Beware of the Upgrade Fairy!!

After getting lucky twice, my luck ran out with the Upgrade Fairy. Unfortunately, this time it was at least partially man-made. My two success stories were on the Celebrity Galaxy in March of last year and the Ryndam last July. On the Galaxy, we booked the cheapest inside guaranteed cabin and ended up with a mid-range category unobstructed outside cabin (nice upgrade!). Our next good luck story was on the Ryndam last July where we booked a Category H obstructed view outside guaranteed cabin and were upgraded to a Category E unobstructed view.

Well, this time our luck ran out. We booked a Category H obstructed view outside cabin guarantee on the Volendam for the January 20th 14 night New Zealand Discovery cruise out of Sydney. We placed our booking in July - 6 months before the cruise. This time the Upgrade Fairy was not so nice. We were assigned cabin number 2500, a room that HAL classified as a Category G room as being unobstructed and one they considered to be an upgrade from Category H.

Upon entering the cabin, we were immediately disappointed. This room is the furthest forward (nearest the bow) of any room on the ship. The bulkhead curves inward very sharply. This causes a gap of 3 to 4 feet from the end of the room to the portholes and removes this amount of floorspace from the main cabin. This means the room has no sofa, no table and 3 small wardrobes instead of 4. It is also narrower than the other cabins and only had one small dresser next to the queen sized bed instead of two and there was insufficient space to walk on the other side of the bed.

Since it is a handicapped cabin, it has very wide doors to allow for a wheelchair. This means that the small floorspace available in the middile of the cabin was virtually wiped out by the very wide door to the bathroom. The bathroom is huge. It has an enormous shower and no tub. It is also missing the shelf under the sink. A LOT of the cabin space ended up as the bathroom.

The portholes are there but largely unusable due to the 3 to 4 foot bulkhead separation from the end of the cabin. You cannot get near the glass. It looks like two beady eyes looking out of the ship and no good view is to be had at all.

I measured the room and found the cabin to be about 117 square feet including the storage spaces and desk, and the bathroom to be about 48 square feet. The whole cabin is at most 165 square feet. We were expecting a 197 square foot cabin like most of the cabins on the HAL ships.

Because this room was very far forward, it magnified the effects of the waves. Unfortunately for us, when we left Sydney Harbor, we were greeted by "Very Rough Seas" of 12-18 feet. I had never been seasick before but this was too much. I got so sick I had to send DW down to the Infirmarary and she picked up some special pills normally given to Cancer Patients to stop the vomiting.

We complained to HAL three times, once verbally and twice in writing. In all three cases they said we were given an upgrade from Category H to Category G. I told them I did not think this was an upgrade at all and I was willing to take an Interior Room or ANY other room for that matter. No luck, they turned us down cold even though we saw other rooms near us being vacated. I do not believe this cabin should be a Catefory G or even an H, it should be lower than a HH cabin. I paid for a 197 square foot cabin and got a very cramped, unpleasant room instead.

Lesson learned, beware of the Upgrade Fairy! Only go for the Guaranteed Room if you think a cruise is hard to fill. Our cruise filled up with people specifying their cabins and I was left out in the cold with no chair as the music stopped playing. As for HAL, I am very unhappy they classified this shoebox as an upgrade. I will probably cruise with them again, but not for several years!! :mad:

Sorry to hear about your experience. That room sounds awful. Like you, I would have been very unhappy with that one. Who would have thought the obstruction to the view could be inside the room, rather than outside it. Did you manage to take a photo?

Please let us know if you get anywhere with your complaint.

:(:(:(

Not a pleasant room, that's for sure. But when you book a guarantee you risk getting something you don't like. The cruise line is free to put you wherever they choose ... at your booked category or above.

Not a pleasant room, that's for sure. But when you book a guarantee you risk getting something you don't like. The cruise line is free to put you wherever they choose ... at your booked category or above.

I will never book a modest guarantee room again for that reason. We too had that unpleasant room for 4 days out of 19 on our last Zaandam cruise. We spent 4 days begging to get out of that room. Almost any inside room would have been better and said we would gladly switch to an inside room. The cabin we had had twin beds that could not be put together. Furthest forward and the same portholes.

