Putting a cabin on the waitlist

[Wine-O]

Have you ever tried to put a cabin on the waitlist using Celebrity's wonderful IT reservation system? Well, let me tell you -- don't bother, because it doesn't work. Here's my story:

 

Yesterday someone on the Roll Call announced he just cancelled an upcoming cruise to Bermuda and had one of those five coveted AQ aft balconies on Deck 11. I went on the Celebrity website and put the cabin on a 24-hour hold and called my TA. I asked her to call Celebrity and make the switch for me, but first, I had to release the reservation.

 

While on the phone with my TA who was also on the phone with Celebrity, I asked my TA to put that cabin on the waitlist. I would go into "My Celebrity" and release the cabin, then being on the waitlist, she could make the switch with no problems.

 

Well, it didn't work. Once I released it, it went back into the general inventory. Luckily, I was able to snag it as my TA was on the phone with Celebrity.

 

I guess Celebrity's waitlist system is pretty much non-existent. So, if you know of someone who is going to cancel a certain cabin, and you would like it, you have to make sure your timing works out, or you will lose it.

[eurotraveller1]

I wait listed a C2 stateroom this weekend over the phone. And the next day it was assigned, when I called back

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GottaKnowWhen]

Have you ever tried to put a cabin on the waitlist using Celebrity's wonderful IT reservation system? Well, let me tell you -- don't bother, because it doesn't work. Here's my story:

 

... I went on the Celebrity website and put the cabin on a 24-hour hold and called my TA. I asked her to call Celebrity and make the switch for me, but first, I had to release the reservation.

 

While on the phone with my TA who was also on the phone with Celebrity, I asked my TA to put that cabin on the waitlist. I would go into "My Celebrity" and release the cabin, then being on the waitlist, she could make the switch with no problems.

 

Well, it didn't work. Once I released it, it went back into the general inventory. Luckily, I was able to snag it as my TA was on the phone with Celebrity.

 

I guess Celebrity's waitlist system is pretty much non-existent. So, if you know of someone who is going to cancel a certain cabin, and you would like it, you have to make sure your timing works out, or you will lose it.

 

I don't understand your story. You released your hold on the aft cabin and it returned to general inventory. Right? So where is the problem? Where did you think it was going to go?

 

It seems to me that if you really wanted that cabin you would have either had your TA do the Hold in the first place or you would have followed through on the Held reservation and made the reservation with Celebrity. Then have your TA cancel your first reservation, then transfer the new reservation to the TA. It seems pretty risky to me to cancel a Hold on a desirable cabin so that a friend or a TA or whoever you happen to choose is going to be able to jump in and snag it before it is Held or reserved by someone else that you didn't choose. You got lucky but the waitlist system did work.

[Xport]

I haven't tried it personally--most always, I book as soon as the deployments are announced and get exactly what I want--but I did suggest that friends, new to Celebrity, waitlist for 1605 [one of the coveted AquaClass cabins with oversized balcony--"on the slant"--on Solstice Class ships]... They did so and it worked like a charm [actually, twice now--both times after final payment; they've tried it again based upon their favorable first experience]...

 

I suspect, but don't know, that you might well have had success if you had waitlisted that cabin days, weeks, months ago or even upon initial booking... Celebrity systems--just try to access a reservation via My Celebrity twice in rapid succession after doing something as innocuous as scheduling select dining or purchasing a tour; inevitably, you'll get a message that the reservation is being modified and to try again later--are certainly not "real time"...

 

The other downside is that Celebrity only allows waitlist of one specific cabin [by cabin number] rather than an array of cabins meeting your preferences [such as any Deck 11 aft cabin on a Millennium Class ship; those are favorites of mine too]...

 

Glad that it ultimately worked out for you...

[CathyCruises]

I've put a particular cabin on hold before, then called the TA and they told me when to release it so they could grab it. It worked fine. But I've never tried waitlisting a cabin, different animal I guess

[ChucktownSteve]

Last year I held a cabin on a large online TA for 15 minutes. I then called my TA on the phone and asked them to grab it when it auto released. She was on the phone to X and 15 minutes later I was confirmed through my TA that I got it.

 

Easy Peasy.

[Wine-O]

I don't understand your story. You released your hold on the aft cabin and it returned to general inventory. Right? So where is the problem? Where did you think it was going to go?

