Extra fee to pick your own room has gotten ridiculous - time to move on?

[schildiams]

How can you easily find group space?

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, 2chiefs said:

I guess I wasn't clear enough. The people getting bumped at the pier brought to light that the cruise lines are over-booking a lot more now. People are getting bumped more often than previously thought but since they are notified weeks in advance, it hasn't been in the news so much. I've read (and watched cruise news on YouTube) that this practice is more common that people realize. I didn't mean to over-state anything. What I do know based on my own experiences is that the charge to pick your own room has gone up significantly. 

The cruise lines are not overbooking a lot more now. 
 

Every travel related industry does very sophisticated analysis (yield management) to set fares/rates and bookings. Trains, planes, automobiles, hotels, cruise ships. Airlines calculate the number of anticipated no shows and cancellation by flight. No money in an empty seat or empty cabin. 
 

The pandemic has totally changed travel behavior. During the pandemic and shortly after, there was a very high cancellation and no show rate. Now the cancellation/no show rates are lower than pre-pandemic. 
 

And sometimes they just get it wrong. And the cruise line (like an airline) is looking for people to volunteer to give up their rooms and ultimately, if they don’t have a room, someone (without an assigned cabin = Guarantee) is left standing on the dock. 
 

In a younger life, I used to do airline analysis and for some flights, as much as 25% of the passenger would no show. 

Edited February 4 by BirdTravels

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, EllieinNJ said:

I always look for group rates from travel agents.  Besides getting a lower price they have enough inventory so you can pick a cabin in whichever category you want, no additional charge.

 

This.

[smokeybandit]

5 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

And sometimes they just get it wrong. And the cruise line (like an airline) is looking for people to volunteer to give up their rooms and ultimately, if they don’t have a room, someone (without an assigned cabin = Guarantee) is left standing on the dock. 

In the end it was a tiny percentage of cruises affected, too.

[karebare22]

2 hours ago, 2chiefs said:

Fares are already really high now! Now they're throwing gasoline on to the fire. I've been pricing cruises online for the 2025 season and have noticed the remarkable increase in price to be able to pick your own room. For instance today I mock-booked a balcony cabin on Adventure for May 16, 2025 and the price is $395 higher to be able to pick your own room. That's a lot of "insurance" to ensure you are not bumped from a cruise from the rampant over booking that cruise lines are doing now. I guess it's time to look at other alternative vacations to do. Hopefully all this price gouging the cruise lines are doing will reduce demand, so the prices come back down.

We book GTY quite often because for our family of 4 (2 cabins), it is normally the less expensive option. Your example is actually typical of what I’ve seen in the past, I recall it used to be around $200 per person cheaper (ie $800 savings for our family). I agree that the price difference between the pick/you pick has significantly increased though. For our June 2025 cruise, it is $600 more per person for us to pick the balcony cabin. 
 

Obviously I would prefer to choose my own cabin (location, deck etc), but we have never been assigned a bad guaranty cabin, and even if we were we would accept that. I don’t consider picking my own cabin as “insurance” that I won’t be bumped from a room. I see it as a good savings that I can put towards other things (excursions, dining etc). 

 

1 hour ago, EllieinNJ said:

I always look for group rates from travel agents.  Besides getting a lower price they have enough inventory so you can pick a cabin in whichever category you want, no additional charge.

This is probably your best option vs booking  GTY 

[EllieinNJ]

33 minutes ago, schildiams said:

How can you easily find group space?

Try looking at some of the large internet TAs.

[2chiefs]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

OK, cite people getting bumped weeks in advance. The handful of cruises that did oversell had plenty of volunteers to ensure no one got involuntarily bumped.

Please cite your source

[2chiefs]

3 hours ago, time4u2go said:

Where have you seen evidence of this?  It certainly was not in the article you cited.

 

 There're several articles here on Cruise Critic as well as many articles elsewhere. This has been happening a long time see: Just like Airlines, Cruise Lines Overbook – and It’s Nothing New. | CruiseHabit but has increased a lot lately due to the supply/demand issue folks are talking about. They want to keep the ships full. Hence overbooking, and bidding up etc... The list goes on. As far as cruise lines overbooking more now, there are lots of articles about it. Check Internet Search Engines, YouTube, TikTok, Cruise web sites etc.. I'm not going to cite everything I've seen here. I was just starting this thread to see if others are seeing the same. Instead, I get attacked and am told to cite references. I'm not writing a dissertation, just posting an observation. I give up and will never start a thread again.

[goldfish65]

The stories on the internet and YouTube are exaggerated; they are meant to get people worked up. 

A travel agent's expertise is valuable in saving you money and avoiding pitfalls. 

Seems like all the cruise lines have their pricing strategies and cutbacks, so in order to "move on," the option is to find other forms of vacation. 

[doghog]

We always and will continue to select our cabin. We want to know exactly where our cabin is. Not into surprises and not worth the price. We always book early to make sure we get the cabin of our choice. 

Edited February 4 by doghog

[Cigar King]

Move on. 

