HAL's Poor Upgrade Policy

[traveler111]

Does anyone know the criteria that HAL uses for up grades if one has a "guarantee" cabin? Is it by final payment date, Mariner stars, or is it hit and miss? Does it matter if one is a couple or a single?:confused:

[KirkNC]

When we booked our cruise for 2013 through HAL they did ask if we would like a free upgrade if it became available. I told him absolutely not-that's why we booked so early to get a specific cabin. I sure hope we don't get moved as I would be extremely disappointed even if they classified it as an upgrade.

 

I can understand why the OP is disappointed but sure am hoping for smooth sailing for you and you love the upgrade.

 

That's good to know that HAL does ask. Not all TA's do.

[canadianbear]

we booked for 2013 and right now all we have is a guarantee! Inventory is not going to open for a bit. It's a new predicament for me but I'm trying to be patient;)

 

We booked when on our cruise in September for April 2013 Panama repositioning and picked our cabin....your cruise must be further out than that I assume?

[Cruising-along]

Does anyone know the criteria that HAL uses for up grades if one has a "guarantee" cabin? Is it by final payment date, Mariner stars, or is it hit and miss? Does it matter if one is a couple or a single?:confused:

 

Hit and miss, nobody really knows. Some say new cruisers to HAL have a better chance, some say the opposite. I've heard that singles have a smaller chance. Who knows? :confused:

 

We've booked guarantees for most of our cruises, and for all but one we were upgraded. For the cruise we were not upgraded, it was a popular sailing that sold out early. Our best upgrades came when the ship was taking longer to fill.

[CowPrincess]

OP, sorry you are so disappointed with what should be an awesome upgrade. I recently cruised with someone who suffers BADLY from seasickness and she was quickly regretting not choosing a cabin, instead relying on a guarantee. She ended up high in the ship and further aft than she wanted. (Don't even get me STARTED on her insistence on going the "guarantee" route :mad: ) So I can empathize to some degree.

 

Maybe check on your Roll Call and see if someone with a cabin you'd want would like to trade with you?

[GeriatricNurse]

Did you book through a TA? If so, did they indicate there was a chance you could be upgraded out of the specifically chosen cabin? Did you indicate to the TA your desire to keep this cabin?

 

In all my years of booking a HAL cruise through (different) TA's/TC's, and always booking specific staterooms, I was unaware and it was not indicated to me by any of them that there was a chance that I could be upgraded out of my specifically chosen stateroom! As far as I am concerned, that it is their duty to inform me that such an occurence could happen! Isn't that part of their job to make their cleints aware of any/all details! :rolleyes:

[vbmom87]

Maybe check on your Roll Call and see if someone with a cabin you'd want would like to trade with you?

 

Now that's a good idea!!!!

 

OP: I am really sorry this stateroom change occured. I know I would be very upset if this happened to me. My DH and I are prone to motionsickness and after our first cruise learned that we needed to mark our reservations as "no upgrade." Unlike you, we do okay in the aft of the ship, at least so far we have. It is the forward section that we have the most problem with. Like you we have learned to choose carefullly and I would be upset if the cruiseline changed my cabin without asking me.

 

What upsets me is that even when you mark your reservation as "do not upgrade" you still could end up with a cabin change. To me, this is not acceptable and should only be done with a phone call and some great perks offered. It is not good public relations, that is for sure. I am not sure what the other cruiselines do, but my guess is most of the mass market lines would have similar policies. The thing is once it happens to someone with one cruiseline, there is a good chance they may choose to no longer cruise with that line and move to another cruiseline. However, my guess is they could end up in the same situation again.

 

OP: I do hope this works out for you. I truly understand your concerns. Good luck and have a great cruise. Please come back to this thread and let us know how your cabin worked out.

 

If I were you, I would keep having your TA contact HAL up until the day you leave. Stuff happens...people have to cancel due to illness, injury, family situations etc. Perhaps you could still snag a better cabin. The idea to check out your roll call is also a good one. Someone may be very willing to switch with you. Good luck!!!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Actually we need to look at this another way and that yes the OP learned he can mark his reservation do not upgrade for the Future. He is fortunate he is not booked on NCL, RCI or especially Disney. They really do not have this option and will move people. NCL usually gives a phone call first and usually a nice upgrade, but Disney they will send an email and state it is done and you have absolutely no choice and no way to mark do not upgrade. The only cabins so far I have not seen changed with Disney is when they have cabins that adjoin and the families are linked together. I have even seen people that booked all in a row bookings linked that they are all traveling together and they will move one cabin and these moves are never an upgrade like the OP had. It is actually a very frequent occurrence with this line.

