JimandTerry Posted February 11, 2009 #1 Share Posted February 11, 2009 My husband and I are booked on the June cruise, Athens to Rome. We have made deposit on Guarantee category D. We have been on a cruise (different line) before where the cabin was assigned. I'm not sure how the guarantee works. My TA says we will get category D or better, and that cabin will be assigned about a week before departure. The TA says we could end up with free upgrade by doing this, but I'm afraid we will get stuck with the worst cabin in category D Looking now at available cabins, there are no category D rooms available. Does that mean they have already assigned me to a D cabin? Has anyone else done this. What are the chances of free upgrade? Thanks for any response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CintiPam Posted February 11, 2009 #2 Share Posted February 11, 2009 We booked our first-ever cruise at the end of May 2008 for an early September 2008 Nautica sailing from Istanbul to Athens, enticed by receipt of the 2009 Oceania brochure, but deciding not to wait. At that point, only three months before the cruise, we spent a week on a waiting list for several cabin categories, but then received a guaranty for an E cabin, the lowest category we said we would accept. We found out our precise E cabin assignment perhaps three weeks before departure, and we lucked out by getting the best E cabin, so you never know. Oceania does not know what D cabin you will have because at this point in time it has "sold", really just has $1,500 deposits on, all of the D cabins, but knows from past experience that a certain number of deposit makers will not pay the full price when it becomes due at the end of this month, or will get sick, have family emergencies, etc. before sailaway. If none of the D cabins opens up closer to the cruise, Oceania will make monetary/upgrade offers to D cabin people and so on up the line of cabins that ultimately will result in your getting a D cabin. It is my understanding that because of this system, it is highly unlikely that you would get an upgrade, because it is more likely that the current possessor of a D cabin will get one to enable you to get their cabin, but I only can affirm for sure how the guarantee of a class of cabin works. BTW, we enjoyed that first-ever cruise so much that when the Oceania sale started in January, we booked that June Athens to Rome cruise and husband wanted the same E cabin and got it! We look foward to meeting you aboard. Pam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted February 11, 2009 #3 Share Posted February 11, 2009 ...it is highly unlikely that you would get an upgrade, because it is more likely that the current possessor of a D cabin will get one to enable you to get their cabin... That's the best description of the Oceania guarantee program I have seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted February 11, 2009 #4 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Pam- As Don says, that was a brilliant description if the "guarantee Program", and in the case of Jim and Terry it is 100% correct, as they are first time cruisers. I suspect, however, that being a repeat customer gets you some leverage when they are "deciding" who gets the upgrade and who "stays put". The number of cabins that are vacant in the categories above the guarantee also comes into the picture. On our cruise, there are still 9 CAT C cabins available. Oceania won't assign those unsold cabins until the very last minute, of course, but they will put bodies in those rooms, somehow, before sailing. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandTerry Posted February 11, 2009 Author #5 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Thanks for the replies. We picked this cruise because of itinerary, so many port calls, the glowing feedback on Oceania, and hopefully the stateroom will be fine. See you in a few months, Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 11, 2009 #6 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Things may have changed over the years but on our first O cruise in 2004 we booked deck 3 & got a deck 7 balcony. You will at least get a D but you will be on the ship;) I always tell people pick the cabin Cat that you will be most happy with if you get better then it is a bonus:D Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riverroad Posted February 11, 2009 #7 Share Posted February 11, 2009 We had a similar experience to Lyn's. When we booked our first O cruise in March 2006 (for an August cruise) we booked a B1 guarantee. About a month later, we got a call from our TA saying we'd been assigned an A3 which we gratefully accepted. Don't know why, don't know how. We've booked the category we want for our Oct. '09 cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douganswerphone Posted February 11, 2009 #8 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Free upgrades on O are few and far between. We've NEVER gotten a FREE one on 9 cruises with O. When a ship is oversold or undersold, you may get an offer to upgrade or downgrade for a price. For example, if they have "C" cabins available, you may get an offer to upgrade for, say, $200 pp. First come first serve, and O has often used this to fill Penthouse and veranda cabins. So it's possible to score a relatively cheap upgrade that way. Last year, our Sydney to Bangkok cruise was oversold in the "B" category, which is where we normally cruise. O offered us $2,000 pp to downgrade to a window cabin, but we use the balcony a lot, especially in tropical weather, so we declined. There were others on board who accepted, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted February 11, 2009 #9 Share Posted February 11, 2009 It's possible your TA has a lot of pull with O. In our case it was just luck ...maybe because they were new cruise line. Our TA had never dealt with them before Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meow! Posted February 11, 2009 #10 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Several weeks before our 12 days sailing