Is this theory true?

[Loonbeam]

(Hits Like button)

Originally Posted by trojangirl90066

I can't stand waiting for an upgrade. It would drive me crazy. My theory is book the cabin you want and you will never be unhappy!

[Pam in CA]

Originally Posted by trojangirl90066

i can't stand waiting for an upgrade. It would drive me crazy. My theory is book the cabin you want and you will never be unhappy!

-- like --

[RickEk]

Originally Posted by FLACRUISER99

They use a dart board to select upgrades!

Originally Posted by chloedmom

Theory is fruitless. There is really no rhyme or reason to upgrades.

Not really. From what I understand, if they need YOUR cabin, they'll offer/give you an upgrade into another category where they have excess inventory.

[KruzPrincess]

I've booked guarantees and gotten the exact category I booked. I've also gotten small upgrades and some fair upgrades. You never know. Now I book the cabin I want so I know I'll be happy with it. I love deals, but I also don't want to hate my cabin location for my whole vacation. I generally only get one vacation a year and I want it to be nice. When I retire I may play the GTY game again as I'll have more time to go (and less money).

[Times Prince]

Originally Posted by houch

We didn't have a guarantee and got a letter last Tuesday that we were upgraded. Our cruise is 2 weeks from today. We had booked an OV on Plaza deck and now have a balcony on Lido deck. Sooooo excited, Thanks Princess!!!!

We feel fortunate as this also happened to us on our Med cruise in 2008. Went from OV on Plaza to balcony on Baja.

The Upgrade Fairy must like you!

[Love.II.Cruise]

Originally Posted by Pam in CA

Never heard that. The only thing that's guaranteed is a BG category cabin. Upgrades are based on supply and demand, and are different for every cruise. It's a gamble.

Originally Posted by trojangirl90066

I can't stand waiting for an upgrade. It would drive me crazy. My theory is book the cabin you want and you will never be unhappy!

Completely agree x2

[Earthworm Jim]

Originally Posted by chloedmom

Theory is fruitless. There is really no rhyme or reason to upgrades.

I highly doubt that. Princess is a big, sophisticated, company, and they don't do anything without a reason. I'm sure there is some kind of system behind who gets upgraded. We just don't know what it is, or have enough information, such as when people booked or how much they paid, to figure out how it would turn out even if we did know what their system is. Which we don't.

[fishin' musician]

It is likely just supply and demand. To me it looks like they intentionally oversell guarantees in certain limited categories as these are used primarily as "come-ons" and they'll just bump them along into subsequent categories. A BG may be advertised at a lower price, but to Princess it is really the same as any other balcony. I'm guessing they sell hundreds of BG guarantees, even though there may be only 4 on the ship. It is reversed/legitimized bait & switch with all switches being "upgrades".

When the balconies are sold-out and someone wants to purchases a balcony, it then becomes time to upgrade those currently in balconies (if there are higher categories remaining).

Smart marketting IMO... fill the ship and please the customer in one feld swoop.

[Earthworm Jim]

Originally Posted by fishin' musician

It is likely just supply and demand. To me it looks like they intentionally oversell guarantees in certain limited categories as these are used primarily as "come-ons" and they'll just bump them along into subsequent categories.

Well, yeah. Of course they oversell and bump people up. The question at hand though is how they determine which people are the ones to get bumped up and which ones will just get what they paid for.

Actually, I think the original OP's question was just whether not being assigned a cabin closer and closer to the cruise is a good sign.

[Pam in CA]

Originally Posted by Earthworm Jim

Well, yeah. Of course they oversell and bump people up. The question at hand though is how they determine which people are the ones to get bumped up and which ones will just get what they paid for.

Actually, I think the original OP's question was just whether not being assigned a cabin closer and closer to the cruise is a good sign.

The computer does the upgrades and assignments based on what is probably a sophisticated algorithm. It's supply and demand but also takes into account capacity (number of people in a cabin, number of people in a fire section), cabin category, cabins marked "Do not upgrade", cabins linked to other nearby cabins, etc. So far as I know, there's no human shuffling markers on a board and deciding who gets what.