Desperate to get on Jan 7 t/a sailing of QE or QV... any advice?

I need to return to the US unexpectedly soon and cannot fly...

Jan 7th sailing of QE from Southampton to NY is completely booked.

Jan 7th sailing of QV from Southampton to Ft. Lauderdale is completely booked except for the Queen's Grill, which unfortunately is out of my reach.

I have joined the waitlist for both... am #2 for QE and #7 for QV.

I am in Southampton so I'm available to sail last minute.

I've contacted about half a dozen travel agencies both in USA and UK... they were very kind, but couldn't help.

Any other suggestions anyone can think of?

I would check daily with Cunard. Maybe even calling several times daily would increase the odds. Someone might cancel and you will have called at just the right moment to grab the space. The other option is to start your Novena to St. Jude there's still nine days left!

Fingers crossed, they'll upgrade a frequent cruiser to the higher category, thus free up a cabin they can sell.

Or you could try to get a passage on a cargo ship, but they are slower!

You'll be fine. In the last ten years, we have had three cruises that we booked and paid for and then had to cancel with less than a week to go. Family emergencies. I can't believe the bad luck fairy is picking on us only. Out of the thousands booked on these two crossings, Cunard will get its share and you'll be on your way. Good luck!

Being #2 on the wait list makes it seem you are assured a spot. That's a pretty sweet spot to be, on any waitlist.

Any luck yet ?

Any luck yet ?

Not yet.... Still checking daily...

The major online cruise booking web sites here in the U.S. that I routinely check have started showing oceanview cabin 4136 as available for booking on the January 7th Queen Victoria 11-day voyage from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale. They also appear to accepting guarantee bookings on both oceanview category FC and inside category IF cabins on that voyage. Hope this helps.

Regards, John

The Cunard website is showing the same thing in the UK this morning so hopefully the OP will be able to get on board.

The Cunard website is showing the same thing in the UK this morning so hopefully the OP will be able to get on board.

That's good to see. It's not showing up on Cunard's US site yet, but since the UK site is showing availability for the Jan 7 QV voyage, that certainly makes it look real and something the OP should be able to take advantage of.

That's good to see. It's not showing up on Cunard's US site yet, but since the UK site is showing availability for the Jan 7 QV voyage, that certainly makes it look real and something the OP should be able to take advantage of.

Although prices are shown, if you try and book you get an error message. There is nothing showing on the site I get when I try from the Netherlands so it's looking as if something is wrong somewhere.

Sorry if we got your hopes up.

Although prices are shown, if you try and book you get an error message. There is nothing showing on the site I get when I try from the Netherlands so it's looking as if something is wrong somewhere.

Sorry if we got your hopes up.

Unfortunately the cruise booking web sites in the US that were showing oceanview and inside availability for me last night are now back to showing only grills availability for the Jan 7 QV voyage this morning.

The US TA "direct" site is showing BC, BC, BF, and A2 balconies as well as a P1 on the January 7 QE. The QV is only showing a P1.

Cunard's US site is showing insides and oceanviews on QV. QE Q802 sold out on Cunard's site.

The US TA "direct" site is showing BC, BC, BF, and A2 balconies as well as a P1 on the January 7 QE. The QV is only showing a P1.

 

Cunard's US site is showing insides and oceanviews on QV. QE Q802 sold out on Cunard's site.

What I am now seeing on Cunard's US web site this morning is that makes it initially look like there is inside and oceanview availability on QV, but when I start a booking it then turns out to be just grills availability.

Other cruise booking sites in the US have indeed now started showing balcony availability on the QE this morning including these specific cabins as I am composing this reply: 4050 (BF), 5178 (BD), 8109 (BC), 8042 (A2) and 8036 (A2).

Hopefully the OP is able to make it on one of those voyages.

Regards, John

Hi all, I tried posting this around 10am UK time, but it looks like it didn't post. Here's what I tried to write:

Argh!! I called Cunard just now, and they said nothing is available, despite the Cunard website STILL showing oceanview availability!! (Thank you all for alerting me to that by the way, I saw your messages first thing when I checked my email!)

I called at the Cunard UK line at 10am, and was told nothing was available, and didn't know why the website was showing availability. I called back 20 minutes later to talk to a different customer service agent, just in case the first one was somehow mistaken, but the second agent told me the same thing. I then called the international line, just in case they had other information. The international line also said there was no availability.

So, I guess I will wait until the American customer service line opens in two hours, and try them as well.

Also, even though I am on the wait list for QV, I never got an email stating rooms were available, even though I was told that I would get an email if anything opened up.

This is not meant to be funny, but do you have any "talents" or knowledge you could offer and get passage as a motivational speaker? There was a guy on one of my cruises who gave a talk on "Ancestry". I went to it, but I knew more than he did.

Or give it a shot, call Cunard and see if there are any "spots" you could fill for passage

Could you take a train to another port in Europe? I haven’t checked but there might be a TA with another cruise line?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Sorry, it seems as fast as those other US travel agent web sites started showing the specific balcony cabin availability on QE that I mentioned a couple hours ago, they are now only showing grills availability. Not sure what has been going on, but this has to be all very frustrating for you, ah030.

Edit: the site that BlueRiband hinted at (one that I routinely check) seems to be down at the moment.

Please do not post asking for people to email, that is also against our guidelines.

I understand your frustration and we are trying to help as much as we can.

....Argh!! I called Cunard just now, and they said nothing is available, despite the Cunard website STILL showing oceanview availability!!...

What you may be encountering is the waitlist where those ahead of you will have so many hours to respond with their full payment. I got an error message when I had tired to book on Cunard's site and the telephone agent told me no availability. The TA site had an available inside and was a sure thing. Maybe I would have done better on the wait list, or maybe I never would have cleared.

Don't give up - you have an advantage since you don't need a flight.

There are two balcony cabins available now on the Cunard UK website. They didn't show up until I did a dummy booking.

Daisy

There are two balcony cabins available now on the Cunard UK website. They didn't show up until I did a dummy booking.

 

 

This is for the QV. Two more available cabins have just appeared on deck 8 as well.

 

I'm also on this voyage but I'll be flying back from Miami. Looking forward to it.

 

Daisy

 

Two more available cabins have just appeared on deck 8 as well.

 

 

But have you seen the price?:eek::eek:

Supply and demand, supply and demand. This is also a good example that last minute fares can be no bargain.