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does this upgrade ever happen?

1965

By 1965,
in Princess Cruises

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Hlitner "Live from...." Rare

Hlitner

Posted
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Insides to outsides are pretty common. But the new trend (which we think has been pioneered by HAL) is to now offer "upsells" rather then a free upgrade. Some upsell deals are terrific, and others are actually more expensive then if you had booked the higher category in the first place. So, if offered an upsell carefully evaluate what you are getting for x dollars per passenger day. Our best upsell was a HAL offer to move from an outside (no balcony cabin) to a large suite (with a huge balcony). But a good rule is book the category with which you will be happy....without expectation of an upgrade or upsell. And if the good fairy does visit....then its all good. If not, all is still good.

 

Hank

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Jem 12

Jem 12

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On our last cruise we got a free upgrade from an inside to an OV. Do they ever, ever upgrade an inside to a balcony? Just wondering, wishing, hoping, dreaming. :)

 

 

Hi keep your fingers crossed, we were lucky enough to upgraded from a guarantee inside on Azamara to a balcony midship on deck 7, it was wonderful.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

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peety3

peety3

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Think of it this way: for Princess to give you a two-level upgrade, they make you "double happy" and leave someone else "unhappy".

 

Let's say they end up with two open Suites. They could upgrade two mini-suites to suites, resulting in two open mini-suites. They could upgrade two balcony rooms to mini-suites, resulting in two open balconies. Two OVs upgrade to balconies, and two interiors upgrade to OVs, leaving two interiors empty that could then be gifted to travel agents who'd be thankful for a free cruise and an opportunity to experience the Princess "product" (and respect the fact that their free room is bottom of the barrel). They'd also have 8 rooms that all saw a nice upgrade (they could break this up further by doing sub-category upgrades, etc.). If they take an interior and bump it up to balcony, that means an OV cabin marked upgrade-eligible sees no upgrade. Will they get as much repeat business from you because of a double upgrade (that likely won't happen again) as they aren't going to get from that OV who didn't get an upgrade? Probably not, so they're more apt to share the love.

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tammigirl

tammigirl

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Think of it this way: for Princess to give you a two-level upgrade, they make you "double happy" and leave someone else "unhappy".

 

Let's say they end up with two open Suites. They could upgrade two mini-suites to suites, resulting in two open mini-suites. They could upgrade two balcony rooms to mini-suites, resulting in two open balconies. Two OVs upgrade to balconies, and two interiors upgrade to OVs, leaving two interiors empty that could then be gifted to travel agents who'd be thankful for a free cruise and an opportunity to experience the Princess "product" (and respect the fact that their free room is bottom of the barrel). They'd also have 8 rooms that all saw a nice upgrade (they could break this up further by doing sub-category upgrades, etc.). If they take an interior and bump it up to balcony, that means an OV cabin marked upgrade-eligible sees no upgrade. Will they get as much repeat business from you because of a double upgrade (that likely won't happen again) as they aren't going to get from that OV who didn't get an upgrade? Probably not, so they're more apt to share the love.

 

This makes perfect sense.

 

We are booked on the best category balcony cabin for our upcoming cruise. We got an email from the upsell fairy not for a deluxe balcony or mini-suite, but for the best suite category on the ship. So... They either already offered it to all the other booked passengers ahead of us and nobody took it - or they offered it straight to us. Who knows?

 

I realize this is not the type of upgrade you are wishing for, but it might give you hope. :)

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Ron the Rev

Ron the Rev

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Took the bait recently for upsells from mini HC suites to full suites, one recently and 3 for cruises in 2017.

As DW is wheelchair dependant she needs a walk in shower which the full suites had on the Emerald, as well as a separate tub. Unfortunately the first one was located way aft so the battle to drive her wheelchair along the corridor passing the stewards trolleys was too much. We went into the future cruise office to try to change back to to the original HC Minis for our future cruises. To late so we ended up with Balcony HCs on Caribe deck. AH well lesson learnt ( thinks, must concentrate more in future). Upgrades seem to be a thing of the past, the bean counters new word is upsell. So if you are offered one think it through. :mad:

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Thrak

Thrak

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Crown Princess. February 2015. We were automagically upgraded from an inside cabin on Lido Deck (IC Category) to a Handicapped Accessible Balcony (B2 category) on Caribe Deck. HUGE upgrade. Inside to Caribe balcony and the HC rooms and balconies are about 1.5 times as big as the regular Caribe balconies (which are already larger than normal).

 

No idea why we were upgraded and we weren't even notified (didn't book through a TA that time). I found out about the upgrade a couple of weeks before sailing by checking my cruise personalizer.

Edited by Thrak
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Ando

Ando

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Think of it this way: for Princess to give you a two-level upgrade, they make you "double happy" and leave someone else "unhappy".

 

Let's say they end up with two open Suites. They could upgrade two mini-suites to suites, resulting in two open mini-suites. They could upgrade two balcony rooms to mini-suites, resulting in two open balconies. Two OVs upgrade to balconies, and two interiors upgrade to OVs, leaving two interiors empty that could then be gifted to travel agents who'd be thankful for a free cruise and an opportunity to experience the Princess "product" (and respect the fact that their free room is bottom of the barrel). They'd also have 8 rooms that all saw a nice upgrade (they could break this up further by doing sub-category upgrades, etc.). If they take an interior and bump it up to balcony, that means an OV cabin marked upgrade-eligible sees no upgrade. Will they get as much repeat business from you because of a double upgrade (that likely won't happen again) as they aren't going to get from that OV who didn't get an upgrade? Probably not, so they're more apt to share the love.

