Booking a Guarantee Cabin: The Pros and Cons You Need To Consider

When you make the exciting decision to finally go ahead and book your cruise, one of the choices you’re likely to make is whether to book a guarantee cabin or not. In this post I’ll run through some of the key benefits of booking a guarantee cabin and some important things you need to know before you do, to avoid disappointment or run the risk of your cabin choice spoiling the enjoyment of your cruise.

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What is a guarantee cabin on a cruise ship?

When you book your accommodation on board a cruise, you might see a cheaper option offered for the cabin grade you are searching. This might be known as a ‘saver’ fare on some cruise lines or a ‘guarantee’ cabin or a ‘we pick’ or ‘let us choose’ cabin on others.

To put it simply, you choose the cabin grade you would like to book and then the cruise line chooses the location, deck and cabin number. Sometimes you might not know the location details and cabin number, or even bed configuration until a few days before you embark on your cruise. The cruise line just guarantees you that category of cabin (or above) on the cruise.

Why do Cruise lines sell guarantee cabins?

Cruise lines use guarantee cabins as a way to keep ships full and manage availability right up until sailing. By offering a slightly lower fare without letting you choose a specific cabin, the cruise line has the flexibility to deal with late cancellations, fill less popular cabins, or upgrade guests.

When you are booking a cruise, this usually means a cabin for a cheaper price and the chance of an upgrade, however the potential downsides and risk you take is that your cabin location may not be ideal and you might not know where your cabin is located until you check in at the terminal.

So let me run through some of the important things you need to consider before choosing a guarantee cabin for you cruise.

Pros of Choosing a Guarantee Cabin

Cost Savings

The key benefit for booking a guarantee cabin is the price. Guarantee cabins are almost always cheaper compared to standard bookings. It can be a cost effective way of getting on board – especially if you are travelling at leak times or on popular itineraries. But it’s also important to factor in the value of the perks you might be missing out on and how much these equate to when booking a guarantee fare (see below).

Potential for Upgrades

While some guarantee fares state that you will be at the back of the queue for upgrades, a lot of cruise lines specify that they will assign you a cabin of at least you cabin grade – or higher. In some cases, it can mean an upgrade from an inside cabin to a sea view or a sea view cabin to a balcony.

Despite all the great things about booking a guarantee cabin, there are some downsides:

Cons of Choosing a Guarantee Cabin

Lack of Control

When you book a guarantee cabin you are giving the cruise line full control over the location, deck, and bed configuration of your cabin. If any of these aspects are important to you then it might be best to book a standard fare where you get to choose.

Loss of other perks

Some cruise lines’ guarantee fares don’t included perks which are included in the standard fare. For example, P&O Cruises guarantee fares don’t include priority dining, complimentary coach travel or port parking, complimentary shuttle busses in port, additional on-board credit, or the flexibility to change your booking.
You could be in one of the worst locations on ship.

Least Desirable Cabins and Locations

Guarantee cabins are usually the cabins which remain unsold. These cabins are likely to be in the least desirable locations and decks in that particular grade. So there is the potential for being assigned a cabin in a noisy location above the theatre or next to the laundrette, or next to a busy crew area, or with an obstructed view. It’s the risk you take choosing a guarantee cabin.

The Anxiety of Uncertainty

Not knowing your cabin until the last minute, can be quite unsettling for some. If this is likely to affect you then it’s probably best to book a standard fare where you can look forward to your cruise without the ambiguity of where you’ll be staying on board.

Why you should book a Guarantee Cabin

You’re on a budget

Guarantee cabins are an excellent way to save money on your cruise fare and therefore are a brilliant option for the budget conscious cruiser. More money saved = more money left for more cruises!

You don’t plan to spend much time in your cabin

If you plan to spend a lot of time exploring the ship and ashore when in port, and as a result will only use your cabin as a place to store your belongings, a place to get dressed and wash and sleep, then a guarantee cabin is a perfect choice, leaving you with more money to spend on other experiences on board, or for your next cruise.

You can go with the flow

You do take a risk when booking a guarantee cabin – you could be in the worst location on ship. However if this is unlikely to spoil your holiday and you can go with the flow, then your flexibility will be rewarded with a cheaper cabin. Basically, the savings outweigh the risks.

