We got a last minute cruise!!

[Clampram]

Our plans for a cruise on the Royal for 12/15 were demolished by my last minute developement  of an inner ear/vertigo issue and hubby had a torn meniscus.............such a disappointment!

We decided that as soon as he was post op and doing well that we would try to book something last minute........not always easy especially with last minute air + a cruise.

This morning we were able to get a guaranteed mini balcony(MF) on the Royal for Jan 19 and we were able to get air......all this before 8AM. needless to say, we are both very happy. I had paid attention to what everyone said about last minute bookings on this site and it worked. That mini suite popped up just this morning at 5 AM and that cabin category had been sold out for the last 3 weeks. We would have picked a mini suite in that category anyway so it worked out very well. I look forward to seeing what cabin we get though as we like to be forward and high up.

Truly very helpful folks on this board and all of your input really helped us to get what we wanted at the last minute...........thanks everyone!

[Coral]

Congrats and have a great cruise!

[Clampram]

1 minute ago, Coral said:

Congrats and have a great cruise!

Thank you.........we didn't have a very good Christmas so now it feels good to have this to look forward to!

[Coral]

Just now, Clampram said:

Thank you.........we didn't have a very good Christmas so now it feels good to have this to look forward to!

I hope 2019 will be your year! Always good to have something to look forward to!

[Colo Cruiser]

Congrats!

[land lover]

1 hour ago, Clampram said:

Thank you.........we didn't have a very good Christmas so now it feels good to have this to look forward to!

 

Way to go...

yep...life sometimes can be a challenge ......but a cruise is a great get away from it all...cut the cell phone, forget about contact with the "outside world", leave reality behind...and have a wonderful cruise....

[BoopTennis]

that is so awesome.  where did you find all the tips to how to properly find a last minute cruise? is there a particular thread, or just by searching different threads?  have fun!

[Tak8]

Congrats.  Enjoy the cruise.  

[geocruiser]

2 hours ago, Clampram said:

Our plans for a cruise on the Royal for 12/15 were demolished by my last minute developement  of an inner ear/vertigo issue and hubby had a torn meniscus.............such a disappointment!

We decided that as soon as he was post op and doing well that we would try to book something last minute........not always easy especially with last minute air + a cruise.

This morning we were able to get a guaranteed mini balcony(MF) on the Royal for Jan 19 and we were able to get air......all this before 8AM. needless to say, we are both very happy. I had paid attention to what everyone said about last minute bookings on this site and it worked. That mini suite popped up just this morning at 5 AM and that cabin category had been sold out for the last 3 weeks. We would have picked a mini suite in that category anyway so it worked out very well. I look forward to seeing what cabin we get though as we like to be forward and high up.

Truly very helpful folks on this board and all of your input really helped us to get what we wanted at the last minute...........thanks everyone!

I am so happy to hear that you are going on a cruise.  You were to sail with us on 12/15.  I was sorry that you had to cancel.  Enjoy you cruise.

[Ep010835]

2 hours ago, Clampram said:

This morning we were able to get a guaranteed mini balcony(MF) on the Royal for Jan 19 and we were able to get air......all this before 8AM. needless to say, we are both very happy. I had paid attention to what everyone said about last minute bookings on this site and it worked.

 

That's great. I'm happy for you! 😀

Which last minute book method did you find successful?

[Clampram]

41 minutes ago, BoopTennis said:

that is so awesome.  where did you find all the tips to how to properly find a last minute cruise? is there a particular thread, or just by searching different threads?  have fun!

I posted a couple of questions and also searched through prior postings..........did my homework and it paid off!!! Without that knowledge I probably would have booked something further into the future

[Clampram]

2 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

That's great. I'm happy for you! 😀

Which last minute book method did you find successful?

I started watching every single day, multiple times....then I watched as they took out 6 open balcony rooms yesterday. So then I knew that they were beginning to shuffle things around and I left my computer on to check what popped up as available almost hourly

[Clampram]

21 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

I am so happy to hear that you are going on a cruise.  You were to sail with us on 12/15.  I was sorry that you had to cancel.  Enjoy you cruise.

Thank you.........and we got the Royal which I love too!!

[Sea Hag]

That's great. Persistence pays.

[Ep010835]

7 minutes ago, Clampram said:

I started watching every single day, multiple times....then I watched as they took out 6 open balcony rooms yesterday. So then I knew that they were beginning to shuffle things around and I left my computer on to check what popped up as available almost hourly

 

You nailed it!! Doing multiple, all day searches is never how you want want to spend the day, I'm certain, but the results clearly seem to justify the efforts!

[Clampram]

5 minutes ago, Ep010835 said:

 

You nailed it!! Doing multiple, all day searches is never how you want want to spend the day, I'm certain, but the results clearly seem to justify the efforts!

That's right, plus, if you are cognizant of what cabin type you want, spend a lot of time on the website looking at where those cabins are and finalizing your plan. This morning, they were selling last minute balcony cabins for $1125 and the last minute mini suite was $1165. Seemed like a no brainer..........maybe we're going to get a minisuite next to the boiler!!!LOL!

[sprint180]

Good for you, Enjoy your Cruise!!!

 

[TracieABD]

How fun! It is always so great to have something to look forward too!!

[cruisequeen4ever]

 So wonderful! Have a blast! 

[donswife]

I am not quite at a station in life to do last minute cruises yet, but had you already narrowed it down to the ship and date, and were just waiting for the right deal? The possibilities are overwhelming, especially if you have to do air. 

[Clampram]

22 minutes ago, donswife said:

I am not quite at a station in life to do last minute cruises yet, but had you already narrowed it down to the ship and date, and were just waiting for the right deal? The possibilities are overwhelming, especially if you have to do air. 

No, we were waiting for any cabin to open up........it was previously listed as sold out

[LCTrippers]

5 hours ago, Clampram said:

I started watching every single day, multiple times....

 

Congratulations!

what was it you were watching?  Would you give us a link or the name of the forum discussion?

[cnd crsr]

Congrats on your booking. Have a fantastic cruise!

[satxdiver]

Pax cancel their cruises all the time and if Princess cannot fill a cabin with those who bought a guaranteed cabin in that category, Princess well may post the cabin as available.  Cabins that are filled bring in more revenue than an empty cabin.  So just keep trying and you may find a last minute cancellation available for booking.  Congrats to the OP on their persistence and bagging the cabin. 

[Clampram]

15 hours ago, LCTrippers said:

 

Congratulations!

what was it you were watching?  Would you give us a link or the name of the forum discussion?

I was watching the listing on the Princess website for the cruise that we wanted. Because of heath issues, we had to wait until this past Saturday (after hubby had a torn meniscus surgerized) to try to book but we wanted to leave on Jan 19.......so only two weeks in advance.

I pretty much read all of the forum posts regarding last minute booking and booking in  general. There is no magic bullet. It really is persistence and vigilance. The cruise was listed as sold out, then they opened up a bunch of deluxe balconies on Thursday and closed them on Friday. On Friday, nothing was available.....they removed the 9 deluxe balconies and then called the ship "sold out". At that point, it seemed that they were finalizing cabin assignments so I started checking almost every hour. At 5 AM on Saturday, one minisuite opened up and I booked it immediately. of course, you need to be type A and retired to do this approach........but I am both! I was not watching all night, though so it could have happened earlier

I have been watching since yesterday morning and they have now opened up 1 forward balcony. It will be interesting to see how close to the cruise departure when they are still selling. I prefer having my cabin picked out months ahead of time but I had no choice on this one.