Wait listed question

[TWA bluesy]

I'm looking at an Oceania cruise where almost the entire  stateroom options are "wait listed" and wondering what that means.  I'm under the understanding that when you waitlist, if a better cabin becomes available, I would get the better cabin for the price of a cabin I would take.

 

However, with almost every cabin wait listed, does this mean I might not get ANY cabin on the cruise?

[1985rz1]

5 minutes ago, TWA bluesy said:

I'm looking at an Oceania cruise where almost the entire  stateroom options are "wait listed" and wondering what that means.  I'm under the understanding that when you waitlist, if a better cabin becomes available, I would get the better cabin for the price of a cabin I would take.

 

However, with almost every cabin wait listed, does this mean I might not get ANY cabin on the cruise?

What you are describing is a Guaranty room, not a wait listed.  It means (in principle) that you will get a room at the level of the Guaranty or better.  Waitlist means you have no room and are dependent on someone canceling in the stateroom category you are wait listed.

[LHT28]

What sailing are you looking at?

 

[MEFIowa]

And keep in mind there is a way to get on an actual list, with a real number for where you are in line, for a waitlist. But you have to contact O for that cruise. 

[TWA bluesy]

On 1/17/2023 at 3:08 PM, 1985rz1 said:

What you are describing is a Guaranty room, not a wait listed.  It means (in principle) that you will get a room at the level of the Guaranty or better.  Waitlist means you have no room and are dependent on someone canceling in the stateroom category you are wait listed.

Thanks for clearing up this. If so, the cruise is almost fully booked.

[soskalt1]

We are #3 on the waitlist for an Oceania Suite on the Marina in Nov 2024. For those of you who have been on their waitlists, have you had good luck?

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Our cruise (smaller ship, 3 months out) has only 2 rooms (in two categories) available to book. All other categories show "wait listed."  Two months ago there were only 6 rooms/suites. Yes, contact Oceania if you want to be wait listed on a particular cruise.  But I'd also look at alternative cruises/dates. We've only been put on a wait list once, for a different room category than the one we had booked.  So I don't know what the chances of you getting on a particular cruise might be.  However, it's my opinion that the more unusual itineraries on the smaller ships are the ones that fill up first. And right now, everyone wants to cruise, so things may be filling up faster than usual.

 

[mauibabes]

@soskalt1

IMHO, Waitlisting works, especially if you are seeking a category with many Staterooms, like Penthouses, Veranda’s, etc.  Your being number 3 is good BUT there are only 20 Oceania Suites on the ship so your odds are not like being Waitlisted for a PH when there are 120 Staterooms.  Rather than having all your eggs in the O Suite basket, I would hope you are booked in another category so you are definitely on the cruise of your choice and then just hoping to Get Lucky for the O Suite Waitlist. 
Enjoy your cruise, Mauibabes

[pinotlover]

If one continues to watch and manage the waitlist, your odds are fairly good. You’re 21 months from cruising and a long time from final payment.

 

Some people talk about the rush to cruise again, but other than the rush to use up expiring FCC, that isn’t really showing up. Still lots of availability on multiple cruises, even ahead of Final Payment. Oceania isn’t having an Anniversary Sale because the cruises have sold out. 
 

Book another cabin on the cruise if the itinerary excites you. Place a deposit on the Waitlist. Watch for openings and movements regularly. Both you and your TA should be extra observant come FP if something hasn’t opened by then. 

[NeedToChill]

On 1/19/2023 at 4:33 PM, soskalt1 said:

We are #3 on the waitlist for an Oceania Suite on the Marina in Nov 2024. For those of you who have been on their waitlists, have you had good luck?

 

My one and only experience with being on a waitlist, was perhaps not indicative of the norm, but here's the story:

 

We were booked in a PH3 on Riviera, with a bathtub. But also with a partially obstructed view. So I wanted to switch to a PH3 with a bathtub, with no obstruction. That's a pretty small group of cabins and not a category in and of itself.

 

I was told by our Oceania contact, that they would check on this for me. (We were booked direct.) But what ended up happening was that one month before final payment was due, which was the point at which canceling started to have a financial penalty, I checked the Oceania Cruises website and found that if I started to book the cruise online I could get as far as the cabin choice, and I could see that there were PH3 cabins available, and at least two of them had bathtubs and no obstructions.

 

That was on the weekend. So first thing Monday morning I called my contact at Oceania and told them the cabin number I wanted to switch to. And they took care of it right there on the phone.

 

If you're on a formal wait list with a number, then that sounds like they will be more proactive, hopefully? But regardless, I would recommend that on the day that the deposits become not fully refundable anymore, check the website!

 

If the waitlist is working the way it should, you ought to be slotted into a cabin before it shows up as available on the website. But it never hurts to check; as the saying goes, if you want something done right do it yourself.

