What Current Prices Are Important Regarding Upgrading?

[Defhermit]

Hey all,

 

I paid ~$1100 for a sailaway inside cabin on the Joy 7/1 sailing. I then put a $410 bid ($205 per 'person' but I'm solo) on an upgrade to a balcony cabin.

 

I've since learned that I have the option of calling up NCL and simply paying for an upgrade if prices change and (what I paid) plus (my pending upgrade bid) exceed the current cost... After some prodding I did go ahead and call about this but at that point I was told that the cost of an upgrade would be ~$550 so I thought I'd hold off.

 

So, I've been monitoring costs and it seems the prices are actually dropping significantly! I'm now seeing non-sailaway balcony prices listed at ~$1400 (less than what I paid plus my pending upgrade big) and sailaway balcony prices at ~$1100.

 

Which of these prices is relevant for my paying for a straight upgrade from the inside sailaway ticket? I assume only the non-sailaway price is important, but if I upgrade to that can I get the free-at-sea perk, etc? Can I possibly just straight switch my sailaway inside to a sailaway balcony now for free? Assuming only the non-sailaway prices are relevant in this context, do you think it's likely that that number will drop again before June 1st?

 

What's the best way to get myself into a balcony cabin?

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

[Birdie And Sue]

I highly doubt you can switch for free.  It is always a possibility but unlikely.  There really is no magic number that is 100% relevant.  Just call every few days and see what the current cost to upgrade directly is.  As soon as you get a price that you are wiling to pay, go for it.

[Defhermit]

1 minute ago, Birdie And Sue said:

I highly doubt you can switch for free.  It is always a possibility but unlikely.  There really is no magic number that is 100% relevant.  Just call every few days and see what the current cost to upgrade directly is.  As soon as you get a price that you are wiling to pay, go for it.

 

Thanks, but I think I could use more info before I call!

Do you know if I can just switch from one sailaway price to another? If not, would upgrading from sailaway price to non-sailaway price allow me to pick up on the perks that I wasn't able to get with my initial sailaway price?

[TrumpyNor]

You can upgrade to a higher category cabin and pay the difference. And IF the price for that new cabin is lower than what you have already paid, you upgrade for free (meaning you pay the same price you have already paid). BUT if you upgrade to a sailaway cabin type without going through the bidding program, then you normally LOOSE any perks you had with your original booking, as sailaway cabins come without perks.  If you get your bid accepted through the bidding process, you get to keep your original perks. We have an upcoming cruise in a few days, and several of my friends actually upgraded "for free" because of the significant price drops that happened a couple of weeks ago. 

Edited May 6, 2019 by TrumpyNor

[Defhermit]

4 minutes ago, TrumpyNor said:

You can upgrade to a higher category cabin and pay the difference. And IF the price for that new cabin is lower than what you have already paid, you upgrade for free (meaning you pay the same price you have already paid). BUT if you upgrade to a sailaway cabin type without going through the bidding program, then you normally LOOSE any perks you had with your original booking, as sailaway cabins come without perks.  If you get your bid accepted through the bidding process, you get to keep your original perks. We have an upcoming cruise in a few days, and several of my friends actually upgraded "for free" because of the significant price drops that happened a couple of weeks ago. 

 

Thanks for the info! It's starting to feel like I should be able to upgrade to a balcony for free, as long as they allow that sort of upgrade? The only thing I'm still not sure about is this: I currently have NO perks because I booked as sailaway. If I choose to pay the ~$300 difference between what I paid for that sailaway inside and the current non-sailaway balcony price, do I get the 2 'free' sailaway perks that would come with that booking if I was coming at it 'fresh' today?

[TrumpyNor]

2 minutes ago, Defhermit said:

 

Thanks for the info! It's starting to feel like I should be able to upgrade to a balcony for free, as long as they allow that sort of upgrade? The only thing I'm still not sure about is this: I currently have NO perks because I booked as sailaway. If I choose to pay the ~$300 difference between what I paid for that sailaway inside and the current non-sailaway balcony price, do I get the 2 'free' sailaway perks that would come with that booking if I was coming at it 'fresh' today?

Yes, I believe that is correct. But I haven't done that myself, so can't say I know that by experience. But one of my friends upgraded to a non-sailaway balcony cabin (from inside) and did get more perks. Had to ask for it though, didn't come "automatically".

[Hockeydad1972]

43 minutes ago, Birdie And Sue said:

I highly doubt you can switch for free.  It is always a possibility but unlikely.  There really is no magic number that is 100% relevant.  Just call every few days and see what the current cost to upgrade directly is.  As soon as you get a price that you are wiling to pay, go for it.

If you booked through NCL they will give you one free move to any category that is the same price or less than you paid at booking..

 

Be aware not to do this too early or you may cost yourself an upgrade to an even better move..

 

Another option is a paid upgrade. These are unlimited and all you have to do is pay the difference in your booked price and the current price for the category you want. This can be done at anytime. You also pick up any perks for the upgrade. I just did this for my June cruise on the Escape. OV to Balcony for $600 cheaper then I would have paid with my original booking 

[FLAHAM]

I don't believe you are going to get an inside-of-final-payment free category upgrade (because hundreds could be eligible for same), but hey, what do I know?  Good luck and report back!

[Hockeydad1972]

12 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

I don't believe you are going to get an inside-of-final-payment free category upgrade (because hundreds could be eligible for same), but hey, what do I know?  Good luck and report back!

Actually untrue...

 

most people don’t know and don’t ask..

 

They absolutely will upgrade if the price is cheaper than what you booked

 

Have done it on my last 3 cruises and first too weren’t even booked through NCL and still got the free upgrade

 

I’m not trying to be rude but you’re giving the OP the wrong info

[Defhermit]

On 5/6/2019 at 8:26 AM, Birdie And Sue said:

I highly doubt you can switch for free.  It is always a possibility but unlikely.  There really is no magic number that is 100% relevant.  Just call every few days and see what the current cost to upgrade directly is.  As soon as you get a price that you are wiling to pay, go for it.

 

Others have already called this out and I don't want to pile on BUT:

 

I can now confirm 100% that you CAN switch for free, because I just called up NCL and after a 10 minute wait on hold I was given a free upgrade from sailaway inside to sailaway balcony. I noticed this week that sailaway balcony price had dropped to almost the exact price I'd already paid for inside so I thought I'd give it a shot. I thought they would try to sell me on paying the difference between what I've already paid and current NON-sailaway balcony but she just came back from the hold music and told me that I was approved for a free upgrade! So much coffee while staring at the sea is in my future...

[JamieLogical]

6 minutes ago, Defhermit said:

 

Others have already called this out and I don't want to pile on BUT:

 

I can now confirm 100% that you CAN switch for free, because I just called up NCL and after a 10 minute wait on hold I was given a free upgrade from sailaway inside to sailaway balcony. I noticed this week that sailaway balcony price had dropped to almost the exact price I'd already paid for inside so I thought I'd give it a shot. I thought they would try to sell me on paying the difference between what I've already paid and current NON-sailaway balcony but she just came back from the hold music and told me that I was approved for a free upgrade! So much coffee while staring at the sea is in my future...

 

 

Congrats! I highly recommend ordering the free room service breakfast for each morning and enjoying it out on your balcony!