Prices for upgrades?

[Shopinpat]

I am interested in knowing what anyone has paid for upgrades from balcony to suite.

We have not been given a cabin assignment as of yet and we are sailing 1/25. Rec'd phone call from TA asking if we wanted to be upgraded to suite for additional cost per person. Seemed like a lot for an additional 100 sq ft. Would like some input on others experiences. Has anyone agreed to pay less than what was offered and if you say no what happens to what you will eventually recieve for room assignment. I know we are guaranteed a balcony so they have to give us that. I was thinking of offering to pay less than what they are offering. Just wondering if anyone else has ever done that.

Any info appreciated..

Thanks

Pat

[sail7seas]

You have nothing to lose to ask if they will accept a lower upsell amount. Can't hurt to ask.

 

[jhannah]

I agree. Negotiate with them. These paid upgrades are not a fixed price. One person may be offered $100, the next $250. You just never know. See what you can negotiate.

[ekerr19]

The amounts we've been offered in the past have NEVER been bargains. It is usually substantially higher, we were waitlisted for an SA on our Canada/New England cruise and counter-offered the upsell and HAL said "no way" we have others in line, so we basically paid full fare.

 

Depends on how much you want it. To us it's worth it.

[49holding]

For my upcoming 10 nite Panama canal cruise I paid the difference( $200pp) in the going rate between what I booked a VD to a SZ guarantee, that was back in November after final payment when I saw that there were rate drops. I thought a total of $40 per nite was worth for all that extra room( almost $140 sq feet additional).

[Krazy Kruizers]

I just got an e-mail from a friend who is in shock -- they asked about an upgrade from a balcony to a suite and were quoted a price of $3500 per person!!

Not exactly a bargain!!

[hulamoon]

The price likely depends upon if you ask for the upgrade or they need to sell them.

 

The extra space is worth it to us. I have heard between 100 and 250 per person quoted.

[pms4104]

For our Statendam 14-day in December, we were offered an upsell from a B category verandah to a suite for $799/person ... we took a pass on the offer. The extra space and perks would have been lovely, but it was more than a tad beyond our budget, tho significantly lower than the original going prices for the suites.

[HALFans]

Having never been offered one, I'm kind of an outsider on this... but here's MHO anyway. :o

 

Take the number of days and divide that into the TOTAL upgrade for all Pax.

 

Sit (or imaging yourself sitting) on the balcony (or in the hot tub if the upgrade is THAT big) sipping a nice hot coffee/tea/chocolate or iced beverage and think to yourself... "is this view worth XX dollars a day?"

 

If the answer is 'Yes' - JUMP ON IT and don't look back. :p

[wwinfl91]

We also have never been offered one but it would be interesting to be offered one and be able to negotiate with them for a better cabin.

 

A question on the same subject is does HAL only offer these to people who book directly with them or do they include people who book through internet agencies??

 

Thanks and have a great next cruise.

[sail7seas]

I just got an e-mail from a friend who is in shock -- they asked about an upgrade from a balcony to a suite and were quoted a price of $3500 per person!!

 

Not exactly a bargain!!

 

 

For what?

 

A sixty day Grand Voyage? :D

[ekerr19]

I just got an e-mail from a friend who is in shock -- they asked about an upgrade from a balcony to a suite and were quoted a price of $3500 per person!!

 

Not exactly a bargain!!

 

I think for Canada/NE for us to go from VA to SA was $2600 total, so $1300 each for the 7 days... I'll have to double check my records, but $3500 does not surprised me. :)

[clueless2]

Slightly off topic: We were just offered an upgrade from E cabin to A cabin on a 7 day Veendam for $200.

 

We took it just to get the balcony. If you look at the normal price differential for those cabins it's not TOO bad a deal.

[jbhcw]

Another slight off topic questions - we have a guar - larger outside cabin. TA said we would probably not get upgraded as the ship was waitlisted????

 

Not exactly sure how the whole upgrade thing works, and will probably not do a guar on HAL again, getting nervous about no cabin number:eek:

 

With Carnival we always had a cabin about 6 weeks out, so my orderly mind could start figuring out where we were on the ship, etc:D

[Sleepladypalmdesert]

I was told they would be assigned 1-2 weeks before our cruise date. I know the wait is part of the delicious anticipation. Feels to me like waiting to see what is wrapped inside a gift.

 

You'll get it eventually. When does your cruise leave? I have even heard of some folks that have not found out until just a few days before.

