Downgrade Troll versus Upgrade Fairy - Downgrade Troll Won

[K.T.B.]

In all my years of cruising, I've never had either occur in terms of it just happening without me knowing.  However I did get a phone call once to see if I wanted to upgrade to a mini-suite, though I had to pay for it.  I had to pay an additional $300 total.  Had I booked it, it would've ben significantly more.  It ended up being a great surprise for my wife for her birthday cruise.

[Kay S]

6 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

In all my years of cruising, I've never had either occur in terms of it just happening without me knowing.  However I did get a phone call once to see if I wanted to upgrade to a mini-suite, though I had to pay for it.  I had to pay an additional $300 total.  Had I booked it, it would've ben significantly more.  It ended up being a great surprise for my wife for her birthday cruise.

I have had several up sell offers.  I have taken a couple of them, but usually I decide which specific cabin I want when I book and the up sell might not tick all my boxes.  Yours was a good deal.

Edited August 24, 2021 by Kay S
spelling?

[JF - retired RRT]

3 hours ago, freddyflounder said:

Is this kind of upgrade automatic done without your approval?

Yes. Whether you request "no upgrade", "meta upgrade" (next level cabin, i.e. inside to ocean view) or "no up grade". Princess will do what they want with your location...if they want your cabin. However, you or your TA are usually notified.

[trbarton]

On 8/23/2021 at 6:01 AM, SargassoPirate said:

A few days ago I received an email from Princess that I had been upgraded.  That's odd, I thought, because I always request that my bookings be marked "No Upgrades".  I must have forgotten that important detail.  I checked the upgrade cabin location, and while it was indeed a category upgrade, it was in a location that I would never choose - right above a nightclub and further away from the self-serve laundry. 

 

I wanted my original cabin back.  It was perfect for me.  Passengers above, below, and across the corridor and close - but not too close to the laundry.  I called Princess and asked for my original cabin back before they "upgraded" someone into it.  The agent was able to do so.  I also asked that it be marked "No Upgrades" since I had evidently forgotten to do so originally.  She said "That's odd.  Your original booking was marked "No Upgrades".

 

Over the years I have learned that the cruise line's idea of an upgrade doesn't translate into an upgrade to me.

 

The Downgrade Troll won.

 

 

Suggestion to have your reservations marked “Meta Upgrade” which means you will except a upgrade to the next higher category like from Inside to Balcony. All of my reservations are marked this way. 
 

Tom😀 

[Shelly97060]

7 hours ago, freddyflounder said:

Is this kind of upgrade automatic done without your approval?

Upgrades are done automatically ( unless you have no upgrade marked on your booking).  Upsells sent to you or your TA offering the option to spend $ to move to a higher cabin type.

[mthomp5]

This happened to us once.  We had selected a balcony on the Caribe deck on a Grand class ship because we like the slightly larger balcony.  We were notified we were “upgraded” to a Deluxe balcony right under the Horizon Court!

 

I asked for our original room back and they said that someone had already been assigned to it.  So I said…well…give them the “upgrade” then since I had the room first.  Luckily, I got our original room back.

 

[K.T.B.]

6 hours ago, mthomp5 said:

This happened to us once.  We had selected a balcony on the Caribe deck on a Grand class ship because we like the slightly larger balcony.  We were notified we were “upgraded” to a Deluxe balcony right under the Horizon Court!

 

I asked for our original room back and they said that someone had already been assigned to it.  So I said…well…give them the “upgrade” then since I had the room first.  Luckily, I got our original room back.

 

 

You got lucky then.  It makes one wonder why they felt the need to "upgrade" you when they already had a cabin available to give to the people who originally tried to get your booked cabin.  Makes no sense to me.

[Steelers36]

4 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

 

You got lucky then.  It makes one wonder why they felt the need to "upgrade" you when they already had a cabin available to give to the people who originally tried to get your booked cabin.  Makes no sense to me.

Maybe the other party was being upgrade from Inside or Obstructed, so they were getting a single type bump and the poster was getting a single bump to a Deluxe - from Princess perspective.  Princess does not consider guest preference and general desirability and will consider the worst balcony on the ship an upgrade from the best Inside.  So, we have to be alert to surprises and jump on undesirable changes.

[Tedferg]

Can you avoid these unwelcome upgrades if you are tied / joined with other passengers ? We travel with another couple and would not want to be upgraded and them not.

[Steelers36]

9 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

Can you avoid these unwelcome upgrades if you are tied / joined with other passengers ? We travel with another couple and would not want to be upgraded and them not.

