Cruise pros: Question about waitlist cabin

[kimanjo]

Help! I'm an experienced criser but I have never attempted to waitlist a cabin. The closest I have come is sailing GTY.

 

Here's the deal: I've put in a deposit on a Princess cruise for an inside cabin. I am #4 on the waitlist which I was told by the Princess rep was really good. The ship sails in less than 45 days (pre-Christmas) and there are lots of cabins available; however, they are all balcony and above categories. All the inside cabins sold out in a big promo last week (I kept my eyes peeled to various sites and watched the numbers dwindle until there only GTY category, and then, nothing).

 

If no inside cabins become available, will Princess call me and attempt to upsell me into a higher category? Or, will they just end up trying to sell me GTY and then slot me into an inside and bump somone already assinged an inside into another category? Or, dream of dreams, will they just GTY me and then put me into an outside, trying to fill those outside cabins at any cost?

 

I am a Circle Member so I have some status (one would think) and I am travelling only 2 pax so my cabin needs are not specific. Also, the reason I booked through Princess is that their price quote was unbelievably low, lower than any I have seen anywhere, even all my favorite lowball sites--and the more I typed into the 'select this category' slot, the more the price went down. They must've cookied my entries.

 

Thanks for any repsonse!

[cherylandtk]

From what I have seen posted, Princess does not do a very good job of following up on waitlist bookings. So my advice is:

1. First you have to ask yourself if you would pay for a higher grade, or if you only want to go at the cost of an inside cabin. If you do, book the higher level NOW and then keep checking, twice a day, for open inside cabins. If not, still check at least twice a day to see if an inside opens up. Call them, do not wait for them to call you.

2. They have "filled" their quota for insides, meaning they have an approximate match of number of inside cabins and people to fill them. A few of these already booked folks may get upgraded to an outside. Princess will continue to try and sell the balconies, and may have to drop prices to do that, but at this point they feel they can sell them at the going rate. If the price drops to something you are willing to pay, call them immediately. Do not expect them to call you and say "Hey, we have outsides at a price similar to your waitlisted inside, are you interested?"

3. They probably won't even call you to sell you a guarantee status, either.

4. They will upgrade within category for the most part. Since you are not yet on the ship, you won't figure into their calculations.

5. Your previous cruiser status is not going to get you a special deal or treatement.

 

Not meaning to sound negative here, but waitlists seem to be looked at infrequently. You have to be very proactive if you want to get yourself booked.