steveaaaa Posted August 23, 2004 #1 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I just got off the Destiny yesterday and I have found another issue that just rubs me the wrong way. I was at the pursers early on boarding day and the problem of the day was they are overbooked for the 8/15 sailing by 8 cabins. After leaving the ship and returning later I happen to see one of the families who do not have a cabin because of overbooking. They were a little upset to say the least. They were supposed to be flown to ST.thomas to see if they can board if people don't show up. I have no further info on that issue. Another issue I heard and witnessed at the pursers (I have several problems myself) was a couple who booked a Balcony and got an inside room.All CCL offered was to refund the difference between a balcony and an inside cabin. And the last mess up was a family of 4 who booked a quad got only a double.I do not know how this ended up. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RinaJune612 Posted August 23, 2004 #2 Share Posted August 23, 2004 wow!! how do you overbook? I have never been able to understand. I fly twice a month and I see that happen all the time...They shouldnt over book just keep some people on a stand by and the stand by people will understand the rules of stand by. I didn't know you could be Down greaded on your cabin wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samiam Posted August 23, 2004 #3 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Yikes! I will probably have nightmares over this. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruzn buckeye Posted August 23, 2004 #4 Share Posted August 23, 2004 This is the second time that I have read about this happening. I love Carnival and have been on 12 cruises with them, the 13th coming up next month. Our sailing is on 9/11 and there appears to be no availability with 3 weeks to go. I hope they did not overbook our cruise! I have never heard of cruises overbooking before. That is just a crazy thing to do! It doesn't make sense as you are to make final payment 70 days out on most cruises. It will also scare people away. And with the refund policy, they wouldn't lose a lot by people cancelling later. I hope this does not happen anymore. It's kinda scary....especially when you are cruising out of San Juan. The airfare is high...even when you book with the cruiseline it is over $500pp. Does anyone know if any other cruiselines are doing this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoinCruisin Posted August 23, 2004 #5 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Our sailing on 10/23 is also overbooked... seems to be happening more often... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babs275 Posted August 23, 2004 #6 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I STILL don't understand how they can double sell an assigned cabin. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone arriving at the dock and had someone else in their cabin...unless this is how those magical "visits from the upgrade fairy" happen. Maybe it's just a long standing way of doing things that's starting to bite them in the rear! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJS2K3 Posted August 23, 2004 #7 Share Posted August 23, 2004 That hurts. :( They may want to tinker with whatever formula they're using to book. Getting bumped on a plane is one thing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveaaaa Posted August 23, 2004 Author #8 Share Posted August 23, 2004 The way they do this is with the "Guaranteed catagory bookings" When they sell a guarantee, they are not giving you a room so this is how it happens.Just like the airlines.If you don't have an assigned seat, then you don't have a seat.....yet. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KellyJean Posted August 23, 2004 #9 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I STILL don't understand how they can double sell an assigned cabin. Maybe they are selling too many "guarantees". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjar855 Posted August 23, 2004 #10 Share Posted August 23, 2004 This is Really getting SCAREY.!:eek: I have never heard of them giving away your assigned cabin. This is why you book an assigned cabin. You choose your cabin and pay for it. I can understand a Guarantee. If my cabin is not there when I arrive,I for one am going to be really p----d off:mad: .Please don't say it is so.!!! Now I am going to check to see how full my cruise is.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babs275 Posted August 23, 2004 #11 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Maybe they are selling too many "guarantees". But they are doing this with the ship out of Baltimore and many are reporting that it included those with assigned cabins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJS2K3 Posted August 23, 2004 #12 Share Posted August 23, 2004 They use a formula that takes into account how many bookings vs. cancellations they can expect. They had either more than expected bookings or less than expected cancellations, obviously. 8 cabins is pretty close though, statistically speaking. But try telling that to the folks who got bumped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dms_cruisers04 Posted August 23, 2004 #13 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Steve, any idea how many passengers disembarked and how many embarked in Barbados and Aruba? If the ship was already overbooked in SanJuan on Sunday I wonder how many more problems were created on Wednesday and Friday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pholter Posted August 23, 2004 #14 Share Posted August 23, 2004 My 10/17 sailing on the Destiny has been pulled off the Carnival site, so my guess is that it has probably been oversold as well. I will never book a guarantee, that's for sure! My cabin assignment is secure per my Carnival rep.... :) Sorry to hear about the folks who's vacation probably got ruined and there's no amount of money to make up for that.