How do upgrades work on RCI?

I recently got a great deal on an inside cabin as a solo traveler on Liberty's TA for this October. This will be my first time on RCI and only my second cruise.

Since I've been keeping an eye on this board, I've noticed folks mentioning going to Guest Services once they get on the ship to see if an upgrade is available. Does this work? I also assume that RCI does upswell offers as the cruise date approaches. Am I correct in this assumption?

I'm perfectly happy with my inside cabin that I've booked, but if there is a balcony cabin available that I could snag for a few hundred extra -- this is certainly something I'd be interested in.

I recently got a great deal on an inside cabin as a solo traveler on Liberty's TA for this October. This will be my first time on RCI and only my second cruise.

 

Since I've been keeping an eye on this board, I've noticed folks mentioning going to Guest Services once they get on the ship to see if an upgrade is available. Does this work? I also assume that RCI does upswell offers as the cruise date approaches. Am I correct in this assumption?

 

I'm perfectly happy with my inside cabin that I've booked, but if there is a balcony cabin available that I could snag for a few hundred extra -- this is certainly something I'd be interested in.

Just keep monitoring the prices on RC's website.

I don't know anyone who has gone to GS after boarding and gotten an upgrade by asking.

My sense is that Carnival is much more into the upsells than RCCL.

Best bet is to check every day for price drops.

Keep your fingers crossed and pray to the upgrade fairy daily.

Most cruises I have sailed on have a sign "We are sailing at full capacity no upgrades available."

I recently got a great deal on an inside cabin as a solo traveler on Liberty's TA for this October. This will be my first time on RCI and only my second cruise.

 

Since I've been keeping an eye on this board, I've noticed folks mentioning going to Guest Services once they get on the ship to see if an upgrade is available. Does this work? I also assume that RCI does upswell offers as the cruise date approaches. Am I correct in this assumption?

 

I'm perfectly happy with my inside cabin that I've booked, but if there is a balcony cabin available that I could snag for a few hundred extra -- this is certainly something I'd be interested in.

I have never seen an upgrade from GS at time of sailing. At one time years ago you would see upgrades done at the pier by the pier coordinator but that has gone by the wayside also. Now they sell their ships pretty much full before hand.

I did have a call once for an upsell about 6 months ago which was the first time ever in over 10 years of sailing RCI.

Upsells with NCL you can call them and give them an offer. That doesn't work with Royal. They call will you, and that is far few and between. Really only heard it happening very rarely.

How about if you book an OV guarantee? Any upgrades known to happen in this case?

We won't get our cabin assignment until final payment, early Aug., so have no idea where we will be. Last I looked there were no OV cabins available, but there were still balconies.

I recently got a great deal on an inside cabin as a solo traveler on Liberty's TA for this October. This will be my first time on RCI and only my second cruise.

 

Since I've been keeping an eye on this board, I've noticed folks mentioning going to Guest Services once they get on the ship to see if an upgrade is available. Does this work? I also assume that RCI does upswell offers as the cruise date approaches. Am I correct in this assumption?

 

I'm perfectly happy with my inside cabin that I've booked, but if there is a balcony cabin available that I could snag for a few hundred extra -- this is certainly something I'd be interested in.

I don't think there are many balconies left on that cruise. A lot of balcony was sold in March due to RCCL added the alcohol package for free.

There is a rollcall for this cruise. Have a look at it

A friend on Independence had an inside cabin for the first time and could not cope with it as she was a smoker . After a couple of nights she went to Guest services to enquire about upgrading to a balcony and paid to move, £400 If I remember correctly.

This was on a 12 night cruise out of Southampton a couple of years ago.

I have been told of another couple who we know that on arriving on board they will visit Guest services and put their credit card down on the counter asking for any available upgrades. Don't know how successful they have been in doing that.

If cabins are available they will sell them to you .

How about if you book an OV guarantee? Any upgrades known to happen in this case?

We won't get our cabin assignment until final payment, early Aug., so have no idea where we will be. Last I looked there were no OV cabins available, but there were still balconies.

We once received a balcony when we booked an OV gty so it does happen.

Currently we have an OV gty on Adventure for September, keeping my fingers and everything else crossed for lightening to strike twice :D.

I have never seen an upgrade from GS at time of sailing. At one time years ago you would see upgrades done at the pier by the pier coordinator but that has gone by the wayside also. Now they sell their ships pretty much full before hand.

 

I did have a call once for an upsell about 6 months ago which was the first time ever in over 10 years of sailing RCI.

 

Upsells with NCL you can call them and give them an offer. That doesn't work with Royal. They call will you, and that is far few and between. Really only heard it happening very rarely.

When passengers would call NCL about upsell offers, it was generally NCL that made the offer. Sometimes people would counter-offer, but not only occasionally successfully. Rarely would NCL entertain a direct offer from a passenger. These days and partly because so many people were calling the cruise line's small upsell department starting months before a cruise date to ask/beg/plead for an upsell, it's more a "don't call us, we might call you" sort of thing.

beachchick

We just upgraded from an ocean view to a balcony guarantee for our cruise in September. When I upgraded they told me that there were only 7 balcony guarantee rooms left. He also said there was the possibility that we may get put in a Jr Suite if they run out of balconies.

How does this work? What scenario would make them upgrade us to a Jr Suite and what are the chances of this with only 6 balcony guarantee rooms left?

Paul

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They do sell upgrades both at the pier and after boarding, but there has to be availability. Most sailings now seem to be near capacity, due to aggressive marketing efforts (read price drops) as it gets closer to sailing.

When I was on the Grandeur last year, we had booked an inside initially for the next cruise, which was a 3-day from Panama to Colon. It had gone on sale 2 months out for $99 ea. Then a few weeks later, balconies dropped to $119 ea and we jumped on that. Finally, while on board during the 7-day cruise we found out that they had less than 700 passengers booked for the repo, so we went down to Guest Services to inquire about a complimentary upgrade to a JS. They couldn't offer it to us because they were planning on making the offers for upsells at the pier. They did offer to "see what they could do" after the boarding process completed.

I heard plenty of upgrade stories on that cruise. One guy paid $500 once on board to upgrade from a JS to a GS and then negotiated an additional upgrade to an OV. One guy was given his boarding card for his inside and before he got to the machine to "ding" in, they upgraded him to a balcony ... so his card didn't work and he had to go back to find out why.

And yes, we did get our complimentary upgrade, but there were plenty of others who were lobbying for them -- we just had a jump on them.