Marking room no upgrade is no guarantee

[RDC1]

Then why even have a "no upgrade" box ?

 

I asked that exact question in the e-mail I sent them.

[SandyAtSea]

Then why even have a "no upgrade" box ?

 

Where exactly is the "no upgrade" box??

[dplusd]

We book Emerald deck mini's for the covered balcony and mark our reservation Do Not Upgrade. Never had a problem. I would be REALLY upset if they "upgraded" me to a Dolphin deck mini with the exposed balconies. I had no idea a DNU reservation was at risk. I think I'm going to check every day to be sure I'm not "upgraded".

[MMDown Under]

It wasn't a lie. "Out of inventory" only means "you can't have this cabin at this time". It doesn't mean "this cabin will be left empty on this cruise".

 

To me it means "we have given your personally selected cabin to someone else", but we don't want to tell you that.

 

What a way to treat customers!

 

As someone else has said, "Guarantee cabins", where you are allocated a cabin later, are sold at a cheaper price for that very reason.

Edited October 11, 2014 by MMDown Under

[RDC1]

Where exactly is the "no upgrade" box??

 

Technically there is not a box, figuratively you check the box by calling Princess customer service and have them flag the booking as no upgrade.

[Cruisin' Chick]

The point is I do not want an upgrade. I like the room I selected and do not care to be moved. I have cruised in just about every category, including suites, and on multiple lines. I have found that I like the fact that insides tend to be quieter, and nicely dark when trying to sleep. As such I book them almost exclusively these days, as long as one is available that in not adjacent to any public or crew areas.

 

I want the room I selected and paid for.

 

That's one reason some passengers want insides. My hubby is used to sleeping in a very darkened room (when he worked graveyard, he installed blackout curtains in the bedroom; when I married him, I had to get used to that as I don't mind a little light).

 

Again, I think if Princess wants your cabin, they should contact you first to see if you want to move. Not just assume giving you another cabin in a "higher category" is going to be acceptable to you. If someone booked the same cabin as part of a B-to-B, Princess can see if you don't mind the next cabin over or give you a choice of some cabins. There may be some passengers who will jump at the offered cabin.

[richstowe]

Where exactly is the "no upgrade" box??

 

Technically there is not a box, figuratively you check the box by calling Princess customer service and have them flag the booking as no upgrade.

I have seen a "no upgrade box" on some of the on-line TA's reservation screens.

It is placed with the dining time and bed arrangement options.

And yes I now understand clicking it doesn't seem to guarantee anything. ;)

[caribill]

 

As someone else has said, "Guarantee cabins", where you are allocated a cabin later, are sold at a cheaper price for that very reason.

 

GTY pricing on Princess is exactly the same as the price for selecting a cabin in the same category, not cheaper.

 

It is only cheaper compared to booking a higher priced category. If all cabins are booked for the category you want and only a GTY is available, then the GTY is cheaper than booking a specific cabin in a higher category.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

GTY pricing on Princess is exactly the same as the price for selecting a cabin in the same category, not cheaper.

 

It is only cheaper compared to booking a higher priced category. If all cabins are booked for the category you want and only a GTY is available, then the GTY is cheaper than booking a specific cabin in a higher category.

 

I didn't realize this about Princess. On some other lines, guarantees are less than choosing a cabin in a given category. I don't see why anyone would book a guarantee on Princess then, unless he/she can't be bothered choosing a cabin.

Edited October 12, 2014 by Ryndam2002

[caribill]

I didn't realize this about Princess. On some other lines, guarantees are less than choosing a cabin in a given category. I don't see why anyone would book a guarantee on Princess then, unless he/she can't be bothered choosing a cabin.

 

The general belief (which could be true or false) is that a GTY booking has a better chance of getting an upgrade.

[shredie]

I've seen situations where there is nothing left but guarantees.

[dianef]

I have cruise in 18 days and there are 5 couples who we all booked guarantee least expensive balcony guarantee.There are no balconies available or even mini suites,so wondering what we will land up getting.Any experience of what they would do if not enough balconies open up between now and then and why would they not have assigned us cabins a few days ago when there was a few available?

