DOES SOLD OUT CRUISE EVER RE-OPEN?

[SeaNStars4Me]

I was trying to book a balcony on Carnival Vista for December 14th sailing. Yesterday afternoon, there were rooms. By last night, it was all entirely Sold Out and removed from the web site. Travel agent web sites are also showing it as unavailable. It's odd because I've looked at other cruises around the same time and they all still have rooms. Has anyone experienced or seen this before and do they ever "re-open" and show back up as available for booking? Any advice on how to proceed.

[sanger727]

They wouldn't show as sold out if they weren't.  They want to sell all of the rooms. Keep in mind that cabins will show as available when there are pending guaranteed cabins assignments.  If they have sold 100 guaranteed cabins, then when there are 101 cabins available, they can show 101 cabins available. Once they are down to 100 they will all be gone.  If cabins become available again they will open it back up; you just have to check regularly.

[staceyglow]

They open back up all the time as people who have small deposits down cancel their reservations. 

 

A good time to look is right after final payment due date, when Carnival typically releases the cabins for which they did not receive payment for. 

[mfs2k]

also check online cruise booking sites.  Some agencies have blocks of rooms which they can resell and there may still be availability.

[BlerkOne]

Call Carnival.

 

Check the various roll call groups to see if any lurking TAs have cabins or if anyone gives a heads up that they are going to cancel.

 

Now that Carnival has added a penalty for some no shows, there are periodically cancellations.

[Gamecock_Cruiser]

Yes, keep checking. Especially check the day of and after the final payment date. That is when the majority will re-open if any are going to re-open.

[ABQrobin]

Yes..... up until about a month out to sailing... people cancel and also travel agents you who booked a block of rooms but not sold them will turn them back in.  We have always been able to snag one of those as long as it isn't too close to sailing.  BUT you won't be able to pick a room, it will be a "guaranteed room" only most likely.

[jlawrence01]

First, you will occasionally see rooms open up when the final payment date hits 90 days out.  Then, as you get down to the last 30 days, there is occasionally  some cancellations.

 

Do not expect a lot of great deals on a sold out ship.

[DeniseTr]

This might be a good case for using the PVP. 

They would be able to keep an eye on it. 

Also, if payment is due 90 days out, that might be a good time to look, because presumably they will release those rooms back to pool if people don't finish paying.

[SeaNStars4Me]

What is the PVP?

[Essiesmom]

9 hours ago, SeaNStars4Me said:

What is the PVP?

A Carnival Personal Vacation Planner.  EM

[MRVEGAS711]

How about day of upgrades? Has anyone got one for late cancellation?

 

[Sgwscruiser]

Never seen it happen

[ProgRockCruiser]

On 8/24/2024 at 9:30 AM, MRVEGAS711 said:

How about day of upgrades? Has anyone got one for late cancellation?

 

I've never experienced it myself, and never read of it happening to anyone (in the last decade).

 

In theory, there is likely to be one or more last-minute complete-cabin no-shows on any given sailing, but I suspect the cruise line simply keeps those cabins available for any "real need" cabin changes, like something non-repairable in a cabin, so move the occupants to the newly-available one.

 

I think the days of showing up at the pier and being told you have a free upgrade are long gone (if they ever really existed).

[DanJ]

My cruise this Saturday for Bermuda showed sold out for a couple weeks and now has a couple cabins on the website. 

[Honolulu Blue]

21 hours ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

I think the days of showing up at the pier and being told you have a free upgrade are long gone (if they ever really existed).

On the first cruise I had after the restart (not on Carnival), after embarking but prior to sailaway, I was offered a complimentary upgrade to a balcony from an OV.  I declined.  

[ProgRockCruiser]

22 minutes ago, Honolulu Blue said:

On the first cruise I had after the restart (not on Carnival), after embarking but prior to sailaway, I was offered a complimentary upgrade to a balcony from an OV.  I declined.  

Ah, yeah, I could see the early post-shutdown cruises being opportunities for upgrades, since the ships were not full right away.

 

Why did you decline a balcony?  I'd have jumped at that.

[Honolulu Blue]

17 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

Ah, yeah, I could see the early post-shutdown cruises being opportunities for upgrades, since the ships were not full right away.

 

Why did you decline a balcony?  I'd have jumped at that.

To make a long story short, the reasons why I declined THIS balcony on THIS cruise:

 

• I really liked the location of my OV
• I wouldn't have had a choice in the location of the new cabin
• I had already unpacked, so I would have had to pack up, re-pack, and move

[ProgRockCruiser]

3 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

To make a long story short, the reasons why I declined THIS balcony on THIS cruise:

 

• I really liked the location of my OV
• I wouldn't have had a choice in the location of the new cabin
• I had already unpacked, so I would have had to pack up, re-pack, and move

Fair enough!

[DanJ]

11 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

To make a long story short, the reasons why I declined THIS balcony on THIS cruise:

 

• I really liked the location of my OV
• I wouldn't have had a choice in the location of the new cabin
• I had already unpacked, so I would have had to pack up, re-pack, and move

We were the same on our post 9-11 cruise (sailed on Sept 15). 75% of the passengers cancelled and we were upgraded from our inside to an OV up on  the 11th deck, which were those old floor to ceiling  sloped out window cabins that the Destiny class ships used to have, which are now balconies. We met our cabin steward shortly after we unpacked and he told us how many people cancelled and said he could get us moved downstairs to a balcony cabin if we wanted. Since we were already unpacked, and the cruise was a Canada/New England rather than Caribbean itinerary, we decided to stay where we were instead of packing up again. Also, we had never had a balcony before so we weren't spoiled yet lol. Now, we won't be without one lol. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

23 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I had already unpacked, so I would have had to pack up, re-pack, and move

 

11 hours ago, DanJ said:

Since we were already unpacked, and the cruise was a Canada/New England rather than Caribbean itinerary, we decided to stay where we were instead of packing up again.

So the lesson learned here is that if you are on a cruise that appears to be under-populated with pax...wait until the ship sails to unpack, just in case an upgrade happens?

 

Not that I foresee half-empty cruise ships anytime soon, but none of us foresaw the severity of the shutdown...

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

So the lesson learned here is that if you are on a cruise that appears to be under-populated with pax...wait until the ship sails to unpack, just in case an upgrade happens?

I suppose you can interpret it that way, if you really want an upgrade.