Selling out?

[dundeene]

our cruise for April 21, 2013 is sold out or wait list on every cabin except suites today

 

Last year we booked almost the same cruise on Marina at Thanksgiving with plenty of availability on all category of veranda.

 

I know there is a large winery group on board. At this rate we are assuming the cruise may end up oversold. I know we have our cabin and no one is ever bumped involuntarily. We are planning not to put anything in stone until final payment is made.

 

If the cruise is oversold, how does Oceania go about clearing space for everyone? Should we be flexible. . . . . . . . . .could we expect a possible offer for other sailing dates. Does Oceania make it worth the change with upgraded cabin, OBC etc?

I would love to hear from someone on a recent oversold cruise.

(j&s or don also always seem to be in the know)

thanks

[joysav]

Sold Out might not mean exactly that might it ??

[Jancruz]

our cruise for April 21, 2013 is sold out or wait list on every cabin except suites today

 

Last year we booked almost the same cruise on Marina at Thanksgiving with plenty of availability on all category of veranda.

 

I know there is a large winery group on board. At this rate we are assuming the cruise may end up oversold. I know we have our cabin and no one is ever bumped involuntarily. We are planning not to put anything in stone until final payment is made.

 

If the cruise is oversold, how does Oceania go about clearing space for everyone? Should we be flexible. . . . . . . . . .could we expect a possible offer for other sailing dates. Does Oceania make it worth the change with upgraded cabin, OBC etc?

I would love to hear from someone on a recent oversold cruise.

(j&s or don also always seem to be in the know)

thanks

 

Yes to all of your questions..be flexible, you may very well get an offer to move to another cruise with an upgrade..remember it is all negotiable..

Jancruz1

[LHT28]

As you say there is a large group booked so they may have cabins on hold until a certain date then they get released back into the pool

 

Then there is always the possibility that people will cancel when final payment day arrives

Now in the past if the ship is oversold they will make offers to move off to another sailing, upsell any cabins still available to free up some on the waitlist

It is still early days

 

Once final payment is made then they will have a clearer picture if the ship is sold out or not

 

If you think it will be oversold & you do not care if you go on that cruise or not be ready to be flexible ;)

[JimandStan]

our cruise for April 21, 2013 is sold out or wait list on every cabin except suites today

 

Last year we booked almost the same cruise on Marina at Thanksgiving with plenty of availability on all category of veranda.

 

I know there is a large winery group on board. At this rate we are assuming the cruise may end up oversold. I know we have our cabin and no one is ever bumped involuntarily. We are planning not to put anything in stone until final payment is made.

 

If the cruise is oversold, how does Oceania go about clearing space for everyone? Should we be flexible. . . . . . . . . .could we expect a possible offer for other sailing dates. Does Oceania make it worth the change with upgraded cabin, OBC etc?

I would love to hear from someone on a recent oversold cruise.

(j&s or don also always seem to be in the know)

thanks

 

I'll tell you what I would do if I were in your position, and that is to make all of my ancillary plans through Oceania.

Then, if there are any "special offers", you are in the cat bird seat. :D

[ayrhead]

We come aboard April 7 and todate have already received 4 offerings of upgrades to other dates and cruises. Waited a long time for the South Pacific so it needs to be a stellar offer to give this one up

[LHT28]

We come aboard April 7 and todate have already received 4 offerings of upgrades to other dates and cruises. Waited a long time for the South Pacific so it needs to be a stellar offer to give this one up

The difference is your cruise is showing completely sold out or W/L

where as the OP's still has cabins available

PH & above still have some openings

 

Makes a difference in how things are handled

[hondorner]

I'll tell you what I would do if I were in your position, and that is to make all of my ancillary plans through Oceania.

Then, if there are any "special offers", you are in the cat bird seat. :D

Or get a superlative agency, experienced and well connected to Oceania. That often works better than the Oceania representatives.

[dundeene]

We will keep flights etc. in Oceania's hands to avoid being locked in with our own tickets.

 

I already have another cruise in mind that will also work. It seems to be selling particularly slow.

 

I am happy to stay on the cruise I have booked but my darling daughter just announced a grand-baby arriving just before the cruise. If I can be switched to a cruise 60 days later it would be ideal.

[aohkay]

Our cruise was oversold.

 

They asked us to move to a different itinerary and date. We said no. They threw in the gratuities. We said no. They bumped us to a PH2. We said yes!

 

Best cruise ever.