Venice to Athens in October last year, Oceania offered us a downgrade from B to C for $600 per person (the same as the original price differential). We resolutely refused! Why would a cruise line even waste the time to make such an offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted February 11, 2009 #11 Share Posted February 11, 2009 On the same topic. Does anyone know if TA's have more pull with upgrades than when you book direct with an O agent Yes, Arnie, they do. But they are not allowed to let us peons know who they are, so they just "hint grandly". They have an "in", you see, but the details are private between them and the cruise line and they cannot discuss the details.........isn't it ridiculous? This is all a part of that same old fashioned travel agent system. I'm praying that the internet will eventually make this system a thing of the past, but it has been a very slow process. I've used this analogy before, but the way that Cruise lines deal with travel agents is lot like a store offering different prices dependant on which door you entered by or which salesperson you approach. Why isn't it illegal? There are all manner of deals brewing, rebates, volume discounts, preferred status.....and all top secret!!! I'd be amused if it were not so insulting. Don't look for Oceania to buck this system, though, because Renaissance Cruises (Oceania's "sort of" stepfather) tried to do just that and was creamed by irate agents for their trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CintiPam Posted February 11, 2009 #12 Share Posted February 11, 2009 hondorner and StanandJim, thanks for your kind words, especially appreciated because they come from such cruise veterans as you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandTerry Posted February 11, 2009 Author #13 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I appreciate all of your comments, from wise seasoned cruisers. Like you Pam, I booked with the guaranteed category because that is the lowest category that we would accept. I guess my confusion came because of the experience I had with TA's before making the deposit. How can there be differences in price, extras, etc? One travel agent offered a price the same as booking directly with O. I eventually booked through a cruise operator that offered the same price, but with onboard credit $$$. After booking the guaranteed D, saw that a D cabin was available a few days later. I called my TA and asked if I should take that cabin with hopes of getting a monetary/upgrade later (like I have read others getting on these boards). He recommended no, and stated he felt I might get a complementary upgrade if I keep the guarantee. Probably he knows that the repeat cruisers will get those offers first. I'll be happy regardless of where placed. Getting all these tips from your experiences is wonderful. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted February 12, 2009 #14 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Jim and Terry- I must say that I agree with your travel agent. You can't loose anything and they might upgrade you. All of the Cat D's are more or less on par with each other, so you might as well relaxe and hope to providence! By the way, you might find out your cabin # significantly earlier than you think. Keep signing into your Oceania account on the web site. At some point you will see a room # there, and you will know your assignment :) See you aboard ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharicruz Posted February 12, 2009 #15 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Jim and Terry, Your TA will be notified as soon as you receive a stateroom assignment. Shari ***** CCC Member Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted February 12, 2009 #16 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Your TA will be notified as soon as you receive a stateroom assignment. You already know what I think of TA's :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharicruz Posted February 12, 2009 #17 Share Posted February 12, 2009 You already know what I think of TA's :rolleyes: No, actually I don't~ Shari ***** CCC Member Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnieh3079 Posted February 13, 2009 #18 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Doug & Sherry, thank you for taking the time to respond to my question. great explanation. we had a great TA for years. she retired. we tried to work with her son a few times. disaster! we have been booking direct since then. it's been OK. try to get someone on the phone who really wants to talk to us, and listen!! seems to be working OK. we have never been offered an upgrade (and we go back to the old Royal Viking days) so we were just wondering how this works. we are booked on Insignia for 49 days starting Nov. 3/09. Arnie & Arlene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meow! Posted February 14, 2009 #19 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Not referring to ANY travel agent, but just for the general principle, time and again, we hear about how an effective TA can help "bat" for the customer with the cruise line. My question becomes, aren't the cruise line SUPPOSED to treat ALL customers well and equitably? Why is it necessary to bat with a cruise line (I realize in real life, you may well have to), but what does that say about the cruise line? Is it right to treat different customers differently (besides more discount or commission for volume purchases)? These are questions that deserve some reflection, and such "batting" appears to be mentioned more frequently (per posting) on this column, is that true and if so why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roothy123 Posted February 14, 2009 #20 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Just replying to the question of whether anyone gets an upgrade: We did, from an "F" inside cabin to a cabin with a balcony on our Panama Canal cruise 3 years ago. Our TA booked for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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