Concierge veranda upgrade from extended balcony B3?

[hiccups]

I know this is probably one of those YMMV questions, but thought I'd ask anyway :) Right now we're booked in cabin 7005 on Riviera--one of the extended balconies. We have an offer to upgrade to the concierge veranda for $100 PP. Yay or nay in your opinion?

[LHT28]

depends on what you value

extra balcony space

or free access to spa deck, bottle of bubbly, 4 free pressings, access to Concierge lounge

 

Cabin sizes are the same so it is a YMMV scenario ;)

[Mura]

If you want the upgrade don't take too long in letting O know.

 

Mura

[jwindham]

We did not get offered an upgrade and paid the extra $300 each to get access to the Spa Terrace and the therapy pool there on Riviera. I read that if you can buy access it is $25 a day and we have a 10 day cruise so figured it really only cost me and extra $50 each to get all of the other stuff. But it is what you value. And we did give up the large balcony cabin. We were on new NCL Escape in November and had a balcony for a true suite that was so small that the 3 of us could not even stand on it together at the same time. So with the regular balconies on Riviera being much bigger made this upgrade fine in my opinion. Julia

[SellaVee]

Whereas we were offered the upgrade for $65pp and turned it down. There was no way I was going to give up my extended balcony, and I have to say we loved it. No struggling to find a lounger by the pool as we had our own private space. We tended to keep ourselves to ourselves which suits my quiet husband very well. We're not bothered about the spa terrace - in fact we were concierge on Insignia for 20 days last year and I only used the spa terrace once or twice and didn't use the pressing service. We did drink the "champagne" but the previous year I took a bottle on board and we drank it on our extended balcony!

 

It's what's important to you that matters.

[hiccups]

Whereas we were offered the upgrade for $65pp and turned it down. There was no way I was going to give up my extended balcony, and I have to say we loved it. No struggling to find a lounger by the pool as we had our own private space. We tended to keep ourselves to ourselves which suits my quiet husband very well. We're not bothered about the spa terrace - in fact we were concierge on Insignia for 20 days last year and I only used the spa terrace once or twice and didn't use the pressing service. We did drink the "champagne" but the previous year I took a bottle on board and we drank it on our extended balcony!

 

It's what's important to you that matters.

 

$65 PP? Darn, I should have asked our TA to counter :D

 

My DH wanted the upgrade so I told our TA to try for it. I had to make sure he knew that Oceania isn't like Royal Caribbean, with free booze in the concierge lounge! If we get it we'll see if we'll be happy with a regular size balcony, and can plan accordingly for any future cruises on O class ships.

[SellaVee]

Actually Oceania countered! They made the offer twice. I think the first offer was $165 then a week later they came up with $65 but I was very keen to try the extended balcony.

[hiccups]

Actually Oceania countered! They made the offer twice. I think the first offer was $165 then a week later they came up with $65 but I was very keen to try the extended balcony.

 

We sail on Sunday so I don't know if they would have countered. And I think $100 PP is a decent price, but... this is a case of be careful what you wish for, apparently. We took the upgrade, and they moved us to an A1 that is right near the elevators, which makes me very unhappy. My bad for not thinking about that aspect! I've emailed our TA to see if another cabin might be available.

Edited March 8, 2016 by hiccups

[Iamthesea]

Two weeks ago, we had 7111 on the other side. We too thought about upgrading ourselves. We didn't! And as it turned out, the CL was closed because of the Norovirus.

 

Loved the balcony and glad that we had it. :) We used it much more than any other balcony that we had ever had. The only downside was all the noise outside of our stateroom door. The Norovirus procedures made it even worse with all the comings and goings from the crew rooms.

 

 

VIDEO - click on photo

Edited March 8, 2016 by Iamthesea

[canuck.qc]

I personally would not upgrade to a concierge level cabin, it is the same size as the B3. The ex balcony is practical and has room for 2 loungers, worth more than a bottle of bubbly & spa deck. We enjoyed lounging on our balcony rather than spending time on the spa deck (somewhat boring & no services). The 7111 cabin, depicted in the previous post, is excellent because of the open side. Of course, just my opinion.

[hiccups]

Well, our TA said Oceania won't change our cabin within the concierge category. But O's website shows availability, so I'm going to ask her to try again tomorrow. This is our first time using her, and she will probably not want us to use her again if I keep bothering her!

 

I have done a search on the forum and at least I don't see any posts about elevator noise, just noise from people waiting for them. That makes me feel a bit better!

[wally_bushy]

Well, our TA said Oceania won't change our cabin within the concierge category. But O's website shows availability, so I'm going to ask her to try again tomorrow. This is our first time using her, and she will probably not want us to use her again if I keep bothering her!

 

I have done a search on the forum and at least I don't see any posts about elevator noise, just noise from people waiting for them. That makes me feel a bit better!

 

We just finished a Marina cruise and had a room outside (10032) the elevators.

No problem at all as we only occasionally heard some people waiting

Edited March 9, 2016 by wally_bushy

[LHT28]

Well, our TA said Oceania won't change our cabin within the concierge category. But O's website shows availability, so I'm going to ask her to try again tomorrow.

Keep in mind that the website may not show real time availability

With the upsells & upgrades plus clearing people from waitlists & GTY bookings the available cabins can be very fluid at this point so close to your sailing

 

You can always ask if other cabin locations are available though you never know

 

Enjoy the cruise

 

Lyn

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just did B3 extended balcony in Polynesia. Loungers were terrific. Did the same with Med last summer and will miss having them on upcoming Regatta to Panama Canal.

[jwindham]

Whereas we were offered the upgrade for $65pp and turned it down. There was no way I was going to give up my extended balcony, and I have to say we loved it. No struggling to find a lounger by the pool as we had our own private space. We tended to keep ourselves to ourselves which suits my quiet husband very well. We're not bothered about the spa terrace - in fact we were concierge on Insignia for 20 days last year and I only used the spa terrace once or twice and didn't use the pressing service. We did drink the "champagne" but the previous year I took a bottle on board and we drank it on our extended balcony!

 

It's what's important to you that matters.

 

My comment was not about the spa terrace itself but the therapy pool that is only on Riviera. That was worth the upgrade to me as I use that on any ship I have sailed on that had one. Better than the expensive massages. I will be there every day and sometimes more than once. So the upgrade was worth it to me. But I repeat, it is what each person values. Julia