Has anyone declined an upgrade? Is this an option??

[drumline13]

Quick question: We booked a specific Caribe balcony (NOT a GTY cabin) for an upcoming cruise. We booked this type of cabin because we like the partially covered large balcony.

 

My TA asked if I wanted to be available for an upgrade, and I said, "Yes", primarily because she told me that I can decline the upgrade when it is offered. Is this true? If I am offered a mini-suite as an upgrade to my Caribe balcony, do I have the option to decline it and stick with the original Caribe balcony cabin? Or, do I automatically have to accept the upgrade to the new room?

 

If we receive an upgrade to an Emerald mini-suite (covered balcony), we will probably accept it, but if we receive an upgrade to a Dolphin mini (open balcony), we may want to decline it. Has anyone ever declined an upgrade?

[Colo Cruiser]

Quick question: We booked a specific Caribe balcony (NOT a GTY cabin) for an upcoming cruise. We booked this type of cabin because we like the partially covered large balcony.

 

My TA asked if I wanted to be available for an upgrade, and I said, "Yes", primarily because she told me that I can decline the upgrade when it is offered. Is this true? If I am offered a mini-suite as an upgrade to my Caribe balcony, do I have the option to decline it and stick with the original Caribe balcony cabin? Or, do I automatically have to accept the upgrade to the new room?

 

(If we receive an upgrade to an Emerald mini-suite (covered balcony), we would accept it, but if we received an upgrade to a Dolphin mini (open balcony), we may want to decline it. Has anyone ever declined an upgrade?)

 

Yes you can decline it but sometimes the change is made before you are notified and by the time you find out your old cabin is history.

[Toto2Kansas]

If you booked an assigned stateroom, you are 'supposed' to be able to decline an upgrade if you marked your booking as 'will not accept' an upgrade. But if you left yourself open for upgrades, not so sure the same rules apply. At least from what we have experienced.

[BosoxI]

Upgrades have always just appeared, no opportunity to decline them was given. On some cruises I've held my breath, fearing an upgrade to a bad (in my opinion, at least) cabin but hoping against hope that we would finally get put in the OS for a 3 week cruise. That, unfortunately, has not hppened...yet :)

[Aruba]

We have friends who declined an upgrade offer from an obstructed view room to a regular ocean-view room -- at the check-in counter! The reason they declined was because the agent didn't describe the offer that way I just did, but rather offered them an upgrade "from Category XX to Category YY". They didn't know what that meant and he didn't clarify. Why they didn't inquire further I can't say (I hope they're not reading this) but I assume it was because they were tired from the flight.

[paul929207]

I have learned of my upgrades from looking on the cruise personalizer. By that time, the old cabin has probably been re-assigned. If there is even one cabin in any category above the one you booked that you would not be happy with, they you need to mark your reservation Do Not Upgrade.

[-Lew-]

We always specify no upgrades when we book with our TA. We enjoy being in a Caribe deck cabin mid to aft and don't care to give that up to what Princess feels is an upgraded cabin.

 

Lew

[terrierjohn]

Quick question: We booked a specific Caribe balcony (NOT a GTY cabin) for an upcoming cruise. We booked this type of cabin because we like the partially covered large balcony.

 

If you are booked in a Caribe balcony then I would certainly ask your TA to change your booking to "no upgrade".

If you already have a BA cabin then these are the best standard balcony cabins there are, BUT you could be """upgraded""" to a BA on lido, which because it is a higher deck Princess think is better.

Similarly in a BB you could get upped to Riviera, or Aloha, dependant on ship.

You might wish for an Emerald mini suite but you can bet that everyone in those has already marked their reservation as "do not upgrade"

[snowman]

If you are booked in a Caribe balcony then I would certainly ask your TA to change your booking to "no upgrade".

If you already have a BA cabin then these are the best standard balcony cabins there are, BUT you could be """upgraded""" to a BA on lido, which because it is a higher deck Princess think is better.

Similarly in a BB you could get upped to Riviera, or Aloha, dependant on ship.

You might wish for an Emerald mini suite but you can bet that everyone in those has already marked their reservation as "do not upgrade"

You are absolutly right. I snagged a AD mini on Sunday when somone dropped out. I was all over it. And marked my file "No Upgrade"

[steponboard]

Last month on the Island Princess they upgraded me from an obstructed ocean view to an ocean view. The location of the upgrade was all the way forward on Emerald deck so I declined it. My obstructed view was mid ship and convenient to elevators and stairs.

