What are my Chances?

[Eaglecw]

I really screwed up!! I got smoke’n hot deal from Princess for an Alaskan cruise on the Golden Princess on August 30th. I waited about 30 seconds too long before I called Princess to book. When I called they said “Sorry those rooms are gone”. I did get on the wait-list; I’m #2 on the wait-list. Has anyone had any experiences with being on the wait-list for an upcoming cruise? Are my chances of being hit with lightning better than going on this cruise?

[Working 2 Cruise]

You have a very good chance of getting a cabin, but not at the smoking hot deal they were offering. You can expect to have to pay substantially more..

 

Princess had those special fares to sell those cabins. Now that they are sold, there's no incentive to give you a great deal...

 

Good luck and please let us know how you make out.

[fishywood]

Considering that you are local and presumably can go even if cleared off the waitlist only a couple days before sailing, your odds are pretty good.

But your odds of getting that "smok'n hot" deal are up there with the lightning. Being placed on the waitlist--even when you put down a deposit to do so--does NOT lock in the rate being offered on that day. By waitlisting yourself you have agreed to sail at whatever fare you are offered for that specific cabin category on the day you clear the list, or else lose your deposit.

Edited August 7, 2014 by fishywood

[Colo Cruiser]

You will not get the deal as far as the fare you saw.

You will be at the mercy of Princess and probably close to a full brochure rate.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Princess will tell you that this offer is "capacity controlled" so just because someone books it and then cancels, it doesn't mean they'll turn around and offer the special fare to the first person on the wait list

[RickEk]

Considering that you are local and presumably can go even if cleared off the waitlist only a couple days before sailing, your odds are pretty good.

But your odds of getting that "smok'n hot" deal are up there with the lightning. Being placed on the waitlist--even when you put down a deposit to do so--does NOT lock in the rate being offered on that day. By waitlisting yourself you have agreed to sail at whatever fare you are offered for that specific cabin category on the day you clear the list, or else lose your deposit.

 

FYI... If someone refuses a waitlist, they will NOT lose their deposit.

[Colo Cruiser]

By waitlisting yourself you have agreed to sail at whatever fare you are offered for that specific cabin category on the day you clear the list, or else lose your deposit.

 

 

Negative....

Fully refundable.

[cruzsnooze]

Nobody knows because each cruise is different. I think your chances are very slim because anyone who booked had to pay in full since you're only 3 weeks before sailing. Why would anyone pay in full then cancel without the prospect of a refund? There is a possibility someone misses the ship or gets sick but that's a slim chance for you to hope for.

[likeadisguise]

Nobody knows because each cruise is different. I think your chances are very slim because anyone who booked had to pay in full since you're only 3 weeks before sailing. Why would anyone pay in full then cancel without the prospect of a refund? There is a possibility someone misses the ship or gets sick but that's a slim chance for you to hope for.

 

Waitlist bookings auto-cancel on midnight on the day the cruise begins, so you won't get notified if someone cancels at the very last minute. (And if they aren't on the ship because they missed it, how would you be able to get on the ship?)

[Eaglecw]

We just booked the Golden Alaska cruise that we were waitlisted for. Kind of got a little PO’d, we’ve been looking at the web site and this afternoon saw the rooms we were waitlisted for had opened up. No E-mail or call from Princess that the rooms had opened up, jumped on the phone and got the room for the same price as the waitlisted price. In the 10 minutes I was on the phone they were all gone. I’m happier than a 5 year old with a new Puppy at Christmas!

[Nebr.cruiser]

You have a very good chance of getting a cabin, but not at the smoking hot deal they were offering. You can expect to have to pay substantially more..

 

Princess had those special fares to sell those cabins. Now that they are sold, there's no incentive to give you a great deal...

 

Good luck and please let us know how you make out.

 

Exactly; the only time we have been on a wait list, and we were about 15th on the list, we did get to the top of the list, but the price was almost twice what it was earlier, for the same cabin type. We didn't book.

[Thrak]

I really screwed up!! I got smoke’n hot deal from Princess for an Alaskan cruise on the Golden Princess on August 30th. I waited about 30 seconds too long before I called Princess to book. When I called they said “Sorry those rooms are gone”. I did get on the wait-list; I’m #2 on the wait-list. Has anyone had any experiences with being on the wait-list for an upcoming cruise? Are my chances of being hit with lightning better than going on this cruise

 

To put it in "California parlance":

 

"Dude! You are hosed! You snooze you lose!"

 

It's a harsh fact of life that this type of offer has the shelf life of a banana. You are either really quick and snag it or it vanishes right before your crying eyes. This is one of the reasons a lot of folks prefer to book directly rather than through a TA because, by the time they can contact a TA to take advantage of a really good limited time offer, it's too late. You may be literally correct when you say you were 30 seconds too late. Once Princess filled THEIR need the offer was gone.

[caribill]

We just booked the Golden Alaska cruise that we were waitlisted for. Kind of got a little PO’d, we’ve been looking at the web site and this afternoon saw the rooms we were waitlisted for had opened up. No E-mail or call from Princess that the rooms had opened up, jumped on the phone and got the room for the same price as the waitlisted price.

 

For whatever reason, the Princess booking software will put a cancelled cabin back in inventory instead of it going to a waitlisted person. What happened to you has happened to many others in the past.

 

Usually these cabins will disappear quickly, either booked by persons such as yourself who were lucky enough to see them available or by them getting assigned to the waitlist after all.

[Nancyquilts]

We just booked the Golden Alaska cruise that we were waitlisted for. Kind of got a little PO’d, we’ve been looking at the web site and this afternoon saw the rooms we were waitlisted for had opened up. No E-mail or call from Princess that the rooms had opened up, jumped on the phone and got the room for the same price as the waitlisted price. In the 10 minutes I was on the phone they were all gone. I’m happier than a 5 year old with a new Puppy at Christmas!

 

Congratulations! Have a great cruise.:D

[Colo Cruiser]

In our experience with the waitlist on Princess we have never had a "waitlisted price". When we cleared the waitlist we were at the mercy of Princess and the final fare was substantially higher then prices were before the cruise sold out. :(