Booking connecting staterooms

[OSUZorba]

Okay, this probably is a stupid question, but how do you actually book connecting staterooms? Every time I look for staterooms online it appears that all the connecting ones, especially the connecting balconies are always gone. A while ago I thought they must just be blocking them, so I called and had them check 8 different cruises and they said they were all gone (this was about 14 months before sailing). So I decided I'd wait for 2020 cruises to drop, but every sailing I've looked at all the connecting balconies are gone still (at least online, I haven't called). So does some TA book a block of all the connectors, or whats going on?

 

Most of the time I am looking at Liberty, but have also looked at the Ovation Hawaii repo cruise and a couple from FL.

[Biker19]

Look a deck plan for the connecting cabin symbol.

[OSUZorba]

Well yeah, that is what I am doing, and they always show as not available.

[Clarea]

You might try calling Royal directly, or contacting a travel agent.  They have ways to look at staeroom availability with more filters than they give us on end-user website.  They can do this easily over multiple sailing dates.

[OSUZorba]

I was really hoping to get some feedback from people that had actually booked connecting balconies. I've now looked at more than 10 of the recently released cruises and none show any connecting balconies as available. If the only way of finding them is calling RCL, so be it, but it would be nice to able to decide which cruise I was interested in without sitting on the phone with RCL for an hour while they looked though a ton of different sailings finding me the connecting options.

 

Last time I tried calling RCL to book connecting balconies it was a waste of time, and they looked through every cruise just like I would online. They ended up winning, though, because I booked an OS instead.

[payitforward]

What I've discovered is that sometimes the connecting staterooms accommodate different numbers of people. If you put "2" in your search, you will see one of them. Then, when you put "3" in a search, you will see the adjoining room.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, OSUZorba said:

 I've now looked at more than 10 of the recently released cruises and none show any connecting balconies as available.

What sailings are you looking at? Which site are you using for your research?

[OSUZorba]

10 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

What sailings are you looking at? Which site are you using for your research?

I don't think I'm allowed to say site names on here. But I've mostly been looking at an interline website that has a nice booking engine. But I've also looked at some of the more common big name sites. I was going to try again with RCL's page today, but it appears to be down for me.

 

I've looked at the Sept/October 2020 Liberty Cruises, the two Sept 2020 to Hawaii, and a few different Oasis ones in November 2020.

[cookiechambers]

I have connecting balcony cabins on Navigator for next week  🎄  I booked in late January through a large Cruise only online agency with a floorplan during the reservation process, allowing you to select rooms. I spoke with a rep to ask a few questions, and they ensured I had the connecting rooms. At time of booking, I had multiple sets of connecting balcony rooms to choose from (deck 7 aft). I do not recall if the same rooms were on the RCL site, but this agency had incentives that made it worthwhile to reserve through them. (I've used the agency for prior trips, which is why I looked for them specifically.)

 

I wish you luck!

[Biker19]

5 minutes ago, OSUZorba said:

I've looked at the Sept/October 2020 Liberty Cruises, the two Sept 2020 to Hawaii, and a few different Oasis ones in November 2020.

I see 7604/7606 on the 9/20/20 Liberty sailing. One other thing to remember, you can very likely have your cabin steward open the balcony dividers between the cabins creating connecting cabins.

[OSUZorba]

1 minute ago, Biker19 said:

I see 7604/7606 on the 9/20/20 Liberty sailing. One other thing to remember, you can very likely have your cabin steward open the balcony dividers between the cabins creating connecting cabins.

Thanks, I'll check those out. I guess I forgot an important bit of info, I want connecting two berth, which there aren't many of. I want to put my 4 yo in one of them, so I'd like a true connector, once she is older she'll get an across the hall interior.

 

I just used the competing website for the ovation Hawaii cruise and the TAs said there were no connectors left. I just can't believe they actually book out that quick, which is why I was thinking someone might be blocking them.

 

 

[Biker19]

6 minutes ago, OSUZorba said:

I just used the competing website for the ovation Hawaii cruise and the TAs said there were no connectors left. 

I see 8124/8126 and 8286/8288 on Ovation in just the 8D category, there are probably others.

[OSUZorba]

9 hours ago, Biker19 said:

I see 8124/8126 and 8286/8288 on Ovation in just the 8D category, there are probably others.

Okay, how'd you find that?

 

I just checked it on RCL's website, the interline website and scanned the seas, neither the IL website or RCL's showed them, but I found them when I scanned the seas. I hadn't been going there much recently, but I guess I need to start again. There are lots of pairs showing up on the scanner, just not on RCL's with a single booking and if you do a double booking on RCL's it just suggests rooms but doesn't show them as available with a dot.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

It's really weird that the competing TAs would say there was nothing connecting too, when there clearly is.

Edited December 16, 2018 by OSUZorba

[brillohead]

Friends booked a cruise this summer for next November, and when I went online, the room connecting to theirs was available and I booked it.   

I think you need a different TA...maybe one with an actual person on the other end, not just a computer algorithm.  I have a friend who is a TA, and I can tell him what/where/when I'm looking for, and he can get back to me with possible ships/itineraries/dates.  He also gives me some of his commission as OBC, not just b/c I'm his friend, but b/c he can still make a living because he sells so much volume (top not-online seller for RCI last year, in fact).