[Fat Bottom Gurl]

I received an email from Princess yesterday saying I was upgraded. Originally, I had selected cabin C316 because I wanted the big deck. I was upgrade to Baja deck and in my opinion, that was not an upgrade as I lost the big deck. I phoned Princess (within 48 hours) and requested my original cabin. They said I should receive confirmation within 72 hours. So far, my request for my original cabin has not been honoured. I told the agent that the only upgrade I would accept would be to a minisuite or higher. I hope I get my original cabin back.

 

 

FTB

[RDC1]

I received an email from Princess yesterday saying I was upgraded. Originally, I had selected cabin C316 because I wanted the big deck. I was upgrade to Baja deck and in my opinion, that was not an upgrade as I lost the big deck. I phoned Princess (within 48 hours) and requested my original cabin. They said I should receive confirmation within 72 hours. So far, my request for my original cabin has not been honoured. I told the agent that the only upgrade I would accept would be to a minisuite or higher. I hope I get my original cabin back.

 

 

FTB

 

I was told to expect the change to show until Tuesday since it had to be made by dispatch and they do not work weekends.

[Fat Bottom Gurl]

Thanks - I forgot it was the weekend (my job does that to me - days have no meaning here).

[caribill]

I received an email from Princess yesterday saying I was upgraded. Originally, I had selected cabin C316 because I wanted the big deck. I was upgrade to Baja deck and in my opinion, that was not an upgrade as I lost the big deck. I phoned Princess (within 48 hours) and requested my original cabin. They said I should receive confirmation within 72 hours. So far, my request for my original cabin has not been honoured. I told the agent that the only upgrade I would accept would be to a minisuite or higher. I hope I get my original cabin back.

 

This type of upgrade is normal, a "better" location in Princess' minds for the same type cabin.

 

Anyone who leaves a booking as "will accept any upgrade" must realize that the most common upgrade is the same type cabin in a different location.

 

If you will only accept an upgrade to a different type cabin, then have the booked marked will accept meta upgrade only.

[h20vacations]

I have my current cabin E731 on the Crown Princess in January, 2015 marked as no upgrade but at the time of booking my TA told me it was possible they may move you because your cabin sleeps 4

 

Question: can you put in a request for a certain cabin directly through the Yield Management department or does it have to go through your TA?

[caribill]

I have my current cabin E731 on the Crown Princess in January, 2015 marked as no upgrade but at the time of booking my TA told me it was possible they may move you because your cabin sleeps 4

 

Question: can you put in a request for a certain cabin directly through the Yield Management department or does it have to go through your TA?

 

If you booked with a travel agent, Princess will only work with your TA.

[RDC1]

Heard back from Princess today. They said that they could not give me my original cabin back. That it was removed for operational reasons. I was connected to customer relations who presented all available options. The final solution was acceptable.

[caribill]

Heard back from Princess today. They said that they could not give me my original cabin back. That it was removed for operational reasons. I was connected to customer relations who presented all available options. The final solution was acceptable.

 

Glad you had an acceptable solution.

 

"Operational reasons," the excuse for anything from changing an itinerary to changing a cabin, probably means they were unwilling to have the people assigned to your original cabin move.

[Rebel]

If you will only accept an upgrade to a different type cabin, then have the booked marked will accept meta upgrade only.

 

What is a meta upgrade?

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...What is a meta upgrade?

 

It is an upgrade to the next cabin type, not category. In other words, from an outside to a balcony, or a balcony to a mini-suite.

[RDC1]

Glad you had an acceptable solution.

 

"Operational reasons," the excuse for anything from changing an itinerary to changing a cabin, probably means they were unwilling to have the people assigned to your original cabin move.

 

Oh I will see if the original room is occupied on the cruise.

[TubT]

The best we ever did on a guarantee was when we booked the lowest outside cabin on the Norway. We eventually ended u in a very nice suite. I'm guessing they sold that lowest cabin about 20 times!

[Fat Bottom Gurl]

I am happy to report that I got my original cabin back.

 

FTB