Cabin move-upgrade question

[Italy52]

Currently, we have a "do not upgrade" on our 14-day Alaska cruise for 2020 and thinking of deleting that notation.  Our present location is fine but we are not locked into it should a better cabin come along.  My question is this:  does HAL move a cruiser around without notifying them first?  I know other lines do but it appears, from what I have read,  that HAL notifies the cruiser first....true?

 

 

[OVgirl]

If you remove the "do not upgrade", HAL can move you to any cabin in a higher category without asking you. Make sure that there are no cabins you would not like. 

If the give you an offer to upgrade for $$,  then you can usually pick your cabin. 

 

[cate54]

59 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

Currently, we have a "do not upgrade" on our 14-day Alaska cruise for 2020 and thinking of deleting that notation.  Our present location is fine but we are not locked into it should a better cabin come along.  My question is this:  does HAL move a cruiser around without notifying them first?  I know other lines do but it appears, from what I have read,  that HAL notifies the cruiser first....true?

 

 

yes they do. I am just off the Oosterdam and when I went to board the ship they asked me my stateroom number. I happily gave it to him and he replied "no, that is not your cabin. I was staring down at a luggage tag and repeated the same number. It seems that two couples wanted to be next to each other so they gave them my cabin and upgraded us to a Neptune suite. Needless to say, we were not disappointed. On my return I spoke to my TA and he said he had put "upgrade" on my paperwork. I got no call about this, and was unable to find an email or text . I believe my suite became available last minute (they put a sticker with my name over another ) in a note from the captain. I think they knew it was a "win - win" for us both.

[Italy52]

55 minutes ago, OVgirl said:

If you remove the "do not upgrade", HAL can move you to any cabin in a higher category without asking you. Make sure that there are no cabins you would not like. 

If the give you an offer to upgrade for $$,  then you can usually pick your cabin. 

 

Thanks for the response, I appreciate it.  If HAL can move my cabin w/o asking, does this mean that I would have to constantly monitor my cabin?

[Italy52]

23 minutes ago, cate54 said:

yes they do. I am just off the Oosterdam and when I went to board the ship they asked me my stateroom number. I happily gave it to him and he replied "no, that is not your cabin. I was staring down at a luggage tag and repeated the same number. It seems that two couples wanted to be next to each other so they gave them my cabin and upgraded us to a Neptune suite. Needless to say, we were not disappointed. On my return I spoke to my TA and he said he had put "upgrade" on my paperwork. I got no call about this, and was unable to find an email or text . I believe my suite became available last minute (they put a sticker with my name over another ) in a note from the captain. I think they knew it was a "win - win" for us both.

Thanks for the response, I appreciate it.  Sounds like you got a nice upgrade.  We are in an inside so I doubt that HAL would give us such a gift.  But good to know that I need to be aware that my cabin can be moved w/o me knowing if I leave the upgrade in place.

[DaveOKC]

I like to select my own cabin and my idea of a "better" cabin location is not the same as HAL's, so I generally mark my reservation as "do not upgrade".  Now, if I am in the highest level of a category (such as SS in the Signature suites, I do not do this as would be happy to get a free upgrade to a Neptune (any Neptune).  There are some SY cabins that I really like, so in that case I do not want a free upgrade to a better Signature cabin (the SS ones), so the do not upgrade works fine.

 

HOWEVER, even if you mark "do not upgrade" on your reservation (your TA does this for you by the way), you still will get UPSELL offers (basically upgrades that you have to pay to get).  If you take a paid upgrade, generally you can pick your cabin (but not always).  

 

I hope that this explains the process.

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, DaveOKC said:

I like to select my own cabin and my idea of a "better" cabin location is not the same as HAL's, so I generally mark my reservation as "do not upgrade".  Now, if I am in the highest level of a category (such as SS in the Signature suites, I do not do this as would be happy to get a free upgrade to a Neptune (any Neptune).  There are some SY cabins that I really like, so in that case I do not want a free upgrade to a better Signature cabin (the SS ones), so the do not upgrade works fine.

 

HOWEVER, even if you mark "do not upgrade" on your reservation (your TA does this for you by the way), you still will get UPSELL offers (basically upgrades that you have to pay to get).  If you take a paid upgrade, generally you can pick your cabin (but not always).  

 

I hope that this explains the process.

 

Just wanting to make sure I understand.  We have an SS so the only upgrade would be SA, SB or SC?   Just before I take off my do not upgrade. 

 

[DaveOKC]

24 minutes ago, bennybear said:

 

Just wanting to make sure I understand.  We have an SS so the only upgrade would be SA, SB or SC?   Just before I take off my do not upgrade. 

 

Normally if you are in an SS, it is the highest ranked Signature Suite.  Not certain that is true on all ships, but I believe it is.  I looked in my book and I do not see any other higher ranked category.

 

So, based on this, the next step up would be a Neptune Suite (SQ, SA, SB, SC).

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2019 by DaveOKC

[Italy52]

1 hour ago, DaveOKC said:

I like to select my own cabin and my idea of a "better" cabin location is not the same as HAL's, so I generally mark my reservation as "do not upgrade".  Now, if I am in the highest level of a category (such as SS in the Signature suites, I do not do this as would be happy to get a free upgrade to a Neptune (any Neptune).  There are some SY cabins that I really like, so in that case I do not want a free upgrade to a better Signature cabin (the SS ones), so the do not upgrade works fine.

 

HOWEVER, even if you mark "do not upgrade" on your reservation (your TA does this for you by the way), you still will get UPSELL offers (basically upgrades that you have to pay to get).  If you take a paid upgrade, generally you can pick your cabin (but not always).  

 

I hope that this explains the process.

Upsell offers --- good to know that there is a possibility that they can happen.  Many thanks for the information.

[cate54]

4 hours ago, bennybear said:

 

Just wanting to make sure I understand.  We have an SS so the only upgrade would be SA, SB or SC?   Just before I take off my do not upgrade. 

 

I had an SS, upgraded to the Neptune suite.

[bennybear]

You’re giving me hope😁

[Rowsby]

Don't remove the "do not upgrade".......that doesn't prevent you from receiving upsell offers.....and it protects you from being moved......

 

We've received upsell offers on every cruise.....most we have taken......and one was a nice upgrade with no extra cost....:)

[DaveOKC]

10 hours ago, Rowsby said:

Don't remove the "do not upgrade".......that doesn't prevent you from receiving upsell offers.....and it protects you from being moved......

 

We've received upsell offers on every cruise.....most we have taken......and one was a nice upgrade with no extra cost....:)

While normally it is best to mark your cabin "do not upgrade", there are times when you should not do this.  If you would be comfortable with ANY cabin ranked higher than yours, go ahead and remove the "do not upgrade".

 

Like most things, you really do have to do your homework before selecting your cabin.  The best way to start is to get a CURRENT detailed deck plan of your ship, with all the cabins and categories clearly marked.  I use a Cruise Atlas from HAL that I picked up on my last cruise.  You can also find this online, on various websites (including HAL).

 

By doing our research we have found some great cabins, with some being less expensive than higher ranked ones (by HAL).  I have found that HAL's ranking does not match mine in certain situations.  Do not rely on HAL to do your homework for you - everyone has different likes and dislikes, so give this process alot of thought.

Edited March 27, 2019 by DaveOKC