Princess moved us from covered mini to open one

[Loonbeam]

So far, every cruise I have looked at for 2012 (we book around 1 year out normally) has had ADs available for assignment.

 

I'm not surprised they go quick, covered or not, as they are also the least expensive of the minis...

[cruisemom42]

It's supply and demand. There are not many ADs and experienced cruisers book them up fast.

 

For what it's worth, I've been able to book one through the Princess website with no problem.

[mac3835]

I had no problem booking an AD cabin, with a cabin number, on a Sapphire seven day to Mexico in February. I booked through Costco in October and that sailing still had a couple of AD minis available. Thanks to advice I received here, I did put a "no upgrade" on the booking and so far we still have the same cabin!

[Tapi]

But, it sounds as if Tapi DID check many of the big online sites?????

....

 

Yes, I checked the big online sites, directly on the Princess site, and a handful of smaller sites. I also placed a request on the website that allows different sites to compete. The best I could do was an AD GTY. Some sites weren't even listing the AD category at all. After all that research, I booked through a smaller TA site which I've used before.

 

I'm gathering that AD's are more popular on some destinations. We're going to Alaska, so my guess is that covered mini suites might be in much higher demand than on a Mexican Riviera or Caribbean sailing...

[paul929207]

It looks like the problem some people are having getting an AD is they wait too long to try to book one.

[Dena]

I just spent some time on Princess site. Toto is right. I guess it just depends on timing.

[Tapi]

It looks like the problem some people are having getting an AD is they wait too long to try to book one.

 

That might be right for some sailings, but I think that for our specific sailing, a very "proactive" TA must have blocked all of the AD's as soon as the sailing opened up for booking. I can't think of any other reason why every single AD was gone on the same day the sailing opened.

 

I'm thinking that this TA might "dump" the unsold AD's as we approach final payment, so I'll keep checking until then! :)

[Dena]

Good plan, Tapi. I am doing this too for our upcoming cruise, so far, no luck.

[freetocruise]

the information being supplied here about AD's being only available on a guarantee basis is just not fact at all.

 

You beat me to it, Toto. The vast majority of our Princess cruises have been in AD minisuites I usually book them with Princess online or by phone and then transfer to my TA. I have never had a problem getting a covered minisuite by room #.

[ASeaPrincess1]

I have three AD Minis on the books.

Two of them are the coveted extended balcony ones. I also had an extended balcony on my Hawaii cruise.

Yes, they do go fast; I booked my April cruise last October, and my October cruise just a few days ago.

They still had plenty of AD minis left.:)

Sometimes I wonder why they designed these ships this way...... :confused:

[jlf1]

For our British Isles 2010 cruise we paid to upgrade our balcony BG to an AD mini-suite after final payment. Probably there was a cancellation just before final payment.

 

The price on the AD had been reduced and only cost us an extra $250 pp. Just loved the extra space.

 

For our b2b cruises out of San Juan in Nov 2011 we booked E725 early Dec 2010 and have the bookings marked "no upgrade".

 

Judy

[4cats4me]

We have never had a problem booking an AD. I guess it's all about timing --

we've booked far out and close to sailing dates

 

As far as the smoke issue, far front, far back, we always smell smoke.

If someone above your cabin smokes, you WILL smell the smoke.

Unavoidable.

[blueridgemama]

I booked E725 on the Princess website in April for April 2011 Ruby sailing. I changed it to E730 for the larger balcony after reading reviews on CC. This is our first cruise so I am feeling very lucky to have this cabin:)Beginners luck!:D

[Richie2pies]

I booked E725 on the Princess website in April for April 2011 Ruby sailing. I changed it to E730 for the larger balcony after reading reviews on CC. This is our first cruise so I am feeling very lucky to have this cabin:)Beginners luck!:D

 

In E730 you MIGHT hear some noise from the lounge below as the cabin in right above the bandstand and the speakers. E731, on the other side is the premium mini to have. I have 3 cruises booked with this cabin and you have to book early to get it.

[Go-Bucks!]

We booked an AD mini (E731, with the extended balcony) about 11 mon. prior to the cruise. We're now looking at a cruise that's 14 mon. away and most of the AD's are still available except the one we want. :( So, I'm sure you can find some available, but you will have to book early since there aren't many rooms and they're popular.

 

As for an upgrade to a full suite, it would seem that the best chance would be to book an AA since the only cabins "above" them are the full suites. This doesn't mean you'll be upgraded, but if you were it would have to be to a full suite.

[Cindy]

[SIZE=3]I was able to get assigned AD minis for two upcoming cruises by typing in the specific cabins I wanted. I marked my bookings "no upgrade," since I know the chances of me being upgraded to Dolphin Deck are great, and the chances of me being upgraded to a full suite are almost nil.:)[/SIZE]

[CTGirl]

We almost always book a specific AD and not always way in advance. If there are none left we book the AD GTY. But I think I may know what the problem is here. I was looking at a TA for April 12 that our friends booked. The bookings opened on March 17 and I was looking just a couple of days after that and there was only one AD showing. Needless to say I was quite surprised, but then I went to the roll call for that cruise and noticed that it was for a combination of 2 cruises. So I went back to the Princess site and sure enough they had a 16 day an 11 day and a 27 day (a combination of the two). When I looked at the 27 day and the 11 there were several AD cabins (none the same) but only one for the 16 day TA. All together every AD except one was listed. So there really are ADs, they are just not showing. I called Princess and the lady I talked to said I could probably book one of the ADs showing for the 27 day.