[LuvTheGoodLife]

Our TA advised us to mark our reservation 'Do Not Upgrade' unless we would be happy with any upgrade, any deck. She said while there is supposed to be time for the client to approve/decline the upgrade, that does not always happen and it may be impossible to get the original cabin back.

 

So, if I have selected a cabin which I know I will be happy with and there are other cabins in a higher category which are less appealing, I always mark my reservation as 'Do Not Upgrade'.

[Pythian]

I had a balcony BB that was upgraded to a full suite (PS) on the Sapphire. Princess actually asked us if we would like to be upgraded to the suite, or stay where we were. I think the time lapse for acceptance was only based on the shock effect of the upgrade. BTW, it was really a nice suite on the stern.

 

We have placed ‘decline upgrades’ on a couple of cruises though, especially when snagging a nice balcony on the stern. We have not been selected for upgrade on any that we specified specific deck and suite numbers on, but have gotten a few mini-suite upgrades based on just a couple categories, like a AD to an AA.

 

When in doubt… always request and accept an upgrade.

[fud2468]

We declined an upgrade for our Panama Canal trip on Sea Princess.

We were told that we might be upgraded from an inside cabin to a balcony. We almost had to fight to stay with what we wanted!

Because of motion sckness concerns we did not want the upgrade.

Ray Mac

[cdamion]

As it was explained to me by Princess, if you have a specific stateroom assigned, you are supposed to be notified ahead of time before they upgrade you and you should have time to get back to the stateroom. If you just have a category assigned, they usually can not put you back into the same category.

[mdouc]

i accepted an upgrade and was put in a room in the very front of the ship, bad, bad, bad, big slapping sound all night long, very rocky. my advise book the room you want, midship is the best place to be.

[Pythian]

mdouc:

 

Nope -- aft is BEST... promise. And if forward, the higher the deck the better.

[boating girl]

Have never been visited by the upgrade fairy so don't know what I would do if offered an upgrade on Princess. My upgrades on other lines have always been good ones. I keep thinking maybe this will be the cruise we get an upgrade...............................

[drumline13]

Thanks, everyone, for all of your posts! They are very helpful!

[Sissy Ruth]

We were booked on Caribe for a balcony last year on a round-trip

to Hawaii and 3 days before boarding, we were offered a complimentary

upgrade to a mini-suite on "D" deck where the decks are not covered.

We were thrilled and took it immediately. There is no comparison between a "balcony" and a "mini" in size and everything else, covered

balcony considered. We were never sorry. Weather wasn't that great

and we used the balcony very little, but really enjoyed the larger

suite and the two TV's, etc. Go for it !!:)

[Pam in CA]

The only time I've been "upgraded" was when I'd booked an AD mini-suite next door to my sister and BIL. Princess, in their infinite wisdom, decided that I should be in an AC mini-suite at the very front of the ship... with the entire length of the ship separating us. They did it without my TA's knowing nor was I notified. Fortunately, I was able to get it back because it definitely wasn't an upgrade in any way, shape or form. Since then, I always mark my bookings "Do not upgrade."

[rdsqrl]

Quick question: We booked a specific Caribe balcony (NOT a GTY cabin) for an upcoming cruise. We booked this type of cabin because we like the partially covered large balcony.

 

My TA asked if I wanted to be available for an upgrade, and I said, "Yes", primarily because she told me that I can decline the upgrade when it is offered. Is this true? If I am offered a mini-suite as an upgrade to my Caribe balcony, do I have the option to decline it and stick with the original Caribe balcony cabin? Or, do I automatically have to accept the upgrade to the new room?

 

If we receive an upgrade to an Emerald mini-suite (covered balcony), we will probably accept it, but if we receive an upgrade to a Dolphin mini (open balcony), we may want to decline it. Has anyone ever declined an upgrade?

One thing to consider that I don't think anyone else mentioned (or if they did, I missed it -- sorry to pile on, if so): sometimes upgrades can happen between the time you leave home and the time you board, so you can arrive at the pier all unsuspecting and -bam- they've upgraded you and given away your old cabin. At that point, obviously, it would be too late to get your old cabin back. I had an upgrade that way and when I got home, there had been no message from Princess or my TA re the upgrade, so that was clearly a "no communication" situation.

If you're happy with your Caribe and don't want to risk losing it, I'd mark it "do not upgrade": having been in a minisuite once, I can tell you that while it's nice, it ain't all that special! Not worth risking the big balcony if that's what you really want.