 

I assume that if someone has one of these good travel agents I keep hearing about, they would sort all this out for you.

 

I would also concur that there are not a lot of Oceania suites and I suspect that your chances of getting a lower category are much better.

 

--Julian

Edited January 28, 2023 by NeedToChill

[LHT28]

7 minutes ago, NeedToChill said:

 

My one and only experience with being on a waitlist, was perhaps not indicative of the norm, but here's the story:

 

We were booked in a PH3 on Riviera, with a bathtub. But also with a partially obstructed view. So I wanted to switch to a PH3 with a bathtub, with no obstruction. That's a pretty small group of cabins and not a category in and of itself.

 

 

Do you know what the obstruction was??

 

 

[GrammieK]

1 hour ago, LHT28 said:

Do you know what the obstruction was??

 

 

In my experience, the last aft PH3 on each end has a metal bar at the top that forms a triangle and slightly obstructs the view. It’s not very big, but is in the way when looking aft. 
 

Not sure I’m explaining it right, but it did prompt us to choose a further forward PH3 on subsequent sailings. I think one of them was 8065?

 

k

Edited January 28, 2023 by GrammieK
Spelling

[PhD-iva]

1 hour ago, NeedToChill said:

 

My one and only experience with being on a waitlist, was perhaps not indicative of the norm, but here's the story:

 

We were booked in a PH3 on Riviera, with a bathtub. But also with a partially obstructed view. So I wanted to switch to a PH3 with a bathtub, with no obstruction. That's a pretty small group of cabins and not a category in and of itself.

 

I was told by our Oceania contact, that they would check on this for me. (We were booked direct.) But what ended up happening was that one month before final payment was due, which was the point at which canceling started to have a financial penalty, I checked the Oceania Cruises website and found that if I started to book the cruise online I could get as far as the cabin choice, and I could see that there were PH3 cabins available, and at least two of them had bathtubs and no obstructions.

 

That was on the weekend. So first thing Monday morning I called my contact at Oceania and told them the cabin number I wanted to switch to. And they took care of it right there on the phone.

 

If you're on a formal wait list with a number, then that sounds like they will be more proactive, hopefully? But regardless, I would recommend that on the day that the deposits become not fully refundable anymore, check the website!

 

If the waitlist is working the way it should, you ought to be slotted into a cabin before it shows up as available on the website. But it never hurts to check; as the saying goes, if you want something done right do it yourself.

 

I assume that if someone has one of these good travel agents I keep hearing about, they would sort all this out for you.

 

I would also concur that there are not a lot of Oceania suites and I suspect that your chances of getting a lower category are much better.

 

--Julian

I don’t remember on exactly which O booking this happened, but in the past I was waitlisted for a PH (deposit paid). A while later I was browsing the website and saw there were penthouse staterooms available in the category I was waitlisted. I called my TA and she snagged it for me. So, being waitlisted didn’t automatically get me the booking…….

It pays to be your own best advocate.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, GrammieK said:

In my experience, the last aft PH3 on each end has a metal bar at the top that forms a triangle and slightly obstructs the view. It’s not very big, but is in the way when looking aft. 
 

Not sure I’m explaining it right, but it did prompt us to choose a further forward PH3 on subsequent sailings. I think one of them was 8065?

 

k

yes the after cabins on the side have the slope of the hull  which could be  an obstruction on the R ships

  People do not mention the ship they are on so was not sure what ship they were talking about

I thought the poster was on  the I class ship as they were talking about cabin with a bathtub

Other than the overhang  on deck 11 cabins & the spotlight on the forward cabin on the side I could not think of other obstruction

 

[NeedToChill]

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Do you know what the obstruction was??

 

 

 

On Riviera and Marina PH3 10002 and 10003 have the spotlights beneath the bridge hanging down in front of the balcony.

 

 

--Julian

Edited January 28, 2023 by NeedToChill

[chloemonkey]

On 1/17/2023 at 3:00 PM, TWA bluesy said:

I'm looking at an Oceania cruise where almost the entire  stateroom options are "wait listed" and wondering what that means.  I'm under the understanding that when you waitlist, if a better cabin becomes available, I would get the better cabin for the price of a cabin I would take.

 

However, with almost every cabin wait listed, does this mean I might not get ANY cabin on the cruise?

My experience has been favorable on wait lists BUT on the "PAID" wait list....where you actually make a deposit.  I have recently cleared and rec'd the actual suite that I wanted within a few hours.  I believe that it does make a difference.  Not always going to work but much better odds when you actually put some money in the equation.

[Furball83]

On 1/19/2023 at 10:19 AM, TWA bluesy said:

Thanks for clearing up this. If so, the cruise is almost fully booked.

Has full payment been due for this cruise yet? If not, sometimes things free up after that date. 

