Carnival mysterious booking practices..

So, I've noticed that if I change the number of people I am attempting to book a cabin for, cabins magically appear as available that don't appear as if I am booking for 2. This is true of the Captains Suite. It is only available of you say you are booking 5 people in a cabin. So only a party of 5 can book that suite??? I'm just curious, not looking to book it or anything 💲💲💲

TiA.

What is magical? Cabins are capacity controlled.

What is magical? Cabins are capacity controlled.

Mysterious. Why can' t 2 people or 3 people or 4 book the most expensive suite .

Mysterious. Why can' t 2 people or 3 people or 4 book the most expensive suite .

....because the room is designed to hold 5 and they are in limited quantity compared to the standard 2 passenger cabin. If they allow parties of 2 to book all of those then the family of 5 has no options.

....because the room is designed to hold 5 and they are in limited quantity compared to the standard 2 passenger cabin. If they allow parties of 2 to book all of those then the family of 5 has no options.

So I guess as the cruise gets closer, they must release the higher capacity rooms to be booked by parties of 2 right. I mean, would they let it remain empty if a family if 5 doesn't come along?

So I guess as the cruise gets closer, they must release the higher capacity rooms to be booked by parties of 2 right. I mean, would they let it remain empty if a family if 5 doesn't come along?

Generally speaking. Yes. As the cruise gets closer they will open up higher capacity rooms and accessible rooms for general booking so the rooms don’t sail empty. There are two types of capacity numbers for the ship. The number of cabins available to book and number of people that can be on the ship based on lifeboat capacity. They want to maximize both. 3rd and 4th people in rooms are additional people to purchased shore excursions, drinks, gambling, etc. If a sailing was selling primarily single and double occupancy cabins, they would potentially have capacity for more people but be unable to sell because they ran out of cabins to put them in. So they initially hold back cabins that can accommodate larger groups from 2 person bookings; until most of the 2 person cabins are booked up.

It would be counter productive to allow groups of 2 to book up the cabins that sleep 4-5. And then have to turn down groups that sleep 4-5 later because there are only double occupancy rooms left.

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I guess this can stamp this as mystery solved.

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I guess this can stamp this as mystery solved.

 

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It was a mystery to me. And I am thankful for the people who NICELY explained it to me.

So, I've noticed that if I change the number of people I am attempting to book a cabin for, cabins magically appear as available that don't appear as if I am booking for 2. This is true of the Captains Suite. It is only available of you say you are booking 5 people in a cabin. So only a party of 5 can book that suite??? I'm just curious, not looking to book it or anything 💲💲💲

TiA.

Even if you were able to book 2 people in the cabins that hold more people, there is a chance Carnival could later bump you from the cabin if they need it for someone else who needs a cabin that sleeps more people. Ditto for handicap cabins.

Generally speaking. Yes. As the cruise gets closer they will open up higher capacity rooms and accessible rooms for general booking so the rooms don’t sail empty. There are two types of capacity numbers for the ship. The number of cabins available to book and number of people that can be on the ship based on lifeboat capacity. They want to maximize both. 3rd and 4th people in rooms are additional people to purchased shore excursions, drinks, gambling, etc. If a sailing was selling primarily single and double occupancy cabins, they would potentially have capacity for more people but be unable to sell because they ran out of cabins to put them in. So they initially hold back cabins that can accommodate larger groups from 2 person bookings; until most of the 2 person cabins are booked up.

 

It would be counter productive to allow groups of 2 to book up the cabins that sleep 4-5. And then have to turn down groups that sleep 4-5 later because there are only double occupancy rooms left.

 

 

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My PVP will book us in any type of cabin we want in the area of the ship we want. If we are in a 3 or 4 person cabin and they need it, Carnival will contact us and ask us if we want to move. Usually this happens as a "upgrade" call with a very nice incentive. PVPs and Carnival telephone support have views to many more cabins than the 10 that show up during online booking process. Moving people would be the approach before telling someone that they do not have a sleeps 4 or 5 cabin available. They have this down to a fine art after all these years. BUT, when I have used the online process, I have seen higher capacity cabins shown and available for selection even if you say there are only 2 people sailing on the booking.

Even if you were able to book 2 people in the cabins that hold more people, there is a chance Carnival could later bump you from the cabin if they need it for someone else who needs a cabin that sleeps more people. Ditto for handicap cabins.

I think "bump" makes an implication that they will not contact you about making the change. My experience is quite different from "bumping". They will call you about doing that and probably make you some kind of reasonable upgrade offer.

So, I've noticed that if I change the number of people I am attempting to book a cabin for, cabins magically appear as available that don't appear as if I am booking for 2. This is true of the Captains Suite. It is only available of you say you are booking 5 people in a cabin. So only a party of 5 can book that suite??? I'm just curious, not looking to book it or anything ������

TiA.

CS shows up as a suite option when doing a mock booking for 2 people on a cruise we are taking in April. It might have to do with availability and how far cruise is out.

**edit** I see other folks have posted a more in-depth response that essentially says the same thing. :)

Not true. CS shows up as a suite option when doing a mock booking for 2 people on a cruise we are taking in April. It might have to do with availability and how far cruise is out.

I am sailing April 16th on the Valor, and it only appears as an option when I say I am looking for a cabin for 5.

I have been watching the suites very closely, because I have a guarantee. I thought there was only 3 cabins left, until I altered the amount of people being booked into a cabin. I was shockd at what "became available" based on number of passengers entered.

