When we booked our cruise with Viking, we were not able to get a cabin assigned but Viking ‘guaranteed’ that we would get a cabin on that cruise. We got our cabin number about a week before the cruise. Once aboard, we found that many people we talked to were offered a variety of sweet deals to give up their cabin for that cruise. The best offer we heard was for a full refund and a free upgrade to a suite for the rebooked cruise. The best deals seem to be a day or two before embarkation.