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dms_cruisers04 Posted August 23, 2004 #15 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Pholter, don't stress too much yet. Our 9/12 sailing was pulled back in July, but the 9/15 from Barbados and the 9/17 from Aruba were still up at that time. I even had to call about possibly changing cabins for some in my group and there were still cabins open at that time. That's why I was wondering if Steve got a feel for how many more passengers were off and on during his cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoinCruisin Posted August 23, 2004 #16 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Well, everyone was asking why they changed the guarantee policy a couple of weeks ago and I think this would be one of the primary reasons... perhaps now that they are assigning cabins 8 weeks out, the problem will resolve. Although our ship was overbooked 5 months out :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halos Posted August 23, 2004 #17 Share Posted August 23, 2004 ... seems to be happening more often... Solution: BUILD MORE SHIPS!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clopaw Posted August 23, 2004 #18 Share Posted August 23, 2004 This situation just happened to my husband and me on HAL. We were supposed to be doing a seven day cruise to Canada and New England in July. We had an assigned room since we booked in April, bottom deck, far forward with portholes. They had called once and asked if we wanted to move to a totally obstructed view and get a couple of hundred dollars back. We said no. We were supposed to leave on a Saturday, and we got a call on Wed. Could we move to the next week or two weeks later or a ten day in October (with a financial incentive) Well, because of my work schedule and other people's vacations none of those would work. The deal we finally worked out was a 10 day cruise to the Panama Canal in December in a verandah cabin, 25% of our payment for the 7 day refunded, and a refund of the charge from the airline to change our tickets. We are very happy. This was, however, our choice. It wasn't forced on us. I can't imagine getting to the pier and not having a room. Our agent says she sees this happen a lot on Princess, not so much on other lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serene56 Posted August 23, 2004 #19 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I understand that overbooking does occur. What I dont understand is those people not finding out until they got to the pier. But if I booked a balcony and they stuck me to an inside what can I do about it? its a done deal-- either i take the cabin or I dont sail- thats my options? I buy my cabin long time ago--over a year in advance. I am sure the inside cabins costs more then what I booked a balcony for. How will theydetermine the going rate of what money I would get back? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjar855 Posted August 23, 2004 #20 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Is anyone on the Pride 9/12 ,and do we know if it is a full ship yet.? I am getting worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VentureMan_2000 Posted August 23, 2004 #21 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I'll be on the Pride 9/12. By my best (gu)estimation, there are 31 cabins open on this cruise as I write this: 11 Balcony, 3 ocean view, 6 obstructed ocean view, and 11 inside cabins. There were 46 this morning. Sounds like it is going to be a full ship as it is 97% booked right now. I'm driving down the day before, and staying at a Hotel in Long Beach with a Park and Cruise package. The name is the GuestHouse International Hotel and the price is about $75 if I remember correctly. I can leave my car parked at the Hotel and they will shuttle me to and from the ship. Parking at the pier would have been $70. This will give my DW and I time to relax by the pool the day before, and arrive for the early check-in at the Queen Mary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoinCruisin Posted August 23, 2004 #22 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I don't know that there is any reason to panic... I don't think it happens terribly often, but it has become more common. Let's all hope that this new policy will shape things up a bit. I would imagine that the pricing policy and the guarantee policy will help to keep this from happening! Let's hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VentureMan_2000 Posted August 23, 2004 #23 Share Posted August 23, 2004 Sending out the Docs 8 weeks early IS the reason for this. It also makes the customer experience better for the Gty folks. They get their cabin assignment early, making check-in easier for all involved. I wouldn't worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJS2K3 Posted August 23, 2004 #24 Share Posted August 23, 2004 How does sending the docs out earlier change anything? I'm sure the folks mentioned above showed up with docs in hand. I'm missing something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted August 23, 2004 #25 Share Posted August 23, 2004 I'll be on the Pride 9/12. By my best (gu)estimation, there are 31 cabins open on this cruise as I write this: 11 Balcony, 3 ocean view, 6 obstructed ocean view, and 11 inside cabins. There were 46 this morning. Sounds like it is going to be a full ship as it is 97% booked right now. I'm driving down the day before, and staying at a Hotel in Long Beach with a Park and Cruise package. The name is the GuestHouse International Hotel and the price is about $75 if I remember correctly. I can leave my car parked at the Hotel and they will shuttle me to and from the ship. Parking at the pier would have been $70. This will give my DW and I time to relax by the pool the day before, and arrive for the early check-in at the Queen Mary. We are cruising on 12/18/04 and I've been curious about how many cabins are left. Any help would be greatly appreciated.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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