If I book a guarantee on RCCL, I see it doesn't assign my room until I pay in full. Is it better to pay in full right away, or should I wait till closer to the date of the cruise in hopes to get an upgrade??
Also, if I do pay in full now, does that mean I have no chance of an upgrade?
It has nothing to do with when you pay in full. Booking a guarantee means the you are guaranteed a stateroom of AT LEAST the category grade you paid for (or will pay for). You can be upgraded this way when the cruise sells out of the cheaper cabins, the cruise line will "upgrade" the already booked passengers to free up the cheaper "and there fore more marketable for last minute deals" cabins. Even if you paid in full right now you won't have your final cabin assignment until about 40 days before the cruise when they "close out the cruise"
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================================================== ========== Carnival Cruise Lines:
Fantasy 90, Celebration 95, Victory 05, Conquest 05, Spirit 6/06, Freedom 6/08, Holiday 7/08, Victory 6/09, Valor 9/09, Dream 6/10, Splendor 8/10,Conquest 8/11,Magic 11/11,Triumph 4/12,Spirit 7/12,Freedom 11/12, Triumph 2/13 - The fire cruise
NCL Dream October 2006, RCCL Mariner OTS June 2007
Originally posted by Jim C.:
It has nothing to do with when you pay in full. Booking a guarantee means the you are guaranteed a stateroom of AT LEAST the category grade you paid for (or will pay for). You can be upgraded this way when the cruise sells out of the cheaper cabins, the cruise line will "upgrade" the already booked passengers to free up the cheaper "and there fore more marketable for last minute deals" cabins. Even if you paid in full right now you won't have your final cabin assignment until about 40 days before the cruise when they "close out the cruise"
So do you have a recomendation when to pay the final bill? It really doesn't matter to me, just want the best options. I did a guarantee balcony, so what would be the best/worst case senarios?
Final payment isn't due until 70 days prior to the sail date. Why would you pay before? If you have a good travel agent, he or she would be telling you all this. Don't count on getting an upgrade, you're better off choosing a location you prefer, middle, front, or back. But, what do I know...
That's correct - a guarantee does not let you choose the location on the ship. You will need to decide which is important to you: price, or the chance to pick your cabin.
Well you didn't ask about choosing a cabin.. You asked about the cabin number...
Karen and SonnyV are correct. (actually SonnyV said it best, the TBA cabins are the way to go if you are looking at price with the possibility of being upgraded (but since you took a balcony already, the odds are slim you will get much of an upgrade. IT works best with an interior or oceanview category. Since you are already in the balcony, the only upgrades are bigger cabin (but not noticably bigger or suite (doubtful they will upgrade you to a suite). If you want a specific cabin you should contact your agent and ask for one. Not sure you can go wrong with a TBA balcony unless you are worried about where you are located (mid/forward/aft)
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================================================== ========== Carnival Cruise Lines:
Fantasy 90, Celebration 95, Victory 05, Conquest 05, Spirit 6/06, Freedom 6/08, Holiday 7/08, Victory 6/09, Valor 9/09, Dream 6/10, Splendor 8/10,Conquest 8/11,Magic 11/11,Triumph 4/12,Spirit 7/12,Freedom 11/12, Triumph 2/13 - The fire cruise
NCL Dream October 2006, RCCL Mariner OTS June 2007
I booked the connecting balcony and interior in the front of the ship on the upper deck 5 on the Spirit. Does anyone know about feeling movement in these rooms. I know you feel quite a bit of vibration on deck 10 where the spa is.
If you booked a balcony guarantee you may or may not be upgraded to a balcony on a higher deck. As Jim C says it is unlikely you would be upgraded to a suite. It doesn't matter when you pay your cruise off. That's your choice, whether you just want to get the payment out of the way, or hold on to your money until the actual final payment date. But when you make final payment has nothing to do with upgrades. The cruise lines have many group bookings on each sailing, and it is usually when they start finalizing the groups that they look at upgrades. That might not happen until two months or less before the cruise.
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