Question on chance of connecting cabins becoming available

[annedar]

I currently have a two balcony rooms booked on the Navigator for Spring Break. My husband and I in one, our 16 and 17 year olds in another. We would like to add a friend for each. Unfortunately, there are no 4 person cabins available right now.

 

Plan B would be to change the kids cabin to two insides. The best I can get would be cabins next to each other but I'd really like them to be connecting. Oddly, there are several "halves" of connecting cabins available, same class, some right next to each other, but each half is booked. I find that odd. From what I read and how I choose as well, I would think most ppl who are not using the other side of a connecting cabin would book a non-connecting cabin (which is available). Am I missing something as to why all these connecting cabins are "half booked".

 

I did call RCI. Explained my case. Pointed out that literally every other cabin was booked in a row of connecting cabins. Meaning they could move someone not using both sides of connecting two doors down to another connecting room and allow me to book connecting rooms. I can't see why that could be a problem for someone- same class, same type of cabin, literally two doors down. No go from RCI.

 

So, I guess my question is: what are my chances that these connectors may open up? Do ppl book these in hopes of getting bumped? Would a travel agent have a better chance of getting results? I hate to give up on the Navigator for this week or even giving up on RCI. It just seems like such a simple fix.

Edited September 26, 2015 by annedar

[Ourusualbeach]

I know Royal will allow your kids to be in a cabin by themselves directly across the hall I'm not sure how they would handle 2 cabins as only one would be directly across the hall.

 

IMO the chances are very slim as you are looking at a very small number of cabins that would meet your requirements. If you open yourself up to changing all cabins, perhaps on a different deck then your chances would increase.

 

People book cabins many times for very specific reasons. To allow Royal to start making changes to room assignments would be disasterous.

[Starry Eyes]

Those connecting cabins are taken, so the reason may not matter in the end. Here is one reason it can happen: In some categories of some ships, triple/quad cabins connect to double cabins...so families may book those triples/quads, leaving the connecting double available for others.

 

Your bigger issue, as mentioned by a previous poster, may be the age of the cruisers. As you will be responsible for the teens, you likely will need to cluster the cabins to comply with cruise line rules. If no adult is in the cabin, the teens can be immediately next door or immediately across the hall from you. So you could book, for example two adjacent balconies plus an inside across the hall.

You could juggle the names a bit for booking flexibility...for example:book one adult and one teen in a balcony cabin, two teens across the hall, and other adult and teen in nearby cabins, the rearrange yourselves on board. Of course if the teens behavior is out of line (noisy or violating curfew or something), the cruise line might insist you honor your original booking arrangement (or boot people off ship if teens or adults really misbehave, but I trust that won't happen).

 

Taking additional people will take some planning. Are you sure you don't want a family vacation after all;)?

[Ashland]

Sorry...but RCI will not move people already booked just accommodate you.

 

You could ask to be put on a waitlist for a certain cabin, but that may never happen.

 

We tried this exact same thing once hoping a connecting cabin would become available...it never did...so at one point when I saw other cabins (different higher catagory) open up I made the move.

 

You can work this out with RCI...as long as one cabin is accross the hall and the other one right next to it or near by shouldn't be a problem...you can always book an adult in that cabin.

 

Don't give up....just get creative.

Edited September 26, 2015 by Ashland

[HeidiHo]

You should also keep checking every day for cabins to open. Cancellations happen. We have a small group sailing on the NOS in Feb. All cabins except for inside cabins have been sold out for a long time. Two members of our group cancelled recently and they had mini suites in the center of the hump. Needless to say, those cabins were snapped up within a few hours after they were cancelled.

[RCmommy]

I had a connecting cabin put on a wait list and within about two weeks, I was online checking something and noticed we had been given that cabin. It is a Central Park view on Allure so there are not as many of those and it happened for us. Give it a shot!