Sold out cruises

[imanewcruiser]

I've heard people mention that certain cruises are fully booked. How do you find this out? I'm going to book on a Carnival cruise and am wondering how full it is. Thanks.

[CruiserBruce]

If you try to book on their website, and it shows no cabins available, or all are waitlisted, that is a clue.

 

Expect that under 3 weeks prior, essentially every cruise will be list as full, if not sooner.

[njhorseman]

Very simply, you can find out if a cruise still has cabins available, and in which categories they are available by going to the cruise line's web site, or the web sites of any number of internet-based travel agencies and go through the process of booking the cruise, without actually booking it.

 

It's not possible to tell exactly how many cabins are available as the web sites typically display only up to a set number of cabins per category. So if 15 cabins in a particular category are displayed, there may be more than 15 actually available. Sometimes the opposite is true...there may be no availability shown on a particular travel agency web site, but cabins may actually be available through another travel agency that holds group space.

 

Also you can just call the cruise line or a travel agency and ask them what is available on a cruise you are interested in.

[paul929207]

Call your TA or cruise line and ask

[cb at sea]

A "full" ship doesn't mean that every single cabin is booked....it simply means there is no more room in the lifeboats for any more "souls"....

 

Not every single berth (or bed) is filled, even on a "full" sailing....

[silentbob007]

Once you make your booking, just assume that when the ship sails, it will be full. Cruiselines make money by having people spend money on the ship and will make sure they have as many people as possible on board when she sails ... after all, a few more people at a discounted rate is bonus when most costs are fixed.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Best is to call your TA.

 

On HAL an almost full ship will show the words "call for availability". A full ship will no longer be listed on their site.

[Hlitner]

Once you get a week or two inside the final payment period if they tell you its sold-out it probably is indeed sold-out. But prior to that final payment period (usually 45 - 90 days prior to the cruise) it is possible that there are cabins available on a "sold out" cruise. What can happen is that a few large travel agencies or consortiums have X number of cabins "blocked out" for group or promotional deals. In some cases any unsold cabins are not released back into inventory to around the final payment date. This can explain how a ship that is sold out one week suddenly has cabins for sale the following week.

 

Hank

[cruiseco]

Once you get a week or two inside the final payment period if they tell you its sold-out it probably is indeed sold-out. But prior to that final payment period (usually 45 - 90 days prior to the cruise) it is possible that there are cabins available on a "sold out" cruise. What can happen is that a few large travel agencies or consortiums have X number of cabins "blocked out" for group or promotional deals. In some cases any unsold cabins are not released back into inventory to around the final payment date. This can explain how a ship that is sold out one week suddenly has cabins for sale the following week.

 

Hank

 

The cruise lines always retain the right to "recall" unsold group space at any time. If they are ever in the situation of having to show a sailing as "sold out" they will, in a heartbeat, recall as many cabins as they need to meet their demand. The only way a TA would be able to get around this would be to pay the normal deposit on those cabins and supply names, often with no subsequent name changes allowed. The cruise lines will not lose business just because a TA is sitting on his thumbs.

[isujim]

I have found the best check is to check the cruiselines web sites. I have found they are "real time" and will show you what is available in each category........and if you are looking for a category that is NA, keep checking everyday........people cancel cruises all the time and usually the canceled inventory shows up immediately on a cruiselines web site.

[imanewcruiser]

Thanks for all the tips! :D

[Hlitner]

I have found the best check is to check the cruiselines web sites. I have found they are "real time" and will show you what is available in each category........and if you are looking for a category that is NA, keep checking everyday........people cancel cruises all the time and usually the canceled inventory shows up immediately on a cruiselines web site.

 

Actually, many of the major online cruise agencies are connected with the cruise line computers and also provide real-time availability. In fact, its sometimes better to use a TA web site then the cruise line's when looking at Celebrity cruises. We find that on Celebrities site it will only show a very limited number of cabins (as few as 3 or 4) in a specific category whereas on some TA sites it will show all the available cabins. We book a lot of cruises (about 75 days of cruises per year) and have learned to check multiple TA sites (we currently shop between 5 TAs) and also the cruise line site and go with whoever has the best deal (seldom the cruise line's site). The savings can be quite spectacular on longer more expensive cruises. On one of our current HA bookings, shopping around saved us several thousand dollars over the cruise lines site.

 

Hank