Upgrading Cabin After Final Payment

[jam82]

I'm thinking of upgrading myself to a higher cabin category. We are way after final payment as we sail in six weeks. Is it possible to upgrade myself for a fee? Currently there are higher cabin categories selling for less than what my category is selling for.

 

If I upgrade myself to a higher category that is going for less that what I paid, then how does Princess compute what I must pay? Is it arbitrary or is there a set protocol?

 

Do they ever turn down an upgrade request if the passenger is willing to pay more?

[caribill]

I'm thinking of upgrading myself to a higher cabin category. We are way after final payment as we sail in six weeks. Is it possible to upgrade myself for a fee? Currently there are higher cabin categories selling for less than what my category is selling for.

 

If I upgrade myself to a higher category that is going for less that what I paid, then how does Princess compute what I must pay? Is it arbitrary or is there a set protocol?

 

Do they ever turn down an upgrade request if the passenger is willing to pay more?

 

You can pay for an upgrade, but you will pay what that upgraded cabin cost when you booked the cabin you have.

 

The great lower prices you see are for new bookings only.

[Morgsmom]

I'm thinking of upgrading myself to a higher cabin category. We are way after final payment as we sail in six weeks. Is it possible to upgrade myself for a fee? Currently there are higher cabin categories selling for less than what my category is selling for.

 

If I upgrade myself to a higher category that is going for less that what I paid, then how does Princess compute what I must pay? Is it arbitrary or is there a set protocol?

 

Do they ever turn down an upgrade request if the passenger is willing to pay more?

 

Yes, they do! I booked in February of this year for a March trip (full payment required at time of booking) just a few minutes before a "flash" promotion was set to expire at 5pm. The booking was completed at 4:55. When I checked the next morning the prices had dropped $100. I called and asked my TA, who then asked Princess, if I could upgrade to a balcony and pay the difference between what I had just paid and the new balcony price (the reduced prices now made the "spread" between OV and balcony palatable.) No, nada, zilch, nothing.

 

It had been less than 24 hours. I was livid. I wanted to give them more money. Wrote a long "are you kidding me" letter to which I got a standard "no answer" response.

 

If we hadn't had such a nice time on the cruise I probably never would have sailed Princess again.

[Grannycb]

Those Flash promotions lock you into what you picked. We've tried a couple times on different sailings and been denied. We tried again yesterday when balcony prices dropped below our obstructed OV. We were willing to pay several hundred extra to change on a b2b for the second leg. No go. Oh well, we'll have a good time no matter which cabin cat.

[jam82]

You can pay for an upgrade, but you will pay what that upgraded cabin cost when you booked the cabin you have.

 

The great lower prices you see are for new bookings only.

 

Thanks. I guess that makes sense: They already have my money, they want new money.

[jam82]

Yes, they do! I booked in February of this year for a March trip (full payment required at time of booking) just a few minutes before a "flash" promotion was set to expire at 5pm. The booking was completed at 4:55. When I checked the next morning the prices had dropped $100. I called and asked my TA, who then asked Princess, if I could upgrade to a balcony and pay the difference between what I had just paid and the new balcony price (the reduced prices now made the "spread" between OV and balcony palatable.) No, nada, zilch, nothing.

 

It had been less than 24 hours. I was livid. I wanted to give them more money. Wrote a long "are you kidding me" letter to which I got a standard "no answer" response.

 

If we hadn't had such a nice time on the cruise I probably never would have sailed Princess again.

 

Wow. It seems like they should honor their price for 24 hours, but I guess those Flash promotions are pretty strict.

[Carol_Hill]

You can pay for an upgrade, but you will pay what that upgraded cabin cost when you booked the cabin you have.

 

The great lower prices you see are for new bookings only.

 

Here's a thought--which I have NO idea if this would work or not---IF you have Princess Platinum insurance, could you CANCEL your cruise and re-book the same cruise at the new fare?? If you have Platinum insurance, you can cancel for ANY reason, and have the fare applied 100% to a new cruise within 1 year. Obviously, now this could be stupid, if the old and new fares are not that far apart and wouldn't apply if you didn't have Platinum insurance. You would obviously lose whatever price you paid for the insurance. And the price difference (or the better cabin) would have to be more than what you paid for the insurance in order for it to make sense. The insurance may also have an exclusion for this situation, but I was just running it around in my head..

