Can an upgrade be refused?

[grey's girl]

We booked a Cat. BA cabin on the Caribe deck mainly because of the balcony. After reading the "Non-converting twin beds" thread, I thought I'd better give Princess a call. They confirmed that the twins could NOT be pushed together because of the upper bunk coming down over them. The rep said it's a safety issue...that's okay, I completely understand that.
When I expressed my disappointment about not being told about this (either by Princess or my TA), he said he would make a note on our reservation to upgrade to a mini-suite, if one was available. Although I'm sure the probability of this is minute....what are the balconies like on the mini's?
What if we don't like the location of the cabin or the size of the balcony? Would I be able to find the upgrade before sailing..maybe through the personalizer? And could it be refused?

Thanks for any help...

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[comettgirl]

There is another thread on the board in the last week that displays the upgrade policy right off of the Princess web site. I think it said you could decline an upgrade, you just have to do it, before your cabin is given away. I take it there were no other caribe deck BA cabins available that you could switch to? Call your TA and tell her what you did so she will be keeping an eye out for a notification from Princess and yes you can tell on the Princess personalizer. You can be like the rest of us and check it everyday to see if the upgrade fairy has visited!!!! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img] [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img]

Therese

[comettgirl]

Here it is:

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=887097554&m=989104452"]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=887097554&m=989104452[/url]

Automatic Complimentary Upgrade Program

OVERVIEW
Princess offers complimentary automatic upgrades. Occasionally, a voyage is set for automatic upgrade, and bookings are selected to be upgraded to higher categories at no additional cost to the passengers. These upgrades are automatic and based on availability. Since we are not able to upgrade every booking, you should book your clients in a category in which they will be happy to sail.


There are two factors that increase the likelihood of an upgrade (if one becomes available):
Date of booking
Membership in the Princess Captain’s Circle

If an upgrade occurs, it will be automatically added to the booking some time prior to sailing, and a confirmation will be sent to the agency.

We do not guarantee the following:

That cross-referenced bookings will all be upgraded, or that they will be upgraded to cabins near each other.

That an upgrade will occur.


AUTOMATIC UPGRADE DECLINE BOX

We recommend declining the automatic upgrade if the passengers are cross-referenced and would like their cabins near each other or if the passengers have very specific requests regarding their cabin (side of the ship, near the elevators, etc.) In order to decline the upgrade, click the “AUTOMATIC UPGRADE DECLINE” box.

Declining an Upgrade That Has Been Assigned

When the complimentary upgrade is given, a confirmation is automatically sent. If your clients are not happy with the new cabin and category, you may call Princess to have the booking changed. The Reservations Agent will advise the correct department, who will address the issue. In most cases, the booking will be moved back to the original cabin if we are notified promptly. However, if the booking was originally a guarantee, the passengers must accept the upgrade, since there is no cabin to which the booking can be returned.

Therese

[srphnx]

It is not easy to erase or refuse an upgrade, because the very next thing they do is move someone "up" into the one you vacate. Princess is not going to go back to that person and revoke the good news.

So, if you want one, you want one, if you don't, have your TA specify "no upgrade".

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[spingal]

Grey's Girl,

Recently I was on the Caribbean Princess. My sister and brother-in-law had a room that also supposedly had "non-converting twins". They were told by Princess that the beds could not be put together. Luckily that was NOT TRUE [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]!!! Their room steward was able to put the beds together. So I think you may be OK!

Hope this helps!

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[Coral]

2 different issues right here.

1. Princess website does have a bug and most cabins are listed as non-converting twins when in fact they do make up into a queen bed.

2. Some (or all?) quad baclony cabins on the Grand class ship when 4 people are in the cabin, the bottom beds can not be made into a queen due to how the beds are arranged above (technically, they can but the room steward won't do it). I don't know the exact details but have heard this from several that the room steward will not move the lower beds together if people are in the beds above. If this is your situation, I would definitley inquire on what the situation is with your cabin.

[Druke I]

Normally, when an upgrade is offered, you have a 24 hr window to decline or accept.

Of course, not all travel agents read all faxes when they come in, so upgrade offers may be overlooked.

I have turned down upgrades in the past, when I thought the new location was not as good as the old.

Of course, I usually book the cabin and category I want - so am never disappointed if an upgrade is not offered.

Michael

[grey's girl]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>So, if you want one, you want one, if you don't, have your TA specify "no upgrade". <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Not quite that easy...do I want to sleep with my husband? Yes [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]....do I want the same size balcony as the cabin I picked? Yes [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Thanks for the replies...I thought I better add something though. The Princess rep stated that the twin beds would not be moved together because we have a 3rd person in the cabin with us, our 12 year old. Not that they were [I]unable[/I] to be but [I]would [/I] [I]not[/I] be due to safety issues. So it wouldn't matter what Cat. BA we would switch to, the situation is the same. We do have an assigned cabin so it looks like the last paragraph (thanks Therese!) might help us. I [I]have[/I] looked on the Princess site but haven't been able to find out if the mini-suite balconies are covered etc.

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[This message was edited by grey's girl on 06-19-04 at 03:13 PM.]

[spingal]

Grey's Gril,

My niece slept in one of the bunks and the room steward still moved the lower beds together for them. So I think you will be OK.

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[merela]

If the room steward won't move the beds together, you can do it yourself. My brother-in-law just did it as soon as he boarded the ship so he can put his toddler to nap in a "queen-size" bed. None of the beds are bolted to the floor, so you can move the beds. You may loose the use of one lamp because the plug maybe in an area under the bed. So bring an extension cord.

HTH.

Jennifer

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[Mike A]

I can't speak for Princess, however, the first time we were on the Celebrity Zenith we had a room that had two beds that could be pushed together and an upper bunk for our daughter. When we asked the steward to place the two beds together he said we had to sign a hold harmless waiver form, which we did. With the beds pushed together the upper bunk hung over a portion of the lower bed. On our second cruise the beds were already put together when we arrived. When I asked the room steward if he needed a waiver he said no it was is our record from the last cruise.

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[Hulagirl]

This is an interesting post. We always have 3 in our cabin. Daughter has been sailing with us since she was 8 and is now almost 15. We always have a triple on Princess and one time we had a quad. It was a BB cabin on the aft of the Grand Princess. This cabin was a quad cabin which may or may not have made a difference. When we were in that cabin the room steward told us he could not move the two twins together. But of course the bed that folded out of the wall was over the lower twin against the wall, so that shouldn't make a difference with it being above. (The other bed never was taken down out of the ceiling, so you know.) Next we were on the Golden in a BA category. This was a triple room. When we met the room steward he asked us if we wanted them pushed together, I asked him about it, he said no problem, and they were. So I say it is a hit or miss with the cabin stewards. We also had them pushed together on the next Grand sailing in a triple.

Hopefully it works for you. You may find that it works well. We now just book mini suites and it is so much nicer. The larger bathroom is nice with 3 of you in the cabin. Have a wonderful cruise.

Hulagirl


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