Upgrades alive and well!!

[PoohUnderstands]

I am so excited for my friends that are going on a cruise with us in March on the Royal. The day before final payment was due on December 25th, they received an email that notified them that they had been upgraded for free from a deluxe balcony to a mini-suite! They went from a cabin on Deck 8 (just above the Princess theater!) to a mini-suite on Deck 10 mid-forward closer to midship!!! This is just their second cruise on Princess (Gold level). What a great way to really get started with Princess and on the Royal too. Now I am really excited for March to get here! Thank you Princess for giving my friends such a great Christmas gift!

 

Pooh

[easyboy]

Good for them getting a real upgrade.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Go-Bucks!]

Thats great! Merry Christmas!

[jasbo49]

My guess is that their balcony shrunk in the process, but we sure like the minis, especially on the Royal class ships.

 

Jim

[DrivesLikeMario]

Congrats to them and hope they enjoy the extra space! Once again, a relative newbie is upgraded instead of those who are loyal. Argh.

[Astro Flyer]

Congrats to them and hope they enjoy the extra space! Once again, a relative newbie is upgraded instead of those who are loyal. Argh.

Yes...that seems to be more routine because they already have some of us hooked by providing us with our best overall cruise experience. ;)

[1emerald1]

I am so excited for my friends that are going on a cruise with us in March on the Royal. The day before final payment was due on December 25th, they received an email that notified them that they had been upgraded for free from a deluxe balcony to a mini-suite! They went from a cabin on Deck 8 (just above the Princess theater!) to a mini-suite on Deck 10 mid-forward closer to midship!!! This is just their second cruise on Princess (Gold level). What a great way to really get started with Princess and on the Royal too. Now I am really excited for March to get here! Thank you Princess for giving my friends such a great Christmas gift!

 

Pooh

Question, even though they received the upgrade the day before payment was due, do you know if they had already made their payment? Thanks.

[Steelers36]

Yes...that seems to be more routine because they already have some of us hooked by providing us with our best overall cruise experience. ;)

 

I wish they would think we are not quite hooked until we reach Elite.

[Mayo21]

Question, even though they received the upgrade the day before payment was due, do you know if they had already made their payment? Thanks.

 

 

 

Do people get upgraded if they book through a TA or only if they book directly with Princess? Only our 5th cruise, so still learning!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Thrak]

Do people get upgraded if they book through a TA or only if they book directly with Princess? Only our 5th cruise, so still learning!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

I've had it both ways in the past. Upgraded from a Lido inside cabin all the way forward to a mid-ship Carib deck handicapped balcony. Totally unexpected. We also got a balcony upgrade from a Dolphin deck all the way forward (where the Promenade steps up) to a mid-ship Aloha deck balcony on a 15 day Hawaii cruise. Both were unexpected and totally free. Since those though we have taken a couple of upsells but haven't had an upgrade for free. Of course, as others have said, Princess pretty much has us hooked now anyway so they may as well offer us upsells and give the upgrades to those who may not be firmly hooked yet.

[cruisequeen4ever]

That’s a nice Christmas surprise! And the timing was great being right BEFORE final payment!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Mayo21]

I've had it both ways in the past. Upgraded from a Lido inside cabin all the way forward to a mid-ship Carib deck handicapped balcony. Totally unexpected. We also got a balcony upgrade from a Dolphin deck all the way forward (where the Promenade steps up) to a mid-ship Aloha deck balcony on a 15 day Hawaii cruise. Both were unexpected and totally free. Since those though we have taken a couple of upsells but haven't had an upgrade for free. Of course, as others have said, Princess pretty much has us hooked now anyway so they may as well offer us upsells and give the upgrades to those who may not be firmly hooked yet.

Thanks for all the info...guess I’ll keep my fingers crossed!!

[Hlitner]

Congrats to them and hope they enjoy the extra space! Once again, a relative newbie is upgraded instead of those who are loyal. Argh.

 

This seems to be the norm with several cruise lines. As one of our cruise agents once explained, the "loyal" long time customers are already loyal and do not need upgrades. But newbies need inducements to make them loyal customers :(.

