My Opinion Regarding Upgrades

I want to share my opinion on this topic which comes up quite often.

My loyalty to RCL is close to nil. I read about new cruisers and gold members getting upgrades and it annoys me for this reason.........RCL says it upgrades their Diamond Plus members one category 21 days prior to sailing if there are more then 3 cabins available. In Dec I called C and A I asked for the perk I'm ENTITLED to from a Balcony to Jr. Suite, since there were lots of Jr suites available. They didn't give it to me, I guess they were trying to sell it. I wrote to someone in corporate and stated my disappointment that they give a worthless perk to a frequent cruiser and low and behold a few days before sailing i got the upgrade. Loyalty has to be two ways and it's not. Last year I sailed on Princess to get to their elite level, and have found they honor their loyalty program. They can have a loyalty program but unless they actually follow it what good is it. Those of us who have dozens of cruises with RCL are their bread and butter customers so it behooves them to treat them well by following their own policy for upgrades. I'm sailing on the Rhapsody to Alaska May 8 and will be watching what happens 21 days prior to sailing regarding upgrades. If their web site shows multiple cabins available and they choose not to upgrade my cabin as Diamond Plus member I will absolutely give attention to Princess although they do not upgrade but have wonderful perks for their elite members.

Do ALL Diamond + members get upgraded? How does that work when there are only so many 'upgrade' cabins available?

Just wondering how you came to know that you should be upgraded.

Do ALL Diamond + members get upgraded? How does that work when there are only so many 'upgrade' cabins available?

Just wondering how you came to know that you should be upgraded.

The cruiser with highest number of cruises gets upgraded first and it goes down the line of all D+ members until they run out of upgrades. If you have an inside cabin you should be upgraded to an outside cabin and likewise an outside cabin will get upgraded to a balcony and a balcony to a Jr. Suite and Jr. Suite to a full suite IF there are several cabins still available.

IIRC, I *think* the 21 days has now been reduced to 14...

we are diamond plus also, 38 cruises with Royal Caribbean, and the same thing happens to me when I call about upgrade, I realize that the one with the most cruises is first, but on my last cruise in October, I saw lots of suites left, with only three days left to sail and they said the same thing, I agree with the poster, I dont think it is a really good perk,

We got our 38 credits one at a time on a 7 night or longer crusies, so we did it the hard way, not complaining, but dont think they should offer a perk, if they are not going to give it.

We met a couple a few years ago who were sailing on their 49th and 50th cruise(b2b). They said they had never been upgraded until this cruise and they believed that the only reason they were given this upgrade was because they pleaded with their TA to beg RCL. They were given an OS. I would have to think that they would have been near the top of the list of who had the most cruises at least some of the time.

This cruise was also their 50th anniversary.

To the OP: Princess does do upgrades on their cruises...On our first Princess cruise in 2002 we were upgraded from Balcony to Mini-Suite and on our upcoming Grand cruise we were upgraded 8 categories...

They do treat their past passengers well, the only drawback is once final payment is made (that's when reductions really go wild) you do not get the reduced rate...

To the OP: Princess does do upgrades on their cruises...On our first Princess cruise in 2002 we were upgraded from Balcony to Mini-Suite and on our upcoming Grand cruise we were upgraded 8 categories...

They do treat their past passengers well, the only drawback is once final payment is made (that's when reductions really go wild) you do not get the reduced rate...

To my knowledge Princess does not have a policy regarding upgrades, it's random. Last year Princess gave us a nice upgrade but I didn't expect it. RCL has a perk that they with hold, that's the difference.

To my knowledge Princess does not have a policy regarding upgrades, it's random. Last year Princess gave us a nice upgrade but I didn't expect it. RCL has a perk that they with hold, that's the difference.

You are correct, it is random....On RCI if you are not D or D+ there is not an upgrade policy either...Before we attained D+ status, we had booked a balcony and got an upgrade to a Grand Suite on Mariner which was a wonderful upgrade...

I was told by C&A that D/D+ upgrades are only for 7nt and longer cruises.

You are correct, it is random....On RCI if you are not D or D+ there is not an upgrade policy either...Before we attained D+ status, we had booked a balcony and got an upgrade to a Grand Suite on Mariner which was a wonderful upgrade...

I was told by C&A that D/D+ upgrades are only for 7nt and longer cruises.

It's D+ not Diamond that gets this perk.

I have to say what made me really like Royal was our very first cruise. This will make some mad but we were upgraded from a balcony to a Jr. Suite. We did not know until we got to the airport to catch the transfer and they told us our luggage tags were wrong. The only reason that I can see why we got the upgrade is because they messed up our air portion of the cruise. We did the custom air arrangements due to is being our honeymoon and they changed our air on us without after we did the custom air arrangement. So I called and got everything changed back to what it was suppose to be (big headache, they tried to get me to pay for the custom air again) but I am not sure if this is why we got the upgrade due to there mistake and trying to make it up to us being that we were first time cruises but it worked we are Loyal to Royal.

We are Diamond + and we have a 14 day cruise out of San Juan to San Franisco, we have a D1 on the aft and we don't want an upgrade.

OP...I am coming to this point also...it is getting very frustrating...I travel a lot on RCI almost exclusively...I have called and was told the same thing as you...it gets really upsetting, when time after time you read, "oh we were upgraded from a outside to a JS or a balcony to a GS or even OS...it just really burns me up. Because lately it is happening a lot. I am leaving in 15 days...there are lots of cabins left and I have not heard a word...

Now I will say this...I love the CL and the Diamond Lounge on the larger ships...I love meeting with other frequent cruisers, and I do occasionally enjoy that extra perk of meeting with the crew at the Platinum/Diamond party. I enjoy having a choice of gifts when I board...but I would trade all that for a one category up grade when I travel...that would be so nice....

