Overbooking!!

[LB_NJ]

Is Celebrity starting to overbook like the airlines used to?

 

I ask because I have a cruise about 20 days out and the only ocean view cabins they have available are guaranteed.

 

If they are oversold does anyone know how they determine who sails and who is left at the dock?

[sanger727]

This is the second thread about this recently. No, there is no reason to think they are overbooking cruises the way they overbook flights. Why would them having cabins available to book cause you to think they are oversold? 

[wrk2cruise]

There are always cabins that aren't released to general inventory.  Remember guest entertainers and some crew members, crew member families also stay in passenger cabins.

[paulh84]

I'm not sure how or why you are equating guaranteed cabins to the cruise being oversold?

[BobbM81]

It’s not always a bad thing. I had a sky suite on the Apex that was apparently overbooked and they offered a Royal Suite on the Edge if I would switch. Free of charge. 

[Nado44]

2 minutes ago, BobbM81 said:

It’s not always a bad thing. I had a sky suite on the Apex that was apparently overbooked and they offered a Royal Suite on the Edge if I would switch. Free of charge. 

 

Did you ask for and get the Iconic Suite? 🙂

[cgolf1]

2 hours ago, paulh84 said:

I'm not sure how or why you are equating guaranteed cabins to the cruise being oversold?

 

Because it happened recently, may have been on RCCL is my guess why people are now concerned. Good way to get people to not buy the discounted guarantee rooms and choose their room instead;). 

Edited January 2 by cgolf1

[mahasamatman]

2 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

Is Celebrity starting to overbook like the airlines used to?

 

Note: airlines still do it.

[Baynanno1]

A recent report of a ship departing Brisbane if I remember correctly, at the time of embarkation had 11 couples without rooms. Accommodation was "found" on board for some, but not all.

It seemed that those who lived locally were the ones who didn't get to sail.

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, BobbM81 said:

It’s not always a bad thing. I had a sky suite on the Apex that was apparently overbooked and they offered a Royal Suite on the Edge if I would switch. Free of charge. 

 

Don't put me in that briar patch.   🤣

 

[DaKahuna]

43 minutes ago, cgolf1 said:

 

Because it happened recently, may have been on RCCL is my guess why people are now concerned. Good way to get people to not buy the discounted guarantee rooms and choose their room instead;). 

 

18 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

A recent report of a ship departing Brisbane if I remember correctly, at the time of embarkation had 11 couples without rooms. Accommodation was "found" on board for some, but not all.

It seemed that those who lived locally were the ones who didn't get to sail.

 

Yes, it was a Royal Caribbean sailing.  There was a thread about it from one of the passengers who did not get to cruise on the RCL Forum.  

[dlh015]

1 hour ago, Baynanno1 said:

A recent report of a ship departing Brisbane if I remember correctly, at the time of embarkation had 11 couples without rooms. Accommodation was "found" on board for some, but not all.

It seemed that those who lived locally were the ones who didn't get to sail.

Wow...that is just bad business no matter how one looks at it! 

[LB_NJ]

4 hours ago, BobbM81 said:

It’s not always a bad thing. I had a sky suite on the Apex that was apparently overbooked and they offered a Royal Suite on the Edge if I would switch. Free of charge. 

That doesn't work for people who had to fly and there are no other ships in port to switch to.

[LB_NJ]

5 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 Remember guest entertainers and some crew members, crew member families also stay in passenger cabins.

What happens to them if their cabins are used for passengers?

[wrk2cruise]

My point was inventory is managed so there is room for everyone.  Even though there are no rooms showing as available it doesn't mean there are no unoccupied rooms.

 

In very rare situations there are cases where they overbook a category.  I suspect it's more some sort of mistake rather than a "plan".    I personally had it happen to me where I booked pretty last minute in AQ.  I had booked an assigned cabin, not a GTY.   I got a call offering me CC instead with a 25% refund and retained access to Blu and other AQ amenities.  If I didn't take it they would have moved on to the next person.   I was able to pick a great C1 cabin with oversized balcony.   I felt like I won the lottery.

 

I think I have read 1 time in 20 years that someone booked a suite and were informed days before the sailing they couldn't be accommodated.

Edited January 3 by wrk2cruise

[flvol77]

6 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

A recent report of a ship departing Brisbane if I remember correctly, at the time of embarkation had 11 couples without rooms. Accommodation was "found" on board for some, but not all.

It seemed that those who lived locally were the ones who didn't get to sail.

It also happened on the Wonder of the Seas 3 times in 2023, it just wasn’t the same day as their cruise that passengers learned they didn’t have a cabin like those in Australia.   Royal Caribbean apparently has an issue with their booking system. 

 

The one out of Australia caught people’s attention because Royal only offered a 25% future credit (along with a full refund)

 

Social media got involved, and the story took off; Royal upped the offer to a 100% refund, 100% future cruise credit, and the beverage package on their next sailing.

