Is there a better way to book??

  • Thread starter hillbillycruiser
  • Start date
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hillbillycruiser

Guest
Hello everyone....I'm still kinda new at this cruising stuff, and was wondering what the best way to book a cruise or at least a room asignment...on my past two cruises, and on cruise #3 which I've booked for Dec. I just went into the local travel office...told them what cruise and room type I wanted....and let them do the rest..they never gave me the oppurtunity to pick which room or what deck or anything like that...we always do ocean view if that matters...I wasnt too concerned about it on the first two cruises ( and both times the rooms were on deck 2, but were fine by us )..but since I've been looking at all the people on these sites talking about getting this and that as far as rooms go, I'm wondering if maybe I can do better , or maybe should be smarter when it comes booking time...I called the TA the other day and asked if he could tell me what room # we were getting on this next cruise...and all he could say was it was a guarenteed OV room..since I'm a newbie any help would be much appreciated...hope ya'll have fantastic weekend :)
 
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suer182

Guest
A guarenteed OV means you will end up in that cat or possibly higher. If you are cabin/location snob then look at the ship layout and have a few cabins that you would like to book. If cabin location doesnt matter to you, then IMO booking a guarentee to save a few bucks is the way to go. Me, I am a snob, I call my TA and say this ship, these cabins, this date and they see what cabins are availabe and book one of MY selections.

My TA will always honor the lower price if it goes down prior to final payment.

I personally like having a TA that I can pick up the phone, instead of having an e-mail only association.

Also, IMO paying a few bucks more for customer service is also important to me.
 
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Mbandy

Guest
An OV guarantee probably saved you some money. I would book an OV guarantee if it was a good savings but I prefer to be on the lowest deck, forward on the ship if possible with an ocean view. My take on it is that if I am paying for an ocean view then put me down close to the ocean so I would probably pay a little more to get that preference. With an inside or a balcony I'd book a guarantee every time.
 
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hillbillycruiser

Guest
Thanks guys for the info...i'm sure whatever room I get will be just fine...we didnt have any problems being on the low decks before...just wanted to be sure I was doing things the best way....since I'm still a rookie compared to some of these lucky folks who have quite the impressive cruise history...but #3 is booked and hopefully many more to come :)
 
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Mbandy

Guest
Always a pleasure H.C. I like the lower decks because of less noise, less foot traffic and with an ocean view I love seeing the bow wake splashing outside my window.
 
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6packEd

Guest
Don't believe all of those urban legends that you hear about booking a cabin at $100 and ending up in the Presidential suite.

We were sharing a table in a lounge and the other couple told us they were in a suite because they got fantastic upgrade from a balcony to a suite. He said it only cost him $1000 per person for the cruise. I asked how he did that and he said he only paid a $1000 each for the balcony on a 7 day cruise and got this upgrade. He said the TA called him and told him that he could get a upgrade to a suite for another $700 per person and he took it. According to my math he paid $1700 per person but he thinks he only paid $1000.
 
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geneactor

Guest
we went right thru Carnival it was a great experience and the only way we have ever been upgraded
 
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icemaiden

Guest
I booked direct through Carnival.com. I booked an OV guarantee on the Miracle and got upgraded to a balcony on the 7th floor. The room was fairly close to the back of the ship but also close to the elevator. It was very quiet.

The Miracle doesn't have many OV rooms so I figure that's why I got upgraded. I booked in October and travelled in February.
 
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CSTEEVER

Guest
[quote 6packEd]Don't believe all of those urban legends that you hear about booking a cabin at $100 and ending up in the Presidential suite.

We were sharing a table in a lounge and the other couple told us they were in a suite because they got fantastic upgrade from a balcony to a suite. He said it only cost him $1000 per person for the cruise. I asked how he did that and he said he only paid a $1000 each for the balcony on a 7 day cruise and got this upgrade. He said the TA called him and told him that he could get a upgrade to a suite for another $700 per person and he took it. According to my math he paid $1700 per person but he thinks he only paid $1000.[/quote]

I guess I am an urban legend then because on our second cruise we booked the lowest we could get, inside cabin bottom of the boat guarantee, when we got on the ship we had been upgraded to a category 8F, we had the spa deck with the ocean view room where the entire wall was a window, floor to ceiling, it was awesome and we were awestruck that we got such a great upgrade, and no we did not pay more than the 500 pp we had paid already. On our next cruise we booked an obstructed oceanview on the lido deck, about a month before we were to leave our TA let us know we had been upgraded to a category 11 balcony suite because they needed our room for a group traveling together, again we paid no more than we already had for our ocean view. I know we have been lucky but it does happen, not an urban legend when it has happened to us twice.
 
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NiteStar

Guest
I also have been upgraded to one of the Penthouse suites without paying extra. On my cruise on the Conquest in Oct. 2006, we booked the lowest grade balcony cabin. About a month before sailing, my TA contacted me to inform us that we had been upgraded to a Penthouse suite.
 
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