Airlines Often Oversell Flights. Do Cruise Lines Do The Same?

How to find the best price, perks when booking a cruise

Find the cruise that works for your budget with these tips.

• Cruise lines, like airlines, sometimes overbook sailings, potentially leading to passengers being bumped.
• Passengers bumped from cruises are often offered alternative sailings of the same length at no additional cost, plus compensation for travel disruptions.
• Compensation may include refunds, future cruise credits, cabin upgrades, and onboard credit.

Airlines notoriously oversell flights, expecting a certain number of no-shows, but they aren’t the only travel companies with that practice.

Cruise lines also sometimes overbook sailings, meaning passengers could be bumped from their cruise or even denied boarding. While the U.S. government doesn’t regulate cruise line cancellation policies like airlines, that doesn’t mean guests will be left empty-handed.

“While overbooking in the cruise industry is rare, if the cruise line does send an offer to rebook it is very common for them to provide a list of options available for guests who are willing to either cancel or cancel and rebook,” Joanna Kuther, a travel agent and owner of Port Side Travel Consultants, told USA TODAY.

Here’s what to know.

Yes. The practice is relatively unusual, though Kuther said it has become increasingly common.

“If a guest is a no-show, they are in penalty, so the cruise line is not losing the fare, so I can't understand taking the chance on overbooking just to sail full,” she said in an email.

Kuther said guests who get bumped have "quite a few options" for rebooking. Passengers can typically choose any other sailing of the same length, no matter the price.

“With that, the guest will usually be refunded the amount of the cruise they are missing, as well as no cost for the rebooked cruise, so basically, they are sailing free,” she said. “Cruise lines will also offer a certain amount of money to offset (the) cost of changing air and hotel reservations.”

Cruise lines may also give guests a cabin upgrade for the trouble, if they’re available. “In these cases, flexible travelers can actually make out quite well,” Kuther added.

Even if passengers opt not to reschedule right away, they will likely get a full refund and a future cruise credit to put toward another sailing. She has also seen guests booked in guarantee staterooms – which ensure a certain cabin category but not a specific room – receive offers to switch to a lower category if theirs turns out not to be available as the voyage approaches, in exchange for a refund “above and beyond the difference in price” and onboard credit.

Guaranteed rooms may be assigned months in advance or as little as 48 hours before departure.

While travel insurance can offer many other benefits, being bumped from an oversold cruise typically isn’t covered under trip cancellation or interruption coverage, according to Meghan Walch, Director of Product at InsureMyTrip.

“If the cruise line overbooks, it would likely be their responsibility to reimburse the traveler and make them whole,” she said.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.