Chances of getting upgraded?

[blklabfan]

Back in Dec., we booked a "guarantee" D2 on MOS three weeks prior to sailing, 2 days later we received our cabin assignment along with our e-docs.

Got moved to a GS.:)

Now I have to see if I can upgrade our JS on Freedom to a GS.

Rick's right, they certainly know how to get your money.

[prairie_fox]

I think you guys are on to something with the "Paid in full" thing--we paid in full early also and got upgraded from a Jr. Suite to the Grand suite...

 

Nope "Paid In Full" early and you guessed it we ended up in the blocked view very front of the ship room (worst one I could think of having) on deck 2. Never had them once GIVE us anything we had not paid for. I really think it just has to be a luck draw and them needing your room for someone else that gets you an upgrade.

[madforcruising]

Nope "Paid In Full" early and you guessed it we ended up in the blocked view very front of the ship room (worst one I could think of having) on deck 2. Never had them once GIVE us anything we had not paid for. I really think it just has to be a luck draw and them needing your room for someone else that gets you an upgrade.

 

That´s what I think too

[denred04]

we were upgraded from a 4day to a 7day! on carnival, first time!! that was great...I am not expecting an upgrade here. i don't think moving up a level is a big deal anyway. but if we got a suite, that would be awesome! nice to dream.

[lookin4fun@sea]

We just sailed on Explorer (1/15-22)and tried to get a upgrade (even if we had to pay for it!!)

I asked my T/A how to go about it and he said that our ship was for all matters sold out, but to ask once we arrived at the port. I did that, and was told again that our ship was totally sold out. Oh well, I tried.

We just booked Navigator for November '06, so I will try again to get a free upgrade even though we are in a jr. suite this time. In the meantime I will continue to pray to God, Santa, and the Upgrade Fairy(isn't he the one with blonde hair on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy??")

[Veyron]

It seems like the people who get the upgrades are those who have already paid the big bucks for the very nice suites anyway, and/or travel- cruise a lot and the TA and cruise line likes to keep them as happy as possible... has anyone ever been upgraded from deck 3 or 4? I booked directly with RCCL- I bet that we won't be upgraded, even if I begged...:D

 

I booked Oceanview stateroom on Jan 25, 2006 for March 12, 2006 sail date. A few days later, added my mom to my stateroom. Received docs last week with Oceanview room on them. Went online, filled out information, still Oceanview stateroom on there. Went back online tonight to update information for my mother, and noticed our stateroom number had changed. :eek: We went from Oceanview on Deck 4 to a Balcony on Deck 7. :confused: This is our first cruise, and we are excited. Not sure how the upgrade happened (called TA, and they still had Oceanview in their system), but am happy with it. I won't question it - I'll just enjoy it. :D

[molly361]

One of our first cruises (Princess, not RCCL) got upgrade Alaska cruise from ocean bottom deck to balcony top deck- 7 cruises with RCCL no upgrades-now we book cabin we want like stated above, then no surprises

[kyriecat]

I've sailed 5 times. The only time I was upgraded was on our last Med cruise from E3 to a D1. I was angry at first because I really wanted a hump cabin and didn't at first realize that we were moved up 2 decks but still in a hump. The weird thing was my TA didn't know anything about it. I found out when I entered my Set Sail pass information online.

 

I booked that cruise the second day that they itinerary was posted. I only paid in full about 5 days early since that is what the TA wanted to make sure the payment went through before the deadline. Maybe booking early had something to do with it? I hope not since I booked a corner aft D1 cabin on my next cruise. I booked it the day the itinerary was posted to make sure that I got the cabin I wanted. I specifically asked my TA to put a note that I don't want upgraded so we'll see what happens. A corner, aft suite would be nice, but I really need that larger balcony since we have some other people in our group.

[SRQfireman]

Been on almost 80 cruises.....14 on RCI....got one upgrade only....and it was on Princess...was in a midship cabin on one deck, and they "nicely" moved us up one deck in to the 2nd to last cabin from the back!!! nice huh?? I must be living wrong...."I got upgraded on my first cruise..." ====>you guys were LUCKY

[imatarb]

Here's how it worked for us:

 

We originally booked a superior interior category aboard the Legend of the Seas. About three weeks before sailing, we noticed that the cabin number had changed. Lo and behold, we were upgraded from that inside cabin to a Superior Oceanview w/ Balcony!!

 

My theory?

 

We were originally booked in cabin 7447, which happens to be a connecting inside cabin. We didn't request it, so I think RCI received a booking for a party that specifically requested inside connecting cabins, so they upgraded us, and moved that party to the cabins they requested. Everyone wins, everyone is happy.

 

Would I try that tactic again? Absolutely.

[MrsPete]

Upgrades are distributed rather randomly, but there are a few "rules":

 

Fact: When cruise dates become available, the two categories that'll be grabbed first are 1) the suites -- these are scooped up by those who have the money (or the credit) to buy what they want and don't care about the cost . . . and 2) the inside cabins -- these are grabbed by the "I won't be in the room anyway so why not save a buck" group.

 

Being neither the most desirable rooms nor the least expensive rooms, oceanview rooms are left available. Few people would list the oceanview room as their first choice.

 

So as the reservation period wanes (and perhaps the prices go up), RCI moves some of the people from the cheap-o rooms into the oceanviews. This makes the tightwads happy, and it frees up the least expensive rooms for late-comers. RCI is most likely to give them to the people who've been booked for a long time, thus rewarding people for booking early -- something that benefits them. This upgrade is a realistic possibility; I personally have had this upgrade.

 

Fact: After the 60-day mark, when everyone's supposed to pay in full, some cabins will be "on the market" again. A few people who reserved balconies and suites will not be able to pay their bill. If no one books these cabins at the last minute, RCI will choose some lucky duck to move up from from oceanview to balcony or balcony to suite. This is a very, very rare upgrade --too rare to wish for.

 

Fact: Being a for-profit business, RCI will never give away something that they can sell. Thus, a bump-up is more likely to occur after the 60-day mark, a point after which new customers are unlikely to appear.

 

Also, if you do receive an upgrade, you're likely to get a nicer room but in a less desirable portion of the ship. That was confusing, so let me give an example: Let's say I booked an inside cabin on Deck 8 or 9. Most people consider the upper decks nicer, and I have one of the best-located inside cabins -- I'm right by the elevators, very close to the pool deck. Then the upgrade fairy comes my way! Yeah for me! I'm moved up to an ocean view room -- a step up for me -- but it's way forward on Deck 2, a much less desirable portion of the ship. I'm happy because I got an upgrade, but I also got a room that was harder to sell.

 

Finally, if you're in a room that holds 3-4 people (but you only have 2), there's a chance that RCI will need that room for someone else, and they'll upgrade you. Of course, there's also a chance that they'll just move you to another same-category room.

 

 

So how can you enhance your chances of being upgraded?

Book an inexpensive room as soon as your cruise dates become available.

But realistically, it's still a crapshoot. You're most likely to stay in the room you booked, so choose what you really want or decide to be happy with what you can afford.

 

Happy cruising in whatever room you get!

[cunninghamjr]

The upgrade fairy visited us on our Mariner Cruise of Feb 5-12-05. We had booked a jr suite and when we checked in at the pier they told us our room had been changed to 1600. At that point I called my son back home to get on the computer to see what kind of room this was and to our surprise it was a owners suite. Beautiful room very nice large and wonderful bath. Don't know how we received this up grade and was afraid to ask in case they made some kind of mistake. We had a wonderful week but now we are spoiled. I never thought we would be so lucky.