Never waitlisted before - question(s)

[cobbler]

I have never had to use the waitlist before because I have always booked home or booked what I wanted at 7 months out.

Today is my 7 month for trip 12/29 - 1/3 and am at SSR. Up until yesterday there was full availability at AKL-K Savannah view 2bdrm villa so I was pretty excited thinking I would have no issues getting it. That and we got it last year over NYE vacation so...

Well of course last night Monday night the 1st becomes unavailable for our stay but the rest of the nights are. Odd that it is just one random Monday night I can't get.

Get on this morning and Sunday and Monday are now gone but Friday & Saturday night are (12-29-12/30) available and Tuesday night the 2nd is.

Now, I have a waitlist for the entire stay and I have been reading up on the stalking vs waitlist so I will do that. BUT here are my questions(finally). Is it better to waitlist that Sunday and Monday and book Friday and Saturday night and risk having to do a split stay? Meaning are the chances that Sunday and Monday will come through far better than the entire stay?

Also, I am wanting to book home (SSR) for princess half weekend. To do both of these trips (NY and Princess) I need to buy 1 time use points in the amount of 15 points. I'm concerned if I book for Princess they won't even attempt to match my waitlist as I know it won't trigger that option BUT can I at 7 months buy the one time use points so I have some in reserve for the potential NY waitlist?

See, now if the stupid random Monday wouldn't have disappeared just freaking yesterday - lol - my plans would work out perfectly but nooooo.

 

[Marionnette]

I have never had to use the waitlist before because I have always booked home or booked what I wanted at 7 months out.

Today is my 7 month for trip 12/29 - 1/3 and am at SSR. Up until yesterday there was full availability at AKL-K Savannah view 2bdrm villa so I was pretty excited thinking I would have no issues getting it. That and we got it last year over NYE vacation so...

Well of course last night Monday night the 1st becomes unavailable for our stay but the rest of the nights are. Odd that it is just one random Monday night I can't get.

Get on this morning and Sunday and Monday are now gone but Friday & Saturday night are (12-29-12/30) available and Tuesday night the 2nd is.

Now, I have a waitlist for the entire stay and I have been reading up on the stalking vs waitlist so I will do that. BUT here are my questions(finally). Is it better to waitlist that Sunday and Monday and book Friday and Saturday night and risk having to do a split stay? Meaning are the chances that Sunday and Monday will come through far better than the entire stay?

Also, I am wanting to book home (SSR) for princess half weekend. To do both of these trips (NY and Princess) I need to buy 1 time use points in the amount of 15 points. I'm concerned if I book for Princess they won't even attempt to match my waitlist as I know it won't trigger that option BUT can I at 7 months buy the one time use points so I have some in reserve for the potential NY waitlist?

See, now if the stupid random Monday wouldn't have disappeared just freaking yesterday - lol - my plans would work out perfectly but nooooo.

Waitlists are more likely to come thru for 1- or 2-night stays than they are for an entire week. This is especially true during a high-demand time like Christmas week. Since you're permitted 2 waitlists, it would be better to book what's available and then waitlist the holes. It's always a crap shoot and you may very well end up without getting your waitlist filled.

When it comes to OTUPs, you have to make a reservation with them when they are purchased and it has to be inside of your 7-month booking window. Some people will make a reservation using OTUPs and then cancel it so that they have the points in their account for the sole purpose of using them later. However, OTUP cannot be used to fill a waitlist. You could ask MS to reallocate the OTUPs to the 12/29-12/30 reservation (because it was made inside the 7-month window) and that would free up your regular points to fill the waitlist if it should come through. But I don't know if that will work. Perhaps someone with more experience can answer that?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

You've got an overlap into Christmas week AND marathon week. So that's the challenge you may see.