Upgrade Fairy Alive and Well

[vettecruiser1]

Won't happen. I know from experience...but nice to wish for it. ;)

 

 

 

Sorry it did not happen to you, but it did for me on the Allure. I even posted a thread about it. We were upgraded from a balcony to a Suite(W). Got the call 4 weeks before the sailing and did not know, until a week before what we would get. Ended up with JS on the hump. The people that were in that room previous were pinnacle and were upgraded to GS. Trickle down upgrade is what they called it, since they could have an easier time sailing ocean view balcony then suites.

 

The final cherry was when we came home, double points.

[ARCruisinNana]

Sorry it did not happen to you, but it did for me on the Allure. I even posted a thread about it. We were upgraded from a balcony to a Suite(W). Got the call 4 weeks before the sailing and did not know, until a week before what we would get. Ended up with JS on the hump. The people that were in that room previous were pinnacle and were upgraded to GS. Trickle down upgrade is what they called it, since they could have an easier time sailing ocean view balcony then suites.

 

 

 

The final cherry was when we came home, double points.

 

 

Was your upgrade from a balcony to a Suite GTY free, or did you pay something for the upgrade?

Edited June 14, 2016 by ARCruisinNana

[vettecruiser1]

Was your upgrade from a balcony to a Suite GTY free, or did you pay something for the upgrade?

 

 

It was free.

 

I think the better chance for upgrades is on the Oasis ships since they have so many more suites, so if they can't sell they start the upgrade fairy. Then they can free up the cheaper rooms that are easier to sell. I have never received the call before or since, but it was a nice surprise.

[BEENSAILING]

I have coveted corner aft cabin #9256 for both legs of my Alaska cruise Radiance.

Naturally I set my profile to "do not upgrade" as I do not want to lose that cabin,

OR have to move.

 

Will change it back to "automatic upgrade" after we commence the second leg of the cruise.

 

And just as a back up....I have printed out a copy of my "do not upgrade" profile

page off the website. ;)

 

We are in that stateroom in 2018 - Sydney to HNL. When is your Alaska cruise? We opted for that stateroom instead of hump balcony stateroom because of the corner location and larger balcony.

[Virtopia]

I hope the fairy visits me in September! Congrats and enjoy!

[ARCruisinNana]

It was free.

 

I think the better chance for upgrades is on the Oasis ships since they have so many more suites, so if they can't sell they start the upgrade fairy. Then they can free up the cheaper rooms that are easier to sell. I have never received the call before or since, but it was a nice surprise.

 

 

That's great! I've just never heard of a free upgrade to a "W" before. The JSs are really nice. Enjoy!

[poolreader]

People who get upgrades are just lucky, I do not think it has anything to do with your level. I am a Diamond on Royal. I booked a balcony guarantee on the Allure, a high level guarantee. Not only did I not get an upgrade I got a room that was lower in prices than what I paid by several hundred dollars. They said they could do nothing about the situation, nor would they refund my over payment.

 

While on the cruise we met a couple who booked after we did, with a balcony guarantee on a lower level, and were given an upgrade to a suite, after we were told they could not help us. This couple had only cruised with RCI a few times.

 

In over 40 cruises I have never received an upgrade, only two upsells. It is just luck, so I stopped wishing for an upgrade and only book when I am happy with the room and price.

[island lady]

Sorry it did not happen to you, but it did for me on the Allure. I even posted a thread about it. We were upgraded from a balcony to a Suite(W). Got the call 4 weeks before the sailing and did not know, until a week before what we would get. Ended up with JS on the hump. The people that were in that room previous were pinnacle and were upgraded to GS. Trickle down upgrade is what they called it, since they could have an easier time sailing ocean view balcony then suites.

 

The final cherry was when we came home, double points.

 

You were very lucky indeed! Not the norm...as many will attest. I was upgraded

from D1 balcony to JS for no charge and did not get the double points. On many

other occasions however, I have upgraded (by paying the extra) from balcony to JS

when the prices went down after final payment, and DID get the double points.

 

Difference between upgrade fairy (free upgrade) and upsell fairy (pay to upgrade).

 

Enjoy your extra points! :)

Edited June 15, 2016 by island lady

[island lady]

We are in that stateroom in 2018 - Sydney to HNL. When is your Alaska cruise? We opted for that stateroom instead of hump balcony stateroom because of the corner location and larger balcony.

 

August 5th, and turn around on August 12th. We have had that cabin before on

our last Alaska Radiance cruise. Loved it, and also have had it on previous

Radiance class ships. Was great to be able to view both sides of the inland

water way. And yes, HUGE balcony! :D Not a lot of shade though, the ones

in the middle of the aft have lots of shade. We prefer the open area, and enjoy the

extra light coming into the cabin.

