Can Someone Please Clarify?

[will773]

I know that there is a point where the cruise line can no longer sell any room due to the capacity of the lifeboats. This has something to do with triple occupancy cabins, but I'm not really sure. I don't understand the difference.

 

I am looking at the 4/18 sailing on the Navigator. Every once in a while, for only a second, a triple occupancy inside or oceanview cabin shows up. If I go in only a minute later, it is gone. There are still staterooms available that can hold three people but I can't book three people into them. I know that people have gone over this before, but I still don't get it. If they two different cabins booked, then why not just let people get one room? I don't see the difference between three people in one cabin and three people in two separate cabins.

 

Can someone please clarify?

[johneeo]

I know that there is a point where the cruise line can no longer sell any room due to the capacity of the lifeboats. This has something to do with triple occupancy cabins, but I'm not really sure. I don't understand the difference.

 

I am looking at the 4/18 sailing on the Navigator. Every once in a while, for only a second, a triple occupancy inside or oceanview cabin shows up. If I go in only a minute later, it is gone. There are still staterooms available that can hold three people but I can't book three people into them. I know that people have gone over this before, but I still don't get it. If they two different cabins booked, then why not just let people get one room? I don't see the difference between three people in one cabin and three people in two separate cabins.

 

Can someone please clarify?

 

I will take a shot at it.

 

Suppose that there is the availability to add 4 more passengers to the total.

 

Suppose there are 2 cabins available.

 

Should a group of 3 or 4 try to book 1 cabin, it will not be accepted. The cruise line will wait until 2 people book each open cabin.

[Goes Cruising]

They don't stop selling cabins, they stop selling cabins for greater than 2 people. So, it's not that they'll have three in one cabin or three in two, it's that they'll have three in one cabin, and will still sell the other cabin for two people. Does that make sense?

[Ocean Boy]

Just to add to things a bit... if they sell you one cabin for three people the third person gets a reduced rate. If they sell you two cabins for three people, two people in the first cabin pay full fare and the one person in the second cabin generally pays the same fare as if two people were in that cabin. So instead of collecting 2.5 fares as in the one cabin scenario they collect 4 fares in the two cabin scenario. If they sell too many 3 & 4 passenger cabins they may reach their maximum passenger quota with more total empty cabins. That means more cabins sold at 2.5 cruise fares and less at 4 total fares. I hope that makes sense. It also means empty cabins that have cabin stewards assigned to them with no work, and no tips, for those stwards.

 

It is not just about lifeboats and total passenger count. It is about money.

[Annieeee]

I will try, though surely and I hope someone will come along and explain better than I can.

 

For example a ship can only hold so many people, lets say 2000, even though if each room is filled to capacity it "could" hold 2200. Once the ship has reached its lifeboat limit no more booking can be accepted, even though they have rooms available, the ship has reached its limits.

 

Hope that helps. I have seen it explained in much better terms, this is the best I can "splain it" lol

 

Annieeee

[prc]

Agreed. If you have x number of seats in the lifeboats, you want to make sure as many of them as possible are paying 1st/2nd pax full rates instead of 3rd/4th pax reduced rates.

[njmomof2]

Agreed. If you have x number of seats in the lifeboats, you want to make sure as many of them as possible are paying 1st/2nd pax full rates instead of 3rd/4th pax reduced rates.

 

This.

 

It has to do with lifeboat capacity. Once they have reached it (given the remaining double occupancy cabins left to book), they will cease to book triples and quads. Even if the cabin will fit 3-4 people, they will not book it. They want to fill empty cabins up with 2 rather than have 4 in one (with 3/4 paying a reduced rate) and leave a cabin empty (with no revenue).

 

And please remember that lifeboat capacity is an absolute...it cannot change, it's not the ship's requirements, it is (I believe, but someone correct me) a Coast Guard number that may not be exceeded.

 

And you will see things pop up for a few minutes and then disappear. I have had cruises blocked for 3/4 passenger bookings, only to have them reopen at a later date as people cancel or things change.

[will773]

I don't see how they can deny a triple booking when there are still cabins available though. Why couldn't they just leave a cabin empty in order to accommodate different customers needs (ie. a triple occupancy cabin)?

[reallyitsmema]

I don't see how they can deny a triple booking when there are still cabins available though. Why couldn't they just leave a cabin empty in order to accommodate different customers needs (ie. a triple occupancy cabin)?

They are in the business to make money. 4 fares are better than 3.

[Ocean Boy]

I don't see how they can deny a triple booking when there are still cabins available though. Why couldn't they just leave a cabin empty in order to accommodate different customers needs (ie. a triple occupancy cabin)?

 

I already explained it..... money.

[Mark_K]

Agreed. If you have x number of seats in the lifeboats, you want to make sure as many of them as possible are paying 1st/2nd pax full rates instead of 3rd/4th pax reduced rates.

If they would just make the 3/4 rate higher than the 1/2 rate on these cruises, they could sell anybody a 3/4 berth that wanted it badly enough to shell out the cash, and they wouldn't have to outright deny anyone. If it meant some cabins were empty, they still got their cash.

[Mark_K]

I don't see how they can deny a triple booking when there are still cabins available though. Why couldn't they just leave a cabin empty in order to accommodate different customers needs (ie. a triple occupancy cabin)?

They can deny selling you anything they want, it's their ship.

[negc]

They are in the business to make money. 4 fares are better than 3.

 

Especially when those 4 fares are full fares and not 2 full fares plus a discounted 3rd person in a room fare. Seems simple enough to understand.