About cabin upgrades

[MinnesotaMan]

We are taking our first cruise on Carnival Holiday from Mobile on May 14th. We have booked IS guar for 5 of us. The carnival guy said that there is a possibility of an upgrade, and the number of people actually works to our advantage because they would prefer to move a larger group to a better room rather than put 1 or 2 people in a better room. I know that none of this is to be expected, but... Two questions:

 

1) I arranged for room decorations as it is my wife's birthday. If our room is really unassigned until we arrive, will the request for decorations in effect assign us a room and thus limit the possibility of the upgrade?

 

2) What can we do to maximize the chance uf an upgrade?

[BaumD]

I would think having 5 people would actually limit your chance of an upgrade. There are a limited number of cabins that will hold 5 and they tend to go fast.

[catmand]

I doubt the decorations would have anything to do with it.

Nothing.

You just never know. On our last cruise 30 people, one upgrade.

The "rule" is: book the lowest cabin you would be happy with and just go from there.

have fun.

[kitty9]

Purchasing decorations will have absolutely nothing to do with getting an upgrade. Don't hope for too much in the upgrade department---they just aren't happening all that much anymore because ships are sailing full. There's nothing you can do to maximize your chances for upgrades, it's just plain luck. The reason the Carnival person told you about the chance for an upgrade is because they tell that to everyone to keep you happy, even though they really don't expect to give you an upgrade---they just say what they think you want to hear. I don't know where the notion of being easier to move 5 in a room rather than 2 because it's tougher to find rooms that will accommodate 5 people than it is to accommodate 2. Don't think you're going to go from a low end room to a big suite because that doesn't happen. Like the other poster said, always book the room you can live with, and never book a room that's cheap and think you're going to get an upgrade.

[mii]

You just never now how the "upgrade fairy" works. It really works in mysterious ways. I have been on 7 princess cruises and only upgraded once. There have been people on this board who have cruised forever and not once. Just pick your cabin, the one you want and be happy with it.

 

Marilyn

[MinnesotaMan]

Thanks for all the info. My theory is that once we're on the boat, we won't be in our room all that much anyway. I'm just glad we could go on the cruise.