Waitlisting--why no cabin assignment?

[ellasabe]

There is a particular cruise summer 2014 that is waitlisted for insides (understandably, as there are only a few). I put down a deposit and got on the waitlist and a few days later was confirmed as "WAITLISTED INTERIOR GUARANTEE".

 

However, I just checked the cruise and now all the OUTSIDES are also GUARANTEE.

 

The next category cabin available is B verandah and not a heck of a lot of those are available. Top suites are sold out, too. Looks like a popular cruise.

 

O seems to shuffle pax around a bit to keep the INSIDE cabins open and available for booking, i.e. a marketing tool to advertise "fares from...." This is done either a) within the ship, assigning pax cabin upgrades or b) move-off offers to another ship with less demand.

 

Questions:

 

1) Does O assign cabins first, and then offer the move-off to another ship?

 

2) Does O ever make offers to move-off prior to even assigning a cabin?

 

I've paid my deposit and I know I will have a cabin on this sailing. However, I would be open to an alternate sailing if O offered one, provided I had adequate notice.

 

Basically I am wondering the order in which things occur. In my previous cruises I have always been assigned a cabin right away, and then been offered move-offs, some of which I've taken, while others I have declined.

But I have never been "waitlisted with a guarantee" with a paid $1500 deposit. I would think I would either be guaranteed OR have an assigned cabin. Does O generally do this, or do they start shuffling pax and assigning within a relatively short time? I'd like to make ff air plans.

[sitraveler]

Waitlist means all cabins are sold and committed. But, based on their experience there will be some availability. Someone will change their plans or take an upgrade offer. You will be able to go on your cruise.

 

Depending on many factors things change during the next year and any of the items you mention may occur.

[LHT28]

People tend to book 18mths in advance on Oceania popular itineraries

As you noticed lots of cabins are sold out or waitlisted over a year out ...

Things can change in people's lives so some will cancel some may find another itinerary when the cruises come out that suits them better

some may take move off offers when they get closer to Final payment if offered

It is all in a state of flux

 

As Marsha stated you are on the ship ...unless you choose other wise ;)

 

lyn

[ellasabe]

I need to clarify: I 'm an experienced cruise who is familiar with guarantee and waitlist procedures. However, O seems to do things differently than other cruiselines. My questions are, how does O work it?

 

There is a specific cruise summer 2014, all insides and outsides are already sold out. I was put on a waitlist, #12, with a deposit, for an inside. 2 days later I was notified I was moved from waitlist to guarantee inside. What happened? Did O actually move an already assigned pax out of his/her inside cabin, to make room for me? If so, why was I not assigned that person's cabin? I know there are at least 4 people on the inside waitlist behind me--what slots will they go into? Are gty cabins assigned willy-nilly? Do I get the move-off offers to a less attractive sailing before I've even been assigned a cabin? Do I get revenue upsell offers and why would I want one, when if I want a better cabin I can just go ahead and book one now! Why does O keep waitlisting and accepting deposits --why doesn't O just sell it as a GTY to start with, instead of a waitlist? Or call it sold out? It would be a lot easier for O to do that.

 

I'm okay with whatever cabin I get (I like insides, sleep better). It's the numbers don't add up, too many pax being squeezed into too few cabins. O seems to shuffle pax around a bit to keep the INSIDE cabins open and available for booking, i.e. a marketing tool to advertise "fares from...." So if O knows they are going to do that, why not just assign other, available cabins right away to those of us GTY pax?. Already O has more paid GTY pax than available cabins at the lowest levels.

 

Basically, I'm baffled and wondering the order in which things occur. I'm looking for anecdotal accounts.

