Dreaded upgrade notice

[ontheweb]

If your TA did not mark the reservation "will not accept upgrades", it would not matter if you picked a particular cabin or just had a GTY. Princess could upgrade you without asking and notify your TA after the fact.

 

If the TA did mark the reservation "will not accept upgrades", Princess is not supposed to upgrade you without first sending the TA a message with the upgrade option along with a deadline to reject the upgrade.

 

Now sometimes the notification to the TA somehow never makes it to the eyes of the TA and then on to the passenger. You can pick the reason why"

o Princess did not actually send the notice

o Princess sent the message but the TA overlooked it or it went into spam or for another reason it was not seen

o TA saw the message but failed to act on it.

o other

 

I tend to believe my TA that he never got the notification e-mail. I also do not doubt that it was sent, so I think the message was just lost in cyberspace. But, any of the other possibilities you mentioned could have happened. And our booking was a specific cabin, not a guarantee.

 

But that overlooks the main point. Just because Princess can do something does not make it right. I think one of the reason folks book a cruise early is to be able to pick the cabin, or at least the general area of the cabins, that they want. It seems wrong for Princess to override the wishes of those who book specific cabins well before the cruise.

 

Princess' idea of an upgrade also seems to not coincide with the desires of their passengers. Just because something is more expensive does not mean that the specific passenger would find it more desirable.

[caribill]

 

But that overlooks the main point. Just because Princess can do something does not make it right. I think one of the reason folks book a cruise early is to be able to pick the cabin, or at least the general area of the cabins, that they want. It seems wrong for Princess to override the wishes of those who book specific cabins well before the cruise.

 

If your reservation was marked "will accept upgrades", then Princess is following your wishes when they move you from a specific cabin that you booked.

 

If marked "will nor accept upgrades", then that is why the TA is supposed to get a notice in order to ask you if you will accept or reject the upgrade.

Princess' idea of an upgrade also seems to not coincide with the desires of their passengers. Just because something is more expensive does not mean that the specific passenger would find it more desirable.

 

You are 100% correct. In general, Princess believes higher up is better and closer to the middle of a deck is better.

 

Passengers often feel otherwise and take into consideration size of a balcony, whether or not the balcony is covered, etc.

 

please see my comments in red above

 

Do you know if the booking had been marked "will not accept upgrades"?

Edited December 6, 2014 by caribill

[Love.II.Cruise]

Where is the OP? Did they do "no upgrade?" I know that some people have lost their cabin even if they did "no upgrade," but I'd like to know if this is the case.

[RDC1]

Going by these boards, it seems the unwanted upgrade after the passengers have picked their cabin it the number one complaint that loyal Princess cruise passengers have. You would think that if Princess monitors these boards, they would also come to the same conclusion.

 

Here's our story. This past summer we were on the Ocean Princess for a British Isles cruise. We had booked it way back in October, over 9 months before the sailing.

 

When I originally read on these boards about unwanted "upgrades", I called our TA and asked if this could happen to us. He said, "No, he had picked our cabin." (He knows our wants well, and also had booked a group of cabins on the ship."

 

Then one day, when checking out the personalizer, I saw we had been upgraded from our inside in the middle of the ship to an OV. Okay, we can live with that depending on the location. It turned out it was right below the casino bar (or maybe it was right above, I don't remember for sure). Now DW is a teacher, you know one of those people who with their back turned can still hear whispers from the back of the room. It would have been much too loud for her at night. We asked him to turn down the upgrade, or if they really wanted to upgrade us get us a different OV, or lol we could live with a suite.

 

Later, he got back to me. They said there were no other OVs, and our original cabin was now "out of the inventory". After more time, he eventually got us a cabin a few doors away from our original cabin. It was fine with us, near to everything. (Not that anything is ever far away on the Ocean Princess.)

 

He said he never got an e-mail informing him of the upgrade, though they claimed they sent one. When I asked why they did this, his reply was "It's their ship. They can do whatever they want."

 

I did look at the names on the original cabin; there were three of them. I wonder if they needed an inside cabin that could accommodate more than two, and that's why we were moved.

 

I always mark mine do not upgrade.

 

I had a similar situation on the Pacific Princess. Let me guess that the Ocean view they tried to move you to was an obstructed view around 6044 (or the other side). These are smaller then the inside cabins. Apparently they are normally used for entertainers. On my cruise they did the same thing. moved me from my inside to the OV. I called and they said that they could not give me mine back because it was removed from service for operational reasons. I eventually got a balcony cabin after a great deal of effort and basically saying that I would not sail on that OV cabin. So if that was all available start processing my FCC from the insurance policy. At that point the person gave me a list of open cabins and said pick one. They were able to do the balcony because the last minute price was similar to what I paid for the inside 9 months earlier.

