C&A Upgrade Fairy, wings clipped

[jellyfish39]

We are Platinum and just got an upgrade for our June 20 sailing on Brilliance. We originally booked a JS, in April (so we hadn't booked well in advance).

We asked for and got an upgrade to a GS about a month ago when prices dropped after final payment and yesterday received a further complimentary upgrade to an OS.

We had marked our booking as willing to accept an automatic upgrade. We weren't notified, just saw the cabin # change on the booking.

This Baltic sailing had a lot of cabins still unsold, so I guess they moved many of us up to the higher price cabins so they could hopefully sell the rest.

So its not just Diamond Plus who get visits from the upgrade fairy.

[dasi11]

We are Platinum and just got an upgrade for our June 20 sailing on Brilliance. We originally booked a JS, in April (so we hadn't booked well in advance).

We asked for and got an upgrade to a GS about a month ago when prices dropped after final payment and yesterday received a further complimentary upgrade to an OS.

We had marked our booking as willing to accept an automatic upgrade. We weren't notified, just saw the cabin # change on the booking.

This Baltic sailing had a lot of cabins still unsold, so I guess they moved many of us up to the higher price cabins so they could hopefully sell the rest.

So its not just Diamond Plus who get visits from the upgrade fairy.

 

 

See you on the ship!!!! Maybe we are right next to each other..... We have the same story but we do have diamond +.

Heather...

[steveru621]

The whole upgrade process is very mysterious, and has a ignore that man behind the curtain Wizard of Oz quality. ;)

 

This new policy seems to take away the free part of the process. There probably is some revenue to be had by discounting the upgrades to the other tiers. But the revenue department and the individual ships C&A Loyalty Ambassador may still have some weight in deciding on the rare upgrades. I agree with others who commented that all types of SeaPass spending on-board may have just as much to do with the process. It may be the total revenue you bring to the bottom line, not just your D+ status.

 

Since there doesn't seem to be any rational reasons behind the process. It's fun to talk about, and attempt to make some sense of it all.

 

Enjoy your future cruises!

[Beachin2]

D+, always book JS - the fictional fairy has never looked our way.

 

I continue to believe that she is purely a myth, keeping company with the tooth fairy and the boogie man.

[rednancy1]

We are D+ (617 RCI points) and have received one upgrade to a GS on the Allure. This was very welcome. We enjoyed it very much. I have no idea how this upgrade thing works. :)

[jellyfish39]

See you on the ship!!!! Maybe we are right next to each other..... We have the same story but we do have diamond +.

Heather...

 

Hi Heather, I thought I recognized your names from the Roll call.

We were assigned 1566. The cabin seems to be huge, my husband joked that the cabin was so big that it is about the size to our very first apartment! The balcony seems to a little smaller than the GS, but since we have so many port days and it is the Northern route I don't think we will spend much time on the balcony anyway.

See you on board.

Sally

[Doudou1]

As a Diamond Plus Member I think it's a great idea. :D:D:D But I wonder if that will actually mean more or less upgrades available for Diamond Plus. I'm sure that RCCL will try to sell cheap upgrades to lower level C&A members so ther likely won't be any available to give away to higher level C&A members. :(:(:(

 

Hi at our last cruise we were Gold member and I booked a cabin on deck 8,when we booked there where only 2 cabins left on the deck after our booking ,but the cabins on deck 9 (which are slightly larger and have a little bit bigger Balcony )had plenty of cabins left to book .They were $400 dearer per person .Soon after our booking we got an upgrade to deck 9.This is IMO by giving you an upgrade they are able to at least sell another cabin of they slightly cheaper one ,so get some more revenue than if you would have kept your cabin and the one you got upgraded to would have staid empty .

[Familygoboston]

I think that the revenue department gives out upgrades (or offers upsells) based on criteria which have nothing to do with C&A, such as known heavy gamblers or other high spenders. I don't have a problem with that as a business person, but I will confess to missing the old days when one could call the D+ desk 14 days out and beg for an upgrade with a pretty good chance of getting one.

 

This is it...they are called whales, when one gives ( loses:rolleyes:) thousands of dollars to the casino; they get priority. Doesn't matter what's printed, who has how many points- because when they lose, whales go first! When whales win (rarely) they buy 5 figure jewels and watches in the shops...so when they win, whales go first.

 

Sometimes a D+ or PC is also a whale, but whales go first;) This is the best way to think of it, it's less frustrating than thinking there is some orderly system rewarding " loyalty":rolleyes:

[Treacher1]

We are booked on a Baltic cruise end of June. We are in a D1 balcony cabin - this week when I checked there were 8 junior suites left. I am hoping the upgrade fairy thinks of us - but we are mere Diamond. It will not ruin our cruise if we do not get - but a junior suite would be nice. We usually sail in a junior suite but this was a longer cruise and the air fare was extremely expensive.

