How common are upsells?

[Tottwo]

I'm looking for input on experiences with upsells from HAL. We're thinking about booking another cruise and trying to determine which cabin level to book. I've done a few searchs and found general info but not enough to address my questions.

 

My DH and I took a holiday Caribbean cruise recently. We booked almost a year in advance and were able to take advantage of two price drops before our final payment was made. We then received an upsell from HAL after our final payment, offering a reduced price for an upgrade to a deluxe veranda suite from a deluxe veranda room. It wasn't a great price but we decided to do it anyway. We ended up really enjoying the deluxe suite.

 

So, my questions are: how common are upsells after making your final payment? Anyone been offered an upsell upgrade from a superior veranda suite to a deluxe veranda suite?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[innlady1]

We're coming up on 100 days with HAL in two weeks, and we've only had one upsell offer. :(

[Krazy Kruizers]

It all depends on how well the cruise has sold out.

[Loreto]

I'm looking for input on experiences with upsells from HAL. We're thinking about booking another cruise and trying to determine which cabin level to book. I've done a few searchs and found general info but not enough to address my questions.

 

My DH and I took a holiday Caribbean cruise recently. We booked almost a year in advance and were able to take advantage of two price drops before our final payment was made. We then received an upsell from HAL after our final payment, offering a reduced price for an upgrade to a deluxe veranda suite from a deluxe veranda room. It wasn't a great price but we decided to do it anyway. We ended up really enjoying the deluxe suite.

 

So, my questions are: how common are upsells after making your final payment? Anyone been offered an upsell upgrade from a superior veranda suite to a deluxe veranda suite?

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

When I book I let my TA know that we would be interested in an upsell. We have gotten very spoiled with verandahs, and it is hard to go back to an ocean view, For our Amazon Explorer cruise I booked an E because prices were very high for verandahs (we would have been happy with the E) There were price drops, and then the upsell offer came to an A verandah midship on the Prinsendam. We took it and saved about $4000 over the price if we had booked the A outright.

 

As we were leaving for the airport, our TA called again with an upsell to a suite, but we declined, since we were delighted with our new A.

 

It is all a matter of what you want in location, ammenities and price.

 

Karen

[Pettifogger]

We've had two upsell offers in close to 200 days, one was onboard at the beginning of a cruise. They may be made by criteria we don't match, so our experience may not be representative.

(It doesn't take an upsell to make us happy.)

[kangforpres]

We have been on 5 cruises with HAL and had 3 upsell offers and 2 upgrades, maybe it's just our luck. We've passed on 2 of the 3 upsell offers becasue we had already paid for a Suite Amenities package and were in a Verandah anyway, we always book Verandah or higher.

[kazu]

I have received a couple of upsell offers - one from superior to deluxe veranda suite (and yes, we took it :D). Here`s the thing - you can`t count on an upsell offer. Categories can completely sell out - it really depends upon the ship and the itinerary. There is no way to determine it.

 

As long as you will be happy in the category you are, you can certainly monitor it and let your TA know if there are openings.

 

Upsells aren`t always a good deal as well:rolleyes: but many times they can be very suite.

 

My rule of thumb is book the category you will be happy in - anything else is a bonus:D

[Stelladoro]

We've sailed HAL (Noordam) only once and had an upsell offer, approx. two weeks prior to our 16 day TA cruise. For and additional $98, we were moved from an inside to an oceanview. We were happy!

When we arrived at the check-in desk, there was a sign stating no upgrades were possible, as the ship was sailing full.

[Tottwo]

Great info - Thanks for all your responses! Your input and experiences were very helpful to me.

 

It sounds like upsells don't happen as often as I thought. So I need to book what I want so I don't miss out. Maybe I'll get lucky and get a price drop.

 

Thank you all again!

[PathfinderEss]

Great info - Thanks for all your responses! Your input and experiences were very helpful to me.

 

It sounds like upsells don't happen as often as I thought. So I need to book what I want so I don't miss out. Maybe I'll get lucky and get a price drop.

 

Thank you all again!

 

Good attitude. Book the cabin you will be happy in and if a upgrade/up sell comes along happy days are here.

We have probably gotten 4 up sales in many, many cruises.

[innlady1]

I have received a couple of upsell offers - one from superior to deluxe veranda suite (and yes, we took it :D). Here`s the thing - you can`t count on an upsell offer. Categories can completely sell out - it really depends upon the ship and the itinerary. There is no way to determine it.

 

As long as you will be happy in the category you are, you can certainly monitor it and let your TA know if there are openings.

 

Upsells aren`t always a good deal as well:rolleyes: but many times they can be very suite.

 

My rule of thumb is book the category you will be happy in - anything else is a bonus:D

 

Exactly, Jacqui. I always book the stateroom we'll be happy with and leave it at that. Only one upsell offer...last January for a Verandah Suite on the Maasdam...but I thought it was pricey, so turned it down.

[cruz chic]

I've had one upsell offer in 250+ days with HAL even though I've told my TA I'd be interested.

[innlady1]

I've had one upsell offer in 250+ days with HAL even though I've told my TA I'd be interested.

 

Hmmmm...is this similar to not receiving "flash sale" emails because we're already happy customers? Wonder if the upsell offers mostly go to new HAL customers instead of us "regulars"?

[GeezLouise1]

Hmmmm...is this similar to not receiving "flash sale" emails because we're already happy customers? Wonder if the upsell offers mostly go to new HAL customers instead of us "regulars"?