 

On the cruise it appeared that the original cabin was in use, but no passenger name on the door or on the 2 near by insides. Checked with the Steward and he indicated that they were being used for entertainers. Apparently they were not happy with the OV room either.

Edited December 6, 2014 by RDC1

[MJSailors]

I hate it when they try to upgrade us too.

My wife and I love our inside Lido deck cabin and we have chosen the same cabin for 5 straight cruises. We love the location, we love the convenience of knowing exactly where everything is from our room, and we love how dark the room is for our 5pm-630pm pre-dinner nap. When we get back from the excursions or day at the pool there is nothing like 90 minutes of napping in the cool pitch black room, then a fresh shower, and off to the 8pm dinner and late night of dancing! We actually twice had a Princess rep argue with us that the ocean view room or obstructed balcony they wanted to put us in for an upgrade was better. We said NO. We love our cabin and don't want anything else!

Stop the upgrade fairy!!! :eek:

 

Hello DanDonna

I have a question about the air quality in an inside cabin.

Have you ever had difficulty with the air supply in the inside cabin?

Any difficulty with the AC or lack of it ?

Air quality is my major concern in booking an inside cabin.

I am asthmatic and I need air conditioning in warmer climates and air that is not recycled or subject to carrying germs or viruses.

That is the reason we always book balcony cabins.

We would consider an inside cabin if I could be assured of comfortable breathing.

Thank you for your input.

 

T

[dclark]

I got an upgrade notice yesterday- they changed my inside cabin to another inside cabin that is two floors higher. I don't consider this an upgrade. To me, an upgrade is inside to ocean view, or ocean view to balcony. I'd rather have an ocean view on the lowest floor than an inside on the highest floor.

[ontheweb]

please see my comments in red above

 

Do you know if the booking had been marked "will not accept upgrades"?

 

I cannot honestly say whether the cabin was marked no upgrade or not. All I can say for sure is that when I called our TA after reading threads about unwanted upgrades, he assured me that our cabin would not be changed since he had bought a block of cabins and picked out our location.

[ontheweb]

I always mark mine do not upgrade.

 

I had a similar situation on the Pacific Princess. Let me guess that the Ocean view they tried to move you to was an obstructed view around 6044 (or the other side). These are smaller then the inside cabins. Apparently they are normally used for entertainers. On my cruise they did the same thing. moved me from my inside to the OV. I called and they said that they could not give me mine back because it was removed from service for operational reasons. I eventually got a balcony cabin after a great deal of effort and basically saying that I would not sail on that OV cabin. So if that was all available start processing my FCC from the insurance policy. At that point the person gave me a list of open cabins and said pick one. They were able to do the balcony because the last minute price was similar to what I paid for the inside 9 months earlier.

 

On the cruise it appeared that the original cabin was in use, but no passenger name on the door or on the 2 near by insides. Checked with the Steward and he indicated that they were being used for entertainers. Apparently they were not happy with the OV room either.

 

I do not remember the exact cabin number they tried to upgrade us to but that may very well be the one. It definitely started with 60, and I think it started with 604. So, I'm pretty sure that was the area. I do remember that it was either right below or right above the casino lounge.

[AZbeachboy]

Just received email for our upcoming cruise, that princess was upgrading us from our E731 to D423 on Crown. I phoned up right away to decline, and she said you prefer to stay in the back. I said yes, it is a bigger and covered balcony. One of the reason I picked this cruise. I did tell her if she wanted to put us in a penthouse suite, I didn't see a problem, she didn't bite:)

 

 

We recently had the same problem. We called to change it. One difference that we heard for the first time is that she said we could put a flag on the reservation saying we would not take and upgrade under a certain cabin level. For instance according to the Princess Rep, she could flag your reservation with a do not upgrade less that a penthouse suite.

[caribill]

We recently had the same problem. We called to change it. One difference that we heard for the first time is that she said we could put a flag on the reservation saying we would not take and upgrade under a certain cabin level. For instance according to the Princess Rep, she could flag your reservation with a do not upgrade less that a penthouse suite.

 

Not quite. You can have it marked to "upgrade only to the next type cabin".

 

From an inside, that would mean an obstructed oceanview or above.

 

From a balcony, it would mean a mini-suite or above.

 

From a mini-suite, it would mean only to a full suite.

[caribill]

I cannot honestly say whether the cabin was marked no upgrade or not. All I can say for sure is that when I called our TA after reading threads about unwanted upgrades, he assured me that our cabin would not be changed since he had bought a block of cabins and picked out our location.

 

Unless the TA had the booking marked "will not accept upgrades", it does not matter how many cabins the TA had booked and picked for his/her clients.

[KarateMan]

I hate it when they try to upgrade us too.

