Can anybody explain Cunard’s booking logic?

[Adammara]

I know that bookings, upgrades and guarantees are a complete mystery, but I am bewildered!

 

We booked a cruise on QE at the beginning of May, allegedly the last P2 suite, a guarantee booking with full Cunard fare perks, free parking and OBC. After that all Club, Princess and Queens have been sold out.

 

I knew we would have to wait for an assignment, and from what I have read on here it could be from the day after booking to the moment we board the ship. I was a little surprised 2 weeks ago, after the final payment date, that 3 Princess and 2 Queens suite became available, in my simple mind, I thought we would be assigned one of them, but I was mistaken!

 

As I write, with 76 days to go, 2 more Princess and 2 more Queens are available, and again no assignment, I just don’t find it logical!

 

Any thoughts, you experienced Cunarders?

[pepperrn]

Hi Adammara,

 

"Can anybody explain Cunard’s booking logic?"

 

No.

 

Not even, I suspect, Cunard :D .

 

As for the cabins becoming available, I would imagine these are either cancellations after final payment, or newly available cabins as people didn't pay the final balance.

But please, I do not know the above, I am just guessing :) .

 

Please, don't worry, you'll get your cabin number soon I am sure.

Edited July 15, 2016 by pepperrn

[BlueRiband]

Chalk it up to cancellations, complimentary upgrades, and passengers changing their minds and paying to upgrade. No mystery. If it's any consolation the longer it takes to get a cabin assignment the better the chance that you might score a P1 or better.

[Jacqueline]

I saw the same sort of magical cabins appearing and disappearing. I was following two crossings closely for weeks. I was waiting to make my booking until I was sure that I was well enough to travel. Being that I was basically bedridden, I checked a lot.

My partner offered to book at a grill level for my daughter and I, but there were none. Then on the day I actually went to book, there was a flash fare guarantee on the p2 in one direction, and only balconies the other way,

Of course at a later time, there was a P available on that sailing, too.

And all of this was within 6 weeks of departure.

My guess is that the cabins which had been held as voyage 612A, the roundtrip NY TA, were freed. The voyage no longer came up on the search engine. So those cabins were released into inventory?

Who knows?

[Chunky2219]

Here's a few things that factor into the mystery:

 

 

• Block-booked cabins (by travel agents) that are released back to the general market unsold.
  
• Advance bookings made in countries where people can get their deposit back without penalty, so they snarl the system up and then withdraw.
  
• Guarantee cabin bookings that are assigned but then seem to make the Cunard computer system wobble for a day or two until the other cabins that were always free suddenly reappear.
  

 

 

.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Hi Adammara,

 

"Can anybody explain Cunard’s booking logic?"

 

No.

 

Not even, I suspect, Cunard :D .

 

As for the cabins becoming available, I would imagine these are either cancellations after final payment, or newly available cabins as people didn't pay the final balance.

But please, I do not know the above, I am just guessing :) .

 

Please, don't worry, you'll get your cabin number soon I am sure.

 

I agree! And kudos to Adammara for daring to put the words "Cunard" and "logic in the same sentence!" :D

 

In the US, we can get the deposit back up to the final payment date. (although Cunard is changing the cut-off date for refunds) A lot of people will book a cruise knowing they can hang onto the cabin while they decide if they're really going. I don't do this, but I know some people here do. So it isn't unusual for cabins to show up in inventory just after final payment/deposit refund date.

 

When cabins become available at this late point, I think the cruise lines like to keep them open to provide more choice for someone willing to pay the fare that lets them choose a specific cabin. I haven't looked at the guarantee vs specific-cabin fares on Cunard, but I know that on HAL, there are some good savings to be had if you're willing to accept a guarantee. And HAL tends to assign guarantees very late.

[Adammara]

Thanks for all the answers, will just have to wait, perhaps we will get an assignment when the documents or available, or more than likely on embarkation!

 

Incidently we paid £49pp more than the August 2016 brochure price, and the price we paid is the same as for the the current offer. My TA also thinks the later we have to wait, the more likely we are to get a Queens Suite, although we have booked a P2 and will be quite happy with it.

 

The only place I can find the cabin/suite information on VP is in in Travel Documents / Voyage Itinerary, am I looking in the right place? I am sure I read that the VP is somewhat slow in being upgraded, is this correct?

 

Sorry about all the questions as we have always booked 'fixed' cabins before, never again!

[3rdGenCunarder]

Try looking for your luggage tags. Sometimes they get updated before the VP.

 

I understand your "never again." Good upgrades can come out of a guarantee booking, but I'm too need-to-know to wait like that. I hope your wait is worth it!

[Adammara]

Thanks for the tip, 3rdGenCunarder, no labels yet!

 

We spent a lot of time researching booking this cruise on Cunard, and everyone on here has been so helpful giving advice, viewed the video's, read the reviews, downloaded the menu's, Thank you all.

 

One of the reasons we choose Cunard is that we would not notice any cuts that may have been made over the years. We cruised with P&O and Celebrity, and in out opinion there have to many cuts in services and staff. Its now looking like the Princess menu has been cut since we booked, not impressed!

 

Checking the website this morning, there are now FIVE P2's up for sale! Last night it showed a Q4 available, Do we upgrade?, but when we got to the booking page, none for sale.............

 

One thing is for sure, never booking a guarantee again!

[wallis7219]

We too are on a guarantee booking, and we sail on the 1st August:eek:

 

The cruise is sold out, and still we have not been assigned our cabin:confused:

Hope they still have one left for us!!

 

[milamber]

The latest we ever got a guarantee notification was just after midnight on the morning we sailed, but we did get a great upgrade. Certainly worth waiting for :)