[Merion_Mom]

Available cabins two to three weeks before the cruise:

 

First the Revenue Department does anything that it wants. They do anything that they think will increase the income for Royal Caribbean.

 

These reasons can range from high-rollers, as mentioned, but it can also include first time cruisers (or second) whom the number-crunchers believe can be hooked for life by an upgrade to a suite. Either they will be completely hooked on Royal Caribbean, or even better, never book an inside or oceanview cabin (or possibly even plain balcony) again.

 

THEN, IF there is anything left over, Revenue gives those crumbs to C&A.

 

Jean, that was an odd situation you encountered. I cannot believe that you or the other PC couple were not given the OS at check-in. (or sooner)

[05mak05]

We are Diamond Plus with 293 points. And, no, we've never had an upgrade. I see this as a flaw in RCI's loyal program. All of our cruises with the exception of 1 have been 7 or more days. Only one was an oceanview, all others were balconies or JS's. For a number of years, we've booked and paid for multiple staterooms sailing over the Christmas holidays and also in May.

If we got points (like we do with Hilton Honors) for the cabins that are at our expense, we'd be Pinnacle :-) . This past May, we had 4 - D4s on the Oasis. Prior to final payment, I noticed that D1s had been discounted by $200 pp. So, I called and was informed that this was a special for Florida residents and didn't apply to Texans. What that meant was that first time cruisers out of Florida were able to book a D1 balcony cheaper than we could even after our Diamond Plus balcony discount was applied. You'd think that at the least we would have been extended that same offer. And, then a few days after final payment, we received a call from our RCI agent saying "we had been selected" to upgrade to a JS for just $500 a person extra. I declined as every L1 was open as were JS's, Grand Suites, etc. I figured if we were ever going to get an upgrade, it would be on this cruise as it was wide open. Silly me.

Of course, we didn't. And, yes, this time I was disappointed. I chatted with the Loyalty Ambassador and got the standard line of "well, you must realize that upgrades are based on availability ..." I pointed out that 3 weeks prior to sailing, that the suites were wide open. (I kept close tabs on a daily basis using the British website that shows all available staterooms.) She said "oh, I didn't know that." By the way, there were 67 Diamond Plus members onboard. I think it is safe to assume that out of the 67 that 40% are paired which meant there were plenty of upgrades to be given. Our group was assigned to Table #436 in the Main Dining room. OMG. We were crammed in the center of the room with maybe 12" clearance to get to our table. We all had to turn sideways saying "excuse us, excuse us ..." We had 6 more RCI cruises booked. I took a hard look at the itineraries - Jamaica, Labadee, etc. Then I checked other cruise lines. I cancelled all cruises with RCI for all family members. After doing so, our TA with RCI called telling me that C&A was offering a $200 onboard credit per stateroom if we would rebook. Hmmmm. I declined. Obviously, we've enjoyed RCI. We've also enjoyed other cruise lines. From my standpoint, either loyalty is rewarded or it isn't. RCI has no way of knowing who has been upgraded and who hasn't. That seems odd to me, too. (By the way, our flight into Ft. Lauderdale was cancelled and we arrived at midnight rather than at 2pm as planned. No luggage. Tired and cranky. We were greeted at the Doubletree by the nicest, most professional check-in agent who upgraded us to a gorgeous suite overlooking the water on the 9th floor as we're Hilton Honors. No groveling necessary. Made us happy.)

[FLACRUISER99]

We are Diamond Plus with 293 points. And, no, we've never had an upgrade. I see this as a flaw in RCI's loyal program. All of our cruises with the exception of 1 have been 7 or more days. Only one was an oceanview, all others were balconies or JS's. For a number of years, we've booked and paid for multiple staterooms sailing over the Christmas holidays and also in May.

If we got points (like we do with Hilton Honors) for the cabins that are at our expense, we'd be Pinnacle :-) . This past May, we had 4 - D4s on the Oasis. Prior to final payment, I noticed that D1s had been discounted by $200 pp. So, I called and was informed that this was a special for Florida residents and didn't apply to Texans. What that meant was that first time cruisers out of Florida were able to book a D1 balcony cheaper than we could even after our Diamond Plus balcony discount was applied. You'd think that at the least we would have been extended that same offer. And, then a few days after final payment, we received a call from our RCI agent saying "we had been selected" to upgrade to a JS for just $500 a person extra. I declined as every L1 was open as were JS's, Grand Suites, etc. I figured if we were ever going to get an upgrade, it would be on this cruise as it was wide open. Silly me.

