was a 1A and we got a 4C. I would have preferred the 1A. The 4C cabin was not a good location on that particular ship.

 

I booked a specific balcony and that's what we got. Terrific location, but that's why I selected it.

 

I've booked a specific cabin on the next one. I don't want to be upgraded and placed near the disco. I'm a morning person and would like to be asleep by midnight.

 

It all depends on what your preference is. Many have been really blessed by the upgrade fairy.

[paralegal]

My boyfriend and I booked an 8a balcony gty last September on the Triumph. We were upgraded to an 8d category balcony. That was the best because we were on the same deck as the pools, buffets, etc. We just booked another cruise, for May 1, 2005, on the Victory, and booked another 8a gty. Since we are past guests, we were automatically upgraded 2 decks, and we could pick our cabin. So far, we have been happy booking a gty cabin. Now, if we were on a ship, and there was a chance of having an obstructed view, then I personally would not go with a gty cabin. Happy sailing..

[cyndij]

MICLANE001 - when do you sail the Victory? Our group is on the 7/10 sailing.

[cyndij]

We were upgraded from a 6A gurantee to Verandah Suite # 1 and #2 on the Paradise last year. Our documents showed otherwise when they arrived, so we were upgraded in the last two weeks before we sailed.

 

I agree that you book what you will be happy with unless you are a gambler and will be happy wherever.

[Cotton]

The only thing I will add to this thread is that after nine cruises with the cabin of my choice, I booked a guarantee last time, after reading about all the wonderful upgrades folks got.....NEVER again.:o I will always KNOW FOR SURE which cabin in the future!

[kujobie]

On three cruises booked guarantee, we have been upgraded twice, both within same category, which I don't consider an upgrade since I don't really care what deck I'm on. We've always been happy with the room we've been assigned.

[CanTex]

The only class of ship where you have a reasonable chance of moving up more than just within the same type of room is the Spirit class. There are so few OV staterooms (one deck) relative to BL (5 decks) with that design that the chances are pretty good (of course, you could also end up with an obstructed view too...) Those are the risks you have to be willing to accept for gambling to get something that others paid more for not to take.

[OC Mom]

Ok, this is the first cruise that I've had any time to plan for (last one was very very last minute) and I am now thinking I should change my balcony gty and choose my actual cabin number. All I can see happening is maybe being moved up a couple levels, but who cares. After reading various threads, I'm worried that I'll be moved under a noisy public area, get an obstructed view, or end up way forward and feeling too much ocean motion. We are also travelling a new ship, during summer, over a holiday (July 4th). I don't think the "upgrade fairy" will be visiting many passengers.

 

Soooo, which cabin should I choose if given a choice???

 

Thanks :D

[djenkins]

The only upgrades I've received so far is the same category but up a couple of decks. On Pride, we booked an 8A and got upgraded to an 8I, Paradise booked a 4A got a 4D, and on our upcoming cruise on Conquest... we booked an 6A and got upgraded to 6B. I'll continue to book GTY I like to be surprised with what we get!

 

please tell me the one you like the most and why.thank you

[Zeke3]

We are taking our first cruise (Miracle) since our honeymoon 17 years ago. I was going crazy trying to figure out this same question. Initially, we booked a guarantee.Then we got a 2 category upgrade. Then DH took interest and wanted to stay category 8I. We were thinking to book guarantee in 8I but then reading posts here I became concerned with being under a noisy section of Lido deck. Another concern of mine is seasickness (mild seasickness 17 years ago but I'm told it gets worse with age :( )so, finally decided we would take a specific room assignment. We are in category 8E Empress deck and chose the room that has one of those really long balconies. We figured we could use the extra space with 2 teens. It was comforting to know our exact stateroom. After reading some posts, I am now concerned that we will be upgraded to a higher deck and we will lose our larger balcony. I thought they couldn't do that.

 

Bottom line for me would be, if you have no concerns about seasickness or noise from decks above and below you, go for the guarantee. If I don't experience seasickness this time and we decide to cruise again, I will probably book the guarantee next time.

[kujobie]

If you have booked a specific cabin, they will not change it without your permission.