Cruise Questions

[Charlestongirl]

Hey all, I am pretty new to this cruise thing. I have taken one short cruise a few years ago. We are wanting to take one early this December.

I have found a cruise that says "Up to two category upgrade" or something like this. I was wondering how upgrade offers worked. Are they first come first serve, is it random, is it who you know, etc? We are planning on booking an interior room as we learned the first time around, we hardly ever use the room except shower/sleep. But a free upgrade would be good, too! Any tips?

 

Also, is it good to book this far in advance, or is it Ok to wait a bit? My husband is active duty military so we prefer to wait another couple months to book. I am also considering insurance, so any tips on that are welcome. Can you cancel and get your money back if its.... 90 days in advance, right? I looked but couldn't find the info.

 

Thanks in advance

CharlestonGirl

[ElCruiso]

If you Cruise on Carnival they offer a SIZABLE MILITARY DISCOUNT. I got Balcony Cabins for the price of insides, saved $400 a Cruise. You must deal directly with Carnival. Just thought I'd let ya know. GOOD LUCK & HAPPY CRUZIN !!!!!!

 

:D

[TheWog]

booing upgrades are usually deals offered at the time of booking. How upgrades happen after you have booked, no one really knows how that happens.

 

You normally have 60-90 days to cancel and receive a full refund. It will depend on the line. Insurance is usually nonrefundable so check that out prior to buying it. You can wait until closer to your sail date to purchase unless you need it for preexisting conditions. Good luck and have fun.

 

just a tip ... once you have a verandah you may never go back to a lower category. :D

[Charlestongirl]

I will check on that discount. The cruise we picked out is with Norweigan (sp?) and the reason being it leaves from Charleston, right where we live. No flights, no driving, no parking, and that is important to me. The next port/cruise we are considering is about a 5 hour drive. Not bad, but being able to cruise directly from where we lived is very good for us, that time of year, and for other reasons. The other one is on Carnival I believe. I'll have to give them a call and see what I could get. Thanks for your help. If anyone else has some info that would be great too, I still can't decide!

[DEL67]

"Up to two category upgrade" is usually different from the upgrades people talk about on these boards. In my experience, the "Up to two category upgrade" is usually exercised when you make a reservation. Only a limited number of upgrades are offerred, but, if available, at booking you will be assigned a cabin in the higher category at the lower category price. For example, on our recent HAL cruise there was a free upgrade to a balcony cabin for the price of an outside. Of course we took it.

 

The upgrades talked about on these boards are usually of 2 other types: a guarantee or an unexpected upgrade. In the guarantee you are not assigned a cabin at booking. Instead you are guaranteed to get a cabin in the category you booked or better. NCL usually assigns guarantee cabins several months prior to sailing, but it is possible that you would not know what cabin you have until you arrive at the pier. The unxepected upgrades are just that. You have an assigned cabin and for whatever reason, the cruiseline reassigns you to one in a higher category.

 

When to book depends on many things. Normally cruises start out less expensive and prices rise as the ship fills. Then, if the ship is not full, prices can start to drop 2 to 3 months prior to sailing, but you can not always count on this happening especially during popular seasons or in ports such as Charleston where there are few sailing. As you mentioned, you can get your money back fron the cruiseline prior to final payment (note: your deposit should be posted to the cruiseline, not your travel agency). However, be sure to check your travel agency's policies. Some charge fees for canceling.

 

As an earlier poster indicated some cruiselines give discounts to the military (Carnival and HAL for example.) I do not know about NCL.