The Guarantee / GTY stateroom anticipation/discussion thread!

[Silverfox97]

Originally Posted by MiaSRN62

Question : We just recently changed our 6B GTY to a 5E GTY. I understand I can be upgraded....but what if I don't want to be upgraded ? I sort of would prefer to get one of the 5E cabins. Can I put in a request to DCL to not be upgraded ? I suppose an upgrade is any other verandah just a higher category ? Like a 5D or 4D i.e. ?

I don't have any experience when in GTY, however, I don't see why you can't have your TA put a "Do not upgrade" request on your reservation.

While not in GTY status, we always have a "Do not change room/upgrade" request on our reservation. I love my 5E room & unless I'm put in concierge (never will happen), I don't consider a Cat 5A-D or cat 4 an upgrade; we love our 5Es!!!

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[MiaSRN62]

Originally Posted by Silverfox97

I don't have any experience when in GTY, however, I don't see why you can't have your TA put a "Do not upgrade" request on your reservation.

While not in GTY status, we always have a "Do not change room/upgrade" request on our reservation. I love my 5E room & unless I'm put in concierge (never will happen), I don't consider a Cat 5A-D or cat 4 an upgrade; we love our 5Es!!!

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Thank you EXACTLY what I was thinking.....I specifically paid the extra $150 in hopes of actually getting a 5E. I'll take your suggestion. The only thing I could see with a cat 4 upgrade is the sq footage ? DCL site lists 5E's as 246 sq ft, while cat 4's were 299 sq ft ? More inside cabin space perhaps ?

[Silverfox97]

Originally Posted by MiaSRN62

Thank you EXACTLY what I was thinking.....I specifically paid the extra $150 in hopes of actually getting a 5E. I'll take your suggestion. The only thing I could see with a cat 4 upgrade is the sq footage ? DCL site lists 5E's as 246 sq ft, while cat 4's were 299 sq ft ? More inside cabin space perhaps ?

Yes, cat 4A-D are larger cabins (cat 4E is not; rooms are the same size as cat 5s). We personally like not only the big verandahs of the 5E, but the view. We had a 5A (FL res discount room), and we didn't like the view (looking down onto the 4E verandahs). I wouldn't be crazy about looking onto a life boat (like cat 4D rooms) either. It's totally a personal preference. Some people wouldn't consider a higher category an upgrade......

It all depends on what you are after - bigger cabin or bigger verandah!

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[DisneyGirlTinkerbell]

We have a VGT for the Fantasy sailing in 19 days. Still no cabin assignment. My TA said they try to sell the best cabins up until the last minute. The longer it takes to assign, the better the cabin. If we don't find out until we arrive at the terminal, chances are we got a pretty good cabin. I've also heard if you are a Castaway Club member and never received any sort of upgrade before, this will better your chances of getting a really good cabin. We are Gold Castaway Club members and have never received ANY sort of upgrade or magical experience, although I personally know others with less sailing who have received upgrades so I don't know that I buy into that one. Should I place any stock in what my TA said or about the Castaway Club theory? Also, on my sailing thread, some have mentioned Aug 13th and the "magical date" many assignments will take place. Also, our sailing appears to be undersold as they were still offering VGT as of a few days ago according to those on my thread.

I would love to hear thoughts and experiences from those on this page.

[KTills]

Originally Posted by DisneyGirlTinkerbell

We have a VGT for the Fantasy sailing in 19 days. Still no cabin assignment. My TA said they try to sell the best cabins up until the last minute. The longer it takes to assign, the better the cabin. If we don't find out until we arrive at the terminal, chances are we got a pretty good cabin. I've also heard if you are a Castaway Club member and never received any sort of upgrade before, this will better your chances of getting a really good cabin. We are Gold Castaway Club members and have never received ANY sort of upgrade or magical experience, although I personally know others with less sailing who have received upgrades so I don't know that I buy into that one. Should I place any stock in what my TA said or about the Castaway Club theory? Also, on my sailing thread, some have mentioned Aug 13th and the "magical date" many assignments will take place. Also, our sailing appears to be undersold as they were still offering VGT as of a few days ago according to those on my thread.