 

Princess should employ you to manage the upgrades :D win-win-win-win-win!

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1965

1965

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Thanks to everyone for sharing experiences and info. Maybe there is a very faint glimmer of hope, if not for a free upgrade, maybe for a reasonably priced upsell. We are on a pretty strict retired public teachers travel budget, so I'm very happy we can cruise at all. I do love it!! Our cozy little inside makes me a happy cruiser, but can't help fantasizing about having our own balcony. :)

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TracieABD "Live from...." Rare

TracieABD

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I booked an IF (lowest category inside) guarantee for an upcoming cruise on the Diamond. Well before final payment, I received an upgrade to on OV. There was a pretty big price drop, so I refared back to an IF gty (saving over $1000). I am super happy in an inside-by myself. I find them to be cozy.

 

Again, before final payment, I received an upgrade to a BB (midship balcony)- with a great location- cabins above and below- close to the stairs- no dubious "white areas" nearby- and the room is not connecting. Perfect!

 

There was another small price drop, but my husband said to keep the balcony- and enjoy the ocean.

 

I am not really sure why or how this happened, but for those of you who have followed my travel sagas- I mean adventures- you know this is a "do-over" cruise from one I never did get to take with my beloved mother. I was really struggling with taking this trip on the other side of the world all by myself. I had almost cancelled about 80 million times. And then I got the lovely upgrade- and it felt like my mom whispered in my ear, "Go!" :)

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runnerodb83

runnerodb83

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Posted (edited)

In 2010 on a 1 night Golden Princess voyage from Seattle to Vancouver I was upgraded from interior to minisuite. Yes it does happen, but the stars have to align and I can say that on that particular voyage, the ship was most certainly sailing around half full - maybe less. They essentially moved everyone up. Just about every interior and OV room had no "name tag" next to the door. It was a very odd sailing - after about 8oclock, there were activities but only a handful of people at each one.

Edited by runnerodb83
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Randycurit

Randycurit

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The upgrade fairy has visited me several times including my up coming Regal cruise Jan 8th. We booked gty bal obstructed view and were placed in a deluxe bal aft. We got greedy and tried to move to a mini but the price was out of line and had to give up the perks we received so we stuck with the free upgrade. Last yr on our short cruise we had 3 cabins booked inside. I received an upgrade to balcony so called princess and did an up-sell deal to move the other cabins to bal.

 

it does happen and there seems to be no logic to it. Watch for price drops and decide if it is price or amenities you are looking for.

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blkspy

blkspy

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On our last cruise we got a free upgrade from an inside to an OV. Do they ever, ever upgrade an inside to a balcony? Just wondering, wishing, hoping, dreaming. :)

I hit the Upgrade jackpot on my October Regal Princess Halloween Retreaters cruise.

 

I booked an Inside Guarantee

Assigned a Baja deck Inside cabin

Free Upgrade to a Sideways Inside Cabin

Free Upgrade to an Obstructed Balcony

Free Upgrade to An Emerald Deck Obstructed Deluxe Balcony cabin with a Sofa.

 

My cost was $529 per with $100 per OBC.

 

Wonderful Cruise :cool:

 

The upgrade Fairy is alive and well and she likes me :)

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Pierlesscruisers

Pierlesscruisers

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On our last cruise we got a free upgrade from an inside to an OV. Do they ever, ever upgrade an inside to a balcony? Just wondering, wishing, hoping, dreaming. :)

 

A couple of cruises ago my wife and I got an upgrade from an interior to a balcony. Granted, it was a short cruise, but it was still an upgrade so what's not to like? While this is all speculation on my part, I suspect that many upgrades depend on what spaces are available and what aren't. For example, if all the interiors are sold out but there are oceanview or balconies available, it would seem to me to be smart to upgrade someone in an interior room to an OV or Balcony to free up an Interior room that is in demand. That makes the upgraded person happy as they've got a better cabin and allows someone who wanted an Interior room that wasn't available. There are probably other factors that come into play that also affect when and how upgrades are handled but this seems logical to me.

 

Of course, it might just be the Upgrade Pixie doing his (or her since we're talking about Princess here :rolleyes: ) magic stuff too.

 

Tom

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jrzebird

jrzebird

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Posted
I hit the Upgrade jackpot on my October Regal Princess Halloween Retreaters cruise.

 

 

 

I booked an Inside Guarantee

 

Assigned a Baja deck Inside cabin

 

Free Upgrade to a Sideways Inside Cabin

 

Free Upgrade to an Obstructed Balcony

 

Free Upgrade to An Emerald Deck Obstructed Deluxe Balcony cabin with a Sofa.

 

 

 

My cost was $529 per with $100 per OBC.

 

 

 

Wonderful Cruise :cool:

 

 

 

The upgrade Fairy is alive and well and she likes me :)

 

 

 

I was on the same cruise and also went from an inside side facing cabin, to an inside an finally to an obstructed balcony. Amazing upgrade; fantastic cruise. Oh course the royal and regal don't have ocean views so the only way up is either position and location or inside to balcony.

 

Maureen.

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Guest arowe6

Guest arowe6

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A few years ago we were on the Ruby. Booked last minute in an interior. The price was SUPER cheap. A few days prior to sailing we were upgraded to a midship balcony.

 

So yes, it can happen.

 

-Andrew :)

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