Should I be worried about overbooking?

[drkellik]

On 12/1/2023 at 7:43 PM, NMTraveller said:

I have never been denied boarding a GTY cabin.  But I used to sweat it every time.  IMHO the small savings is not worth the stress.

What is the latest you received a cabin assignment if you don’t mind my asking? I’ve never sweated it before now because I’ve always received a cabin assignment before check-in became available. I’m checked in, have an express pass, but don’t have a cabin assignment. My express pass just says GTY. 

[drkellik]

17 minutes ago, mom says said:

Are you booked on a guarantee, or did you select your cabin? Our original booked cabin was changed twice before embarkation.  Fortunately both times it was just a couple if doors down from the previous one. But, yeah, Princess is known to do this.

I’m booked on a veranda guarantee. The only veranda category available at the time I booked was a guarantee. I’ve never had a problem in 20 years and 23 cruises getting a cabin assignment on a guarantee reservation before check-in…until now. So is Celebrity now doing as Princess does?

[drkellik]

3 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

If one has concerns about overbooking, probably best to book an actual cabin versus a guarantee arrangement.  On Celebrity, we’ve always gotten the cabin we pre booked (Princess is a whole other opposite story)

 

Well, I didn’t have any concerns before I booked the guarantee on this cruise. I only have concerns NOW that I’m 30 days out from embarkation without a cabin assignment. Like I said, I’ve been on 23 cruises and never had concerns about Celebrity overbooking…until now. Unfortunately the cruise is sold out so I can’t throw money at the problem and book an assigned cabin or I would consider it. 

 

•  

[drkellik]

On 12/1/2023 at 11:41 AM, SbbquilterUT said:

I have read about a hack using the bar code on your Set Sail pass to see your cabin assignment - maybe that would help.

I found the hack you mentioned and my bar code on my express pass shows GTY because I don’t have a cabin assignment. 

[NMTraveller]

41 minutes ago, drkellik said:

What is the latest you received a cabin assignment if you don’t mind my asking? I’ve never sweated it before now because I’ve always received a cabin assignment before check-in became available. I’m checked in, have an express pass, but don’t have a cabin assignment. My express pass just says GTY. 

I want to say about a week before the cruise.  You have time.  People will cancel and the rooms will free up.  Move up bids will be processed, etc.

Edited December 3, 2023 by NMTraveller

[villauk]

8 hours ago, drkellik said:

Well, this is the first time I’ve ever had concerns about overbooking on Celebrity. Like I said, I’m a loyal Celebrity cruiser for the past 20 years who has earned Elite status. I’ve booked a dozen guarantee rooms on different sailings in the past and I’ve always received a cabin assignment before check-in became available. Therefore I had no reason to be concerned before now. So what has changed? Recent press about RCL starting to overbook and turning customers away at the pier made me wonder if Celebrity is also adopting this practice?

 

I think it was the amount of people who were turned away on that one Royal sailing that shocked me! 

[Jazzbo]

10 hours ago, mom says said:

Are you booked on a guarantee, or did you select your cabin? Our original booked cabin was changed twice before embarkation.  Fortunately both times it was just a couple if doors down from the previous one. But, yeah, Princess is known to do this.

Thanks for the information. No, we did not book gty. We booked specific cabins (after doing a lot of research).

[keesar]

11 hours ago, drkellik said:

Well, this is the first time I’ve ever had concerns about overbooking on Celebrity. Like I said, I’m a loyal Celebrity cruiser for the past 20 years who has earned Elite status. I’ve booked a dozen guarantee rooms on different sailings in the past and I’ve always received a cabin assignment before check-in became available. Therefore I had no reason to be concerned before now. So what has changed? Recent press about RCL starting to overbook and turning customers away at the pier made me wonder if Celebrity is also adopting this practice?

Things appear to be changing.  Never had a problem for nearly 20 years like yourself.  First, my reservation was "adjusted" overnight and all perks and discounts were removed.  Took an hour and a half to restore the reservation.  Then OBC was "adjusted". Still waiting for that to resolve.   I made final payment and received an invoice of a zero balance due.  Been getting emails saying I owe money and when asked for what, I am told that there is no balance due but continue to get emails threatening to cancel my reservation unless I paid.  Been waiting 2 weeks for it to be taken care of but still getting the emails.  Has never been like this.

[wrk2cruise]

15 minutes ago, keesar said:

Things appear to be changing.

