krittykat Posted September 18, 2022 #1 Share Posted September 18, 2022 I know there is some way you can get a ball park idea how full/booked the ship is but I am truly unable to figure it out. We are sailing on the Dawn out of Southampton on 10/15 around Spain/Portugal, ending in Rome. I know it is one of the smaller ships that NCL sails (which I like). Since we are just under 4 weeks away, I am trying to find out how booked is our cruise? Not looking to upgrade personally but never was one for crowds. Anyone know or can figure this out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiserbear55 Posted September 18, 2022 #2 Share Posted September 18, 2022 47 minutes ago, krittykat said: I know there is some way you can get a ball park idea how full/booked the ship is but I am truly unable to figure it out. We are sailing on the Dawn out of Southampton on 10/15 around Spain/Portugal, ending in Rome. I know it is one of the smaller ships that NCL sails (which I like). Since we are just under 4 weeks away, I am trying to find out how booked is our cruise? Not looking to upgrade personally but never was one for crowds. Anyone know or can figure this out? Go to NCL and do a mock booking. Check each category of cabins. And all the sub categories. This is very time consuming. If you see fifteen available cabins for each category, you can assume there is more available and the ship is not sold out. On the other hand, if you find no or very few cabins available, you can assume the ship is sold out or close to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronheg Posted September 18, 2022 #3 Share Posted September 18, 2022 We were on the Star on 9/4. We had 1600 passengers. 70% capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmoopie17 Posted September 18, 2022 #4 Share Posted September 18, 2022 (edited) 25 minutes ago, cruiserbear55 said: Go to NCL and do a mock booking. Check each category of cabins. And all the sub categories. This is very time consuming. If you see fifteen available cabins for each category, you can assume there is more available and the ship is not sold out. On the other hand, if you find no or very few cabins available, you can assume the ship is sold out or close to it. That doesn't always work. I have done a mock booking every day this week to see if the price of our Nov 1 TA has dropped. When trying to book a balcony, nothing comes up except "guarantee" cabins. You might think that there are no other balconies available. Not so. I did an online chat with NCL and she told me there are plenty of balconies available, but you have to call to book. Edited September 18, 2022 by schmoopie17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiserbear55 Posted September 18, 2022 #5 Share Posted September 18, 2022 15 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said: That doesn't always work. I have done a mock booking every day this week to see if the price of our Nov 1 TA has dropped. When trying to book a balcony, nothing comes up except "guarantee" cabins. You might think that there are no other balconies available. Not so. I did an online chat with NCL and she told me there are plenty of balconies available, but you have to call to book. Sorry, it was the best I could come up with. Do you have other suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmoopie17 Posted September 18, 2022 #6 Share Posted September 18, 2022 1 hour ago, cruiserbear55 said: Sorry, it was the best I could come up with. Do you have other suggestions? This has been a hot subject on CC for as long as I can recall (almost 20 years). I have never found a fool-proof method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krittykat Posted September 18, 2022 Author #7 Share Posted September 18, 2022 1 hour ago, cruiserbear55 said: Go to NCL and do a mock booking. Check each category of cabins. And all the sub categories. This is very time consuming. If you see fifteen available cabins for each category, you can assume there is more available and the ship is not sold out. On the other hand, if you find no or very few cabins available, you can assume the ship is sold out or close to it. Unfortunately, that doesn't work. It no longer gives the ability to choose a cabin in any category. Only treats it like a guarantee cabin. So no way to tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krittykat Posted September 18, 2022 Author #8 Share Posted September 18, 2022 Just now, krittykat said: Unfortunately, that doesn't work. It no longer gives the ability to choose a cabin in any category. Only treats it like a guarantee cabin. So no way to tell. Ok, well..one can dream about 60 percent occupancy, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Av8torcrj Posted September 18, 2022 #9 Share Posted September 18, 2022 Out of curiosity I looked at your dates on cruise dot com. Looks like lots of cabins available to me considering how close the departure is. 15 club balcony open with those numbers repeated in other