[LHT28]

If you are #12 on the waitlist that means 11 people ahead of you will get cabins as they become available

Someone could have cancelled or decided they wanted a different cabin Cat

we have no way of knowing

usually once final Payment day come things my move fast up the list some may cancel

Oceania does their best to make a guess based on past experience of the itinerary how many people may cancel

 

This is just my guess

They book all the cabins when that CAT is full they start GTY bookings

When their magic number for GTY is full they stat waitlisting bookings

When they reach a number that they know they may still accommodated those bookings

then the Cat goes to SOLD OUT Status

s not an exact science

 

I have seen CAT go from SOLD OUT on day 1 to waitlisted then open then to sold out all in the 1 st year

People book then maybe change their mind for whatever reason

 

If you NEED to have a cabin assignment now then find a Cat with one available

Otherwise you just have to wait until one opens up

 

Yes you can move to an open CAT and choose an available cabin now if that is your chice

[LHT28]

I'm okay with whatever cabin I get (I like insides, sleep better). It's the numbers don't add up, too many pax being squeezed into too few cabins. O seems to shuffle pax around a bit to keep the INSIDE cabins open and available for booking, i.e. a marketing tool to advertise "fares from...." So if O knows they are going to do that, why not just assign other, available cabins right away to those of us GTY pax?. Already O has more paid GTY pax than available cabins at the lowest levels.

 

Basically, I'm baffled and wondering the order in which things occur. I'm looking for anecdotal accounts.

It may be doubtful they would upgrade someone from an inside at this point in time when they can sell the PH cabin in the next year at the going rate

[kimanjo]

So, I too, have a GTY inside for a 2014 cruise.

 

Here is my question for my 2014 sailing.

 

If there are let's say 18 insides, all booked, with those pax having cabin assignments.

 

There is me ( GTY inside) and a Waitlist of people waiting for an Inside.

 

Now let's say 2 pax cancel their inside cabins tomorrow.

 

What happens next? Do I ( or any GTY inside pax that booked ahead of me)get one of the cancelled inside cabins ? And then one of those "waitlisters" gets my GTY?

 

A sort of Tetris game??

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

J.

[YoHoHo]

So, I too, have a GTY inside for a 2014 cruise.

 

Here is my question for my 2014 sailing.

 

If there are let's say 18 insides, all booked, with those pax having cabin assignments.

 

There is me ( GTY inside) and a Waitlist of people waiting for an Inside.

 

Now let's say 2 pax cancel their inside cabins tomorrow.

 

What happens next? Do I ( or any GTY inside pax that booked ahead of me)get one of the cancelled inside cabins ? And then one of those "waitlisters" gets my GTY?

 

A sort of Tetris game??

 

Thanks for any insight.

 

J.

Maybe yes, this time, maybe not; you'll never know. They might assign a waitlist first but that does not matter to you. Unlike the waitlist YOU are GUARANTEED to be on board that sailing. O will find a way.

Paraphrasing from a post from FDR, no one with a GTY has been (or will be) left behind.

[hypercafe]

When I was waitlisted for a cabin class on a recent trip I had to but down a deposit and sign up for a open class of cabins to be put on the waitlist so one way or the other I was going to be on the ship.

[caviargal]

I paid in full 3 months earlier than required and am hoping that helps me clear the waitlist. I am #2 for one category and #3 for the other.

[kimanjo]

Maybe yes, this time, maybe not; you'll never know. They might assign a waitlist first but that does not matter to you. Unlike the waitlist YOU are GUARANTEED to be on board that sailing. O will find a way.

Paraphrasing from a post from FDR, no one with a GTY has been (or will be) left behind.

 

"They might assign a waitlist first" from your above post.

 

Question, WHY would they assign a person from the waitlist to an assigned inside cabin before me??

 

I have paid my deposit, been put on waitlist, moved from waitlist to GTY inside. All for a sailing 14 months away.

 

Shouldnt I get one of those cabins BEFORE a waitlister???

 

What's the pecking order??

