suite selection
 

wife wants to go on a cruise. we are not cruisers. we have only been on one, a Nile cruise.

there is a cruise from Balt to canada,( 8 days) and return. there are two suite prices, 5K(cruise line assign), and 6K(we choose which suite). now at the moment only 3 suites are shown available. they are all pretty much next to each other, and indifferentiable to us. is there any advantage for us to spring for the extra 1000 to choose one of the 3, or should we let them assign. is there a possibility they find a suite in the bilge, and assign that suite to us? should i contact a booking agent and have them book the room?

What ship? What cruiseline?

With a guarantee, you can get any cabin in that category or higher, not just ones that are currently unassigned (someone could cancel, change cabins, etc). General advice is to look at every cabin in that category or any higher category, if there are any cabins you wouldn't be happy with, then do not book a guarantee. Now with suites, you usually don't have many bad choices, but it really does depend on the ship. No you won't end up next to the bilge pump, but sometimes you'll find ones above or below nightclubs or kids areas, or with long walks, or some people don't want to be next to the elevators, etc, etc.

Just off a Seabourn ship in which there are many upper-end suites that are on the same deck as a very noisy and smelly smoking lounge. The lounge doors are kept open at night, and I pity the poor nonsmokers who suffered both the noise and carcinogen exposure.

Just be careful what you don't wish for. An unassigned cabin could spell an unhappy cruise.

this cruise is 9 glorious days from baltimore to canada and return on a 20 year old royal carribbean ship. only decks 7 & 8 have suites. i guess we do the crap shoot, and bring our credit cards for all the extra charges. boat is the grandeur of something or other.

Unless you want a specific suite, I say save the grand and let the line decide where to put you.

One of the factors lines use to price rooms is all real estate (location! location! location!). If all the unassigned suites (if I understood you correctly) are located very close together, then definitely save the grand. It's when you could be a distance from the areas of the ship you want convenient access to then room location can become an issue.

Which cabins
 

Which ship and which cabins? Thanks. Jon

Since I wrote my post, Seabourn has become nonsmoking. :).

Before I book a cabin, I always inspect deckplans in an attempt to avoid noise from above, below, and besides my cabin. You can't choose who is in a neighboring cabin, but you can avoid busy/noisy areas. For this reason, I would rather pay more than get a poorly located suite that is assigned to me by a cruise line because others choose to avoid the location.

Kind of...... Smoking is permitted in designated outdoor areas.

i was amazed and pleased by the product offered. the food is quite decent, the staff is great , boat very clean. however, add on charges are big. wine is expensive. toilet paper by the sheet, almost. so few kids, one could say no kids. very quiet boat. no smoking. all this, and this is not an expensive ride.

Good point. I meant to say that all cabins and balconies are now