Hello,

Even after 17 cruises my wife has to know everything about our upcoming cruise on the Volendam's 7/20 B to B to Alaska.

Does anyone know how we can check to see what cabins are still available for this cruise? We would rather not bother our TA with this question.

Any other ideas will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Fred

There are 23... no wait a minute, 22... uh now there are 21...

Just teasing a little. If you're already booked what difference could it make to her to know how many are left? If you haven't booked and there are any left it's time to book. You're very close to the sailing date.

Cheers, Neil

The HAL website dosen't tell you how many cabins are left but it does tell you if the ship is full. I checked on Veendam a couple of weeks ago just out of curiosity and it stated "there are no cabins available for this sailing".

Curious you wouldn't want to bother your TA, are they difficult to deal with? At any rate, this is a great place to ask those questions.

Your T/A can in fact pull up the ship inventory and let you know what's still available. That is unless they have categories in Gty status which means reandom assignment, those you can't count. They just assign them until all the cabins are gone and close the sailing.

Ken, you know those travel agents. They can be a real pain. They might even try selling you travel insurance.

Hello,

Thanks for your prompt responses. We have a very good TA, and he patiently answers all of our questions and requests. In this particular situation we are part of HAL's 3 day sale program with a guarantee. Our TA has been very well taken care of over the years (we have used him or his company for 16 of our 18 cruises), but I really did not want to take up his time on a question like this one.

Thanks again,

Fred

quote:

Originally posted by TrvlPro:
Ken, you know those travel agents. They can be a real pain. They might even try selling you travel insurance.

Neil, I think some folks still think that somehow they pay more through an agent than doing there booking online. (not the OP, and probably not many here on cruise chat), after all, you are not quite in the category of an attorney and you guys work full time in the industry so I think you probably know your stuff!!

Yeah, I was just poking a little fun at the perception that sometimes surfaces about agents.

Fruby, I'm really happy to hear you have a good agent. There are many in the industry. Just like anything else, there are good ones and bad ones. The poke at agents was tongue in cheek, I am one.

Cheers, Neil

quote:

Originally posted by TrvlPro:
I'm really happy to hear you have a good agent. There are many in the industry. Just like anything else, there are good ones and bad ones.

the problem is Neil, that if you do not have alot of experience of travel agents...how do you get to know who is good & who is bad.
Now I am from the uk and have just started this year to use an american agent,who I used for my princess cruise in may but to tell you the truth ,I really don't know if he was good or just ok...I got a decent price for the cruise but I never got onboard credit like some forum members have but then I never knew that some people could get that extra.
So my question is that if you don't know anyone ...how can you tell if your agent is good or bad.
About wanting to know how many cabins are left...its funny its the sort of thing I would want to know even after booking and the reason....it gives you an idea of how full the cruise is.
regards Jack

Neil, don't most ships sail at near 100% capacity? Even a repositioning cruise from say Ft. Lauderdale to Vancouver will lose some at Acapulco, L.A. or San Francisco; but if the marketing department is on the ball the vacancies will be filled as a "coastal cruise".

I don't think I've ever heard anybody say, "gee, we're only at 70% capacity this cruise". With all the retirees able to travel at the drop of a hat I can't imagine any ship sailing at much less than 100%.

Yes? No?

f-mattox, hope you don't mind my jumping in here. Yes the ships pretty much sail at 100% capacity. The days of showing up at the pier on the day of sailing and getting a "good deal" are pretty much gone. Sure, there might be a no show or last minute cancellations.

Jack2007, a good Travel Agent isn't just about what freebies they give you. It's about the service they provide.

Cruise Fanatic, don't mind at all--I love hearing from you professionals.

That's what I thought; there's no point in wondering how full the ship is--It's FULL!

Sorry for missing the questions, been away for a little while. Cruise Fanatic gave a better answer than I'd have come up with anyway, great reply CF, I agree.

Cheers, Neil

quote:

Originally posted by TrvlPro:
Sorry for missing the questions, been away for a little while. Cruise Fanatic gave a better answer than I'd have come up with anyway, great reply CF, I agree.

