When Is Booking Closed Off?

[spj8705]

So long story short, we are hoping to book a cruise that leaves next Monday the 31st. Can't book until this Friday the 28th. Assuming there are still rooms available , will booking still be open. I thought I read somewhere that they had to close it off a certian amount of days before sailing. Stupid us, we thought we didn't want to go, and are now realizing doing the cruise will be so much easier/cheaper than hotels/theme parks. Thanks for your help!!

[firefly333]

You can book it the day the cruise leaves if you have a good PVP who will get it put thru. I have .. and almost missed the ship it took so long.

 

thre is no cut off. People booked later than me who lived in Galveston I talked to at the show.

 

if there are cabins, you can book until the ship leaves .. assuming you can get the booking thru. Get a good PVP who can push it thru in time.

[spj8705]

You can book it the day the cruise leaves if you have a good PVP who will get it put thru. I have .. and almost missed the ship it took so long.

 

thre is no cut off. People booked later than me who lived in Galveston I talked to at the show.

 

if there are cabins, you can book until the ship leaves .. assuming you can get the booking thru. Get a good PVP who can push it thru in time.

 

 

Awesome thanks!. Now let's hope this stupid Hurricane doesn't mess things up. It's a western from Tampa to Cozumel/Grand Cayman..would they just re-rout the the eastern side and do Bahamas?

[Gayle V]

I think you had better call the cruise line and get an official answer. I have heard repeatedly that there are rules in effect, since 9/11, that have eliminated those last minute bookings. Supposedly they do a check on the list of passengers, for security purposes.

 

Really, it's just a phone call. Why risk a big disappointment by relying on info from a message board.

 

BTW. If you make the call, come back and let us know what the official answer was.

[*Mach*]

Awesome thanks!. Now let's hope this stupid Hurricane doesn't mess things up. It's a western from Tampa to Cozumel/Grand Cayman..would they just re-rout the the eastern side and do Bahamas?

 

 

That system is forecast to pick up speed and be off the western tip of Cuba by Friday evening. If that's really the case it will be over much cooler water before the weekend is over and will probably die soon after.

If the system persists they'll find another route for your cruise... the Bahamas being the likely choice...

:)

[firefly333]

I think you had better call the cruise line and get an official answer. I have heard repeatedly that there are rules in effect, since 9/11, that have eliminated those last minute bookings. Supposedly they do a check on the list of passengers, for security purposes.

 

Really, it's just a phone call. Why risk a big disappointment by relying on info from a message board.

 

BTW. If you make the call, come back and let us know what the official answer was.

 

I see this bad rumor posted all the time. Many people here know me face to face and if I say I was able to book the morning of a cruise and I did so .. then I am not fibbing.

 

this might have been true right after 9/11 .. I wasnt cruising then, but its not true now.

 

I always laugh.. when people dont have a clue to the answer .. they say call Carnival... thats the answer whenever someone doesnt know the answer they type.

 

Just for your informational purposes .. the last manifest goes in 60 minutes before the ship can sail... so the OP needs to book in time to make it onboard before the doors are closed.

 

Not days before .. 60 minutes before. It did take longer to get the booking confirmed that I did the day of .. and I had to wait until 10 am for my PVP to even get in and Im almost 5 hours away.. so cut it too close. I was darn lucky to make it onto the ship.. it does take a little longer to book the day of and get supervisors to push it thru... but its allowed as long as you can make it to the ship in time.

[Gayle V]

Hello sph8705, You got me curious, so I called Carnival and was told that you actually can book right up until the day before the cruise leaves. He said "day of" bookings were no longer allowed. So, as long as your chosen cruise has some open cabins, you are good to go, if you want too. Good luck with getting a cabin you like. And enjoy that short countdown.

[spj8705]

Thank you all so much for your replies. Crossing fingers there's something left for us Friday....thanks again :)

[firefly333]

Hello sph8705, You got me curious, so I called Carnival and was told that you actually can book right up until the day before the cruise leaves. He said "day of" bookings were no longer allowed. So, as long as your chosen cruise has some open cabins, you are good to go, if you want too. Good luck with getting a cabin you like. And enjoy that short countdown.

 

OK sent this to my PVP for a answer, and she always knows.

 

At any rate, at least you now agree you can book until late the day before. I did mention it is hard to book the day of, you need a good PVP to push it thru. We will see if there is a policy you cant book the day of now. She will know.

[firefly333]

OK email answer from PVP .. she can still book me the day of a cruise if there is space. No such policy about you have to book the day before as I originally said.

 

They gave you the easy answer as I suspected.. but my PVP says she can book me the day of.. get yourself a good PVP.

[yogimax]

 

I always laugh.. when people dont have a clue to the answer .. they say call Carnival...

 

Umm yeah... that sounds smart to me!

 

I have seen so much misinformation on these boards as to make Washington politicians look like truth tellers.

