how to chose a room

[ladybeachlover]

So I am brand new to cruising.

We want a room with at least a window, but get a good price. What does Guarunteed room mean, and how do you know where the best locations are? We are going to book on the RCC Enchantment of the Seas.

 

Thanks everyone!

[kbt2]

Guranteed means you select the exact cabin on the exact deck you want and it's definitely yours. We always book guranteed, as we travel w/another couple, so we always want to be right next door to one another.

As far as selecting, look at what's on the deck you're considering and what's directly above your cabin (for noise issues possibly). And we prefer mid deck on our cabin selection also.

Good luck and you'll have a blast.

 

Kim

Dawn Princess

Regal Princess

Grand Princess

Mercury - Celebrity

Windward - NCL

Monarch of the Seas

Voyager of the Seas

 

 

 

[staylor]

Mid ship is safe, the least amount of movement. We get the highest deck we can afford at the time.

 

With a guarantee, they guarantee you a cabin, but you cannot pick which one you want. With our guarantees on Carnival, we always got an outside cabin.......not the case with Royal Caribbean.

 

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Ecstasy 1996, Fantasy 1997,1998,1999, Imagination 2000, Sovereign 2001, Fantasy 2002, Monarch 2003, Serenade 2004

[staylor]

Conflicting answers.....We have purchased "guarantees" before, and you don't know your cabin number until a short time before you cruise.

 

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Ecstasy 1996, Fantasy 1997,1998,1999, Imagination 2000, Sovereign 2001, Fantasy 2002, Monarch 2003, Serenade 2004

[ladybeachlover]

So why are the gurantees cheaper if you are assured the type of room you want? I'm so confused....

[xpcdoojk]

Whoa... there is some serious misinformation here.

 

I am not a travel agent so I will defer to much more knowledgeable posters, but here is my view. A gaurantee means for example an inside gaurantee, means that you are sure to get an inside cabin. It could be any inside cabin from the worst to the best. There is a slight chance you could get an window or even a balcony, but I wouldn't hold my breath. An outside gaurantee gaurantees you will get at least a porthole in the worst outside cabin on the ship or you could get upgraded to something nicer possibly even a balcony. Again not likely but possible.

 

What the first reply was referring to is booking a specific cabin. This means that unless you go to the pier an do an upgrade there for extra money you will no doubt be in that cabin. Except in very unusual circumstances. This is what I do because I want a cabin that is quiet and with the least rocking possible. Middle and low is the least movement area of the ship. High and front or back is the most rocking area of the ship. For quiet it is somewhat chance, unless you really know a specific ship because you don't know who your neighbors are, but you can increase your odds, by not being either over or under the casino, etc. IE look at the ships floor plan and pick a location where the windjammer or the casino or a lounge is not directly connected either above or below. I like cabins above, below and beside mine.

 

jc

 

PS Hopefully a real expert will show up to give you even more information about category gaurantees.

 

Legend of the Seas RCI 3/03 New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii, Adventure of the Seas RCI 2/02 Southern Caribbean, Radiance of the Seas RCI 10/01 Vancouver to Hawaii, Millennium Celebrity 10/00 Eastern Mediterranean, Galaxy Celebrity 12/99 Southern Caribbean, Sensation Carnival 4/98 Eastern Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas RCI 1/96 Western Caribbean

 

email me at xpcdoojk@yahoo.com

 

[jdkey]

jc, you did a good job! That is my understanding of the guarantee process also. We always book the cabin we want. I am not a gambler and would end up in the crew's laundry otherwise I'm afraid. lol

Main thing is you don't spend alot of time in the cabin except to sleep so make sure the location is not directly above clubs, casino. Go with an open mind and enjoy!!

 

Mariner of the Seas!

[ladybeachlover]

Thank you xpcfoojk.....(odd name)

 

I'm starting to learn....

[TheWog]

They are cheaper because you are essentially filling in the ship on that deck or above. You are not obligating yourself to take a midship on Deck 7 that are very popular and they can sell easier.

