Is this normal? Question about stateroom selection on Silhouette

[dleahy4444]

I am considering an August 2024 sailing to Scandinavia aboard the Silhouette. It’s just 2 of us. On the website when I chose 2 guests there are no veranda cabins available and the sailing looks almost completely sold out. However if I change the number of guests to 3, then there are tons of verandas available. obviously they rather book the room for 3 rather than two and get the additional revenue. I’m just surprised that so many rooms are slated for that purpose. Is that the norm?

It is just 2 of us traveling. Will these rooms be released for booking for 2 as the final payment day gets closer? Anyone experience this?

[Georgia_Peaches]

The norm is 2 passengers.  Not all cabins are set up to accommodate 3 or 4 but all are set up for two... and even those set up to accommodate three or four will let you book for just two.  I would try a TA site and see if you get the same results for your sailing.

Edited March 19 by Georgia_Peaches

[Northern Aurora]

@dleahy4444:  We are not to mention travel agencies here, but I just checked one which lists all available staterooms.  When I do a mock booking for three the sailing is essentially sold out.  I get the same results when I change the mock booking for two.

[Rick&Jeannie]

1 hour ago, dleahy4444 said:

I am considering an August 2024 sailing to Scandinavia aboard the Silhouette. It’s just 2 of us. On the website when I chose 2 guests there are no veranda cabins available and the sailing looks almost completely sold out. However if I change the number of guests to 3, then there are tons of verandas available. obviously they rather book the room for 3 rather than two and get the additional revenue. I’m just surprised that so many rooms are slated for that purpose. Is that the norm?

It is just 2 of us traveling. Will these rooms be released for booking for 2 as the final payment day gets closer? Anyone experience this?

This same thing is being complained about over on the Princess forum. The consensus is to call (either direct or your TA) and they should be able to book it for you. Aggravating, I know. 

[dleahy4444]

2 hours ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

This same thing is being complained about over on the Princess forum. The consensus is to call (either direct or your TA) and they should be able to book it for you. Aggravating, I know. 

I called celebrity and spoke with 2 different reps. As usual the first was not helpful. However the second rep gave me some insight into what’s going on. Apparently, due to the large increase in demand in recent months, they have been  blocking off a number of rooms and restricting them to 3 or more guests in order to take advantage of all available space and accommodate more guests. When I asked if those rooms will at some point be released for 2 people bookings he said it’s possible but he had no idea when. He suggested I continue to monitor the website 

[the penguins]

8 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

I am considering an August 2024 sailing to Scandinavia aboard the Silhouette. It’s just 2 of us. On the website when I chose 2 guests there are no veranda cabins available and the sailing looks almost completely sold out. However if I change the number of guests to 3, then there are tons of verandas available. obviously they rather book the room for 3 rather than two and get the additional revenue. I’m just surprised that so many rooms are slated for that purpose. Is that the norm?

It is just 2 of us traveling. Will these rooms be released for booking for 2 as the final payment day gets closer? Anyone experience this?

You are trying to book in the peak holiday season so not surprising X is holding out for 3 pax per cabin. Even if cabins for 2 become available you will most likely be on a ship with several hundred kids and in ports that will be swamped. This demand might also be a reaction to there not being an S class ship sailing from the UK.

If you really want to experience the Fjords I would recommend you look at Hurtigruten out of Bergen - the 12 night Classic Round-trip covers the whole coast and numerous Fjords.

[hcat]

Booking 3 or more = a  crowded ship esp if it's  cool weather.  Lots of kiddos and they will be using the Solarium during family hours  .

 

Are you sure this is what you are looking for?

 

 

[dleahy4444]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

You are trying to book in the peak holiday season so not surprising X is holding out for 3 pax per cabin. Even if cabins for 2 become available you will most likely be on a ship with several hundred kids and in ports that will be swamped. This demand might also be a reaction to there not being an S class ship sailing from the UK.

If you really want to experience the Fjords I would recommend you look at Hurtigruten out of Bergen - the 12 night Classic Round-trip covers the whole coast and numerous Fjords.

The sailing is to cities, no fjords, and departs from Rotterdam. I hadn’t considered the fact that school is still out in Europe.  That is something to certainly think about. 
I’m just surprised with the number of verandas  that can be booked only by 3+. I counted them last night. Over 100! I just hadn’t ran into this before. 

[dleahy4444]

3 hours ago, hcat said:

Booking 3 or more = a  crowded ship esp if it's  cool weather.  Lots of kiddos and they will be using the Solarium during family hours  .

 

Are you sure this is what you are looking for?

 

 

I hadn’t thought of that. The cruise is very port intensive (12 days, 6 ports, one overnight) and it’s on Celebrity so I thought there may not be that many kids. But it is the summer in Europe so there probably will be lots of families. Certainly something to consider, thanks 

[ev8876]

Summer sailing in Europe.  The ship will be full of kids.  Even Celebrity ships.  If there’s a similar sailing in September I’d suggest that. 

[twincheryl]

2 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

I hadn’t thought of that. The cruise is very port intensive (12 days, 6 ports, one overnight) and it’s on Celebrity so I thought there may not be that many kids. But it is the summer in Europe so there probably will be lots of families. Certainly something to consider, thanks 

We did that cruise last August and it was wonderful… yes, there were some kids, but nothing like Thanksgiving or Xmas holiday sailings.  We try to avoid vacation times, so were a little worried… but not a problem at all.  

[Jeremiah1212]

3 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

I hadn’t thought of that. The cruise is very port intensive (12 days, 6 ports, one overnight) and it’s on Celebrity so I thought there may not be that many kids. But it is the summer in Europe so there probably will be lots of families. Certainly something to consider, thanks 

 

Prime summer vacation season for people all over the world. Royal Caribbean has done this same thing for years. It's not as prevalent on Celebrity but if they think they can fill the ship with 3's and 4's in the cabins the are willing to try. At some unannounced time the unsold triple and quads will become available to doubles. 

[dleahy4444]

1 hour ago, twincheryl said:

We did that cruise last August and it was wonderful… yes, there were some kids, but nothing like Thanksgiving or Xmas holiday sailings.  We try to avoid vacation times, so were a little worried… but not a problem at all.  

Oh really? The “Best of Scandinavia” on the Silhouette? Good to hear you enjoyed it. I’m trying to decide between that cruise and a cruise to Iceland, but that’s the subject for a different thread I have going.

[dleahy4444]

13 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Prime summer vacation season for people all over the world. Royal Caribbean has done this same thing for years. It's not as prevalent on Celebrity but if they think they can fill the ship with 3's and 4's in the cabins the are willing to try. At some unannounced time the unsold triple and quads will become available to doubles. 

Yes that’s what the rep said, at some point they will become available but he had no idea when 

[hcat]

Sounds like  "Stuff a Bus"season!

[whitbob]

Yikes!   We are booked on this sailing.

 
Our first Celebrity cruise was Silhouette in the Baltic in late August.  It was wonderful.  We liked it so much, we booked the Reflection the following year in August, Rome round trip to Greece.  There were 750 children on-board.  The pool and buffet were madhouses.  It was crazy with teens running wild around the ship, we almost stopped sailing  Celebrity.  We have since been on 6 more Celebrity Cruises, 2 in August in Europe without incident, so we thought the Reflection trip was a one off.  

Hum?!

[dleahy4444]

3 hours ago, whitbob said:

Yikes!   We are booked on this sailing.

 
Our first Celebrity cruise was Silhouette in the Baltic in late August.  It was wonderful.  We liked it so much, we booked the Reflection the following year in August, Rome round trip to Greece.  There were 750 children on-board.  The pool and buffet were madhouses.  It was crazy with teens running wild around the ship, we almost stopped sailing  Celebrity.  We have since been on 6 more Celebrity Cruises, 2 in August in Europe without incident, so we thought the Reflection trip was a one off.  

Hum?!

I’ve been checking the website for this cruise obsessively, because I’m currently booked in a veranda guarantee ( all that they would allow with just 2 people) and I’m afraid of being assigned an obstructed view of the life boats. Right now if 3 people booked there are close to 200 rooms spanning the veranda categories. It’s not that far out from the sailing to assume all those rooms will be filled with young families. I also checked the school schedule for August in Europe. Depending on the region, many will be back in school. I’m sure there will be a fair amount of children, but hopefully it will be manageable. I don’t mind children as long as they are well behaved, but that is not always the case 

[whitbob]

3 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

I’ve been checking the website for this cruise obsessively, because I’m currently booked in a veranda guarantee ( all that they would allow with just 2 people) and I’m afraid of being assigned an obstructed view of the life boats. Right now if 3 people booked there are close to 200 rooms spanning the veranda categories. It’s not that far out from the sailing to assume all those rooms will be filled with young families. I also checked the school schedule for August in Europe. Depending on the region, many will be back in school. I’m sure there will be a fair amount of children, but hopefully it will be manageable. I don’t mind children as long as they are well behaved, but that is not always the case 

Your post peaked my interest, so I tried a mock booking for 2 and they only showed inside and ocean view available.  Everything else shows sold out.  We booked AQ last summer.  I was going to suggest AQ to you as the rooms only allow 2 people, but it must be sold out.  No option to book AQ guaranteed was offered.  
 

I hope you can find an acceptable room AND we aren’t booked on the “stuff a bus” whatever that means.

[dleahy4444]

2 hours ago, whitbob said:

Your post peaked my interest, so I tried a mock booking for 2 and they only showed inside and ocean view available.  Everything else shows sold out.  We booked AQ last summer.  I was going to suggest AQ to you as the rooms only allow 2 people, but it must be sold out.  No option to book AQ guaranteed was offered.  
 

I hope you can find an acceptable room AND we aren’t booked on the “stuff a bus” whatever that means.

Thank you. I  think that things will open up as we approach final payment, at least I hope so. 

[the penguins]

10 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

I’ve been checking the website for this cruise obsessively, because I’m currently booked in a veranda guarantee ( all that they would allow with just 2 people) and I’m afraid of being assigned an obstructed view of the life boats. Right now if 3 people booked there are close to 200 rooms spanning the veranda categories. It’s not that far out from the sailing to assume all those rooms will be filled with young families. I also checked the school schedule for August in Europe. Depending on the region, many will be back in school. I’m sure there will be a fair amount of children, but hopefully it will be manageable. I don’t mind children as long as they are well behaved, but that is not always the case 

All of the UK schools/colleges will be on holiday during August and anyone here who doesn't want to be on an E class ship could well be booking Silhouette (a very popular ship when it sailed from the UK).

The so called obstructed views on Deck 6 aren't too bad - basically you can't look down but looking out is generally OK.

[the penguins]

6 hours ago, whitbob said:

Your post peaked my interest, so I tried a mock booking for 2 and they only showed inside and ocean view available.  Everything else shows sold out.  We booked AQ last summer.  I was going to suggest AQ to you as the rooms only allow 2 people, but it must be sold out.  No option to book AQ guaranteed was offered.  
 

I hope you can find an acceptable room AND we aren’t booked on the “stuff a bus” whatever that means.

Stuff a bus - lots of cabins with 3 plus passengers increasing passenger numbers to way over 100% which in turn affects crowding on the decks and in all inside venues  /lounges - a bit like the Christmas/New Year Sailings. Spa Pool area likely to be opened up for families at least for part of the day.

[wrk2cruise]

Just had a thought.  If you want one of those cabins "reserved" for 3/4 passengers just book with a dummy 3rd passenger and have them no-show.  The current promotion (at least in North America) is 3,4, 5th passengers sail free.   If they are going to play the game we should too.

[dleahy4444]

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

All of the UK schools/colleges will be on holiday during August and anyone here who doesn't want to be on an E class ship could well be booking Silhouette (a very popular ship when it sailed from the UK).

The so called obstructed views on Deck 6 aren't too bad - basically you can't look down but looking out is generally OK.

Good to know, thanks

[dleahy4444]

2 hours ago, the penguins said:

Stuff a bus - lots of cabins with 3 plus passengers increasing passenger numbers to way over 100% which in turn affects crowding on the decks and in all inside venues  /lounges - a bit like the Christmas/New Year Sailings. Spa Pool area likely to be opened up for families at least for part of the day.

Yikes!

[dleahy4444]

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

Just had a thought.  If you want one of those cabins "reserved" for 3/4 passengers just book with a dummy 3rd passenger and have them no-show.  The current promotion (at least in North America) is 3,4, 5th passengers sail free.   If they are going to play the game we should too.

Interesting idea. I’m not sure I’m comfortable doing that but I tried a mock booking just to check the pricing and it’s a third more than I’d pay for the veranda guarantee that I currently have booked. I guess “free” isn’t exactly free