Cruise is almost totally filled up

[catlib55]

Our cruise in December on the Rotterdam is almost totally booked up. There are very few cabins left (according to HAL, our cruiseweb site, Expedia, Cheap tickets, and a few others I have checked.

The prices for the cabins have gone sky high. So there is alot to be said for "supply and demand."

On most of the cruises we have been on, there have been lots of cabins available until a few weeks before, when they start doing promotions and last-minute sales to fill up the ship.

They won't need to do that on this sailing.

Mary Ellen

[Krazy Kruizers]

:)

 

Depending on the cruise's itinerary, many cruise dates will sell out quickly. For our 21 day cruise on the Statendam in October, many of the cabins have been sold out for weeks. I haven't checked lately, but everything could be marked "closed" by now.

It is the same way with the 32 day Prinsendam cruise down the Amazon in November - nearly everything has been gone for months.

:)

[Cruising Illini]

What is amazing is that the Asia/Pacific 62 Day - Oct. 2005 -- is almost filled. We had to get on a preannouncement list to get a suite -- such demand!! The cruise prices, deposits and insurance are higher than I ever thought was possible -- one last fling for us old retirees.

Also the Jan. 14-day Veendam has been full for a month or more -- round trip Tampa so many winter snow-birds don't have to fly to take this.

[jhannah]

According to recent reports, over 13.5 million people cruised last year. That number is expected to reach 14 million this year. Yep, things are looking pretty good for the cruise industry on a gross receipts basis. I think we all wondered how the various lines would fill their monster ships ... but it appears they're doing it, and earlier in the process than before.

[sail7seas]

Our cruise in December on the Rotterdam is almost totally booked up. There are very few cabins left (according to HAL, our cruiseweb site, Expedia, Cheap tickets, and a few others I have checked.

The prices for the cabins have gone sky high. So there is alot to be said for "supply and demand."

On most of the cruises we have been on, there have been lots of cabins available until a few weeks before, when they start doing promotions and last-minute sales to fill up the ship.

They won't need to do that on this sailing.

Mary Ellen

 

 

Which cruise is it? How many days? Where?

[bombero]

It isn't just this line, its all of them.. My TA told me we booked the big

"O" just in time. Almost all of the cruise lines ships are full, or almost full, up to the end of the year. Some people who are waiting to book are just not going to go this year.. It must be the bad economy we hear about every night on TV.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I think that what you are seeing is the cruiselines putting a hold on available cabins. In May when we returned from our Alaska cruise we decided we wanted to book our March 2005 Westerdam cruise then we also decided to we wanted to booked the Ryndam for November. When I started checking the numerous websites for available cabins for Ryndam everything was extremely picked over. The outside cabins were ones I was not interested in and there were NO A's or B's let alone a S Suite. So reluctantly we choose and inside cabin on the Navigation Deck. The more we got thinking about it we decided a few weeks later to call out TA to see if she could get us any type of balcony cabin. She called back said HAL said that NONE were available so they put us on a "Waitlist for any Verandah Cabin" This was a Friday afternoon about 3 weeks ago. In the mean time I had been checking the numerous web sites daily for availability. Well, low and behold the following Monday morning my TA calls and says that a S suite just opened up did we want it. Well, we jumped on it figuring this was our lucky day. I then checked the different website and at the point in the day still none were showing available. Later that afternoon suddenly there were about 10 S suites and about 20 or more A and B catagories opened up. I just checked and there are still numerous S, A and B's for my sailing date. We are still just over a 100 days before sail date and they may start to fill up. I just feel that the cruise lines hold some of the better cabins making it look like they are filling up fast to get people to book earlier.

[TedC]

Our cruise from Barcelona to FLL Nov. 12 on the Westerdam has been booked solid for several weeks. However, final payments are due in a couple of weeks and I suspect some categories will open up.

 

(We have to stop telling our friends and neighbors how great cruising is to dampen the demand!)

[localady]

S7S-

I think Catlib is sailing on the December 2nd Rotterdam 10 day Panama Canal cruise as my DH and I and friends are. Wow it is amazing that it's already almost booked but the prices were enticing enough for us to bump our reservation up to a Suite. Can't think of anything lovelier than Breakfast on our veranda while we pass thru the locks of the Canal.;)

BTW- My DH and I usually cruise in a veranda cabin, but if the price is right, we will sail in a Suite. We surprised just how small our very lovely veranda cabin felt on the Ryndam in July vs. the Suite we had for our Honeymoon on the Amsterdam!!! :cool: Who says size doesn't matter?:eek:

[catlib55]

s7s,

We are going on the Dec. 2nd Panama Canal/Sunfarer cruise out of Ft. Lauderdale. It is a 10-day round trip cruise to the Panama Canal. I have always wanted to see the Panama Canal, but knew we couldn't spare 14 days or more to go all the way through, so this is the perfect cruise for us. Plus, it goes to ports we have never seen before.

I can't wait to go!!!

Mary Ellen

[sail7seas]

catlib.....Thank you for your response. We took that cruise this past March on Rotterdam and had a wonderful time. That was the third or fourth time we did that exact cruise.....and we would do it again in the blink of an eye. That is how great we think it to be.

 

 

Hope you have a wonderful time.

[sail7seas]

localady....... :) I know what you mean.

 

 

It's so easy to GO UP.......not quite as easy to go down. But those "A" and "B" cabins really are very nice. If you had never seen the "S" verandah, you would surely be happy forever on that verandah. :)

 

ENJOY......We're only going this way once; may as well enjoy it to the Max!!!

(within reason ;) )

[localady]

S7S-

 

Thank again for your good wishes!!:)

Seems like we will be going up and down in cabins in the next year+, but you know budgets. The Carribean cruises are priced such that we can justify a Suite, as it seems prices in general are less there. We will be Suite bound for the Rotterdam, back to an very large "A" cabin on the Prinsendam and back to a suite for the 11/05 Veendammers cruise.

My DH and I are living life to it's fullest, and I am totally aware of how lucky I am to be alive and healthy enough to have the opportunity to be a cruise addict and to watch my boys, now 16 and 12, grow up!!!! :cool: