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What do you think my chances are for an upgrade?

calikak

By calikak,
in Princess Cruises

What are my odds of getting an upgrade from an AA to a full suite?  

110 members have voted

  1. 1. What are my odds of getting an upgrade from an AA to a full suite?

    • 0-25%
      98
    • 26-50%
      5
    • 51-75%
      4
    • 76-100%
      3

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calikak

calikak

Posted
Posted

Here's my situation: I just booked an AA minisuite (assigned cabin) on the one-night coastal sailing on the Sapphire next month. There are 44 AA minis on the Sapphire (186 minisuites total), and 28 full suites (not counting the 2 family suites). As of this morning, all the full suites except the Grand Suite (and the family suites) are available, and all are still priced very high (about $800/pp, and remember, that's just one night on the ship!). The mini we booked, on the other hand, had a flash special going on so we didn't pay that much for it. We'll be happy in the mini, or we wouldn't have booked it, but it sure would be nice to get a free upgrade to a full suite. :D

 

So, my question is this: knowing that nobody can really predict what the upgrade fairy might do, what's your best guess about my odds for an upgrade to a full suite?

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Dreamer333

Dreamer333

Posted
Posted

I wished I lived close enough to take advantage of these short coastal cruises! On that same cruise that you will be on, an outside cabin for 2 passangers goes for about $200 (which is less than what one would spend on a nice hotel for a night)!!

 

But off course the air fare just wouldn't be worth it!

Maybe I should move!!

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calikak

calikak

Posted
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Posted

Dreamer, I really love these cruises. As long as you're prepared for the fact that you won't get a full-length, relaxing cruise experience, and you see it as a weekend getaway instead, they're a really fun trip. But you're right, if you don't live close to one of the departure cities, it's really not worth the trip.

 

DrukeI, I agree, all polls are unscientific...but that doesn't mean they're not fun anyway. :D I think there's been a lot of seriousness and negativity on the boards lately, and a silly pointless poll lightens things up a bit.

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roohound

roohound

Posted
Posted

I thought I remembered reading somewhere where, esp with the shorter cruises, Princess doesn't even bother filling the full suites if they don't sell. Especially a one night cruise, that's a lot of work on the stateroom staff to make sure they're ready to go with a one day turnaround. The free laundry benefit alone would be a nightmare on a one night cruise.

 

Not saying it's impossible because we all know there's not rhyme nor reason to how and why Princess does upgrades.

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cruiserforlife

cruiserforlife

Posted
Posted

Beth,

Don't get me wrong...any cruise is OK with me but I just can't imagine a one-night cruise.How do the cruiseships do it?I mean for $200 bucks or less,you get a great day onboard (with at least 5-7 meals:rolleyes: ),great entertainment...which is far less than staying at a 3-star hotel but if it was me,I think I'd be so busy worrying that I have just six (or five or four) hours left that I wouldn't be able to relax properly.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't go for it though...

Make the most of it and have a great time.

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calikak

calikak

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Beth,

 

Don't get me wrong...any cruise is OK with me but I just can't imagine a one-night cruise.How do the cruiseships do it?I mean for $200 bucks or less,you get a great day onboard (with at least 5-7 meals:rolleyes: ),great entertainment...which is far less than staying at a 3-star hotel but if it was me,I think I'd be so busy worrying that I have just six (or five or four) hours left that I wouldn't be able to relax properly.

 

That doesn't mean I wouldn't go for it though...

 

Make the most of it and have a great time.

 

Most of us who love cruising get really ramped up before our cruises, with countdown clocks and doc dances and all that, and I could see a 1-night cruise being just a stressful day followed by a feeling of letdown if you did that before this type of sailing. You really have to not let yourself get psyched up like you would for a regular cruise, and just think of it as a weekend getaway instead. Brief getaways aren't about relaxation the way that a week or two-week vacation are, they're more about a short change of scenery, and that's what a 1-night cruise is about. That, and dancing the night away at Skywalkers. :D

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CanuckCruizer

CanuckCruizer

Posted
Posted

Calikak (I think that is how you spell it -)

 

We are going on a back to back on the Sapphire starting the next day - doing the Coastal, then the Mexican Riviera. We have a mini-suite guarantee the whole way, so I would hope they would give me the suite before they gave it to you - tee hee tee hee:D But, seriously, only the people boarding from Seattle to Vancouver will be on it for one night (there was a thread about the Jones Act/Passenger Act etc. & one woman is doing the Coastal from Vancouver and wanted to add an extra night starting in Seattle and they wouldn't let her). SO - anything is possible, unless they don't want to clean it again in Vancouver for the next guest!

 

Friends of ours did a Coastal last year and paid $20 (I am pretty sure) to upgrade to the highest balcony from the lowest category very close to the cruise (it was on the Island). We did a 3 day Coastal on the Radiance a few years back and paid for the lowest category and ended up with the highest oceanview category (at no charge). If I were you, I'd wait until 2-3 weeks before and call your TA or if you booked directly with Princess, call them, and ask what it would cost to upgrade to a suite - I bet it would be quite reasonable. They would rather get some money than NO money for an empty suite - you would think?! Are you a Platinum or Diamond Member? That may up your chances a bit. It would have helped if you had booked a guarantee I think. Anyway, all these other people that say it's impossible, don't worry about them and keep thinking positive things and I'll do the "upgrade fairy prayer" for you, if you do one for me - LMAO that people may think I am crazy!:D :D :D Please do post and let me know what happens!!

CanuckCruizer

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WCAB

WCAB

Posted
Posted

Doing a four day - Sunday through Thursday in October. Much shorter then we usually take but we have already done a 10 day this year and this is a quick get away before the holidays and so we are looking forward to it.

