Yacht club upgrade from an interior to a balcony suite YC?

[umpisoccer]

Does MSC ever offer a free upgrade to you from an interior Yacht club to a Balcony Suite YC if they don't sell all the suites?  It seems like the cost to bid on the upgrade program is just as much as if you just paid for the YC suite.  95% of the YC balcony suites are still available for our Meraviglia July cruise.

[hamrag]

13 minutes ago, umpisoccer said:

Does MSC ever offer a free upgrade to you from an interior Yacht club to a Balcony Suite YC if they don't sell all the suites?  It seems like the cost to bid on the upgrade program is just as much as if you just paid for the YC suite.  95% of the YC balcony suites are still available for our Meraviglia July cruise.

No, why would they do that when they can upsell?

[umpisoccer]

It just seems like the low to mid upgrade bid requirements would cost just as much as it would be for us to book the Yacht club balcony suite at the regular price.

[Até]

Plus you're bidding on an unknown cabin location.   A low bid might save you a couple hundred vs booking outright now.  If you've watched the prices since the sailing was first listed usually you could have booked for much less than the lowest bid amounts.  YC prices usually inflate a lot as sail date approaches.  It's been this way since the bidding system started.

[bundtkate]

They don't offer free upgrades unprompted, but you will find reports of folks getting deep discounts onboard if there are unsold cabins. I have no direct experience to lend here, but I've seen posts that if you ask the YC director or concierge if there are available cabins and what cost when you board, you can often land yourself a bargain.

Honest, I don't know they don't just lower the bids. If they give you an upgrade onboard (even if paid) it'll be tough to also guarantee someone pays some amount for the YC inside you vacated. NCL lowers bids on cabins that aren't getting enough interest and it baffles me MSC doesn't do the same, but if it means cheaper upgrades on board if you get lucky, who am I to complain? Good luck either way!

[emmas gran]

8 hours ago, umpisoccer said:

Does MSC ever offer a free upgrade to you from an interior Yacht club to a Balcony Suite YC if they don't sell all the suites?  It seems like the cost to bid on the upgrade program is just as much as if you just paid for the YC suite.  95% of the YC balcony suites are still available for our Meraviglia July cruise.

I have a YC balcony in 10 days and last week had 2x  upgrade letters for higher suite, the price is higher than I would pay. Have you cruised MSC before , you may need to see how things work why should you get a free upgrade??

[mackfam]

After reading a previous thread about this (sorry I forget who the OP was), I was able to upgrade on our last cruise to a YC1 from a YIN once onboard for around $550 total. We just went to the concierge desk as soon as we boarded and asked if any upgrades were available. We were put on a list and told we would be notified after we sailed. The only down side was we had to wait until around 7pm to get into our new cabin so couldn’t unpack until then. 
We have YC insides booked for our next three cruises. Not sure if we will try and upgrade again. We loved the balcony suite but really didn’t spend much time there, so I might prefer to spend the extra $$ elsewhere.  I actually had the best sleeps ever on our previous cruise in the YIN.

[JAGR]

1 hour ago, mackfam said:

After reading a previous thread about this (sorry I forget who the OP was), I was able to upgrade on our last cruise to a YC1 from a YIN once onboard for around $550 total. We just went to the concierge desk as soon as we boarded and asked if any upgrades were available. We were put on a list and told we would be notified after we sailed. The only down side was we had to wait until around 7pm to get into our new cabin so couldn’t unpack until then. 
We have YC insides booked for our next three cruises. Not sure if we will try and upgrade again. We loved the balcony suite but really didn’t spend much time there, so I might prefer to spend the extra $$ elsewhere.  I actually had the best sleeps ever on our previous cruise in the YIN.

That may have been me you referenced.  We did this on Meraviglia in October for about that price, and I did relate our experience on another post.  We have interior booked as well for upcoming cruises.  I suppose DW will decide.  Happy wife, happy life.

[Corriegr]

Travelled on Virtuosa last May  to Fjords booked  in a YC Balcony suite and know due to low capacity everyone in Interior YC cabins was upgraded to Balcony on boarding for free. 

[mackfam]

5 hours ago, JAGR said:

That may have been me you referenced. 

Yes, I think it was you JAGR! 

 

4 hours ago, Corriegr said:

due to low capacity everyone in Interior YC cabins was upgraded to Balcony on boarding for free. 

Wow, that would be nice but I fear the days of low capacity are over!

[MsTabbyKats]

8 hours ago, mackfam said:

After reading a previous thread about this (sorry I forget who the OP was), I was able to upgrade on our last cruise to a YC1 from a YIN once onboard for around $550 total. We just went to the concierge desk as soon as we boarded and asked if any upgrades were available. We were put on a list and told we would be notified after we sailed. The only down side was we had to wait until around 7pm to get into our new cabin so couldn’t unpack until then. 
We have YC insides booked for our next three cruises. Not sure if we will try and upgrade again. We loved the balcony suite but really didn’t spend much time there, so I might prefer to spend the extra $$ elsewhere.  I actually had the best sleeps ever on our previous cruise in the YIN.

I'm in a YIN on the meraviglia right now. I've had insomnia since forever.  I slept till 9 am today.

Really glad I didn't upgrade.  Anyway, all that money went to the casino!