[Pam in CA]

Wow. It seems like they should honor their price for 24 hours, but I guess those Flash promotions are pretty strict.

Flash promotions are not "normal" bookings and are subject to different policies. They do honor price decreases but not for flash promotions. Nor can you buy Princess insurance. It's kind of like buying something off a bargain table in a store with a "No refunds or returns" policy. You've already gotten a great price.

[Carol_Hill]

The question wasn't whether you could buy Princess insurance on the NEW booking, it was if it would work if you have Princess insurance on the ORIGINAL booking..

[Aruba]

Flash promotions are not "normal" bookings and are subject to different policies. They do honor price decreases but not for flash promotions. Nor can you buy Princess insurance. It's kind of like buying something off a bargain table in a store with a "No refunds or returns" policy. You've already gotten a great price.

Maybe there is an obvious answer to this question and I am just being dense, but how do you know if you have a "flash" booking? I mean, other than if you received a promotional email and responded specifically to it. What if you book a cruise and (fortunately and unwittingly) receive a good price, how do you know if that was a "flash" price?

 

Pam, on another note, not sure if you saw a reply I posted to one of your messages about iPods on a different thread but...do you also have a kindle? If so, how do you like your kindle vs. iPod in terms of reading books? Thanks...Randy

[Pam in CA]

Randy, your TA would tell you whether you have a flash promotion or not. Also, flash sales are usually last-minute deals. If you've booked before final payment, you don't have a flash sale.

 

I responded on the other thread re: Kindle. :) I got the new, smaller one yesterday and am already using it. I could read a book on my iPhone but I'd go crazy within a short while. :)

[Aruba]

Thank you Pam! I hope you like your new Kindle.

I leave 3 weeks from today (but who's counting?) on the west Africa cruise that I had emailed you about. :)

[Lancer1568]

Maybe there is an obvious answer to this question and I am just being dense, but how do you know if you have a "flash" booking? I mean, other than if you received a promotional email and responded specifically to it. What if you book a cruise and (fortunately and unwittingly) receive a good price, how do you know if that was a "flash" price?

 

Pam, on another note, not sure if you saw a reply I posted to one of your messages about iPods on a different thread but...do you also have a kindle? If so, how do you like your kindle vs. iPod in terms of reading books? Thanks...Randy

 

Just my two cents worth. I have the kindle app on my Iphone and LOVE it...got the Iphone in late December and have read over 100 books on phone since then. It is absolutely wonderful. Bought my Dad a Kindle for Christmas which is how I discovered the App. Have borrowed his Kindle to read on and like it but love reading on phone. Wherever you are you have your book. At first the phone seams two small to read a book on but after about 10 pages you are good to go. You can curl up in bed and hold phone in palm of hand without any effort and just read read read.

[caribill]

The question wasn't whether you could buy Princess insurance on the NEW booking, it was if it would work if you have Princess insurance on the ORIGINAL booking..

 

The question was based on the original booking being a flash promotion. For that, Princess insurance would not have been available.

[kath00]

The question was based on the original booking being a flash promotion. For that, Princess insurance would not have been available.

 

Actually, if you cancel your original booking, that's obviously not the flash promo so it would be doable. Then you can book with the flash promo. The only concern I would have is that the flash promo usually clearly states "new bookings only" and I wonder if even after the cancellation with the trip insurance you would not have enough time to get the flash promo.

 

Katherine

[Putterdude]

Actually, if you cancel your original booking, that's obviously not the flash promo so it would be doable. Then you can book with the flash promo. The only concern I would have is that the flash promo usually clearly states "new bookings only" and I wonder if even after the cancellation with the trip insurance you would not have enough time to get the flash promo.

 

Katherine

 

It should be doable albeit you may have to apply your refund to yet another cruise which may not work for all.