Anyone know the "upsell/upgrade fairy" secret

[swomom]

I have been a member for awhile, but this is my first time to try posting. I love CruiseCritic and Princess...we are going on the Golden to AK in less than 2 weeks..cruise #19...whoohoo! I would like to ask all you knowledgeable people a couple questions if I may:

 

(1) we have never had an upgrade or upsell offer...ever...just curious here...does anyone know how this elusive fairy works?

 

(2) what does Op mean?

 

Okay....stop laughing...thanks for your replies!

[shredie]

Nobody knows. :) OP is "original poster," person who started a thread.

[ggprincess2004]

Well, I can answer the second question - original poster.

 

As to the first, I have some suspicions but no actual knowledge...lets try one hypothesis: If you book a gty in a category with very few cabins, you have a decent shot at an upgrade. After that is gets into much murkier territory. I suspect, but cannot document statistically that if you book a cruise (not just buy FCC's but book with the future cruise sales person on board) the upgrade fairy is slightly more inclined to sprinkle your booking with some nice dust.

[hpeabody]

No laughing, we were all there at some time.

 

There is no rhyme or reason to the Upgrade Fairy.

 

I have noticed that Princess for several months now seems to be doing more upsells than complimentary upgrades.

 

OP = original poster

[rdsqrl]

1. No, no one does. In all seriousness, it has to do with maximizing cabin yield: if you happen to have a cabin in a sold-out category which Princess thinks it could still be selling to new bookings, that's when you're more likely to get upgraded. But every category has dozens of cabins and so that lengthens your odds of being the one upgraded right there. There's really no way to game the system, since every cruise sees different demand. The only cabins that really do seem to be snapped up fast are the 12 minisuites on Emerald deck on the Grand-class ships, but even then, the upgrade would 90% of the time be just to another minisuite one deck up.

 

Of course, booking a guarantee cabin does shorten the odds for an upgrade, but even then, you're likely to go up in category, not jump from one category to another. I.e., you booked a guarantee BE and you end up with a higher category balcony cabin (BD, BC, BA, etc.), but not necessarily end up in minisuite.

 

2. OP means either Original Poster (the thread-starter) or Other Poster. Context determines which is meant.

[beg3yrs]

There's been some speculation and subjective evidence that first-time cruisers tend to get upgraded more than repeat cruisers.

 

Other than that, what everyone else said!

[rpcv77]

I just completed my 3rd cruise on Princess. When we got to the pier and checked in we found we'd been upgraded from an obstructed OV to a Caribe balcony. I really didn't believe it and made them check twice as well as checking with passenger service once on board. We were thrilled but had no clue as to why we were chosen. When I got home, I let my TA know the good news. He said he wished he could claim credit for it, but he felt that anyone who tried to explain it was just speculating. The only thing we found out was that the original occupant of the cabin became too ill to travel 2 days before the cruise (her friends were in the next cabin), but how we were chosen will forever be a mystery.

[riclop]

It's all the luck of the draw.

[Colo Cruiser]

There is no rhyme or reason as to how the upgrade fairy works.

[Putterdude]

No one really knows for sure how the upgrade fairy works....but play the odds, cruise a lot and just maybe she will smile on you.:)

[Woobstr112G]

Definitely no Rhyme or Reason.....:):):)

 

Bob

[swomom]

Wow..thanks everyone...this is great!

[Putterdude]

Wow..thanks everyone...this is great!

 

Yep, all of this and 50 cents will likely buy you a cup of coffee nowhere.:D

[Bill B]

The secret is: pixie dust, choosing a cruise that's not selling well, booking a 'guarantee'; and then there are absolutely no guarantees. ;)

[caribill]

I have been a member for awhile, but this is my first time to try posting. I love CruiseCritic and Princess...we are going on the Golden to AK in less than 2 weeks..cruise #19...whoohoo! I would like to ask all you knowledgeable people a couple questions if I may:

 

(1) we have never had an upgrade or upsell offer...ever...just curious here...does anyone know how this elusive fairy works?

 

(2) what does Op mean?

 

 

First of all, congrats, You are the official OP for this thread.

 

Second of all, the upgrade fairy and the upsell fairy are two different fairies.

 

There is a picture of the upgrade fairy below. The upgrade fairy has yet to be photographed, but her food is also shown in a picture below.

[Colo Cruiser]

Wow..thanks everyone...this is great!

 

Good luck on the upgrade/upsell. :D