[the2ofus]

Lisa just added an interesting wrinkle to this discussion. Several years ago we were cruising with two couples who were new to cruising. Having had experience on the sister ships, we carefully selected cabins for quiet, convenience, etc. Each couple booked their own cruise, asking to be linked. We marked our booking Do Not Upgrade but never thought to mention to the other couples. Sure enough we were all "upgraded" to cabins I never would have chosen! The new assignment was definitely not better. One of the couples still cruises with us on a regular basis. The other couple never cruised again.

[agabbymama]

Bottom line here is, DON'T CRUISE IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE RULES.

 

I'm not real happy that cruiselines can/and do change your cabins (even if you mark it "No Upgrade"). I'm also not real happy that they can/and do change the itinerary of a sailing (for weather, mechanical, or for any reason what so ever).

 

But if you read the cruise contract, they can/and do give themselves the right to do ALMOST anything they want to, and you agree to it when booking. The cruiselines are in charge, and we either go along with it, or we just don't cruise.

 

For myself, I have decided that land vacations (with me driving/and in charge) is in my future. My last cruise was a disaster, and my last air plane ride was also a disaster. I don't like paying upwards of $3000 pp to have a disaster. I've decided I want to be in charge, then if things go wrong, I have no one else to blame, but myself.

 

OP, I hope you have a great cruise!

[tcook052]

In all my years of booking a HAL cruise through (different) TA's/TC's, and always booking specific staterooms, I was unaware and it was not indicated to me by any of them that there was a chance that I could be upgraded out of my specifically chosen stateroom! As far as I am concerned, that it is their duty to inform me that such an occurence could happen! Isn't that part of their job to make their cleints aware of any/all details! :rolleyes:

 

Yes, yes it never hurts to clearly state your desire to keep a specific cabin which should trigger a discussion about HAL's UG policy.

[Darrell6t]

I'm all packed, checked in for the flight tomorrow, and plenty of motion sickness prevention devices. I hope there are no more cabin changes. And more than anything, I hope we have great, calm weather. Thank you everyone for the encouragement.

[seadrifter]

I'm all packed, checked in for the flight tomorrow, and plenty of motion sickness prevention devices. I hope there are no more cabin changes. And more than anything, I hope we have great, calm weather. Thank you everyone for the encouragement.

 

Wishing you the best cruise ever - blue skies and calm seas:). I think that if you go into it with a positive attitude it can only turn out well. Enjoy your balcony.

[Boatdrill]

In all my years of booking a HAL cruise through (different) TA's/TC's, and always booking specific staterooms, I was unaware and it was not indicated to me by any of them that there was a chance that I could be upgraded out of my specifically chosen stateroom...

 

HAL's upgrade policy as stated in their brochures:

 

"Upgrade Policy - Holland America Line reserves the right to upgrade a guest or guests to more expensive category accommodations at no additional cost."

[ksc1984]

Best wishes for a great cruise. I'm eager for you to share the details (and penguin pictures) with us!

[beachluvr!]

Yes, although with HAL 99% of the time when they do this it is for a nice upgrade OV to Verandah or Verandah Suite, or Balcony to Suite. Other lines such as Princess sometimes move you up within the same type of cabin. While HAL has on occasionally done this, it is extremely rare.

Do inside rooms ever get upgrades?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Do inside rooms ever get upgrades?

I really depends on several different factors, the type of ship, the itinerary and your Mariner status and of course if you booked a Guarantee. I know of one 4 Star Mariner that always books Inside guarantees but he is a last minute book the cruise type of guy, travels as a single and they are longer voyages like Transatlantic. About 50% of time he has gotten an Obstructed Ocean View and or Full view OV.

When booking the Normal regular 7 day Caribbean cruise it is not as likely to get an upgrade to an OV from an Inside, not that it does not happen it is just not frequently done.

[callmedeb]

Does anyone know the criteria that HAL uses for up grades if one has a "guarantee" cabin? Is it by final payment date, Mariner stars, or is it hit and miss? Does it matter if one is a couple or a single?:confused:

 

I've been on four HAL cruises and for me it breaks down like this...

 

#1 - Statendam Alaska - Booked F outside, got upgraded to s D outside

 

#2 - Eurodam Caribbean - Booked lowest verandah, got upgraded 3 verandah categories

 

#3 - Ryndam Caribbean - Booked D outside, got D outside

 

#4 - Noordam Med - Booked D outside, got an upgrade offer for mid categorie Verandah for $99/person. Jumped on that in a hurry, loved it!

 

Cruising in a monthish... Niew Amsterdam - Caribbean - MM Lowest inside... waiting for an offer, or a flashlight.

 

=)

 

Cheers,

 

Deb

[Homosassa]

Darrel6t,

 

I'm in your corner on this one. Low and in the center of the ship vs high and aft: low and center will get my vote everytime.

