Upgrades to better rooms

[jmcookiemonster25]

I booked through a travel agency and I am curious about how upgrading works.

 

The price of a specific room through TA is MUCH more than NCL directly. If we wish to upgrade, does that mean we have to pay the difference between what I paid and the TA's price, or can we get it for what NCL has it listed at (or something close)?

[B6ConMe]

I booked through a travel agency and I am curious about how upgrading works.

 

The price of a specific room through TA is MUCH more than NCL directly. If we wish to upgrade, does that mean we have to pay the difference between what I paid and the TA's price, or can we get it for what NCL has it listed at (or something close)?

 

Unfortunately, you booked with a TA, so your TA owns your reservation. You can talk to your TA and ask, they may want to keep your business badly enough to give it to you at the lower price. No guarantee :o

 

Good luck ;)

Edited April 25, 2014 by B6ConMe
wish you luck

[Cubechick]

You can only work through your TA to make any changes to your reservation. You can ask the TA to get the upgrade for you, or if it's before final payment you could cancel and rebook directly with NCL (being aware of any penalties that the TA may have or any perks that you may lose).

[dalgirl]

I have always worked with a TA and I have gotten several free upgrades. My strategy: after final payment during the last week before we sail I contact my TA and ask them to check with NCL to see if there are any upgrade opportunities - THEY contact NCL and get back to me - I have gone from inside to balcony several times at no charge. On our very first NCL cruise we got upgraded from balcony to mini suite for a nominal charge through a TA - NCL actually contacted them to see if we wanted the upsell. So the TA did the work and I got the benefit.

 

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get anything because you use a TA - if you work with a good company that wants to keep your business, you will get good service.

 

And you don't have to cancel with your TA and rebook with NCL - again I may rebook several times with my TA before final payment with no problems. I have even had the TA check the price BEFORE the final payment and give me the discount WITHOUT EVEN ASKING.

 

So don't be afraid to work with a good TA - many of them give OBC along with any OBC NCL is offering, we always have OBC with both when we sail.

 

Wish I could tell you who I use;)

[roger001]

I have always worked with a TA and I have gotten several free upgrades. My strategy: after final payment during the last week before we sail I contact my TA and ask them to check with NCL to see if there are any upgrade opportunities - THEY contact NCL and get back to me - I have gone from inside to balcony several times at no charge. On our very first NCL cruise we got upgraded from balcony to mini suite for a nominal charge through a TA - NCL actually contacted them to see if we wanted the upsell. So the TA did the work and I got the benefit.

 

Don't let anyone tell you that you can't get anything because you use a TA - if you work with a good company that wants to keep your business, you will get good service.

 

And you don't have to cancel with your TA and rebook with NCL - again I may rebook several times with my TA before final payment with no problems. I have even had the TA check the price BEFORE the final payment and give me the discount WITHOUT EVEN ASKING.

 

So don't be afraid to work with a good TA - many of them give OBC along with any OBC NCL is offering, we always have OBC with both when we sail.

 

Wish I could tell you who I use;)

 

I just booked today for a cruise in 4 weeks. We use a TA. In addition to the $50 OBC Ncl was already offering, the TA gave an additional $175 OBC and then a free specialty restaurant evening for two with a free bottle of wine. I always use a TA (same one always).

[MrMike45]

We have always booked directly thru NCL. The price of our May cruise dropped dramatically. So last week I called them. Person I spoke to immediately said she would take care of me, put me on hold to "talk to her supervisor" and then came back on the line.

 

We were in a balcony room on the Breakaway on the 14th floor w/ $50 onboard credit. They upgraded us to a mini suite, still on the 14th floor, and doubled our credit to $100. My wife said I should have haggled for more, but I wasn't complaining. Same floor we wanted, bigger room/balcony, and 2-3 more free drinks. Sold.

Edited April 25, 2014 by MrMike45

[dalgirl]

We have always booked directly thru NCL. The price of our May cruise dropped dramatically. So last week I called them. Person I spoke to immediately said she would take care of me, put me on hold to "talk to her supervisor" and then came back on the line.

 

We were in a balcony room on the Breakaway on the 14th floor w/ $50 onboard credit. They upgraded us to a mini suite, still on the 14th floor, and doubled our credit to $100. My wife said I should have haggled for more, but I wasn't complained. Same floor we wanted, bigger room/balcony, and 2-3 more free drinks. Sold.

 

That is great - I sent a short email to my TA, she did all the back and forth with NCL and saved us an additional $250 on our AFT Balcony on the Getaway in the fall - and I kept my $100 OBC from NCL and my $300 OBC from the TA without doing anything but a quick email. Sold also.

[jmcookiemonster25]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

 

We have paid in full already and are only 16 days away from sailing, so cancelling and rebooking isn't an option.

 

We will give TA a call tomorrow and see what they can do for us.

[dalgirl]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

 

We have paid in full already and are only 16 days away from sailing, so cancelling and rebooking isn't an option.

 

We will give TA a call tomorrow and see what they can do for us.

 

Let us know how you do, I think 2 weeks is too far out, but you never know.

 

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[Ewoodspark]

I booked through a travel agency and I am curious about how upgrading works.

 

If you wanted a better cabin, why did you simply not book it at when you made your reservation? Surely you knew all the different prices?