Generally speaking. Yes. As the cruise gets closer they will open up higher capacity rooms and accessible rooms for general booking so the rooms don’t sail empty. There are two types of capacity numbers for the ship. The number of cabins available to book and number of people that can be on the ship based on lifeboat capacity. They want to maximize both. 3rd and 4th people in rooms are additional people to purchased shore excursions, drinks, gambling, etc. If a sailing was selling primarily single and double occupancy cabins, they would potentially have capacity for more people but be unable to sell because they ran out of cabins to put them in. So they initially hold back cabins that can accommodate larger groups from 2 person bookings; until most of the 2 person cabins are booked up.

 

It would be counter productive to allow groups of 2 to book up the cabins that sleep 4-5. And then have to turn down groups that sleep 4-5 later because there are only double occupancy rooms left.

 

 

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When do you think they will open these up? Do you think it will not be until after final payment?

I am in a similar situation as the OP. I wanted an extended balcony suite and all of the rooms in this category are for 5 people and we are traveling with 4. I booked a refundable rate and put in a dummy 5th person. I am hoping to remove that person just before final payment. The 5th person increases the price by 109 + 90 taxes. I am not worried about being bumped because they would have to put in in the same or higher category. All of these room types have a 5 person occupancy and the only type above it is the grand vista suite which looks nice too. I have NEVER booked a suite and I wanted to treat my mom and myself to something nice. There are 8 of these cabins on the ship. I have 1 booked and 7 are available. The cruise is on Aug 23rd.

I am sailing April 16th on the Valor, and it only appears as an option when I say I am looking for a cabin for 5.

I have been watching the suites very closely, because I have a guarantee. I thought there was only 3 cabins left, until I altered the amount of people being booked into a cabin. I was shockd at what "became available" based on number of passengers entered.

What I do is put in mock bookings for 2 people on other categories like IS, OV and balconies. If I do this for a few iterations and see different cabins in the rotation, and at least 10 cabins for each category, then I know the ship isn't quite full. If this is the case, then whatever booking algorithm Carnival uses is still operating with high enough probability that more than 2 people will book the CS.

Our sailing is pretty full and nobody has booked these suites, which is why I think they are now available for 2 people to reserve.

Also, I noticed that they opened up about 90 days from sailing date.

 

Also, I noticed that they opened up about 90 days from sailing date.

Is that 90 days on a 7-day cruise?

Is that 90 days on a 7-day cruise?

Yes, that is when I noticed it open up for a 2-person booking.

So I am 54 days out from sailing, and Carnival is holding tight to capacity potential. I booked at a rate 100 dollars cheaper per person, than the current rate. Makes we wonder if a bunch of us are sitting on guaranteed cabins, which would give Carnival the option to be stricter with cabin capacity, since we will be given what'd left over anyway. On the bright side, both Captains Suites and 2 Grand suites are available. Still an outside chance of a great upgrade, although I am only a lowly Gold member

I have also seen some categories "sold out" when booking for 2, but 10+ cabins in the same category when booking for 3 or 4. One interesting note is that when cove balconies are sold out for 2, but available for 3, it is sometimes cheaper to book a 3 person cove balcony room with someone who will no-show for the cruise, then it is to book 2 people in a regular balcony cabin. I am sure this works for other types of cabins as well.

I think "bump" makes an implication that they will not contact you about making the change. My experience is quite different from "bumping". They will call you about doing that and probably make you some kind of reasonable upgrade offer.

You have had a lot different experience than I have had. On 2 of my sailings Carnival bumped myself and my mom from the cabin that we had booked - both times the cabin that we booked was listed as a double occupancy (non PC) cabin.

For the cruise in 2009 neither the travel agent or us were ever contacted to see if we would give up our cabin and we found out about the cabin change while being checked in at the VIP lounge in Port Everglades.

The other cruise was in 2010 which I had booked through the Carnival web site. We were never contacted to see if we would be willing to give up our cabin and we found out about the change while being checked in at the VIP lounge at the Port of Miami.

You have had a lot different experience than I have had. On 2 of my sailings Carnival bumped myself and my mom from the cabin that we had booked - both times the cabin that we booked was listed as a double occupancy (non PC) cabin.

 

For the cruise in 2009 neither the travel agent or us were ever contacted to see if we would give up our cabin and we found out about the cabin change while being checked in at the VIP lounge in Port Everglades.

 

The other cruise was in 2010 which I had booked through the Carnival web site. We were never contacted to see if we would be willing to give up our cabin and we found out about the change while being checked in at the VIP lounge at the Port of Miami.

I'd be mad, but I'm borerline obsessive with checking cruise manager, so I guess I would have caught the change earlier.

It's simple. Supply and Demand.

More rooms open up the closer it gets to sail time. They want to fill those rooms that have a higher capacity rather than fill a 5 person capacity with 2 people.

It's simple. Supply and Demand.

 

More rooms open up the closer it gets to sail time. They want to fill those rooms that have a higher capacity rather than fill a 5 person capacity with 2 people.

53 days out, and it appears all suites can now be booked with even only 2 guests.

53 days out, and it appears all suites can now be booked with even only 2 guests.

Glad to hear they're now available... I was going to suggest would calling Carnival rather than going through the website make a difference? Would they allow those cabins to be booked by 2 or 4 before the online site allowed it if you talked to them instead?

Glad to hear they're now available... I was going to suggest would calling Carnival rather than going through the website make a difference? Would they allow those cabins to be booked by 2 or 4 before the online site allowed it if you talked to them instead?

I dont know, but I dont see them turning someone away..