 

We've found that once we've made a booking, we receive no further advertising emails. No flash sale or promotions at all. As Kazu said, I think also that upsells depend on the availability of space on a certain sailing. We were lucky enough to have been offered an upsell on Prinsendam - pricey, but less than we'd have paid for that level had we booked it initially. We were delighted - we're 50 day, 2 star mariners - not quite newbies, but not nearly as many days as many of you regulars. Awesome when it happens, nonetheless:D

[cruz chic]

Hmmmm...is this similar to not receiving "flash sale" emails because we're already happy customers? Wonder if the upsell offers mostly go to new HAL customers instead of us "regulars"?

I'm thinking the same thing.

[innlady1]

I'm thinking the same thing.

 

:( Since booking our cruises with HAL early on, I've usually had a cruise booked...buying FCC's on board. I have to think that strikes me off the list for promotions. Somehow, that doesn't seem fair. :(

[Randyk47]

I've had one upsell offer in 250+ days with HAL even though I've told my TA I'd be interested.

 

Same stats for us. Might add that our one and only up sell offer was not one of the miracle pennies-on-the-dollar offers. It was the full fare difference between our booked category and the up sell category and would have doubled the fare for us. We turned it down.

[lovetocruise2020]

No upsells.. We use a large agency and i dont think they communicate well.

[rafinmd]

I guess I've been lucky. For my 3 cruises in the past 2 years I've booked insides. First time was Rotterdam and Prinsendam 3 days apart. No offer on the Rotterdam. For the Prinsendam the upsell offer came by email while I was on the Rotterdam and worked out. Last cruise (Zaandam about a year ago I had an inside guarantee and the upsell came probably a month before the cruise.

 

Roy

[innlady1]

Same stats for us. Might add that our one and only up sell offer was not one of the miracle pennies-on-the-dollar offers. It was the full fare difference between our booked category and the up sell category and would have doubled the fare for us. We turned it down.

 

I had booked an Outside for the 1st time on the Maasdam last January (prior to that we'd always had verandahs). I got an offer for an upsell to a verandah suite on Navigation Deck but it was pricey. Mostly, I'd psyched myself up that we could cruise more often if we booked less expensive rooms, so I stuck with what we had...and loved it. We've now graduated to Inside staterooms! S class, Lower Promenade = love them.

Having said that, I'd love to be able to at least entertain an upsell offer...my TA knows that. But it's unlikely it would be much of an upsell from an Inside.

[janmcn]

Have had two upsells…one we took to a Verandah from an Ocean View which we were very pleased with…the other we turned down due to a less desirable part (to us) of the ship. We prefer low and center (less prone to seasickness) and it was a much higher deck cabin.

We always book a specific cabin, so we know what we are getting in advance and do not want "upgrades" but tell our TA we will entertain offers of "upsells."

[innlady1]

Have had two upsells…one we took to a Verandah from an Ocean View which we were very pleased with…the other we turned down due to a less desirable part (to us) of the ship. We prefer low and center (less prone to seasickness) and it was a much higher deck cabin.

We always book a specific cabin, so we know what we are getting in advance and do not want "upgrades" but tell our TA we will entertain offers of "upsells."

 

That's exactly how I feel...except we prefer low and toward the stern!

[Johanna7]

I'm thinking the same thing.

 

Despite about 200 sea days, I have never received an upsell offer.

[Randyk47]

I had booked an Outside for the 1st time on the Maasdam last January (prior to that we'd always had verandahs). I got an offer for an upsell to a verandah suite on Navigation Deck but it was pricey. Mostly, I'd psyched myself up that we could cruise more often if we booked less expensive rooms, so I stuck with what we had...and loved it. We've now graduated to Inside staterooms! S class, Lower Promenade = love them.

 

Having said that, I'd love to be able to at least entertain an upsell offer...my TA knows that. But it's unlikely it would be much of an upsell from an Inside.

 

As mentioned before we've only gotten one up sell offer. To be specific we were on the Veendam for a 14-day cruise out of Tampa. It was the year before I thought I was going to retire so we decided to cut back a bit, at least for us, and booked a B category cabin. About two weeks out I got a call offering an up sell to a S category cabin for $1,999 per person. I remember at the time I asked my TA if they'd gotten the offer correct. :confused: :eek: She put me on hold and actually called HAL back and confirmed it would cost $3,998 more for us to move from the B to the S. She had them on the line so I asked her to offer $1,999 for both of us, still a lot but that was as high as I'd go. HAL rep told my TA "thanks but no thanks" and that's the last we heard from HAL and we sailed in the B. I mention all the details because at the time I actually was a bit excited, at least initially, that I was getting an offer. My mind immediately went to the "got an up sell for $199 per person to the penthouse" kind of stories I'd read here. More than just a bit surprised and maybe even a bit disappointed when I heard the actual offer we got.

[SilvertoGold]

Hmmmm...is this similar to not receiving "flash sale" emails because we're already happy customers? Wonder if the upsell offers mostly go to new HAL customers instead of us "regulars"?

 

We are 5 star and have received exactly 2 upsells offers.

 

I think these offers go out to every TA with pax booked in the afftected cabins classes. Example: an upsell from an inside to an outside will go out to every TA with pax booked in an inside (or perhaps the exact cabin level HAL is targeting). So on with other upsells.

 

These upsells depend entirely with how the ship is booked. Lots of VA-VH left? Do an upsell for these with outsides.

 

You receive notice of these upsells if your TA passes them on to you.