| Update on note 458
I talked it over with my wife and determined that Jan 8 would be fine.
We had checked on Thurs. and the staterooms we wanted were available
and 2nd seating was available. I had to wait till today (Monday) to
change the reservation because I needed to verify no conflicts for the
Jan 8 sailing with other plans in winter, specifically my daughter's
ice skating. We ended up with 2 dates to go Jan 8 and Jan 29 for
Sovereign of Seas.
I called backed today to change. Well in just 3 1/2 days, 2nd seating
is gone for Jan 8, the category we wanted is gone also. The last 5
cabins in the category went. We got Jan 29 everything we wanted so
it is booked. We have Confirmed second seating and our category D
cabin. Price was $196 more for two than our original Nov 27th
reservation but this is ok, Jan 29 is peak season so it is a good
deal and we will appreciate the cruise more in Jan than Nov.
Some other interesting things. The agent said that for very popular
lines like RCCL, book 6 to 7 months minimum in advance if possible.
Cruises of Distinction quarantees that if for some reason the
fare is lowered closer to sailing date, then your price will be lowered
to match automatically.
In this case, 5 1/2 months ahead and 2nd seating is gone. 6 months ahead
and barely available.
If you love 2nd seating like us then be cautious of waiting too long
for a popular line. If you like 1st seating or do not care,
then this is no problem. Cabin selection does drop quickly.
It does not look like there is any price advantage at all with waiting,
actually the reverse seems true. If you wait too long you can very
easily pay a little more, or no savings with very poor cabin selection.
As I had mentioned before I had checked
Song of America for late Jan sailing, and the one I checked (26th I think)
had only ONE cabin available on the ship at that moment.
Late bookings will work best on the lines which are having more
difficulty booking their ships. An example probably would be Regency
which puts on a pretty good cruise at many times lower prices.
Harold C.
|
| > Some other interesting things. The agent said that for very popular
> lines like RCCL, book 6 to 7 months minimum in advance if possible.
> Cruises of Distinction quarantees that if for some reason the
> fare is lowered closer to sailing date, then your price will be lowered
> to match automatically.
Any reputable travel agency should do this as a courtesy...
> In this case, 5 1/2 months ahead and 2nd seating is gone. 6 months ahead
> and barely available.
> If you love 2nd seating like us then be cautious of waiting too long
> for a popular line. If you like 1st seating or do not care,
> then this is no problem. Cabin selection does drop quickly.
Just a quick note, most of the time the 2nd seating waitlist is cleared. I
can't guarantee it so don't string me up if you don't clear - but my experience
is that passengers do clear the waitlist. What happens is, the cruise res
will ask the agent 1st or 2nd seating and it is so automatic to say 2nd seating.
So what RCCL seems to be doing now is saying that 2nd seating is waitlisted
(unless you are booking at least 6 months in advance). When FINAL payments
are received, then they start assigning tables and clearing people off the
list. If you are on a waitlist, you won't know for sure if you have cleared
until after you send in your final payment.
> It does not look like there is any price advantage at all with waiting,
> actually the reverse seems true. If you wait too long you can very
> easily pay a little more, or no savings with very poor cabin selection.
> As I had mentioned before I had checked
> Song of America for late Jan sailing, and the one I checked (26th I think)
> had only ONE cabin available on the ship at that moment.
There is definite truth in booking early to get the best rates and best
category selections. I am booking SUITES on the Song of America for Bermuda
in 1994 for more than 1/2 price off. These suites usually go for around $3000
per person and I am booking them for as little as $1250 pp give or take depending
on the week (cruise only rate, not including port tax). Don't wait to book on
popular cruise lines - your deposit is ALWAYS refundable up until final payment
time. The above statement about adjusting rates should apply if there is a
special that results in a price lower than what you are paying.
Janet
|
| As far as getting second seating if on wait list I did not want to
take the chance. We specifically called RCCL and talked with a
supervisor and was told the second seating wait list had a LOT of
people on it. I know that some people will change plans and cancel
etc. up to deposit, but since last year I did not get second seating
at all and it really affected our enjoyment of the cruise I was not
going to take a chance. I would agree that I probably had a decent
chance to get 2nd seating, but since we had flexibility in cruise
date we decided to make sure we were guaranteed 2nd.
Harold C.
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