You’re comfortable with uncertainty

When booking a guarantee you could be assigned you cabin any time between full payment and the day you sail. If you’re laid back with this uncertainty, then you can reap the advantages of a cheaper cruise cabin faire by booking a guarantee cabin.

You’ve sailed on the ship before

If you’re familiar with the cruise ship, you’ll have a much better idea of how ‘bad’ the worst cabin location for your grade might be, and in the worst-case scenario, you’ve got some back up plans and ways to work around it.

It’s a short cruise

If you do get allocated the worst cabin in that grade, (and there’s no chance of moving cabin or paying to upgrade on board) then a short cruise will mean that you wont have to put up with that cabin for long.
You don’t’ suffer from motion sickness

Midship cabins are the most stable on board, therefore if someone suffers from motions sickness, I always recommend then select a cabin in this area of the ship. If you choose a guarantee cabin, you’re more likely to be assigned a cabin in the forward or aft areas of the ship which may be prone to more movement on rough seas.

Tips for Booking a Guarantee Cabin

Still want to book a guarantee cabin? then here are my tips:

Research how the cruise line handles guarantee fares.

For example, if you book a guaranteed cabin early, if there a better chance of an upgrade? Sometimes if a cruise is overbooked, passengers in guarantee cabin can get ‘bumped’ just like when a flight is overbooked this happened on on one occasion on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. So make sure you are aware of the cruise lines policies on guarantee cabins.

Study the deck plan.

I know this might sounds counter-intuitive if you’re trying to save time and effort booking a guarantee cabin, but hear me out:

On P&O Cruises Iona’s Maiden voyage – we could only book guarantee cabins. I knew I wanted a balcony and I knew I wanted an aft location, so I chose a cabin grade where there were just a limited amount of cabins in that grade (ED grade – 8 cabins in total).

There were no other ED cabins anywhere on the ship, so I knew I would get one of these 8 cabins (or a better grade). And I would be happy in any of these 8 cabins.

A week before sailing we has our cabin number assigned and I managed to get the best cabin in that grade, with the deepest balcony on a quiet deck. So, it pays to study the deck plan and work with a trusted travel agent to book the specific grade you’re after.

Have a look at my cabin guides for more information on what cabins to avoid. 

It’s all in the timing

You might find quieter, less ‘in demand’ sailings (those off peak or in shoulder season, such as repositioning cruises) might afford you better changes of upgrades on guarantee fares.

Work out the costs of any perks you might be missing out on

As I mentioned above, P&O cruises guarantee fares (saver and early saver fares) don’t include certain perks. So it might be worth weighing up how much the perks you are missing out on add up to versus the amount you’ll be saving with a guarantee fare.

For example, while a guarantee fare might save you a certain amount, when you combine the cost of port parking, extra on board spend the cost of paying for the return shuttles in port you’ll be missing out on you might only be saving a few pounds.

Yet you’ll still run the risk of being put in one of the least desirable locations on ship. So it pays to ‘do the maths’ and compare fares like for like.

Work out if you might need to make changes to your booking

You might not be able to to you can’t amend your booking on a guarantee fare without penalties. So if there is a chance you might end up wanting to change dates of your cruise or add an extra passenger to your cabin,then the penalties involved can be prohibitive and the costs might be double the amount you saved on your guarantee fare.

This happened to me when booking a guarantee cabin on Cunard Queen Anne – I booked a double inside (there are no solo cabins on Queen Anne) just for myself and then wanted to add another passenger on after i had booked. This change would end up costing me an additional £400 to make this change – despite already paying the equivalent for 2 people in the cabin. So my advice is check the terms and conditions before you book a guarantee fare.

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

When you book a guarantee cabin you should set your expectations accordingly. I’ve seen stories of regular cruisers get caught out because they booked a guarantee cabin but then forgot to do their research and check the deck plan where they could be allocated, only to get on board and find their cabin was in a location they hated.

There are also stories of getting fabulous upgrades on a guarantee cabin, but these are less frequent – so it’s ok to hope for the best (and I sincerely hope the upgrade fairy smiles upon you) but prepared for the worst.

Guarantee cabins – stay away or go for it?

My recommendation is to do your research before deciding whether to book a guarantee fare. While they seem to be a great deal with many perks and cost savings, there can be hidden costs any some downsides which might affect the overall enjoyment of your cruise and night only come to light when it’s too late. Watch one of the videos of the guarantee cabins I booked and was upgraded to.

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