Pros and Cons of Guarantee Staterooms

Sometimes you’ll see a very good price for a stateroom and shortly thereafter discover it’s a guarantee room.

Oceanview stateroom aboard Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas

What Does Guarantee Mean?
If you were to book a guarantee room, you are assured to have a room in that category, whether it’s an inside, oceanview, balcony or suite. On most ships, guarantees are double occupancy max.

Pros of Guarantee Stateroom
Usually lower price (sometimes hundreds per person savings, or more, depending on the cruise), increased likelihood of upgrades due to flexible reservations because almost all ships fill the categories from the top down so IF there’s an empty cabin, it’s the lowest category.

Cons of Booking a Guarantee Stateroom
You can’t pick your deck or location. If you have particular needs or preferences such as mobility issues and wanting to be near an elevator, it would be wise to book an assigned specific room number if you have particular needs or prefs such as mobility issues and wanting to be near an elevator.

Also, when traveling with others, if booking guarantees,there’s no way to promise you’ll end up in cabins near each other so if proximity to friends is important, assigned cabin reservations is the best choice.