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Advice on upgrading Princess cabin from inside to balcony?

marie94949

By marie94949,
in Princess Cruises

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marie94949

marie94949

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Hi everyone,  although we are Platinum on Princess we have been sailing other cruise lines for years.   We started out booking an inside cabin.  Rates on balcony cabins on our Majestic 11/25 cruise started to fall.  I called Princess yesterday to upgrade - not something you can do on their web site.  Now I see why.   I was told I cannot upgrade our cabin for the difference in fares on the web site.  I would have to pay $1500 in addition to the fare difference shown on their site.  The fares on the site are special deals for new passengers only.  There is some other higher fare I must pay that it not shown to me.  It left quite an unpleasant taste in my mouth.  I could cancel and rebook but I would have to pay a penalty and I would have to pay. for the Princess Plus twice - on the first and second bookings in addition to the penalty on the base fare.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  It has taken the joy out of the cruise so much that I am thinking about canceling altogether.  Thank you!!

 

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cr8tiv1 Holiday Sharing Rare

cr8tiv1

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It sounds like you have already made final payment (90 days before cruise).  Princess often times has these drop and go fares for NEW bookings.  This sounds like where you are at.

 

I have never had success upgrading after final payment by paying the difference.  Others have.  Hopefully, they will chime in and give you the "how to's". Good luck.

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Sea Hag

Sea Hag

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I feel your pain on this, but it's always been like this - some promotions are for new bookings only. Since your sailing date, assuming it's the year, is within the penalty phase and you speak of canceling, I suppose you must have Princess platinum insurance or some other that lets you cancel for any reason. If it's Princess insurance, canceling for a non-covered reason gives you a credit on account, not a refund. Are you aware of that?  I hope you won't let this sour you on Princess permanently. We've had some really great cruises on Princess over the years.

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marie94949

marie94949

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Hi there,  what is OBC?   What I think is especially distressing is the lack of transparency of the fares. They go look in a special place to find my, higher fare than the ones on the web site.   They treat current customer worse than new customers.  If I had know this would happen I would not have booked or I would have waited until the last minute.  Live and learn I guess but really it does make me feel mistreated which is not a great way to start a vacation.

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marie94949

marie94949

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Also this is a very good reason NOT to book direct with Princess.  In hindsight that was a big mistake.  They did not disclose that this could happen.  Really no fare disclosures at all.  I upgraded to Princess Plus on the web site and now I can't get that $$ back even when I cancel.  I I feel that if we had had a TA would have gotten some useful information.  At least you would feel you had someone looking out for you rather than Princess direct whose only concern is to extract $$ from you without looking out for you.   Also its very difficult and time consuming to reach anyone at Princess at all.  Call and wait on hold forever, leave your number and not get a call back.

 

 

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donswife Great Review Rare

donswife

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If the price of your cabin had gone up, would you be willing to pay the difference? When one books a cruise,  presumably it is for the cabin you want at a price you are willing to pay.  I don't see how Princess is cheating you. Your best bet is to follow the advice in post #5 and see if you can bid. You can also call again and try a different agent.

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1cruiselvr

1cruiselvr

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I don’t understand why you blame Princess for booking an inside but really wanting a balcony. A TA would have made no difference in the pricing issue. Princess would have told them the same thing. You made an assumption and you were wrong. Now you want to blame the cruise line. 

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marie94949

marie94949

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Gee thanks for your comment 1cruiselvr.   Finished my year of cancer treatment and thought I would take a cruise.  My excitement about this cruise  is now in the rear view mirror.

 

 

 

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1cruiselvr

1cruiselvr

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10 minutes ago, marie94949 said:

Gee thanks for your comment 1cruiselvr.   Finished my year of cancer treatment and thought I would take a cruise.  My excitement about this cruise  is now in the rear view mirror.

 

 

Tons of us have health issues but we don’t use them on this board as an excuse for blaming the cruise line for their own assumption mistake. 

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donswife Great Review Rare

donswife

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OBC is on board credit.  You can use it to pay for anything on the ship.

 

Congrats on coming out the other side,  and I hope you choose to enjoy the cruise in which ever cabin. If you can't get the balcony,  I suggest booking a lounger in the Sanctuary (must be done on board) for a really special time. 

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Torfamm

Torfamm

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When you are this close to sailing you are probably seeing last minute fares. The only way to take advantage of that kind of pricing is to be willing to take the chance that you will find availability and be able to organize your trip just a few weeks ahead of a cruise. Most people like to book ahead even if it means missing out on drop and go fares.

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tillys mom

tillys mom

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So sorry for all the negativity you have gotten! Cruise critic is where we all come to ask questions, and there are no dumb questions. Those that have to be ugly must have a lot of unhappiness in their lives. 
After final payment, Princess often drops prices to get all the cabins full. That’s why they make it so hard for you to swap cabins. My DH prefers inside cabins, so we have sailed in them many times. But a balcony is really nice. As suggested, see if you can bid on an up-grade. Otherwise, be so busy having fun that you aren’t in the cabin except to sleep.

Please don’t let this spoil your trip.

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Wishing on a star

Wishing on a star

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Yes, I am so sorry, as I can see that you have a lot of hopes and expectations for your cruise!

The post just above is correct.   I don't know when your sail date would be, or what the penalty for cancellation would now be,  but it seems that the penalty would not make it helpful to cancel and re-book.

 

If they have dropped these balconies such a significant amount, they will probably be up for bidding.  Make sure you are set to get notifications from Princess, and go online and log in and pull up your sailing. There is an option there to see if your booking is being considered eligible for bidding for an upgrade.  In general, you would have to be in a category that Princess is upgrading, you have to be paid, and it has to be around Final Payment Date, or beyond.

 

Watch for a Princess Invitation to Bid for upgrade to come in.

 

Enjoy your cruise whatever works out!

 

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RD64

RD64

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The best advice is always book the category you want initially. Waiting / hoping for upgrades that may never materialize May lead to disappointment . I am assuming you were ok with this cabin category when you booked, so just go and enjoy.

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toofewcruises

toofewcruises

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On 10/7/2022 at 3:11 PM, marie94949 said:

Hi there,  what is OBC?   What I think is especially distressing is the lack of transparency of the fares. They go look in a special place to find my, higher fare than the ones on the web site.   They treat current customer worse than new customers.  If I had know this would happen I would not have booked or I would have waited until the last minute.  Live and learn I guess but really it does make me feel mistreated which is not a great way to start a vacation.

Don't feel mistreated. Just get a really good travel agent! All cruise lines operate this way... Pm me if you want the name of my travel agent. She's great!

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