 

It seems to me that if you really wanted that cabin you would have either had your TA do the Hold in the first place or you would have followed through on the Held reservation and made the reservation with Celebrity. Then have your TA cancel your first reservation, then transfer the new reservation to the TA. It seems pretty risky to me to cancel a Hold on a desirable cabin so that a friend or a TA or whoever you happen to choose is going to be able to jump in and snag it before it is Held or reserved by someone else that you didn't choose. You got lucky but the waitlist system did work.

 

When I released the cabin, it should not have gone back into general inventory. It should have gone immediately to the waitlist, as I understand the reason for the waitlist -- cabin released and it goes to the person on the waitlist.

 

Couldn't cancel first reservation and booked new one because I would lose all the perks I received on the original reservation.

 

You please tell me how the waitlist system did work if the cabin went into general inventory? My point is, the cabin should not have gone into general inventory, period!!

[Wine-O]

Last year I held a cabin on a large online TA for 15 minutes. I then called my TA on the phone and asked them to grab it when it auto released. She was on the phone to X and 15 minutes later I was confirmed through my TA that I got it.

 

Easy Peasy.

 

The hold, cancel, grab is what actually happened, but my point is if there was a waitlist that worked, then it would be hold, cancel, send to the waitlist, not into general inventory. Once it goes on the waitlist, theoretically, my TA can make the change at that time.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

My understanding of the waitlist process is that once a booking or courtesy hold for a particular cabin is cancelled, it goes into general inventory. Anyone can then book it or put it on a courtesy hold. Daily, someone at Celebrity checks the waitlist to see if the cabin someone requested is available. If it is, at that time, they will be switched. But that cabin is fair game for up to 24 hours (maybe the entire weekend) once it goes into general inventory. Yes, you'd think with these modern newfangled computers it would be much quicker and automatic. Thank goodness the computers for little things like navigation are from a different vendor.

 

I think in this application, when you know the cabin you want is available, the best course is to put it on a courtesy hold, then get with Celebrity and/or your TA, cancel the courtesy hold and hopefully they can snag it for you just as soon as it goes back into general inventory. The waitlist is of no practical help in this.

 

Edit-- I started working on this post before #6 through #8 came in.

Edited March 16, 2016 by PartyAllDaTyme

[Fouremco]

I could be wrong, but I suspect that the reservation system doesn't allow for the same passenger to have both a hold and a waitlisting for the same cabin simultaneously.

[Desertbelle]

I have done this with my travel agent many times and it's always worked. I am not sure what the complaint is.:confused:

[Wine-O]

I have done this with my travel agent many times and it's always worked. I am not sure what the complaint is.:confused:

 

If you reread my posts you would understand what the complaint is. If that particular cabin was waitlisted, I don't believe it should have gone back into general inventory when it became available -- Isn't that the reason for the waitlist? :rolleyes:

[Desertbelle]

If you reread my posts you would understand what the complaint is. If that particular cabin was waitlisted, I don't believe it should have gone back into general inventory when it became available -- Isn't that the reason for the waitlist? :rolleyes:

I guess I don't understand what the "waitlist" is. I thought people got put on wait lists, not locations or cabins.....such as, you would be put on a wait list for the first available A1 cabin or 6 pm dining. I wasn't aware that cabins got put on a wait list and I don't understand what a cabin on the wait list would represent.

 

My understanding is the you put a cabin on a 24 hours hold. You release the cabin and your TA snaps it up for you. If you release it, or time runs out, the cabin returns to the inventory. Where does the wait list come in??

 

I think some of us are misunderstanding your complaint.....and maybe it's just a confusion with wordage. I promise, I am trying to understand.

[eurotraveller1]

I guess I don't understand what the "waitlist" is. I thought people got put on wait lists, not locations or cabins.....such as, you would be put on a wait list for the first available A1 cabin or 6 pm dining. I wasn't aware that cabins got put on a wait list and I don't understand what a cabin on the wait list would represent.

 

My understanding is the you put a cabin on a 24 hours hold. You release the cabin and your TA snaps it up for you. If you release it, or time runs out, the cabin returns to the inventory. Where does the wait list come in??

 

I think some of us are misunderstanding your complaint.....and maybe it's just a confusion with wordage. I promise, I am trying to understand.

 

 

You can waitlist a specific stateroom, and as they said. Every day or two, they'll check the list and see if one opens up, but if one returns to the inventory pool (due to a cancellation) it is up for grabs until they check the list.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DaisyFire]

You can waitlist a specific stateroom, and as they said. Every day or two, they'll check the list and see if one opens up, but if one returns to the inventory pool (due to a cancellation) it is up for grabs until they check the list.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Are you trying to say that this is a manual process for Celebrity staff ("they" in the scenario above)?