[LHT28]

I am guessing but

I would think a GTY Cabin would have priority

then someone with a deposited waitlist status

then someone who has a waitlist without a deposit

 

I seem to recall a mention of 2 different lists for those on waitlists

priority w/l ...those that paid a deposit

w/l ...no deposit

 

 

This is just me but unless I get a cabin # then I am not booking the cruise

I just like to know where I will be on the ship

 

YMMV

Lyn

[hypercafe]

My understanding is you can not get on the wait list without putting a deposit on a open cat cabin. If you are in gty status you are guarantee a cabin in that class.

[kimanjo]

My understanding is you can not get on the wait list without putting a deposit on a open cat cabin.

 

"If you are in gty status you are guarantee a cabin in that class."

 

 

 

All of the insides are filled (assigned) on my sailing.. I have an Inside GTY.

 

If NO Passengers cancel, how will I get an Inside if they are all filled???

[LHT28]

All of the insides are filled (assigned) on my sailing.. I have an Inside GTY.

 

If NO Passengers cancel, how will I get an Inside if they are all filled???

If all are still filled close to sailing they will offer upsells to those in the insides to clear the GTY list or give you an upgrade or upsell

 

Whatever the case you will be on the ship ;)

 

Lyn

[JimandStan]

My understanding is you can not get on the wait list without putting a deposit on a open cat cabin. If you are in gty status you are guarantee a cabin in that class.

 

Somewhat true, but if you want to be notified if a room opens up without making a deposit (presumably because the category that you are interested in is fully booked), they will still take down your name and number. The difference is that they contact the deposited people first.

 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was the genesis of the Priority Waitlist vs the Waitlist.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

My understanding is you can not get on the wait list without putting a deposit on a open cat cabin. If you are in gty status you are guarantee a cabin in that class.

 

All of the insides are filled (assigned) on my sailing.. I have an Inside GTY.

 

If NO Passengers cancel, how will I get an Inside if they are all filled???

 

My understanding is that a GTY guarantees a cabin on that sailing--in the class you booked *or higher*. A bit different. So if the Insides are all filled, you may get a better cabin, unless they move people around before you're assigned.

[ellasabe]

Nobody seems to be answering KIMANJO's question, or mine, for that matter, which is:

 

"How can I be given an inside cabin guarantee, if all the insides are already assigned?"

 

1. YoHoHo says: "They might assign a waitlist first but that does not matter to you." WRONG. It DOES does matter to Kimanjo. Why would a waitlister trump a GTY if Kimanjo already has a GTY in that class, ie, inside?

 

2. Hypercafe says: "You are in gty status, you are guaranteed a cabin in that class "(meaning, inside). But if none of the already assigned inside pax cancel, how will I get the inside cabin that I have been guaranteed?

 

 

The whole issue here is that KIMANJO seems to want the inside cabin, as I do. We were put on waitlists and paid deposits for inside cabins. We don't have GTY status, we have INSIDE GTY status. But by being moved from waitlist to Inside GTY I don't see how I can get an inside cabin if already they all have been assigned. And if a pax cancels, who will get it, the waitlister, or me, who has already paid a deposit to be inside guarantee?

[hondorner]

All of the insides are filled (assigned) on my sailing.. I have an Inside GTY.

 

If NO Passengers cancel, how will I get an Inside if they are all filled???

I don't think anyone has answered your specific question. Let me try. There are four different levels of reservations:

 

1) Cabin number assigned

2) GTY in a certain category

3) Priority Waitlist for a certain category

4) Waitlist for a certain category

 

The first is obvious -- you're going on the cruise in the specific cabin you booked. You may be offered upsells and (rarely) a complimentary upgrade.

 

The second is where you stand right now. You will be on the cruise. You will get a cabin in a category no lower than the one in which you are guaranteed. How will this happen? Folks who already have a cabin assigned in your category will be offered an upsell to a higher category. If no one accepts, the upsell price will be lowered. If no one accepts, they will be offered a complimentary upgrade. If no one accepts, they will offered a complimentary upgrade AND cash incentives, usually in the form of shipboard credit. If no one accepts, the offers will get better and better, until someone accepts. At that point, you will get their cabin.