[jbhcw]

Sleeplady, we leave Feb 1 on the Westerdam. I have a good friend who swears that on one of their HAL cruises they had to check their bags without a cabin number, then received it when they checked in inside the terminal. My dh will flip out, if that happens to us. I'm still thinking worst case scenario is that we'll find out at the pier.

 

Anyhow, I'm completely okay with the cat. we chose, just wondering where it will be:)

[jhannah]

Not exactly sure how the whole upgrade thing works ...

Don't feel bad. Nobody knows! The upgrade fairy is one elusive character. ;)

[sail7seas]

Sleeplady, we leave Feb 1 on the Westerdam. I have a good friend who swears that on one of their HAL cruises they had to check their bags without a cabin number, then received it when they checked in inside the terminal. My dh will flip out, if that happens to us. I'm still thinking worst case scenario is that we'll find out at the pier.

 

Anyhow, I'm completely okay with the cat. we chose, just wondering where it will be:)

 

 

No reason for your DH to flip out.

If you do not have your cabin number before you arrive at the dock (and you might not - it has happened), simply ask the stevedore to check the manifest and tell you the cabin to which you are assigned. They all have access to the manifest and checking it is not the least unusual for them.

 

Complete your luggage tags before you go and leave cabin number blank. You can quickly write it on the tags when stevedore tells you the number. It is really not a big deal.

 

A guarantee is a lower price and a choice people make. It's a trade off to either paying a bit more and choosing your cabin when you book or paying less and getting whichever cabin they assign, when they assign it.

 

We have also heard of wonderful upgrades at the dock. There have been people who were delighted to be told they were in a much better cabin than they expected.

 

So..... roll with it and have a great cruise.

[jbhcw]

Jim, Sail thanks for the good words!!! I'm taking full responsibility for booking a guar and now paying the consequences of that by not knowing where we are:eek:

 

At the time we booked the prices were very high, but they did come down. Have a cabin assigned for the Liberty and Zaandam, so just dealing with the no cabin issue on the Westerdam right now.

 

But as I said I absolutely loved the outside on the Zuiderdam, IMO a much better cabin than the balcony we had on the Oosterdam so sure I'll be happy, after all we'll be on a ship:):):)

[HALFans]

Not exactly sure how the whole upgrade thing works, and will probably not do a guar on HAL again, getting nervous about no cabin number:eek:

 

We've had very good experiences so far with guarantees. On our Ryndam Hawaii cruise, a couple we were sailing with had an Outside guarantee like we did. They found out on checkin at the pier that they had been upgraded... to an 'S category' Deluxe Veranda Suite (one of the big ones). It's pretty rare to jump 1 category, much less 2, but it does happen!

 

Of course, if you have a favorite stateroom/deck/side of the ship/etc. - as many people do - it's not worth ruining a good manicure, developing crow's feet while squinting and trying to get a glimpse of the upgrade fairy...

[fireman845]

$149.00pp to upgrade from Guar Cat H to BA for 3 cabins... I am really excited now!!

[rosie2002]

At what point should I call HAL/TA to request an upgrade? I'm currently in room VF5134 on the Westerdam. We were in a guarenteed, but my TA put us in a room instead. Should I ask to be put back in a guarenteed room or is that room good?

 

Thanks!

[HALFans]

I'm currently in room VF5134 on the Westerdam. We were in a guarenteed, but my TA put us in a room instead. Should I ask to be put back in a guarenteed room or is that room good?

 

These aren't quite bottom of the barrel Verandas, but they're close.

 

5134 is directly over one of the lifeboats. Had a similar stateroom on the Oosterdam 5061. The balconies are slightly smaller than the others (the smallest on the ship I think).

 

If it were me, I'd switch back to a Guarantee and take my chances. Couldn't be much worse than the one you've got now, and could be quite a bit better.

[katier825]

Sleeplady, we leave Feb 1 on the Westerdam. I have a good friend who swears that on one of their HAL cruises they had to check their bags without a cabin number, then received it when they checked in inside the terminal. My dh will flip out, if that happens to us. I'm still thinking worst case scenario is that we'll find out at the pier.

 

Anyhow, I'm completely okay with the cat. we chose, just wondering where it will be:)

 

I logged on the day prior to our departure and noticed two of the couples we traveled with were upgraded from inside to balcony at no extra cost. I don't know if you can log in same day, didn't have my laptop with me to check. So keep checking until you leave! Good luck and enjoy your trip! :)

[rosie2002]

Thanks HALFans! I want everything to be great on this cruise...Celebrating the big 30!