Is This the Ultimate Upgrade???

[Wisconsin Travelers]

Friends are leaving on a 7 day cruise tomorrow on the Ruby Princess. Today they got a phone call which they thought was from the upgrade fairy. The conversation went like this:

 

Princess: "Would you be interested in giving up your Balcony cabin for an Inside cabin?"

 

Friend: "Why would I want to do that?"

 

Princess: "Because your cruise will be FREE!"

 

Have any of you heard of this? Our friends took the deal because the weather isn't supposed to be great and they thought they wouldn't be using their balcony much anyway. They are hoping it will turn out to be the ultimate upgrade.

 

What would you do?

[JF - retired RRT]

It's called a "move down" offer. It does happen.

I'd do it in a <3beat for a FREE cruise!!

[avcruz]

Yes, I’ve heard of this before, and YES I’d do it in a heartbeat. I’d use some of my refund to book Sanctuary and make that my balcony...[emoji16]

 

 

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[geoherb]

It would depend on how much I paid for the balcony cabin. On our last cruise, we paid next to nothing for our cabin. Getting refundable onboard credit would not have been that great. On our British isles cruise last summer, several folks on our roll call thread took a similar offer for more than $4k in refundable OBC.

[muggo11]

Take it in a heartbeat. The only better offer is a move-over offer (NOT GOING in return for free cruise later)

 

 

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[Lucky TGO]

Put me down for it also. I would take it in a heartbeat 💗.

Tony

[moki'smommy]

We got one and did it. As above, the only better offer is a move over offer which gives you all your money back for the cruise you cancel PLUS a free cruise. We got $6K back for doing this. That was essentially all the excursions we wanted, plus a hefty check at the end.

 

Yes, it is absolutely for real.

[cindsue]

For sure!

 

 

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[cheeseclan]

We were offered a move to an obstructed view cabin on our last cruise and I declined. I like my mini suites and balconies. And for me personally, I would never do an inside. Claustrophobic big time.

[Reina del Mar]

We were offered this on a 'Round the Horn' cruise, earlier this year. Chose to ignore offer and kept our balcony. Did insides as a teenager..not sure I want to go back there. Maybe on a port intensive itinerary , or a cruise we've done previously. South America was new to u with lots to see.

[pablo222]

Princess: "Because your cruise will be FREE!"

 

What would you do?

 

Not enough.

 

If they are calling about a cruise that 'leaves tomorrow', they are desperate.

[Grego]

Take it and run....

 

If you try to get some more perk you risk the chance they will take the offer to someone else.

[compozer]

We received an offer on a Christmas cruise to move from our aft suite on dolphin to emerald down one deck But right above the lounge. We were only offered $300 obc. No thanks.

[clw1624]

We got a move-down offer for a cruise that leaves in a week. DH left a VM in hopes that we get the offer. It'll pay for our Christmas cruise.

[vjblk]

This happened to me and my sister last year on our med cruise on the Royal. They needed our mini suite and offered us all our fare back as refundable obc if we moved to a deluxe balcony. Didn't need to think about it, took it and got a big check back. Initial offer was 50% fare back. We refused that one but a week later they offered us the 100%. So these things do happen.

[voljeep]

This happened to me and my sister last year on our med cruise on the Royal. They needed our mini suite and offered us all our fare back as refundable obc if we moved to a deluxe balcony. Didn't need to think about it, took it and got a big check back. Initial offer was 50% fare back. We refused that one but a week later they offered us the 100%. So these things do happen.

 

you refused 50% for that small move - in my opinion - wow, just wow

 

not sure I could have done that depending on the fare and how much we really "needed" a mini and location on ship...

 

that had to be some serious $$$ even at 50%

[Woobstr112G]

I believe I’d take the offer.....:D:D:D

 

Bob

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’d totally take it for a free cruise!

 

 

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[tere247]

When Princess first sailed from Brooklyn, a few days before we were to set sail, we were offered a free cruise if we cancel and rebook.

Catch was, I couldn't rebook til the following year, and they would hold the fare I paid to be used as OBC for that cruise. I didn't like that they would keep my $ for an additional year. That meant no vacation for that year.

On a side note, they had a great 9 night itinerary that included Bermuda. Boy, do I miss that.

[paradiselivin1]

We got one and did it. As above' date=' the only better offer is a move over offer which gives you all your money back for the cruise you cancel PLUS a free cruise. We got $6K back for doing this. That was essentially all the excursions we wanted, plus a hefty check at the end.

 

Yes, it is absolutely for real.[/quote']

 

Nice. I'd take either option myself.

[freedomventures]

Why are they having to do these offers?

[moki'smommy]

Why are they having to do these offers?

Because they overbook the ship. They are guessing, based on their computer algorithm, that a certain number of people will drop out. If they don't have that number drop, they must get their numbers down so that they have enough cabins of the booked type or better (no one complains about an upgrade....most of the time, anyhow). Another thing that can happen is that a company or group wants to buy a block of cabins, and wants them together or of the same type. That's what happened in our case--someone wanted 30 cabins but needed 2 HA balconies. So those of us who had the HA balconies booked got a great offer if we'd move to an inside. They couldn't just "bump" us because we had all the forms, etc. promising us that specific balcony cabin on a reservation made many months before...but now they needed to buy it back from us. And by doing so, they were able to sell 30 cabins at who knows what price (the prices had been going up a lot!). They made plenty on that 30 cabin booking to compensate the two cabins who got a great "move down."

 

Ditto, if they called someone and said "we don't have room for you" after they'd been booked for months, had purchased airfare, etc. they'd quickly get a horrible reputation. By, in essence, buying back their cabin and giving them a free cruise, everyone is happy. And they are not dumb; in that case they try to buy back the cabins of the people who paid the least and re-sell them at top dollar.

 

Some other cruise lines work this way. Others will "oversell" a category but never the whole ship...so if they sell too many inside cabins, some people will be bumped up to an oceanview. And some people in oceanviews may cruise in balconies. That way they have lots of people running around praising the upgrade fairy.

 

Bottom line, the cruise lines are not losing money on this. Their computer programs know how to maximize the profit on each sailing.

[vjblk]

you refused 50% for that small move - in my opinion - wow, just wow

 

not sure I could have done that depending on the fare and how much we really "needed" a mini and location on ship...

 

that had to be some serious $$$ even at 50%

 

I didn't even call at 50% because we had never sailed in a mini suite before and we wanted to see what it was like but when the 100% email came I called and we got a deluxe on the same deck(lido) and only a few doors down from where our mini suite was. The amount we got back will help pay for our British Isles cruise thisn year!

[Sea Hag]

Oh you bet I'd take that offer!

[helencruising]

I would definitely take that offer. :):):)