From PR to E1, thank you Cruise Critic!

[Mrs_Tiki]

Thanks to all who have shared their experiences with upgrading after final payment and working with guarantees, I was able to turn a PR cabin into an E1 balcony for our upcoming cruise on the Freedom!

 

Thought I'd share my timeline and experience to pay it forward ~

 

I booked an assigned PR cabin at a good price about six weeks before final payment. Price continued to go up until after final payment. Fine. I would have been happy knowing that I had gotten a good deal on my chosen cabin.

 

But I continued to monitor pricing and saw that a balcony guarantee category opened up 7 weeks before sailing at a price just above what I had paid for the PR.

 

I called my TA to ask if I could pay the difference and make the switch. Here's where it got a little hairy. Apparently my original booking was in a group that included a $25 OBC. At first, RCL said they couldn't make the switch because of that, then said they could, but I would lose my OBC. After an hour on hold while TA talked to RCL, she came back and said that it was done, but I had lost my $25 OBC. No worries! I'm still feeling like I'm coming out way ahead vs. what a balcony would have cost in the first place.

 

Since then, I've been monitoring my reservation to see if a cabin had been assigned. Then, poof, there it was! An E1 far forward and under the fitness center. I checked available cabins and saw that a couple E1s were left midships and made a call to the TA. First, he said that it would not be possible to switch cabins, but I told him that I had heard of it being done and to please try. Sure enough, he called me back to say that the switch had been made, and I've verified it on my reservation. SCORE!

 

And yes, I still would have been okay if I hadn't been able to switch to the better-located E1, because I know that you have to be prepared for whatever you get with a guarantee booking.

 

Now the only thing that could make this any sweeter would be if the upgrade fairy came to call. But that is too much to hope for after all of my luck so far! I am grateful to CC for informing this process for me.

[marci22]

Good work!

[iriegirl]

SCORE! Congrats on an awesome deal. :-)

[beej]

Good work

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[molly361]

Congrats!!!

[DonnaK]

Awesome! Have a great trip!

[dacsmom]

Congratulations and have a great cruise.

[jules815]

Congrats on the balcony upgrade. Enjoy your cruise.