Move Over

[KevintheIrishDJ]

So what were you "moving over" from? I understand move over offers to be to a different sailing. If they needed your cabin, why didn't they just upgrade you for no additional cost? I don't understand the 100% refund part...?

 

They overbooked.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

They were leaving on the cruise in 2017 and now are taking the same cruise in 2018 instead. They postponed for a year. Got the same cruise they were doing in 2017 plus a great cabin upgrade and a full refund of what they paid for the 2017 sailing. Unless I'm reading it incorrectly which has been known to be done!!

 

Correct.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

In a word....OVERBOOKING.

 

And I am still insanely curious as to what the first move over offer was that involved embarking two days earlier. Which ship? How many days? OBC or refund? Any other sweeteners?

 

They offered the Caribbean Princess for the same number of days (14). It is a refundable OBC and we got an upgrade from OO to BE.

 

:D

[luckyinpa]

They overbooked.

 

so how can i, as a passenger, overbook (meaning take a cabin that is already sold), and get in on a cruise while you have to sit home? :)

 

i do wonder the mechanics of this. call me the curious type. like online theres no way i can book into a room you booked already so this must happen so other magical way.

 

certainly this would be valuable info to 'push yourself' onto a sold out cruise as well.

 

also does the person that ever overbooked get told they cannot go cause no one will give up their spot?

[Iamcruzin]

delete

[geocruiser]

so how can i, as a passenger, overbook (meaning take a cabin that is already sold), and get in on a cruise while you have to sit home? :)

 

i do wonder the mechanics of this. call me the curious type. like online theres no way i can book into a room you booked already so this must happen so other magical way.

 

certainly this would be valuable info to 'push yourself' onto a sold out cruise as well.

 

also does the person that ever overbooked get told they cannot go cause no one will give up their spot?

 

This is my guess how over booking can happen. I think the over booking happens with the guarantee cabins.

Princess over booked theses cabins because they think that others will cancel their cruise and then Princess will fill the empty canceled cabiins with people who booked Gty. But if people don't cancel their cruise Princess is left with omre PAX than cabins. Then Princess will offer move over offers. They keep adding to the pot until people take the offer.

[luckyinpa]

the GTY answer is logical as you cannot pick an assigned GTY by definition. so they can set X to be whatever number of GTY they want.

 

however. are they double dipping for the cancellations? even if i have the best insurance, but cancel 2 days before, doesnt princess get to keep my money (the insurance gives it back). the notable exception to this rule is that princess allows the credit to roll over for the year if you have their plan. i cannot think of any other way that princess 'gives back' money to people who cancel under final payment

[KevintheIrishDJ]

so how can i, as a passenger, overbook (meaning take a cabin that is already sold), and get in on a cruise while you have to sit home? :)

 

i do wonder the mechanics of this. call me the curious type. like online theres no way i can book into a room you booked already so this must happen so other magical way.

 

certainly this would be valuable info to 'push yourself' onto a sold out cruise as well.

 

also does the person that ever overbooked get told they cannot go cause no one will give up their spot?

 

I have seen threads about people being told they don't have a cabin anymore. Some when they get to the pier. On our last cruise in Oct., our cabin was given to someone else. Fortunately, there were many unsold cabins.

 

:(

[geocruiser]

I have seen threads about people being told they don't have a cabin anymore. Some when they get to the pier. On our last cruise in Oct., our cabin was given to someone else. Fortunately, there were many unsold cabins.

 

:(

WOW! Were they able to give you the same category cabin?

[Mike45LC]

Some large travel agencies are "given" blocks of rooms. Princess knows that some of these will be returned to Princess unsold, so Princess is willing to sell some of these, creating a potential overbooking.

 

As others have pointed out, there are also cancellations, so Princess oversells to avoid having empty cabins.

 

To me, it seems foolish to oversell enough to have to buy back cabins through Move-Over offers on any kind of frequent basis. But I guess Princess's bean counters know what they are doing!

 

And the bean counters take into account that fact that if they give me a $1,000 refundable On Board Credit, I am likely to spend more on board. Maybe not everything, but the purse strings will certainly be much looser -- I'll buy more drinks for my mates, I'll buy a couple extra pictures, maybe I'll take an extra excursion, maybe an extra spa treatment or visit to Sanctuary. I won't blow the entire $1,000, but maybe I'll spend a couple hundred bucks more than I otherwise would have.

 

I know that the fact that I've already paid the bill makes me more likely to spend, charging things to my account. Even though the OBC is refundable. And I know that I am far less impulsive than most, so I suspect that MUCH of the OBC gets spent.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

WOW! Were they able to give you the same category cabin?

 

Yes.

