Is there any way to see online...

[Moriah]

Is there any way to check how booked up a particular cruise is, and/or which staterooms are still available without actually starting the booking process?

[ship2]

I believe I checked with Expedia one time, and got into a part of their site that showed which cabins were available. You may try that.

[blizzardboy]

Is there any way to check how booked up a particular cruise is, and/or which staterooms are still available without actually starting the booking process?

 

I "start the booking process" all the time on sites to get to the point of them showing me what's available in whatever cabin type I'm interested in. They don't ask for your name etc until after this step. However, I've found that having a great relationship with a HAL PCC gets me whatever question I ask answered, and yes, he transfers the booking later to my TA so I can get their perks.

[Moriah]

I "start the booking process" all the time on sites to get to the point of them showing me what's available in whatever cabin type I'm interested in. They don't ask for your name etc until after this step. However, I've found that having a great relationship with a HAL PCC gets me whatever question I ask answered, and yes, he transfers the booking later to my TA so I can get their perks.

 

Are you doing this on the HAL site? I just tried today, and it did ask for my name and other details before getting to the cabin choice process... but maybe you are doing it on another site? Someone mentioned Expedia... I haven't tried that yet.

[joepeka]

Are you doing this on the HAL site? I just tried today, and it did ask for my name and other details before getting to the cabin choice process... but maybe you are doing it on another site? Someone mentioned Expedia... I haven't tried that yet.

 

I just did this on the HAL site and it did not get to the "Guests" section of the booking before it showed the available cabins (I tried a couple of different categories and a several different decks) and pricing. That said, it never showed more than 10-11 cabins to chose from and in my experience, no web site will ever show more than about that number of available cabins in any category. Maybe someone knows some tricks to work around this but I've heard the cruise lines do not want the actual, total unsold cabins on the ship ("how full the ship is") to be public.

[blizzardboy]

Are you doing this on the HAL site? I just tried today, and it did ask for my name and other details before getting to the cabin choice process... but maybe you are doing it on another site? Someone mentioned Expedia... I haven't tried that yet.

You're right - I use my big-box site that rhymes with Rosco or another on-line TA site for these look-see missions as their sites are so easy to navigate. That's why I mentioned my HAL PCC as he gladly answers questions like this one.

Edited June 9, 2016 by blizzardboy

[Moriah]

You're right - I use my big-box site that rhymes with Rosco or another on-line TA site for these look-see missions as their sites are so easy to navigate. That's why I mentioned my HAL PCC as he gladly answers questions like this one.

 

 

Aaaah, I see, thanks!

[3rdGenCunarder]

Are you doing this on the HAL site? I just tried today, and it did ask for my name and other details before getting to the cabin choice process... but maybe you are doing it on another site? Someone mentioned Expedia... I haven't tried that yet.

 

Did you click on the box that says you're a Mariner? It needs your info so it can check if there are special mariner prices. If you say you aren't a Marine, it will continue without asking for personal info.

 

As has been discussed before, poking around the website will show what's available, if you're willing to go number by number to see if any of the "blank" cabins actually are available. BUT there's no way to know how many guarantees there are lurking out there. Eventually, those people will get some of the cabins that currently show as available. So if you see 20 cabins in a particular grade and there are 10 people with guarantees at that grade, HAL can't sell more than 10 of those 20. Does that make sense? (Actually, they can sell more if there's room to upgrade someone, but that makes the numbers even harder to guess)

[blizzardboy]

I just did this on the HAL site and it did not get to the "Guests" section of the booking before it showed the available cabins (I tried a couple of different categories and a several different decks) and pricing. That said, it never showed more than 10-11 cabins to chose from and in my experience, no web site will ever show more than about that number of available cabins in any category. Maybe someone knows some tricks to work around this but I've heard the cruise lines do not want the actual, total unsold cabins on the ship ("how full the ship is") to be public.

The OP was wondering how to tell how near sell-out a cabin class was - 10 available would answer her query.

[Heartgrove]

I use a three step process to get the information I need. It helped me recently to prepare for the email of a possible upsell to a Neptune Suite.

 

First, check the HAL site for the remaining cabins in a category and location. It will show up to ten cabins (or what remains) per location that may be available.

 

Second, using one of the other internet sites will give you the percentage of remaining capacity for the cruise.

 

Third, in that same site then go to the various categories for additional information. Pricing changes will indicate if they are selling well or not.

 

It's not exact, but comes pretty close.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Heartgrove

[joepeka]

The OP was wondering how to tell how near sell-out a cabin class was - 10 available would answer her query.

 

Yes, I suppose it would! :o But then she did say "...how booked up a cruise is..." so I just kinda went from there.

Edited June 9, 2016 by joepeka

[lizzies_mom]

If a cruise is part of a collector's cruise, you may not see all the open rooms.

[Scrapnana]

You're right - I use my big-box site that rhymes with Rosco or another on-line TA site for these look-see missions as their sites are so easy to navigate. That's why I mentioned my HAL PCC as he gladly answers questions like this one.

 

Thanks for the hint. That site is easy to navigate when you are on a fact finding mission!

[wesport]

I' ve noticed that when I use several travel agency sites, they always show more than that HAL shows on their website. Not a huge difference, but normally 3 to 5 more. I once had an upsell one week before a cruise on the Prinsendam, where the category of upsell I got was sold out in both places. No one knows for sure.

[TiogaCruiser]

The OP was wondering how to tell how near sell-out a cabin class was - 10 available would answer her query.

 

Yes, I suppose it would! :o But then she did say "...how booked up a cruise is..." so I just kinda went from there.

 

Maybe it would answer part of that, but think about it. Anyone buying a guarantee to that class level has essentially bought that class or above. There may actually be no cabins available in that class, but pricing is for that class. Likewise, those in lesser priced classes have bought at that level and above.

[Moriah]

Did you click on the box that says you're a Mariner? It needs your info so it can check if there are special mariner prices. If you say you aren't a Marine, it will continue without asking for personal info.

 

Oh, good tip, thank you!

[kazu]

If a cruise is part of a collector's cruise, you may not see all the open rooms.

 

exactly! If there are different segments you have to look at them all.

 

The other thing to keep in mind is that you still don't know how booked the cruise is just looking at the open rooms. If there are a lot of guarantees booked, their rooms aren't assigned to later.

 

I remember a particular Prinsendam cruise. There were over 100 cabins available and one day later it was sold out (before final payment). There were a PILE of guarantees.

[colonialinnkeeper]

I use a three step process to get the information I need. It helped me recently to prepare for the email of a possible upsell to a Neptune Suite.

 

First, check the HAL site for the remaining cabins in a category and location. It will show up to ten cabins (or what remains) per location that may be available.

 

Second, using one of the other internet sites will give you the percentage of remaining capacity for the cruise.

 

Third, in that same site then go to the various categories for additional information. Pricing changes will indicate if they are selling well or not.

 

It's not exact, but comes pretty close.

 

Bold is mine. Do you mean there is an internet site that lists the percentages of open cabins in each category? Any hint as to what it is?