Upgrade question

[firsttimecruiser9876]

i want a mid ship balcony room. None available where I want to book on a certain cruise. Should I book a lower catagory stateroom and then just call to see if upgrade is available? Then just cancel before final payment due if I cannot get the type room in area I want? Not sure if they are holding rooms for upgrades? Not sure how it works.

[MomtherOfDragons]

Book the room you want. Did you call to make sure it wasn't available? The website doesn't show everything that's open.

[lizardhowson]

Make sure if/when you call they book you in a refundable rate, otherwise if you cancel, your deposit won't be returned.

 

Carnival is real sneaky at booking people in non-refundable rates so they can keep the deposit if you cancel.

[Micahs Grandad]

Or book cabin on a cruise further out so you can get what you want

[firsttimecruiser9876]

No rooms that I want seem to be available. (Mid ship balcony) Do they hold some of these rooms for upgrades or for other reasons? Might I see more rooms come open later? Cruise is in October.

[cruisinqt]

Online websites that book cruises sometimes buys out blocks of cabins to sell. I’ve seen cabins available on these websites when Carnival has it as sold out. You might want to check around on some of these websites and see if you can find the cabin you’re looking for. Also, the week before final payment is due you’ll see people backing out and cabins opening up. I just made final payment and quite a few cabins became available around that time. A good TA or PVP can keep their eye open for what you’re looking for and notify you as soon as something opens up. Good luck.

[winddawn]

Call Carnival directly, or call your PVP. Not all available cabins show online. IMHO, some of the worst cabins show online because they're trying to market them. My PVP has always been able to offer me better cabins than I have been able to see in online inventory.

[Micahs Grandad]

No rooms that I want seem to be available. (Mid ship balcony) Do they hold some of these rooms for upgrades or for other reasons? Might I see more rooms come open later? Cruise is in October.

 

They want to sell cabins not hold them. Just before final payment date you might see some more available but you might not

[dianeneste]

Sometimes rooms are held for 3 or 4 people as they try to get as many people in a room as possible. If you do a search for 3 people rather than 2, you may see more cabins open. Then call a PVP to see if they can book the open cabin for you.

[Djptcp]

Book what cabin you want if possible. I agree with the others that you should call Carnival or go with one of the online cruise sites to see if what you want is really available.

1) if you booked Early Saver it will cost you $50 per person to upgrade

2) waiting for an upsell call is like waiting to win a lottery

3) if you book a cruise with a $198 non-refundable deposit and you cancel the cruise, you will get a letter with a link to a form where you can get at least $98 of that deposit back on your next cruise if you book within 24 months. I've done that several times and its easy. You need the booking number, date and ship of the cruise you cancelled and the same info for the new cruise you booked. In a few days if you go to Manage my cruises you will see a new total cost of the cruise.

[Ehpride]

I would call Carnival and see if other cabins are available. You may get an upsell offer but it may not be the location or category that you want.