categories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiserbear55 Posted September 18, 2022 #10 Share Posted September 18, 2022 27 minutes ago, krittykat said: Unfortunately, that doesn't work. It no longer gives the ability to choose a cabin in any category. Only treats it like a guarantee cabin. So no way to tell. Didn't realize NCL wasn't showing open cabins any longer. Last time I did a mock booking, three months or so ago, open cabins were still listed. Av8torcrj is correct in the site they mention still shows available cabins. Don't know why NCL would stop showing them. We've always enjoyed the selection process. Picking a cabin from the list and then going to Cruise Decks.com and seeing what is above and below the recommended cabin, then making a decision as to whether it would be a good cabin "fit" or not. Obviously, will now have to win the lottery and just book the Garden Villa!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kjquilts Posted September 18, 2022 #11 Share Posted September 18, 2022 I looked at a New Hampshire site that shows more than 15 staterooms per category... BA balconies 94 on deck 9 1 on deck 10 BI aft facing balcony 1 on deck 8 MB Club balcony guarantee MA Club Balcony 37 on deck 11 SP Family Suite 12 on deck 10 SD Forward Facing Suite w/large balcony 2 on deck 10 (lol I want one of them) SB Family Suite w/balcony 6 on deck 12 S3 Owners Suite w/ 2 balconies 2 on deck 9 S4 2 Bdrm Dlx Family Suite with balcony 5 on deck 11 I didn't check out interiors or oceanviews - some balcony categories were guarantee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OrcaGirl Posted September 18, 2022 #12 Share Posted September 18, 2022 1 hour ago, krittykat said: Unfortunately, that doesn't work. It no longer gives the ability to choose a cabin in any category. Only treats it like a guarantee cabin. So no way to tell. It could vary by cruise. I did a mock booking on the NCL website this morning for my January cruise and was able to see which specific cabins were available in another category. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiserbear55 Posted September 18, 2022 #13 Share Posted September 18, 2022 7 minutes ago, kjquilts said: I looked at a New Hampshire site that shows more than 15 staterooms per category... BA balconies 94 on deck 9 1 on deck 10 BI aft facing balcony 1 on deck 8 MB Club balcony guarantee MA Club Balcony 37 on deck 11 SP Family Suite 12 on deck 10 SD Forward Facing Suite w/large balcony 2 on deck 10 (lol I want one of them) SB Family Suite w/balcony 6 on deck 12 S3 Owners Suite w/ 2 balconies 2 on deck 9 S4 2 Bdrm Dlx Family Suite with balcony 5 on deck 11 I didn't check out interiors or oceanviews - some balcony categories were guarantee Can you give the beginning and ending letters of the site here in NH. Nobody I know that cruises can find it. Evidently, I don't know the right people!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kjquilts Posted September 18, 2022 #14 Share Posted September 18, 2022 six letters starts with something that rhymes with sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Nclgetawaymenhoney Posted September 18, 2022 #15 Share Posted September 18, 2022 13 minutes ago, kjquilts said: I looked at a New Hampshire site that shows more than 15 staterooms per category... BA balconies 94 on deck 9 1 on deck 10 BI aft facing balcony 1 on deck 8 MB Club balcony guarantee MA Club Balcony 37 on deck 11 SP Family Suite 12 on deck 10 SD Forward Facing Suite w/large balcony 2 on deck 10 (lol I want one of them) SB Family Suite w/balcony 6 on deck 12 S3 Owners Suite w/ 2 balconies 2 on deck 9 S4 2 Bdrm Dlx Family Suite with balcony 5 on deck 11 I didn't check out interiors or oceanviews - some balcony categories were guarantee Yes I just went there as well did every category total 245 open cabins all categories subcategories Happy sailing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krittykat Posted September 19, 2022 Author #16 Share Posted September 19, 2022 44 minutes ago, Nclgetawaymenhoney said: Yes I just went there as well did every category total 245 open cabins all categories subcategories Happy sailing. Thanks! That helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaggoB Posted September 19, 2022 #17 Share Posted September 19, 2022 On The NCL website they are guaranteed cabins. They pick out the cabin for you. Call NCL and they let you pick out the cabin you want and it costs more than on the web site. More money in their pocket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdpatte Posted September 21, 2022 #18 Share Posted September 21, 2022 no matter what I search for I can't figure out the NH website. Any way to get another clue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PATRLR Posted September 21, 2022 #19 Share Posted September 21, 2022 6 hours ago, kdpatte said: no matter what I search for I can't figure out the NH website. Any way to get another clue? I think know which one they are referring to. The last three letters might be used to describe Andy Dufresne. But I have a different site that I use that also provides the information. Everyone loves Cheap Cruises, don't they? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickle11 Posted September 21, 2022 #20 Share Posted September 21, 2022 On 9/18/2022 at 12:30 PM, krittykat said: I know there is some way you can get a ball park idea how full/booked the ship is but I am truly unable to figure it out. There is no way to find out. And I still do not understand why a ships occupancy is now a major concern ever since cruising has restarted. Seems to be a topic every other week. I have never booked a cruise considering a ships occupancy percentage. I always prepare for a full ship with long lines and rude cruisers. And will still have a fantastic time. Off to Mexico next week on Celebrity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaShark Posted September 21, 2022 #21 Share Posted September 21, 2022 The problem with the available cabins methodology is that it fails to take into account the number of people that are IN a booked cabin. You could have a cruise where half of the cabins are not booked, but if the booked cabins all have 4 guests in them* then you are at 100% capacity. Likewise, if every cabin on the ship was booked by a solo traveler, then the ship would only be at 50% capacity with no available cabins. *(And yes, I know that not ALL cabins will have 4 guests...it is just an example...nothing more.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare graphicguy Posted September 21, 2022 #22 Share Posted September 21, 2022 20 minutes ago, SeaShark said: The problem with the available cabins methodology is that it fails to take into account the number of people that are IN a booked cabin. You could have a cruise where half of the cabins are not booked, but if the booked cabins all have 4 guests in them* then you are at 100% capacity. Likewise, if every cabin on the ship was booked by a solo traveler, then the ship would only be at 50% capacity with no available cabins. *(And yes, I know that not ALL cabins will have 4 guests...it is just an example...nothing more.) Yeah….overall, it’s at best, a guessing game. Plus, they don’t really know a total count until everyone is checked in and on the ship. I know I’ve tried to pinpoint the amount of guests before sailing. And, given the wildly inaccurate guesses (and many times glitchy WEB sites), I’ve come to the conclusion no one can make a reliable estimate, including me. Doesn’t matter. I’m booked and sailing regardless of there’s 1 guest or 6,000 guests sailing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PATRLR Posted September 21, 2022 #23 Share Posted September 21, 2022 (edited) 9 minutes ago, graphicguy said: Yeah….overall, it’s at best, a guessing game. Plus, they don’t really know a total count until everyone is checked in and on the ship. I know I’ve tried to pinpoint the amount of guests before sailing. And, given the wildly inaccurate guesses (and many times glitchy WEB sites), I’ve come to the conclusion no one can make a reliable estimate, including me. Doesn’t matter. I’m booked and sailing regardless of there’s 1 guest or 6,000 guests sailing. I agree it doesn't matter and agree it's a guessing game. Another thing we don't know is how many GTY bookings there are. But that doesn't stop my curiosity 😉. I just looked at my Nov 13 Encore and see 260 cabins I can book. That gives me a bit of an idea. Just a bit. Edited September 21, 2022 by PATRLR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare graphicguy Posted September 21, 2022 #24 Share Posted September 21, 2022 Just now, PATRLR said: I agree it doesn't matter, but that doesn't stop my curiosity and its a guessing game. I just looked at my Nov 13 Encore and see 260 cabins I can book. That gives me a bit of an idea. Just a bit. I can see that. But, even NCL’s booking site isn’t all that accurate (and glitchy). My TA complains all the time that she’ll make a booking, and until it’s accepted by NCL, she doesn’t tell her customers it’s official. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaShark Posted September 21, 2022 #25 Share Posted September 21, 2022 (edited) 8 minutes ago, PATRLR said: I agree it doesn't matter, but that doesn't stop my curiosity and its a guessing game. I just looked at my Nov 13 Encore and see 260 cabins I can book. That gives me a bit of an idea. Just a bit. But even that is missing important data...saying "260 cabins I can book" doesn't mean anything without also having the total cabin count. Not only that, but you still have to deal with venue capacity. Even on a ship sailing with less than 100% capacity, restaurants, bars, and other venues can be easily packed and overcrowded if large groups of people decide to go at the same time. Edited September 21, 2022 by SeaShark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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