Comped 'Upgrade' - and no email notification -

[wrongwaywatson]

When we were upgraded from a balcony to a mini suite, we had a phone conversation with Princess.  They had contacted our travel agent about an upsell to a full suite.  I called back to accept the offer, but it was already full.  I said "oh, poop!  We decided to go ahead and splurge as it was our 30th anniversary.  She put me on a hold and came back with a complimentary mini suite!  

The next time was last year.  We had booked a BF Balcony Guarantee and we got upgraded to a BA Deluxe Balcony, mid ship.   No notification, I saw it when I signed into my cruise personalizer.   Both were good!

[Coolmama_1]

Always book through a TA and generally get some type of email. However, last year on the Regal I found out were upgraded to balcony from inside when I printed luggage tags. Nice surprise

[Steelers36]

On 9/25/2019 at 2:01 AM, vampiress said:

they called it upgrade more than once in the email. whatever it is called, i didn't accept it.

Note the last line of the email where the price for the Upsell is listed.  I have seen this before when customers have posted full contents.  I have no idea what Princess is trying to pull on Canadian cruisers, but the above quote represents a USD-to-CAD conversion rate of 1.45.  This is ridiculous.  If any Canadians booked in CAD get such an offer, either insist on paying in USD or paying at Princess' current conversion rate (which is 1.30).  Buyer beware and check that conversion before agreeing to pay what Princess quotes!!!

 

[Daniel A]

On ‎9‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 6:00 PM, vampiress said:

i just got an upgrade offer not comped:( move from deluxe balcony to mini suite for $129pp.  i'm not sure there is a lot of benefit for me in this, so i'm passing.  we are 19 days out.  i wonder if i will get a better offer or if they will comp upgrade me.  i'm not against the upgrade, i'm just not feeling it right now

I wouldn't pay anything extra for a mini suite over a deluxe balcony on a Royal Class ship.  

[Daniel A]

I thought I saw this once before, but I couldn't find it.  If you get an upsell or upgrade to a Club Class mini suite, do you also get the perks or just the cabin location?

[vampiress]

1 hour ago, Daniel A said:

I wouldn't pay anything extra for a mini suite over a deluxe balcony on a Royal Class ship.  

oh tell me why?  i didn't accept the offer, but i'm curious of the reasoning.

[Tak8]

I got the full suite perks when I was upgraded from a mini to a suite.  I can't imagine Princess saying you get a CC mini, but not the perks.

[4hunters]

On 9/24/2019 at 8:44 AM, Pam in CA said:

All bookings are marked “Will accept an upgrade” by default unless you specifically mark it otherwise. Princess normally notifies you but they’re not required to since you’re booking is already marked that you’d accept.

Could someone please explain where I can see “Will accept an upgrade” in my booking so I can correct it?  I’ve noticed a lot of people say this is the way that it works, but I’ve never seen anything in any of my bookings or the contract to confirm. If it helps, I always book online directly through Princess. I would appreciate any links to an actual source on this. Thanks

[Steelers36]

13 minutes ago, 4hunters said:

Could someone please explain where I can see “Will accept an upgrade” in my booking so I can correct it?  I’ve noticed a lot of people say this is the way that it works, but I’ve never seen anything in any of my bookings or the contract to confirm. If it helps, I always book online directly through Princess. I would appreciate any links to an actual source on this. Thanks

This is a flag or code not shown to customers.  A Princess rep or your TA can tell you how your reservation is coded.  Yes, it would be great if Princess included this data in the Personalizer information - and allowed us to make the selection just like we select dining and table size.

 

[4hunters]

11 minutes ago, steelers36 said:

This is a flag or code not shown to customers.  A Princess rep or your TA can tell you how your reservation is coded.  Yes, it would be great if Princess included this data in the Personalizer information - and allowed us to make the selection just like we select dining and table size.

 

Thank you for this. I had a feeling it could only be done if I called Princess or used a TA. Oh well. As always, I’ll hope that my cabin isn’t “upgraded”. I always take my time selecting a cabin and I would hate for them to randomly change it on me. 😮

[MTNestr]

On 9/24/2019 at 11:44 AM, Pam in CA said:

All bookings are marked “Will accept an upgrade” by default unless you specifically mark it otherwise. Princess normally notifies you but they’re not required to since you’re booking is already marked that you’d accept. If you use a TA to book, the email goes to your TA to send to you. Big box store agencies don’t often forward on the emails. 
 

I prefer to use a good TA who not only saves me a lot more than booking directly or with a big box agency but she immediately forwards on any upgrade or offer. 

How / where do you mark a booking that you don’t want an upgrade?  I booked on the Princess website and  I don’t remember seeing a box to check.
 

[Steelers36]

19 minutes ago, MTNestr said:

How / where do you mark a booking that you don’t want an upgrade?  I booked on the Princess website and  I don’t remember seeing a box to check.
 

Did you see my post #34 where I answered another member?  Check there and see if that helps.

[Thrak]

4 hours ago, MTNestr said:

How / where do you mark a booking that you don’t want an upgrade?  I booked on the Princess website and  I don’t remember seeing a box to check.
 

 

Contact Princess or, if you have one, your TA. You can have your booking marked "No Upgrade" or "Meta Upgrade Only".

 

"No Upgrade" is pretty self-explanatory. "Meta Upgrade Only" means to only accept a full category upgrade - Inside to OV, OV to Balcony, Balcony to Mini Suite, Mini Suite to Suite. We booked a B2B2B next fall for Australia and New Zealand. Three cruises in a row on the same ship in the same cabin. We had it marked "No Upgrade" as we don't want to have to change cabins during the cruises. Hopefully that works for us. With Princess one can never be certain...

