Princes picks only vrs sold out

[teddie2]

Sorry nubie here again. Trying to understand the difference between when it says a deck says sold out vrs nothing available now but princess will assign a room prior to sailing.

Does that mean on those latter decks there are available rooms but maybe a TA has them? I guess I don't understand if there are no rooms then why are they letting you make a reservation. 

 

[cheetosrevil]

Yes, that is about it in a nutshell.

[kamelia]

1 hour ago, teddie2 said:

Sorry nubie here again. Trying to understand the difference between when it says a deck says sold out vrs nothing available now but princess will assign a room prior to sailing.

Does that mean on those latter decks there are available rooms but maybe a TA has them? I guess I don't understand if there are no rooms then why are they letting you make a reservation. 

 

There could be any number of reasons for this.  Yes, another TA might have them, or all of the rooms could be reserved but some may open up when passengers decide to cancel or change that cruise or bid for an upgrade or miss final payment due date.  There could also be ADA staterooms that are held aside until closer to cruise date to be sure anyone needing those can be accommodated.  They may also be allowing you to make the reservation knowing that if the rooms in the category you're booking don't become available then Princess is obligated to put you in a higher category at no additional charge.  Hope this helps to shed some light for you.

[Outerdog]

28 minutes ago, kamelia said:

then Princess is obligated to put you in a higher category at no additional charge. 

 

Which may not be all it's cracked up to be. You're going to have a bad time, for example, if you are susceptible to illness from the ship's motion and Princess moves you from a BA on deck 8 to a DW (deluxe balcony) up on 16 fwd.

 

[teddie2]

True it's a crap shoot. It just seemed odd to me that woth only 16 available Cabins left on the entire ship the are letting people book in many categories so they must be sure they will have rooms available 

I have never been on a large cruis ship but smaller ships ha e never bothered me. Only twice was I seasick and thst was in very rough waters much smaller boat going against the wind..most people were sick

[kamelia]

18 minutes ago, Outerdog said:

 

Which may not be all it's cracked up to be. You're going to have a bad time, for example, if you are susceptible to illness from the ship's motion and Princess moves you from a BA on deck 8 to a DW (deluxe balcony) up on 16 fwd.

 

I was just answering the question about why someone might be permitted to make a reservation when the website would lead you to believe there are no rooms in the selected category available.  You're right - there's definitely a risk to being "upgraded" to a less desirable location, but there are a couple of different threads discussing that if OP wants to pursue that aspect.  

Edited October 14, 2023 by kamelia

[teddie2]

Ok but if I select princess chooses for me in mid ship Deck 10..can they still just put me any where? 

[SCX22]

29 minutes ago, teddie2 said:

Ok but if I select princess chooses for me in mid ship Deck 10..can they still just put me any where? 

 

There is a cabin category to what you will book.  You are guaranteed that cabin category or better.  Again, you could be anywhere on the ship.  Using a Royal Class ship as an example:  If you booked a BA (midship Balcony), you could be upgraded to a DF (forward Deluxe Balcony) if there were no more BA cabins to assign.  No way to predict location, but you are guaranteed the you meta category or better.

 

Just my 2 cents... If you are forced into a guaranteed room to begin with, save money and choose the "Princess Chooses" option from the get go.  This books you into a meta category's lowest location category.   The only potential problem is that this option has a non-refundable deposit.  If you have any inkling of canceling before final payment or are unsure of a cruise, then this isn't a good option.

[Earthworm Jim]

1 hour ago, teddie2 said:

Ok but if I select princess chooses for me in mid ship Deck 10..can they still just put me any where? 

 

Well, not anywhere. It would have to be to a category Princess considers the same or higher than what you booked.

[trbarton]

On 10/14/2023 at 8:40 AM, teddie2 said:

Sorry nubie here again. Trying to understand the difference between when it says a deck says sold out vrs nothing available now but princess will assign a room prior to sailing.

Does that mean on those latter decks there are available rooms but maybe a TA has them? I guess I don't understand if there are no rooms then why are they letting you make a reservation. 

 

I had the same question & my T/A says Princess will find someone to cancel their cruise to have a stateroom available. I have a guarantee on a cruise that is sold out. The only catch is that I don’t have any control as to where I’ll be. 
 

Tom😀

[teddie2]

How can they be sure someone will cancel?  They can't force someone to cancel can they?

[teddie2]

10 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Well, not anywhere. It would have to be to a category Princess considers the same or higher than what you booked.

So no guarantee I would be midship. I am slightly concerned about rough seas as ww have only sailed on a small ship once in open season that were rough and all got sick.  I have been in plenty of boats before with no issue.

 

[trinitygirl]

3 hours ago, teddie2 said:

How can they be sure someone will cancel?  They can't force someone to cancel can they?

They offer very tempting packages, on the rare occasions they oversell, for people to voluntarily give up their cabins so they can accommodate everyone.  They may offer a lower category of cabin, or a future cruise credit, plus other goodies, if you move over.  People who have flexibility in their travel plans love those packages - there is no difficulty freeing up cabins.

[mevs904]

Exactly.  We were booked on a 14 night Mediterranean cruise this past summer.  It was overbooked and Princess sent us an email with a Move Over offer which we happily took.  We took the same cruise at a later date and our cruise fare was refunded to us.  Much to our delight the weather on our rescheduled cruise was much better than on our original one.  It was incredible good fortune for us.

[teddie2]

Wow very interesting!  Sort of what the airlines do.  We actually took a later flight once and got a good deal I think $300 backage for a future flight

 As for the cruise, that would never work for us because I book additional land stays pre and post cruise and air travel .  All that would have to be canceled and rescheduled. But obviously it works for some people.

[teddie2]

But what so confusing is that some of the categories say sold out and others say we have nothing available but will assign something before the trip.

 So I just wondered are those sections sold out as would they say sold out on some

 It's all a bit confusing to me

[MTAK]

I had this happen, where an entire deck was shown as sold out in the category I wanted. Someone mentioned in another thread that you can call Princess to get an assigned room. Rather than bother with that, I ended up booking through an online TA which showed plenty of rooms available. Have you checked other sites?

[trbarton]

I have a cruise next year that was sold out on the Princess web site but my T/A got me a guarantee. I’m told that I will have a stateroom as they will give someone an offer to give up their stateroom. I’m aware that I won’t have a choice as to where on the ship. This will be my first guarantee. I’m on a solar eclipse cruise. 
 

Anyone had a guarantee before & if so how soon did you know your stateroom assignment?  My booking is for a Stateroom: GUAR (Deluxe Balcony: DW). I’ve looked & the Deluxe Balconies are all obstructed view but just being on the ship is OK. 
 

Perhaps I wind up with a Mini Suite as I assume I can’t be in a lower category. 

 

Tom😀👍

Edited October 17, 2023 by trbarton