Have you tried not being junior? (Just joking!)

What fleet are you on? I’m guessing NB

you can go on the trade board and look how often people are being used and on what days are most common.

on the 22nd (I think) you can call the future desk to move day. Have a plan, go on trade board, click on pool display , they will move days if your reserve day is positive (green). There are some rules associated with it like no smaller than 3 days in a block.

Bid a line - reserve often goes senior and even people deep down might get a line especially in quieter months.

Dont try sit short call from home (yes ppl have done this to Thor deteriment)

choose a hotel or your liking and gather points fo stays. We get discounts on hotels in the area im sure.

with aggressive pick up you can often avoid hotels, I’d try that before a crash pad but thats me