Requesting your own upsell

[towel-animal]

I am hoping for the opportunity to upsell/upgrade from a Concierge Suite to a Penthouse Suite on my Explorer sailing in the fall. Just curious, if Regent does not contact my TA on their own with an upsell offer, how soon before sailing would you all recommend having my TA contact them for the best chances?

[mrlevin]

Good luck; I have not been successful at arranging my own upsell. I have now just come to the conclusion that there is no rhyme nor reason as to when I will or will not be offered an upsell and just decide to take each one or not based on price, ship, and itinerary.

 

Please let us know if you successful in arranging your own upsell.

 

Marc

[JMARINER]

My experience is much the same as Marc above. However, I can get some idea of any chance by knowing if the ship sailing is full or empty. The longer and more more distant/remote the voyage the more likely an upgrade offer.

 

You should definably let your T/A know that you are interested and give them some idea of what you are will to pay for what Cat upgrade. When the upgrade offers go out they are usually very limited in response time, usually less than 24 hours and first come - first serve. So any delay in your T/A communicating with you could lose the offer.

 

J

[Living Life Large]

I'm on the Mariner as we speak. My traveling friends received a phone call from their TA less than 48 hours prior to our outbound flight to Anchorage saying Regent offered a Concierge Level to PH house for $300 out the door. They took it, I paid full price for our PH, no idea why they got the call but they hit pay dirt. Good luck.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I'm on the Mariner as we speak. My traveling friends received a phone call from their TA less than 48 hours prior to our outbound flight to Anchorage saying Regent offered a Concierge Level to PH house for $300 out the door. They took it, I paid full price for our PH, no idea why they got the call but they hit pay dirt. Good luck.

 

This is the kind of thing I dream about for next January on Mariner. I know it probably won't happen, but what the heck, you never know. I did get a great paid upgrade once on the Paul Gauguin while it was still a Regent-run ship, from a window to a balcony, and ended up in their version of a PH, for I think $1K pp. Not $300, but still a great value.

[newlondon]

DW and I took an O cruise last Thanksgiving. Frankly we feel the phs on Nautica are a little small. I watched the cruise profile carefully and noticed as we closed in on 3 weeks that 2 Vista suites (forward) and 3 owner suites (aft)

were still open. I instructed my TA to make a lowball bid to upgrade to an owners and to our delight and surprise it was accepted. I only post this because of course O and RSSC have the same parent. Past results do not guarantee future performance!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

DW and I took an O cruise last Thanksgiving. Frankly we feel the phs on Nautica are a little small. I watched the cruise profile carefully and noticed as we closed in on 3 weeks that 2 Vista suites (forward) and 3 owner suites (aft)

were still open. I instructed my TA to make a lowball bid to upgrade to an owners and to our delight and surprise it was accepted. I only post this because of course O and RSSC have the same parent. Past results do not guarantee future performance!

 

I enjoyed the PH on Riviera, larger than the R ships I'm sure. It is about the size of a standard cabin on Voyager. PH's on Voyager aren't much bigger, but laid out much better so they feel roomier. I've heard tell that the PH's on Mariner are fabulous, and I hope I at least get to see one on my upcoming cruise--not holding out for that upsell, we'll be fine without it, but...would be nice! We've been in several Master Suites on Voyager, and they are great--I doubt we'd ever get a reasonable upsell to one of these, however.

[mrlevin]

Looking at Voyager's summer season and seeing tons of availability on almost every cruise; I think Regent has definitely raised the prices too much; maybe offering our own upsells may be the way to go. I really thought we would get an upsell offer on our Mariner Bermuda cruise but Regent offered the multitude of PHs to those transferring from overbooked cruises. As I get closer to retirement, I need to figure out how to alternatively book cruises that will be oversold (so I can get that great offer to release my cabin) and to book cruises that will never sell in order to get an upsell. :)

 

Marc

[Travelcat2]

My experience is much the same as Marc above. However, I can get some idea of any chance by knowing if the ship sailing is full or empty. The longer and more more distant/remote the voyage the more likely an upgrade offer.

 

You should definably let your T/A know that you are interested and give them some idea of what you are will to pay for what Cat upgrade. When the upgrade offers go out they are usually very limited in response time, usually less than 24 hours and first come - first serve. So any delay in your T/A communicating with you could lose the offer.

 

J

 

I know that this is being picky, but, IMO, it would help readers/posters if you used the term "upsell" rather than "upgrade". Upgrade tends to imply that you do not pay for it. Upgrade indicates that there will be a cost involved.

 

Agree completely that you should let your TA know that you are interested in an upsell. However, the more we "talk" about upsells, the less likely we will be able to take advantage of them. Just my humble opinion.

 

Marc, IMO, the best way to get an upsell offer is not to book the least expensive suite. We book PH suites and often get upsell offers. Keep in mind that you need to be in a suite that someone wants in order to trigger the upsell. Not everyone wants the lowest category. On the Navigator and Voyager, some people are concerned that they will be "upgraded" to an aft suite...... not something that most people would choose.

Edited June 3, 2016 by Travelcat2

[mrlevin]

Ah, but TC2 my dear; you miss my point. I do not want to pay for a PH. I just want to pay for an H whether Mariner or Voyager. I have been given both free upgrades and upsells over the years. If i paid for PH it would defeat the purpose.

 

Marc

Edited June 3, 2016 by Marq

[Travelcat2]

Ah, but TC2 my dear; you miss my point. I do not want to pay for a PH. I just want to pay for an H whether Mariner or Voyager. I have been given both free upgrades and upsells over the years. If i paid for PH it would defeat the purpose.

 

Marc

 

It is likely that you and I will never agree on anything which is okay. Have you received (and taken) an upsell offer to a Grand or Master suite? When you are in a PH, that is what you are offered (in addition to Seven Seas, Navigator, Mariner or Voyager suites).

 

In terms of $$$, I suppose it works out in the end. You sail more than we do but we generally sail in the top suites. It is all about priorities (IMHO). After years of international travel (since 1987 - cruising only since 2004), the ship is often our destination. We also like to entertain in our suite. I think you are on the March, 2017 Explorer crossing and we would enjoy having you and your wife up to our Master Suite for a drink. Perhaps you will begin to understand why we do what we do.

 

For clarification purposes, most people on Cruise Critic do not know us (yet some have no problem judging us). There are reasons why we book the suites that we do. Will be happy to discus this further when we see you next year.

[Winner]

I know that this is being picky, but, IMO, it would help readers/posters if you used the term "upsell" rather than "upgrade". Upgrade tends to imply that you do not pay for it. Upgrade indicates that there will be a cost involved.

 

You have just confused readers further. Surely you meant to say that UPSELL indicates that there will be a cost involved. (It helps to proofread before posting.)

[Travelcat2]

I know that this is being picky, but, IMO, it would help readers/posters if you used the term "upsell" rather than "upgrade". Upgrade tends to imply that you do not pay for it. Upgrade indicates that there will be a cost involved.

 

You have just confused readers further. Surely you meant to say that UPSELL indicates that there will be a cost involved. (It helps to proofread before posting.)

 

I absolutely meant to indicate that an "upsell" has a cost involved. Not sure where you find the confusion. If people are waiting for a free upgrade, they better not hold their breath!

 

P.S. Just saw the typo. I do proofread most of the time but the system does not recognize a properly spelled word as a typo.

Edited June 3, 2016 by Travelcat2