Any creative excuses to justify an upgrade?

[newcruiser09]

When I started looking into booking my upcoming cruise, I decided to go with the least expensive option because the airfare was expensive and I really just wanted to cruise again and it didn't matter what kind of room we had because we don't spend a ton of time in there anyway. After some research, I threw the cheapest option out the window and booked an ocean view room. Now I may have the option to upgrade to a CC room for around $100 pp. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it, but and trying to convince myself it will be worth it and am thinking of things that would offset the cost - for example, having dinner on the balcony one night instead of doing the speciality restaurants. Any other ideas?

[not in ks anymore]

Special breakfast menu which includes smoothies at no extra charge as well as a welcome bottle of sparkling wine which can usually be exchanged for a bottle of red or white wine in the dining room. Don't forget the extra point toward the next level in Captain's Club.

 

We once booked a guarantee concierge stateroom and were upgraded to a Sky Suite with a butler!

 

I'd do it in a heartbeat for $100 pp. Enjoy.

[miched]

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If a balcony or cabin wasn't that important to begin with save the money for more drinks or something else that you may want.

 

I always want a balcony because I spent about 1/3 to 1/2 of my time in the cabin and that is because I enjoy having my own balcony where I can relax at night and star gaze will listening to the waves while savoring a drink from the cabin bar. Also like room sevice in the morning to bring me a pot of coffee while sitting on the balcony just watching the world go by and reading a book. Also nice to hang out on when waiting for my wife as she does all of those female things that they feel they need to do.

 

 

Plus the privacy to do other things in privacy outside in the ocean air is priceless. But there are those that don't need a balcony cabin because they never spend much time in it so it is best for them to save their money, and I agree with them. If I didn't have a balcony I wouldn't want to spend much time there either.

 

 

 

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[ghstudio]

When I started looking into booking my upcoming cruise, I decided to go with the least expensive option because the airfare was expensive and I really just wanted to cruise again and it didn't matter what kind of room we had because we don't spend a ton of time in there anyway. After some research, I threw the cheapest option out the window and booked an ocean view room. Now I may have the option to upgrade to a CC room for around $100 pp. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it, but and trying to convince myself it will be worth it and am thinking of things that would offset the cost - for example, having dinner on the balcony one night instead of doing the speciality restaurants. Any other ideas?

 

Moving to a Verandah cabin for $100 per person is an easy decision....it is worth that even if it isn't a concierge class cabin. If you also get concierge class for the same money, consider those benefits as free. It's a great deal...jump on it.

[excitedofharpenden]

When I started looking into booking my upcoming cruise, I decided to go with the least expensive option because the airfare was expensive and I really just wanted to cruise again and it didn't matter what kind of room we had because we don't spend a ton of time in there anyway. After some research, I threw the cheapest option out the window and booked an ocean view room. Now I may have the option to upgrade to a CC room for around $100 pp. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it, but and trying to convince myself it will be worth it and am thinking of things that would offset the cost - for example, having dinner on the balcony one night instead of doing the speciality restaurants. Any other ideas?

Obviously only you know your spending habits for drinks etc. That and going to the casino will be you greatest onboard expense! As regards your comment about eating on the balcony it's a nice thing to do once, but it isn't served course by course. Rather all at once. Personally I prefer dining in the dining room itself with service and a good size table. Those on the balcony in CC aren't really very big. Also as a substitute I think you'd be missing out on the experience of the Specialty (not sure which ship you are on) and food you aren't going to be able to get outside that particular restaurant.

 

Phil

[Freecall]

Don't do it! We did and it was the worst decision we ever made.

 

About 30 cruises back we upgraded for next to nothing. Since then we have never been satisfied with anything less than a verandah. Over the years it's cost us a fortune.

[excitedofharpenden]

Don't do it! We did and it was the worst decision we ever made.

 

About 30 cruises back we upgraded for next to nothing. Since then we have never been satisfied with anything less than a verandah. Over the years it's cost us a fortune.

LOL

 

Phil

[cruisestitch]

If you aren't yet an Elite cruiser and are still accumulating Captain's Club points, you'll get an extra point for Concierge Class and above. That's a small justification for the upgrade :)

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Two words-- Balcony Club.;):cool::D

[bdpnatl]

We have always made use of the balcony by having breakfast deleivered every morning and getting to eat quietly with each other with a view of the port or the sea. That alone is worth the $ to me.

[dkjretired]

When I started looking into booking my upcoming cruise, I decided to go with the least expensive option because the airfare was expensive and I really just wanted to cruise again and it didn't matter what kind of room we had because we don't spend a ton of time in there anyway. After some research, I threw the cheapest option out the window and booked an ocean view room. Now I may have the option to upgrade to a CC room for around $100 pp. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it, but and trying to convince myself it will be worth it and am thinking of things that would offset the cost - for example, having dinner on the balcony one night instead of doing the speciality restaurants. Any other ideas?

 

You can have dinner on your balcony in a regular balcony cabin. This is something that is available to every cabin on the ship.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

You can have dinner on your balcony in a regular balcony cabin. This is something that is available to every cabin on the ship.

 

Restating it slightly, you don't need to upgrade to a CC to enjoy dinner on your balcony-- that's available for any regular balcony cabin. You can also enjoy room service in any cabin, including inside and OV. However, you may not have dinner on your balcony if you have an inside or an OV.:D But I think we all knew what Don meant.

[ladylemondrop]

Life is short - Just do it! :D

[MiamiBeach]

If it doesn't put you into debt (in which case you should stick to your original budget), which will give you greater pleasure - the extra $100 in the bank or the balcony vacation experience? That's how I justify that sort of thing. The money in the bank doesn't generate any special memories... Unless of course you are saving for something even more important.