 

Disney Magic 01/10/04

Enchantment of the Seas 01/22/05

[staylor]

JC is right. We have booked inside gurantees and we do not know which cabin we get until a short time before our cruise. On Carnival, we booked the same, inside guarantee, and have always been lucky enough to get an outside cabin. I assume the ships "outsides" were not sold out. Once we even got a balcony cabin when booking an inside guarantee.

 

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Ecstasy 1996, Fantasy 1997,1998,1999, Imagination 2000, Sovereign 2001, Fantasy 2002, Monarch 2003, Serenade 2004

[mohendry]

Are guaranteed cabins less expensive than booking specific cabins? I have never booked a guaranteed cabin.

[lauren0309]

We are booked for the Enchantment for February. We always book Deck 3 midship and pick our room in advance. There is less movement, there is a window and the price is right.

 

Majesty of the Seas 3/02

Monarch of the Seas 2/03

Serenade of the Seas 11/03

 

Till the Enchantment!

[xpcdoojk]

You are welcome. The real experts will give you the real category of the gaurantee... such as category x, y or z. If you look at a brochure you will not see those 3 categories, but when you get a gaurantee quote you most likely will. I don't remember which is which or even if those are the ones, but the key thing is that you are paying the price of the cheapest cabin in the category. IE the cabin nobody else wants. The upside is you might get upgraded if they over sell your category and they undersell a better category. However and this is the part that will save you grief. Do not choose a gaurantee if you can't live with the worst cabin in that category. In other words if you book a gaurantee and then you have an awful location under the casino next to the baby room with 4 drunk teenagers across the hall don't expect a lot of sympathy around here.

 

Again, you are welcome, we all learn this stuff sometime, and we are all new here or somewhere sometime.

 

jc

[ladybeachlover]

OK - so i think my best bet is to use a travel agent for at least my first cruise so we can avoid any major pitfalls and learn what to expect.

 

Thank you

[staylor]

On our early cruises we could have care less which cabin we were in. We just felt so blessed to be able to cruise when our friends were going to amusement parks for their vacations and we were going to the BAHAMAS!!! We have never had a bad cabin. Perhaps we are just lucky. Book what you can afford. Enjoy your cruise!

 

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Ecstasy 1996, Fantasy 1997,1998,1999, Imagination 2000, Sovereign 2001, Fantasy 2002, Monarch 2003, Serenade 2004

[staylor]

ladybeachlover- Yes! There are online agents, too.

 

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Ecstasy 1996, Fantasy 1997,1998,1999, Imagination 2000, Sovereign 2001, Fantasy 2002, Monarch 2003, Serenade 2004

[xpcdoojk]

Sure, you can always let a TA do it for you, but this is not rocket science just common sense and a small amount of research effort on your part. I always use a TA, but I have not always used the same TA. Get prices from several places if you want to get the best deal. Also, check out the RCI site for a good baseline price. There is no right answer on this stuff. I have never met any of my TAs in person except for 1. Read CC and ask questions and you will be way ahead of the person who calls up a TA gets a price and says great here is my credit card number. In other words you can do a better job than any TA determining what you want. Do you get sea sick or are you concerned you will get sea sick. Then a priority would be a middle and low cabin. Do you want quiet, then make sure you have nothing but cabins around you. You want the cheapest price book a gaurantee or get a specific cabin priced by several TAs. Only you know what you like or think you will like. I like to save money so I book inside cabins, and I like to minimize rock and roll so I book low and middle. Everyone likes different things. Good luck.

 

jc

[royalcaribbeanfan]

I booked a guarantee JS and ended up with a GS!! Guarantee means that you are guaranteed to get at least the catagory you booked. Example: You book a guarantee JS. You will at least get a JS. You may be upgraded by the cruise line for no extra. If they have left over GS's you may find yourself in one of those but it will cost you no extra. They also say that you will not find out what your stateroom number is until you get to the pier, but that is a falsehood also. The online embarkation form has your stateroom number listed on it so as soon as they assign a room you will know what it is. We ended up with a GS on deck 10 and we still got money back!!! We originally booked an E2 and continued upgrading as the prices went down. We got a suite with concierge service and a beautiful view. It was the best vacation ever. I was also hesitant about booking a guarantee but after our first experience would do it again in a minute; like I said, you might get a better cabin that the guarantee!! Good luck!