 

Why do you think things are changing.   There have been isolated reports over the years of overbooking.  Most times they are resolved before the sailing.  In this case something happened and it ended up being a disaster at the pier. 

 

I also read somewhere that it happened to be all people local to the pier that were denied as I guess they didn't want to be liable for return flights/hotels etc.  So if you live local to the departure port I might worry a bit more.

 

In Nov 2019 I personally had booked a Aqua GTY on Summit about 3 weeks before the sailing.  About a week before I my TA got a call from Celebrity which they transferred to me.  They had overbooked Aqua.  They offered me a downgrade to Concierge with a $500 refund and let me pick a great C1 cabin and assured me I could still eat in Blu.  When I got onboard they had also put all the AQ cabin amenities in the room.   I could have refused the offer and they would have just offered it to others until someone accepted.  I felt I got a great deal with about a 25% discount.

Edited December 3, 2023 by wrk2cruise

[2chiefs]

On 12/1/2023 at 10:05 AM, wrk2cruise said:

Denied boarding due to oversold conditions are very very rare.  The fact the sailing is not on the website only indicates they aren't selling any more cabins.   There are always last minute cancellations and no-shows. 

 

Yes this would cause me some stress but I'm very confident it will work out.

Rare maybe but why chance it for a small discount? The 7 or 8 couples that were denied boarding in Australia could have lost a huge amount of money depending how far away they came in from (hotels, airfare, food etc.. not to mention vacation time ruined and lost for working folks). Even though Royal gave generous compensation, they still could have lost out. 

[2chiefs]

14 hours ago, jaywoods678 said:

I agree. To me booking a guarantee cabin is just now worth the risk, even if there is substantial savings. But the main reason we don't book them is because we are very picky with cabin selection. We like a quiet room with little motion, so for us that is low and mid-ship with cabins above and below. We make sure we are not above or below bars, lounges, entertainment venues, restaurants, lido decks, etc.

Ditto

[bEwAbG]

Guarantee rooms can be assigned right up to when you show up at the pier.  Has always been that way, though X has generally assigned them earlier.  If they cannot give you a room in the category, then you get an upgrade.  Could be that they're still working on move ups and that is affecting what rooms they can assign.

[2chiefs]

12 hours ago, drkellik said:

Well, this is the first time I’ve ever had concerns about overbooking on Celebrity. Like I said, I’m a loyal Celebrity cruiser for the past 20 years who has earned Elite status. I’ve booked a dozen guarantee rooms on different sailings in the past and I’ve always received a cabin assignment before check-in became available. Therefore I had no reason to be concerned before now. So what has changed? Recent press about RCL starting to overbook and turning customers away at the pier made me wonder if Celebrity is also adopting this practice?

I don't think anything has changed as far as over-booking is concerned (I could be wrong). I believe all the lines have been over-booking for quite a few years and using the guaranteed cabin sell to fill the last minute drop outs. I think what has changed is the recent surge in popularity in cruising. Just look at all the new ships being built which seem to outpace the number of ships being retired. Prices are going up etc...

[SbbquilterUT]

The flip side of this is we really wanted to use the cruise as a way to get to Europe for another cruise and it was sold out (10 months before sailing).  Our TA got a Guarantee for us - and actually got a cabin assigned this week at 8 months before sailing.  Very happy to be sailing rather than flying and there is not a big cost differential.

[drkellik]

Amazing news! We got a cabin assignment today and we given cabin 8345, which is a 1A with the larger balcony. Couldn’t be happier for the price paid on a veranda guarantee! Guess I had no reason to be concerned after all since Celebrity has never let me down before! Thanks all for your insight!

[2chiefs]

1 hour ago, drkellik said:

Amazing news! We got a cabin assignment today and we given cabin 8345, which is a 1A with the larger balcony. Couldn’t be happier for the price paid on a veranda guarantee! Guess I had no reason to be concerned after all since Celebrity has never let me down before! Thanks all for your insight!

Looks like an oversized balcony to boot!!

[kaylaw25]

On 12/2/2023 at 8:34 PM, drkellik said:

I’ve already checked in online and have a exoress pass but still don’t have a cabin assignment. My express pass just says GTY and does not list a muster . Like I said, I’ve booked a dozen GTY cabins in the past and I’ve never not been assigned a cabin before check-in became available. 

 

I'm in the same boat (pun intended). My cruise leaves in 12 days and no stateroom has been assigned. This is my first time on Celebrity so I didn't know what to expect. I came to the board for answers. Glad to see I'm not alone. Not so glad to see that I have to play the waiting game. 