 

Sometimes, if the offers get too expensive and no one accepts, the cruise line may move up a category and start the offer over again, hoping that someone will accept at a lower figure. In this case, you may get their cabin, which may be a better category than the one you originally booked.

 

As long as there is room somewhere in a better category, this shuffling will continue until you finally get your cabin. After all, you have a Guaranty, and you will NOT be bumped or lose your chance at the cruise.

 

So, what happens if the entire ship is full and there is no room to move up? This is when the "move over" offers are promulgated. The cruise line starts to make offers for folks to move to a different cruise in order to make room on this cruise for the GTYs. Sometimes those offers can become very generous. Believe me, sooner or later, someone will accept these offers, cabins will be shuffled, and you WILL get a cabin in at least the category you originally booked.

 

Unlike other cruise lines, the folks who have already booked early enough to get a cabin assignment are usually the beneficiaries of all these offers. Other cruise lines may upgrade the person with the GTY rather than go to all the trouble. This is unfair to the folks who booked early and supported the cruise line.

 

Once all the GTYs are cleared, if there are still any cabins, folks on the Priority Waitlist will move up. After all those are accommodated, folks on the ordinary Waitlist may get moved up. Being on the Waitlist, even with a deposit, even with payment in full, is NOT a GTY, and you are not guaranteed a spot on the cruise. You'll get your money back if you don't make it.

 

Why do they have GTYs and waitlists in the first place? Because there are always a number of cancellations, and they need backup guests ready to fill those cabins. They have historical statistics that indicate how many cancellations they can expect, and they accept that many GTYs. The waitlists are in case they underestimated the cancellations, and the upsell or move over offers happen when they overestimate the cancellations. It would not be good business to wait until all the cancellations are in and then "hope" enough new people book to fill the cabins. The Mass Market cruise lines can afford to wait, because they have created a culture dedicated to booking at the last moment.

 

I'm not part of the cruise line and not a travel agent. the above is what I have been told by informed people over the years. If some of it is not perfectly correct, it's my fault, not the fault of the folks who have tried to explain it to me. :)

[Angel-chick]

This is so interesting thank you! I am on independence of sea on 13 July. I have booked a ocean view guarantee. Still not been given a cabin and am just stressed waiting .. I am trying to think that the worst scenario is bottom deck at the back. Which is all the options were to book an outside anyway (if not the guarantee) thanks for this info xx

[DOJO466]

I don't think anyone has answered your specific question. Let me try. There are four different levels of reservations:

 

1) Cabin number assigned

2) GTY in a certain category

3) Priority Waitlist for a certain category

4) Waitlist for a certain category

 

The first is obvious -- you're going on the cruise in the specific cabin you booked. You may be offered upsells and (rarely) a complimentary upgrade.

 

The second is where you stand right now. You will be on the cruise. You will get a cabin in a category no lower than the one in which you are guaranteed. How will this happen? Folks who already have a cabin assigned in your category will be offered an upsell to a higher category. If no one accepts, the upsell price will be lowered. If no one accepts, they will be offered a complimentary upgrade. If no one accepts, they will offered a complimentary upgrade AND cash incentives, usually in the form of shipboard credit. If no one accepts, the offers will get better and better, until someone accepts. At that point, you will get their cabin.

 

Sometimes, if the offers get too expensive and no one accepts, the cruise line may move up a category and start the offer over again, hoping that someone will accept at a lower figure. In this case, you may get their cabin, which may be a better category than the one you originally booked.

 

As long as there is room somewhere in a better category, this shuffling will continue until you finally get your cabin. After all, you have a Guaranty, and you will NOT be bumped or lose your chance at the cruise.

 

So, what happens if the entire ship is full and there is no room to move up? This is when the "move over" offers are promulgated. The cruise line starts to make offers for folks to move to a different cruise in order to make room on this cruise for the GTYs. Sometimes those offers can become very generous. Believe me, sooner or later, someone will accept these offers, cabins will be shuffled, and you WILL get a cabin in at least the category you originally booked.