[cruise wizard]

You were very lucky indeed! Not the norm...as many will attest. I was upgraded

from D1 balcony to JS for no charge and did not get the double points. On many

other occasions however, I have upgraded (by paying the extra) from balcony to JS

when the prices went down after final payment, and DID get the double points.

 

Difference between upgrade fairy (free upgrade) and upsell fairy (pay to upgrade).

 

Enjoy your extra points! :)

 

A couple of years ago we did a family cruise - had three D1's in a row. I got a call that we could upgrade all three cabins to a JS for $300 per cabin - I asked if we would get 2X points and was told yes. We got 3 nice JS but all on different decks which was OK. We checked our points and noticed only 7 points - so I called C&A and they checked but said that we didn't pay the "going rate" for a JS and therefore no 2X points. I said to them that I was told that we all would get the bonus - the answer was "the agent was incorrect..........sorry". Maybe customers should say to the agents - "we will be recording your conversation for quality control purposes"!!!!!!

 

We have been called one other time with an up sell - I asked about the 2X and this agent said that the bonus does not apply on "free upgrades or up sell offers" - you have to pay the actual difference in price, not a discounted price.

Edited June 15, 2016 by cruise wizard

[troykahack]

It was free.

 

I think the better chance for upgrades is on the Oasis ships since they have so many more suites, so if they can't sell they start the upgrade fairy. Then they can free up the cheaper rooms that are easier to sell. I have never received the call before or since, but it was a nice surprise.

 

What is the usual time-frame for starting to offer upgrades, how far out from cruise date.

 

We have a cruise booked on Serenade 11 day and have Sup Bal but on wait-list for a GS. I was told we couldn't request a generic Suite upgrade, had to pick the cabin type. We are willing to do GS or OS. Nothing shows as available on the site. A JS was available a week ago but is now gone. Would they be upgrading folks this early for a late November cruise? Is it normal to have all the suites (RS is open but forget about it) fill up this far out on Serenade?

 

Thanks

Edited June 15, 2016 by troykahack

[travelgoddess1]

We were told today you get double points.

 

The official policy is that you get the points for the cabin category you paid for. Complimentary upgrades and paid-for upsells do not count. If by some chance you get double points, they might be taken away in a future audit. This has happened many times. If not, great!

 

People who get upgrades are just lucky, I do not think it has anything to do with your level. I am a Diamond on Royal. I booked a balcony guarantee on the Allure, a high level guarantee. Not only did I not get an upgrade I got a room that was lower in prices than what I paid by several hundred dollars. They said they could do nothing about the situation, nor would they refund my over payment.

 

While on the cruise we met a couple who booked after we did, with a balcony guarantee on a lower level, and were given an upgrade to a suite, after we were told they could not help us. This couple had only cruised with RCI a few times.

 

In over 40 cruises I have never received an upgrade, only two upsells. It is just luck, so I stopped wishing for an upgrade and only book when I am happy with the room and price.

 

There are two types of upgrades: those from Revenue, which can happen anytime, for any type of upgrade, to any passenger, regardless of C&A tier level; and Crown & Anchor upgrades, which typically (but not always) happen much closer in to the sail date. According to the C&A page on the RCI website, those upgrades are only for the next higher category to what was booked: inside to oceanview, oceanview to balcony, balcony to JS, JS to GS, and full suite to higher category suite. We all know that there is inconsistency with this policy, so I'm sure there will be people posting who were upgraded outside of these parameters.

 

As someone else mentioned, book the cabin you will be happy sailing in.

Edited June 15, 2016 by travelgoddess1

[troykahack]

Sorry it did not happen to you, but it did for me on the Allure. I even posted a thread about it. We were upgraded from a balcony to a Suite(W). Got the call 4 weeks before the sailing and did not know, until a week before what we would get. Ended up with JS on the hump. The people that were in that room previous were pinnacle and were upgraded to GS. Trickle down upgrade is what they called it, since they could have an easier time sailing ocean view balcony then suites.

 

The final cherry was when we came home, double points.

 

What is a Suite (W) class? I guess I don't understand the terminology here yet.

 

Thanks

[travelgoddess1]

What is a Suite (W) class? I guess I don't understand the terminology here yet.

 

Thanks

 

Guarantee.

[troykahack]

Guarantee.

 

Ah... Thanks. Now I need to find a thread related to guarantee.

[Clarea]

Ah... Thanks. Now I need to find a thread related to guarantee.

A guarantee is a booking in which the cruise line picks the actual stateroom. You pick the minimum category. For example, the "W" booking will result in a minimum of a Junior Suite, and it could be anywhere on the ship. You will find out your stateroom assignment anytime between the day you book and the day you arrive at the pier.

[BillOh]

Just wondering, if you have a cabin they want (balcony or even a hump balcony), is there a chance of an upgrade without status?

