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Getting an Upgrade/Bonus Via Tipping?


PaulInPGH
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So I read an interesting article recently about how, at hotels, the old approach of handing the desk clerk $20 at check in can net you upgrades, coupons, bonuses, etc. The article was full of first-hand accounts about this working and people receiving everything from free room upgrades to free dinners in the hotel restaurant, just by tipping and politely asking if any upgrades were available.

 

So this got me to wondering, has anyone ever tried this on a cruise? I have no idea whether the folks checking you in at the port even have power to do things like this. It's not that I am looking for a specific upgrade, but the article was pretty insistant that this strategy works, at least on land. I'd love to hear from anyone who's tried this, successfully or otherwise.

 

Cheers.

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The only thing that it could theoretically accomplish would be a cabin upgrade. The people at check in are really unrelated to the people on the ship. the problem with the upgrade is that most ships sail full and there is no where to move you, ie. its not going to happen on a ship.

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The people at checkin do not have access to a list of unsold cabins, nor the ability to sell them. That's just one of the reasons you cannot just show up at the port and buy a cruise . EM

 

True. They can't do anything. And on every cruise I've been on the Passenger services deck has signs saying that the cruise is full and there are no more rooms.

 

I guess they used to get a lot of "can I get an upgrade?" on the first day. The signs cut that right off.

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The folks who "check you in" are NOT ship employees, despite their uniforms! They are port employees and have no say!!!! They wear different uniforms for each ship they are working that day.

Edited by cb at sea
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So I read an interesting article recently about how, at hotels, the old approach of handing the desk clerk $20 at check in can net you upgrades, coupons, bonuses, etc. The article was full of first-hand accounts about this working and people receiving everything from free room upgrades to free dinners in the hotel restaurant, just by tipping and politely asking if any upgrades were available.

 

Just in the cause of accuracy, what you describe is a bribe, not a tip.

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You will not get an upgrade by "tipping" anyone. As indicated, most ships sail full and any stateroom - upgrade or otherwise - will be far and few between as to availability.

 

If a stateroom would be available, you may be able to obtain it - typically for payment of the current price of the room minus whatever you paid for yours. Highly unlikely it would be free. And that transaction would take place at the guest services desk on board - which is where you would ask - not outside at check-in.

 

No charge upgrades that would occur on boarding day are most typically only available to the cruise lines most loyal customers. And while they may be presented to the guest outside at check-in, they are determined in advance and already in the computer records of the check in agent. in this manner, they are only facilitating the upgrade, not granting it.

Edited by leaveitallbehind
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You will not get an upgrade by "tipping" anyone. As indicated, most ships sail full and any stateroom - upgrade or otherwise - will be far and few between as to availability.

 

If a stateroom would be available, you may be able to obtain it - typically for payment of the current price of the room minus whatever you paid for yours. Highly unlikely it would be free. And that transaction would take place at the guest services desk on board - which is where you would ask - not outside at check-in.

 

No charge upgrades that would occur on boarding day are most typically only available to the cruise lines most loyal customers. And while they may be presented to the guest outside at check-in, they are determined in advance and already in the computer records of the check in agent. in this manner, they are only facilitating the upgrade, not granting it.

 

That all makes sense and is what I suspected. It would have never even occurred to me, except that it is apparently very commonplace in hotels. Maybe I'll try it at our hotel the night before the cruise:)

 

Cheers.

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The only place that it would work would be at the bars. Find a convenient bar on board. Order a drink. Give the Bartender a $20 cash tip and you will probably find that you will get a stiffer drink every time you go to that specific bartender.

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I have this bad habit of booking and paying for the ship cabins and hotel rooms we want. We don't count on 'tipping' :rolleyes: anyone to get more than we bought and paid for. But if that is your style, give it a 'go'. :D

 

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I have this bad habit of booking and paying for the ship cabins and hotel rooms we want. We don't count on 'tipping' :rolleyes: anyone to get more than we bought and paid for. But if that is your style, give it a 'go'. :D

 

 

You are getting to be a rare bird. I get soooo tired of people booking the cheapest room we have and then bugging us for an upgrade when they arrive. It's obnoxious. Want a nice room? Book the room you want. Book the cheapest room we have then show up with the wife and 3 kids and complain that you all can't fit in that 1 King bed room you booked and you want an upgrade??? Sure, I'll upgrade you, but it isn't going to be free - you're going to pay what everyone else is paying for the room you REALLY want. Same for anything else at a restaurant, bar, cruise - PAY FOR WHAT YOU REALLY WANT.

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The only place that it would work would be at the bars. Find a convenient bar on board. Order a drink. Give the Bartender a $20 cash tip and you will probably find that you will get a stiffer drink every time you go to that specific bartender.

 

That's probably not even going to work. Ships have sophisticated portion and serving controls that link to an automated inventory system. So they know exactly how many drinks a bartender is supposed to get out of a bottle of gin. He might however get faster service if the bar is crowded.

