How full?

[AnitaVacation]

Question for recent passengers.  Any idea how full the ships have been lately?? Conflicting information lately… I’ve read ‘sold out’ and I’ve read ‘below capacity due to staffing’ … is there a place where you can see the headcount of a ship??

[pickle11]

Here we go again.  Every two weeks.   NO

[BirdTravels]

8 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

Question for recent passengers.  Any idea how full the ships have been lately?? Conflicting information lately… I’ve read ‘sold out’ and I’ve read ‘below capacity due to staffing’ … is there a place where you can see the headcount of a ship??

Our cruise last week was sold out. 

Since this question keeps getting asked, help us understand the importance of that information. Why does that matter?  

Edited October 17, 2022 by BirdTravels

[cruiseny4life]

I went on the Getaway (9/3 - 9/12) out of NYC - we were at about 1,200 passengers on board which was roughly 1/3rd full. 

 

I hope that's remotely helpful. It probably won't be since every port, ship, and week is different.

 

Do a mock booking and you'll see roughly how many cabins are available, though this is just a rough estimate. 

Edited October 17, 2022 by cruiseny4life

[AnitaVacation]

22 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Our cruise last week was sold out. 

Since this question keeps getting asked, help us understand the importance of that information. Why does that matter?  

We’ll be sailing next month, just wanted to know what to expect. 

[PATRLR]

29 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Since this question keeps getting asked, help us understand the importance of that information. Why does that matter?  

I'm sailing in 4 weeks and I'd like to know simply because I am curious.  Is it important?  No.  Does it matter?  No.  

I've had officers share this information, un prompted.  Along with sharing information about Latitudes members on baord and how many pounds of potatoes the galley goes through.  Is any of that information important?  Does any of it matter to us, the guests?

[classy_cruiser]

Breakaway had around 3600 passengers last week. It did feel pretty full and the service timing was suffering a bit in the second half of the cruise. Got seriously spoiled by my other two pandemic cruises that were almost empty with a more diverse demographic.

[Needz2Cruise]

Was on Pride of America 10/1 - 10/8. I can't compare with other cruises since this was my first NCL, but ship was clearly not at capacity. One of the two main dining rooms was closed and some of the specialty dining rooms closed. Whether this was due to staffing issues, reduced capacity or some combination, I wouldn't know...

[Sand and Seas]

Back to the original question on this thread....

 

Some ships reported as sailing full like the 5 Day Prima from New York.   New ship from an easy to get to (for many) port.  

 

Our 11 day repositioning cruise on Prima from Galveston to Miami shows many balcony cabins still available with two weeks to go.   I did some 'research' and saw 15 plus balcony cabins available per floor.   It doesn't tell me how full the ship will be, but there is a good amount of cabins available and I'm guessing we will not be 'full'.   

[McFins]

A few weeks ago we were told the Breakaway was at 80% capacity

[Denise T]

I am on the Pearl now and believe it is at capacity for passengers. The first two days (embarkation and sea day) it was a challenge to get around and even get to the bars. By the third day, we are able to see when the bars and restaurants are less crowded. 

[AnitaVacation]

So, last night I did get some information regarding our sailing.  Apparently there are nearly 800 available cabins on our sailing (approx. 40 days out).  That's got to be close to 1/3?

 

I was wondering about capacity mostly because a few weeks ago, there were a bunch (like 80%) of cabins available in the Haven.  We were offered to bid on an upgrade to a Haven suite... we bid on several different suites. About 10 days ago, they even dropped the minimum bid on some of these cabins.  Then, very suddenly, (within about a 5 day period), the Haven is Sold Out.  Basically, our week went on sale, so it is quite possible that those cabins were scooped up.  I was wondering if there was a chance that NCL had already started the upgrade process that's why the Haven is sold out... I know it doesn't seem possible, but I'm sure it's not entirely impossible.

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, AnitaVacation said:

So, last night I did get some information regarding our sailing.  Apparently there are nearly 800 available cabins on our sailing (approx. 40 days out).  That's got to be close to 1/3?

I assume this information came from someone who scanned one of the TA websites where you can see more than just 15 available cabins per category.  Keep in mind that people choosing Sail-Away or other "Guarantee" categories probably haven't had their cabins assigned yet so some of those 800 will get filled.

But, I acknowledge that it does give you some sense of the "fullness" of the ship.

Edited October 18, 2022 by PATRLR

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, AnitaVacation said:

About 10 days ago, they even dropped the minimum bid on some of these cabins.  Then, very suddenly, (within about a 5 day period), the Haven is Sold Out. 