[hcat]

On 12/4/2023 at 12:50 PM, drkellik said:

Amazing news! We got a cabin assignment today and we given cabin 8345, which is a 1A with the larger balcony. Couldn’t be happier for the price paid on a veranda guarantee! Guess I had no reason to be concerned after all since Celebrity has never let me down before! Thanks all for your insight!

great news..down to the wire ..but you did quite well!  no more stress!

[Cruising89143]

OP, glad that you received your room assignment. Enjoy your cruise.

 

The Quantum situation is the first time that I have heard of guests showing up and not having a stateroom assignment. There was a thread on the RCI board about this. Seems to be that guest staterooms were needed at the last minute for crew with Covid that need to be quarantined. Not sure if that was the case but I have always known the cruise lines to extend guests generous offers to move to a different sail date in order to take care of the overbooking situation. 

[Salt Lifer]

For the first time ever we booked a guaranteed concierge class cabin for an upcoming April cruise.  We booked the cruise several months ago and just got the assignment this week (still well in advance of sailing).

 

I was relieved to get it due to the recent bad press of the cruise lines overbooking.

 

Last week there was a poster on a social media site who reported she and her husband booked in aqua class, along with two other couples, over a year out.  They booked so they had cabins together and actually chose their cabins (so not even just a guaranteed).  Celebrity contacted them (just them, not the other two couples) telling them that they had oversold their cabin so they were being DOWNGRADED to concierge and as compensation would receive a small OBC and be allowed to eat in BLU one time!  Obviously this poster was not happy.  For one, the OBC was much less than the cost difference had they booked concierge instead of aqua initially.  Second, they were expecting to have access to BLU for the entire cruise so they could eat with their friends.  As I recall, these people were even willing to accept a different cabin but wanted the perks they paid for (all the aqua class amenities including full access to BLU).  As for the last update I saw Celebrity is unwilling to budge on this, even with the issue being reported up the food chain.  Just another example if a truly idiotic customer service move that will cost the line future business from loyal customers where it could have been easily rectified.

 

That said, with hearing about all these overbookings lately, I fear the cruise lines will turn into the airlines.  Will we soon be experiencing a culture where prior to boarding we are sitting in the cruise terminal hearing announcements that the cruise is overbooked and anyone who wants to give up their cabin will be given X OBC for a future cruise, with the amount offered increasing every 15 minutes until they get enough takers?

[Mick B]

Hi,

Just a few things running through my mind here.

Forget the past, let's think post-covid times for my questions.

 

In all cases of being denied boarding due to over booking/no rooms in that category being available etc:

Was every passenger affected booked in a GTY and not yet assigned a cabin?

Has anyone who booked a specific room/category other than GTY been denied boarding due to the above situation?

Do we know for sure if the cruise lines have selected ALL passengers that only live local to the port to be denied boarding and not bumped ones that have flown in.

Do we know if anyone has been bumped who booked via TA or via Royal direct.

Do we know if different amounts of compo have been offered.

 

There are a few things to worry about.

I have now stopped booking GTYs and have booked a actual room through my TA. I always have travel insurance to cover any issues, but that is not really the point here.

I book a specific cruise on a specific ship in a specific cabin with itinerary to specific destinations at a specific time of the year and have limited available holiday time left to book or change to anything else. It's not just waiting for any money to be returned to us, but the fact that some people like us may not have enough holiday entitlement left to move to another cruise (even if offered in replacement for free) at a later date.

We work hard and want our holiday in return and having any sort of disruption or even the uncertainty about if we are, or are not, going to be able to board the ship is just not acceptable.

I can foresee if any future passengers that are booked in a GTY on future sailings end up being the only ones that get bumped when there is a overbooking or cabins are needed for other reasons, then people will stop booking GTY's and paying the higher cost for a room. That looks like a win for the cruise line to me.

God help us all if then they start bumping passengers with an assigned cabin if things go the same way as airlines where people have the same seat reservation.

 

Finally, it's not just cruise lines and air lines, and yes, things did go wrong sometimes too before covid. But since covid, the level of shear incompetence with some staff and greed from some  companies seems to have multiplied somewhat.

I know everyone wants to make money - but providing the best possible experience that you can to your customers is the best way to keep them returning. There are many alternatives out there and as cruising is becoming more expensive, maybe land based option may become more attractive. It would be upsetting for me if this became the case as I really like my cruising holidays - so come on cruise lines - sort out these issues before people jump ship (sorry about the pun).

