roothy123 Posted November 29, 2012 #1 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I'm interested in a cruise in 2013, but it is already sold out except for an owner's suite, which I can't afford. I know there are waiting lists for most of the cabin categories, but do these cabins ever open up? I am interested in Iberian Interludes on Nautica in June, and, unfortunately, only interested in C or lower-priced cabins, which makes things a little difficult, especially on the smaller ships. Do travel agencies ever pre-buy cabins? Should I go on one of those cruise competition sites or online cruise sellers to see if they have any cabins available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted November 29, 2012 #2 Share Posted November 29, 2012 All you can do is ask if you can go on the waitlist It is still early days & people cancel close to final payment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKS Posted November 29, 2012 #3 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Until O posts "sold out" you still have hope. Even then things do happen in people's lives, making a cruise impossible. Definitely get on the wait list and hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana541 Posted November 29, 2012 #4 Share Posted November 29, 2012 Get on the Wait List... Cabins should open a bit after final pmt and TA release cabins held.... If they want a deposit, give it to them.... Worse that can happen is that they will refund that deposit later on! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted November 29, 2012 #5 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I'm interested in a cruise in 2013, but it is already sold out except for an owner's suite, which I can't afford. I know there are waiting lists for most of the cabin categories, but do these cabins ever open up? I am interested in Iberian Interludes on Nautica in June, and, unfortunately, only interested in C or lower-priced cabins, which makes things a little difficult, especially on the smaller ships. Do travel agencies ever pre-buy cabins? Should I go on one of those cruise competition sites or online cruise sellers to see if they have any cabins available? Now you know why many of us book Oceania cruises, just about as soon as they are announced! I myself just surpassed my personal record and booked a cabin for May......of 2014! Yes, there are Agents out there who will have access to cabins that don't presently show as available on the Oceania Site. You may either search for those Agents on your own or use one of those multiple listing sites. Alternatively, unsold cabins are released back to Oceania at various deadlines as the sailing date draws nearer, so get ON one of those wait-lists! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potterhill Posted December 2, 2012 #6 Share Posted December 2, 2012 Alternatively, unsold cabins are released back to Oceania at various deadlines as the sailing date draws nearer, so get ON one of those wait-lists! My understanding is that once a cruise is posted as Sold Out, you can no longer be put on the wait list, that it exceeds what they generally expect to clear. I could be wrong, and will await further info from someone who knows the inside scoop on how it really works. :) I suspect it also has to do with fostering unrealistic hopes and dreams. When one is in the business of turning hopes and dreams into reality, I would think this is not a good business practice. Mo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted December 3, 2012 #7 Share Posted December 3, 2012 My understanding is that once a cruise is posted as Sold Out, you can no longer be put on the wait list, that it exceeds what they generally expect to clear. I could be wrong, and will await further info from someone who knows the inside scoop on how it really works. :) I suspect it also has to do with fostering unrealistic hopes and dreams. When one is in the business of turning hopes and dreams into reality, I would think this is not a good business practice. Mo True enough that if the Cruise Line lists a stateroom category as "Sold Out" then they have stopped taking reservations for that type of room. There was some confusion because the Original Poster to this thread was using the terms "sold out" and "waitlisted" as synonyms (see Post 1) which they are not. I thought that it was important to point out that, "where there is a waitlist, there is a way". ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roothy123 Posted December 3, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted December 3, 2012 I didn't mean to imply that "sold out" and "wait list" were the same. Nope, I know they're not. In any case, I'm now looking at a couple more cruises, and they DO have availability in a category I could live with. SO - if I can ever decide which one to book (see separate post) and the category is still available, I will book it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harryw Posted December 5, 2012 #9 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I was on a Wait List for a 2013 cruise and did get reached. It can happen. Harry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted December 5, 2012 #10 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I usually book the first day itineraries come out. Nothing to lose. Deposit is fully refundable but I have never cancelled an O cruise. I usually know where I want to go and when and I am just waiting for the itineraries to be released. Particularly with respect to "hot" itineraries (not the run of the mill Mediterranean voyages) and the smaller "R" ships, booking early is essential. The price is usually the lowest it will ever be, you will get your cabin of choice and you could be part of a "group" if your TA is a high volume O TA -- and that gets you some goodies. I have a September 2014 itinerary booked on Azamara. It is a one of a kind itinerary (no one else does it) and precisely what I wanted. Even though Azamara imposes a small cancellation fee, I booked as soon as I could. I do not plan to cancel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joysav Posted December 6, 2012 #11 Share Posted December 6, 2012 I usually book the first day itineraries come out. Deposit is fully refundable . The price is usually the lowest it will ever be, you will get your cabin of choice and you could be part of a "group" if your TA is a high volume O TA -- and that gets you some goodies. . When do the Summer 2014 come out :confused: And I used to think I was organized booking one year and a day ahead for Yosemite and the Grande Canyon etc . :rolleyes: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted December 6, 2012 #12 Share Posted December 6, 2012 When do the Summer 2014 come out :confused: . Probably March or April 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacheco18 Posted December 6, 2012 #13 Share Posted December 6, 2012 And a good O TA will be able to send you a preview of the itineraries a few days before they are released. That way you call tell him/her what you want and the booking can be made at the earliest possible moment. Some TAs will even have an allotment of cabins plus special group perks for certain cruises (free gratuities for example). Shop around now so that you have a good TA lined up before the itineraries come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roothy123 Posted December 6, 2012 Author #14 Share Posted December 6, 2012 Well, it's my understanding, per my wonderful high-Oceania booking TA, that Oceania does now impose a small cancellation fee if you cancel past 120 