Theodorable Posted March 28, 2015 #1 Share Posted March 28, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted March 28, 2015 #2 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Sounds great. What ship would that be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted March 28, 2015 #3 Share Posted March 28, 2015 Excellent. Have a great cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racj846 Posted March 28, 2015 #4 Share Posted March 28, 2015 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?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CA Posted March 28, 2015 #5 Share Posted March 28, 2015 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.Never heard of that "requirement" with regard to upgrading yourself. You (or Princess) can do that right up until boarding without the need to cancel and rebook. I think you need a new TA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theodorable Posted March 28, 2015 Author #6 Share Posted March 28, 2015 (edited) 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. Edited March 28, 2015 by Theodorable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted March 28, 2015 #7 Share Posted March 28, 2015 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. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coveguy4 Posted March 28, 2015 #8 Share Posted March 28, 2015 So glad you got a great cabin deal! Enjoy your cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blizzard54 Posted March 29, 2015 #9 Share Posted March 29, 2015 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colo Cruiser Posted March 29, 2015 #10 Share Posted March 29, 2015 (edited) 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. Edited March 29, 2015 by Colo Cruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theodorable Posted March 29, 2015 Author #11 Share Posted March 29, 2015 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Posted March 29, 2015 #12 Share Posted March 29, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geocruiser Posted March 29, 2015 #13 Share Posted March 29, 2015 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skf Posted March 29, 2015 #14 Share Posted March 29, 2015 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theodorable Posted March 29, 2015 Author #15 Share Posted March 29, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skf Posted March 29, 2015 #16 Share Posted March 29, 2015 If we ever leave New Hampshire I'd choose BC. We have a friend still in Ucluelet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annalouise Posted March 30, 2015 #17 Share Posted March 30, 2015 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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