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One thing the OP can try (we did this on our Ann. cruise because we couldn't afford a balcony so we originally booked an ov) A couple of weeks before the cruise we started having our Ta call to see if we could get an upsell. The price was always the same. $6,000.oo more then what we had paid. Then on the last day (after we had arrived in our port city) the TA tried one last time and HAL gave us the upsell for $2,000.00. We felt we could afford that so we agreed. Now this was a 30 day cruise so we were happy with the price. Also we were prepared to just have an OV, but a balcony was so wonderful. We spent many happy hours there as we cruised the south pacific.

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So I read an interesting article recently about how, at hotels, the old approach of handing the desk clerk $20 at check in can net you upgrades, coupons, bonuses, etc.

 

Cheers.

 

Those days are gone.

I travel quit a bit and some of what you read was true even 2 or 3 years ago.

The past couple of years, I now receive e-mails from the manager of the hotel or the consierge offering ,albeit discounted, paid upgrades. Received one yesterday for my upcoming trip to Honolulu.

They realized they were missing out on a revenue opportunity.

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Those days are gone.

I travel quit a bit and some of what you read was true even 2 or 3 years ago.

The past couple of years, I now receive e-mails from the manager of the hotel or the consierge offering ,albeit discounted, paid upgrades. Received one yesterday for my upcoming trip to Honolulu.

They realized they were missing out on a revenue opportunity.

 

Agree. They are like blogs suggesting dressing nicely and telling a gate agent it's your birthday will get you a free upgrade on a flight.

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You are getting to be a rare bird. I get soooo tired of people booking the cheapest room we have and then bugging us for an upgrade when they arrive. It's obnoxious. Want a nice room? Book the room you want. Book the cheapest room we have then show up with the wife and 3 kids and complain that you all can't fit in that 1 King bed room you booked and you want an upgrade??? Sure, I'll upgrade you, but it isn't going to be free - you're going to pay what everyone else is paying for the room you REALLY want. Same for anything else at a restaurant, bar, cruise - PAY FOR WHAT YOU REALLY WANT.

 

It's a pleasure reading your post.

For someone who pays for what we want, we sometimes get very tired of those who nag and pester and make themselves such a nuisance (or worse) getting for free what we pay good money for.

 

The 'freebie' game has two sides to the story.

That is not to say we've never been given an upgrade because we have. But it has always been the suggestion of the company, cruise line/hotel...... never our request.

 

 

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From Slidergirl (sorry I've never figured out the double quote)

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by sail7seas viewpost.gif

I have this bad habit of booking and paying for the ship cabins and hotel rooms we want. We don't count on 'tipping' :rolleyes: anyone to get more than we bought and paid for. But if that is your style, give it a 'go'. :D

 

 

You are getting to be a rare bird. I get soooo tired of people booking the cheapest room we have and then bugging us for an upgrade when they arrive. It's obnoxious. Want a nice room? Book the room you want. Book the cheapest room we have then show up with the wife and 3 kids and complain that you all can't fit in that 1 King bed room you booked and you want an upgrade??? Sure, I'll upgrade you, but it isn't going to be free - you're going to pay what everyone else is paying for the room you REALLY want. Same for anything else at a restaurant, bar, cruise - PAY FOR WHAT YOU REALLY WANT.

 

I'm with Sails. I book the room I want. For some unknown reason I follow the rules. If I need a room with two beds that is what I book. Yesterday I booked 4 hotel rooms for a family wedding. They had a choice of 7 different rooms in a hotel where the rooms are pretty darn identical. So, I called the hotel and talked to the reservation guy. I said, "what is the difference" and we went through it. For a mere $10 more I was upgraded to better counter tops (who cares?), free WI-fi, fancier coffee makes, higher floor and get this - free vending machine. Umm, $10 for 4 people with free vending machine. You pretty much get your money back on just everyone getting a soda.

 

That said, when I check into a hotel I always ask politely if there are any free upgrades available. If not, no big deal but it never hurts to ask. Sometimes as a travel member I am entitled to something extra I didn't know about (like my free bottle of water :D). Like Slidergirl, I just don't get why you would book a room that doesn't fit your needs.

 

It would be horrible to show up at a hotel with 4 people and only have room for 2 to sleep. What if everything else is booked. My last trip back from Vancouver to LA I went on line and booked my hotels. We pull into the one in Seattle and the parking lot is a zoo. Cars blocking entry/exit. Come to find out. That hotel is not only booked but quite a few others in the area are also. I talked to one lady who said that was the 10th hotel she had checked and it was only 3pm.

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I see some comments stating that ships always sail full. That is not true.

 

The ships always have some cabins that are not filled even though they say they are sold out. There is a valid reason for this. They need to have the cabins available for moving people who have a problem with their cabin such as plumbing or some other emergency situation.

 

They put the sign on the service desk to discourage some guests from asking for free upgrades and wanting to be moved for some reason that is not critical.

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I see some comments stating that ships always sail full. That is not true.

 

The ships always have some cabins that are not filled even though they say they are sold out. There is a valid reason for this. They need to have the cabins available for moving people who have a problem with their cabin such as plumbing or some other emergency situation.

 

They put the sign on the service desk to discourage some guests from asking for free upgrades and wanting to be moved for some reason that is not critical.

 

That used to be true but I'm not sure it still is. If there is an empty cabin, it likely is because someone didn't show up or cancelled last minute. I think most cruise lines try hard to fill every cabin, every cruise.

 

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