Choose stateroom assignment: Let them choose or pick your own room

[PaulRC]

OK looking for input on this.   What you do When we booked the cruise we chose "We pick your room", We being RCL,  because it was around $400 cheaper. We have a guaranteed ocean view balcony.  The prices have changed and the difference is now only $141 for fwd or aft, and $170 for mid ship.  I have never let them choose the room and am not sure, but I do know that on the Allure OTS there are no obstructed ocean view balconies so there is that.   

Your thoughts

Thanks 

[USFFrank]

It's a roll of the dice with guarantee rooms. If you're OK with possibly being in the let's say the extreme far rooms (upper corner or bottom corner) especially in order to save $400, then go for it. Sometimes (but not all of the time, however it did work for me) if you can pay off the cruise sooner rather then later, they'll assign you a room shortly after. You just have to keep checking to see if and when it happens. If that happens you may be able to get that room changed to another balcony for no charge if you're not to thrilled with what they assigned you.

Should I book a guarantee stateroom on a cruise? | Royal Caribbean Blog

[teddy]

My thoughts:  

 

If you truly don’t care where your room is, let them assign you. 
 

If there is any little voice in the back of your head saying, “Yea....but”, pick your room yourself. 

Disclaimer: We do guaranteed rooms as long as it’s cheaper.   

[TXcruzer]

A $141 difference is not enough incentive for me to take a guaranteed room, I would call and switch

[sk8erguy1978]

Every one has different vacation budgets, that's what is great about cruises, they can accommodate most of them.

Even at $400 difference I'd want to pick my own room, at $141 (actually $170 I'm a midship guy) it's a no brainier for me. That's because I can afford it and don't like to gamble with guarantee category.

If you can still afford the cruise comfortably and not have to cut out a "must do" to get the room, do it. However, if it comes at a sacrifice, think about how much time you spend in the room and if it's worth it to you.

[ChessE4]

I don't really think it is about the $$, but your enjoyment of the cruise.  That is, if you can get the room type you want at a fair price, do it.  That has been our strategy.  We have learned to get better prices by booking well in advance, but we certainly don't think a $100 here or there would make a difference to our lifestyle.  I still regret not paying $300 extra per ticket to fly non-stop to London, choosing a cheaper method that almost caused us to miss our cruise.  Having this airline experience behind me, I approach cruise pricing looking for a fair deal but not a "killer price".  We have still managed to save $$ in the long run. So I vote for picking your room if location is important to your cruise enjoyment.

[WannaCruise]

We did this twice when you could select guarantee as refundable.  Both times they assigned up front of the ship.  Once we got our room, I just called in and could move it to any other available stateroom in the same category.  Forward and Aft are same code so we moved it to a more ideal spot in aft.

We won't select it now as you can no longer book guarantee as refundable, but if you could, we would have no issue doing so as long as there were a lot of rooms available (and we were booking a single room for our family).

[kc1968]

We booked an XB (guaranteed balcony) on quantum sailing in Jan, but after having done some research, on advice on many avid cruisers out there, decided to call in and RCI helped us pick a midship stateroom for a small fee . Also cancelled a more expensive VOOM package and repurchased at cheaper prices for black friday on advice from GregD here. Pretty chuffed with our arragements so far  thanks to all those who shared !

[PaulRC]

I ended up taking the advice of the majority and got to select my room for only $124 during the BF sale.
Thanks y'all for your input

 

[Pam48]

It’s $500 for them to pick my room and $1000 for me to pick my own. If I go with the $500 is there a chance that price could lower? I want a balcony on 11 day cruise. But can’t swing the $1000. Should I just do the $500?

[Linda R]

1 hour ago, Pam48 said:

It’s $500 for them to pick my room and $1000 for me to pick my own. If I go with the $500 is there a chance that price could lower? I want a balcony on 11 day cruise. But can’t swing the $1000. Should I just do the $500?

I usually pick my own balcony because I do not want to be right up in front of ship, or obstructed view,  next to elevator, etc.   If you do not care where the cabin is, the lower price would work better.  

[foxrunner]

...and another angle is the motion sickness issue, if you need to be amidships then book your room.  Another thought is if you are a light sleeper and noise above can impact your sleep, book your room. Most of the seasoned folks here seem no to be effected by these issues but as always ymmv. 

[Linda R]

6 hours ago, foxrunner said:

...and another angle is the motion sickness issue, if you need to be amidships then book your room.  Another thought is if you are a light sleeper and noise above can impact your sleep, book your room. Most of the seasoned folks here seem no to be effected by these issues but as always ymmv. 

Yes, what is above you or below you can affect noise.

[Fairlynew]

We went with guaranteed ocean view balcony on navigator in Europe several years ago.   We ended up with a spacious ocean view balcony-an upgrade.   I can’t remember the savings but it was substantial.  We also booked 2 interior rooms for our adult children on the same cruise.   Again, a slight upgrade-they got virtual balconies.  They were also close to each other.   We were a couple of decks up.   It worked out well for us.   I would caution you to check prices.  Sometimes it is less expensive to pick your own room.  

[Lori R]

On 11/21/2020 at 7:58 AM, PaulRC said:

OK looking for input on this.   What you do When we booked the cruise we chose "We pick your room", We being RCL,  because it was around $400 cheaper. We have a guaranteed ocean view balcony.  The prices have changed and the difference is now only $141 for fwd or aft, and $170 for mid ship.  I have never let them choose the room and am not sure, but I do know that on the Allure OTS there are no obstructed ocean view balconies so there is that.   

