Automatic free cabin upgrades always for those with multiple Princess cruises?

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I agree. This [ATTACH]316836[/ATTACH] category OV is not an upgrade from this [ATTACH]316837[/ATTACH] Category OY but according to Princess it is 3 tiers up. It is one of the reasons I created my website.

 

Theo

 

Many thanks for me, too!

[Renmar]

We always book obstructed view cabins, DUH :p but were lucky enough to have been upgraded a few times to a balcony.

Although we appreciate the upgrade we will not accept every upgrade they will throw our way. To us an upgrade from an obstructed view to an Ocean view on Plaza deck for instance is not an upgrade but to other people it is.

To answer the OP question; upgrade is a crap-shoot, and has nothing to do with loyalty standings. IMHO of course.

 

To all you cruisers that are kind enough to thank me for my website; You're welcome, it's my pleasure.

 

Theo

[Corfe Mixture]

As others have said, the problem with any upgrades is that you have no control over the location and, unless you make your booking no upgrade, if they 'upgrade' you will not be able to get your original booking back as that will have been given to someone else.

 

In days gone by, the best cabins /suites were always two decks down from the Lido deck and had cabins above and below. The recent trend however has been to put them immediately below the Lido deck which means that the mid-ships grades can be subject to some late night / early morning noise as staff rearrange loungers etc.

 

On the other hand, careful inspection of the deck plan will enable one to spot those likely to be less subject to noise and if you deliberately chose one of these, and have not specified NO UPGRADE you could be very upset if you then got moved to a noisy location you had deliberately chosen to avoid.

[Iamcruzin]

And those promotions are usually something like "get a balcony for the price of an inside" which translates to book the highest category inside and get the lowest category balcony.

 

It's usually ocean view for Balcony and then they just inflate the price of the ocean view to match the price of the lowest balcony.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

This sounds like something the TA I use does in their emails to promote business. ;) Their current ad promises gratuities to be paid IF you book a balcony or better. Yes it true but not for just booking a balcony alone. It doesn't apply to all categories on all decks and the pricing of the selected balconies more than makes up for the paid gratuities. She told me that they haven't had one sale yet when people hear the price of those selected balconies. :eek:

The stories you hear are sometimes partially true but if you check them out a little you'll find there was a catch to the offer.

[diverward]

This sounds like something the TA I use does in their emails to promote business. ;) Their current ad promises gratuities to be paid IF you book a balcony or better.

 

This is a Princess promotion. The last promotion they had we had paid GTY on the lowest category of OV but with the promotion we got to the highest category of OV for the same price. On this promotion, whilst they will pay the gratuities for Balcony and above, they did give us a price drop of $250.00 each for our category (OV). And a $50.00 on board credit. Wonder what happens to the bottle of champagne from the last promotion? Have a good day all.

Edited June 22, 2014 by diverward

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...In days gone by, the best cabins /suites were always two decks down from the Lido deck and had cabins above and below. The recent trend however has been to put them immediately below the Lido deck which means that the mid-ships grades can be subject to some late night / early morning noise as staff rearrange loungers etc...

 

I have noticed this also. It makes no sense to me. Being a light sleeper, I would probably pass on a suite even as an upgrade. I prefer cabins above and below me.

Edited June 22, 2014 by Ryndam2002

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

This is a Princess promotion. The last promotion they had we had paid GTY on the lowest category of OV but with the promotion we got to the highest category of OV for the same price. On this promotion, whilst they will pay the gratuities for Balcony and above, they did give us a price drop of $250.00 each for our category (OV). And a $50.00 on board credit. Wonder what happens to the bottle of champagne from the last promotion? Have a good day all.

 

My TA called a "bucket list" offer. Not sure what that is.

[iceleven]

When this topic comes up in a thread, I don't see anywhere whether the upgrades are offered more to those who use an agent or to those who book their cruises on their own. I think it would be interesting to see if there is any leaning to one or the other. I have only booked my own sailings, never used an agent, and I've received quite a few upgrades over the years.

[Cruise Raider]

I posted this last month but bears repeating. We finally made it to elite status and booked an inside cabin. The cruise interfered with my DH's schedule so we had to postpone it by one week. I was so irritated as I looked onto our cruise personalizer and it was the first true upgrade we've ever received ... and it was assigned early in the game. We had booked a midship inside cabin with a meta upgrade only...if I was going to be inside, I wanted midship on the Caribe deck. They has assigned us a nice Plaza deck unobstructed oceanview. Alas, we had to give it up and now am rather sad as that was the only real upgrade we've ever gotten....and couldn't even use it. Hopefully the same will happen for the one we rescheduled it to ...but am not counting on it. We've always gotten rather bad 'upgrades' in the past. This one is just a week so I guess an inside cabin will suffice.

[shredie]

My TA called a "bucket list" offer. Not sure what that is.

 

That's the name Princess gave it. Personally, that phrase gets on my nerves. :p

[sunsetbeachgal]

The only real upgrade I have received from Princess was from inside to balcony on the Royal Princess...and the reservation was marked "do not upgrade" as original cabin was in a row with family members cabins...but is was perfectly fine!! ;)

[OCruisers]

Upgrades are done by Yield Management and are based on supply and demand. Sometimes, there are promos with an automatic upgrade but that's based on the promotion, not Captain's Circle status.

 

Bottom Line: Pam's answer is absolutely correct.

LuLu

[Oxo]

When this topic comes up in a thread, I don't see anywhere whether the upgrades are offered more to those who use an agent or to those who book their cruises on their own. I think it would be interesting to see if there is any leaning to one or the other. I have only booked my own sailings, never used an agent, and I've received quite a few upgrades over the years.

