Panama Canal May 2016 already almost booked up?

Is it normal for Disney to book up for this cruise so early, or do they open rooms up at a later date?

Website shows no verandah rooms left and only a handful of other room categories including concierge.

I thought the 14 day cruises were generally less busy, but I guess I was wrong.

Is it normal for Disney to book up for this cruise so early, or do they open rooms up at a later date?

 

Website shows no verandah rooms left and only a handful of other room categories including concierge.

 

I thought the 14 day cruises were generally less busy, but I guess I was wrong.

Often people will book a cruise just in case they want to take it, to lock in the opening day (lower) prices.

Then they will cancel if it doesn't work out. As long as they cancel prior to the PIF date, they don't lose any money (unless they booked Concierge).

Also, disney does fairly few PC runs, so there is higher demand.

They have been (and still are) offering OGT, IGT, and military rates on this cruise for the past 2 months. At this point there are no available balcony cabins showing, but they are continuing to sell cat 9-11 including the special rates. That would tell me that the ship isn't full yet and the cruise is less than a month away.

You can forget all the above--that's for 2015.

For 2016-- A lot of people dream about this cruise. What usually happens is that people plunk down a deposit and then cancel if it doesn't fit schedules or budgets. My guess is that you'll see availability as the penalty date nears.

If it is a one of kind re-positioning cruise . They will usually sell out fairly quickly . I've noticed that on other cruise lines as well.

I don't think there is a EBPC next year which might be where the demand is coming from.

Edit: Never mind, there is one. Yeah, that seems weird then. The repos RARELY sell out unless it's a new interesting itinerary.

When DCL first did the Panama crossings, they sold like wildfire. In 2005 they sold out in under 2 days, and 2009 was just about that fast. BUT 2005 was the first and we didn't know if there would be another. And then we all waited 4 years for the next one. Now they have become an every year event, so the demand is less.

In 2014, DCL scheduled the Panama and TA cruises so they conflicted--there was no way an individual could do both. I honestly can't say whether that influenced bookings or not.

The trans-Atlantics frequently sell out based on numbers of cabins but there are a relatively smaller number of people on board than normal. MANY cabins are usually occupied by one or two persons rather than their capacity of 3 or 4.