Word to the wise anyone who books an inside guarantee runs the risk of getting a so called upgrade to an outside room only to end up with this room.

IMHO stress like this should be avoided. At the end of the day I'm certain that a selected cabin is just a few bucks more. Well worth it.

Hi, Bill!

The upgrade fairy is a very fickle creature. We used to book guarantees, but with DH's increasing susceptibility to seasickness, we have started choosing cabins.

We also were upgraded to a HA cabin once (on Amsterdam). The available space is great for those who need the floor space to maneuver wheelchairs and scooters, but for the able-bodied, I feel that the sacrifices aren't worth it.

I hope that others won't pounce you for booking the guarantee and being unhappy with the outcome. I know how much you were looking forward to this cruise. I remember your excitement when you booked it while we were on the Ryndam together. I know how I would feel after building up my anticipation for that long... and then receiving something less than ideal.

I do wonder... how does HAL determine the category for the cabin? In some cases, the advantages are obvious, but for those "special" cases of oddly shaped cabins, they may need to reconsider the designation.

When choosing to take a guarantee cabin basically "you pays your money and you takes your chances".

We almost always book a guarantee, sometimes the cabins aren't in the best locations. We just consider ourselves lucky to be on the cruise in the first place.

I have always recommended that if your cabin is important to you choose it and don't take a guarantee.

I am sorry it affected your cruise and you were so unhappy in that cabin. I hope your next cruise finds you in quarters more to your liking.

Sorry that you had a bad experience with the upgrade fairy this time.

Maybe you should consider booking a specific cabbin in the future.

This sort of thing is very disappointing.

There should be a thread, "Strategies for HAL guarantee bookings".

Solo travellers, and people on longer voyages can't always afford a mid-level guarantee. But, to avoid those extreme fore and aft problem cabins, you sometimes have to book higher than you'd like.....or, pick a modest but "safe" inside cabin and tick the box for "no upgrades".

Sorry for your troubles.

Sorry to hear about your cabin turning your cruise into an unhappy event.

I have heard this before and so I always choose an aft cabin or I won't go, period.

I want relaxation and being mesmerized by ships wake on a private

balcony sipping Merlot in the middle of a moonlit night listening

to my iPod...well, does it for me...so I check the 'do not upgrade'

box when booking.

'as time goes by the expense of the trip fades....and the fond memories

are really those of the places and people'.

:):):)

When you book a guarantee, you have to remember that HC cabins can be thrown into the mix if they have not been booked. While some people may enjoy the extra floor space, others find the HC cabins often lack tubs, double sinks, etc.

On Volendam we had an oceanview HC cabin [required by DH who is in wheelchair] and were dismayed to see that our "ocean view" was blocked by a public staircase outside our window.

We complained to HAL to no avail.

It should have been considered an obstructed view.

Two out of three ain't bad....

Do I understand this correctly: you book an inside or obstructed outside cabin, and then expect an upgrade and are disappointed? You were lucky twice and decided to take your chance again and it went sour. You opted for a room with an "issue" (obstructed view) and got a room with another "issue". How is that not fair? If you want a specific cabin, you have to book one, otherwise you get what's left. Probably cruise lines are aware people have found out that guarantee cabins have a bigger chance of a free upgrade and have stopped that. They probably upgraded the person that was in this cabin originally.

We have a hotel and people will book a room without a balcony although there are lots free with a balcony, and then put in the free text "please give us your best room with balcony". Sorry guys, if you want, you book, that's the way the cookie crumbles...

Posting our "ocean view" on the Volendam!

Posting our "ocean view" on the Volendam!

Yes, I already got the idea, this happened to us on the Volendam too. We also had "oceanview" and had this whole promenade deck in front of our window, with deck chairs and people sitting and talking day and night in front of our window. The worst was being woken up at 7 every morning because somebody hosed the window down with a fire hose. But you did not book an obstructed cabin did you? This was sold to you as an ordinary one! I would have put up a fight with HAL. We booked "best available", basically this was an upgrade for us.

