Sold Out Suites? Chances?

[vas2427]

We are looking for a suite with a balcony on the Norwegian Star for the 21 day Journey to the East (Dubai-Singapore) Nov 20-Dec 11, 2016. As of now, the only suites showing any availability are the Family Suites (SJ) which do not have a balcony. We put a deposit on this room in the hopes that a suite with balcony will open up before the deadline to get our deposit back. The balcony really is a deal breaker for us on a cruise of this length. What are the chances one will open up on this type of itinerary and what is the best way to ensure we are notified if one does open so we can grab it? Since there are no waitlists on Norwegian, are we really limited to just checking the website every day or calling? Would a travel agent be an asset in this situation?

Do suites often open up or once they're sold out, do they tend to stay that way?

 

Anyone have any tips/tricks or advice?

 

Thanks!

[quillwercruisers]

When we were looking to book one of our cruises, I kept looking online, and the deck I want wasn't showing as available. I called my PCC, and she was able to book me where I wanted even though it didn't show up online. You might try that. I know this didn't really answer your question, since I'm not sure how you put your deposit down, but thought I would throw it out there. Have a great cruise!!

[BirdTravels]

Do suites often open up or once they're sold out, do they tend to stay that way?

 

Anyone have any tips/tricks or advice?

 

The simple answer is yes, room status change every day. When a room status changes (on a high demand room) there will people like you that will book the room, so it will not last.

 

When we were looking for specific sold out room types (front facing suites), we checked every day and called immediately when we saw availability.

 

The only person who will look out for you is you. NCL is trying to fill 10,000+ And you know what the wait time are like when you call reservations. No one there has spare time to check on room requests for you.

 

 

That being said, there is often room inventory that does not show as available on line. When we called to grab a room, one was showing up on line. When we called res, we were given a choice of rooms. Rooms are often held for different itineraries. For your trip, I assume that they would be holding rooms for back to backs before and after your cruise.

 

Keep checking. Good luck.

[nkwoman]

Some rooms are held by the bigger online agencies so it wouldn't hurt to contact them to find out.

Edited May 11, 2016 by nkwoman

[Boschmann]

The best chance a sold out suite category will become available is a few days before, and right at, the 120 day out point. That is the beginning of when deposits on suites start to be lost unless final payment is made. It might have been better if you put a deposit on regular room, that would have given you a cancellation window until 90 days to find a desired suite. If you can't find a desired cabin before your final payment and are unwilling to get stuck with the SJ you may have to cancel your booking then look for the cancelled suites to start showing up. I'm not sure how long it takes NCL to put them back into online available status, but I would think no more than a day. Calling your PCC would give a more accurate accounting of what is available. If you are okay with keeping the SJ if you have to, then keep looking after day 120 for an upgrade. If all the suites still show sold out after day 117 or so, there is not a good chance any will open as people will be losing the deposits and or percent of fare for cancelling.