Of course, we didn't. And, yes, this time I was disappointed. I chatted with the Loyalty Ambassador and got the standard line of "well, you must realize that upgrades are based on availability ..." I pointed out that 3 weeks prior to sailing, that the suites were wide open. (I kept close tabs on a daily basis using the British website that shows all available staterooms.) She said "oh, I didn't know that." By the way, there were 67 Diamond Plus members onboard. I think it is safe to assume that out of the 67 that 40% are paired which meant there were plenty of upgrades to be given. Our group was assigned to Table #436 in the Main Dining room. OMG. We were crammed in the center of the room with maybe 12" clearance to get to our table. We all had to turn sideways saying "excuse us, excuse us ..." We had 6 more RCI cruises booked. I took a hard look at the itineraries - Jamaica, Labadee, etc. Then I checked other cruise lines. I cancelled all cruises with RCI for all family members. After doing so, our TA with RCI called telling me that C&A was offering a $200 onboard credit per stateroom if we would rebook. Hmmmm. I declined. Obviously, we've enjoyed RCI. We've also enjoyed other cruise lines. From my standpoint, either loyalty is rewarded or it isn't. RCI has no way of knowing who has been upgraded and who hasn't. That seems odd to me, too. (By the way, our flight into Ft. Lauderdale was cancelled and we arrived at midnight rather than at 2pm as planned. No luggage. Tired and cranky. We were greeted at the Doubletree by the nicest, most professional check-in agent who upgraded us to a gorgeous suite overlooking the water on the 9th floor as we're Hilton Honors. No groveling necessary. Made us happy.)

 

That's why the upgrade fairy and not a computer controls upgrades! BTW I am also D+ with close to 300 pts. and never receiver an UG and that's OK.

 

 

 

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[jgregory]

I'm Diamond Plus, about 350 points, and I've been upgraded twice. When I'm not upgraded, I'm happy to get the cabin I selected, but on those couple of occasions where I did get an upgrade, I was thrilled.

 

Most of the time, however, I think that upgrades are about manipulating the inventory to maximize revenue. Nothing wrong with that. In fact, in the long term, rewarding loyalty is really all about maximizing revenue, too.

 

Let me concoct an example: Let's say you're booked in a D1 cabin on a cruise that is sold out of D1s but has a bunch of Junior Suites available. If they lower the price of the JS cabins to sell them, they'll potentially have a bunch of price adjustments they'll need to make to other bookings, or, if it is after final payment, they'll have many annoyed guests. However, if they bump a few people booked in D1s into the available JS cabins, they'll have some happy people who were "visited by the upgrade fairy," and newly available D1s to sell at full price. So, they're probably going to make this decision based on their need for D1 inventory more than C&A credits.

[dasi11]

I think slow to book cruises and off season cruises get upgrade fairy visits. I have cruised every year for 8 years at Christmas time. I never heard of any upgrades being given. But I have heard of people in the Diamond and concierge lounge complain about upgrades not given. The ship was full and at holiday time it is rare for any upgrade to be given. All the rooms are usually taken and paid for at the highest rates. Suites are usually booked first since people that cruise at the holiday time expect to pay more anyway. We book over a year out and have already booked 2014.

 

As for whales at holiday time, they are given OBC to be used in the Casino... in the thousands. IT is based on the previous cruises activity in the casino. It is done but you must be a high roller. They are also given credit toward a room level of their choice on a future cruise. They are rated just like in Vegas or Atlantic city.

[cruisnseas]

Remember that there are different types of upgrades.

 

Crown and Anchor free upgrades: Diamond + and Pinnacle only

Crown and Anchor reduced upgrades: all tiers

Revenue upgrades (unsold rooms, sometimes free, sometimes reduced) C&A status does not apply

 

From the passenger side it all looks the same, someone calls you from Royal and offers you an upgrade (or does it without asking). But they are distinctly different and offered for different reasons.

[Pumbaamd]

We've been upgraded twice. Two years ago from a D1 to a JS.

Yesterday C&A called and upgraded us from a JS to a GS on our 6/21 EN shorty. In this case, our JS was re-booked just after we confirmed the upgrade with C&A. Guessing that someone really wanted our JS and they sold it at a nice profit.

The above Rhapsody experience is indeed strange. The mystery of upgrades continues . . .

Rick and Deirdra

[hmsdos]

We've been upgraded twice. Two years ago from a D1 to a JS.

Yesterday C&A called and upgraded us from a JS to a GS on our 6/21 EN shorty. In this case, our JS was re-booked just after we confirmed the upgrade with C&A. Guessing that someone really wanted our JS and they sold it at a nice profit.

The above Rhapsody experience is indeed strange. The mystery of upgrades continues . . .

Rick and Deirdra

 

I know, I know..... they find the nicest D+ and reward that couple :)

 

This from a jealous platinum, no I mean a pineapple :o

[Annefran]

We are D+ and never received a complimentary upgrade.