 

I would hope that if they have defined a waitlist process that it would be automated and when a cabin is released that the system would check to see if that cabin is waitlisted by anyone - if it is not, then it goes back into general inventory, but if it is waitlisted - then it would be released into some type of limbo status until the individuals who waitlisted the cabin could be contacted.

 

In the scenario that is explained by the OP - it is possible that this could have broken down for the following reasons

1) due to system lag time, the waitlist info was not available to the main system when the cabin was released from hold and therefore it went back into inventory since it did not see the waitlist (I believe this was also suggested by Xport.)

2) The system does not allow an individual to both hold and waitlist a cabin (as proposed by Fouremco) - though it sounds like others may have successfully used waitlist while having a cabin on hold.

3) Your TA might not have actually added you to the waitlist as they thought they did... this could be caused by any number of things (screen froze during save, TA waitlisted you for that cabin on the wrong cruise, or just basic operator error)

4) It could just be that there is a programming glitch in the system. It happens - even in the best of systems, and we've all experienced web site issues with X that makes the quality of the programming questionable to begin with.

 

I appreciate your frustration - and am glad it all turned out for you in the end and you got the cabin you wanted.

 

I do hope that you not only posted here but also let Celebrity know of the issue you experienced. If no one tells them, then they will not know they have a problem that needs to be looked into/corrected.

[eurotraveller1]

Are you trying to say that this is a manual process for Celebrity staff ("they" in the scenario above)?

 

 

 

I would hope that if they have defined a waitlist process that it would be automated and when a cabin is released that the system would check to see if that cabin is waitlisted by anyone - if it is not, then it goes back into general inventory, but if it is waitlisted - then it would be released into some type of limbo status until the individuals who waitlisted the cabin could be contacted.

 

 

 

In the scenario that is explained by the OP - it is possible that this could have broken down for the following reasons

 

1) due to system lag time, the waitlist info was not available to the main system when the cabin was released from hold and therefore it went back into inventory since it did not see the waitlist (I believe this was also suggested by Xport.)

 

2) The system does not allow an individual to both hold and waitlist a cabin (as proposed by Fouremco) - though it sounds like others may have successfully used waitlist while having a cabin on hold.

 

3) Your TA might not have actually added you to the waitlist as they thought they did... this could be caused by any number of things (screen froze during save, TA waitlisted you for that cabin on the wrong cruise, or just basic operator error)

 

4) It could just be that there is a programming glitch in the system. It happens - even in the best of systems, and we've all experienced web site issues with X that makes the quality of the programming questionable to begin with.

 

 

 

I appreciate your frustration - and am glad it all turned out for you in the end and you got the cabin you wanted.

 

 

 

I do hope that you not only posted here but also let Celebrity know of the issue you experienced. If no one tells them, then they will not know they have a problem that needs to be looked into/corrected.

 

 

Yes, it is a manual process as far as I know.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DaisyFire]

Yes, it is a manual process as far as I know.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Wow - that really makes no sense - but it could explain what happened to the OP.

 

If there is nothing systematic that keeps the cabin from dropping back into general inventory, then I would think that there would be a high chance that cabins that are released do not make there way to the folks that are waitlisted.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

A cabin is held if it shows as available for booking and you choose the "Courtesy Hold" option instead of going ahead and actually booking it. You cannot either book or hold a cabin unless it's available in inventory. The Courtesy Hold is only good for 24 hours, then it auto-cancels.

 

If you have a favorite cabin but it's not available in inventory, you can book another cabin and contact Celebrity to have that cabin waitlisted. If it becomes available because whomever booked it or put it on a courtesy hold cancels, it's yours IF Celebrity checks their waitlists and sees you wanted that cabin and IF that cabin is still available when they check.

 

Yes, they check manually. It's not automatic, and it's certainly not a guarantee.

[Nettie11]

Have you ever tried to put a cabin on the waitlist using Celebrity's wonderful IT reservation system? Well, let me tell you -- don't bother, because it doesn't work. Here's my story:

 

 

 

Yesterday someone on the Roll Call announced he just cancelled an upcoming cruise to Bermuda and had one of those five coveted AQ aft balconies on Deck 11. I went on the Celebrity website and put the cabin on a 24-hour hold and called my TA. I asked her to call Celebrity and make the switch for me, but first, I had to release the reservation.

 

 

 

While on the phone with my TA who was also on the phone with Celebrity, I asked my TA to put that cabin on the waitlist. I would go into "My Celebrity" and release the cabin, then being on the waitlist, she could make the switch with no problems.

