How fast will X-Mas cruise sell out?

[shelly3girls]

We have planned an extended family vacation for the Eastern itinerary cruise 12/24/05. At this point we have 5 rooms reserved. The last family in our group will be using DVC points to book. My SIL is very nervous that they will not be able to get a cat. 8 cabin that sleeps 4 when she is able to reserve 11 months out. DCL and DVC both say not to worry about it, there should definitely be availability that far in advance. What do you think? Are there problems getting the cabins that sleep 4? Will they be able to get main dining? They really want a cat. 8 with main dining.

BTW Renting out the points is not an option for a couple reasons.

 

[outahere]

Have them book exactly what they want now, and pay for the deposit. When the 11 month window for DVC opens up, they can try to get what they want. If they get it through DVC, then cancel the one with the deposit paid for in cash. That way they're assured they get what they want, and if they cancel the "cash" reservation at 11 months, they will get a full refund.

Just a thought.............

 

[shelly3girls]

I thought of doing that, but to be honest if they could not use DVC they just would not go with us. They would cruise at another time.

 

[tkd lisa]

They could still get their deposit back, even if they flat out cancel. As long as they can afford to have their deposit out for the timeframe in question, they lose nothing by booking now.

 

[shelly3girls]

I am not sure how having a cash reservation would help them though. It cannot be converted to a DVC reservation, right? They will only go if the can use the DVC (her mother is paying for part of the cruise by transfering them points).

 

[kcashner]

It's not hard to get a cabin that sleeps 4. The best idea I can give you is that right now (Feb) there is still availability for the 10 night Christmas 2004 cruise. There should be availability at 11 months out for 2005. I'd book as soon as her 11 month window opens though.....there is no downside to booking with cash now, and cancelling that when she gets the DVC reservation.

Another option would be to rent out her DVC points and sail on cash. You can do this thru the DVC section of the boards. It's frequently cheaper to cruise on cash!

 

[Grumpy's Mom]

There are a bunch of us Dis'ers who cruised this past Christmas - we booked a "guaranty" Cat 8 in August, and I thought we were the last to book. One other family booked in October. I think they ended up with a Cat 5, as the others were all gone. We tried to upgrade to a 5, 6 or 7 at port, and we were told the ship was full.
I would go with the suggestion above to make the reservation and pay the deposit, then see where they are at 60 days out -

edited to add that both families have 4 members --

 

[shelly3girls]

Thank you all for your advice. It does sound like they should be ok to book 11 months out. They really want a cat. 8, but would bump up to a 6 if they needed too. It sounds from Grumpy's Mom's experience that they should be fine.