days prior. However, I'm one of those folks who, once booked, would need to be hit by a truck to cancel, so that's not a problem. There is one cruise I looked at for this summer (Europe) that only had an owner's suite available on O's web site - one more reason to book early! Thanks for the encouragement on the wait list, but I've found my cruise, and my wonderful TA is giving me a great deal on it, so I'm happy. It is a guaranteed cabin category, but I have no problem with that. The last time I got one of those, I made out like a bandit with O's upsell offer! Even if I get NO upsell offer this time, it's OK. I DO agree that it pays to shop around - I love those cruise competition sites! That's how I found the agency I'm using now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreedomSeeker Posted April 14, 2013 #15 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Hi all, I'm a rare poster, but I appreciate all the information. My partner and I recently booked our first Oceania cruise for this fall, in a PH1. The OC website had Vista suites showing Sold Out and Oceania as Wait List....and then late Saturday, suddenly Vista showed "Book Now"....my TA said one suite had opened up. When I tried to move my booking to the open Vista Suite, my TA was told that I had just missed it (darn), but that there was still a chance since no deposit had been placed on it....and I got added to the "Wait List". I also was added to the wait list for Oceania Suites. My TA sent me a confirmation statement showing #1 Wait List for Vista, and #6 for Oceania....but the website now shows Vista as "Sold Out"....although Oceania shows "wait list".... My TA also told me that the number refers to your position on the list. Seems odd to me that #1 would mean "no chance" and #6 means there's still a chance? So my question is: if SOLD OUT means no wait list, how come I'm apparently on one and what do the classifications really mean? I'm confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potterhill Posted April 14, 2013 #16 Share Posted April 14, 2013 My understanding is that sold out means no more people are added to the wait list. There is a point where the probability of a cabin opening up is unlikely, so they close the list. They sell cabins, guarantees, and then take a certain number on the wait list. Then they mark it as sold out. Hope this makes sense. I'm sure someone who knows the intricacies will be along to elaborate. Mo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted April 14, 2013 #17 Share Posted April 14, 2013 My TA sent me a confirmation statement showing #1 Wait List for Vista, and #6 for Oceania....but the website now shows Vista as "Sold Out"....although Oceania shows "wait list".... Your cruise is months away & anything can happen You have a cabin & you are on the list for other cabins Once final payment date passes things could change & you could move up on the w/l ;) We had to cancel our cruise the day before sailing so there is always a chance that a cabin will open up Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreedomSeeker Posted April 14, 2013 #18 Share Posted April 14, 2013 My understanding is that sold out means no more people are added to the wait list. There is a point where the probability of a cabin opening up is unlikely, so they close the list. They sell cabins, guarantees, and then take a certain number on the wait list. Then they mark it as sold out. Hope this makes sense. I'm sure someone who knows the intricacies will be along to elaborate. Mo Ah, that makes sense. I hadn't thought of it that way: Sold Out = "no more adds to the wait list, no cabins presently available, no more than are currently "waiting" are likely to become available" Wait List = "still adding to the wait list but no cabins presently available" Book = "cabins are available" So on the Vista Suite, if one comes available, I am in line....for Oceania several have to come available, and they think there's a chance that 6 or more COULD come available. If I got that right, WOW. And thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted April 14, 2013 #19 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Additonally my understanding is that there in a sense two waitlists; a 'Priority' waitlist and waitlist. If you have placed a deposit you are on the Priority waitlist and it will state that on your Statement. No deposit then the other waitlist. When there are openings those on the priority waitlist will be offered the cabins first in order of making the booking. After that if there are cabins left then the offers are made in order to those on the waitlist. So I suspect if someone is #1 on the 'waitlist' waitlist and later another person books and places a deposit and they are placed as say, #6 on the Priority waitlist, that new person will be called ahead of the #1 waitlist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christine Frances Posted April 14, 2013 #20 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Now you know why many of us book Oceania cruises, just about as soon as they are announced! I myself just surpassed my personal record and booked a cabin for May......of 2014! Yes, there are Agents out there who will have access to cabins that don't presently show as available on the Oceania Site. You may either search for those Agents on your own or use one of those multiple listing sites. Alternatively, unsold cabins are released back to Oceania at various deadlines as the sailing date draws nearer, so get ON one of those wait-lists! On our B2B Celebrity Millennium Asia cruise in Jan-Feb 2014 all the cabins seems to be disappearing rapidly. Then both cruises dropped off the website. My TA investigated as we were concerned that the ship was chartered. He found out through the Revenue Dept that the TA's had grabbed so many cabins that the computers thought the ship was sold out. All the TA's had their groups pulled and put back into the inventory and after a week both cruises went back on sale. I was floored at how many cabins TA's can take for groups and make unavailable to the rest of us. The TA's I think were able to set up groups after but with limits to the #'s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreedomSeeker Posted April 14, 2013 #21 Share Posted April 14, 2013 Additonally my understanding is that there in a sense two waitlists; a 'Priority' waitlist and waitlist. If you have placed a deposit you are on the Priority waitlist and it will state that on your Statement. No deposit then the other waitlist. When there are openings those on the priority waitlist will be offered the cabins first in order of making the booking. After that if there are cabins left then the offers are made in order to those on the waitlist. So I suspect if someone is #1 on the 'waitlist' waitlist and later another person books and places a deposit and they are placed as say, #6 on the Priority waitlist, that new person will be called ahead of the #1 waitlist I already paid for the PH, and it does say "priority wait lists" on the confirmation.....so hopefully, that means a Vista will open up and I'll get it. Thanks all for the insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoHoHo Posted April 14, 2013 #22 Share Posted April 14, 2013 I already paid for the PH, and it does say "priority wait lists" on the confirmation.....so hopefully, that means a Vista will open up and I'll get it. Thanks all for the insight. And you are #1 at that. Hope your booking comes through and you get to enjoy either of those wonderful suites - best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.