 

 

 

Well, it didn't work. Once I released it, it went back into the general inventory. Luckily, I was able to snag it as my TA was on the phone with Celebrity.

 

 

 

I guess Celebrity's waitlist system is pretty much non-existent. So, if you know of someone who is going to cancel a certain cabin, and you would like it, you have to make sure your timing works out, or you will lose it.

 

 

I had a similar situation on a cruise booked for next year - even though on the phone with TA and celebrity my TA couldn't grab it once my holding reservation had been released - got another cabin 3 doors down but would have preferred the one on hold. Needless to say that has gone now as it was a disabled cabin.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[jagoffee]

If you reread my posts you would understand what the complaint is. If that particular cabin was waitlisted, I don't believe it should have gone back into general inventory when it became available -- Isn't that the reason for the waitlist? :rolleyes:

 

A cabin is held if it shows as available for booking and you choose the "Courtesy Hold" option instead of going ahead and actually booking it. You cannot either book or hold a cabin unless it's available in inventory. The Courtesy Hold is only good for 24 hours, then it auto-cancels.

 

If you have a favorite cabin but it's not available in inventory, you can book another cabin and contact Celebrity to have that cabin waitlisted. If it becomes available because whomever booked it or put it on a courtesy hold cancels, it's yours IF Celebrity checks their waitlists and sees you wanted that cabin and IF that cabin is still available when they check.

 

Yes, they check manually. It's not automatic, and it's certainly not a guarantee.

 

Mike, I think PartyAlladaTyme is correct. The Celebrity cabin waitlist must be delayed and it is a terrible process. A couple times when I was chasing a particular cabin I would put it on hold and then get on the phone, cancel my hold, and have them book the cabin.

Bottom line is I would not trust the cabin waitlist process. Mi am not sure if the category waitlist process is any better!!

Thanks for the warning.

[seahags]

It is my understanding (direct from RCCL/Celebrity) that the wait list program is run once per day, late evening. Therefore, any cabin that has been released to inventory and requested on waitlist won't get assigned until that night:(:(, leaving several hours for someone else to grab the cabin. I know that when I am looking for a specific cabin I'm continually checking on availability ...websites that show the inventory. Several times I've found what I wanted without waiting for their program to run availability!

[justcrusn]

I think whats confusing everyone is the difference between waitlist and courtesy hold.

i have done the courtesy hold, and as others mentioned it works fine.

i HAVE NOT ever done a waitlist.

It sounds like the waitlist program does work, just not as immediate gratification as you would hope.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

It depends on your definition of "working". If you are counting on it to give you dibs on a cabin that someone cancels, not necessarily.

[Wine-O]

I think whats confusing everyone is the difference between waitlist and courtesy hold.

i have done the courtesy hold, and as others mentioned it works fine.

i HAVE NOT ever done a waitlist.

It sounds like the waitlist program does work, just not as immediate gratification as you would hope.

 

I've done courtesy hold numerous times. It works well.

 

My issue is with the waitlist. I don't think it works like it should, or doesn't work at all. For example, if I'm waitlisted for a certain stateroom, and the person in that stateroom cancels, it shouldn't go into the general inventory. It should go to the person who is on the waitlist. By the time Celebrity gets around to check their waitlist cabins several hours later, if that's their process, the cabin could be taken by someone else. I think the cabin on the waitlist should be tagged in some IT fashion so it doesn't go into general inventory and Celebrity should notify the person on the waitlist that it's now available.

 

Their system for checking manually at the end of the day sucks to put it mildly. If they are having a hard time with their website, they certainly won't be able to fix this process. :rolleyes:

[seahags]

I've done courtesy hold numerous times. It works well.

 

My issue is with the waitlist. I don't think it works like it should, or doesn't work at all. For example, if I'm waitlisted for a certain stateroom, and the person in that stateroom cancels, it shouldn't go into the general inventory. It should go to the person who is on the waitlist. By the time Celebrity gets around to check their waitlist cabins several hours later, if that's their process, the cabin could be taken by someone else. I think the cabin on the waitlist should be tagged in some IT fashion so it doesn't go into general inventory and Celebrity should notify the person on the waitlist that it's now available.

 

Their system for checking manually at the end of the day sucks to put it mildly. If they are having a hard time with their website, they certainly won't be able to fix this process. :rolleyes:

 

I don't know whether or not they check manually at the end of the day, or if it is automated, but either way it's inefficient!!!