Chances of Getting an Upgrade - Clarification Requested

[hoop4fun]

Lily, you should be fine for a couple of reasons. One is that there is thick padding on the floor of the Casino so you won't hear people walking or the noise of the machines. The other is that it's not like you're near a lounge with a soundstage with amplifiers. :) That can be noisy. If you have open deck above you, there's little or no "padding" to suppress the sound; you'll hear women walking in high heels, people who have heavy footsteps, the dragging of loungers as the staff put them away in the evening and back out in the morning, etc. I've had several cabins, each on a different ship, beneath open deck and every time, I tell myself, "Never again!"

 

I will have to remember that Pam..next time we book. Thanks again for sharing. I hope to post 20 plus cruises one day lol..you lucky lady :)...

 

Lilly :rolleyes:

[languages1]

i have read this whole thread and am curious. Why does the ship do upgrades anyway? Why do they move people, is that not alot of work?

[RedWing50]

:cool:We have sailed several times with Princess. This cruise next month was the first time we checked the box that if an upgrade became available we:confused: would take it. I noticed that our catagory is now on a waitlist. Does this now improve our chances?

[paul929207]

Cruise lines are trying to see every room possible. So they will sell more cabins in one category than they have and then upgrade some to a category that has not sold out. Mostly this is within a type of category (ie, from one inside catgegory to a higher one).

 

Sometimes, it results in an upgrade to a "better" type of cabin (ie from an inside to an obstructed view, or from a balcony to a mini suite). I put better in parenthesis because some feel that not all upgrades are good.

[caribill]

i have read this whole thread and am curious. Why does the ship do upgrades anyway? Why do they move people, is that not alot of work?

 

For example. All inside cabins are taken, but there are more empty oceanview cabins than they think they can sell. In this case, they would move a passenger from inside to oceanview and then sell the inside to a new passenger, thus generating more revenue.

 

Another example. The lowest cost inside cabins are taken, but there are more higher cost inside cabins available than they think they can sell. In this case, they will move a passenger from the lower cost category inside to a vacant higher cost category inside and then sell the lower cost inside to a new passenger, thus generating more revenue.

 

By the way, the second example is more likely to happen than the first.

[RickEk]

The best upgrade I ever received was from an oceanview to a mini-suite. At the time, it was for my second cruise, but I was traveling with an Elite member. I think the range of upgrades also depends on how well the cruise is selling. This cruise was a repositioning cruise and that might have made a difference...

[boating girl]

I agree that it is up to the upgrade fairy. Have cruised on Princess 8 times and never received any type of an upgrade. I have cruised other lines and get an upgrade almost every time. Wish the fairy on Princess would visit me at least once so I know that she really exists!

[Toto2Kansas]

I agree that it is up to the upgrade fairy. Have cruised on Princess 8 times and never received any type of an upgrade. I have cruised other lines and get an upgrade almost every time. Wish the fairy on Princess would visit me at least once so I know that she really exists!

 

Just to keep things interesting. Our 25th Princess cruise is in just over a month, we have received ONE upgrade in all those cruises, and it was our very first cruise with princess. Since then, no true upgrades ever! :(

[spongerob]

You are more likely to be upgraded the further down the list of cabin types you go. If you start at the bottom, there is nowhere to go but up so anything is an upgrade. That's the correlation.

[tgwabd]

We went from JJ inside, upgrade to G obstructed then to D no obstruction on Plaza deck, we are happy. 5th cruise with three out of five having similer upgrades. if you book early at the lower end there is no place to go but up.

[A&Emom]

Last summer was our first time cruising with Princess. We booked 2 ob/view cabins at the last minute and got our cabin#s. Since we were traveling w/our 2yo & 6yo we only booked the 2nd cabin because it was cheaper than paying for them as 3rd & 4th passengers in our cabin. We were upgraded to a mini-suite w/balcony as well as given a significant obc.

[AFT_LOVER]

Cruise Lines upgrade folks to open cheaper cabins for folks buying them.

 

 

i have read this whole thread and am curious. Why does the ship do upgrades anyway? Why do they move people, is that not alot of work?

[cynbar]

I think the problem with upgrades is that they get a lot of attention on these boards, happy cruisers write in to tell us of their good fortune (and I'm sure we all are happy for them!) But my sense is that, statistically, they are fairly rare, especially true upgrades from one type pf stateroom to another. Anyone booking the lowest category or lowest guarantee should be ready to accept just that ---- otherwise, it will get their trip off on the wrong foot.

[Parteeinga]

I just got off the phone with Princess and was talking to the representative about upgrades. I called to see about upgrading from a balcony to a mini suite. The cost was almost double, so needless to say, we are staying where we are at. We originally booked a BF balcony guaranty and were assigned to a BB balcony.

 

While talking with the representative about upgrades, I was told that the upgrades are done by the computer. The upgrades have nothing to do with the number of previous cruises or the price paid. It is done like a lottery. If the computer picks your number, you are one of the lucky ones.

 

Like Cynbar said, book the cabin you will not mind having during your cruise. If you get upgraded, great. If not, then be happy you are on the ship having fun.

[pris993]

We have taken 17 cruises with Princess, had one upgrade years ago.

 

We always book a specific cabin and state we want them to check with us first before any upgrade. We would not be happy with just any upgrade they might give us. When we select a cabin we are very specific about what we want.

 

We generally book a balcony cabin - often just under the suites or a mini suite. So don't really expect an upgrade.

 

We have had upgrades on Celebrity and HAL to suites, but not on Princess.

[ginagirl]

I just got off the phone with Princess and was talking to the representative about upgrades. I called to see about upgrading from a balcony to a mini suite. The cost was almost double, so needless to say, we are staying where we are at. We originally booked a BF balcony guaranty and were assigned to a BB balcony.

 

While talking with the representative about upgrades, I was told that the upgrades are done by the computer. The upgrades have nothing to do with the number of previous cruises or the price paid. It is done like a lottery. If the computer picks your number, you are one of the lucky ones.

 

Like Cynbar said, book the cabin you will not mind having during your cruise. If you get upgraded, great. If not, then be happy you are on the ship having fun.

I have no doubt that upgrades are determined by computer. With the current size of most cruise ships today, the job would become herculean if employees had to contend with that. However, computers are programmed with certain prerequsite factors to evaluate when determining who to move where. And that specific programming is done by humans based on the company's objective and advantage.

[Parteeinga]

I have no doubt that upgrades are determined by computer. With the current size of most cruise ships today, the job would become herculean if employees had to contend with that. However, computers are programmed with certain prerequsite factors to evaluate when determining who to move where. And that specific programming is done by humans based on the company's objective and advantage.

 

The representative I was speaking told me that they get an earful all the time from Elite cruisers with 20+ sailings under their belts because they did not get an upgrade, yet others with less sailings did. I work in the IT field and have done programming. I would think that their system would take the passenger's status in to account when assigning upgrades. Make it pay to be loyal.

[ginagirl]

The representative I was speaking told me that they get an earful all the time from Elite cruisers with 20+ sailings under their belts because they did not get an upgrade, yet others with less sailings did. I work in the IT field and have done programming. I would think that their system would take the passenger's status in to account when assigning upgrades. Make it pay to be loyal.

Yes, One Would Think That. However, corporate greed does call all the shots; and I think we all know how that operates.:eek: Customer satisfaction, relations, service are areas that have seriously been eroded. Their only objective it seems now is to take advantage of the loyal (addictive) clients, and make sure to "hook" the new and unsuspecting clients for future revenue. Just my opinion.