Cheers, Neil

Dang, Neil, I was beginning to think you had abandoned us!

Nope, thanks for noticing I was gone though. Absence was not cruise related so not worth addressing. Happy to be back though.

Cheers, Neil

quote:

Originally posted by Cruise Fanatic:
Jack2007, a good Travel Agent isn't just about what freebies they give you. It's about the service they provide.

ok...I understand that, but how do you know if an agent gives you good or just moderate service without some sort of guide ?Yes you can probably tell if the service is rotten but sometimes its hard to know who gives great service & great prices.......jack

quote:

Originally posted by f-mattox:
Neil, don't most ships sail at near 100% capacity? With all the retirees able to travel at the drop of a hat I can't imagine any ship sailing at much less than 100%.

Look I hope you don't think I'm being a pain but I got my fourth cruise through a major american cruise clearing house who regularly show offers of over 50% on all sorts of cruises in all catagories & some of these just under a month or two before sailing...so to my eyes it doesn't look like the cruise is really that full especially if they offer over 60% off.As I said before I quite like the idea of a cruise not totally full...for various reasons including less grabbing of seats in the theatre or entertainment bars.
But though I got my cruise from this clearing house I still don't know if I would be better off with a proper cruise travel agent...and as you all know USA is such a huge country where to begin ..........regards jack

Jack, I am an agent at one of those huge clearing houses. There are also a number of traditional T/A's on this board. Great service is not hard to determine, just like poor service, you know it when you get it. There are things the traditional agents provide that I can't. Those little things they do over and above are very important to many who cruise. Sonny recently posted about his agent who spent hours locating outside airfare when a flight was cancelled or delayed (I can't remember all the details). That is above and beyond service. I think Sandy and others here keep an eye on their clients bookings on a regular basis and if it goes down they adjust it and notify their clients, that is above and beyond. Because of the volume of bookings with an agency like the one I work for those little perks are beyond my ability to perform and still keep up with my employers expectations for volume. The clearing houses do have advantages as well. We buy block of cabins (Group space) and sell it individually on thousands of sailing each year. We get rates from some lines below what can be found elsewhere (not on all sailings or lines). Aside from the pricing issues I believe I and many agents in this mass market approach can still provde service at a very high level. Part of that ability is technology. Programming can inform me when to follow up, send docs, notify of itin changes, etc. Things I'd have no ability to do without a great support team including IT people to allow me an auto-pilot approach without the chance of human error in some aspects of my job.

There are very good and very bad internet agencies and online agents. There are, I'm sure very good and very bad traditional agents and agencies. They perform different functions and have different benefits and draw-backs. Everyone has to determine what is the best fit for them. Just like each cruiseline has fans and detractors different agencies do as well. Freestyle dining is not right for everyone, some swear by it. The multitude of choices for who books your cruise is even more varried than the cruiseline choices. That's a good thing, there is a great fit for everyone you just have to find the perfect fit for you. Shop a few of the differnt types of choices out there. When you find an agent that knows their business and shows they care about your wants, needs and lifestyle enough to direct you through asking the right questions to the right cruises and cruiselines you'll know you've found a good one.

Cheers, Neil

Neil, thanks so much for your response, it made very interesting reading and I'm sure that other members will find it of use as well as me.
What I found really useful using an americam agent was the fact that on my princess cruise in europe,I was able to purchase cruise only & get a really good price but all the british cruise agents I enquired to said that I had to have flight included but I found I could do alot better booking myself on one of our low cost airlines.
Now I'm looking at cruises for next year and from what I've read from other members ,it looks like its better to book as far in advance as possible....regards jack

Jack, this year especially, early has been better. The last couple of years the booking for Caribbean were a little soft and last minute pricing was often the best. This year the opposite is true. Last minute sailings are commanding huge pricing and they're still filling the ships. Many of the August 3-5 nighters are selling for more than 7 night itins on better ships were selling for last year. Guess with Baby Boomers retiring last minute bargains are a thing of the past, even with all the new ships being released.

Cheers, Neil