I wasnt aware that was one of the perks with C&A but after our sailing last week on Princess I think that RC has something really nice set up for repeat cruisers, at least for the first tier of pax. The Gold level on RC (we are Plat now) is much better than the on on Princess. However we did recieve an upgrade on Princess where we hever have on RC. Just Luck I guess

I agree with OP. We are D+. I have called twice on 2 different cruises where there were lots of upper categories left and received nada.

So, I gotta ask, what do they say when you call and can give them cabin numbers of cabins that are still available and they still won't give you the upgrade? I just sounds almost unbelievable (except that it is RCL) that they could so blatantly ignore their own published policy and alienate their best customers at the same time. Although it becomes far more believable if you track their stock price....

I agree with OP. We are D+. I have called twice on 2 different cruises where there were lots of upper categories left and received nada.

News to me that you are ENTITLED to be upgraded to a JS, from a balcony, 1 category if they have 3 unsold cabins. Is this in writing?? How did you find out that you are entitled to this free upgrade?

I was under the impression it was hit or miss.

I agree with the OP, they try everything in their power not to award upgrades. Usually, if there plenty of upgradable cabins available, they'll put them on Tuesdaty specials right before the 21 days out.

On the other hand, I have never seen where it is published that they will give upgrades to Diamond Pluses. I heard it verbally in September 2004 from the Diamond Plus desk...but have never seen it in the list of perks.

The cruiser with highest number of cruises gets upgraded first and it goes down the line of all D+ members until they run out of upgrades. If you have an inside cabin you should be upgraded to an outside cabin and likewise an outside cabin will get upgraded to a balcony and a balcony to a Jr. Suite and Jr. Suite to a full suite IF there are several cabins still available.

I thought you only got upgraded 1 category, this is even better if you can get it for free.

So, I gotta ask, what do they say when you call and can give them cabin numbers of cabins that are still available and they still won't give you the upgrade? I just sounds almost unbelievable (except that it is RCL) that they could so blatantly ignore their own published policy and alienate their best customers at the same time.

They told me they started the process and have to wait because they start with the D+ members with the most cruisers. Sounds fine except I looked at the cabins in the Jr. Suite category and not a one was sold between that 21 days and 10 days when I wrote to corp. So it was lip service. Also when we went to the Pl/D party they announced who had the most cruises and it was really close to the number of cruises I had so i would have been at the top of the short list.

News to me that you are ENTITLED to be upgraded to a JS, from a balcony, 1 category if they have 3 unsold cabins. Is this in writing?? How did you find out that you are entitled to this free upgrade?

 

I was under the impression it was hit or miss.

If you are a C and A member just call them and they will tell you what you're entitled to. They don't make it well known what perks are really available. Did you know after a 50 or 75 (forgot which) you no longer have to pay a single supplement? You also get 2 personal amenities after 50 cruises. Each tenth cruise you get a crystal block with a laser of the ship in it. So many perks they don't like to give, BUT they love to tell you to look forward too.

How about this...If you see better available cabins 3 weeks out, has anyone ever successfully made RCCL an offer of several hundred dollars to upgrade to the next higher level?

How about this...If you see better available cabins 3 weeks out, has anyone ever successfully made RCCL an offer of several hundred dollars to upgrade to the next higher level?

You can always buy your upgrade. :rolleyes:

So, I gotta ask, what do they say when you call and can give them cabin numbers of cabins that are still available and they still won't give you the upgrade? I just sounds almost unbelievable (except that it is RCL) that they could so blatantly ignore their own published policy and alienate their best customers at the same time. Although it becomes far more believable if you track their stock price....

I called when I first reached D+ - primarily to see what they would say. I was told I certainly was entitled to a one category upgrade and yes, there are several available (I didn't call til a week out.) They would "probably" give it to me but I wouldn't know for sure until we reached the dock.

Tiried it the second time and was told "yes there are a number available and they would be calling back to make the offer."

Of course in neither case did I see/hear anything.

I want to share my opinion on this topic which comes up quite often.

 

My loyalty to RCL is close to nil. I read about new cruisers and gold members getting upgrades and it annoys me for this reason.........RCL says it upgrades their Diamond Plus members one category 21 days prior to sailing if there are more then 3 cabins available. In Dec I called C and A I asked for the perk I'm ENTITLED to from a Balcony to Jr. Suite, since there were lots of Jr suites available. They didn't give it to me, I guess they were trying to sell it. I wrote to someone in corporate and stated my disappointment that they give a worthless perk to a frequent cruiser and low and behold a few days before sailing i got the upgrade. Loyalty has to be two ways and it's not. Last year I sailed on Princess to get to their elite level, and have found they honor their loyalty program. They can have a loyalty program but unless they actually follow it what good is it. Those of us who have dozens of cruises with RCL are their bread and butter customers so it behooves them to treat them well by following their own policy for upgrades. I'm sailing on the Rhapsody to Alaska May 8 and will be watching what happens 21 days prior to sailing regarding upgrades. If their web site shows multiple cabins available and they choose not to upgrade my cabin as Diamond Plus member I will absolutely give attention to Princess although they do not upgrade but have wonderful perks for their elite members.

my opinion of your opinion is not everyone can afford to go on 3+ cruises a year like some of us do some people might only get to go on 5 or so cruises and if they stay loyal to one company i dont see why they arnt entilted to an upgrade i think it should be periodic not by how many cruises you went on if you sailed on royal enough times to become a diamond plus member congratulations but there is no reason why you should get an upgrade before someone else. we are platinum members and we just got an upgrade from a balcony to a js and there is no reason we shouldnt have because we always keep going back ro royal. just my opinion of yours.

How did they upgrade you? Did you call and ask someone?