[soskalt1]

On 1/28/2023 at 1:09 PM, NeedToChill said:

 

My one and only experience with being on a waitlist, was perhaps not indicative of the norm, but here's the story:

 

We were booked in a PH3 on Riviera, with a bathtub. But also with a partially obstructed view. So I wanted to switch to a PH3 with a bathtub, with no obstruction. That's a pretty small group of cabins and not a category in and of itself.

 

I was told by our Oceania contact, that they would check on this for me. (We were booked direct.) But what ended up happening was that one month before final payment was due, which was the point at which canceling started to have a financial penalty, I checked the Oceania Cruises website and found that if I started to book the cruise online I could get as far as the cabin choice, and I could see that there were PH3 cabins available, and at least two of them had bathtubs and no obstructions.

 

That was on the weekend. So first thing Monday morning I called my contact at Oceania and told them the cabin number I wanted to switch to. And they took care of it right there on the phone.

 

If you're on a formal wait list with a number, then that sounds like they will be more proactive, hopefully? But regardless, I would recommend that on the day that the deposits become not fully refundable anymore, check the website!

 

If the waitlist is working the way it should, you ought to be slotted into a cabin before it shows up as available on the website. But it never hurts to check; as the saying goes, if you want something done right do it yourself.

 

I assume that if someone has one of these good travel agents I keep hearing about, they would sort all this out for you.

 

I would also concur that there are not a lot of Oceania suites and I suspect that your chances of getting a lower category are much better.

 

--Julian

 

I've been checking the availability every day on the website. Last Saturday, there appeared to be 1 cabin open in the category that we've been waitlisted for. I called my TA and she was able to grab the cabin. Great for me, but that meant that I was able to grab it before Oceania had the chance to offer it to someone on the waitlist, which really isn't fair to the waitlisted customers. I don't think I would've gotten it had Oceania's offices been open.

[zoncom]

  Oceania is a small outfit,tightknit. To insure best luck, book directly with O.. You will get cabin availability and brochures before general public. Especially true with WCs and waitlists.      Always put a deposit on any waitlist and submit more than one. 

[mozfoz]

1 hour ago, soskalt1 said:

 

I've been checking the availability every day on the website. Last Saturday, there appeared to be 1 cabin open in the category that we've been waitlisted for. I called my TA and she was able to grab the cabin. Great for me, but that meant that I was able to grab it before Oceania had the chance to offer it to someone on the waitlist, which really isn't fair to the waitlisted customers. I don't think I would've gotten it had Oceania's offices been open.

Maybe you  actually were next on the waitlist. Of course, you can always call Oceania and refuse the cabin and get back in the queue. Or just keep the cabin and consider it your reward for being diligent. Same thing happened to me for a Rivera OV. The system is very wishy washy.

[LHT28]

11 minutes ago, zoncom said:

  Oceania is a small outfit,tightknit. To insure best luck, book directly with O.. You will get cabin availability and brochures before general public. Especially true with WCs and waitlists.      Always put a deposit on any waitlist and submit more than one. 

If you have a good TA they will also  get  the details to you  as  well

[NeedToChill]

4 hours ago, soskalt1 said:

 

I've been checking the availability every day on the website. Last Saturday, there appeared to be 1 cabin open in the category that we've been waitlisted for. I called my TA and she was able to grab the cabin. Great for me, but that meant that I was able to grab it before Oceania had the chance to offer it to someone on the waitlist, which really isn't fair to the waitlisted customers. I don't think I would've gotten it had Oceania's offices been open.

 

A wait list if properly managed, would imply that the cabin becomes available only after everyone on the waitlist has been dealt with.

 

The fact that you were on the wait list but not notified, and then the cabin becomes available publicly, suggests to me that their management of wait lists is a complete joke and they ought not to bother. All the bookings and the reservation system are 100% computerized so as soon as that cabin is no longer booked, Oceania computers know about it. And if they're putting it back into the public pool without putting an automatic hold on it and consulting the wait list, then that's ridiculous. So if I were you I wouldn't feel one iota of guilt over advocating for yourself in the face of their incompetence.

 

Also, the fact the cabin was publicly available means that it was open season for everyone else on the wait list and anyone else in the world who might be interested. Someone's going to get that cabin, might as well be you.

 

--Julian

Edited February 23, 2023 by NeedToChill

[PhD-iva]

I was on a waitlist, saw an available stateroom in the category I wanted. I called my TA and she got it assigned to me. 
It pays to be proactive. 

[Canuker]

Seek and ye shall find.

good work, iva. I just wish we'd see more posts as proactive as yours.

All it takes is to pick up the phone.

[Izzy'sMoms]

During a cruise earlier this month on Sirena the destination services representative put us on a “paid” waitlist to upgrade from a PH to an OS on our June 24 cruise. I looked at the cruise last week and saw that 2 OS suites were open. Oceania did not contact us. I called our TA and had her grab one for us. Lesson learned!