As a professor of cruising, I’m asked two questions, unmatched in both frequency and fervor. First, “what kind of duplicitous institution would offer a degree in cruising?” And second, “how do I enroll?”
“Easy,” I reply, wiping a bead of sweat from my brow, relieved that I’m not being asked to declare my favorite cruise line (what can I say, I love them all): “profcruise.com is the institution and to enroll and receive all course materials, just subscribe or follow Prof. Cruise on Facebook or Instagram. Congratulations!” Don’t worry though, tuition is free and I have a very lax attendance and homework policy. This ain’t Harvard – come and go as you please.
There’s another question I’m also persistently asked: “how can you afford to cruise so often?” While I wish the answer to this one was simple: “with the fortune I make as a professional cruise blogger,” it’s sadly rather long-winded and nuanced. And as unsexy as the first female winner of Carnival’s hairy leg contest (please hold your applause until the end of class).
Throughout Cruising 101, I’ll try to fully tackle the question, beginning with today’s lecture covering one very specific and easily replicated reason I’m able to cruise so frequently: I save on cost by nearly always booking guarantee cabins.
While cruise line policies regarding guarantee cabins vary some, in general a guarantee cabin is one for which the passenger will pay the lowest advertised price for a particular category (inside, oceanview, balcony, etc) in exchange for allowing the cruise line to select the specific cabin for them. The only “guarantee” is that the stateroom will be within the category selected (inside, oceanview, balcony, etc) or in a higher category (so if you booked an oceanview guarantee, you may end up in an oceanview or a balcony, but would never be assigned an inside without significant compensation).
Guarantee cabins are often less expensive than any assigned stateroom within a particular cabin category (inside, oceanview, balcony, etc) and, in the lucky event you are upgraded to a better cabin category (see the next item below), can offer significant cost savings. However, in some cases the guarantee rate will be the same as the rate for the least desirable assigned cabins in that same category. In this case, you’ll either get exactly what you paid for (the worst cabin in the category) or will see added value in an upgraded cabin. With only a few exceptions (and I’ve booked at least a dozen guarantee cabins), I’ve received a better cabin than what I paid for.
Cruise lines are determined to sell every single cabin on every single sailing, and in most cases they are successful. Offering guarantee cabins is one technique they use to do this as it allows them to shuffle people around, opening up space in cabin categories with more demand on a particular itinerary. In the luckiest of cases, this can mean significant upgrades for passengers booked in guarantee cabins.
For example, you may be booked in an inside guarantee cabin, but this cabin category is sold out or almost sold out on your sailing. The cruise line may move everyone in an inside guarantee up to an oceanview or balcony so they can open up more inside cabins to sell. It’s often easier to sell discounted inside cabins at the last minute. Or the cruise line may simply wait until the very last minute to assign guarantee passengers a cabin and will stick them in any remaining available cabins. These may be within the cabin category originally booked or in a higher category if cabins in the original booked category are no longer available.
What are the odds of receiving an upgrade? That’s like asking me to predict the weather in Alaska for a particular week during cruise season (I get that question a lot too – I always answer, “it might rain. But it might not.”). While I can’t provide you with any firm odds, I can speak to my own experience having booked many, many guarantee cabins across just about every line.
In the majority of cases (including 100% of the time on Celebrity – don’t count on an upgrade to a different category on that line), I have received a very nice cabin in a good location within the category (inside, oceanview, balcony, etc) I booked. And because I paid slightly less or exactly what the cheapest cabin in that category would have cost, I actually came out ahead.
One or two times I have received the cheapest cabin type in the category I booked and paid for (far forward on a low deck, for example). But still, in some cases by booking a guarantee, I paid slightly less for it or in some cases I ended up paying retail for it. I got what I paid for and I went on to have a fabulous cruise (I don’t spend much time in my cabin anyway).
But on four occasions I have received significant upgrades. Two times on Princess (once from an inside to an oceanview and once from an inside to a balcony), once on Holland America (from an oceanview to a balcony), and once on NCL (from an inside to a balcony on the Bliss – pictured below).
Is there anything I can do to increase my odds of receiving an upgrade? There’s no science to this, but I’ve had the best luck booking last minute and booking an inside guarantee on ships with many more balcony cabins than oceanview or inside cabins.