 

Seriously, rules can change any day and for something this important, the wise thing to do is indeed "Call Carnival!"

[firefly333]

Umm yeah... that sounds smart to me!

 

I have seen so much misinformation on these boards as to make Washington politicians look like truth tellers.

 

Seriously, rules can change any day and for something this important, the wise thing to do is indeed "Call Carnival!"

 

And then call again because how often do you get conflicting info.. same as Gayle got above. I wouldnt say what my PVP called the phone rep who gave her the info to book by the day before.. but she called them a bad name.

 

If the reps manning the phones knew all the answers then it would make more sense .. but often people come here because they know the answer they get, might or might not be wrong.

[Barmanpoet]

Sorry for the possibly dumb question, but whats a PVP?

[firefly333]

Sorry for the possibly dumb question, but whats a PVP?

 

personal vacation planner. its what carnival calls some of their booking agents. they also have some CVS?? some other initials, sorry dont know, that answer inbound calls.

 

Sometimes my PVP has had to take a shift answering the inbound calls if they are extra busy, but generally she just works off clients. They get ranked by their sales. I know mine has been in the top 10 and top 25 for instance. So its important to find a good one, some that find you are the ones who need clients because they arent as good .. or thats my suspicion.

 

So anyway, there are two types of agents who work directly for Carnival.

[Barmanpoet]

Thanks for the info Firefly!

[kicia]

Yes it is true that you can book the day of the cruise. We almost did this in September when the hurricanes were closing a lot of airports. We were going to book the Sensation from Port Canaveral. On the day of the cruise Carnival has to actually call the ship to find out what cabins are open. The sailing we were talking about had a few insides and oceanviews available. We didn't do it because the price wasn't a bargain and we could have gone the next weekend for less money.

[firefly333]

Thanks for the back up kicia.

 

I didnt know they were calling the ship is why it took longer to get it through, I just knew it wasnt like booking normally, I had to wait to get it thru.

[kicia]

Maybe we can finally put the rumor to rest that bookings have to be made 2 weeks, two days, or whatever, in advance. I read that all the time here and it's just not true.

[richstowe]

So long story short, we are hoping to book a cruise that leaves next Monday the 31st. Can't book until this Friday the 28th. Assuming there are still rooms available , will booking still be open. Thanks for your help!!

If I may be nosy (sure I can - it's CC) why can't you book until Friday? Not even Thursday?

[iTouch]

Yes it is true that you can book the day of the cruise. We almost did this in September when the hurricanes were closing a lot of airports. We were going to book the Sensation from Port Canaveral. On the day of the cruise Carnival has to actually call the ship to find out what cabins are open. The sailing we were talking about had a few insides and oceanviews available. We didn't do it because the price wasn't a bargain and we could have gone the next weekend for less money.

 

Why would they have to call the ship:confused:

[kicia]

This I don't know for a fact but is a wild guess. I've heard about the port employees being offered a chance to go on cruises if there are cabins left and they keep a suitcase at work. Maybe Carnival has to call the ship to make sure there are cabins available after the offer is made. This is strictly a guess and I don't know the real answer, but maybe someone else does. It could also be because someone cancels at the last minute and the ship knows but not the reservation office. Again - just a guess.

[iTouch]

This I don't know for a fact but is a wild guess. I've heard about the port employees being offered a chance to go on cruises if there are cabins left and they keep a suitcase at work. Maybe Carnival has to call the ship to make sure there are cabins available after the offer is made. This is strictly a guess and I don't know the real answer, but maybe someone else does. It could also be because someone cancels at the last minute and the ship knows but not the reservation office. Again - just a guess.

 

 

If someone calls and cancels at the last minute they won't be calling the ship. The company knows how many open cabins are left just as the ship would. That was why I was questioning this. It doesn't make sense.

[halterk]

Why would they have to call the ship:confused:

My guess is that the booking system / check in system has different databases.

So the ship probably gets it's database from Carnival the night before/morning of with all the bookings listed, and the ship doesn't know of any changes that are made to the bookings after it downloads the database.

THIS IS ONLY A GUESS.

Or like was posted before, a port employee may have already been offered, and accepted the room.

Either way, a phone call needs to be made to the ship/port to let them know they have an additional guest coming their way.

[bumorgan]

Theory.... I booked 2 maybe 3 cabins find out one couple are going to be no shows. I arrive at the ship and tell them cabin such and such will be a no show. Carnival does not know this information but now the ship does.

[iTouch]

My guess is that the booking system / check in system has different databases.

So the ship probably gets it's database from Carnival the night before/morning of with all the bookings listed, and the ship doesn't know of any changes that are made to the bookings after it downloads the database.

THIS IS ONLY A GUESS.

Or like was posted before, a port employee may have already been offered, and accepted the room.

Either way, a phone call needs to be made to the ship/port to let them know they have an additional guest coming their way.

 

Yes that would make sense, however the other poster said they had to call the ship to see if cabins were available....