 

Look, I totally get it, cruising has gotten a lot more expensive.  When I look at my cruise spreadsheet, I'm a little stunned at what I am spending.

 

That being said, I guess I still feel like it's a good value, considering what you get.  Obviously not everyone feels that way and hopefully they'll find other options to scratch their vacation itch.

[2chiefs]

For everyone asking for citations, here's one and you'll have to take my word for it that there are many more (or look for yourself). I've read somewhere that RCL is actually booking at 109% as of this month!! (sorry you'll have to find the citation yourself). Flame on......

 

‘Too Crowded’: New Data Shows Cruises Are Being Overbooked at Alarming Rates. Two major cruise lines have been overbooking cruises, according to a new report

May 26, 2023

 

The cruise industry has made a staggering comeback after pandemic-era restrictions and distancing protocols were lifted.

But now, it appears that the industry might be too popular.

According to data obtained by the Wall Street Journal, two of the biggest cruise lines — Royal Caribbean Group (RCG) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCL) — reported over 100% occupancy rates during Q1 of 2023.

RCG saw average occupancy rates of 102.1% while NCL saw 101.5%, according to the report.

Full story https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/cruises-are-being-overbooked-at-alarming-rates-report/452929

[Cooper30]

My small sampling of booking GTY cabins leads me to believe it’s not an issue. 
 

Three out of our five upcoming cruises booked with RC are GTYs. We only choose when it’s on a bucket list itinerary, and at that point we’re willing to spend a bit more to get an aft cabin. 

[2chiefs]

2 hours ago, marci22 said:

I know what you mean. They used to list guaranty rooms when the cruise was almost sold out. Now they are doing it much earlier. You have to choose a guaranty or pay a lot more. You could try using a TA that has group space: that way you can pick your own cabin at a better price, and it's refundable until final payment.

I agree with you. We have booked two group cruises since. Thanks for a nice response.

[2chiefs]

2 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

<SNIP>>

TOMato, toMATO.  

A price difference between the two types of bookings exists.  Call it a fee or a discount, but focus on the bottom line.  

Thanks!!

[toxicfairy]

4 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Other than the one Aussie cruise that had a covid outbreak, please cite any evidence of people getting bumped at the pier.

 

There actually have been a few posts in the past year of it happening.  Not sure HOW often but they do over book.

I've thankfully never had it happen.

[2chiefs]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The cruise lines are not overbooking a lot more now. 

Actually I've read and seen several articles to the contrary, one of which I've posted in post #37 above.

[2chiefs]

2 hours ago, karebare22 said:

 

Obviously I would prefer to choose my own cabin (location, deck etc), but we have never been assigned a bad guaranty cabin, and even if we were we would accept that. I don’t consider picking my own cabin as “insurance” that I won’t be bumped from a room. I see it as a good savings that I can put towards other things (excursions, dining etc). 

I can see how you feel this way if you have never cruised before the advent of "GTY" or "We pick your cabin" rooms. It never used to be this way. Although it may look like a discount, it's really an increased fee to pick your own because the advertised price (IE: "Cabins starting at") is the price for a GTY inside cabin. If the advertised price "Cabins starting at" was for a "Pick your own cabin", then the "We pick your cabin" would be a discount.

Edited February 4 by 2chiefs

[time4u2go]

11 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

Actually I've read and seen several articles to the contrary, one of which I've posted in post #37 above.

That article is very confusing, if not misleading.  Occupancy rates over 100% are not the same as overbooking.  The article makes it sound like they are one in the same.  They most definitely are not.

 

Occupancy rates over 100% are common, and that has been the case for years.

[grandgeezer]

4 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

This has nothing to do with price gouging and everything to do with a sharp increase in demand for cruises, which has lead to an increase in cruise fares. I still think cruises are very affordable, but unfortunately the rise in cruise prices will likely lead to some people no longer being able to afford to go on a cruise. 

“Affordable” is in the eyes of buyer, just because that’s your opinion, believe it or not, not everybody agrees with you. We buy based on “value” for the price asked, and for the last several years, none have.

[smokeybandit]

23 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

Actually I've read and seen several articles to the contrary, one of which I've posted in post #37 above.

That article is completely misguided and misinformed.

Fact is, very few cruises have been overbooked and it's been quite a long time since there have been reports of overbookings. Which means RC has adjusted is oversell algorithm to get things back in line with their own reality.

[2chiefs]

2 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

That article is completely misguided and misinformed.

Fact is, very few cruises have been overbooked and it's been quite a long time since there have been reports of overbookings. Which means RC has adjusted is oversell algorithm to get things back in line with their own reality.

Citation please

[2chiefs]

5 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Since when is there a fee to pick your own room?

 

You're confusing getting a discount for letting RC pick your room.

Who's confused???

[smokeybandit]

16 minutes ago, 2chiefs said:

Citation please

Kind of hard to cite something that isn't happening.

[bnb93]

We booked a Christmas cruise in a JS on FOTS and there is a $900 difference between we pick your room ($2576.00) and you pick your room.( $3476.00). That is a very big cost difference!