Got the CALL - Should we or not upgrade

[wnorman]

we are booked in regular cove balcony. Got the call to go to a Family harbor suite - cove balcony on Sept 13. They said no kids on board. We would get 2 bathrooms, bigger balcony and bigger room. Priority embarkation and priority getting off at all ports, etc. $750 total extra. With cruise being port intensive, not sure whether to take it or not. Thoughts? We have gotten $750 in price drops since we booked over a year ago so it would be the price we originally booked at but would now have suite.

[J0urn3yman]

Got the same call, same offer for same sailing.

 

After some thinking, declined due to being port intensive.

If you need the extra space is not a bad offer

[Sigyn]

Hmmmm...that seems steep. Unless you need the space and the extra bathroom, $750 is a lot. Imagine what you could do with that on excursions, or in your port city the night before your cruise! Or shopping.

 

I say this because I received an upgrade call for our Aug. 26 Vista cruise and I took it. But mine was from an interior room with an obstructed picture window to a spa balcony room for $400 total. It was far less money. $400 is an easier decision than $750.

 

how long did they give you to think about it?

[WishesAndGlitter]

We just declined too,

I don't like that the Family Harbor is on the low floors, I would have taken an "upgrade" to go down 9 floors. And there are kids onboard. I will stay in my balcony with 1 restroom and 1 TV.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[J0urn3yman]

Hmmmm...that seems steep. Unless you need the space and the extra bathroom, $750 is a lot. Imagine what you could do with that on excursions, or in your port city the night before your cruise! Or shopping.

 

I say this because I received an upgrade call for our Aug. 26 Vista cruise and I took it. But mine was from an interior room with an obstructed picture window to a spa balcony room for $400 total. It was far less money. $400 is an easier decision than $750.

 

how long did they give you to think about it?

 

Interior -> Balcony is not such a big jump in pricing when booking as going from Balcony -> Suite.

 

Just do a mock booking and you shall see :)

[HawkIVette]

we are booked in regular cove balcony. Got the call to go to a Family harbor suite - cove balcony on Sept 13. They said no kids on board. We would get 2 bathrooms, bigger balcony and bigger room. Priority embarkation and priority getting off at all ports, etc. $750 total extra. With cruise being port intensive, not sure whether to take it or not. Thoughts? We have gotten $750 in price drops since we booked over a year ago so it would be the price we originally booked at but would now have suite.

 

We got the same call about 2 weeks ago for the Sept 13th cruise also.

Same thing. Had a cove balcony on 2nd deck. Switched to a Family Harbor suite on same deck.

We took it. I am travelling with my wife and Mother-in-law. Thought it would be nice with the extra bathroom and semi-private sleep area. Plus, I thought that the eating area/lounge will be nice in the morning for early port days. Getting something to eat and coffee right outside your door.

 

Sure, $750 is a lot of extra money, but I thought it would be worth it.

 

You have to make the decision they you are comfortable with. Some say too much money. For me, I didn't think it was.

 

As for the no kids on this cruise, I don't think that will bother me as much as the noise from the galley above the cabin. We will soon see! Still looking so much forward to this cruise. I'll just put in ear plugs if too noisy. Can't be much worse than my wife and Mother-in-law's snoring.

Edited July 28, 2016 by HawkIVette

[J0urn3yman]

We got the same call about 2 weeks ago for the Sept 13th cruise also.

Same thing. Had a cove balcony on 2nd deck. Switched to a Family Harbor suite on same deck.

We took it. I am travelling with my wife and Mother-in-law. Thought it would be nice with the extra bathroom and semi-private sleep area. Plus, I thought that the eating area/lounge will be nice in the morning for early port days. Getting something to eat and coffee right outside your door.

 

Sure, $750 is a lot of extra money, but I thought it would be worth it.

 

You have to make the decision they you are comfortable with. Some say too much money. For me, I didn't think it was.