 

Mick.

 

[Salt Lifer]

4 hours ago, Mick B said:

 

In all cases of being denied boarding due to over booking/no rooms in that category being available etc:

Was every passenger affected booked in a GTY and not yet assigned a cabin?

In the example I gave above the customer did not have a GTY cabin - they had actually picked their actual cabin number and had booked over a year out.  They won't be denied boarding because they were assigned a cabin, but it was downgraded.  So they paid for Aqua expecting Aqua benefits but will not receive them (yet still paying the cost for Aqua)... how is that anything but fraud on the cruise line's part?  And these were previously loyal Celebrity cruisers... if it can happen to them then no one is safe.

 

 

[sanger727]

15 hours ago, Salt Lifer said:

 

That said, with hearing about all these overbookings lately, I fear the cruise lines will turn into the airlines.  Will we soon be experiencing a culture where prior to boarding we are sitting in the cruise terminal hearing announcements that the cruise is overbooked and anyone who wants to give up their cabin will be given X OBC for a future cruise, with the amount offered increasing every 15 minutes until they get enough takers?

 

No, airlines are not comparable to cruises in this situation. If your airflight is overbooked they will move you to a flight later the same day or the next day. Once the cruise leaves, it's gone for several days and there's no option to rebook someone. 

 

If overbooking becomes a problem, they will contact people ahead of the cruise so they at least don't fly there.

[Mick B]

Careful now,

In some cases, for people who are not based close to the cruise port, they may already be in transit or may have arrived at the port area the day before or a few days before if they want to extend the time away from home. In these circumstances the device they carry with them that receives calls or e-mails may be turned off to avoid stupidly high roaming charges. They aren't going to find out until they find somewhere with wi-fi or turn up at the port.

Any such notification of cancellation for people travelling from afar really needs to be at least a week before although in an emergency that may not be possible.

We will ALL have to watch to see if any events that start to unfold get resolved in a reasonable manner.

 

I for one have a transatlantic cruise booked for next April from FL to the UK and I have already paid in full for not just the cruise, but the flights to the US and the transport to a hotel. plus the hotel and transport to the ship. We have no flights booked home as it is a one-way cruise. Imagine if we turn up at the port and are told our cabin is no longer available for some reason. How would we get home and where would we stay in the meantime. The whole holiday is to celebrate my wife's 60th birthday. There would probably be no compensation deal that good which would wipe the tears from my wife's eyes if something like being bumped happened.

It's about time some of these companies realized not just the upset they cause to people who get treated badly, but also the fear of such treatment happening in the future which may deter some from bothering with this sort of holiday.

I know ironically that cancelling or not booking due to fear would actually probably guarantee spare cabins, but that's not the point. The point is that companies need to pull their finger out and sort out whatever the issues are that cause such bad situations.

 

Mick.

 

[sanger727]

1 hour ago, Mick B said:

Careful now,

In some cases, for people who are not based close to the cruise port, they may already be in transit or may have arrived at the port area the day before or a few days before if they want to extend the time away from home. In these circumstances the device they carry with them that receives calls or e-mails may be turned off to avoid stupidly high roaming charges. They aren't going to find out until they find somewhere with wi-fi or turn up at the port.

Any such notification of cancellation for people travelling from afar really needs to be at least a week before although in an emergency that may not be possible.

We will ALL have to watch to see if any events that start to unfold get resolved in a reasonable manner.

 

I for one have a transatlantic cruise booked for next April from FL to the UK and I have already paid in full for not just the cruise, but the flights to the US and the transport to a hotel. plus the hotel and transport to the ship. We have no flights booked home as it is a one-way cruise. Imagine if we turn up at the port and are told our cabin is no longer available for some reason. How would we get home and where would we stay in the meantime. The whole holiday is to celebrate my wife's 60th birthday. There would probably be no compensation deal that good which would wipe the tears from my wife's eyes if something like being bumped happened.

It's about time some of these companies realized not just the upset they cause to people who get treated badly, but also the fear of such treatment happening in the future which may deter some from bothering with this sort of holiday.

I know ironically that cancelling or not booking due to fear would actually probably guarantee spare cabins, but that's not the point. The point is that companies need to pull their finger out and sort out whatever the issues are that cause such bad situations.

 

Mick.

 

 

I really don't think there is any cause to think that this is an issue. There is one article about one sail on Royal that overbooked. And one poster from facebook saying that their room was downgraded. Mistakes happen, and it appears to be very unusal when it does.