 

So I can understand why it would be on cruise passengers' minds.

 

Edited January 3 by flvol77

[sherylc]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

My point was inventory is managed so there is room for everyone.  Even though there are no rooms showing as available it doesn't mean there are no unoccupied rooms.

 

In very rare situations there are cases where they overbook a category.  I suspect it's more some sort of mistake rather than a "plan".    I personally had it happen to me where I booked pretty last minute in AQ.  I had booked an assigned cabin, not a GTY.   I got a call offering me CC instead with a 25% refund and retained access to Blu and other AQ amenities.  If I didn't take it they would have moved on to the next person.   I was able to pick a great C1 cabin with oversized balcony.   I felt like I won the lottery.

 

I think I have read 1 time in 20 years that someone booked a suite and were informed days before the sailing they couldn't be accommodated.

You might want to read this (this is for our upcoming cruise -- luckily we weren't "cancelled" due to the cruise being oversold but many were --  so it definitely does happen)

 

[kr00t0n]

7 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

What happens to them if their cabins are used for passengers?

They don't get on at all, I have seen this happen in the past. Most ships will aim to slightly over-book, as there are always going to be last-minute cancellations or no-shows, and in the event of everyone turning up, first they will cut back any crew/entertainment allocated rooms, then finally offer existing guests alternatives (like flights offering cashback AND an alternative flight to people who choose to be bumped from an overbooked flight).

It doesn't happen often, as there is a lot of trended data and inventory management, but sometimes it does.

[LB_NJ]

8 hours ago, kr00t0n said:

They don't get on at all, I have seen this happen in the past. Most ships will aim to slightly over-book, as there are always going to be last-minute cancellations or no-shows, and in the event of everyone turning up, first they will cut back any crew/entertainment allocated rooms, then finally offer existing guests alternatives (like flights offering cashback AND an alternative flight to people who choose to be bumped from an overbooked flight).

It doesn't happen often, as there is a lot of trended data and inventory management, but sometimes it does.

It isn’t quite the same as an airline.  Usually with an airline there are other flights you can take and with an airline they are required to pay up to 4 times the fare if you are very late arriving.

 

With cruises you are probably going to miss your whole vacation and if you’ have airfare and hotels booked for pre cruise and post cruise you may loose all that money.

 

Also, on cruises they have already collected all the money for the rooms they oversell so they collect twice.

[mrgabriel]

13 hours ago, sherylc said:

You might want to read this (this is for our upcoming cruise -- luckily we weren't "cancelled" due to the cruise being oversold but many were --  so it definitely does happen)

 

 

I read an article a few weeks ago that said that the cancellations for Japan sailings were because their government was requiring reduced capacity on sailings departing Japan. Anyone else read that? 

Edited January 3 by mrgabriel

[Honolulu Blue]

25 minutes ago, mrgabriel said:

I read an article a few weeks ago that said that the cancellations for Japan sailings were because their government was requiring reduced capacity on sailings departing Japan. Anyone else read that? 

Interesting. I hadn't heard that. Do you have a link? I'll read it if you can find one. TIA. 👍

[sherylc]

25 minutes ago, mrgabriel said:

 

I read an article a few weeks ago that said that the cancellations for Japan sailings were because their government was requiring reduced capacity on sailings departing Japan. Anyone else read that? 

Not in this case. Celebrity told some of those affected that there had been a computer glitch where inventory wasn't reduced when the ship changed from the Solstice to the Millennium. Many groups were split up where one or two cabins of a 6 cabin group were told they were cancelled -- no options at all. What's worse is that there is now quite a bit of inventory available (final payment date just passed) and these "cancelled" people would have to pay the new price if they wanted back on.

[hcat]

Computer glitch?  or someone failed to.update?  Always easy to blame the robots!   

 

Not sure how it can be "oversold" ..even with a crappy  IT set up!

 

Those  who were cancelled should get a  chance to resurrect the cancelled res if this did  not already destroy their vacation plans..  Not like this is a 5 day Bahamas cruise that can be  booked elsewhere!

[mahasamatman]

2 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

with an airline they are required to pay up to 4 times the fare if you are very late arriving.

 

Good compensation is only for European airlines or flights departing the E.U. (and it's not 4x, it's a fixed amount). For most of the world, airlines are not required to do anything for delayed flights. They only do it for P.R. purposes.

[LB_NJ]

9 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

Good compensation is only for European airlines or flights departing the E.U. (and it's not 4x, it's a fixed amount). For most of the world, airlines are not required to do anything for delayed flights. They only do it for P.R. purposes.

In the US there are requirements. 
 

Fyi, there is language in United Airlines contract that state that if you are significantly delayed you get 4 times your fare up to $1550.