I would love to hear thoughts and experiences from those on this page.

I can't really speak to what your TA said, but we have a VGT for August 15th and still no assignment. We're expecting it tomorrow, as I hear "Mondays" are the magical assignment days. The wait is no fun! But that's all part of the deal.

[Snick]

I counted all the empty cabins last night and there were still 45 empty. 2 concierge and lots on deck 7 and 8.

Good luck for tomorrow!!

Snick

[MiaSRN62]

I agree Silverfox....would not consider looking down on the life boats an upgrade. We love the AFT view. Many people do not like being AFT---we've been AFT only once before and loved it. I put the request in for a no upgrade to my TA via email last night.

As far as the theory goes---I am holding out ! I do check daily to see if I've gotten a room. I checked a site last night ---cruisefish.net---and our cruise appears to be 66% full. Hopefully I'm allowed to post that site...guess I'll find out if the filters kick in after I post this.

We become gold club members with this taking of this cruise and never been upgraded. For me though...getting the 5E which I booked would be my "upgrade"

[luv2sleep]

Originally Posted by MiaSRN62

I agree Silverfox....would not consider looking down on the life boats an upgrade. We love the AFT view. Many people do not like being AFT---we've been AFT only once before and loved it. I put the request in for a no upgrade to my TA via email last night.

As far as the theory goes---I am holding out ! I do check daily to see if I've gotten a room. I checked a site last night ---cruisefish.net---and our cruise appears to be 66% full. Hopefully I'm allowed to post that site...guess I'll find out if the filters kick in after I post this.

We become gold club members with this taking of this cruise and never been upgraded. For me though...getting the 5E which I booked would be my "upgrade"

I've always found that site confusing. Supposedly the 66% refers to the percentage of available cabin categories available for booking. I don't get the concept. I like that site though. It's great to see the price changes over time.

I've heard of repeat cruisers never getting an upgrade so I'm not sure how accurate that theory is. Sorry.

[MiaSRN62]

Originally Posted by luv2sleep

I've always found that site confusing. Supposedly the 66% refers to the percentage of available cabin categories available for booking. I don't get the concept. I like that site though. It's great to see the price changes over time.

I've heard of repeat cruisers never getting an upgrade so I'm not sure how accurate that theory is. Sorry.

Oh ....then I'm confused too ! I thought the 66% represented what was full already. If it's the other way....we'll have quite an empty ship ?!! Maybe some of those stories you are hearing about no upgrades are on ships that are full or near capacity ? I'm sure DCL ALWAYS keeps an handful of cabins open for emergencies. Last Oct, we cruised with three other couples (all have teens and older kids at home). We all had side-by-side cat 9's on deck 2 (porthole). One couple had water leakage from next room over into their cabin. They got prompt cleanup from crew....but cruised with damp carpet ALL WEEK and never got an upgrade or anything. I was sort of shocked over that. Didn't think it was right.

[luv2sleep]

Originally Posted by MiaSRN62

Oh ....then I'm confused too ! I thought the 66% represented what was full already. If it's the other way....we'll have quite an empty ship ?!! Maybe some of those stories you are hearing about no upgrades are on ships that are full or near capacity ? I'm sure DCL ALWAYS keeps an handful of cabins open for emergencies. Last Oct, we cruised with three other couples (all have teens and older kids at home). We all had side-by-side cat 9's on deck 2 (porthole). One couple had water leakage from next room over into their cabin. They got prompt cleanup from crew....but cruised with damp carpet ALL WEEK and never got an upgrade or anything. I was sort of shocked over that. Didn't think it was right.

Oops! I think I wrote it wrong. The percentage refers to the percentage of cabins available for booking of the cabin categories available. It's confusing but what I take it to mean is that if there are 2 cabin categories left for booking, 66% of those cabins are still available. If there were 100 cabins left in the categories, 66 would be empty. Gah! That's what it's supposed to mean but for some reason I don't find it useful.

