Upgrade Offers

About to embark - 2 weeks away -on our 16th Seabourn cruise of which at least 8 to 10 have been booked as Verandah Guarantees. We've never ended up with a V1 despite that being the guaranteed level and always an higher grade suite including 2 very high level suites on shorter cruises. Couple of times under the pool area decking but that's another thread and it's never bothered us.

I've just had, from my TA, an email offering me upgrades to V5/6, Penthouse or Wintergarden suites at increasingly higher additional costs. I've never had that offer in any of the 15 previous cruises.

I'd be interested to know CCers' views on what it all means. For my part I'll decline the offer on the basis (but not guarantee I know) that our past experiences will be repeated.

With the Australian website showing availability in all suites my own thought is that they have oversold the Guarantees and are hoping to entice some holders of that booking category to commit or are they full in V1 bookings and looking to claw back on the higher grades before having to assign them anyway.

Interested in any thoughts, interpretations or speculations.

I don't think I can shed much light on why the paid upgrade offer has been made, other than it is possibly a marketing ploy to try to extract a few more dollars from you to secure a particular cabin category. I would have made the same decision as you - having booked as a guarantee and happy with whatever cabin is allocated, I wouldn't pay more in the final weeks to select a specific category. Have a wonderful cruise!

As long as you are ready to accept whatever suite you are assigned and will not complain if an upgrade does not come through, you are among the right decision. It sounds a bit like you have come to expect the upgrades as a matter of course which they are not.

We have booked specific V5 suites on our 2 big sister cruises and we also tried a guarantee on the Legend, where there are no real verandas anyway and where we were pleasantly surprised with nice mid-ship location, which we prefer. About 3 weeks prior to the cruises where we booked specific suites, we were offered an upgrade at significantly higher cost. I really don't understand this. I mean, if we wanted to pay more for a different location, we would have done so from the beginning. Maybe they are hoping people will have a last-minute change of mind or even might think they are being offered some kind of bargain.

I received the same e-mail for the 9/1-9/11 cruise on the Quest. While toying with the offer, I had the same thought about over-booking.

mp

Wripro

After 15 cruises and Platinum membership whilst I don't expect an upgrade what I do expect is that if there are any going, and there usually are, I expect to get one of them. That's what a loyalty programme is supposed to be about not the discount on the wines or free internet and laundry.

Wripro

After 15 cruises and Platinum membership whilst I don't expect an upgrade what I do expect is that if there are any going, and there usually are, I expect to get one of them. That's what a loyalty programme is supposed to be about not the discount on the wines or free internet and laundry.

I wouldn't count on it, we are also Platinum members and on our last cruise on the Pride, two newbie couples to Seabourn were both upgraded to the Owners suites midships, we got what we paid for, not that we were looking to upgrade, but it would have been nice to be asked.

I wouldn't count on it, we are also Platinum members and on our last cruise on the Pride, two newbie couples to Seabourn were both upgraded to the Owners suites midships, we got what we paid for, not that we were looking to upgrade, but it would have been nice to be asked.

...........I agree with Prunella. Ive met loads of newbies onboard who got fantastic upgrades despite booking the lowest category guarantee. Many of them received Penthouse suites. I emailed SB asking their logic and they basically replied that it's a random suite allocation.

It seems that the way the upgrade allocations have been offered it's a negative for Seabourn. Like other posters, we are Platinum and have never been offered an upgrade. If SB want to create goodwill and reward their longstanding members then the policy should be to OFFER upgrades (with a nominated suite) according to status. I can see why they don't want to go through the process of waiting for someone to accept and would rather just allocate, but there are sometimes reasons why an upgrade will not be suitable/preferred in a specific location. Given we start from a V6 and have already been prepared to pay the premium for that the system is difficult to understand.

My guess is that Seabourn knows they already have our loyalty, and are looking to turn newbies into loyal Seabourn-ites as well. I'll let you know if we get offered a free upgrade on our 3rd Seabourn cruise next year.

I am a diamond member and do not want an upgrade as I book a specific suite.

I do not care whether others get an upgrade or what they have paid,all I care about is the suite that I am sailing in.

I cannot see why others are bothered by what people have booked and if they receive an upgrade.

Wripro

After 15 cruises and Platinum membership whilst I don't expect an upgrade what I do expect is that if there are any going, and there usually are, I expect to get one of them. That's what a loyalty programme is supposed to be about not the discount on the wines or free internet and laundry.

Unfortunately, it does not work that way. Days sailed do not determine whether you will get an upgrade. Seems more like a lottery to me. You buy your ticket by booking a guarantee and take your chances. So far you have won each time but there's still no guarantee. You should not "expect" to get a guarantee any more than you should expect to win the lottery. As MrL says there are many diamond members around who would get all the upgrades if that were the system.

We have had similar experiences with another luxury cruise line. As we all know, with a guarantee you pays your money and you takes your chances. And, usually it works out pretty good. We have taken upgrades to a substantially better cabin at the last minute for a real discount compared to what others paid - but if the upgrade offer wasn't good enough we just passed. We will usually go Mr. Luxury's route and be sure of the cabin, but if we are interested in a particular cruise/itinerary where the cabin selection is not available but a G is, then we will go that route. Jeff

As long as you are ready to accept whatever suite you are assigned and will not complain if an upgrade does not come through, you are among the right decision. It sounds a bit like you have come to expect the upgrades as a matter of course which they are not.

