Upgrade ~ Princess vs RCCL

[99florida]

I am a Diamond Plus member with RCCL so it's obvious that I have been loyal to Royal. We wanted to do a quick get-a-way cruise and was looking at the Enchantment. At one time the price was $179/inside for 3 nights. Not bad but was waiting to see if it would drop a bit more. Unfortunately it did not and as a matter of fact it went up. Well I wasn't willing to pay more for what I saw so I decided to look at other lines. I found a fantastic deal with Princess for the same weekend but with an additional night The price was $159/inside for 4 nights. With all taxes and fees it came out to $457 for two along with $100 OBC. What a deal... How could one not take the offer? Yes, I've sailed with Princess many times but not at the loyal level that I have with RCCL. I personally find the food better on Princess but the shows and activities better on RCCL.

 

Long story short, we took the deal a few weeks ago. Last week they upgraded us to an OV room. Yahoo!!! For the price wow! Well it gets better. On Friday, I received an email stating an upgrade. I thought, "I know, we were already informed." However, this was another UPGRADE to a (deluxe) balcony in the best location. UNBELIEVABLE..... We have sailed over 225(+) nights on RCCL and was upgraded once from an inside to an outside about a decade ago. We sailed about 10 cruises on Princess and we get this? YAHOO and lucky me/us......

 

Makes me think as I am getting older, do I need all the hoopla now that our boys are older and no longer need the Yippie Yippie stuff? Slowing down and being catered to is now on my agenda...

 

THANK YOU PRINCESS <3 :):):)

[sunsetbeachgal]

Great news!! We like RCCL when sailing with grandkids, but for the two of us I find Princess a better fit.

 

Have a great cruise and enjoy that upgrade!!

[I_r_a]

Hooray for you, 99

[Whimsy]

That is wonderful! What a deal!

[bachcruise]

That's fantastic, congrats! In my experience Princess is very generous with upgrades.

 

 

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[DrivesLikeMario]

What are you considering "the best location" for your balcony upgrade? ALL of the balcony cabins are the same size on that ship, BTW. Only difference is location (aft-facing balcony cabins have a larger balcony than all the others but cabin size is the same).

 

I've found that RCI's upgrades are pretty pitiful, even for those of us in the Diamond, or Diamond + level. You'll go from the lowest category cabin of a particular type (like balcony) to the highest in that category type (still a balcony). I have rarely ever seen RCI move people from an inside to a balcony cabin. That's one thing that I love about Princess even if I've never gotten an upgrade with them after all these cruises.

[rubrrick]

Here is what I said on the Royal Caribbean blog.

 

"Because Princess came back to the West Coast last year, we have been dividing our time between the two lines.

 

We are Pinnacle Club members on Royal Caribbean, and have to admit that we have had our fair share of upgrades......many of them being from some time back.

 

Princess has also given us upgrades, and as Elite members with them, they also give us extremely reasonable rates to upgrade from a mini suite to a full suite, like 15% of what they normally charge.

 

Both lines have their strong points, but we still love Royal better. The food on Royal has really slipped over the years, and the food on Princess has a better flavor, and Sabatini's for breakfast outshines everything that Royal has tried for suite breakfasts.

 

The officers and crew on Royal Caribbean far outshine any ship that Princess has........they are open to meeting and chatting with everyone, and that is a point that I don't think that Princess will ever change.

 

For us, Royal still has an edge, but they better put someone in charge of the line.......as it gets more slipshod by the day.:rolleyes:"

 

Rick

[99florida]

What are you considering "the best location" for your balcony upgrade? ALL of the balcony cabins are the same size on that ship, BTW. Only difference is location (aft-facing balcony cabins have a larger balcony than all the others but cabin size is the same).

 

I've found that RCI's upgrades are pretty pitiful, even for those of us in the Diamond, or Diamond + level. You'll go from the lowest category cabin of a particular type (like balcony) to the highest in that category type (still a balcony). I have rarely ever seen RCI move people from an inside to a balcony cabin. That's one thing that I love about Princess even if I've never gotten an upgrade with them after all these cruises.

 

Aft is my favorite due to it being more quiet (it's worth the walk to me) and the panoramic view and extra room. I also like being centrally located mid-ship.

 

Either way an inside to a balcony (which I never have received on RCCL being a Diamond Plus member) is a "huge" upgrade and I am so appreciative. We are now looking into cruising more with Princess even if an upgrade is not given. They just need to work on the entertainment part/adult activities for the young at heart and they will have won me over. IMO and we all have different views of the cruising experience. :):):)

[DrivesLikeMario]

Aft is my favorite due to it being more quiet (it's worth the walk to me) and the panoramic view and extra room. I also like being centrally located mid-ship.

 

Either way an inside to a balcony (which I never have received on RCCL being a Diamond Plus member) is a "huge" upgrade and I am so appreciative. We are now looking into cruising more with Princess even if an upgrade is not given. They just need to work on the entertainment part/adult activities for the young at heart and they will have won me over. IMO and we all have different views of the cruising experience. :):):)

 

Totally agree with you on location. ;) Now I get it - you were saying "your" idea of perfect location (not Princess'). Caribe Deck is by far the very best for regular balconies but some newbies seem to think Aloha & Baja are better because they're higher up (not true - balcony is much smaller) and I was afraid that's what you were going by.

 

Yes, I agree - Princess is a bit quiet at night and they could learn something from RCI and Celebrity in that respect. The service we have had on Princess is so far superior to that of both RCI & Celebrity, that we keep coming back to Princess. Hope you like it too. :)

[TWA4Ever]

Last week they upgraded us to an OV room. Yahoo!!! For the price wow! Well it gets better. On Friday, I received an email stating an upgrade. I thought, "I know, we were already informed." However, this was another UPGRADE to a (deluxe) balcony in the best location. UNBELIEVABLE

 

THANK YOU PRINCESS <3 :):):)

 

Maybe you just have great karma! As you seem to have the "connection," could you please let the upgrade fairy know we'll be on the Regal on 01/11!! (maybe a good word from you ....) :D