Did you know? re: Upgrades

[cindep]

Just got off the phone with a Princess representative. Maybe this was discussed and I missed it, but I was advised it is relatively new.

 

We have booked over a year out two cruises in AD mini-suites on the Emerald Princess (the coveted covered mini-suites). I called to make sure they were marked "no upgrade". In the course of discussion with the representative, I mentioned we would always be happy to take an upgrade to a full suite, but otherwise wanted our mini-suite on the Emerald deck. They CAN now mark your reservation "no upgrade unless it is to the next FULL cabin category". So in our case, our reservations are now marked no upgrade unless it is to a full suite. He did warn me that on a ship with window suites, it could be an upgrade to a window suite from the mini, but since the Emerald doesn't have window suites, it is not an issue for us.

 

I know people have been concerned about this in the past (I was one of those). You never know how the upgrade fairy operates, but it is nice to know you can at least control the situation slightly without worrying about losing a great cabin.

[Go-Bucks!]

Very interesting. I'll call my TA when I get home about doing this for our next cruise (which is on the Emerald).

 

But I will say that I'm loving this Window Suite. We're in one right now and since the weather is cool (verging on cold), we wouldn't have used the balcony. The suite perks are awesome!! :D If I book another cool weather cruise, I'd take this Window Suite in a heartbeat. And it was cheaper than a minisuite.

[cindep]

Very interesting. I'll call my TA when I get home about doing this for our next cruise (which is on the Emerald).

 

But I will say that I'm loving this Window Suite. We're in one right now and since the weather is cool (verging on cold), we wouldn't have used the balcony. The suite perks are awesome!! :D If I book another cool weather cruise, I'd take this Window Suite in a heartbeat. And it was cheaper than a minisuite.

 

Glad to hear you're enjoying it! Gotta love unlimited internet and breakfast at Sabatini's! Also can't beat cheaper than a mini.

[jk04]

Hmmm, that's interesting and a little different than what the Princess Representative told me a couple of days ago. She said that upgrades are at least to the next category, meaning they wouldn't move you to another cabin within the same category because Princess thought it was a better cabin, or above. And, if you were booked in a room with a balcony they would not put you in another cabin without a balcony, even if it was a suite. They do have Window Suites on the Golden and I was curious about that since we are in an AB mini. I know they are suites and you get all the perks, just not sure I'm willing to give up the balcony. This is our first cruise to Alaska so hoping to get some great pictures.

 

Maybe if someone is lucky enough to be sprinkled with the Upgrage Fairy Dust, they will be able to let us know.

[azgrandmax3]

My husband and I were on Princess a couple years ago and had booked standard balcony. To our shock we were notified a couple weeks before that we had been upgraded to Owners Suite. What a shock and wonderful experience. We did make effort to find out how this happened. Only told it was all by computor. But it was kept track of and we would not get that kind of upgrade again. This was our 5th cruise on Princess and the best 14 days of our lives traveling Europe. My hope is that everyone is fortunate enough to get that upgrade once in their lives.

[janina]

My husband and I were on Princess a couple years ago and had booked standard balcony. To our shock we were notified a couple weeks before that we had been upgraded to Owners Suite. What a shock and wonderful experience. We did make effort to find out how this happened. Only told it was all by computor. But it was kept track of and we would not get that kind of upgrade again. This was our 5th cruise on Princess and the best 14 days of our lives traveling Europe. My hope is that everyone is fortunate enough to get that upgrade once in their lives.

Wow what an experience..I can only dream...lucky you!:)

[whatcruiseisnext]

. But it was kept track of and we would not get that kind of upgrade again.

 

 

This is NOT true. We have friends who have been upgraded to a FULL suite three times.....from a mimi-suite.

[GOcanucksGO]

Just got off the phone with a Princess representative. Maybe this was discussed and I missed it, but I was advised it is relatively new.