[MiaSRN62]

Originally Posted by luv2sleep

Oops! I think I wrote it wrong. The percentage refers to the percentage of cabins available for booking of the cabin categories available. It's confusing but what I take it to mean is that if there are 2 cabin categories left for booking, 66% of those cabins are still available. If there were 100 cabins left in the categories, 66 would be empty. Gah! That's what it's supposed to mean but for some reason I don't find it useful.

Got ya ! Thanks for explaining ! While it's nice to get upgrades....and half empty ship changes the atmosphere of the cruise I think.

[Silverfox97]

Originally Posted by luv2sleep

I've heard of repeat cruisers never getting an upgrade so I'm not sure how accurate that theory is. Sorry.

Not true. Our 3rd DCL cruise was the 2nd (and LAST) time we booked GTY & were "upgraded." (We were on our very 1st cruise also).

Story:
We were on a double dip 8/2010 & made an on board booking for 10/2011. Two days after we got home, we knew we couldn't wait until then to cruise, and there was an amazing deal on the Jan 3-8, 2011 double dip in the Magic (originally a 10-night holiday cruise that they split into 2 cruises due to poor sales). We booked a cat 11C GTY for $1500 (pretty good for a 5-night double dip. We knew the chances were high we'd get upgraded.

We got assigned a Cat 9B (or C, can't remember), ocean view #2648. Cute room on deck 2. We HATED it & would've much rather had an inside room on a higher deck. It was noisy (under the galley of a restaurant) & there was a loading ramp that they used that was noisy. We also didn't like deck 2 (totally personal preference). We decided after that, not to gamble with GTY & just to choose our cabin & ask not to be upgraded. Not everyone considers their upgrades "upgrades."

Long story short, any one can be upgraded at anytime at the whim of DCL, no matter if it's your first or tenth cruise!

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[luv2sleep]

Originally Posted by Silverfox97

Not true. Our 3rd DCL cruise was the 2nd (and LAST) time we booked GTY & were "upgraded." (We were on our very 1st cruise also).

Story:
We were on a double dip 8/2010 & made an on board booking for 10/2011. Two days after we got home, we knew we couldn't wait until then to cruise, and there was an amazing deal on the Jan 3-8, 2011 double dip in the Magic (originally a 10-night holiday cruise that they split into 2 cruises due to poor sales). We booked a cat 11C GTY for $1500 (pretty good for a 5-night double dip. We knew the chances were high we'd get upgraded.

We got assigned a Cat 9B (or C, can't remember), ocean view #2648. Cute room on deck 2. We HATED it & would've much rather had an inside room on a higher deck. It was noisy (under the galley of a restaurant) & there was a loading ramp that they used that was noisy. We also didn't like deck 2 (totally personal preference). We decided after that, not to gamble with GTY & just to choose our cabin & ask not to be upgraded. Not everyone considers their upgrades "upgrades."

Long story short, any one can be upgraded at anytime at the whim of DCL, no matter if it's your first or tenth cruise!

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Maybe I was misunderstood. I meant I've heard of platinum members who have never been upgraded. So being a repeat cruiser is not a guarantee. .

[MiaSRN62]

Originally Posted by Silverfox97

We got assigned a Cat 9B (or C, can't remember), ocean view #2648. Cute room on deck 2. We HATED it & would've much rather had an inside room on a higher deck. It was noisy (under the galley of a restaurant) & there was a loading ramp that they used that was noisy. We also didn't like deck 2 (totally personal preference). We decided after that, not to gamble with GTY & just to choose our cabin & ask not to be upgraded. Not everyone considers their upgrades "upgrades."


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Sounds like the cabin we had last Fall on the Magic !!! Our friends loved it and booked almost the same room this cruise. My hubby and I decided to go with a verandah room. So while it would have been nice to be next door to them again....we were not crazy about the location. But perhaps on the Fantasy, deck 2 is a totally different experience. I can't wait to see.

[candielips]

I have a quick question. How does one find these GTY bookings? Are you online checking everyday???
We went on a GTY for a verandah room this past February and loved our room, cat 4B!!! But it was my friend who found the deal, not us. And now we are hooked on Disney cruises.
So any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated?