Anyone ever cleared Waitlist?

[mfabz]

Hoping to join friends on a Vista sailing end of October.  Anyone ever clear the waitlist?

Thanks

[Jancruz]

Of course...

Jancruz1

[tigerfan75]

1 hour ago, mfabz said:

Hoping to join friends on a Vista sailing end of October.  Anyone ever clear the waitlist?

Thanks

I suggest that your odds are significantly improved if you do a DEPOSITED waitlist.  And, yes, I have cleared a waitlist.  Of your cabin category selections, I hope you get your first choice. Good Luck...

[DanOnboard]

I have twice. One was just to go up a category, so we had paid for the lower category already. It didn't happen until about 30 days before embarkation. The other was a cruise well over a year away that was all Wait Listed. Actually, it's still a year away and all Wait Listed but with us confirmed.   😄

 

Good luck.

 

[basor]

Be sure to differentiate between a "guaranteed" cabin - which means you are assured a cabin on the cruise equal to or better than the cabin category you paid for.  A "waitlist" cabin does not guarantee you a cabin on the cruise,,,big difference!

[mhdesno2]

Yes, I cleared a paid waitlist. However, it was because I was checking availability everyday. The cruise was over a year away and completely waitlisted. At some point, I noticed my preferred category became "guaranteed". I called my TA and she immediately grabbed it. A bit later, a particular cabin number became available and again I called my TA and obtained it. The whole cruise has been waitlisted on and off since then.

[Vallesan]

I paid for a waitlist for an A cabin 4 months before the cruise. We were number 1 on the list. Everything was waitlisted apart from a handful of B cabins. I checked every day but no availability. Then a B1 midship came up so we took that. Sometimes you need to be very flexible!

[Cliff-FLL]

We've cleared a waitlist on several occasions.  (A couple of times, it was due to a quick call from CruisingExpert, letting us know that our preferred accommodations were available.)  We've learned that, waitlist or not, we still check availability on Oceania's site and contact O or our agent when we see it's become available.  One time, just to see what would happen, I went through the booking process and it was all set to let "John Doe" book the suite for which I was waitlisted.  It's nice idea that they'll maintain a waiting list - that probably works exactly as it should most times - but it's also a nice idea to look out for yourself.

[PhD-iva]

I was waitlisted for a penthouse on Riviera’s transitAtlantic in 2021. I think it was only the second itinerary after they reopened after Covid.
One day I was just playing around on the website, and I noticed that penthouses were available, so I had my TA grab one for me.

[Queen of DaNile]

32 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

I was waitlisted for a penthouse on Riviera’s transitAtlantic in 2021. I think it was only the second itinerary after they reopened after Covid.
One day I was just playing around on the website, and I noticed that penthouses were available, so I had my TA grab one for me.

So that begs the question, why didn't O contact your TA as soon as something became available? 

If you hadn't seen it yourself, you might have missed out. Crazy.

OTOH we are waitlisted for all PH categories on an upcoming Nautica cruise with a bat's chance...but fingers crossed.

 

[ronrick1943]

Sure they have, we had to cancel once due to unexpected  hospital visit and had to give up are suite...someone got.  (Yes we had insurance).

[mhdesno2]

It seems that many people who have answered, like myself, have been checking availabilities themselves on a regular basis. I would not leave it just to Oceania to contact you if you clear the waitlist.

[1985rz1]

17 minutes ago, mhdesno2 said:

It seems that many people who have answered, like myself, have been checking availabilities themselves on a regular basis. I would not leave it just to Oceania to contact you if you clear the waitlist.

I agree.  And i one uses a TA, that TA can't possibly check all his/her clients bookings daily.  Pax need to share that responsibility.

[Shami]

On 9/14/2024 at 7:57 PM, mhdesno2 said:

Yes, I cleared a paid waitlist. However, it was because I was checking availability everyday. The cruise was over a year away and completely waitlisted. At some point, I noticed my preferred category became "guaranteed". I called my TA and she immediately grabbed it. A bit later, a particular cabin number became available and again I called my TA and obtained it. The whole cruise has been waitlisted on and off since then.

A few people have stated that they cleared a paid waitlist. What percentage of the stateroom cost was paid? If it doesn’t clear before sailing, how long does it take to get your money refunded?
 

 

[PhD-iva]

For penthouse categories and below, the deposit is $500, IIRC. Others will jump in if incorrect.

Not sure about your second question since it’s never happened to me.

[Cliff-FLL]

8 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

"Others will jump in if incorrect."

No!!!

That would come across as mean, petty, and vicious - with "You don't know what you're talking about!," on the side.

😁

[davencl]

My experience has been cabins become available on the website as soon as a cancelation occurs.  However it seems the waitlist may not be updated until the next day.  As such if you check every day you can essentially "jump" the waitlist.  As others have noted.

[Hlitner]

Interesting thread.  If Waitlisted folks need to contact their agent when they spot availability, I assume that anyone not on the waitlist could also grab that cabin if they noticed it was available.  Makes one wonder what is the purpose of a waitlist on O?

 

Hank

[PhD-iva]

Someone has suggested that the waitlist processes overnight, and presumably emails/notifications would subsequently be sent out.

 

IF this is the case (and I don’t know if it is), I would add it to the list of many examples of underinvestment in IT systems.

[pinotlover]

Lots of waitlist clear come Final Payment and the Lookie Loos bail. After that it’s more seldom.