Upgrading at check-in

[Husker114]

Well, first let me say that this site is OUTSTANDING!!!! I have learned a ton and look foreard to learning more.

 

Here is my situation. We booked a Western Caribbean cruise for 7/3/06 (yes we leave Monday!!!!:D ) We are 5 so we booked 2 cat 6 cabins with our TA who has helped us with our previous cruises. When we received our docs I asked the TA what our cabin assignements were and he told me, R229 & R 227. Well since this was our 3rd cruise with Carnival and also booking through this TA, I asked him why our rooms were on the Riveria Deck and he told me that was all that was available. Well today I go to Carnival.com and act as though I am booking a cruise and to my surprise their are 10 cat 6 rooms available on the main deck. this after he told me that he could do nothing for me. So needless to say I am pissed at him for his lack of help and want to know what my chances are of upgrading at check in!!.

 

this is our first cruise with the kids. In the past when we cruised we gooked GTEE and were upgraded both times to the Empress deck, VERY NICE.

 

Any suggestions on what I could or should do to try to get higher on the ship?

 

Needless to say I will never book with a TA again since finding this site. you guys are the BOMB :D :D :D

 

Thanks in advance!!!

[StacyandTim]

I would call your TA back and tell him/her what you found on Carnival's website.

 

The chances of upgrading at the pier are usually slim to none. They'll tell you to check into your originally booked cabin and then call the purser's desk once all passengers are onboard and checked in to see if any other cabins are available. Most times there aren't any and the ship is booked to full capacity.

 

Also, another option would be to transfer your booking to another TA which only takes a phone call from you and/or a fax. Then let the new TA work to get you the upgrade.

 

Good luck, I hope it all works out for you!

[Wennfred]

You can not get upgraded at Check-in

[Cotton]

Bummer. Your TA is the only one who can make this right, as calling Carnival (if you thought of that) would do no good. They would direct you back to your TA. Call the guy back and tell him you found add'l cabins on Main, and want to be changed.

 

And yes - Most Carnival ships sail at full capacity. I've always seen a sign at the Purser's desk "No cabins available". They can't help you at checkin at the terminal, but you might just ask at the purser's desk anyway. Can't hurt.

 

But...First - I'd sure give that TA a call NOW. Good luck. Let us know the outcome.:)

[caribbean dreams]

On a summer cruise you chances are zero of getting an upgrade at check in, could it be that there are no higher cabins availible close together?

If thats not the case, i would go see your TA in person and have him look up the cabin stats infront of you, if there are upgrades make him call carnival and change your assignment.

My TA always calls Carnival and asked about cabins for me, so i know your TA can do the same.

[shandabyb]

It might also be that there are two cabins in question. Did you request that the 2 cabins been next to each other? This will reduce Canivals ability to upgrade you.

 

It can sometimes be hard even at booking much less closer to sailing to find 2 cabins next to each other.

 

Just a thought.

 

Shanda

[GoinCruisin]

Those are the chances you take when you book a guarantee... sometimes you get upgraded, sometimes you don't. If you want a higher deck, you should book a higher deck. You won't be able to upgrade at check in... if you want a higher deck, ask your TA how much it would be to upgrade. Perhaps you can get a deal. Good luck!

[Husker114]

Thank you all for the quick replies. I will call my TA now and discuss this with him.

 

We did ask to be close, but not necessarly together. On the carnival site they have as many as 5 cabins together in a row showing as available.

 

I will post later with the results of my discussion with our TA.

 

Thanks again to all!!!

[GoinCruisin]

Thank you all for the quick replies. I will call my TA now and discuss this with him.

 

We did ask to be close, but not necessarly together. On the carnival site they have as many as 5 cabins together in a row showing as available.

 

I will post later with the results of my discussion with our TA.

 

Thanks again to all!!!

 

Problem is, they will put you where you want. If you requests specific cabins, you can't book a guarantee... there may be cabins together, but Carnival has their methods of upgrading, etc. You can discuss it with your TA, but be prepared to pay if you really want to be elsewhere... good luck!

[StacyandTim]

Definitely keep us posted, I'm curious to see if your TA comes through for you!

[NRWO]

Chances are your TA can't help you, and definitely has nothing to with where your cabins were assigned. These cabins left might be triples or quads, and CCL will not spoil berths to upgrade you. Moreover CCL probably berthed you in 2 remaining right next to each other and these cabins you see now may have only recently become available because of cancellations. the lesson is, if it matters to you in anyway where your cabins are located, don't book a guarentee. Spend a couple of extra bucks and pick your room assignements if it matters that much to you. If ultimately you're not happy with where your rooms are, blame your TA and Carnival all you want, but you got what you payed for.

[Guest YesitDonna]

Many TA's reserve blocks of cabins on every cruise. To all other TA's and Carnival they show as reserved and aren't booked. Then as the cruise nears the cruise companies require that they release any cabins under their reserve that haven't booked. Perhaps the ones you are seeing now were of anoher TA's reserve and your TA couldn't see them as available of course because they technically weren't at that time. It is possible it wasn't your TA trying to not get you what you wanted.

[Dmarie305]

I am in a similar boat (no pun intended) but slightly different. We are scheduled to go out on the Elation on 7/9/06. On Thursday PM I received word that our type of fare had gone down quite a bit. In addition several rooms next to each other had opened up and we have booked 4 rooms (there are 12 of us traveling 6 adults and 6 kids) and initially we couldn't get rooms next to each other. If anything we would like our rooms reassigned so we can be near each other. After contacting Carnival they told me that I would have to speak with my agent. I left a message for him on Friday as well as sent an email. No response. I did the same on Saturday. No response. I finally got through to someone and they told me he was on a cruise and would not be back until 7/4. I was told to email him but that he would not be boarding until the day so it wouldn't be until later in the evening until I heard back from him. Turns out he is a franchise owner of a Travel Agency (I do not think I can mention the name here) and he and his wife are the business and they were both out of the office. He responded to my email late Sunday night and told me to call the Corporate office. I called the Corporate office and they told me that he was supose to leave someone on call for him and that there was nothing they could do because of the way he booked it. She informed me that she sent him a long email and that I should hear from him soon. As I have been checking the Carnival website and re-pricing, the fare is still lower, but it has gone up since last Friday and the rooms are slowly becoming unavailable. I received an email early this morning, prior to his sightseeing excursion, telling me to focus on getting excited about our trip. I responded and asked him to please tell me when he has taken care of our bookings and I have yet to hear from him.

 

OOOOOOhhh! I am so frustrated.

[lvtotrvl1]

Not to sound redundant, but if you want specific cabins, you need to book them at the onset. A guarantee does not guarantee you anything, but the category you chose. Once a cabin is assigned, there is usually not much that can be done. As another poster said, you may want to see what the cost would be to upgrade your cabins to what you want. I really don't see that this is your TA's fault. (Unless he did not explain guarantees, but you mentioned you had boooked a guarantee in the past)

[mrdood]

If you booked a gty, you got what you paid for, anything else will cost you more $$$, but if there are rooms, they should be able to hook you up, frankly, not sure what you are worried about, the difference between Main and Riviera is 10ft in height - big deal.

[ecrew]

That is what my question was, because I also have R229 and was happy to have been upgraded into it (from an inside cabin). Now I am worried about Riviera after all this discussion. Is it really that big of deal?

[GoinCruisin]

That is what my question was, because I also have R229 and was happy to have been upgraded into it (from an inside cabin). Now I am worried about Riviera after all this discussion. Is it really that big of deal?

 

I have been on the Riviera deck... nice and quiet down there. No problems at all.