Ian T Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 I know this has been discussed before but I am wondering just how much a risk leaving it to RCCL to assign a cabin presents. Is there such a thing as a bad choice of balcony cabin, particularly on the newer ship classes? I realise there are some obstructed view cabins and guess that there is a risk we may be allocated one of those, but selecting our own adds a whopping £500/$600 to the bill. I would gratefully welcome any views. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 My thought is that if you have any concerns about where your cabin may be, choose your own room. My wife is in a bunch of Facebook cruising groups and sees a lot of "I was assigned this room I don't like, how can I get it changed". We literally don't care where we end up, so we do the guaranteed room and are happy. Sometimes the savings is minimal, but for us, savings is savings. We're cheap thrifty. USCG Teacher, USFFrank and Ian T 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USFFrank Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 You're rolling the dice with a guaranteed room. you could get something great, or you could wind up in the bilge. Sometimes with a GTY you'll get your room assigned before sailing and you might be able to change it, but that's not a guarantee. We have a neighborhood balcony GTY on Harmony of the Seas next year. We're taking the chance with this one because it was at an offer we couldn't refuse, and yes it's a guarantee, but it's at least narrowed down to specific areas of the ship. This may be the only guarantee of it's kind, not sure if other class ships can break down areas like that. https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2020/02/19/what-the-best-room-cruise-ship Ian T 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pima1988 Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 3 minutes ago, teddy said: Sometimes the savings is minimal, but for us, savings is savings. It has always been minimal for us. I don't think it has been more than $50 pp for any of our cruises. I always get jealous of posters saying they got hundreds off. If it was hundreds I would jump on a gty., but since it is always minimal for us and we love to sit on our balcony, it would drive us crazy if it was obstructed. Ian T and teddy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 We book Insides, so our views are always obstructed. USFFrank, USCG Teacher, wstephensi and 4 others 3 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 I should insert a caveat here.... When we book onboard, We can pick our room and still get the lowest price. Ian T 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian T Posted May 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 Thanks to everyone for your insights. Sadly the difference in our case is not minimal (£231pp x 2 = £462/$562), but it's a vacation after all and I'm naturally pretty risk averse so I expect we'll end up choosing our own cabin... and then hope that my wallet forgives me! And sorry @Matt - I realise I should have posted this on the discussion board, not this one JohnK6404 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim S Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 So what about the savings on this one??? Baked Alaska, JLMoran, Ian T and 2 others 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew72681 Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 I think the risk increases as the days go by. If you are years out and potentially get assigned a cabin within a couple of weeks, you can call and get assigned to another open cabin in that category. Ian T 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian T Posted May 23, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 2 hours ago, Jim S said: So what about the savings on this one??? Wow! I guess there really is little rhyme or reason in the pricing! 1 hour ago, Andrew72681 said: I think the risk increases as the days go by. If you are years out and potentially get assigned a cabin within a couple of weeks, you can call and get assigned to another open cabin in that category. Thanks Andrew Jim S 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 I’ve always thought that when they price a guarantee higher than a pick your own, they are trying to steer people towards specific blocks of cabins. Jim S and Ian T 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted May 23, 2020 Report Share Posted May 23, 2020 29 minutes ago, teddy said: I’ve always thought that when they price a guarantee higher than a pick your own, they are trying to steer people towards specific blocks of cabins. I think it is based on algorithm based on cabin hold/booking traffic. I've seen this too, where the "you pick" is cheaper than the "we pick". I think it also explains why you will see interior staterooms priced higher than balconies and balconies priced higher than junior suites. Jim S, Ian T and teddy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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