Fall 2012 Cruise Sold Out?

[quivet c]

My wife and I were looking at a cruise on October 13, 2012 in a Oceanview room and according to the Oceania website the cruise is completely sold out (I am awaiting confirmation on this from my TA). However it appears that I am able to book this cruise through Travelocity and/or American Express travel website (I went all the way through the purchase process I just did not hit the sent button for payment). Has anyone ever run into this issue before and why I can I book it online but potentially not through my TA?

[LHT28]

Maybe the online agencies are not updated yet

 

They have been offering many discounted cruises so they are filling up fast

 

A lot can happen in a year so keep watching, sometime people cancel

 

 

Lyn

[JimandStan]

My wife and I were looking at a cruise on October 13, 2012 in a Oceanview room and according to the Oceania website the cruise is completely sold out (I am awaiting confirmation on this from my TA). However it appears that I am able to book this cruise through Travelocity and/or American Express travel website (I went all the way through the purchase process I just did not hit the sent button for payment). Has anyone ever run into this issue before and why I can I book it online but potentially not through my TA?

 

Your travel agent should be the one to tell you this, but certain organizations pre-book space on cruises that they perceive will be popular in order to get the edge for their clients.

One of the sites that you checked might also be hosting a group on the cruise that you are considering, which also puts a hold on a certain number and type of cabins being sold elsewhere.

[bocatraveler09]

My TA said that, since there are so few oceanview rooms, they will frequently be held (or taken) early. I was offered a guarantee OV but wanted to be sure I was midship. So I chose a different date when I was able to secure a specific cabin.

[loum140]

QuivetC: You didn't say which ship or itinerary you were interested in, but some stateroom categories sell out as soon as the itineraries are offered - often 18 months in advance. If your T/A tells you that O will give you a "guarantee" Ocean View for this cruise, you should consider taking it. As Lyn said, things happen especially as it gets closer to final payment and cancellations are always possible.

[CintiPam]

My TA said that, since there are so few oceanview rooms, they will frequently be held (or taken) early. I was offered a guarantee OV but wanted to be sure I was midship. So I chose a different date when I was able to secure a specific cabin.

 

A quarantee on Oceania means you will get that category of room, even if Oceania has to bribe, I mean encourage, a current occupant of your category to move up or somewhere else, so if you truly want that itinerary, put down your deposit and you will have it.

 

We were ignorant of cruising, and actually reserved our first cruise in late May for an early September sailing in 2008 and had a guarantee then of our desired category. We got the specific cabin assignment about two weeks in advance of the cruise, after the luggage tags were sent out (with no cabin number). All of the Marina OV's are in the same place basically, so the specific cabin should not matter.

 

BTW, we very much enjoyed our OV C cabin (I also am a mid-ships sailor only due to my queasy stomach) on our recent Baltic cruise; super location.

 

Edit note: I assume you are talking about Marina.

[bocatraveler09]

My concern was that we'd get upgraded to a veranda in a location on the ship that wouldn't be "midship." Yes, I agree, the OV cabins are all in a great location, if one tends toward seasickness!

[Paulchili]

My concern was that we'd get upgraded to a veranda in a location on the ship that wouldn't be "midship." Yes, I agree, the OV cabins are all in a great location, if one tends toward seasickness!

 

I suspect you can ask not to be upgraded (I know you can do that with other cruise lines).

Maybe somebody else will be happy to take that upgrade.

Check with your TA or Oceania.

[JimandStan]

I suspect you can ask not to be upgraded (I know you can do that with other cruise lines).

Maybe somebody else will be happy to take that upgrade.

Check with your TA or Oceania.

 

If you book a specific cabin, then you may ask not to be upgraded.

 

If you book a guarantee then they can put you anywhere, provided that the cabin than you get is at least as good as the level that you bought in on.

[gillianrose]

If you book a specific cabin, then you may ask not to be upgraded.

 

If you book a guarantee then they can put you anywhere, provided that the cabin than you get is at least as good as the level that you bought in on.

 

If you book a guarantee and get a cabin assignment and you like it, can you then keep that cabin or can the cruise line keep changing your cabin?

[JimandStan]

If you book a guarantee and get a cabin assignment and you like it, can you then keep that cabin or can the cruise line keep changing your cabin?

 

Once you're assigned a cabin, you're assigned for good. The thing of it is, you might get your assignment at four months out or at four hours out. There has to be a bit of the gambler in your soul.

[wripro]

Sometimes you are forced to gamble whether it's your choice or not. There are instances when, if you want to book a PH, for example, all that's available is a guarantee. Therefore you have no choice but to gamble.

[meow!]

My wife and I were looking at a cruise on October 13, 2012 in a Oceanview room and according to the Oceania website the cruise is completely sold out (I am awaiting confirmation on this from my TA).

That may well happen on some particularly popular voyages. However, it will be surprising if it is generalized to most voyages, because if that is the case, the cruise line may not be so pro-active in advertizing that so many people continually get multiple brochures, etc. Besides, with our sovereign rating cut from AAA by S&P, the Dow Jones sinking and likely with more bad news to come, for the travel industry as a whole, how many people are so keen to increase travelling, especially to fill double the number of berths?

 

P.S. And not just the U.S., look at Japan, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, especially Greece. The misfortunes are the world over, and the peoples of the newly rich countries have not really caught up with cruising.

[caribbeansun]

I know I shouldn't ask this but I just can turn away

 

The "newly rich countries" who haven't "caught up with cruising"? - and who pray tell would they be?

 

Besides, with our sovereign rating cut from AAA by S&P, the Dow Jones sinking and likely with more bad news to come, for the travel industry as a whole, how many people are so keen to increase travelling, especially to fill double the number of berths?

 

P.S. And not just the U.S., look at Japan, Italy, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, especially Greece. The misfortunes are the world over, and the peoples of the newly rich countries have not really caught up with cruising.

[Hunding]

I know I shouldn't ask this but I just can turn away

 

The "newly rich countries" who haven't "caught up with cruising"? - and who pray tell would they be?

 

I cannot possibly know exactly what meow meant, but don't you suppose she was thinking of, perhaps, India, Brazil, and China? There are others, of course....

[meow!]

I cannot possibly know exactly what meow meant, but don't you suppose she was thinking of, perhaps, India, Brazil, and China? There are others, of course....

Right, plus Korea, they better send some of that Samsung, LG, Hyundai and Kia earnings back here. We don't see many of these cruising.

 

Then, among more traditional but newly rising currencies, Canada, there are some, but not nearly enough. Then get rid of that "national agent" in Australia (their A$ is sky high), and sell cabins to them at fair exchange rate.

 

The above are the kind of things Oceania should think hard about. There is no point fighting those who favour ordinary individual consumers on this board.

[JimandStan]

Sometimes you are forced to gamble whether it's your choice or not. There are instances when, if you want to book a PH, for example, all that's available is a guarantee. Therefore you have no choice but to gamble.

 

Yes, if Cabin Category is your sole criteria for booking, then you are correct. However, there are many passengers who want a specific assignment, because they prefer to know precisely where they will be on the ship.

For them, the guarantee system might work brilliantly...........or not. :eek:

 

In general, as long as you know the rules of what you are buying into, then the Guarantee System can be of mutual benefit to both passenger and Cruise Line.

Today, with the bulk of the accommodations standardized so completely, I concede that there is less and less reason not to book a guarantee