My wife and I love our inside Lido deck cabin and we have chosen the same cabin for 5 straight cruises. We love the location, we love the convenience of knowing exactly where everything is from our room, and we love how dark the room is for our 5pm-630pm pre-dinner nap. When we get back from the excursions or day at the pool there is nothing like 90 minutes of napping in the cool pitch black room, then a fresh shower, and off to the 8pm dinner and late night of dancing! We actually twice had a Princess rep argue with us that the ocean view room or obstructed balcony they wanted to put us in for an upgrade was better. We said NO. We love our cabin and don't want anything else!

Stop the upgrade fairy!!! :eek:

 

I am in the same position as you. I absolutely love Lido Deck cabins and go for the inside cabin. It is an excellent location being on that deck and not too far walk from the pools and deck food outlets and the prime viewing areas when scenic cruising or entering or leaving port.

 

I had a bad experience just this year when around 4 days before sailing I received an upgrade notification from Princess. In my view it was actually a "downgrade" to an obstructed view cabin on E deck. In my opinion a lousy location compared to what I already had. Despite the face there was a window these cabins have no atmosphere and are no different to insides. For me the choice is simple either a balcony cabin or an inside cabin. The lack of ability to get fresh air in an outside cabin kind of makes them less desirable.

 

When I rang Princess to ask for my original cabin back I was actually abused by the Princess call centre staff for wanting my original cabin back. I was told I had to take it and was yelled at that it was a good upgrade. I told her straight back she was talking BS and that after well over 25 cruises and elite status I knew a hell of a lot more about ship cabins than she could ever hope to learn.

 

I ended up getting my cabin back but there are some myths that people don't realise.

 

The moment you are upgraded your cabin is immediately allocated to someone else and Princess has to then remove them from your cabin. The reason I know this is because there was someone else's name on my cabin door, the beds were in the wrong configuration and I had other passengers baggage delivered to my cabin with them thinking they had secured an upgrade. To make matters worst all of my welcome letters, shore excursion tickets and elite party invitations were delivered to the wrong cabin and I had to physically go to each desk on the ship getting printouts of what went missing.

[PtownGirlz-NH]

Not quite. You can have it marked to "upgrade only to the next type cabin".

 

From a mini-suite, it would mean only to a full suite.

 

This is what happened to us last April and we hated it. We always book a Dolphin deck mini because we love the uncovered big balcony. For the first time they "upgraded" to a full suite. We thought we would try it! It was right under the Horizon Court so we heard the scraping of loungers being set up and removed twice a day at very early and late times. Also the balcony was extremely narrow and covered. This April we marked "no upgrade!" The suite life wasn't worth it to us!!

[BarbaraP]

Not quite. You can have it marked to "upgrade only to the next type cabin".

 

From an inside, that would mean an obstructed oceanview or above.

 

From a balcony, it would mean a mini-suite or above.

 

From a mini-suite, it would mean only to a full suite.

 

That's called a "Meta Upgrade Only", request. Just tell your TA or Princess to mark your reservation that way.

[Av8tor]

This is what happened to us last April and we hated it. We always book a Dolphin deck mini because we love the uncovered big balcony. For the first time they "upgraded" to a full suite. We thought we would try it! It was right under the Horizon Court so we heard the scraping of loungers being set up and removed twice a day at very early and late times. Also the balcony was extremely narrow and covered. This April we marked "no upgrade!" The suite life wasn't worth it to us!!

 

Since when do they set up loungers in Horizon Court??

[shredie]

Since when do they set up loungers in Horizon Court??

 

You know, that's not a bad idea. ;)

[Colo Cruiser]

Since when do they set up loungers in Horizon Court??

 

 

 

Business class.

[pablo222]

I am in the same position as you. I absolutely love Lido Deck cabins and go for the inside cabin.

 

Really?!?!

 

In a previous post, you told us that you only stay in 5-star hotels.

That you would always take a limo, not a cab. etc

 

And you book an inside cabin?

 

Maybe '5-star' means something different in Australian english...

[twindaddy]

we have done the balcony and OV but still not as dark as our little cabin. :D

Just our choice and again can't beat the price!!!!

 

So true, I have stayed in inside cabins twice, you have never experienced dark like you experience it in a inside cabin. There was NO light, not a light on the TV, no thermostat, NOTHING. I slept like the dead, and woke with no idea what time it was or sometimes even where I was.

[rocker57]

I booked online, so there is no button to say no upgrade. I am still waiting, because for some reason it takes 3 business days. I called on Wednesday, so it didn't start till Thursday so by tomorrow it should show up. When I check the cruise, it says that cabin is sold, so it better be for us. I told the customer service rep yesterday, that if she wanted to put us in the owners suite, I would be okay with that:p