 

We have booked over a year out two cruises in AD mini-suites on the Emerald Princess (the coveted covered mini-suites). I called to make sure they were marked "no upgrade". In the course of discussion with the representative, I mentioned we would always be happy to take an upgrade to a full suite, but otherwise wanted our mini-suite on the Emerald deck. They CAN now mark your reservation "no upgrade unless it is to the next FULL cabin category". So in our case, our reservations are now marked no upgrade unless it is to a full suite. He did warn me that on a ship with window suites, it could be an upgrade to a window suite from the mini, but since the Emerald doesn't have window suites, it is not an issue for us.

 

I know people have been concerned about this in the past (I was one of those). You never know how the upgrade fairy operates, but it is nice to know you can at least control the situation slightly without worrying about losing a great cabin.

 

I have the same cabin category booked as you on the sapphire to Hawaii....and I was told by a princess rep that if they would upgrade me it would be to AC AB AA and then onto full suites....soo im confused.....hopefully they upgrade you to a full suite tho.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Hmmm, that's interesting and a little different than what the Princess Representative told me a couple of days ago. She said that upgrades are at least to the next category, meaning they wouldn't move you to another cabin within the same category because Princess thought it was a better cabin, or above. And, if you were booked in a room with a balcony they would not put you in another cabin without a balcony, even if it was a suite. They do have Window Suites on the Golden and I was curious about that since we are in an AB mini. I know they are suites and you get all the perks, just not sure I'm willing to give up the balcony. This is our first cruise to Alaska so hoping to get some great pictures.

 

Maybe if someone is lucky enough to be sprinkled with the Upgrage Fairy Dust, they will be able to let us know.

 

Just to let you know about the WS on the Golden: if you don't like the smell of tobacco, you may want to stay away as they are by the cigar bar. While we were on the ship in December, and waiting for the Princess theater doors to open one night, we were walking around there and the smell was unpleasant, at least for us.

[kath00]

As a travel agent, I can tell you that there is NO WAY to click on something to specify that you only want a full category upgrade. All we can say is "do not upgrade". I think your PRincess rep is a little confused. Try calling again and confirming with someone else. When I book, I literally cannot make something like what you described happen for my clients...

 

Katherine

[NSWP]

Of the 14 cruises we have done, 11 were with Princess - NO UPGRADES. (Left our bookings open for any upgrade.)

 

Did only one cruise with Carnival - Carnival Spirit, Hawaii/Inside Passage, GOT UPGRADE - obstructed view to full ocean view, I wonder how/why?

[lizzy77]

Of the 14 cruises we have done, 11 were with Princess - NO UPGRADES. (Left our bookings open for any upgrade.)

 

Did only one cruise with Carnival - Carnival Spirit, Hawaii/Inside Passage, GOT UPGRADE - obstructed view to full ocean view, I wonder how/why?

 

They obviously didn't know you were an Aussie Les::D:D:D

[HuskyMom1]

I'm afraid that I can't offer an solid advice on the upgrade fairy, only an anecdote. We sailed on the Golden Princess to Alaska in May having reserved a mini-suite with balcony, D229. I think that would be an "AC" level cabin if I understand the deck plans correctly. We were surprised when we checked-in with an upgrade to a full suite (PH?). We thought they had made a mistake:) We are first time cruisers! So go figure.

 

I hope the upgrade comes through for everyone at least once. Having a suite made the cruise even more special. The only possible downside to our experience is that now we are spoiled for anything else:D

[cindep]

I booked directly with Princess and was advised this change took effect about two months ago. I am well aware we can get bad information from Princess ... been there done that. I do know the last major upgrade we received from Princess was last year from category AC to a PS on a 14-day sailing.

 

At this point (over 200 days out), I feel confident that the only change that would be made would be to a full suite. Will I keep an eye on the reservation? Absolutely! Guess we'll see what happens and I WILL report back if it changes.