 

Unlike other cruise lines, the folks who have already booked early enough to get a cabin assignment are usually the beneficiaries of all these offers. Other cruise lines may upgrade the person with the GTY rather than go to all the trouble. This is unfair to the folks who booked early and supported the cruise line.

 

Once all the GTYs are cleared, if there are still any cabins, folks on the Priority Waitlist will move up. After all those are accommodated, folks on the ordinary Waitlist may get moved up. Being on the Waitlist, even with a deposit, even with payment in full, is NOT a GTY, and you are not guaranteed a spot on the cruise. You'll get your money back if you don't make it.

 

Why do they have GTYs and waitlists in the first place? Because there are always a number of cancellations, and they need backup guests ready to fill those cabins. They have historical statistics that indicate how many cancellations they can expect, and they accept that many GTYs. The waitlists are in case they underestimated the cancellations, and the upsell or move over offers happen when they overestimate the cancellations. It would not be good business to wait until all the cancellations are in and then "hope" enough new people book to fill the cabins. The Mass Market cruise lines can afford to wait, because they have created a culture dedicated to booking at the last moment.

 

I'm not part of the cruise line and not a travel agent. the above is what I have been told by informed people over the years. If some of it is not perfectly correct, it's my fault, not the fault of the folks who have tried to explain it to me. :)

 

Amen

[Fam_Cruise]

There is a particular cruise summer 2014 that is waitlisted for insides (understandably, as there are only a few). I put down a deposit and got on the waitlist and a few days later was confirmed as "WAITLISTED INTERIOR GUARANTEE".

 

However, I just checked the cruise and now all the OUTSIDES are also GUARANTEE.

 

The next category cabin available is B verandah and not a heck of a lot of those are available. Top suites are sold out, too. Looks like a popular cruise.

 

O seems to shuffle pax around a bit to keep the INSIDE cabins open and available for booking, i.e. a marketing tool to advertise "fares from...." This is done either a) within the ship, assigning pax cabin upgrades or b) move-off offers to another ship with less demand.

 

Questions:

 

1) Does O assign cabins first, and then offer the move-off to another ship?

 

2) Does O ever make offers to move-off prior to even assigning a cabin?

 

I've paid my deposit and I know I will have a cabin on this sailing. However, I would be open to an alternate sailing if O offered one, provided I had adequate notice.

 

Basically I am wondering the order in which things occur. In my previous cruises I have always been assigned a cabin right away, and then been offered move-offs, some of which I've taken, while others I have declined.

But I have never been "waitlisted with a guarantee" with a paid $1500 deposit. I would think I would either be guaranteed OR have an assigned cabin. Does O generally do this, or do they start shuffling pax and assigning within a relatively short time? I'd like to make ff air plans.

What did your TA say?

[LHT28]

Nobody seems to be answering KIMANJO's question, or mine, for that matter, which is:

 

"How can I be given an inside cabin guarantee, if all the insides are already assigned?"

 

It has been explained you maybe are not understanding it

 

The GTY status gets priority

You are on a list as & when cabins open up the next person on the list gets the cabin

Oceania has some formula from previous experience they know a certain number of cabins will be canceled prior to final payment

 

If no one cancels & they still have people on the list for GTY INSIDES or any Cat they will offer those an upsell offer to move up for a fee

 

They may upgrade people no charge also

 

If you only want an inside & do not want to an upgrade be sure to have it noted on your booking

If you want this specific cruise be sure to have it noted you do not want move off offers either

 

Your cruise is a year away ...life happens

people cancel

I would ask the person you did the booking with to clarify it for you

[kimanjo]

Hondorner..

 

Your answer was very clear. Thank you very much.

[hondorner]

Independence of the Seas is Royal Caribbean. Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are both "mass market" cruise lines and handle their guarantees much differently than Oceania. Nothing I have explained applies to either Royal Caribbean or Celebrity..