Today, I got the offer to purchase an upgrade. I will stick with my guarantee. I expect to get a V1 and should I get assigned to something else I will be pleasantly surprised and appreciative. I don't even care if I get a room with a smaller balcony since I do not plan to spend a lot of time sitting on it.

An upgrade offer is not the same as an automatic upgrade - if you book a specific suite you may be given what is called an automatic upgrade if you did not tick the 'no automatic upgrade' box. They will tell you what suite it is, and you have no choice but to accept. An upgrade offer is obviously where you are asked if you wish to pay more to be in a higher grade suite than the one you booked, and I think you can find out which suite it would be before deciding. A guarantee means that you will be put in a suite, with no choice, of at least the guarantee grade you paid for.

I think I have got these facts right! We have once not been asked by our agent whether we wanted an automatic upgrade, were given one, and did not like where it was on the ship. We were told that someone else was already to be in the suite we chose, so we could not have it! Someone else has said the same on this board. In the end we did manage to have a better spot on the ship, thanks to the nice staff we knew when we boarded, but were a bit cross about the whole thing.

I don't really care for this DYKWIA attitude about club status and therefore having a right over anyone else to an upgrade. As a Platinum member you receive plenty of "free" amenities and surely that is Seabourns way of recognising loyalty. Plus there are many more members that have diamond status and would have sailed many more days. Not that I think this plays any part in allocating suites. It is a lottery!

We have unfortunately been victims of this "buying upgrades" fiasco. On our cruise last year we had booked a specific suite, probably at least a year in advance. In the weeks running up to the cruise upgrades were offered including our specific suite! How did I know? It was offered and taken by one of our friends, who called us to tell us of their good fortune. They did not know what suite we were in. We had booked through different TA's. We had never ticked any box to request an automatic upgrade and neither did our TA.

We spent several days whilst it was sorted out, not knowing if we would go on the cruise as if we weren't allowed that suite then we would not go on the cruise. The cruise was too long for us to accept something different.

Seabourn are very good at putting their hands up and accepting something has gone wrong and sorting it accordingly.

My brother and I booked a Pride Caribbean cruise a few years ago. We booked through my Seabourn agent ~I requested Suite # 137 ~he booked a balcony cat. The Miami agent called me and said, "we have good news....your brother has been assigned Suite 05 and your Suite will be #137 as requested." As my dear brother did not cruise Seabourn as often as I did I thought, "yep, the fishing pole with the lure has been thrown in the river!":p

We had a great, enjoyable bubba and sissy cruise ~

MB

Jimmyw9 - I think the problem is that you have to actually get the 'no automatic upgrade' box ticked, otherwise it is assumed you would like one! And though some travel agents may remember to ask you, some certainly do not, as you and we have found. I have a feeling that these agents think you will be very impressed with them if you are offered an upgrade, thinking that it is the agent who is responsible.

Jimmyw9 - I think the problem is that you have to actually get the 'no automatic upgrade' box ticked, otherwise it is assumed you would like one! And though some travel agents may remember to ask you, some certainly do not, as you and we have found. I have a feeling that these agents think you will be very impressed with them if you are offered an upgrade, thinking that it is the agent who is responsible.

Our TA knows exactly what we want and do not want and assured us that it should not have happened. Where would they have upgraded us to??? We were in a OW and all of the suites above were already taken. There were other OW available but we consider those to be less desirable (600 & 601).

I have some ideas as to where they could upgrade you to. And maybe your TA does too. Come to think of it, I had better take those thoughts offline...

Happy sailing!

Jimmyw9 - I think the problem is that you have to actually get the 'no automatic upgrade' box ticked, otherwise it is assumed you would like one! And though some travel agents may remember to ask you, some certainly do not, as you and we have found. I have a feeling that these agents think you will be very impressed with them if you are offered an upgrade, thinking that it is the agent who is responsible.

lincslady

I think you missed my point, how could our suite be offered for upgrade when we had not been moved and could not possibly except to a lower category or less desirable suite at the same level (600 & 601).

jimmyw9

lincslady

 

I think you missed my point, how could our suite be offered for upgrade when we had not been moved and could not possibly except to a lower category or less desirable suite at the same level (600 & 601).

 

jimmyw9

I don't think I 'missed your point' as you did not say you had booked an Owner's Suite.

A corollary jimmyw9 - either I am a bit thick, or you did not explain your position in your post very clearly. However, I now realise that you could indeed have been 'forcibly' upgraded, as the Wintergarden suites on the new ships are more expensive that the Owner's ones. Is that what was about to happen?

Today, I got the offer to purchase an upgrade. I will stick with my guarantee. I expect to get a V1 and should I get assigned to something else I will be pleasantly surprised and appreciative. I don't even care if I get a room with a smaller balcony since I do not plan to spend a lot of time sitting on it.

I had booked a Veranda guaranteed. Was assigned a V2 with an $99 upgrade option. I called and am now upgraded to a V6 on deck 8. I think it was a good deal!