[Hlitner]

Times are changing.  Free upgrades used to be fairly common But now most cruise lines have adopted the “upsell” model and some lines are now using “bidding” models where passengers can enter blind bids for up sells.  Most  free Princess upgrades are within the same type of cabin (ie. balcony to balcony) where a category upgrade might even put you in a less desirable cabin/location.

 

Hank

[voljeep]

Princess reserves the right to change ... with or without notice and consent ...

[susancruzs]

I'm picky about where I want to be on the ship so I tell my TA no upgrades.  When I checked in on a Royal transatlantic, I had a cabin change.  I went from inside to a deluxe obstructed balcony down the hall from my original cabin.  It was nice, my TA was very surprised (me, too)!  Because I don't go to the buffet area, I prefer to be by the public decks, as I rarely get in an elevator.  I don't want to be changed to an upper deck cabin or to the rear of the ship.

[Daniel A]

15 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I wouldn't pay anything extra for a mini suite over a deluxe balcony on a Royal Class ship.  

 

14 hours ago, vampiress said:

oh tell me why?  i didn't accept the offer, but i'm curious of the reasoning.

DW & I are very disappointed with what Princess has done to the mini suite.  We liked the 'hourglass' design of the minis on the older ships.  The sitting area (with the couch)on those older minis really felt like you were in a separate room.  On the Royal class ships, the mini suites have straight walls and instead of the bump out separating the sleeping area from the sitting area it is now just a curtain you pull across the cabin.  We have found that the Deluxe Balcony cabins still have a sitting area with a couch but at a much lower cost than the minis.

 

I would accept a free upgrade from a Deluxe Balcony to a Mini Suite but I wouldn't pay anything extra for the change.  If you need a tub instead of shower stall or you need a three person couch instead of a two person loveseat, then it might be worth it to you to pay extra.  Otherwise the only difference is the Mini Suite is slightly longer than the Deluxe.  The differences between the two aren't worth paying extra in our view.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Steelers36]

7 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Contact Princess or, if you have one, your TA. You can have your booking marked "No Upgrade" or "Meta Upgrade Only".

 

"No Upgrade" is pretty self-explanatory. "Meta Upgrade Only" means to only accept a full category upgrade - Inside to OV, OV to Balcony, Balcony to Mini Suite, Mini Suite to Suite. We booked a B2B2B next fall for Australia and New Zealand. Three cruises in a row on the same ship in the same cabin. We had it marked "No Upgrade" as we don't want to have to change cabins during the cruises. Hopefully that works for us. With Princess one can never be certain...

If all three are cross-referenced the yield department will see that and for sure should not be doing any funny business.

 

[South Bay SueB]

We had to cancel our 19 day Coral Princess cruise departing 9/29 just 48 hours before debarkation -- I imagine someone was surprised to get our suite as they checked in since I doubt there would have been time for the upgrade upsell process.  And in fact OUR only surprise upgrade was to a full suite several years ago, notified upon check-in.  It was a great surprise for us as I hope ours was for someone else.

[caribill]

On 10/2/2019 at 8:17 PM, 4hunters said:

Thank you for this. I had a feeling it could only be done if I called Princess or used a TA. Oh well. As always, I’ll hope that my cabin isn’t “upgraded”. I always take my time selecting a cabin and I would hate for them to randomly change it on me. 😮

 

Don't just "hope."

 

Contact your TA (or Princess if not using a TA) and have them mark your booking "will not accept upgrade."

[caribill]

On 10/3/2019 at 7:35 AM, Hlitner said:

Times are changing.  Free upgrades used to be fairly common But now most cruise lines have adopted the “upsell” model and some lines are now using “bidding” models where passengers can enter blind bids for up sells. 

 

As you indicate, free upgrades used to be common. But then Princess discovered that people were willing to pay for what used to be free.

 

As many posts have stated on various threads, Cruise Critic members are practically begging to be offered an upsell. If those booked on Princess would not accept upsell offers, then free upgrades would be more common again.

[JF - retired RRT]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

Contact your TA (or Princess if not using a TA) and have them mark your booking "will not accept upgrade."

That might help...but it's not a sure thing. Princess can still move you, if they want your cabin.

[Daniel A]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

As many posts have stated on various threads, Cruise Critic members are practically begging to be offered an upsell. If those booked on Princess would not accept upsell offers, then free upgrades would be more common again.

IMHO many of the posts I've read were people saying don't take the upsell.  I've always thought they were 'looking a gift horse in the mouth.'  I agree that some do want upsells but again my impression is that most are praying for free upgrades not upsells.  Just my opinion not based on any research. 

[Thrak]

15 hours ago, caribill said:

 

As you indicate, free upgrades used to be common. But then Princess discovered that people were willing to pay for what used to be free.

 

As many posts have stated on various threads, Cruise Critic members are practically begging to be offered an upsell. If those booked on Princess would not accept upsell offers, then free upgrades would be more common again.

 

On our upcoming sailing we had a O5 (Premium Ocean View) guarantee. I kept waiting and waiting and waiting for a cabin assignment. There are only 10 of those cabins on the ship. I heard here on CC that some folks were getting upgraded so I called my TA and had him ask Princess about being assigned a balcony. Shortly afterward he sent me my new balcony cabin assignment. Not exactly a regular upgrade as I did have a gty but it was nice to get the balcony at no extra cost. We have had a couple of free upgrades in the past though. Once from a forward inside on Lido to a Handicapped Accessible Balcony on Caribe (Crown Princess). That was quite the surprise.