They've oversold our cruise! And we got the offer!

[Gold Member]

From my experience this doesn't happen. They simply keep increasing their offer until enough numbers accept. But it can be stressful if you are booked guarantee and they don't allocate a cabin to the last minute.

I find it amazing that most (?) Cruise lines treat their customers like real customers and seemingly go out of their way to ensure that they are appropriately reimbursed and looked after in an oversold scenario. In complete contrast and as mentioned upthread, our National Carrier goes out of their way to ensure you adopt the Tax Payer position and cop it hard.

How do the airlines and hotel chains get away with this type of behaviour but the cruise lines don’t/can’t? Sure, there are comparable earlier/later flights, alternate hotels etc (but that doesn’t justify their actions or reimbursement policies), whereas it’s pretty difficult to swap out to a similar cruise on another line on the same day at short notice. Perhaps it’s also due to the disproportionately strong relationships with and reliance on Travel Agencies which have a much greater influence on repeat customer patronage.

I’m not a fan of how Cruise lines nickel and dime you onboard either, but that’s a small price to pay given the generous treatment under IRROPS compared to the Airlines.

 

[jase05]

If it was me I’d stick with my balcony cabin and the better dining and position. You got a really good deal and were happy with that before the offer came through.

This would be my thoughts too.
Whilst the other deals sound ok I’m one of those that would be happy to stick to what I’ve got plus Mrs Jase would kill me if I ever booked another cruise with no balcony

 

[love_the_life]

The downsides as I see it are you give up an AQ cabin with Blu which is so much better than the MDR in my opinion. MrLtL hated the MDR “barn”. Also the access to the Persian Garden which is pleasant and I did use it last time on X. Also smaller cabin and no balcony and little control maybe on location.
Upsides? The $.

 

[Cruise Luxury]

I find it amazing that most (?) Cruise lines treat their customers like real customers and seemingly go out of their way to ensure that they are appropriately reimbursed and looked after in an oversold scenario. In complete contrast and as mentioned upthread, our National Carrier goes out of their way to ensure you adopt the Tax Payer position and cop it hard.

How do the airlines and hotel chains get away with this type of behaviour but the cruise lines don’t/can’t? Sure, there are comparable earlier/later flights, alternate hotels etc (but that doesn’t justify their actions or reimbursement policies), whereas it’s pretty difficult to swap out to a similar cruise on another line on the same day at short notice. Perhaps it’s also due to the disproportionately strong relationships with and reliance on Travel Agencies which have a much greater influence on repeat customer patronage.

I’m not a fan of how Cruise lines nickel and dime you onboard either, but that’s a small price to pay given the generous treatment under IRROPS compared to the Airlines.

Yeah, totally different mindset for cruise lines versus airlines. For the most part cruise lines try to treat passengers well with retention in mind.

 

[Pushka]

For the cruise dummies, what is the attraction of this cruise. How does Sakura make this THE cruise to be on?

Well, it's cherry blossom time. But it's also spring. Weather is much nicer than June - August due to high heat and humidity. Most cruise lines only travel to Japan from March through to Sept Oct? Then they are off elsewhere.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 4:38 PM

This would be my thoughts too.
Whilst the other deals sound ok I’m one of those that would be happy to stick to what I’ve got plus Mrs Jase would kill me if I ever booked another cruise with no balcony

ANOTHER? Oh. That's good intel then.

 

[jase05]

ANOTHER? Oh. That's good intel then.

Our first and only cruise to date there were no balcony rooms left so we settled for an oceanview room and Mrs Ja$e felt so claustrophobic and said NEVER again.
Few have an Alaskan cruise in July and balcony room was non negotiable but dependant on how that goes will determine if that’s the end of our cruising life or not

 

[Pushka]

Our first and only cruise to date there were no balcony rooms left so we settled for an oceanview room and Mrs Ja$e felt so claustrophobic and said NEVER again.
Few have an Alaskan cruise in July and balcony room was non negotiable but dependant on how that goes will determine if that’s the end of our cruising life or not

Alaska cruises are fabulous.

 

[drron]

The other thing about cruising Japan in sakura time is that you have your accommodation and meals already paid for. And traveling on land is the most expensive and crowded time for traveling around Japan.

 

[RooFlyer]

The other thing about cruising Japan in sakura time is that you have your accommodation and meals already paid for. And traveling on land is the most expensive and crowded time for traveling around Japan.

And, I'm guessing, that if the season is earlier or later than expected, you are moving right along the length of the country so guaranteed to see the best at some spot.

 

[Quickstatus]

you are moving right along the length of the country so guaranteed to see the best at some spot.

See the Sakura from ship or need to do a shore excursion?

 

[RooFlyer]

See the Sakura from ship or need to do a shore excursion?

Dunno, never done it but I imagine they don't just sail around the islands.

BTW Osaka Castle by a friend of mine in Japan right now

 

[Pushka]

See the Sakura from ship or need to do a shore excursion?

You can see Fuji from the ship. The rest? Take a hike.

 

[DC3]

And all that you can eat.

 

[love_the_life]

From my experience this doesn't happen. They simply keep increasing their offer until enough numbers accept. But it can be stressful if you are booked guarantee and they don't allocate a cabin to the last minute.

Interesting as I read about a number of pax who were bumped on a cruise out of Australia - could have been domestic. Maybe Carnival - was in the media from memory and maybe last season?

 

[Pushka]

And all that you can eat.

And drink. Anyways I'm calling them tomorrow. To ask questions only. It's an online thing.

 

[Cruise Luxury]

Interesting as I read about a number of pax who were bumped on a cruise out of Australia - could have been domestic. Maybe Carnival - was in the media from memory and maybe last season?

Yeah, there was one significant one with Royal Caribbean out of Brisbane a little while back, but is overall very rare.

It might be slightly more prevalent on bigger ships, but on anything mid-sized or lower any last minute bumping is more likely due to significant plumbing or electrical issues, rather than overbooking.

The other form of bumping that does occur is when a cruise line decides to charter a sailing to a third party after it has already sold some space. This usually occurs a fair way out (12 months or more) but is still annoying, as it is forced (you can't just stay with your booking).