Your thoughts

Thanks 

NEVER let the cruise choose your room! I just learned this the hard way. I booked a cruise a year in advance and was shocked to see that my family and I—3 cabins’ worth—had been placed on Deck 2!!!!! I would have thought these less desirable levels might have been reserved for last-minute purchasers. Now that the cruise is 4 weeks away, it is sold out, and they are unable to move us even though we just found out about the room assignments. Very disappointed in Royal Caribbean and will think twice before booking again.

[SpeedNoodles]

2 hours ago, Lori R said:

NEVER let the cruise choose your room! I just learned this the hard way. I booked a cruise a year in advance and was shocked to see that my family and I—3 cabins’ worth—had been placed on Deck 2!!!!! I would have thought these less desirable levels might have been reserved for last-minute purchasers. Now that the cruise is 4 weeks away, it is sold out, and they are unable to move us even though we just found out about the room assignments. Very disappointed in Royal Caribbean and will think twice before booking again.

You always roll the dice with Guaranteed rooms.  This is not just a Royal Caribbean thing.

[Xaa]

2 hours ago, Lori R said:

NEVER let the cruise choose your room! I just learned this the hard way. I booked a cruise a year in advance and was shocked to see that my family and I—3 cabins’ worth—had been placed on Deck 2!!!!! I would have thought these less desirable levels might have been reserved for last-minute purchasers. Now that the cruise is 4 weeks away, it is sold out, and they are unable to move us even though we just found out about the room assignments. Very disappointed in Royal Caribbean and will think twice before booking again.

You realize that choosing the lower cost GTY rooms is essentially placing yourself as a last minute room assignment don't you?  That's what the discount is about.  If you decide to save a few bucks and roll the dice, don't be upset when the numbers don't read how you want them to.  You explicitly chose the option that took away your ability to select a particular room or deck.  You're misdirecting your disappointment.  RCI gave you what you chose, you chose something when you apparently wanted something else.

[CanHardlyWait]

3 hours ago, Lori R said:

NEVER let the cruise choose your room! I just learned this the hard way. I booked a cruise a year in advance and was shocked to see that my family and I—3 cabins’ worth—had been placed on Deck 2!!!!! I would have thought these less desirable levels might have been reserved for last-minute purchasers. Now that the cruise is 4 weeks away, it is sold out, and they are unable to move us even though we just found out about the room assignments. Very disappointed in Royal Caribbean and will think twice before booking again.

Don't knock it, till you try it. I always book a GTY and totally understand going in that I could end up anyplace on board.

You obviously didn't pay for a balcony GTY. As far as inside cabins (or Port hole) go. You could not ask for more peaceful sleep. Not a great deal of foot traffic and noise in the hallway. Booking a GTY especially inside cabins means you care about cost and only see your cabin as a place to sleep and shower. Focus on the rest of the ship and keep and open mind. Have no expectations when booking a GTY. One inside cabin is as good as another. You will be fine. Have fun.

I'll also add. I view a GTY as an adventure. Not knowing where I will be placed. I've been on every single deck on a ship. It can be a lot of fun when open to it. 

[cedricmr]

Every time in GTY balcony and one time in JS.
No problem for now!
But always savings to spend more during the cruise.

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, CanHardlyWait said:

I view a GTY as an adventure. Not knowing where I will be placed.

After years of booking GTY’s, I started using a TA from whom I get lower prices choosing my cabin than the GTY price on the RC website. I almost miss the anticipation, lol, almost…

We’re not picky or else we wouldn’t have been booking GTY’s but we do have decks/locations we prefer so locking them in is nice, even if it was never a huge issue for us.

[teddy]

A less than desirable cabin via gty beats a day at work. 

[TXcruzer]

6 hours ago, Lori R said:

NEVER let the cruise choose your room! I just learned this the hard way. I booked a cruise a year in advance and was shocked to see that my family and I—3 cabins’ worth—had been placed on Deck 2!!!!! I would have thought these less desirable levels might have been reserved for last-minute purchasers. Now that the cruise is 4 weeks away, it is sold out, and they are unable to move us even though we just found out about the room assignments. Very disappointed in Royal Caribbean and will think twice before booking again.

You gambled

You didn't do as well as you hoped

You spent the time and energy to create an account and bitch about it

 

OK

[Pattycruise]

9 hours ago, Lori R said:

NEVER let the cruise choose your room! I just learned this the hard way. I booked a cruise a year in advance and was shocked to see that my family and I—3 cabins’ worth—had been placed on Deck 2!!!!! I would have thought these less desirable levels might have been reserved for last-minute purchasers. Now that the cruise is 4 weeks away, it is sold out, and they are unable to move us even though we just found out about the room assignments. Very disappointed in Royal Caribbean and will think twice before booking again.

I hope your cabins are somewhat close together.  Had they placed you on 4 different decks spread out between forward and aft I imagine you would be more upset.  
 

should you decide you like Royal, despite your cabin location, then next time you book you can decide if it’s worth booking a GTY or just picking your cabin

[ckruetze]

Easy fix to the problem.
Just book a room where there is only on on the ship. Then Royal can choose al  they want and you still know which one you get.