 

I would not be happy at this so called upgrade either.

[Harris Jeffer]

Today we got an email assigning us to a different cabin than we so carefully choose when we booked our cruise on the Veendam around the tip of South America. That can often be a very rough few days and we wanted to be as close to the center of the ship as possible, and could afford. And since we booked about 18 months before that was not difficult. To be changed to another cabin a week before the cruise without being asked is a really bad policy. HAL should be ashamed to treat passengers that way.

 

On another cruise we were offered an upgrade and because it was to an undesirable location, we refused it. I didn't know HAL ever just assigned upgrades without asking permission. That is not consistent with good customer relations.

 

So we now have a larger cabin with a balcony, which will be nice as long as the seas cooperate. But with any sort of bad weather we will be miserable. Rocking and rolling and unable to stand up, as this cabin is 4 decks higher and much closer to the aft. HAL has 2 unhappy passengers hoping for calm weather.

 

Upgrades are appreciated but only when permission to change cabins is obtained.

 

Oh please! I feel so sorry for you....they gave you a veranda cabin instead of the small cabin you booked....You must be kidding!

[vbmom87]

Oh please! I feel so sorry for you....they gave you a veranda cabin instead of the small cabin you booked....You must be kidding!

 

I do feel for them. I would be livid if I had selected a cabin and was changed without asking. If the OP had booked a guarentee, than I would have no sympathy. However, they chose a cabin. My DH and I are prone to seasickness, so we do choose our cabins and I would be very upset to be changed without asking. We would be miserable with a cabin in the forward part of the ship. My DH got sick twice on our last cruise when we were in the theatre. At least he had a cabin he could go back to to rest and recover from that forward movement.

[irishjim]

I believe when booking with a TA, if you do not explicitly say "Do Not Upgrade" then the default is that HAL can move you wherever they want. Isn't that the case Lisa?

I have been upgraded a number of times even after saying I did not want to

be upgraded. So HAL can and does move pax around whether they ask for no upgrade or not.Having said that,my upgrades were fantastic.:D:D:D

[Darrell6t]

We're back. We are happy about the cabin we received. The cruise was relatively calm. The Veendam seems to handle rocking quite well so that was fine even though we were fairly close to the aft. The rolling was a different issue, but the stabilizers manage to keep that under fairly good control unless it is really bad. I am sure we felt more motion than the cabins 4 decks down, but it was not bad up on Deck 10. And of course the extra room and the verandah was wonderful. We also had a great steward team in Yan & Sam.

 

So I was wrong to be too upset. It all turned out well and I must thank HAL fpr what they upgraded us to. I still think they should ask first though. And I would have turned it down, and never known what I had missed out on by having a verandah. The public decks were closed on several occasions because of wind, but we could still go out on the verandah. It was just too cold to ever sit out there until the last few days, but it was useful for a quick look at the beauty of Antarctica when we weren't out on one of the public decks.

 

When the weather warmed up, we started having the issue of chairs and feet just above our heads early in the morning. That's why I avoid the deck immediately under the Lido deck. But for most of the cruise, there was nothing going on up there early as it was just too cold.

[cruz chic]

We're back. We are happy about the cabin we received. The cruise was relatively calm. The Veendam seems to handle rocking quite well so that was fine even though we were fairly close to the aft. The rolling was a different issue, but the stabilizers manage to keep that under fairly good control unless it is really bad. I am sure we felt more motion than the cabins 4 decks down, but it was not bad up on Deck 10. And of course the extra room and the verandah was wonderful. We also had a great steward team in Yan & Sam.

 

So I was wrong to be too upset. It all turned out well and I must thank HAL fpr what they upgraded us to. I still think they should ask first though. And I would have turned it down, and never known what I had missed out on by having a verandah. The public decks were closed on several occasions because of wind, but we could still go out on the verandah. It was just too cold to ever sit out there until the last few days, but it was useful for a quick look at the beauty of Antarctica when we weren't out on one of the public decks.

 

When the weather warmed up, we started having the issue of chairs and feet just above our heads early in the morning. That's why I avoid the deck immediately under the Lido deck. But for most of the cruise, there was nothing going on up there early as it was just too cold.

I don't think it would be very realistic for HAL to ask permission to everyone they intend to upgrade. They do have other things that are more important. I think it would be in your best interest to check off "do not upgrade" to avoid (most) unwanted upgrades.

[FLACRUISER99]

I don't think it would be very realistic for HAL to ask permission to everyone they intend to upgrade. They do have other things that are more important. I think it would be in your best interest to check off "do not upgrade" to avoid (most) unwanted upgrades.

Why not other lines do it!