There’s Only One Guarantee With A Guarantee Cabin

One of the confusing aspects of booking cruise travel is all of the various cabin categories on offer. Each line has different category codes, and telling an E1 from a BB can be challenging when all you know is that you want a balcony cabin. However, the most confusing one of all seems to be the “guarantee” category.

The guarantee cabin category is standard across all cruise lines, and it works like this: Guarantee cabins are offered usually at a lower fare than assigned cabins, with the understanding that the passenger is then allowing the cruise line to assign their cabin wherever they choose, provided it’s still within that meta-category (inside, ocean-view, balcony, etc.). The only real guarantee in booking a guarantee cabin is that you are guaranteed to have a cabin on that sailing within that meta-category. You could get the best cabin on the ship – midship, high deck, convenient to the elevators but not so close that you’re exposed to the noise from the traffic. You could also wind up in the worst cabin in that meta-category – far forward or aft, right above the engine, right below a nightclub. The cruise line can put you wherever they want to put you, and for that, you’re paying a lower fare.

Let me break it down further: Let’s say you want a balcony cabin on Carnival. You’re given quotes for a category 8A, 8B, 8C, etc. Those category breakdowns are for assigned cabins – you get to choose your cabin number from the cabins available at the time of booking. All Carnival balcony categories start with the number 8 (with the exception of the 7′s, but those are either obstructed view with lifeboats in front of them or they’re what’s known as Cove Balconies, and in any case, they don’t really figure in here). The A, B, C and so on refer to location on the ship. The further along in the alphabet you get, the higher the deck or the more mid-ship or more preferential the cabin. 8A are usually the least expensive balcony category available. You choose your cabin number from the ones offered, and you’re all set. You know where you are on the ship, and that cabin cannot be changed unless there are other extreme circumstances in play (you booked a handicap accessible cabin, for instance, and are not handicapped – should a handicapped person want to book, you can be moved to another cabin so that Carnival can accommodate both you and the handicapped guest), and you would be advised of those circumstances by either the cruise line or your diligent travel agent.

However, you were also offered a category BL. That right there is a Balcony Guarantee. It means that you are guaranteed a category 8A or better, but that you may not know your cabin assignment until the day of embarkation. The cruise line will choose your cabin for you from the cabins it has available. Sometimes they assign them right away, but that’s rare. Usually, they make sure that they have exhausted most other options before they start assigning the guarantees. Again, you may be upgraded to an 8B or even an 8M, you may stay with an 8A, you may be in the very furthest forward cabin or in the very aft of the ship. Once you’ve booked a guarantee, the decision is up to the cruise line. You are welcome to state any preferences you may have, but in the end, it’s a crapshoot. You’re getting on the ship for sure, but where your cabin will be located is anyone’s guess. For some passengers, just getting on the ship is the important bit. Other cruisers are much more exacting when it comes to cabin location.

If you have specific demands of where your cabin is located, you should never book a guarantee under any circumstances. If you absolutely have to be midship and nothing else will do, booking a guarantee is a foolish thing, because you have no way of knowing (and neither does your travel agent nor the booking agent with the cruise line) where your cabin will be until it is assigned. Never ever assume that because the voyage is sailing a certain trade that they won’t assign cabins in certain areas of the ship. A sailing is still going to try to fill every single cabin available whether it’s going Transatlantic, Baltic, or over the edge of Iguazu Falls, and that does include the fore and aft cabins. Some people will even book those cabins specifically – believe it or not, there are passengers who will happily choose a forward cabin and those who actively pursue aft cabins as well (especially aft-facing balconies, sometimes called “Sunset Verandahs”).

If you have a medical condition that affects your equilibrium, you should never book a guarantee under any circumstances.

Should your cabin be assigned early enough and you strenuously object to the assignment you’ve been given, you’re certainly welcome to contact your TA or the cruise line and see if there’s a possibility of moving you to a different cabin. You should be warned, however, that if the sailing is selling well or sailing soon, there may be few to no other options available. You pays your money and you gets your cabin. In the end, you got precisely what you paid for and you should have been fully advised what “guarantee” means in this case. If you are AT ALL unclear as to anything your TA or the cruise line booking agent says to you, you’re better off asking for clarification right then and there. Your question is not a stupid one, and asking for more information is actually encouraged. We want you to know exactly what you’re getting and what you should expect. When we’ve advised and advised and explained until our faces are numb, and are then blamed for an unfavourable cabin assignment, it can be very frustrating indeed. Once it’s been booked, though, it is absolutely out of our hands.

Another thing of which you should be aware when booking a guarantee cabin: if you do not like your assignment, there are no cabins available that you DO like within the parameters you’ve specified, and you don’t wish to pay for an upgrade to get the type of cabin you want, the cruise line will not have pity on you. They won’t care to hear “your side of the story” for the most part because if you booked directly with the cruise line or with a travel agent, they will expect that you were advised at the time of booking what “guarantee” means, and that you accepted those terms. Saying something like, “Well, yes, they said that the cruise line would choose my cabin for me and it could be anywhere, but I can’t imagine that they actually expect people to SAIL in cabins at the very front of the ship going across the North Atlantic!” will display not only that you were advised but that you are actively choosing not to pay attention to that advisory, believing instead that you’ll be able to get what you want if you just complain enough.

Should you choose to cancel your sailing rather than take the cabin assigned to you, and you cancel that sailing withing 75 days prior to departure, you should expect that the cruise line will charge you a penalty. Unless you have purchased travel insurance with Cancel For Any Reason coverage, your claim will be denied . “I didn’t like my cabin assignment” does not constitute a valid, legitimate reason for cancellation especially if you booked a guarantee and were advised what that meant.

The lesson here is simple: if you want to be in a specific location, book the corresponding meta-category and choose your cabin. If you aren’t really bothered where the cabin is as long as you’re on board, go ahead and book the guarantee. Know that the only guarantee in a guarantee cabin is that if you book an ocean-view guarantee, you’re guaranteed an ocean-view cabin somewhere on the ship. Likewise for inside guarantees, balcony guarantees, concierge guarantees, and suite guarantees. You will be on the ship, and for some, that’s enough. For anyone who has areas of the ship in which they absolutely will NOT sail, I can’t guarantee that you’ll be happy with a guarantee cabin.