Guarantee cabin....double...woo hoo!

My cruise is now just 36 days away and initially I booked the lowest category guarantee obstructed ocean view "OZ". This was because I am travelling on my own this time...poor husband has to work. Anyway, I was thrilled to be allocated P314 unobstructed ocean view. Yesterday I was looking online and found that the price had come down. I phoned my online TA and was able to upgrade to a BE balcony on deck 12 under the Horizon Cafe for no extra charge. According to reviews online this is lovely and quiet. Certainly pays to keep your eye on the price of your cruise.

I am so thrilled.

Sounds great. What ship would that be?

Excellent. Have a great cruise

Interesting that your TA was able to in effect upgrade you to a better category at no extra cost apparently getting around the need to cancel your existing reservation, incur the appropriate cancellation fee and then make a new booking. My on-line TA indicates that is what is required once you get past full payment required date at 75 days.

Not that you probably care at this point but any idea how they got around that?!

Interesting that your TA was able to in effect upgrade you to a better category at no extra cost apparently getting around the need to cancel your existing reservation, incur the appropriate cancellation fee and then make a new booking. My on-line TA indicates that is what is required once you get past full payment required date at 75 days.

Interesting that your TA was able to in effect upgrade you to a better category at no extra cost apparently getting around the need to cancel your existing reservation, incur the appropriate cancellation fee and then make a new booking. My on-line TA indicates that is what is required once you get past full payment required date at 75 days.

 

Not that you probably care at this point but any idea how they got around that?!

We have used the same online TA for probably 30 of our cruises. I don't know Princess rules as we don't cruise with them much, but all the other cruise lines allow you to upgrade at no cost after final payment. The stipulation obviously that what you are upgrading to costs the same as you paid initially. In this case I have no idea if our loyalty to the online TA allowed me to upgrade or if Princess just said OK. We have been very happy over the years with the service from our online TA....there is always OBC and in most cases prepaid gratuities.

Possibly your TA just couldn't be bothered going to bat for you....which is sad.

Interesting that your TA was able to in effect upgrade you to a better category at no extra cost apparently getting around the need to cancel your existing reservation, incur the appropriate cancellation fee and then make a new booking. My on-line TA indicates that is what is required once you get past full payment required date at 75 days.

 

Not that you probably care at this point but any idea how they got around that?!

Not all free upgrades are based on canceling and rebooking. ;)

So glad you got a great cabin deal! Enjoy your cruise!

I have a cruise coming up that the price dropped after final payment.

Currently a balcony is $50pp more than we paid for our inside.

I called to see about changing and was told that the current pricing is for new bookings only and I would have to about $450pp to upgrade.

This is a direct booking with Princess.

So much for booking in advance with Princess...

I have a cruise coming up that the price dropped after final payment.

Currently a balcony is $50pp more than we paid for our inside.

I called to see about changing and was told that the current pricing is for new bookings only and I would have to about $450pp to upgrade.

 

This is a direct booking with Princess.

 

So much for booking in advance with Princess...

This is where an excellent TA could be of some assistance. ;)

We have been able to secure a few refunds after final without having to rebook a new res.

This is where an excellent TA could be of some assistance. ;)

We have been able to secure a few refunds after final without having to rebook a new res.

We would never dream of booking through the cruiseline directly. A good TA has some persuasive powers and that is what happened to me as my TA had me on hold for 10 mins and came on the phone to apologize saying that Princess said the upgrade I wanted was for new bookings only. She told me to bear with her and after 21 minutes she had my upgrade for me.

Love the line agency we are with!

Hi Everyone,

Please review our Guidelines carefully.

Quoting a portion of our guidelines:

"...There shall be no third-party recommendation (whether positive or negative in tone) of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted.

Touting of your personal cruise agent or cruise line "personal cruise consultant" (or any other venue by which you purchase a cruise) is not allowed on our message boards. Postings that contain "tell them John sent you" will be removed without notice.

This means you should not ask about someone's travel agent, nor should you respond in kind. Offering to email someone your travel agent's name or info is also not allowed, nor is asking members to email you for the information.

It also means you cannot post links (Or Hints) to travel agencies, no matter what the specific reason.

Cruise Critic will remove violations of the "third-party recommendation" guideline without warning...

Please do not reply to this post. If you have any questions, feel free to email me by clicking on the link below. Thank you for your understanding.

My cruise is now just 36 days away and initially I booked the lowest category guarantee obstructed ocean view "OZ". This was because I am travelling on my own this time...poor husband has to work. Anyway, I was thrilled to be allocated P314 unobstructed ocean view. Yesterday I was looking online and found that the price had come down. I phoned my online TA and was able to upgrade to a BE balcony on deck 12 under the Horizon Cafe for no extra charge. According to reviews online this is lovely and quiet. Certainly pays to keep your eye on the price of your cruise.

 

I am so thrilled.

Happy to hear about the upgrade. Your avatar has two flags. The top one I know is your country’s flag. Is the second flag the flag of BC?

Is the second flag the flag of BC?

It's not BC...they have a real beauty with the British Union, blue & white waves, & the sun. We spent 18 days there in 1981.

It is the flag of Scotland.

Steve

Is the second flag the flag of BC?

It's not BC...they have a real beauty with the British Union, blue & white waves, & the sun. We spent 18 days there in 1981.

It is the flag of Scotland.

Steve

I was born in Scotland and spent my first 30 years there....the rest in BC, which I absolutely love. Gorgeous place to live.

If we ever leave New Hampshire I'd choose BC. We have a friend still in Ucluelet.

Nice upgrade :)

My cruise is in about 11 days and I am still waiting to hear what stateroom I will get. I booked a guaranteed balcony.