 

Happy Cruising

 

Patty

[redneck_dan]

Here is a little about Enchantment:

 

Royal Suite: Separate bedroom with king-size bed, private balcony, whirlpool bathtub, living room with full-size sofa bed and baby grand piano. (1,119 sq. ft., balcony 148 sq. ft.) Cat RS

 

Owner's Suite: Queen-size bed, private balcony, private bathroom with bathtub, and a separate living area with full-size sofa bed. (511 sq. ft., balcony 107 sq. ft.) CAT OS

 

Grand Suite: Two twin beds (can convert into queen-size), private balcony, sitting area with sofa bed and private bathroom with bathtub. Also referred to as Grand Ocean View Suite. (349 sq. ft., balcony 107 sq. ft.) CAT GS

 

Junior Suite: Two twin beds (can convert into queen-size), private balcony, private bathroom with bathtub and a sitting area with sofa bed. Also referred to as Superior Ocean View Suite. (245 sq. ft., balcony 58 sq. ft.) Cat JS

 

Large Oceanview Stateroom: Two twin beds (can convert into queen-size), sitting area with sofa, vanity area and a private bathroom. Also referred to as Larger Stateroom. (154 sq. ft.) Cat D1

 

Large Interior Stateroom: Two twin beds (can convert into queen-size), vanity area and a private bathroom. Also referred to as Larger Stateroom. (146 sq. ft.) Cat F - I

 

Interior Stateroom: Two twin beds (can convert into queen-size), vanity area, and a private bathroom. (140 sq. ft.) Cat K - N

 

If you want a balcony, you will need at least a Junior Suite. If just a window is fine, you can go with the Large Oceanview.

 

Dan

 

Proud father of future cruiser Julianna Selene

[frank926]

A guarantee means that you are guaranteed not to get a cabin in a lower class than what you paid for but could get a higher class if available. A lot of cruisers book a cabin 1S way down and inside and hope for a upgrade. Most of the time you get lucky. Please use a TA to make sure you get the best deal and one that is CLIA certified. These agents have been trained to know cruising and are not the "I can do everything" TA. You can check out http://www.cruising.org to locate one near you.

 

The world is like a book if you do not travel you only read one page.

St Augustine

[Rala]

Dan, are you sure there are no Superior Oceanview cabins (ie. standard balcony) on Enchantment. There are standard balconies on Rhapsody, Splendour,Grandeur and Vision and Enchantment is the same class of ship.

 

To Ladybeachlover, The important thing to remember when booking a guarantee is to book a guarantee for the type of cabin you would be happy with. DO NOT book lower hoping you will get a better cabin because you most likely will not. Happy Cruising!!!

[redneck_dan]

Rala, I missed a category (my favorite one too):

 

 

Superior Balcony Stateroom

Superior Balcony Staterooms D1 feature two twin beds that convert to a queen, as well as a private balcony, sitting area with sofa bed, minisafe, private bathroom, vanity area, radio, hairdryer, phone, Internet access, and closed-circuit TV. Approximately 190-sq.-ft. stateroom with 36-sq.-ft. balcony.

 

Dan

 

Proud father of future cruiser Julianna Selene

[DFritz]

Does anyone know anything about the Wheelchair Accessible Interior Staterooms on the Voyager? I can't seem to find any information anywhere on them. Anyplace to view pics? (cabin 9561)

 

'Til my next cruise

 

[beachgirl55]

First time booking RCCL. Booked a balcony guarantee. What would be the "worst" cabin I would get? For $300 more I could have specified a balcony room in the lowest balcony category (Voyager), but I had know idea what to pick from the few remaining rooms. No balconies are obstructed view so I decided for the price any of the balconies would be O.K.

[ladybeachlover]

This is all fantastic information. But it is also confusing - so I will take what I read here, book the best room I can and know wherever i end up with be great!

 

Thanks everyone!