Wait listed for cruise. Anyone have experience?

We're wait listed for a specific cabin category for a cruise about 5 weeks away. Category has maybe 32 cabins on Infnity. Is it pointless or promising? My searches on X's CC have been futile which makes me think no one bothers to be on a wait list????? Many thanks, even if it's bad news! :)

Just so I understand correctly.....there are 32 cabins of the category that you are looking for available? If this is the case why would you have to be waitlisted?

Just so I understand correctly.....there are 32 cabins of the category that you are looking for available? If this is the case why would you have to be waitlisted?

Forget it. Guess I should've read the question better. There are 32 on the ship....not available. Sorry! My bad!

I wouldn't depend on waitlist. They are trying to fill the ship in any way possible. You need to monitor for canceled cabins multiple times per day and call immediately if you see one open up or better yet place it on hold then call. I'd say if the ship is very full your chance is < 50% this close in.

Funny but true story here.

Several years ago (2011), wife and I wanted a specific cruise on HAL. Only thing we could get three months away was a waitlist for the cruise. About 2 weeks before, HAL called us and said we could book. The price had gone up considerably. We declined.

Then on the day of the cruise, there was a MAJOR blizzard on the East Coast. I called HAL at 9 a.m. and asked if there were any cancellations. There were quite a few. I asked if I could get one of those cabins. I could. I asked if I could get a discount. I got a balcony cabin for 2/3 off!

We packed a suitcase, gassed up the car, and were at the port in 3 hours. Great cruise!

We're wait listed for a specific cabin category for a cruise about 5 weeks away. Category has maybe 32 cabins on Infnity. Is it pointless or promising? My searches on X's CC have been futile which makes me think no one bothers to be on a wait list????? Many thanks, even if it's bad news! :)

a) Do you know your position on the waitlist? If you are #1 there is a better chance than if you are number 5.

b) If you really want to be on this cruise, book a different cabin category or if necessary get on the waitlists for additional categories.

Being only 5 weeks away I would guess a slim chance. Cancellations at this point are only because of emergencies. Are you already booked in another category and just hoping to move.

I was on a waitlist for a sky suite for next April... I looked everyday and saw the category open up and booked it... the stupid waitlist never cleared and I was able to book the cabin! So keep checking and you never know if anyone else will upgrade and your category open up.

I was booked in a cabin that later was waitlisted. About 2 months out, the cruise line dropped some prices and I was upgraded to a cabin 5 doors down. I am assuming this occurred because I was in a category that had a waiting list.

But at 5 weeks, don't know doesn't seem promising.

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Thank you all so much for your responses. We are #1 on the wait list, I'm told. We are NOT booked, we took this Pacific Coastal cruise a few years ago (great itinerary) and only would want a Sky Suite this time. Only Royal Suite available (ha! Not in my budget!)

When you suggest "checking" is that just on the X website to see if there is availability to book? Is there another avenue? Again, thank you all!

Yes check every day on the website, that is how I found my category opened.

The "waitlist" is a myth. It doesn't exist. No one can convince me otherwise.

If you tried to book with a travel agent, and they are diligent, they will check back often to see if what you want has become available.

Otherwise, you should check several times a day (morning/midday/night) and see if it has become available. If so, grab it immediately.

This is how I got my current cruise which was sold-out at the time I first tried to book.

Funny but true story here.

 

Several years ago (2011), wife and I wanted a specific cruise on HAL. Only thing we could get three months away was a waitlist for the cruise. About 2 weeks before, HAL called us and said we could book. The price had gone up considerably. We declined.

 

 

Then on the day of the cruise, there was a MAJOR blizzard on the East Coast. I called HAL at 9 a.m. and asked if there were any cancellations. There were quite a few. I asked if I could get one of those cabins. I could. I asked if I could get a discount. I got a balcony cabin for 2/3 off!

 

 

We packed a suitcase, gassed up the car, and were at the port in 3 hours. Great cruise!

Interesting, I thought that the 72 hour manifest turn in rule had been in place since shortly after 9/11

Interesting, I thought that the 72 hour manifest turn in rule had been in place since shortly after 9/11

It has to be turned in an hour or two before the cruise starts.

I was trying to get on the Equinox, into a group booking for a cruise that left on 7/23/17. There was extra space available in 4 rooms within the group but I was told by multiple sources the cruise was 1.oversold and 2. sailing over capacity so I could not be booked into any of these cabins. A person in the "resolutions department" was trying to help get me on this cruise since it was a family reunion. She told me on Friday 7/21/17 "there was nothing she could do to get me on this ship". Sometime in the wee hours of Friday night, rooms started to show up in the reservation system. I reserved a balcony and called to pay for it on 7/22/17 for a cruise that left the next day. It is possible to get on a ship but you have to be proactive. Celebrity was no help to me on this one.

Don't confuse Celebrity wait list to airline standby. Airline standby your waiting for someone not to show up at time of departure. Celebrity wait list, you have a cabin, you just don't know which one.

2 years ago Celebrity listed VERY cheap fares for verandas on a trans-Atlantic cruise 2 weeks prior to departure. We booked wait listed and was told at time of booking, we have a veranda cabin but they just don't know which one. About 5 days prior to departure, they informed me which cabin they assigned. I later learned on the cruise that, because of the low ball fare, they had to up graded a lot of passengers who payed a higher fare.