While I sprint through cruise casinos like all the ding, ding, dings are bombs about to explode, I enjoy the thrill of playing the odds on guarantee cabins. Not knowing when my cabin will be assigned adds additional excitement and anticipation to the pre-cruise experience and receiving the e-mail with subject “your cabin assignment” is more energizing than washing down chocolate covered coffee beans with Red Bull (not recommended right before an important exam #liveandlearn). And I’ve enjoyed trying many different cabin configurations in many different locations on cruise ships.
If you prefer low-key recreating and keep the schedule of the average 90 year-old like me, you probably won’t want your cabin located directly below the club, prompting equal parts anger (kids these days!) and concern (music at that volume leads to hearing loss!). And the only way to 100% ensure that you don’t end up in an undesirable location, like below the club or very far forward or aft (for those more prone to sea sickness) is to select your own cabin location.
You may book a balcony with the goal of relaxing away all cares as you gaze out at the rippling water as the sun travels across the sky before tucking herself snuggly below the horizon for a sound night’s sleep. But instead you may end up looking out at a constant reminder that this thing could become the next Titanic while you prepare to hurl yourself over your balcony and onto the orange life boat at the first signal of distress: “ma’am that siren was just a drill, please allow us to help you back onboard the vessel.” Oops.
If you book a guarantee oceanview or balcony cabin, be aware that your view may be obstructed.
Guarantee cabin assignments can be made anywhere from the time you complete your booking (I’ve had them assigned instantly a few times) up until you check in at the pier and, on rare occasions, after you board the ship. I know that last one to be true because it happened to me once on the Norwegian Bliss. I booked a last minute cruise at 3pm the afternoon before sailing and didn’t receive a cabin assignment until after muster drill!
The photo above is of my teaching/travel assistant “H” and the giant suitcase we less-than-affectionately named Fat Albert (we weren’t able to check “Al” with a porter due to not having a room assignment and had to lug him around the ship for hours) waiting for news of our room assignment.
Sometimes guarantee cabin categories don’t qualify for special perks such as onboard credit or free drink/dining packages. If that’s the case, be sure to consider it in your calculation of value. For my upcoming cruise to Hawaii on NCL, for example, I knew I wanted a drink package. Turns out it would have cost me significantly more to book a guarantee sail-away rate (that didn’t include the drink package as a perk) than to book an assigned cabin category and receive the drink package included. So, there really is a good use for math. And trust me, it’s not calculating the number of pounds you need to lose by February in order to break even by the end of your Hawaiian cruise because you got the drink package (#cruiseproblems).
If you book a guarantee cabin on one or both legs of a back-to-back sailing, you may end up in different cabins for each leg. This was the case for me recently on the Celebrity Millennium.
They may not be offered at all on popular itineraries or may be offered in small quantities, selling out early.
I hesitated in even mentioning this, as it’s extremely rare, but since it almost happened to me on the Bliss, I thought I better include it as a worst case scenario. It’s possible that your cabin category along with the cabin categories above your cabin category may have been oversold, meaning that there is no room available for you in your purchased cabin category or higher OR that the cruise itself was oversold, meaning there’s no room for you period.
In the first case, you’ll likely be offered a lower cabin category along with some compensation by the cruise line (some have even reported being refunded the full purchase price of the cruise). In the second case, you’ll be denied boarding, but will receive compensation (some have reported a full refund of the cruise cost, refunded costs of all alternative travel arrangements home, and a free future cruise).
Ask yourself the following 3 questions to determine if a guarantee cabin is a good option for you:
If so, top off your half empty glass with your favorite cruise cocktail and book a guarantee cabin – the reality will likely be far better than your low expectations.
If so, fish the dead bug out of your overflowing glass and resist booking a guarantee cabin – you risk being disappointed. Remember, if you book a guarantee cabin, any cabin in your category or above is fair game. If location or cabin configuration is important to your cruise experience, avoid guarantees and book a specific cabin so you can get exactly what you like.
If you prefer to pile your plate high with mashed potatoes, mac ‘n cheese, and warm yeast rolls with honey butter like me, consider booking a guarantee. Or eight. Because only one thing will stop me from having a great cruise: pirates.
Certainly not my cabin assignment. And the more often I cruise, the happier I am and the nicer I am to my husband. So not only do less expensive guarantee cabins allow me to cruise more often, they can also be credited for saving my marriage.
And with that…
Class Dismissed.
Homework: Post to the comments any experience you have with booking guarantee cabins.
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