 

There is a chance. A couple of messages here are pretty accurate, but strange things happen for odd reasons. People who have never sailed before and have no status have been upgraded.

[island lady]

A couple of years ago we did a family cruise - had three D1's in a row. I got a call that we could upgrade all three cabins to a JS for $300 per cabin - I asked if we would get 2X points and was told yes. We got 3 nice JS but all on different decks which was OK. We checked our points and noticed only 7 points - so I called C&A and they checked but said that we didn't pay the "going rate" for a JS and therefore no 2X points. I said to them that I was told that we all would get the bonus - the answer was "the agent was incorrect..........sorry". Maybe customers should say to the agents - "we will be recording your conversation for quality control purposes"!!!!!!

 

We have been called one other time with an up sell - I asked about the 2X and this agent said that the bonus does not apply on "free upgrades or up sell offers" - you have to pay the actual difference in price, not a discounted price.

 

 

I remember that one Gary. And thought it was pretty poopy at that time also!! :eek:

Shame on you RCI!! You really don't want to get the Wizard upset anyway. He may

turn you into a toad!! :p :p

[vettecruiser1]

What is the usual time-frame for starting to offer upgrades, how far out from cruise date.

 

We have a cruise booked on Serenade 11 day and have Sup Bal but on wait-list for a GS. I was told we couldn't request a generic Suite upgrade, had to pick the cabin type. We are willing to do GS or OS. Nothing shows as available on the site. A JS was available a week ago but is now gone. Would they be upgrading folks this early for a late November cruise? Is it normal to have all the suites (RS is open but forget about it) fill up this far out on Serenade?

 

Thanks

 

We got the call about 5 weeks before sailing. Did not know the room until 3 days before sailing. We did not expect the upgrade and was happy with what we got, points and all.

 

We leave again in 3 weeks for our last cruise as emerald. So our thanksgiving cruise we will be Diamond. Just go to hope nothing changes in the next 4 months to the points. Once we are locked in I will not care.

[Trekker954]

Just wondering, if you have a cabin they want (balcony or even a hump balcony), is there a chance of an upgrade without status?

 

Yes, it happened to us twice. We had no status to speak of (maybe Gold) on Allure inaugural sailing out of PEV. Had two insides. They needed to bring on board engineers who would be working on some new ship issues. So they bumped us up to balconies to get those inside for their contractors.

 

Second, had booked our Alaska corner aft 1 1/2 years out. C&A called us about a 10 months out (by this time we were Diamonds), one of their Pinnacle members was doing b2b and wanted our cabin for both weeks. We declined and loved our cabin. We met the Pinnacles on board, (their friends had the cabin next to us) who were very vocal about their disappointment with us. so sorry!!!

[gaylemh]

If you have a balcony cabin, for example a D5, could they "upgrade" you to just a D2, if you have automatic upgrade checked? I would love to have an opportunity for an upgrade to a JS or above, but I usually book early, so I get a balcony cabin in a location I want, and wouldn't want to be upgrade to just another balcony, in a bad location.

Edited June 16, 2016 by gaylemh

[Jeannie333333]

It was free.

 

I think the better chance for upgrades is on the Oasis ships since they have so many more suites, so if they can't sell they start the upgrade fairy. Then they can free up the cheaper rooms that are easier to sell. I have never received the call before or since, but it was a nice surprise.

 

excellent...congrats :-)

[Clarea]

If you have a balcony cabin, for example a D5, could they "upgrade" you to just a D2, if you have automatic upgrade checked? I would love to have an opportunity for an upgrade to a JS or above, but I usually book early, so I get a balcony cabin in a location I want, and wouldn't want to be upgrade to just another balcony, in a bad location.

They could move you from a D5 to a D2, but they would normally upgrade to the next highest super category. You could call C&A and have them set your upgrade preference to "call first" so you have a chance to say no. However, I suspect this would lower your potential of getting an upgrade.

[pattle66]

Congratulations on your upgrade.

 

I think my husband is secretly happy we have never been upgraded to a JS. How could we ever go back to sailing in a mere balcony if we did. :p

[Paulette3028]

I think my husband is secretly happy we have never been upgraded to a JS. How could we ever go back to sailing in a mere balcony if we did. :p

 

We booked a JS on Her Majesty, on our last sailing on her, as a treat. It was a midweek sailing and the price difference wasn't huge and it was a treat for us, since we highly doubt we will be sailing on her again with her homeporting in PC now.

 

It was nice, but it doesn't mean we 'have to be in a JS' in the future. I am not a 'tub' soaker, so the only thing the tub gave me was an easy ledge to shave my legs. Because it had a tub, the bathroom was bigger in general and had lots more space.

 

We just booked Empress with just an outside oceanview, not even a balcony.