We were offered something minor - $15 per person in OBC I think it was. My husband turned it down.

We just decided it was not worth the argument!

It was a lovely cruise anyway! :)

We booked it as oceanview ... forget the category. Maybe C?

We just thought HAL should change the designation to obstructed view for future bookings.

Meanwhile, we are sticking with Vista ships [or Signature class] which offer more choices in HC cabins.

[We also had crew working outside our window, as you can see from the photo!]

It should have been considered an obstructed view.

Totally agree with you here! I had an HH (obstructed OV) last year, and had a better view!

Guarantees are always a crap-shoot. We book 'em if we truly WOULD be happy with any cabin available, or if we want on the ship and all that is left is guarantees. It has paid off fairly well in the past, but that is no guarantee that it will in the future. Our next cruise we have an "H" guarantee and it is making me anxious, a bit. If the price comes down, I'll move up a few categories, I think.

This sort of thing is very disappointing.

 

There should be a thread, "Strategies for HAL guarantee bookings".

 

Solo travellers, and people on longer voyages can't always afford a mid-level guarantee. But, to avoid those extreme fore and aft problem cabins, you sometimes have to book higher than you'd like.....or, pick a modest but "safe" inside cabin and tick the box for "no upgrades".

 

Sorry for your troubles.

Acknowledge/accept you may end up with the cabin no one else wanted, before booking a guarantee.

All upgrades occur for the benefit of the cruise line, any cruise line, not the passenger. If they do not need your cabin or a cabin in your grade, one is not likely to be upgraded.

Posting our "ocean view" on the Volendam!

Makes you wonder who had the view.:D

I have had wonderful up grades in the past. One thing I have started doing is raising the category I pay for. I prefer traveling solo, so I have to pay the supplement. My next cruise leaving in March I paid for an EE guarr., they had an upsell, and I paid the additional $2800 for a VA.

On my last cruise, I was upgraded to a DA, right across from the laundry. I liked the location, but many times it would get really noisy with people talking loudly with the door open to the laundry room (it was suppose to remain shut). I put up with it, but then I opened my door, and one of the loud ones complained about smoke. Needless to say, I closed my door and called the front desk to complain. I guess it hadn't bothered me that much, but I really didn't like opening my door & some one who had disturbed me complaining because they smelled smoke from my room. Off the subject.

I guess what I do is look at the cabins I could be assigned to, and if I could live with any or most of them, I will continue to book Guar. On my cruise I booked in 2011 (30 day) I paid more, because I decided I wanted a specific area. I would really have to think before I would accept an upgrade to a balconny on that one.

Book what you can live with and afford.

You ordered a Gurantee Cabin and you got one in a higher grade than you ordered.

Be carefull what you ask for as you may get it.....

We always order a specific cabin well in advance, that way we get exactly what we want and have no surprises.

Ruth & Jim

You got what you paid for but...

We signed up for a balcony guarantee on of first Carnival cruise last Feb. We got a cabin but we were not thrilled with the location. We emailed our on line TA...she told us that we could request to get put back into the guarantee pool but our next cabin assignment would final . Well , we did get back into the guarantee 'pool' and had a much better cabin location assigned. Perhaps HAL does this is well...may be worth checking with your TA.

Two out of three ain't bad....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2G-DKOGFbc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2G-DKOGFbc&feature=related

What is on it? I cant't open it, because Sony will not allow it in my country.

What is on it? I cant't open it, because Sony will not allow it in my country.

It's a video of Meat Loaf singing "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad"

You ordered a Gurantee Cabin and you got one in a higher grade than you ordered.

 

Be carefull what you ask for as you may get it.....

 

We always order a specific cabin well in advance, that way we get exactly what we want and have no surprises.

 

Ruth & Jim

I am with you. Booking a guarantee cabin just puts the cruise line in control of where you end up. For some people it works out well and for others not so well. As first time cruisers, and having worked hard to pay for this cruise, we are just not willing to take a gamble with what will essentially be our "home" for 7 days.