Upgrade "Procedure" - anyone know the scoop?

[axelskater]

Now that's a thread :D

 

So they may be able to dump all the insides at the last minute, but I am curious how they will fill all the BC, PG & QG, at any rate.

My husband and I are young Cunard travelers, me just turning 40...but maybe they are upgrading us now and counting on us being Cunarders for life? No other line I have ever been on has ever upgraded us, it just seems to be Cunard only.

 

I cannot believe a 12 day new England and Canada would be 799 though. How on earth does one even find out about such a sale?

[brigittetom]

Which goes back to my original point: the customer base on Cunard may now be more value and "deal" oriented to the point where the line cannot sustain earlier expectations.

 

Thank you...I absolutely agree. Personally, some of the perks don't mean anything to us. We prefer late seating which is always available and we've always been happy with the cabin selection.....even the one time we booked last minute. And, to be very honest, I simply haven't noticed cutbacks except dining room staff. They are too busy....which hasn't particularly affected our dining experience but I feel for the staff. For our latest booking, we received complimentary gratuities which I do appreciate.....because I will just use the savings to extra tip those that were especially nice to me. I differ from many passengers in that I don't necessarily care so much about flawless service....I care more about friendly service. :)

[brigittetom]

..but maybe they are upgrading us now and counting on us being Cunarders for life?

 

I'm sure that's it. Be sure to let us know when you end up in the Grand Duplex. :D:D:D

[axelskater]

I'm sure that's it. Be sure to let us know when you end up in the Grand Duplex. :D:D:D

 

Ah - Now that is never going to happen I am sure! Besides, with only 2 people we'd never see each other. Thinking back, on the 1st 6 or so trips, we remained in the Britannia with no upgrade. It was after the 1st PG upgrade that we started booking higher, then being upgraded on occasion.

 

I agree with the notion of friendly service being far superior to anything - the servers I remember whether Britannia or Grills are the ones who were fun, laughed, and enjoyed themselves. An efficient sourpuss is no fun, but I've had those too.

[brigittetom]

Axelskater......read Austcruisers review of 2 days in QG. It's about 1/2 way down. You will like it. :)

[Calliope]

I don't care so much about flawless service....I care more about friendly service. :)

 

During Chuck's and my most recent crossing last May we dined in Britannia Restaurant. We were at a table which had three others at it, and all agreed that the service was flawless and friendly. Our waiters name was Jeffrey; it would be a real treat to have him as our waiter next November while we're on.

[brigittetom]

Calliope, you keep forgetting....we were on your May trip. I can't complain about any service really. Many times they just seem more hurried. They always like me because I never complain, never ask for anything extra, and I usually skip a course and don't have dessert. :)

[Calliope]

Calliope, you keep forgetting....we were on your May trip.

 

 

I plead innocent on that count. I did indeed remember that you were on the west-bound Tenth Anniversary Crossing when I posted that message, but every one else here did not know that. And I definitely wanted all to know what a wonderful waiter Jeffrey was!

[bob brown]

Now that's a thread :D

 

So they may be able to dump all the insides at the last minute, but I am curious how they will fill all the BC, PG & QG, at any rate.

My husband and I are young Cunard travelers, me just turning 40...but maybe they are upgrading us now and counting on us being Cunarders for life? No other line I have ever been on has ever upgraded us, it just seems to be Cunard only.

 

I cannot believe a 12 day new England and Canada would be 799 though. How on earth does one even find out about such a sale?

 

In my case, I received an email from the Cunard World Club advising about the sale on 25 July....the one day sale opened on 29 July, and the '100' cabins sold out in four hours....

 

In cases where Inside's or Ocean View's or any lower category is long sold out, and there is an abundance of higher categories remaining; there is a chance they will upgrade people into higher categories, just to make more of the lower categories open for last minute sale....

 

At least that is how some lines do it.....

[maina]

On our very first Cunard trip, transatlantic on QM2, we were upgraded from oceanview to sheltered balcony about 2-3 weeks before departure. That's in line with Bob Brown's statement that about upgrading "people into higher categories, just to make more of the lower categories open for last minute sale." For our upcoming westbound Oct. 8th transatlantic, they were recently marketing balcony cabins for the price of inside or oceanview; in fact, the only balcony cabins in that sale were the less desirable obstructed view ones on deck 8. I've been watching Britannia cabin availability for some time now, and that sale may have had the desired effect in that the the obstructed view cabins are now showing as sold out. Still plenty of sheltered balcony ones on lower decks, however, and plenty of insides. Given that the sailing is just over a month away, might we predict another sale? We're on deck 4, aft, and wouldn't mind getting upgraded to midships or to deck 5-6, but we're happy where we are.

