Free Upgrades vs Bid Upgrades

[ClayoftheLake]

Hello all!

 

There are other threads on here about what people bid for upgrades etc, but I was curious as to if you could still get surprise free upgrades with this new system. We are currently booked in a GTY balcony (BE) on Escape in Jan (oh, and we booked a normal rate, not sailaway), and at this point do not plan on bidding. HOWEVER, we are pondering what the chances are of being upgraded without bidding?

[BirdTravels]

There is no such thing as a free upgrade. A BE is a regular non-midship booked room. It is not a guarantee (GTY) (which is the sailaway rate).

 

If the price of the minisuite were to drop, you could call and see if the cruise line would be willing to give you the minisuite at your currently booked rate. Understanding that a minisuite is exactly the same size room as your current balcony, just with a slightly bigger bathroom.

[garycarla]

As said, you are not in a GTY room (though you are pretty much guaranteed which room you are getting)

 

Chance of getting a random upgrade? Very, very, very slim. Sure it happens, but usually because the cruise line needs your cabin (adjoining, or repairs, or?). And, with the upgrade program, there is no reason to give something away if somebody else already said they give NCL some extra money to have that other cabin.

[grandmarnnurse]

There is no such thing as a free upgrade. A BE is a regular non-midship booked room. It is not a guarantee (GTY) (which is the sailaway rate).

 

If the price of the minisuite were to drop, you could call and see if the cruise line would be willing to give you the minisuite at your currently booked rate. Understanding that a minisuite is exactly the same size room as your current balcony, just with a slightly bigger bathroom.

 

 

 

I know this thread is specifically about upgrades on NCL, but when you mentioned that there was no such thing as a free upgrade, I thought I would mention that when my son and his new bride sailed on the RCCL Oasis back in April for their honeymoon, when they arrived at port to check in to their Oceanview cabin, they were told they upgraded them to a balcony for their honeymoon. And once in their cabin, there was a platter of cookies and a bottle of champagne waiting for them! I thought that was pretty neat!

 

 

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[timf2001]

If the OP booked a specific category room and was not able to select a stateroom at the time of booking, it IS a guarantee by definition. Norwegian changed the terminology of their cheapest rates from "Guarantee" to "Sail Away" in order to eliminate the misconception that only the cheapest rates could be guarantees.

 

With a BE guarantee, the chances are high that you could be assigned a balcony cabin in a "better" category than BE. However, it is extremely unlikely that you will be upgraded a mini suite or better.

[garycarla]

I know this thread is specifically about upgrades on NCL, but when you mentioned that there was no such thing as a free upgrade, I thought I would mention..

 

Yes

It does happen.

But rare, very rare.

 

ESPECIALLY when the ship is sold out.

[turtle tavern]

We had guarantee room and ended up in large balcony room on Getaway

 

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[MikeBTN]

You may end up in a BE. You may end up in a higher category of balcony room (eg BA, B1, etc). Odds are slim that you would get upgraded to a mini suite. I wouldn’t hold my breath on getting upgraded to Haven/Suite.

[garycarla]

You may end up in a BE. You may end up in a higher category of balcony room (eg BA, B1, etc). Odds are slim that you would get upgraded to a mini suite. I wouldn’t hold my breath on getting upgraded to Haven/Suite.

 

 

Yep. As Mike said - odds are slim. I would say about .00001%

 

 

They would much rather upgrade someone that bid and will give them more money vs just giving it away. I am sure they already have a list of people that have bid $$ to move up. This bidding program is a very smart move.