Don't confuse Celebrity wait list to airline standby. Airline standby your waiting for someone not to show up at time of departure. Celebrity wait list, you have a cabin, you just don't know which one.

 

2 years ago Celebrity listed VERY cheap fares for verandas on a trans-Atlantic cruise 2 weeks prior to departure. We booked wait listed and was told at time of booking, we have a veranda cabin but they just don't know which one. About 5 days prior to departure, they informed me which cabin they assigned. I later learned on the cruise that, because of the low ball fare, they had to up graded a lot of passengers who payed a higher fare.

That's not a waitlist. It's a guaranty cabin. Here's the difference. If they take your money, you'll get a cabin. If they tell you they'll put you on a waitlist....you'll never hear from them again.

2 years ago Celebrity listed VERY cheap fares for verandas on a trans-Atlantic cruise 2 weeks prior to departure. We booked wait listed and was told at time of booking, we have a veranda cabin but they just don't know which one. About 5 days prior to departure, they informed me which cabin they assigned. I later learned on the cruise that, because of the low ball fare, they had to up graded a lot of passengers who payed a higher fare.

Interesting. Does that mean if you pay more for your cabin and it becomes a popular "guaranteed category" with a low fare, you're more likely to get upgraded than if you paid a lower fare, such as those that are offered when the itinerary is opened for booking?

Just wondering, because I like to choose our cabin for specific reasons and don't really want to be upgraded.

Interesting. Does that mean if you pay more for your cabin and it becomes a popular "guaranteed category" with a low fare, you're more likely to get upgraded than if you paid a lower fare, such as those that are offered when the itinerary is opened for booking?

 

Just wondering, because I like to choose our cabin for specific reasons and don't really want to be upgraded.

I recall talking to one person that upgraded on that cruise, they payed an extra fee and moved up to Aqua Class. For me on my trans-Atlantic, I was on deck 6 which had a view of looking over the lifeboat to see the sea. Not a desirable cabin and I can see passengers who payed more wanting out of that room. Probably agreed to transfer to another veranda.

But to answer your question, I don't know.

Now this happened to me, not on Celebrity but on Princess. I was on the Emerald Princess for a Baltic Cruise. I unknowingly booked a handicap room that was an obstructed ocean view cabin. When I arrived at the terminal in Copenhagen to check-in I noticed the desk staff giving me another cabin. When I told her that not my booked cabin she responded, trust me you'll like this cabin. It was a mini-suite. I had no problem with that.

Funny but true story here.

 

Several years ago (2011), wife and I wanted a specific cruise on HAL. Only thing we could get three months away was a waitlist for the cruise. About 2 weeks before, HAL called us and said we could book. The price had gone up considerably. We declined.

 

 

Then on the day of the cruise, there was a MAJOR blizzard on the East Coast. I called HAL at 9 a.m. and asked if there were any cancellations. There were quite a few. I asked if I could get one of those cabins. I could. I asked if I could get a discount. I got a balcony cabin for 2/3 off!

 

 

We packed a suitcase, gassed up the car, and were at the port in 3 hours. Great cruise!

Our HAL story is a bit different. We wanted to go on a European cruise and HAL had one that sounded great. We had enjoyed our previous trips with them but had to be waitlisted for this one. While waiting, we found a Celebrity cruise that also sounded good, so we booked it. Naturally, HAL called just with a cabin just days before embarkation. Too late. That trip is what got us back cruising with X. Otherwise, we might have been visiting the HAL boards for the past twenty five years.

A few years ago we were waitlisted. The cruiseLine called several days after we waitlisted and gave us a huge handicap room. Best OV ever. We did not request a specific category, so that might have gotten us a room sooner. If you are indeed #1, I think you have a very good chance of getting what you want. You might consider checking availability on some of the big online sites. I find that often they have cabins that don't show up on the cruiseline site.

UPDATE: I think the "wait list" may well be a myth, as suggested. We were wait listed both with X and with a big internet agency we've used several times. This AM I looked at X's site (yet again) and a GTY Sky Suite appeared. I booked it. However that was hours ago, it's no longer listed, and neither X nor the internet agency let me know about the availability of a cabin. But I'm happy. And thanks so much for everyone's responses. Maybe these posts will help anyone else who searches this cabin wait list topic. :D

Congrats on the suite... It always pays to be pro active :cool:

Where's the cruise?

Cruise is a Pacific Coastal. We have always booked cruises many months ahead, but when this Sept. 24 Infinity cruise didn't come up for 2018, I wanted to get on this 2017 cruise. And we've never had a suite cabin, only Aqua, so I'm excited to have just a touch more cabin space.

UPDATE: I think the "wait list" may well be a myth, as suggested. We were wait listed both with X and with a big internet agency we've used several times. This AM I looked at X's site (yet again) and a GTY Sky Suite appeared. I booked it. However that was hours ago, it's no longer listed, and neither X nor the internet agency let me know about the availability of a cabin.

I think wait lists are processed manually, not by a computer.

So if a cabin becomes available, it can show up on the web site (and can be booked there) before the person responsible for doing it manually can get to it.