[garycarla]

Since it is two weeks before the cruise, then...

 

 

If you had booked through the same TA this week, the cost would most probably be the same as NCL. They are selling the last few cabins at a discount/sale trying to fill the ship.

Edited April 26, 2014 by garycarla

[awatt]

If you wanted a better cabin, why did you simply not book it at when you made your reservation? Surely you knew all the different prices?

 

And surely you know that unsold cabins may be obtained as an upgrade for free or as a discount as sailing approaches? That is what the OP is inquiring about. No need to be so condescending.

[jmcookiemonster25]

If you wanted a better cabin, why did you simply not book it at when you made your reservation? Surely you knew all the different prices?

 

We didn't want a better cabin at the time. We wanted the cheapest one at the time. We knew the prices might go down so we didn't want to book something expensive to only have the price drop a lot.

 

We changed our minds, is that illegal?

[jmcookiemonster25]

If you wanted a better cabin, why did you simply not book it at when you made your reservation? Surely you knew all the different prices?

 

Besides, at the time the prices were different. Prices for the nicer rooms have dropped quite a bit over the weeks. The inside cabins have stayed the same price. If the price is right we would consider upgrading.

[Cubechick]

We didn't want a better cabin at the time. We wanted the cheapest one at the time. We knew the prices might go down so we didn't want to book something expensive to only have the price drop a lot.

 

We changed our minds, is that illegal?

 

Sometimes on these boards it appears to be. ;)

 

We moved cabins three times on our upcoming cruise as I watched for price drops. We couldn't afford the cabin we ended up in at the price it was over a year ago! (And if prices hadn't budged we'd be perfectly happy in our original stateroom.)

 

I hope your TA works it out for you.

[jmcookiemonster25]

Sometimes on these boards it appears to be. ;)

 

We moved cabins three times on our upcoming cruise as I watched for price drops. We couldn't afford the cabin we ended up in at the price it was over a year ago! (And if prices hadn't budged we'd be perfectly happy in our original stateroom.)

 

I hope your TA works it out for you.

 

Thanks for understanding! And yes us too, we are happy to be on board but we have never had a balcony so it would be cool to upgrade to one if the price is right.

[abcmom123]

to the OP-thank you for posting. I had the same question, and NO I am not looking to "get something for nothing" as another poster implied. To all those CCs that share your knowledge and experience without being jerks; THANK YOU!

[hpecorari]

If you wanted a better cabin, why did you simply not book it at when you made your reservation? Surely you knew all the different prices?

 

FYI -

Lots of people WANT better cabins but simply can't afford the price of a better cabin at the time they book. Therefore, they book what they can afford and have a lovely cruise vacation.

 

As times goes by prices may (and have, at times) gone down. If one pays the same price for the cabin they have and now a better cabin is the same price as what they paid, and if final payment hasn't gone by yet (and sometimes even if final payment has gone buy) one might be able to upgrade to the better cabin for no cost at all or a small difference that needs to be paid.

 

EX: inside cabin goes for $899.00 at the time I book it. Weeks or months later a balcony is going for about the same price. Yes, I'd like to upgrade to that balcony for nothing or pay a small difference.

 

Does this answer your question as to why if one wanted a better cabin why didn't they book it at the time of their reservation.)

 

Harriet

[Wildcatllamas]

OP definitely contact your TA. I was booked into a spa balcony for my cruise on May 17th. Last weekend the prices for a spa mini dropped dramatically. It was now several hundreds of dollars cheaper than what I paid for the balcony. So I sent an email to my TA and on Monday I was in a spa mini without any upcharges.

 

So you will never know unless you contact your TA. The worst - they say they can't do anything for you. The best - you are in a balcony.

[sabhoy]

We booked through TA. Noticed a $30pp price drop. Called our TA and we got upgraded from spa balcony to Mini Suite and got the price drop and additional OBC. October on the Getaway

Edited April 26, 2014 by sabhoy

[Ewoodspark]

FYI -

Does this answer your question as to why if one wanted a better cabin why didn't they book it at the time of their reservation.)

 

Harriet

In a word NO !. If the price rises, do you go rushing to Norwegian Cruise Line or whoever you booked through and ask to pay more?

[codigsmith]

I can share one but of info- my ya and rc were willing to let me bump to the upgraded now same price room but I couldn't keep my onboard credits

 

 

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[cadien]

Leaving aside the attitude, it has come up in prior threads that NCL's UK branches do not allow the same sorts of upgrades and this frequently leads to misunderstandings about what is customary (and even outright marketed by NCL) for U.S./Canada customers.

[mjkacmom]

Leaving aside the attitude, it has come up in prior threads that NCL's UK branches do not allow the same sorts of upgrades and this frequently leads to misunderstandings about what is customary (and even outright marketed by NCL) for U.S./Canada customers.

 

And that is why a certain poster from the UK gets his or her panties in a bunch whenever us lucky Americans are able to get upgraded or are given OBC, even after final payment. Apparently, if you book using the UK website, you aren't able to rebook with no penalty anytime you wish before final payment, or benefit from calling NCL after final payment. Of course, NCL does owe you nothing after final payment (but it seems they are usually able to upgrade for a small fee, or throw you some OBC, as long as you are an American ;)

 

So, it never hurts to ask!

[jmcookiemonster25]

Thank you everyone for your support and advice.