Anyone have experience with "Wait List" bookings?

we were waitlisted for OV on riviera in november but also had actually booked a balcony for that cruise as well. got an email today which offered $ bonus and upgrade to PH suite! took it! 10 day itinerary was even nicer and we got 2 additional days as the waitlisted one was only 8 days. in essence we got the PH for same price as the OV would have been....leaving end of august instead. i think it was a good deal. first time on oceania...but Hubby says do not get used to PH suites! also, we may be hot in august, but i can deal with that.

Pam, that's how we got addicted to the top suites ...

We were booked in a PH on an Alaska cruise on Regatta in the summer of 2011 and we were bribed to move to a Vista on Marina instead. Same price ... Since then it's hard for us to go back ... (I suppose it didn't help that at the time Marina was a new ship and we'd really wanted to try it ...)

But don't tell your DH ...

Mura

ha ha.... i might have to bite the bullet and go back...or ...figure out how to book something that will end up with an enticement to switch!

we were waitlisted for OV on riviera in november but also had actually booked a balcony for that cruise as well. got an email today which offered $ bonus and upgrade to PH suite! took it! 10 day itinerary was even nicer and we got 2 additional days as the waitlisted one was only 8 days. in essence we got the PH for same price as the OV would have been....leaving end of august instead. i think it was a good deal. first time on oceania...but Hubby says do not get used to PH suites! also, we may be hot in august, but i can deal with that.

Was it a move over offer that you got? Sounds great! I'd be happy with just an upgrade or waitlist offer. :D

We had to cancel a cruise this week. Someone will move.....sad day in our house, but happiness for someone else.

Mo

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was a move offer....same ship but earlier and different itinerary...also 2 more days onboard

This is our experience on the waitlist. We are booked on ATW2019. We had booked a concierge's level Veranda. We joined the Regatta for 10 days going to Bermuda in a penthouse. So what do you think happens on that. I went right down to the ambassador and said I'm willing to pay the extra money for the penthouse ATW. She gave me six PH'S that were open for ATW. Within 24 hours of contacting my travel agent all of those cabins were gone. I was placed on number one of the waitlist for a PH anything, category. I also looked every day at the ATW availability. A PH came up, I called my travel agent and she directly called Oceania and within 24 hours I was given that cabin that had a number. [emoji847]. Now I hope I can afford it [emoji848][emoji290][emoji924][emoji106]

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I don't understand? Why didn't you just have the On ship Ambassador book it right then for you? Why wait to call TA? Everything they do onboard goes back through the TA in the end anyway. Were you really just not ready to pull the trigger on the PH?

This is our experience on the waitlist. We are booked on ATW2019. We had booked a concierge's level Veranda........on number one of the waitlist for a PH anything, category. I also looked every day at the ATW availability. A PH came up, I called my travel agent and she directly called Oceania and within 24 hours I was given that cabin that had a number.

That's interesting.......we were told that we are waitlisted #1 for Ph1 and PH2, #2 for PH3. We've never seen anything open up or been contacted by O or our TA. Hmmm, wonder why it seems like we've been passed over??

That's interesting.......we were told that we are waitlisted #1 for Ph1 and PH2, #2 for PH3. We've never seen anything open up or been contacted by O or our TA. Hmmm, wonder why it seems like we've been passed over??

This is where the oomph of the Agent makes such a difference.

Agents who sell the most product get the most product to sell.

Can't agree more with JimandStan. A TA makes all the difference, especially one who deals with Oceania on a regular basis. We booked a cruise in Nov '16 for Feb '18. We wanted a PH. The only cat above the B's not waitlisted was A3. We took it and were waitlisted in all PH cats. #15-18 on the lists. I called O in March '17 and we were up to #14. A few weeks ago, I called our TA and he called O. Magically, there was a PH3 available. TA's can be a big help in getting what you want.

Flexibility is often the key. If one can stay flexible with their schedule and wait until after the cruise PIF date, availability often opens up. Oceania does many of its cruisers a disservice by encouraging people to make placeholder reservations for cruises while aboard. If one is sailing a R ship with limited PH availability (for example) placeholders can easily eat up nearly the entire category for selected cruises. Then one must wait until the place holder cancels to clear waitlist. I find it in extreme poor taste that the onboard sales staff is allowed to sell out entire categories, on future cruises, when they know ( from conversations with the bookers ) they are only selling place holders.

Flexibility is often the key. If one can stay flexible with their schedule and wait until after the cruise PIF date, availability often opens up. Oceania does many of its cruisers a disservice by encouraging people to make placeholder reservations for cruises while aboard. If one is sailing a R ship with limited PH availability (for example) placeholders can easily eat up nearly the entire category for selected cruises. Then one must wait until the place holder cancels to clear waitlist. I find it in extreme poor taste that the onboard sales staff is allowed to sell out entire categories, on future cruises, when they know ( from conversations with the bookers ) they are only selling place holders.

I am not an O expert but other lines often have good availability after PIF. Of course the problem can be the air fare. Does O still offer the Olife with airfare after PIF? We are very flexible up until 1 month out usually. I think the deposits on O are fairly high but I guess those place holder bookings don't mind.

The answer to the Air question is: it Depends! I've seen cruises were O offers air to almost sailing, and at other times I've seen them only offer" cruise only " within a month or so of sailing.

As to the deposits, they are chump change. If a future cruise is booked aboard, one gets far more immediate OBC than the money would earn over the entire period in some financial instruments. Also, it's 100% refundable without even a service charge!

