Exactly what is a guarantee cabin ??

People often get confused over the meaning of a guarantee cabin and more and more cruise companies have started offereing these as special offers
so I thought I would take a moment to clarify exactly what that cabin category means.

No matter what cruise line you decide on, if you book a guarantee stateroom it means the same thing to each. You are guaranteed to have that type of cabin or better at no extra cost to you. For example, you book an ocean view guarantee, you are guaranteed an ocean view or better this could mean a better location on the ship, not necessarily a higher cabin type, like a balcony.

It is similar to reserving a hotel room as you will not have a specific cabin assignment upon booking. The cruise-line will assign your stateroom based on random assignment. Unfortunately we don’t have any control over what cabin you are assigned.

Typically the cruise line will assign the cabin this allows them to fill the ship and put passengers where they have the most availability. The bottom line is really only book this lower rate if you don’t have a preference for where your cabin is located.
There are pros and cons for choosing to book a guaranteed stateroom–

Pros: The cost of a guarantee is almost always less than if you choose a cabin assignment. If cost is very important to you than this may be the way to go. The chance for a free upgrade is also a nice bonus.

Cons: Your cabin can be assigned anywhere on the ship, we nor the cruise line can promise or request that you are mid-ship, or that you will be next door or even on the same deck as friends and family. If you know that you only want or need to be mid-ship or if you need cabins that are side by side, than this is not an option for you.