Travel Advisors Stick with Guarantee Cabins Despite Risk of Bumping

Last year saw more cruise-related headlines regarding bumped passengers than we can ever remember seeing before. Why? As the cruise industry roared back to life last year, some cruise lines were quick to overbook and when not enough bookings got cancelled, they had no choice but to bump some passengers. The most startling instance of this happened in Australia when several cruise passengers were left at the dock when they were bumped from their sailing on the day of departure.

For the most part, these bumped passengers are those that booked so-called guarantee cabins. This cabin “category” is less expensive and simply guarantees a guest a spot on a cruise ship. The actual cabin, when assigned, should not be lower than the guarantee category they booked, but can be higher.

Travel Market Report was curious to know if such bumpings were concerning to travel advisors, and whether advisors will continue to book guarantee cabins.

“I have not had a client bumped but obviously it can happen,” said Jesse Morris, owner of We Book Travel, LLC. He added “I sell almost no guarantee cabins as they are so rarely a good fit for my clients.”

Trapper Martin, owner of a Dream Vacations franchise, on the other hand, books guarantee cabins “all of the time” because of their entry-level pricing. He too though, has “never had this happen or seen it happen.”

What he has seen, he said, are offers from cruise lines – he cited Viking and Celebrity – designed to avoid bumpings.

“They make some pretty rich offers well ahead of the sailing in order to entice people into picking another sailing or provide them with financial incentives up to including more than 100% refund and another cruise.”

Not put off by news headlines
Despite headlines of cruisers getting bumped so close to sailing, advisors we spoke with said, it won’t stop them from booking guarantees – at least most of the time.

In the case of close-in bookings with little or no assignable cabins showing up in the season, at least one advisor – Joy Teet, MCC, CTA, VTA, another Dream Vacations franchise owner – said she’ll think twice.

Some advisors indicated they plan to be clearer with clients about the risks associated with guarantees.

Teet is one such advisor.

“I will use this example as a warning to guests who want guarantees,” she said, admitting the headlines make her a “little” nervous. She books the most number of guarantee cabins with the contemporary cruise lines – which also happen to the lines cited in these news articles as doing the bumping.  

It’s something Morris said he’s already doing.

“I want to make sure the client is fully educated,” he told TMR. “If they are fine with having a cabin anywhere on the ship, including the least desirable locations, and are okay with the possibility of getting bumped in exchange for a lower rate and the possibility of an upgrade, then a guarantee cabin is a viable option.”

Most of the time, he said, clients who come in asking about guarantee rates have “no idea what the end result could turn out to be.”

“This is where a good travel agent can show value,” Morris said.

For clients who insist on booking a guarantee despite the risks, Morris said he documents all his warnings in warning, “with confirmation from the client that they understand what they are purchasing.”

Guarantee benefits
When asked why they sell guarantee cabins, most advisors cited the lower pricing, but that’s not the only reason.

Another reason is the hope of getting a better cabin location for a lower price. At least that used to be one of the benefits of guarantee cabins.

“Traditionally, cruise lines positioned guarantee cabins as a guarantee of an assigned stateroom in the category booked with a chance of a complimentary upgrade if the category sells out.  Before the cruise lines started sending out bids for upgrades, it worked true to that scenario,” said Julie Schear, a Cruise Planners franchise owner.

The new upgrade bidding systems have essentially eliminated the chance of being assigned a cabin in a category above the one booked.

This, more than anything, has changed the dialogue Schear has with her clients who want to save money by booking a guarantee.