 

We could be flexible with date and itinerary; some can't be. As they go down the line, they'll find someone sooner or later that will be able to move.

[Paulchili]

Our cruise was oversold.

 

They asked us to move to a different itinerary and date. We said no. They threw in the gratuities. We said no. They bumped us to a PH2. We said yes!

 

Best cruise ever.

 

We could be flexible with date and itinerary; some can't be. As they go down the line, they'll find someone sooner or later that will be able to move.

 

Similar situation - we accepted 2 separate downgrades (from balcony to part. obstr. OV cabin) and received around $6000 back.

Not bad, especially as the cabin was not obstructed at all :D

[Cathy Maneri]

Our cruise was oversold.

 

They asked us to move to a different itinerary and date. We said no. They threw in the gratuities. We said no. They bumped us to a PH2. We said yes!

 

Best cruise ever.

 

We could be flexible with date and itinerary; some can't be. As they go down the line, they'll find someone sooner or later that will be able to move.

 

Did they make all these offers in their email to you or on the telephone. Were the upgrades all made at the same time in conversation or at separate times.

 

I do all my bookings directly through Oceania.

[JimandStan]

Did they make all these offers in their email to you or on the telephone. Were the upgrades all made at the same time in conversation or at separate times.

 

I do all my bookings directly through Oceania.

 

The typical upsell, or offer to change cruises, happens on the telephone because if passenger A does not accept the offer, then it is made to B and C and D until the required number of cabins needed are "liberated".

 

One of the downsides of booking independently is that Travel Agents, who have naturally built a relationship with the Sales staff over time, generally get first crack at offers like this.

[AJ W]

I'll tell you what I would do if I were in your position, and that is to make all of my ancillary plans through Oceania.

Then, if there are any "special offers", you are in the cat bird seat. :D

This sounds like a good suggestion. How do they determine whom to call?

 

Please, Jim, email me.

Arline

[Cathy Maneri]

Thanks Jim and Stan, I only wish I could find a good travel agent in Miami.

 

I thought I did have one, but I couldn't depend on her when I needed to make changes right away i.e., the price dropped and I wanted to take advantage of it. I couldn't go directly through the cruise company because she had the booking.

 

What is the best way to find a good travel agent that possibly specializes in Oceania cruises? Could Oceania recommend one?

 

I would love to find one and create a good relationship for all my travel needs.

 

Happy cruising!

[hondorner]

Thanks Jim and Stan, I only wish I could find a good travel agent in Miami....

 

What is the best way to find a good travel agent that possibly specializes in Oceania cruises? Could Oceania recommend one?...

Of course, Cruise Critic does not allow us to recommend, or even mention, travel agents on the forum, and they don't allow members to post their email address for the purpose of exchanging agent information. I think that's wise, otherwise the forums would become a zoo of solicitation.

 

Oceania does have a list of agents, but they are recommended at random. I'm sure everyone on the list is honest and has a satisfactory relationship with Oceania, but some guests have reported dissatisfaction with the recommendation.

 

It doesn't have to be an agent from your local area; many great travel agents work strictly by phone and Email.

 

So, what's left? A good course of action is to ask fellow passengers while on board. If someone on your cruise has arranged a "Meet & Mingle" at the beginning of the cruise, that's a great place to ask fellow guests. If you haven't already, join the Roll Call forum for your itinerary to see if there will be a get-together. If not, volunteer to organize one! It's easy (lots of us will help get you started), fun and rewarding.

 

The ley is to feel out your fellow guests and try to establish whether they have experience with Oceania and agents.

[LHT28]

Thanks Jim and Stan, I only wish I could find a good travel agent in Miami.

 

I thought I did have one, but I couldn't depend on her when I needed to make changes right away i.e., the price dropped and I wanted to take advantage of it. I couldn't go directly through the cruise company because she had the booking.

 

What is the best way to find a good travel agent that possibly specializes in Oceania cruises? Could Oceania recommend one?

 

I would love to find one and create a good relationship for all my travel needs.

 

Happy cruising!

 

We are not allowed to recommend TA on Cruise critic

you could always call the cruiseline & ask for one of their top producers in your area

 

shop around

[aohkay]

The typical upsell, or offer to change cruises, happens on the telephone because if passenger A does not accept the offer, then it is made to B and C and D until the required number of cabins needed are "liberated".

 

One of the downsides of booking independently is that Travel Agents, who have naturally built a relationship with the Sales staff over time, generally get first crack at offers like this.

 

All correct...and, at the time my travel companion was a cruise TA.