 

As for the no kids on this cruise, I don't think that will bother me as much as the noise from the galley above the cabin. We will soon see! Still looking so much forward to this cruise. I'll just put in ear plugs if too noisy. Can't be much worse than my wife and Mother-in-law's snoring.

 

Interesting...

 

It seems all offers for this sailing went to the Cove Balconies.

I also have a Cove Balcony.

I wonder if there was a high demand on Cove Balconies and they wanted to shuffle things around.

[HawkIVette]

Interesting...

 

It seems all offers for this sailing went to the Cove Balconies.

I also have a Cove Balcony.

I wonder if there was a high demand on Cove Balconies and they wanted to shuffle things around.

 

Yes, I think the Cove Balconies are in high demand. When I booked (early January 16), the price difference to a balcony on deck 7 or 8, was about $600. So the Cove balcony looked real good.

Now playing that much and more, but for a suite seemed like a good deal to me.

 

I think that other people thought the same thing. Balcony prices are better for the Cove and there are not as many of them available. They can easily sell them. By the same token, the Harbor Family suites are not selling so good as most families are not sailing this late in the year (school). There were more than 10 cabins to choose from 2 weeks ago.

So carnival offers an upgrade to those booked, to open up more of the cabin that they can easily sell again for a higher price now. They win on both sales.

Edited July 28, 2016 by HawkIVette

[HawkIVette]

BTW, Carnival site does not even show this cruise available now for the last week. Can't do mock booking to find out what Cove balconies are going for now. Even "other" websites show cruise as "Sold Out".

[Sigyn]

Interior -> Balcony is not such a big jump in pricing when booking as going from Balcony -> Suite.

 

Just do a mock booking and you shall see :)

 

Good idea. And fun. I always enjoy to play with imaginary bookings. It makes me want to truly buy an extra cruise! I did it, just now. I had to opt for the Sept. 23 cruise since mine is sold out, and so is Norman's. My PVP told me to do it that way, choosing another date with availability, when I was deciding on the upgrade, just to get an idea of the prices. So the comparison can't be 100% accurate. I think my cruise date, Aug. 26, was more than the Sept. 23 date to start with. But regardless, the jump from our interior to a spa balcony is more than a balcony to a suite.

 

We paid $1,510 for two people in our interior cabin with an obstructed picture window. For the Sept. 23 sailing, a regular cove balcony is $2,660. The spa balcony is $3,440. The family harbor suite is $4,060.

 

So the difference from our interior on deck 10 to the spa balcony on deck 14 would have been $1,930 more.

 

The difference from a balcony to a family harbor suite would have been $1,400 more.

 

I was offered the upgrade for $400, to a room that sold for $1,930 more than I paid. So I saved $1,530.

 

Norman was offered the upgrade for $750, to a suite that sold for $1,400 more. If he took it, he would save $650. That is, if he paid $2,660 for her balcony. He didn't mention what her price ended up being after his $750 discount from earlier in the year.

 

I still think that's a high price for an extra bathroom and TV and more space. especially on a port heavy cruise. But it's not my money, or my cruise. The OP just asked our opinions. :)

Edited July 29, 2016 by njsmom

[magnetlady4u]

We booked a cove balcony #2306 I think in Feb 2015.For the Jan 8th 2017 sailing, 6 days. Now that same area is $840 more for a cove. We will keep our cabin even if we got a upgrade call, our first cove and are excited about it!

[pamesacruisin]

We booked a cove balcony #2306 I think in Feb 2015.For the Jan 8th 2017 sailing, 6 days. Now that same area is $840 more for a cove. We will keep our cabin even if we got a upgrade call, our first cove and are excited about it!

 

Hello! Just wondering how you liked your cove balcony cabin? DH and I have cabin #2306 booked for the March 5, 2017 sailing.:cool:

[Micahs Grandad]

I would pass to much money for upgrade.

[h_blond2]

Personally, I would decline it and save the money for excursions or another cruise.