Pick room vs GTY

Sleepyluke

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 17, 2008
I know I have seen discussions before but can’t really find my answer.

if I book GTY can we then change and pay difference to pick a room? Or can you book a room then go down to a GTY room?
Anyone booked one and wish they had paid more?

Anybody really disappointed with inside GTY and a single bathroom? We have always had the split bathrooms but some of last years inside GTY rates are considerably less money. Thanks.
 
GTY (indicated only as Guaranteed) is not a discounted rate. It is released for a specific category once there are only a few rooms left in it. Therefore, you cannot pay more to get a specific room in the exact same category. You can always modify a reservation to and from a GTY booking since it is a regular booking without restrictions.

A *gt rate (IGT, OGT or VGT, marked as Guaranteed with restrictions) involves a discount. You only pick a type of room, not a specific category. You usually cannot modify it to another room, but they may let you do it. The money paid when you booked would be flagged as ‘non-refundable’
 
I know I have seen discussions before but can’t really find my answer.

if I book GTY can we then change and pay difference to pick a room? Or can you book a room then go down to a GTY room?
Anyone booked one and wish they had paid more?

Anybody really disappointed with inside GTY and a single bathroom? We have always had the split bathrooms but some of last years inside GTY rates are considerably less money. Thanks.
First a little clarification.

GTY is when a specific category of rooms has a certain percentage of rooms already booked happens. You book a category GTY (4A GTY, or 9C GTY, for example). The price for this type of guarantee room is the same as if you actually select a room in that category.

*GT is the last minute reduced fare rooms. You book a TYPE of room (inside, oceanview, verandah). These rooms are generally lower than the prevailing cost of a specific room in those categories. These reservations are also non-refundable, but can be upgraded (with extra cost) to a specific room.

If you've booked a specific room and wish to convert it to a *GT rate, you'd have to cancel the current reservation (with any penalties) and rebook the *GT rate as those are "new bookings only" rates.
 
I was GTY and was able to change my room before I boarded at port. I didn't want a walk in shower and wanted a tub, so I asked and they said I could. I didn't have to pay a difference since it was the same room type.
 


I know I have seen discussions before but can’t really find my answer.

if I book GTY can we then change and pay difference to pick a room? Or can you book a room then go down to a GTY room?
Anyone booked one and wish they had paid more?

Anybody really disappointed with inside GTY and a single bathroom? We have always had the split bathrooms but some of last years inside GTY rates are considerably less money. Thanks.

We booked a GTY rate on our last cruise - October of 2019. We then decided that we would rather pay more and splurge on our favorite 4E cabin. When I called to upgrade, the cruise line CM said I could not upgrade until my cabin was assigned. Not sure if that is truly a rule or not. Our cabin was assigned very shortly after calling, so I called back and upgraded.
 
Sorry. To clarify I was referring to the GTY. When looking back at a couple to gauge a guess for the 2022 releases there are a few that were considerably cheaper than booking an outright room. Just curious if we booked that and then decided not to gamble if we could swap back paying the difference. In that case it was about $1500 cheaper.
 
Sorry. To clarify I was referring to the GTY. When looking back at a couple to gauge a guess for the 2022 releases there are a few that were considerably cheaper than booking an outright room. Just curious if we booked that and then decided not to gamble if we could swap back paying the difference. In that case it was about $1500 cheaper.
Typically a "GTY" is not cheaper than actually booking a room within a specific category.

A last-minute reduced fares "*GT" is typically less cost than booking a specific room, but are usually not offered until after the paid in full date of any given cruise.
 


Added clarification. I went back and looked at the specific cruise. Summary page shows GTY but when you select it you get that it is an IGT rate and all restrictions apply. Knew it was too good to be true😀
 
I booked a GTY last night for next November. By the time I logged back into the app about 10 minutes later, it already assigned me a room. I thought it was kind of funny.
 
A last-minute reduced fares "*GT" is typically less cost than booking a specific room, but are usually not offered until after the paid in full date of any given cruise.

It must have been a fluke what happened two years ago..On the dream 4 night first week of september they came out with discounted GT rates WELL before the PIF dates.. for some odd reason I was checking out cruises and was like what the heck.. emailed my Dreams agent who was shocked too and was not expecting that. She cancelled my original (OV) to a VGT and we SAVED 800 dollars.. Granted room was assigned, but we went from OV to verandah and saved.. I posted in our cruise book on FB and 4 families did the same.. I got about 4 drinks on board paid for me lol!

That cruise was no full at all so inventory management must have said do anything to fill cabins. I remember a kids club CM on Castaway key told me normally they have 1200 kids on board and only had like 500. ( not sure on the numbers but it was drastic like that. )
 
A last-minute reduced fares "*GT" is typically less cost than booking a specific room, but are usually not offered until after the paid in full date of any given cruise.
While this is the general rule, there were a lot of *GT rates offered this spring that were for late-summer cruises, way before the PIF dates. This was pre-COVID. I believe they were having trouble filling ships so they discounted some less-than-full cruises. I was quite surprised.
 
It must have been a fluke what happened two years ago..On the dream 4 night first week of september they came out with discounted GT rates WELL before the PIF dates.. for some odd reason I was checking out cruises and was like what the heck.. emailed my Dreams agent who was shocked too and was not expecting that. She cancelled my original (OV) to a VGT and we SAVED 800 dollars.. Granted room was assigned, but we went from OV to verandah and saved.. I posted in our cruise book on FB and 4 families did the same.. I got about 4 drinks on board paid for me lol!

That cruise was no full at all so inventory management must have said do anything to fill cabins. I remember a kids club CM on Castaway key told me normally they have 1200 kids on board and only had like 500. ( not sure on the numbers but it was drastic like that. )

It also happened with the sailing out of Quebec. GT rates were offered well before final payment. I assume since it was a one-way cruise it was not selling as well as they wanted so they offered the discounted rates. It was a great cruise!! There were some logistics to figure out as Quebec was about 8 hours from our home so we rented a car and drove to Quebec and dropped it off and then cruised home back to NY. Much less expensive than flying for our gang.

MJ
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!








Top