[TeaBag]

Go for it! The better the cabin, the more time you spend in it. The privacy of your own balcony space is wonderful.

[teajak]

Best reason(excuse) because I want to and it is a great deal. Works for me.

[We're The Groupnors]

Because you work/save hard for vacations, and you're worth it!

[Lsimon]

I have a little different perspective than most on this. First let me start by saying we almost always stay in a CC cabin on the M class ships due to the fact that they are a little larger. But in the S class, and possibly the Century, the cabins are the same size. On the S class we don't bother with the CC most of the time unless there is something about the location that is important to us vs. other available veranda cabins. We do stick with Verandas though. The amenities in CC are nice but not worth much money in my opinion.

 

The one thing that caught my eye in the original post was that newcruiser9 was looking at trading off the cost of the nicer cabin in exchange for spending less on other items. Personally I think this would be a mistake. If the nicer cabin really wouldn't make much of a difference in their cruise budget I'd say go for it. But if spending the extra couple hundred dollars means they wouldn't spend as much on things like the specialty restuarant, drinks & wine, or excursions then I'd recommend taking the lesser cabin and spend the money on those other things. I think that for most people they'd enjoy all those other activities more than the minor upgrade to CC.

 

You can have dinner on your balcony in a regular balcony cabin. This is something that is available to every cabin on the ship.

This is true. But it is also true that the standard cabins only have a small, low, coffee table on the veranda while the CC cabins have a larger table (around 30 inch diameter) which is the height of standard table on their veranda - this makes dining out there a bit more enjoyable.

 

Personally I'm with Phil. We enjoy breakfast and occasional beverages or snacks out on our veranda but for dinner we really prefer the dining room or specialty restuarants.

[newcruiser09]

Don't do it! We did and it was the worst decision we ever made.

 

About 30 cruises back we upgraded for next to nothing. Since then we have never been satisfied with anything less than a verandah. Over the years it's cost us a fortune.

 

I actually started my first cruise on NCL in a suite, went to a porthole room on Carnival and on my last Celebrity cruise we had a Sky Suite so I'm ok with knowing I won't always have it, but it sure is nice!

[newcruiser09]

I have a little different perspective than most on this. First let me start by saying we almost always stay in a CC cabin on the M class ships due to the fact that they are a little larger. But in the S class, and possibly the Century, the cabins are the same size. On the S class we don't bother with the CC most of the time unless there is something about the location that is important to us vs. other available veranda cabins. We do stick with Verandas though. The amenities in CC are nice but not worth much money in my opinion.

 

The one thing that caught my eye in the original post was that newcruiser9 was looking at trading off the cost of the nicer cabin in exchange for spending less on other items. Personally I think this would be a mistake. If the nicer cabin really wouldn't make much of a difference in their cruise budget I'd say go for it. But if spending the extra couple hundred dollars means they wouldn't spend as much on things like the specialty restuarant, drinks & wine, or excursions then I'd recommend taking the lesser cabin and spend the money on those other things. I think that for most people they'd enjoy all those other activities more than the minor upgrade to CC.

 

 

This is true. But it is also true that the standard cabins only have a small, low, coffee table on the veranda while the CC cabins have a larger table (around 30 inch diameter) which is the height of standard table on their veranda - this makes dining out there a bit more enjoyable.

 

Personally I'm with Phil. We enjoy breakfast and occasional beverages or snacks out on our veranda but for dinner we really prefer the dining room or specialty restuarants.

 

We are currently in an oceanview so if we have any meals in our room it will not be on a balcony, I'm starting to think the balcony will be nicer than I had originally thought. We had upgraded to the sky suite last time and I was a little disappointed in all of the "extras" I was anticipating so I know where to set my expectations this time.

 

We are planning on getting the drink package either way but the bottle of sparkling wine to keep in our room and drink on the balcony sounds nice as well.

[mamasue]

From OV to CC for $100 !!?? Really???:eek::eek:

I wouldn't be asking opinions....I would have done it already, in case the offer changes!!

Go for it, have fun.....that's a great cheap upgrade....ENJOY!!!!:):)

[Bridge Maven]

If you had a choice between a land based vacation directly on the beach vs one where you had to walk just a block to get to the beach you probably wouldn't think twice about it because being directly on the beach changes the entire nature of the vacation. I feel the same way about balcony cabins. We booked our first cruise with a balcony cabin over ten years ago and now consider it to be a minimum requirement. This created a dilemma when we subsequently took a cruise on Century, before her renovation, because we had to book a sky suite to get a balcony. However, since we decided that we didn't want to cruise without a balcony we booked our first suite at that time. That spoiled us and now we will pay a substantial, but not ridiculous difference, to get a suite.

[gracecarmo]

Regarding the table on the balcony for S class ships: do all the balconies have large tables, or just the CC's?

[excitedofharpenden]

Regarding the table on the balcony for S class ships: do all the balconies have large tables, or just the CC's?

The only truly good sized tables on S-Class ships are the suites. I never noticed a huge difference in the ordinary balcony tables and the ones in CC. I'll post below shots of all three. Ordinary balcony, CC and suite.

 

 

 

 

Phil

[Orator]

When I started looking into booking my upcoming cruise, I decided to go with the least expensive option because the airfare was expensive and I really just wanted to cruise again and it didn't matter what kind of room we had because we don't spend a ton of time in there anyway. After some research, I threw the cheapest option out the window and booked an ocean view room. Now I may have the option to upgrade to a CC room for around $100 pp. I'm pretty sure I'm going to do it, but and trying to convince myself it will be worth it and am thinking of things that would offset the cost - for example, having dinner on the balcony one night instead of doing the speciality restaurants. Any other ideas?

 

A teacher once told the class: "Excuses are the justifications offered by losers". Certainly you're not a loser and therefore you need no excuse to do it. JUST DO IT!