ta says oceania refuse to give cabin no until full payment?

[pully8]

we are booked on 2 cruises 1st time with oceania. our ta today says oceania refuses to give us our cabin no/s, until after full payment?

in fact we may not know until we board. is this normal??

we have done 4 cruises before and never had this issue before.

thanks in advance.

[Mura]

That's a surprise to me, unless you booked a guaranty.

 

Normally we are told up front what our cabin number is. But if you have a guaranty, they don't know for a while (and not necessarily even at the final pay date).

 

I'm not sure your TA is giving you the correct info.

 

For example, we had a guaranty on a couple of cruises where we received the cabin number before final payment. We've never been in a situation where you may not know your cabin number until you board, but I HAVE heard of that happening.

 

Most of the time we have booked early enough that there was no question about the cabin number, but a I said, it can happen.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

I agree with Mura if you booked a GTY cabin then you may not get a number until you arrive at the port but usually you get it before that

If you did not book a GTY cat then something does not sound right

Are you waitlisted? the cruise looks like most Cat are Waitlisted then that is another story

 

Did you pay a deposit? or just hoping you will get on the cruise?

 

Do you have a booking number?

Go online to Oceania website "Already Booked" log in there & see what it says

[pully8]

thank you. we have also emailed oceania for furthur clarification.

we are new to ocean cruising but have done 4 river cruises and always knew our cabin number, so this all a new and different.

 

great to learn new things and appreciate the help and advice.

[sitraveler]

If you booked thru a TA you should communicate with O thru your TA.

They will probably advise you to do this.

[LHT28]

If you have a booking number I would log in & see what it has listed

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/alreadybookedlogin.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2falreadybooked%2fdefault.aspx

 

You may also need to fill in the Guest information form if you have not done so already

[Ka Honu]

If you didn't book a GTY and you didn't get to select your stateroom, you may need a new travel agent.

[JimandStan]

we are booked on 2 cruises 1st time with oceania. our ta today says oceania refuses to give us our cabin no/s, until after full payment?

in fact we may not know until we board. is this normal??

we have done 4 cruises before and never had this issue before.

thanks in advance.

 

Something is rotten in Denmark.

Either your Travel Agent does not understand how the system works. (which is a bad thing in itself).

Or, they are lying to you (which is worse). :mad:

You need a new Agent, DESPERATELY.

[pully8]

thanks for the comments. can you elaborate further on the term GTY?

 

does it mean cabins are possibly overallocated, and passengers are later sorted or reallocated by upselling to cabins not booked and paid for on embarkation day??

 

does it mean you can book and pay for the option of a category of cabin, no actual number? the number/cabin is as the discretion of the cruise line?

 

as said complete novice with ocean cruising, not sure we are prepared to take pot luck on arrival?? but perhaps there are no bad cabins.

do most always get a cabin number on booking?

we have in the past.

[LHT28]

GTY =Guarantee

Means that you pay for a specific cabin Category but you may not know your cabin until closer to sailing in some cases on the day of arrival at the port

 

Did you book a GTY?

The whole cruise looks like it is waitlisted or overallocated as you say

There may not be any upselling going on but maybe some "move off" offers will be forthcoming

 

we usually book early so we can choose the cabin we want

If you booked recently this may not have been an option

[LHT28]

I noticed on the the Roll call you are from Australia

 

That explains the TA problem

Hope you get it sorted out

[pully8]

yes thanks for the info. we are learning a great deal from this experience.

 

we are in the process of getting this sorted to our satisfaction. we think oceania will be an ideal cruise line for us. the reviews sound very favourable. we enjoy good food and a relaxed environment.

 

thanks again for your prompt replies. we look forward to our trip.

[pacheco18]

Something is rotten in Denmark.

Either your Travel Agent does not understand how the system works. (which is a bad thing in itself).

Or, they are lying to you (which is worse). :mad:

You need a new Agent, DESPERATELY.

 

+1 - could not have said it better

[rundent]

Would be nice if the OP mentioned if it is indeed a GTY reservation. I think it pretty much has to be.

[LHT28]

Would be nice if the OP mentioned if it is indeed a GTY reservation. I think it pretty much has to be.

Maybe not ..

things work differently Down Under

[rhohea]

Maybe not ..

things work differently Down Under

 

Just about to leave Australia for my 9th/10th Oceania cruise and on all of these except 1 (which was a guarantee) I have selected and been given my cabin number at time of booking, so not so sure that is her problem.

A question for pully8 - if it is not a guarantee booking, why didn't you select your own cabin.(number)?????

[SMNYCruise]

Is there any advantage to booking a GTY over a specific cabin number?

[Jancruz]

Is there any advantage to booking a GTY over a specific cabin number?

 

Definitely not

Jancruz1

[LHT28]

Is there any advantage to booking a GTY over a specific cabin number?

 

For me NO

But some others might think differently

 

I would rather know my cabin location from the get go

 

Lyn

[surfyachtie]

Im curious as to why GTY is offered in the first place?

[LHT28]

Im curious as to why GTY is offered in the first place?

 

If all the cabins are booked the next step is a GTY when the GTY quota is full then they go to Wait listed

They have a formula they usually get people that will cancel before final payment & then those on the GTY list get a cabin for the Cat booked

and so on

I am sure someone will explain it better than I am doing ;)

[surfyachtie]

Interesting! We have fully paid for a GTY Booking A4 on Rivieras European Charms cruise in June and also have requested an upgrade to PH but are wait listed so sounds like anything could happen:)

[thunderbird56]

Is there any advantage to booking a GTY over a specific cabin number?

 

If you book a GTY at the lowest level of a cabin class you are guaranteed to be assigned to that level or HIGHER. It can result in an upgrade. When I cruise on Princess I often book a GTY on the lowest balcony class and I have always ended with a higher class balcony or mini-suite. The downside is that you don't know where on the ship it could be. If you have areas that you need to avoid , e.g. for excessive motion, etc, you wouldn't want to do it. If you don't care you might want to take a chance. Realize you also have to be happy with the class cabin you pick if they find one for you. Don't book a guaranteed inside if you wouldn't want to be there.

[LHT28]

If you book a GTY at the lowest level of a cabin class you are guaranteed to be assigned to that level or HIGHER. It can result in an upgrade. When I cruise on Princess I often book a GTY on the lowest balcony class and I have always ended with a higher class balcony or mini-suite.

Oceania does not work the way other lines do

Sometimes you may get a free upgrade or you may get an upsell

 

But if you book a GTY be prepared to get a cabin it the Cat booked

[surfyachtie]

Sometimes it is the only thing left to book.

 

Yes in our case it was. It seems to be a popular cruise as all of the categories are wait listed.