 

Hank

[GJCruiser]

This seems to be the norm with several cruise lines. As one of our cruise agents once explained, the "loyal" long time customers are already loyal and do not need upgrades. But newbies need inducements to make them loyal customers :(.

 

Hank

I always thought that too. But this past summer we were upgraded on the Star Princess at the port from an obstructed O/V to a Caribe Balcony. The name tag on the door was for the passengers originally assigned to the cabin and the steward knew nothing about it!

 

We are Elite with 20+ cruises on Princess.

[clcmdse]

This seems to be the norm with several cruise lines. As one of our cruise agents once explained, the "loyal" long time customers are already loyal and do not need upgrades. But newbies need inducements to make them loyal customers :(.

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

 

We must have been the beneficiaries of this strategy that Hank notes. On a different thread I wrote that on this Xmas cruise we received an upgrade from a mini suite to a full suite with all the perks. Thing is, this was our first Princess cruise in nearly 15 years. We had switched to a different cruise line. I thought “why us? Why not a loyal longtime Princess cruiser?”

 

Now I know. Hank is right. At least in our case. We were hooked by the cabin and the extras. We are already planning for the next time when we will be able to sail Princess and book that suite which we adored and felt grateful to receive.

 

Catherine

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[runnerodb83]

do you know what category deluxe balcony they were booked in?

[Lucky TGO]

Wow very nice!!!

Tont

[Mayo21]

This seems to be the norm with several cruise lines. As one of our cruise agents once explained, the "loyal" long time customers are already loyal and do not need upgrades. But newbies need inducements to make them loyal customers :(.

 

Hank

Well, I’d rather NOT be a newbie (4 cruises), but it is what it is! Three more scheduled cruises, so we’re trying! Thanks for responding...:);)

[runnerodb83]

This seems to be the norm with several cruise lines. As one of our cruise agents once explained, the "loyal" long time customers are already loyal and do not need upgrades. But newbies need inducements to make them loyal customers :(.

 

Hank

Yep, it's how it's done. Three main factors in upgrades...past cruiser status, particular sailing popularity, and category capacity. If you are really flexible, you can book during non popular times and in categories that have few cabins for the best chance of an upgrade. If you cant and you are a loyal cruiser, it's best to book guarantee into categories with few cabins. Sometimes its possible to score the coveted "meta" upgrade from one cabin type to another. I've been trying to add the cabin category breakdown here for each ship here...so far have the Royal/Regal as well as crown class category counts broken down here: https://sites.google.com/site/princesscruisesfaq/home/cabin-upgrade-statistics/upgrade-tips

[PoohUnderstands]

I have also found if you want a better chance at an upgrade/upsale, you have to book a popular lower category. I usually book a CC mini, so getting an upgrade is only to a suite and that is usually not done. So I just get the best price and perks I can and don't even hope for an upgrade/upsale.

 

My friend was initially booked in a DC deluxe balcony and he had not paid the final payment yet.

 

Pooh

[jdvmd]

Great Christmas surprise!

[cruiser113]

last year we were offered 3 upsells to a suite and we took them all.... one from mini (not club class and 2 from lead in balcony. We are also elite....so not sure how the dice roll on this

[PoohUnderstands]

last year we were offered 3 upsells to a suite and we took them all.... one from mini (not club class and 2 from lead in balcony. We are also elite....so not sure how the dice roll on this

 

Unfortunately, our next four cruises are in a CC mini or a Window Suite, so I am thinking won't be getting any type of upgrade or upsell offer. Our March cruise sold out in suites in a 24 hr. period 2 days after final payment, so I am thinking they had an upsell then that I wasn't privy to. Sniff, sniff.

 

Pooh

[riclop]

I am so excited for my friends that are going on a cruise with us in March on the Royal. The day before final payment was due on December 25th, they received an email that notified them that they had been upgraded for free from a deluxe balcony to a mini-suite! They went from a cabin on Deck 8 (just above the Princess theater!) to a mini-suite on Deck 10 mid-forward closer to midship!!! This is just their second cruise on Princess (Gold level). What a great way to really get started with Princess and on the Royal too. Now I am really excited for March to get here! Thank you Princess for giving my friends such a great Christmas gift!

 

Pooh

Merry Xmas !!!