This seems to happen often, even on sailings that aren't full. When prices for the Haven are reduced, discount seekers (like me) often take advantage. The Haven will be sold out, whether through direct bookings, upgrades, or the bidding process. Have you found your roll call on Cruise Critic and/or Facebook? A lot of times these boards will let others in on the sales. Once this happens, many will upgrade their rooms to the Haven as it "generally" costs less than the bid they originally put in. 

 

I doubt the upgrade, through bids, for Haven has started yet, but hey, anything's possible! NCL will absolutely ensure the Haven is fully occupied, whether it's through bookings, upgrades, or bids, so you can be assured that one part of the ship will be at full capacity.

 

Fair seas and gorgeous sunsets to you!

 

Oh, and @Goldconnection, I can't help it if I get bored and spend far too much time on this website. 🙂 

Edited October 18, 2022 by cruiseny4life

[AnitaVacation]

22 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

The Haven will be sold out, whether through direct bookings, upgrades, or the bidding process. . Once this happens, many will upgrade their rooms to the Haven as it "generally" costs less than the bid they originally put in. 

 

Fair seas and gorgeous sunsets to you!

 

Oh, and @Goldconnection, I can't help it if I get bored and spend far too much time on this website. 🙂 

I'm probably going to regret not making an upgrade but, we've got a Mini suite with large balcony (deck 8 fwd) and everytime I book this cabin (M6), we get an upgrade, so I've never sailed in an M6... This may be the time... (still keeping my fingers crossed for a last minute surprise though).

[Sand and Seas]

5 hours ago, AnitaVacation said:

I'm probably going to regret not making an upgrade but, we've got a Mini suite with large balcony (deck 8 fwd) and everytime I book this cabin (M6), we get an upgrade, so I've never sailed in an M6... This may be the time... (still keeping my fingers crossed for a last minute surprise though).

We love the M6 cabins!  Great balcony and close to many venues.  

 

Hope you enjoy and have a great cruise😎

[davencl]

My sailing on the Spirit end of January(AUS/NZ) is currently at 63% full.

[AnitaVacation]

3 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

We love the M6 cabins!  Great balcony and close to many venues.  

 

Hope you enjoy and have a great cruise😎

Great to hear!! This will be the third time I’ve booked this cabin… maybe this time we’ll get to see it!!

[ontheweb]

40 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

Great to hear!! This will be the third time I’ve booked this cabin… maybe this time we’ll get to see it!!

Good luck, you know the old saying, "third time is a charm".

[mearsfansinboise]

Currently on the Bliss to Alaska. 
The Haven is full. The ship is at 2800 of 4000 - but this is the last Alaska sailing of the season, so, it’s late and probably not ideal for some folks. 

[blueslily]

On 10/19/2022 at 6:46 AM, AnitaVacation said:

I'm probably going to regret not making an upgrade but, we've got a Mini suite with large balcony (deck 8 fwd) and everytime I book this cabin (M6), we get an upgrade, so I've never sailed in an M6... This may be the time... (still keeping my fingers crossed for a last minute surprise though).

What do you usually get upgraded to? 

[graphicguy]

Depends on the sailing.  As others point out, the Alaska and New England season are over.  The last sailings for those itineraries aren’t usually at capacity.  That said, no one really knows what the pent up demand is.

 

You can kind of make a guess if you go to some web sites and look at available cabins.  But, as my TA has told me, even she can’t reliably make a guess looking at availability on her site until she tries to do a booking.  I won’t make her do that if I’m not seriously looking at that category.

 

GTY and SAILAWAY categories usually aren’t assigned until right before the cruise sails.  So, hard to say.  Lots of factors.

 

I will say, it’s a good bet that cruises will be sailing at capacity over Spring Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years.  Conversely, there is usually plenty of availability during Hurricane season and end of the season to cold climates.

[AnitaVacation]

20 minutes ago, blueslily said:

What do you usually get upgraded to? 

From Club Balcony/Mini Suite I think the only option is Haven... that's where we've gone. 

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, AnitaVacation said:

From Club Balcony/Mini Suite I think the only option is Haven... that's where we've gone. 

Spa rooms would be an upgrade, wouldn't it?  

[AnitaVacation]

25 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Spa rooms would be an upgrade, wouldn't it?  

oh yes.... there was an option to bid on a Club balcony spa cabin... I did not bid on that category, I would rather have the larger balcony vs admission to the thermal spa