Is there a way to tell how full a cruise will be?

[k4btzs]

I have tried to search but haven't found an answer.

Is there a way to tell how full a cruise will be? I know you can go to the NCL website and look at available rooms if you want to search for a while but as I saw on another thread that really doesn't tell you how full the sailing is since some rooms could hold families while others are singles. Is there someplace though that you could look and see how many people are booked or % full? I am booked on the Star for the 3/28 cruise to the MR and am just wondering how many people the boat can accommodate and how full it is right now? Maybe they don't share that information for marketing reasons? Just thought it might be worth asking though.. Thanks for any help or insight.

[bakerintn]

I have never heard of any such information being available.

 

The NCL Star has a passenger capacity of 2,240 (double occupancy) and a crew of 1,100.

 

On some cruises, one can expect a higher occupancy than that as a third or even a 4th person is added to a cabin (not all cabins can have 4). And...some cabins will be singles. So ... the 2,240 can be larger.

 

By checking availability of each cabin type for a specific sailing on the NCL website, you can a good idea how "full" the ship is at any time. When all of the inside, ocean views and balconies are booked, it will be a full ship (the suites and villas don't account for that many passengers, so you don't really have to check those out to get a good idea how the bookings are going). With the recent low fares and promotions, lots of sailings will be looking booked up earlier than usual.

 

In my opinion, if a ship is 100% booked or 90% booked, one really would not notice the difference once onboard. Not many sailings leave at, say 50% booked (which you would notice while on board). I would think that if you had not been on the same ship before at some known booking level, it would be hard to tell how booked a sailing is while on board, because you don't have a comparison.

 

One measure that some sites publish is the ratio of the gross tonnage (a general measure of the interior space) to [passenger capacity plus crew capacity]. A higher number can mean a more spacious ship. The Star comes in at 91,000 / 3330 = 27.3

 

Again, I have never heard of a source that reports the current booking capacity of an upcoming sailing.

[k4btzs]

Thanks Bakerintn. Lots of good information.

[garycarla]

Even if you had information TODAY for a March cruise, it may not be accurate. People book, then cancel. Some groups buy blocks, but then gie them back. Some people wait until just a few weeks before the cruise to book.

 

One cruise we took two years ago had almost no cabins (no balcony or above at all) in the 3-6 months out time period. Just at the final payment date, a bunch opened up. There were plenty of cabins in every category. A few weeks before the cruise, they were almost sold out.

 

Bottom line - you can drive yourself nuts trying to figure it out.

[michigan tim]

Not sure of late, but generally ships sail at capacity. They will discount heavily after the final pmt date to insure it. Your date is a prime spring break period so it will almost certainly sail at capacity... the tough part is determining where it stands now.

[ketzelacruising]

Thanksgiving, Christmas, March Spring Break, New Years- count on them being "full" As to exact passenger count, I doubt that you can get that info until you are on board.

But I have been told by DCL agents and NCL agents if a ship is at capacity or not, before the cruise. But like GaryCArla said- not too far out, as people do cancel and blocks of rooms are released.

 

Happy Sailing

 

Mike

[k4btzs]

Thanks for your replies. It was just my curiosity getting the better of me. :) Having not ever cruised before I am sure I wouldn't even know the difference once on board. What could look very full to me may only be a 1/2 full ship if we are all wanting to be in the same space. LOL