I think the person questioning said it was for a TA. Check to see if it is selling as a leg to another longer cruise. That might be why you are not seeing any.

[pms4104]

[quote name='CTGirl']...noticed that it was for a combination of 2 cruises. So I went back to the Princess site and sure enough they had a 16 day an 11 day and a 27 day (a combination of the two). When I looked at the 27 day and the 11 there were several AD cabins (none the same) but only one for the 16 day TA. All together every AD except one was listed. So there really are ADs, they are just not showing. I called Princess and the lady I talked to said I could probably book one of the ADs showing for the 27 day.

I think the person questioning said it was for a TA. Check to see if it is selling as a leg to another longer cruise. That might be why you are not seeing any.[/quote]
We had a similar experience trying to book a fully covered AB mini on the Island for a Canal transit ... we wanted to sail from Los Angeles, and the cruise also was being sold as Vancouver-originating at the end of the Alaska season. The telerep said that the various cabin numbers I requested were not available, and "yours are on the Dolphin deck". When I pointed out that the cabin I wanted was available if I signed on for the longer cruise, he referred it to Customer Relations who then worked with Yield Management. Within a week, our Personalizer showed the covered AB mini I wanted. To this day, 2 months later, only Dolphin Deck AB's are offered on the website for our shorter sailing. So, you may not be able to simply book one of the cabins blocked for the longer sailings, but you can go thru channels to get your request.

[Essiesmom]

I got a flyer in the mail in Jan for some Princess cruises and one was the repo of Caribbean Princess, NYC to FLL on Oct. 29. Prices were good, so I decided to go for a mini, and I wanted an AD. By the time my TA could get on it, we were only able to get the last gty. it seems they allow only so many AD gty reservations. However, a day later two showed up on the Princess website - people who had a hold on the cabins and didn't make a deposit in the alloted time. I was able so snag E730, although my TA said she had to talk fast because it is a quad (I think they all are) and we are only two. Of course, we are marked no upgrade. EM

[keylimepie]

OK, last week I booked one of the Crown cruises for 2013...I was able to type in E731 and book that AD. Now after reading the above I just went on the Cruise Personalizer to mark it "No Upgrade" but cannot find a specific place for that. Do I need to call Princess and have that added or does it not matter since it was not a GTY booking??

Last time we booked a mini we were upgraded to the St. Thomas Suite...I know that kind of luck will not happen again so I want to protect this cabin after hearing all of you rave about it!

Thanks to all for your help and Princess expertise. :)

[pms4104]

[quote name='keylimepie']OK, last week I booked one of the Crown cruises for 2013...I was able to type in E731 and book that AD. Now after reading the above [B]I just went on the Cruise Personalizer to mark it "No Upgrade" but cannot find a specific place for that. Do I need to call Princess and have that added or does it not matter since it was not a GTY booking??[/B]

Last time we booked a mini we were upgraded to the St. Thomas Suite...I know that kind of luck will not happen again so I want to protect this cabin after hearing all of you rave about it!

Thanks to all for your help and Princess expertise. :)[/quote]
If you booked on the Princess website, there was an option at that time to mark it "no upgrade" ... after booking, there is no place online to do that, but you can call Princess and make the no upgrade request.

Altho you have selected a specific cabin, Princess still reserves the right to upgrade you if they choose, unless your booking is marked "no upgrade". I think (or at least it was our experience) that if you mark it "no upgrade" Princess likely will phone you to offer a different/better cabin if they really, really want your cabin.

[keylimepie]

[quote name='camp637']If you booked on the Princess website, there was an option at that time to mark it "no upgrade" ... after booking, there is no place online to do that, but you can call Princess and make the no upgrade request.

Altho you have selected a specific cabin, Princess still reserves the right to upgrade you if they choose, unless your booking is marked "no upgrade". I think (or at least it was our experience) that if you mark it "no upgrade" Princess likely will phone you to offer a different/better cabin if they really, really want your cabin.[/quote]

Ah, makes sense now, thank you. After I grabbed the cabin assignment I passed the laptop over to the one with the credit card ;) ...I'll call Princess and make sure it gets marked.

Thanks for your quick reply!

[piscescruiser62]

[FONT=Book Antiqua][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkorchid]We just booked a Canada/New England cruise for Sept 3, 2011 last week I was still able to get an AD cabin, E720. Very last one, thanks to all on this thread for the tips because I have called my TA and made sure "no upgrade" was selected.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[billyvegas]

When I made my booking ADs were available, but I didn't choose one, I wasn't really sure what the advantages were even though I read this topic, I didn't know if I really wanted a covered balcony. I went with GTY. I have now been allocated an AA midship, should I be worried? The plus side is, it is almost 6 months until my Cruise so the full suite could still be a possibility!;)

[Stevesan]

[quote name='billyvegas']When I made my booking ADs were available, but I didn't choose one, I wasn't really sure what the advantages were even though I read this topic, I didn't know if I really wanted a covered balcony. I went with GTY. I have now been allocated an AA midship, should I be worried? The plus side is, it is almost 6 months until my Cruise so the full suite could still be a possibility!;)[/quote]

You've tagged onto a dinosaur thread dating from January, with the last post three months old. There's nothing wrong with that, but you'll get far better responses by starting a new thread.