Do Alaska Cruise Cabins really book a year in advance??

I am feeling frustrated and don't know exactly where to post this.

I am a second time cruiser ... my wife and I went on a 20th anniversary Adriatic cruise last year on Celebrity Silhouette and really enjoyed ourselves. SO now we would like to do an Alaska Cruise in May 2016.

I looked at the Celebrity Millennium which departs May 20 2016 from Seward and when I requested to book a Concierge Class room it showed me that only 5 rooms were available!!!

What gives? Can this be true? I also looked in other categories such as Aqua Class ... and it always seems to show about 5 rooms available. (None by the way on the Port Side which is what i thought i preferred ... despite the posts that there is no real advantage ... I guess port is booked up first)?

What am I missing?? How far in advance should I be looking? Or, are more rooms released later? Or perhaps other rooms are reserved for folks who book the land tours as well?

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Thank you.

Larry

My late DH and I often booked our cruises a year in advance. We sailed often each year and in order to get the cabins we wanted, we had to book early. We always sailed in HAL Neptune Suites and on some cruises, they sold out far in advance. It is entirely possible the suites on the ship you are looking at really are selling early.

Yes -- the cruise lines do set aside quite a few cabins for those doing land tours hoping that will be interested in certain cabin categories on the ship.

We had quite a time with HAL for about 3 years when we wanted to do Vancouver to Seward and then Seward to Vancouver. Our TA had to fight to get us what is now called a Neptune Suite for what was then called back-to-back cruises. HAL lost us as customers on these Alaskan cruises. She even pointed out to HAL that we were spending more money on the back-to-back cruises in a top category cabin than people were spending on the land portion and cruise portion. And we like to book at least 1 to 1 1/2 years in advance.

Yes, it true regardless of which cruiseline you consider...however you should just keep checking as things can change and often do.

Yes, they can, especially the most popular cabins. It's been awhile since I looked at the Celebrity booking process, but check to see if there's something like a "Change cabin selection" button to click on - it may bring up more available cabins. Another option - try contacting a travel agent. They might be able to see cabin availability that you can't see online.

If you're looking at the website, it only offers a choice of a few cabins at a time. I checked, and it offered me a choice of four Concierge Class cabins on the port side. You might try booking through a travel agent or by telephone so that you can talk to a human.

What about the neptune suite made it so desireable:confused:

What about the neptune suite made it so desireable:confused:

Depending upon which class of ship, there are not that many. My DH and I had a favorite exact cabin number we wanted on each of HAL's class of ships and we almost always were able to be in 'our' cabin. The verandahs on the Neptune Suites are spacious especially on the so-called "S" and "R" class of HAL ships. We like the Neptune Lounge which is for only Neptune and Pinnacle (Penthouse) Suite guests.... and other amenities that attach to that category cabin.

We were in our favorite cabin on Maasdam probably 20+ cruises though we sailed in Neptune Suites on that ship about 35 times.

Yes, some cruises and particularly certain cabins do get booked a year in advance. We require an accessible cabin and we book as soon as the itinerary we want is released. The other thing that happens is that TAs often book blocks of cabins for 'groups' and often unsold cabins will be released just before the date for final payment.

If you must be in a certain cabin; then yes they do sell out fast.

If you are open to any cabin, you can get a space only a few weeks before sailing(speaking from experience) :)

Yes, some cruises and particularly certain cabins do get booked a year in advance. We require an accessible cabin and we book as soon as the itinerary we want is released. The other thing that happens is that TAs often book blocks of cabins for 'groups' and often unsold cabins will be released just before the date for final payment.

I, too, need an accessible cabin so I book 16-18 months in advance, or when bookings open for a cruise I want.

Especially the Alaska market. The season is only May to Sept, there is not the number of ships sailing as there are in say, the Caribbean. I'm sure not every cabin on every sailing on every line is sold out now for 2016, but if you are particular as to you date and cabin, yep....book now!

I am feeling frustrated and don't know exactly where to post this.

 

 

 

I am a second time cruiser ... my wife and I went on a 20th anniversary Adriatic cruise last year on Celebrity Silhouette and really enjoyed ourselves. SO now we would like to do an Alaska Cruise in May 2016.

 

 

 

I looked at the Celebrity Millennium which departs May 20 2016 from Seward and when I requested to book a Concierge Class room it showed me that only 5 rooms were available!!!

 

 

 

What gives? Can this be true? I also looked in other categories such as Aqua Class ... and it always seems to show about 5 rooms available. (None by the way on the Port Side which is what i thought i preferred ... despite the posts that there is no real advantage ... I guess port is booked up first)?

 

 

 

What am I missing?? How far in advance should I be looking? Or, are more rooms released later? Or perhaps other rooms are reserved for folks who book the land tours as well?

 

 

 

Any ideas would be appreciated!

 

 

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

Larry

Yes, they are booked early.

BUT notice that the Celebrity U.S.A. Website only shows a partial inventory. Go to other site, eg celebrity U.K. Which does show a full inventory. Then call Celebrity U.S.A. And tell them which cabin you want. Been there, done that.

Just call and ask them to give you a list of cabins in the area you are interested in!

Many itineraries, not just Alaska are booked a year or more in advance to guarantee either a specific cabin or just a guarenteed spot on the particular sailing.....:):):)

Bob

We live in Western Australia and have booked Alaska for the first time in August 2016. Our TA advised us to book early as it all sells out as it is seasonal. So we did and got the exact cabin we wanted. Can't believe how quickly the cabins fill up on the Alaskan cruises!

I just booked a Princess Alaska cruise for June of 2016. IT WAS FOR A GROUP CRUISE WHERE BLOCKS OF CABINS ARE HELD.

Is it because, when booking online, they'll only show you 5 rooms to pick from? I don't know how Celebrity works, but Carnival will only show 10 at a time, in any category.

I am on Celebrity Millennium on May 27th, 2016, Vancouver to Seward. I booked on November 18, 2014 - the day the cruise opened.

Your desired cruise is southbound from Seward - thus the port side heading down the coast is going to be the "more desired" side of the ship - on the northbound it will be the starboard side - except for us aft addicts. :o

When you do a mock booking there is a place down near the bottom of the page where you can look for a specific cabin, so have a list ready and check. Or pull up a deck plan, select some cabins that you might like and call X and they will tell you which of the cabins you desire are available. 11 months out I would guess the many of highly sought after cabins may be taken but there would be plenty of good cabins left.

Just an FYI - I booked our Panama Canal Cruise - for April of 2017 on December 2, 2014! :eek: And now with just less than 2 yrs to go - the suites, Aqua's, and Concierge cabins are almost gone. Book EARLY to get the cabin you desire!

HAL never releases their itineraries that far out. They are usually among the last to publish them.