[jasbo49]

I have seen threads about people being told they don't have a cabin anymore. Some when they get to the pier...

 

:(

Well, this is nothing I've ever heard (or seen) before. Can you tell us some specifics? I don't believe anyone has been "kicked off" a cruise by Princess -- or any other cruise line because of overbooking.

 

Jim

[KevintheIrishDJ]

Well, this is nothing I've ever heard (or seen) before. Can you tell us some specifics? I don't believe anyone has been "kicked off" a cruise by Princess -- or any other cruise line because of overbooking.

 

Jim

 

Then don't believe me.

[pablo222]

Then don't believe me.

 

I have never seen a post on this board, of anyone being denied boarding.

 

Princess just keeps up'ing the move-over offer until someone bites.

 

So, put me in the "don't believe you" club.

[lstone19]

As others have pointed out, there are also cancellations, so Princess oversells to avoid having empty cabins.

To me, it seems foolish to oversell enough to have to buy back cabins through Move-Over offers on any kind of frequent basis. But I guess Princess's bean counters know what they are doing!

 

It's all about trading off two different costs: the cost of being overbooked vs. the cost of empty cabins. Overbooking has its costs but so do empty cabins (what's called "opportunity cost" - the revenue lost because there was no one in it). Act to reduce one and you increase the other. So the inventory planners work to balance the two and find the optimal spot. In the long run, their models should have it right but when you divide it down to individual cruises and within cruises, the room categories, you don't always get it exactly right (too many random events in there) and hence the move-overs, downgrade offers, and upgrades.

 

If they're offering move-overs every cruise, they probably have it wrong. But if just on a few cruises, they probably have it right (and let's face it, despite the large number of posts about move-overs, most people aren't getting the offers). It's no different than airline overbooking and hotel overbooking.

[Alimariecruisin]

When a ship is severely overbooked, like they are on many holiday cruises, they will call certain passengers to offer a move over deal. We were scheduled to leave today, Dec. 23rd on the Ruby for 7 nights to Mexico in a Premium aft balcony. Yesterday, around 2pm after I'd finished packing, Princess Rep called and offered an AWESOME move over deal. We can take any 7 night cruise leaving from the USA, be given an upgrade to a minisuite, and ALL our cruise fare from this cruise will be credited to our onboard account, and any not used on chosen cruise will be refundable. So yep, a free cruise!!! We took it. Going to Alaska in a minisuite which costs almost twice as much...and don't have to pay the difference. Great deal, worth the change in plans for us!

[KevintheIrishDJ]

I have never seen a post on this board, of anyone being denied boarding.

 

Princess just keeps up'ing the move-over offer until someone bites.

 

So, put me in the "don't believe you" club.

 

Done

[lstone19]

So Kevin, you're saying that when you showed up, your cabin had been reassigned to someone else and they had nothing assigned and were not expecting you? Did you get an explanation? Was a mistake made by Princess?

 

I agree with Pablo. There have yet to be any credible reports of someone showing up and just being told - we're overbooked; you're not going (and in your case, that clearly wasn't true since there were plenty of empty cabins so it definitely sounds like a mistake and not, to use airline terminology, an "involuntary denied boarding").

[KevintheIrishDJ]

I have never seen a post on this board, of anyone being denied boarding.

 

Princess just keeps up'ing the move-over offer until someone bites.

 

So, put me in the "don't believe you" club.

 

FYI: https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4871 "Royal Caribbean Forcibly Bumps Passenger"

[KevintheIrishDJ]

So Kevin, you're saying that when you showed up, your cabin had been reassigned to someone else and they had nothing assigned and were not expecting you? Did you get an explanation? Was a mistake made by Princess?

 

I agree with Pablo. There have yet to be any credible reports of someone showing up and just being told - we're overbooked; you're not going (and in your case, that clearly wasn't true since there were plenty of empty cabins so it definitely sounds like a mistake and not, to use airline terminology, an "involuntary denied boarding").

 

FYI: https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4871 "Royal Caribbean Forcibly Bumps Passenger"

[voljeep]

Nope, she volunteered - RCL would have simply moved on to another passenger if not able to deal with her

 

strong-arm - of course

 

I would have loved to have been in that position to negotiate a mutual agreement settlement:D:halo::evilsmile:

[lstone19]

FYI: https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4871 "Royal Caribbean Forcibly Bumps Passenger"

 

Royal Caribbean is not Princess.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

Royal Caribbean is not Princess.

 

The original post never said Princess.

[cvpends]

The one case I know from personal experience that you can be bumped without agreeing to it is if you booked at travel agent rates. But even in that case I was given a free cruise with the original cost as obc.

 

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[pablo222]

Done

You really must have a lot of free time.