 

[kevdad]

For our cruise with our children in a few weeks I did not see any connecting balconies online, then called our big-box travel agent and they immediately found the perfect ones on deck 8 which were not showing online.  Either I wasn't putting in the number of people correctly as someone previously stated or they were withholding them for someone looking for connecting cabins.  Either way, I was very happy to have secured them!

[OSUZorba]

8 hours ago, kevdad said:

For our cruise with our children in a few weeks I did not see any connecting balconies online, then called our big-box travel agent and they immediately found the perfect ones on deck 8 which were not showing online.  Either I wasn't putting in the number of people correctly as someone previously stated or they were withholding them for someone looking for connecting cabins.  Either way, I was very happy to have secured them!

 

Yeah, I really think they are hidden on most normal websites. It does make sense they would be blocked out until someone wanted to book them as a pair, but I wish there was a way to search for them at least on RCL's site.

 

15 hours ago, brillohead said:

Friends booked a cruise this summer for next November, and when I went online, the room connecting to theirs was available and I booked it.   

I think you need a different TA...maybe one with an actual person on the other end, not just a computer algorithm.  I have a friend who is a TA, and I can tell him what/where/when I'm looking for, and he can get back to me with possible ships/itineraries/dates.  He also gives me some of his commission as OBC, not just b/c I'm his friend, but b/c he can still make a living because he sells so much volume (top not-online seller for RCI last year, in fact).

 

 

Yeah, I didn't want to bother real people when I am still do high level research and not sure which cruise I really want yet.

[dcgrumpy]

I usually check the UK site for connecting cabins since they show all available cabins instead of random cabins. 

[brillohead]

1 hour ago, OSUZorba said:

Yeah, I didn't want to bother real people when I am still do high level research and not sure which cruise I really want yet.

 

Keep in mind that this is their JOB -- this is what they do, and they have tools available that we just don't have access to.

If you want to do the research to figure out which ships and itineraries and dates you want first, that's fine -- get together a list of possible ships and dates, then ask them what they can do by way of connecting rooms for each sailing.  They'll be able to show you inside rooms, ocean view rooms, Promenade rooms, balcony rooms, and suite/room combinations.  

You still get the fun of figuring it all out on your own, and they get the work of figuring out what connecting rooms are available.

[OSUZorba]

1 minute ago, brillohead said:

 

Keep in mind that this is their JOB -- this is what they do, and they have tools available that we just don't have access to.

If you want to do the research to figure out which ships and itineraries and dates you want first, that's fine -- get together a list of possible ships and dates, then ask them what they can do by way of connecting rooms for each sailing.  They'll be able to show you inside rooms, ocean view rooms, Promenade rooms, balcony rooms, and suite/room combinations.  

You still get the fun of figuring it all out on your own, and they get the work of figuring out what connecting rooms are available.

That is good point. Thanks.

[AlexisV]

One thing to consider when you are not getting the same information from multiple TA's - A lot of times, the larger TA's are so competitive with their pricing because they have booked groups of rooms at a discounted rate.  So it's quite possible one TA does have what you're looking for because they've already booked it, hence another TA not having that same option for you.

Edited December 25, 2018 by AlexisV

[AdGuyMG]

10 hours ago, AlexisV said:

So it's quite possible one TA does have what you're looking for because they've already booked it, hence another TA not having that same option for you.

No specific cabin number can be held by a TA as speculative Group Space unless there is a paid deposit on it.

[whitshel]

On 12/15/2018 at 10:52 AM, OSUZorba said:

Thanks, I'll check those out. I guess I forgot an important bit of info, I want connecting two berth, which there aren't many of. I want to put my 4 yo in one of them, so I'd like a true connector, once she is older she'll get an across the hall interior.

 

I just used the competing website for the ovation Hawaii cruise and the TAs said there were no connectors left. I just can't believe they actually book out that quick, which is why I was thinking someone might be blocking them.

 

 

I can get into cruising power which is a RCCL's T/A website.  They have a very user friendly interface (actually best in the industry) and i'm seeing 7 sets of connecting rooms on the Ovation Sept 17th just in cat 8d.  So there are definitely connecting out there.  Let me know if you want me to look up something specific on any of the cruises.  I can even see your interline rates.

 

I just chose Liberty sept 13th, 2020 and show 19 sets of connecting cabins in the 2d category.  I'm not sure what t/a is saying there's none left, I see lots available

Edited December 25, 2018 by whitshel

[beachys]

I actually did this and booked connecting rooms.  

 

Funny thing, none showed available on line. I used multiple websites, Royal and other big travel sites.  

 

So I called an online site that I used in the past. Mentioned to the gal that I really wanted connecting rooms and they had a lot available.  They had rooms that didn't appear on their website, but they hold back for their phone customers.  I don't know why they do this. 

 

The PRICE was good and the hooked me LINE and sinker.

 

I'd recommend giving online travel sites a call.  It worked for me. 

[AlexisV]

2 hours ago, AdGuyMG said:

No specific cabin number can be held by a TA as speculative Group Space unless there is a paid deposit on it.

Yes, that's why they put deposits down 🙂