 

Very interesting. How many years have you cruised with Princess?

How many times have you cruised with Princess?

How many times have you received an upgrade?

 

We have cruised Princess since the 1980s. Many many cruises with Princess. Very few upgrades.

[Cruisin' Chick]

My TA called a "bucket list" offer. Not sure what that is.

 

I call our list of desired cruises our "dream list." Much less morbid than "bucket list."

[iceleven]

Very interesting. How many years have you cruised with Princess?

How many times have you cruised with Princess?

How many times have you received an upgrade?

 

We have cruised Princess since the 1980s. Many many cruises with Princess. Very few upgrades.

 

It seems my question has not yet been addressed but I will be patient. ;)

 

I have cruised 4 different cruise lines with having more cruise days with Princess. I really don't recall exactly how many upgrades I've had over the years, some were "up-sells" as well. My most recent up-grade was my most recent booked cruise for the end of October '14.

 

My question, again, is whether more bookings with TAs get upgrades or more self-bookings get upgrade offers. It just never seems to be factored in when this topic comes up.

[KarateMan]

It seems my question has not yet been addressed but I will be patient. ;)

 

I have cruised 4 different cruise lines with having more cruise days with Princess. I really don't recall exactly how many upgrades I've had over the years, some were "up-sells" as well. My most recent up-grade was my most recent booked cruise for the end of October '14.

 

My question, again, is whether more bookings with TAs get upgrades or more self-bookings get upgrade offers. It just never seems to be factored in when this topic comes up.

 

Try self booking. I have never received an upgrade from a travel agent but have always got upgrades booking direct with the company.

[rdsqrl]

It seems my question has not yet been addressed but I will be patient. ;)

 

I have cruised 4 different cruise lines with having more cruise days with Princess. I really don't recall exactly how many upgrades I've had over the years, some were "up-sells" as well. My most recent up-grade was my most recent booked cruise for the end of October '14.

 

My question, again, is whether more bookings with TAs get upgrades or more self-bookings get upgrade offers. It just never seems to be factored in when this topic comes up.

You're not getting an answer because there's no way for any of us here to give you an accurate answer to this question. You're only going to get anecdotes but that isn't data. I have only booked one cruise directly with Princess; I was upgraded twice on that cruise. I have also been upgraded on the majority of my other cruises, booked over the years through different travel agents. That tells you nothing. Since upgrades are done by computer based on what cabin categories are/aren't selling and could potentially be sold, the method of booking isn't important.

[Pam in CA]

My question, again, is whether more bookings with TAs get upgrades or more self-bookings get upgrade offers. It just never seems to be factored in when this topic comes up.

The answer is, "No." Upgrade offers have nothing to do with whether you booked through a TA or directly. I believe there's an algorithm created by Yield Management that determines who is upgraded or not. It's based on supply and demand for each category. With so many variables, each cruise is different.

 

I personally think that those who book the lowest category of a cabin type are more likely to be upgraded because entry level bookings are usually made at the lowest categories which are the cheapest. New cruisers tend to be upgraded more frequently but whether that's PR or whether they also tend to book the lower categories, I don't know.

 

There really isn't a direct answer to your question.

[notentirelynormal]

Okay, I just wanted everyone to imagine all the Elites (easily several hundred a cruise) that booked a mini suite and trying to fit them into the what 20 or 30 total suites on board. How could that comment be true in any way?

[iceleven]

Yes, I understand algorithms to a degree, but I do believe that they too can be filtered. By definition, algorithms are conditional filters. "New cruisers" is a part of that filtering. And yes, I do agree with how there would be a larger "pool" of cabins for them to be upgraded to.

 

I'm not really trying to get a direct answer; in fact I would be perfectly happy with anecdotal replies. It's just an observation of mine that no one ever seems to mention how they booked their cruise when they do or do not get upgrade offers.

 

As an example, is it possible those who used a TA get an upgrade offer from Princess or perhaps their agent (for good-will purposes) arrange for an upgrade for them? I'm only looking at the variables...not absolutes. I'm nothing more than curious and I will continue to enjoy the upgrades when they happen.

[shredie]

Okay, I just wanted everyone to imagine all the Elites (easily several hundred a cruise) that booked a mini suite and trying to fit them into the what 20 or 30 total suites on board. How could that comment be true in any way?

 

LOL. There will be long lines for the bathrooms! :p

[SoCal Cruiser78]

...I'm not really trying to get a direct answer; in fact I would be perfectly happy with anecdotal replies. It's just an observation of mine that no one ever seems to mention how they booked their cruise when they do or do not get upgrade offers.

 

As an example, is it possible those who used a TA get an upgrade offer from Princess or perhaps their agent (for good-will purposes) arrange for an upgrade for them? I'm only looking at the variables...not absolutes. I'm nothing more than curious and I will continue to enjoy the upgrades when they happen.

 

I have been on six cruises, and was upgraded only once. It was a 10 category (!) upgrade on HAL. It was our second or third cruise with HAL. We booked through a TA, but as I recall she said she had nothing to do with it. We didn't even learn about it until we got to the pier. No upgrade or upsell had been offered to us ahead of time.

Edited June 23, 2014 by Ryndam2002

[Renmar]

12 Princess cruises.

Upgraded 4 times.

Obstructed Ocean view to Balcony 3X

Obstructed view to Ocean view 1X

Always booked with TA.

 

1 HAL cruise, no upgrade

1 Celebrity cruise, no upgrade

Booked with TA.

 

Theo.

[seamanfs]

22 Princess cruises. Upgraded once from OV obstructed to full OV, Offered upsells several times from OV to balcony. Book almost always through Princess.