 

Carol

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Caris

Caris

Posted
Posted

Calikak and anyone else who might have good advice!

 

My husband and I are thinking of doing this 1 night cruise, as if falls near our anniversary and seems more fun than just going out to dinner ;)

 

We've only done long cruises so I'd have to adopt your attitude that's it's not a cruise per se, more of a fun night out.

 

We are thinking of taking the train back from Vancouver the next evening, do you park in Seattle, or have people drop off and pick up? Since you've mentioned you've done short ones out of Seattle before, I thought I'd see if you had worked out the logistics!

 

Then I'm thinking what will we do in Vancouver all day (as the train only runs at 6pm, and hubby refuses to do the bus!). We will have a small overnight bag too, but nothing major, I'd think.

 

Any suggestions? ideas? We live 1/2 hour south of Seattle, so any good recommendations?

 

Thanks in advance!

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DandyCandy

DandyCandy

Posted
Posted

my fiance is hoping we get kissed by the upgrade fairy before our cruise. we can only upgrade to a minisuite or full suite and well that will never happen.

For one, the only empty cabins on our cruise are the inside lower deck cabins.

it would be nice though.........:D

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calikak

calikak

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Hi! Yes, we take the train back too. Be sure to book a business class seat because the odds are that the train will be oversold (it was after last year's one-nighter, all those folks from Seattle trying to get home!) and people got bumped to buses instead. Business class is only $11 more per person and it guarantees you a seat on the train, and you get a little more legroom and a $3 coupon for use at the snack bar.

 

We usually have someone drop us at the ship, but you can also park downtown over night. You can either park at the pier, and cab from the train station to your car, or park by the train station (the big lot on the north end of the football stadium may be open) and cab from there to the pier. The downside is that you'd be parking on a weekday (the ship leaves Sunday so you get back on Monday) so you're talking weekday parking charges in downtown, which can be a lot. That's why we always just have someone drop us off. We live up in Edmonds, so we park our car at the train station there, then have someone drive us down to the pier, then when we get off the train in Edmonds, our car is waiting for us.

 

Oh, I almost forgot: there's a bag check at the train station in Vancouver, and there's also one at the pier, so you can leave your bag there for the day if you need to. We just bring backpacks so they're easy to carry as we sightsee.

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A.Emgee Great Review Rare

A.Emgee

Posted
Posted

Calikak,

 

I also booked this cruise for this year.

 

Last year I booked a total of 11 staterooms for the 1-night. The 2 outsides got bumped to balconies. The 8 balconies got bumped to minisuites. And the 1 minisuite didn't get upgraded. I remember the pricing last year was also $69 for an inside, although my TA (whose agency must have filled a quarter of the staterooms) claims that she had a special rate of CAD$55. My review from last year: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=81875

 

You DO have a chance at an epic upgrade... Shipkicker last year got upgraded from a minisuite to the GRAND SUITE 3 days before sailing

(http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=79764) and invited some fellow CruiseCriticers to the suite for sailaway. The odds are slim but better than getting hit by lightning (in Canada, this is 1 in 5 million per year).

 

Anyhow, for this year, I just booked the highest inside I could find (category II) and am hoping for the best. I didn't feel I made good use of my minisuite last year as I was out and about until I went to bed, and when I woke up, I was already looking out at Canada Place!

 

And yes, I did get a Captain's Circle credit for the 1-night last year, despite being told by many that the short cruises don't count.

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MszKitty

MszKitty

Posted
Posted
Calikak (I think that is how you spell it -)

 

We are going on a back to back on the Sapphire starting the next day - doing the Coastal, then the Mexican Riviera. We have a mini-suite guarantee the whole way, so I would hope they would give me the suite before they gave it to you - tee hee tee hee:D But, seriously, only the people boarding from Seattle to Vancouver will be on it for one night (there was a thread about the Jones Act/Passenger Act etc. & one woman is doing the Coastal from Vancouver and wanted to add an extra night starting in Seattle and they wouldn't let her). SO - anything is possible, unless they don't want to clean it again in Vancouver for the next guest!

CanuckCruizer

 

CanuckCruizer....Are you doing the Sapphire 5 day Pacific Coastal Vancouver-LA departing Sept 26? If so, we have a roll call thread. I don't know how to put the link in here, but I'm sure you can find it under the Princess Roll Calls board titled "Sapphire Coastal Sept 26, 2005"

Stop in and say Hi!:)

 

Edited....see if this works...its the link to our roll call.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=100204

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donna5

donna5

Posted
Posted

I think it will be a surprise if they upgrade to full suite on the 1 day, unless the ship gets full. It would be great, but I have seen suites go empty. Probably more work for them to get it ready for the longer cruise the next day. We'll have to see if anyone get bumped up there.

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calikak

calikak

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You DO have a chance at an epic upgrade... Shipkicker last year got upgraded from a minisuite to the GRAND SUITE 3 days before sailing

(http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=79764) and invited some fellow CruiseCriticers to the suite for sailaway. The odds are slim but better than getting hit by lightning (in Canada, this is 1 in 5 million per year).

 

You just totally made my day! That's it, I'm making it my personal mission to get as many people as possible to book this cruise, so I get a free upgrade to a suite. :D I know last year it sold out in the last week before the sailing. My friend who works at the pier told me the week before the cruise that it was still only half full, but the day of check-in, it was totally full. So maybe I'll get lucky at the last minute...I'm not holding my breath, though. :)

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Caris

Caris

Posted
Posted

Well, I booked it so that's one less cabin ;)

 

Thanks for the advice, I did book business class on the train because of what you said. I'd be sad to get bumped to the bus, so better safe than sorry!

 

How about you get bumped to the big suite and I'll get bumped into your mini-suite ? :)

 

Take care,

 

Cari

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