I am with you, in all the years we have cruised (20+yrs) on RCI never received an upgrade. This past cruise on FOS, I know someone who got upgraded to a OS from a GS and was Diamond. We are D+ and were in a GS with more points. So not sure how that happened. Oh well, hopefully the Upgrade Fairy will visit one day. :rolleyes:

[zuggie]

We are Diamond Plus with 297 points, and have received one upgrade - to a JS from a standard balcony. It came on the first cruise after we became D+, so we figured it was a little gift for achieving D+.

[Janet524]

In our case the Upgrade Fairy's wings were singed. The day before the Grandeur fire, we got a call from C&A upgrading us from an oceanview to a balcony cabin. Then our cruise was cancelled. The upgrade fairy giveth and she taketh away!

[Don Pedro]

From the way they described it, RCI was claiming that PC #1 had been offered the OS but declined it. So there's no way of knowing how their system worked. It's not unreasonable for us to have thought that they might have offered it to us next (not that we were upset about it since we had a fabulous corner aft and would have missed the balcony, although it would have been interesting to know how much we would have missed it, LOL).

 

We were the beneficiaries of more upgrades prior to the creation of the PC level than we are now. To be sure, we aren't on RCI as much as we used to be, and the full suites on the cruises we take usually sell out, but I've seen half a dozen full suites vanish in a day without any kind of apparent price drop. I think that the revenue department gives out upgrades (or offers upsells) based on criteria which have nothing to do with C&A, such as known heavy gamblers or other high spenders. I don't have a problem with that as a business person, but I will confess to missing the old days when one could call the D+ desk 14 days out and beg for an upgrade with a pretty good chance of getting one.

 

Think you are on to something! I've received the upgrades on my last two cruises - but at a price. RCL called about a week before each cruise and I was upgraded from a GS to an OS on the Oasis for $500 and on the Allure from a GS to a CLF for $300. I am D+ with slightly over 400 points but don't know if that figured into the upgrade offers. Perhaps Revenue is attempting to sell the upgrades before releasing them to C & A. Makes sense to me.

[SWManiac]

I'm D+ with 215 points. I received a upgrade fairy visit for the first time on my Allure cruise in Sept 2012. we went from a JR to GS (had to double check I'd almost forgotten LOL). We did however receive a free two night Oasis cruise before her inaugural voyage! I thought that was awesome!! My mom is D+ with 280 and has never been upgraded. Neither of us have ever been offered a paid upgrade, that I can remember. Would Love to get an upgrade on our upcoming FOS cruise this September. But I'm not thinking its likely as we are in a JR and there are not many GS or OS left. and I'm ok with that!!!

[kruzinkel]

The small print from the C&A site reads:

Crown & Anchor Stateroom Upgrade Policy:

Our ships regularly sail at full capacity. Therefore, opportunities to upgrade are offered on a limited basis. If available, upgrades may be offered at the sole discretion of Royal Caribbean to Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club. To determine which members may be extended an upgrade, we will consider the member's Cruise Points and tier level, stateroom category paid and booking date.

 

I'm curious now. Everybody that posted here in the past that the upgrade fairy came visiting is Diamond plus? Or was it Diamond? I always assumed that upgrades were given to people based on their status, so it's not surprising to me that upgrades are only given to Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members.

 

I think of it just like how it works on an airplane. If you have status, you get bumped up to Business or First class. Those that fly more often would expect to get more upgrades than somebody who flies once a year. Although on my Memorial Day flight yesterday, five standby passengers were lucky enough to get lie-flat, first class seats because economy section was sold out and nobody was willing to pay the $1500 it would take to upgrade to first class! Why wouldn't they move those in business class up to first, and then some from economy up to business class? Befuddling. Maybe this is how some Diamond Plus and Pinnacle members feel when a lowly Gold member comes here to say they got an upgrade?

 

Just off the Radiance and i was a "lowly gold" (plat now!). was upgraded from a JS gty to a GS. i figure sometimes it is just dumb luck. sorry if any D+ or Pinnacle were befuddled!

[firefly333]

It's news to me that as a diamond I was entitled or could expect any free upgrades. I always thought it was the top 3 on the ship in loyalty got them. Never heard diamonds got them.

 

How did you get upgraded? Did you call up or have your TA call up?

[ARCruisinNana]

It's news to me that as a diamond I was entitled or could expect any free upgrades. I always thought it was the top 3 on the ship in loyalty got them. Never heard diamonds got them.

 

How did you get upgraded? Did you call up or have your TA call up?

 

Upgrades happen very infrequently. If there are any available cabins after Revenue has done their upgrades, the remaining available cabins are handed over to C&A. Supposedly, they start with the PAX with the highest number of points. Upgrades are done Inside to Outside, Outside to Balcony, and Balcony to Suite. Sometimes JS to GS or better. It is possible for a Diamond to get upgraded, but not likely. A Diamond could also be offered an upgrade for a reduced amount from the going rate. Calls do no good. Just luck of the draw.