Panama Canal April 2018

I am looking at Panama next April and it is only giving me the option for interior state rooms. The rest say unavailable. Does that mean they are already sold out or will they release more rooms as time goes on? I am new to DCL, so I don't know how they work.

It usually means that they are currently reserved. However, don't panic. MANY people make reservations on specialty cruises and later cancel them. Keep looking on line and something is likely to open up.

One hint--you can reserve an inside cabin now and move to an outside when one opens. At least you'd have a room on the ship and if what you want doesn't become available before the penalty date, you can cancel the reservation for a full refund.

It usually means that they are currently reserved. However' date=' don't panic. MANY people make reservations on specialty cruises and later cancel them. Keep looking on line and something is likely to open up.

 

One hint--you can reserve an inside cabin now and move to an outside when one opens. At least you'd have a room on the ship and if what you want doesn't become available before the penalty date, you can cancel the reservation for a full refund.[/quote']

 

That is what my current plan is. I was just surprised they sold out this early.

I'm honestly not surprised at all. On the British Isles cruise last year, they sold out within a week of the opening announcement. Then, they had so many cancelations that the cruise ultimately went on *GT status. This typically happens on "special" cruises, and the Panama crossings are definitely those, especially with the new canal opening.

As of today, there are only inside GTYs available for this cruise. Everything else is sold out. There will be some cancellations as it nears the PIF date, but probably not as many as in other years. The April 2018 WBPC stops at Castaway Cay and Costa Rica, which historically have not been on this itinerary.

Cancelations can occur any time. Some people cancel as soon as they know they are unlikely to be able to cruise; others hang on till near the penalty date, hoping that something changes and they can go. Yes, most cancelations occur near the penalty date. Some may even happen after that--in those cases the issue is typically a medical one where the booked guests have no choice. Bottom line--check periodically. In the couple of weeks before the penalty date, check a couple times a day. And be prepared to grab it if what you want becomes available.

We attempted to book a long cruise (I think it was a TA) 18 months in advance, requesting "the same cabin type we are in now." The on board booking agent put us in a standard balcony which I immediately recognized as not being HA. She said there were no HAs available in any category so I accepted that booking and worked with my TA to get moved to an HA cabin. I heard several different stories about whether HAs can be waitlisted or not (it seemed to change depending on who I talked with.) Finally, 2 days before the penalty date, I "bailed" and canceled the cruise. On the penalty date, nothing was available. I was furious when 2 days after the penalty date, 3 balcony HA cabins opened up and DCL wouldn't honor our previous booking rate for one of those rooms. Their attitude was "you canceled, tough luck." My attitude was that we did not rebook it as they now wanted $1500 more than our canceled booking.

We were able to snag an 11C at the end of May. I am hoping to upgrade to an OV I am sure once PIF hits there will be rooms available.

We were able to snag an 11C at the end of May. I am hoping to upgrade to an OV I am sure once PIF hits there will be rooms available.

Some people will cancel as soon as they realize that they can't do the cruise, while others will skate right up to the penalty period. The closer it gets to the penalty date, the more often I look....this USUALLY works, but not always.

We had booked an inside HA cabin a couple years ago, and wait listed for a balcony. The booking was made 18 months before the cruise. There is some dispute as to whether there is really such a thing as a waitlist for HA cabins; since I don't work for DCL I can't answer that accurately. I did this as a rebooking on board, and the Future Cruise Desk agent told me she had waitlisted us. But at least my TA and I were checking regularly. 2 days before the PIF date, we canceled the cruise since we didn't want the inside cabin and there were still no HA balconies. The day after the PIF date, the website showed 3 HA balcony cabins available which DCL was happy to sell to us at the much higher rate in effect at that time. My TA did contact DCL on our behalf, asking them to reinstate our reservation at the tier it had been. DCL refused, so as a matter of principle we did not book the cruise.

My point it that it would be lovely if people who know they can't do a cruise would cancel and free up their cabin before the PIF date. Most people know at least a couple days before that they won't be able to cruise, and this would make their cabin available to someone else.

If you book the inside cabin and keep it, DCL will move your reservation to a more costly category at the same tier rate that you originally booked regardless of when you make the change. This is usually significantly less than the cost showing on line for a new booking.