No online bookings 8 days prior?

[eroller]

I was interested in checking availability for an Oceania cruise I'm departing on shortly. A friend was thinking of joining us. Anyway I went to the website as usual to check initial pricing, and Oceania doesn't display availability or pricing 8-days prior to a cruise. Has this always been their policy?

 

Most every other cruise line allows you to book online right up until the day prior. Seems odd they would have this restriction.

 

I guess it means the old fashioned way of booking, via telephone.

[RJB]

I was interested in checking availability for an Oceania cruise I'm departing on shortly. A friend was thinking of joining us. Anyway I went to the website as usual to check initial pricing, and Oceania doesn't display availability or pricing 8-days prior to a cruise. Has this always been their policy?

 

Most every other cruise line allows you to book online right up until the day prior. Seems odd they would have this restriction.

 

I guess it means the old fashioned way of booking, via telephone.

Think it has to do with homeland security or something. Need to check out all our passport details. Same as not going to ship and booking same morning and getting on as in the past.

[eroller]

Think it has to do with homeland security or something. Need to check out all our passport details. Same as not going to ship and booking same morning and getting on as in the past.

 

 

Not 8 days prior. Perhaps 24 hours prior. The vast majority of the other cruise lines allow online booking very close to sailing. I've booked a cruise online as soon as the day prior not that long ago.

[Iamthesea]

Whats the ship and date? I can look at another website and see if it shows there. I know that my Oceania cruise showed up until the day before we left for our cruise.

[Iamthesea]

if you are on the March 13th Riviera cruise, there is plenty of availability showing on the Oceania website. WOW, they really must be having trouble selling that cruise. It was offered to us with a great deal of giving us one fare back, and upgrading us to a PH, instead of our taking our 2/12 cruise. In hindsight, wish we had taken the deal.

[LHT28]

I do not have an answer

perhaps that is when they start filling the waitlist & GTY cabins then see what is left to discount further

Just my guess

[eroller]

if you are on the March 13th Riviera cruise, there is plenty of availability showing on the Oceania website. WOW, they really must be having trouble selling that cruise. It was offered to us with a great deal of giving us one fare back, and upgrading us to a PH, instead of our taking our 2/12 cruise. In hindsight, wish we had taken the deal.

 

 

I've learned what shows on the website is not accurate. Categories that show available really are not, and sometimes waitlisted categories actually have cabins available.

 

You really have to go through the final steps of booking a cruise to actually know what is truly available. You can't do that now as a message will advise you it's not possible within 8 days of sailing.

 

Prior to the sailing being locked out, I have been watching availability. I've seen every category closed or waitlisted then watched it all open up again a day later. I've also clicked on categories that showed available, only to receive a message there are no cabins available. I've also clicked on waitlisted categories only to discover cabin numbers would pop up and you could actually book them.

 

This all tells me the initial availability you see which shows open, closed, and waitlisted categories is not real time and certainly not accurate. This will be good to know for future reference.

 

I received two offers from Oceania. The first to add on the previous cruise at a drastically reduced rate, and another offer to upgrade on the current cruise from a Penthouse Suite to a Vista Suite again at a reduced rate. I didn't partake in either offer but it's interesting to see yield management in action. I find it very interesting for some reason.

[eroller]

I do not have an answer

perhaps that is when they start filling the waitlist & GTY cabins then see what is left to discount further

Just my guess

 

 

Could be and I appreciate your input. I really have no idea and only a select few know the true mysteries of yield management at Oceania!