I am booked on Riviera Oct. 25 in an OV cabin. That category is waitlisted as are the two inside categories. Most of the ship is still available.

What are the odds, if any, of being upgraded so the high demand OV can be sold?

There are only 20 OV cabins which carry a much lower price than the next category up, B4 verandah, which is $700 more per person. For a port intensive cruise there isn't much time to use the veranda so that's why I booked the OV cabin. But if O wants to give me a complimentary upgrade to a veranda I would surely take it!

I am booked on Riviera Oct. 25 in an OV cabin. That category is waitlisted as are the two inside categories. Most of the ship is still available.

 

What are the odds, if any, of being upgraded so the high demand OV can be sold?

There are only 20 OV cabins which carry a much lower price than the next category up, B4 verandah, which is $700 more per person. For a port intensive cruise there isn't much time to use the veranda so that's why I booked the OV cabin. But if O wants to give me a complimentary upgrade to a veranda I would surely take it!

Do you have a cabin # or do your have GTY booking?

Maybe they will off you an upsell or a move over offer so they can give someone on the waitlist your cabin

Do you have a cabin # or do your have GTY booking?

 

Maybe they will off you an upsell or a move over offer so they can give someone on the waitlist your cabin

I have a cabin number. I booked and put down the deposit over a year before the cruise, last year Oct. 6 for a sailing this year Oct. 25.

Susiean;

Depends upon what mood Oceania is in. They might just as well offer those waitlist cruisers a bit of a bargain to buy up. More revenue potential that giving you a freebie upgrade. You didn't State whether the PIF date has passed. A lot of things can happen then.

I have a cabin number. I booked and put down the deposit over a year before the cruise, last year Oct. 6 for a sailing this year Oct. 25.

It depends then on how badly they want your cabin if they offer you an upsell or not

If there are any GTY booking for that cat they may just upgrade them & leave you in the booked cabin

The upgrade fairy is a strange beast

Just an update from the OP -- our cruise moved to "sold-out" and we were still on the waitlist, so we just cancelled. Hard to make plans if everything is up in the air. We did keep our World Cruise segment on the Queen Victoria; SFO to Southampton (80 days) at a great price. Since the QM2 and the QV are in Southampton on the same day, we will cruise back to NYC and avoid any overseas flights.

Prefer the food on Oceania, but Cunard is adequate.

Thanks for all the insight,

Kel:D

Just an update from the OP -- our cruise moved to "sold-out" and we were still on the waitlist, so we just cancelled. Hard to make plans if everything is up in the air. We did keep our World Cruise segment on the Queen Victoria; SFO to Southampton (80 days) at a great price. Since the QM2 and the QV are in Southampton on the same day, we will cruise back to NYC and avoid any overseas flights.

Prefer the food on Oceania, but Cunard is adequate.

 

Thanks for all the insight,

Kel:D

I understand the decision to cancel due to uncertainty of the wait list but I sure hope that you don't mind the 'formality" of Cunard.

I do - especially for 80+ days :(

I understand the decision to cancel due to uncertainty of the wait list but I sure hope that you don't mind the 'formality" of Cunard.

I do - especially for 80+ days :(

No problem for us Paul -- I still have a couple to Tuxedos that fit and because we leave out of SFO and return to NYC, we can bring a couple of extra bags. Maybe the last chance to experience the pomp of an "old-school" cruise experience. I agree, the country club casual of Oceania makes packing a bit easier, but it's nice to mix it up.:cool:

Enjoy!

Kel

No problem for us Paul -- I still have a couple to Tuxedos that fit and because we leave out of SFO and return to NYC, we can bring a couple of extra bags. Maybe the last chance to experience the pomp of an "old-school" cruise experience. I agree, the country club casual of Oceania makes packing a bit easier, but it's nice to mix it up.:cool:

 

Enjoy!

Kel

In that case enjoy your cruise :)

I am booked on Riviera Oct. 25 in an OV cabin. That category is waitlisted as are the two inside categories. Most of the ship is still available.

 

What are the odds, if any, of being upgraded so the high demand OV can be sold?

There are only 20 OV cabins which carry a much lower price than the next category up, B4 verandah, which is $700 more per person. For a port intensive cruise there isn't much time to use the veranda so that's why I booked the OV cabin. But if O wants to give me a complimentary upgrade to a veranda I would surely take it!

We came off an 18 day Papeete-LA on Sirena a couple weeks ago. The cruise was selling poorly. Two months outside the cruise date all categories were open except for F and G which were closed. We had a G guarantee. At that point we were offered an OV for $800pp, and did not take. Waited a month and offered a B1 at $300pp and took that. Two weeks later B1's sold out, and we got a complimentary A3. A week later I found an aft A2, and my TA was able to secure that complementary. 500 out of 684 cruisers ended up on the voyage.

Best thing to do, as is said here regularly, is let your TA know what you are willing to accept. If a complimentary upgrade is all that is ok then let him/her know that. I told my TA I wanted to know EVERYTHING that was offered but that she could use my credit card to snag something within a certain price range if she couldn't reach me. Be reachable by cell phone after fp. The best ones can disappear in minutes.

It depends then on how badly they want your cabin if they offer you an upsell or not

 

If there are any GTY booking for that cat they may just upgrade them & leave you in the booked cabin

The upgrade fairy is a strange beast

O must want my cabin and the lowest priced verandas since I and many of my roll call friends who are in OV and verandas all just got upsell offers a week before final payment is due. We all declined. It was too much money for little perceived value.