[axelskater]

In my case, I received an email from the Cunard World Club advising about the sale on 25 July....the one day sale opened on 29 July, and the '100' cabins sold out in four hours....

 

In cases where Inside's or Ocean View's or any lower category is long sold out, and there is an abundance of higher categories remaining; there is a chance they will upgrade people into higher categories, just to make more of the lower categories open for last minute sale....

 

At least that is how some lines do it.....

 

That's my theory also. I read an article last night written by a pretty experienced cruiser who noted many of the lower lines are only doing upgrades at the port (embarkation) for a discounted rate. The article mentioned the days of mass market ships upgrading is over. I may be pilloried for saying this but Cunard is not mass market in my eyes, and I am glad they still believe in the upgrade fairy

[BlueRiband]

...I cannot believe a 12 day new England and Canada would be 799 though. How on earth does one even find out about such a sale?

 

Not any more. Yesterday insides were selling from $1399 for Sept 15 and Oct 16. As of this writing the US site has $2799.

Edited September 3, 2014 by BlueRiband

[axelskater]

Not any more. Yesterday insides were selling from $1399 for Sept 15 and Oct 16. As of this writing the US site has $2799.

 

Princess Grill is now more expensive than Queen's Grill :confused::confused::confused:

over a thousand more...on October 16

[BlueRiband]

Princess Grill is now more expensive than Queen's Grill over a thousand more...on October 16

 

Not just PG - those ID insides must also really appeal to those who just love G32 at 1AM.:D Here's the solo occupancy price just copied off the booking page for M424:

 

 

Q6 $11,798.00 Queen Suite High Deck Fwd

Q7 $11,798.00 Queen Suite High Deck Mid

P1 $14,196.00 Princess Suite High Deck Mid :confused:

P2 $13,596.00 Princess Suite High Deck Fwd :confused:

IA $2,500.00 Standard Inside High Deck Mid

IB $2,500.00 Standard Inside Low Deck Mid

IC $2,500.00 Standard Inside High Deck Fwd

ID $4,546.00 Standard Inside Low Deck Fwd/aft:eek:

 

I can only guess that Cunard uses dynamic pricing based on some supply/demand algorithm within each major category. People booking the cheapest insides would therefore drive up ID demand. I've noticed this PG disparity on the M420 also. Whatever is driving it, it's obvious no human makes any periodic checks of the booking site.

[maina]

There's also been a big price jump on remaining available cabins for M423, westbound transatlantic Oct. 8-16, which immediately precedes the Oct. 16 NY-New England-Canada-NY trip. There still seem to be a lot of remaining Britannia sheltered balcony cabins and insides on M424. However, the deck 8 obstructed view cabins now appear to be sold out, perhaps as a result of the "balcony for the price of inside cabin" sale. You'd think with unsold cabins this late in the game prices would drop or hold steady, not increase!

[BlueRiband]

Very briefly, when I pulled up M424 yesterday, I got a page priced in GBP with flights included.:confused: I cannot remember prices since it was up so briefly - but the numbers looked about the same. GBP x 1.6 = USD is the rough approximation that I use. It appears this is being promoted in the UK.

[BlueRiband]

There's also been a big price jump on remaining available cabins for M423, westbound transatlantic Oct. 8-16, which immediately precedes the Oct. 16 NY-New England-Canada-NY trip. There still seem to be a lot of remaining Britannia sheltered balcony cabins and insides on M424. However, the deck 8 obstructed view cabins now appear to be sold out, perhaps as a result of the "balcony for the price of inside cabin" sale. You'd think with unsold cabins this late in the game prices would drop or hold steady, not increase!

 

Maybe they're catching on to the fare drop "game of chicken". I'm sure they have web site metrics which record how often a specific voyage is checked and how many mock bookings are started but never completed to deposit.

[Lady49Monet]

All very strange......more theories required please.

 

 

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[brigittetom]

Starting tomorrow at 5am, there will be another "100" cabins sale for the October 8th and 28th sailings.