[MCC retired]

As a recent former TA I can tell you that nowhere in the booking system can you request "no upgrade unless it's a Suite" .:confused:

 

It's either no upgrade or allow upgrade .:rolleyes:

[aaerobear]

maybe you can't with a TA, maybe you CAN with a direct Princess booking. One more way Princess can eliminate the middleman.

[Roses2]

Generally when you telephone Princess Cruises you are connected to their call center in Seattle, Washington or some other call center location. It is doubtful that you will be connected to the Princess HQ in Santa Clarita, California or in Florida from whence policy is made.

 

Again, generally the person with whom you talk is in an entry level position and, although trained, may not have broad general knowledge of Princess policies in all areas.

 

Ergo: do not take as fully authoritative any specific information you may get from a single telephone call.

[Mapu]

As a recent former TA I can tell you that nowhere in the booking system can you request "no upgrade unless it's a Suite" .:confused:

 

It's either no upgrade or allow upgrade .:rolleyes:

 

Currently there is no way for a TA to do it on Polar (booking system) but TA can call to have it in the record.

[Coral]

Currently there is no way for a TA to do it on Polar (booking system) but TA can call to have it in the record.

 

I know it is not in POLAR for agents. I have spoken to my TA about this previously.

 

My question is if a TA calls Princess, is it a checkbox for them or is it "notes in a reservation" which probably is not very effective.

[cindep]

Let me clarify ... what I was told was they can mark a reservation as "no upgrade except to the next stratum". I believe stratum was the term he used, indicating it had to be a full category, not just within the same category ... i.e. balcony to mini, mini to full suite, etc. It would indicate that an "upgrade" within the same category is NOT an acceptable upgrade. We discussed it for quite awhile. But again, this was talking directly with a Princess representative and is something I was told was recent.

 

Just passing along what I was told. All you can do is ask another Princess representative on your particular reservation.

[CBCruiser1960]

I have just sent an email to my Rep with Princess about this. We also have a AD mini suite booked for our next cruise. We have changed from the TA to a Princess Rep since our first cruise and have not regreted it. Just ask her a question and she gets you the answer. We had a bad experince with our TA. Our prices with flights are not any cheaper than theirs.

[spyro1952]

As a travel agent, I can tell you that there is NO WAY to click on something to specify that you only want a full category upgrade. All we can say is "do not upgrade". I think your PRincess rep is a little confused. Try calling again and confirming with someone else. When I book, I literally cannot make something like what you described happen for my clients...

 

Katherine

 

We always book on board and sit down with the future cruise rep. When we were on the Emerald last October, Syl, the future cruise rep relayed the exact same information posted by the original poster of this thread. We always book a balcony room near the main elevators regardless of category (usually BB or BC), he stated that he would mark upgrade to a mini or full suite only. So I think the Princess rep was entirely correct.;)

[cherylandtk]

Thanks to you both for reporting this; as you said, it remains to be seen through future action by Princess if this will hold true, but it is nice to hear of a possible change like this. Time will tell, and keep your fingers crossed.

 

Let's all remember that the change to the use of FCC's was foreshadowed by the onboard Future Cruise consultants insisting that both pax has to purchase the FCC, even though the paper work said otherwise for about 9 more months. At least this potential change is a more positive one.

[kath00]

We always book on board and sit down with the future cruise rep. When we were on the Emerald last October, Syl, the future cruise rep relayed the exact same information posted by the original poster of this thread. We always book a balcony room near the main elevators regardless of category (usually BB or BC), he stated that he would mark upgrade to a mini or full suite only. So I think the Princess rep was entirely correct.;)

 

I just spoke to my Princess representative as a travel agent and he told me this is not possible. They can "make a note" on the reservation but there is no other way to mark it. Anyway, I sure hope you get the upgrade. It's really nice to have a free up, especially as a surprise! But there is nothing in their system that allows for marking your reservation, short of adding a note to it saying you would only accept a full category upgrade.

 

Katherine