No control over that.  We and our friends were on on voyage and both had booked GTY Obstructed Balcony.  They got a regular Balcony assignment and we were assigned Obstructed and never moved.  

It doesn't bother either of us if we end up in different areas of the ship.  Sometimes we are near each other and sometimes not.  

[Shelly97060]

3 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Can you avoid these unwelcome upgrades if you are tied / joined with other passengers ? We travel with another couple and would not want to be upgraded and them not.

The best way to avoid an upgrade is to have both your bookings marked no upgrade.  

[JF - retired RRT]

1 hour ago, Shelly97060 said:

The best way to avoid an upgrade is to have both your bookings marked no upgrade.  

Doesn't always work.

[john watson]

1 hour ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Doesn't always work.

 

I think this has gone over people's heads.  Basically the cruise lines can move you sideways or upwards to any other cabin they decide whatever you do.

 

Regards John

[ukwizard]

Once you have been assigned a cabin number (from a guarantee booking) does that mean that is the end of the upgrade trail,  or do people still get moved even after being assigned a cabin number?

 

We sail in 3 weeks,  quite happy for an upgrade to be honest as we have been put near the front of the ship,  but quite happy anywhere as long as im sailing!

[Tedferg]

3 hours ago, Shelly97060 said:

The best way to avoid an upgrade is to have both your bookings marked no upgrade.  

 

49 minutes ago, john watson said:

 

I think this has gone over people's heads.  Basically the cruise lines can move you sideways or upwards to any other cabin they decide whatever you do.

We would always Link / No Upgrade with our travel friends, although as Steelers says, it would not matter if we were further apart on the ship. Just nice to knock next door when ready for Crooners before dinner. We hoped they would leave us together or upgrade both cabins. As it happens we have never been moved.

[Shelly97060]

2 hours ago, JF - retired RRT said:

Doesn't always work.

True, not foolproof, but gives best chance of avoiding an upgrade. 

[mthomp5]

14 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

 

You got lucky then.  It makes one wonder why they felt the need to "upgrade" you when they already had a cabin available to give to the people who originally tried to get your booked cabin.  Makes no sense to me.

Yes!  We were really lucky.  I think Princess gave me a break because I was a newbie at cruising and booking.

 

At that time, I didn’t use a TA so booked directly through Princess website.  When I called to get our cabin back, the rep said that I had opted in for a free upgrade.  I said that I had not done that and couldn’t remember checking a box to opt in for a free upgrade.  Then she went on to clarify that I’ve opted in automatically if I don’t indicate no upgrade.  So I asked where would I have marked no upgrade when I made the online booking.  That’s when they said there is no place to indicate that when I book online and that I have to call Princess.  So that was a lesson for me.

 

But I’ve heard even if you say no upgrade, it’s more like a request and not guaranteed.

[caribill]

18 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

 

You got lucky then.  It makes one wonder why they felt the need to "upgrade" you when they already had a cabin available to give to the people who originally tried to get your booked cabin.  Makes no sense to me.

 

The premise behind the free upgrades is that it is easier to resell a lower priced cabin than to sell the higher priced cabin used for the upgrade.

 

Yes, the higher priced cabin had been available, but nobody was buying it. By moving someone for free (or for $$ if someone accepted a move-up offer), the original cabin can often be easily sold.

[caribill]

6 hours ago, ukwizard said:

Once you have been assigned a cabin number (from a guarantee booking) does that mean that is the end of the upgrade trail,  or do people still get moved even after being assigned a cabin number?

 

 

 

Yes, it has happened to us, both from an original GTY and from an original selected cabin. Both resulted in two upgrades in the months before the cruise.

[JF - retired RRT]

13 hours ago, ukwizard said:

Once you have been assigned a cabin number (from a guarantee booking) does that mean that is the end of the upgrade trail,  or do people still get moved even after being assigned a cabin number?

 

I've seen posts that it's happened. You could still be moved.

You could also call Princess and request a different cabin in your same category. Sometimes that works.

10 hours ago, mthomp5 said:

At that time, I didn’t use a TA so booked directly through Princess website.  When I called to get our cabin back, the rep said that I had opted in for a free upgrade.  I said that I had not done that and couldn’t remember checking a box to opt in for a free upgrade.  Then she went on to clarify that I’ve opted in automatically if I don’t indicate no upgrade.  So I asked where would I have marked no upgrade when I made the online booking.  That’s when they said there is no place to indicate that when I book online and that I have to call Princess.  So that was a lesson for me. Correct! Once you made the booking online, you still have to call for "no upgrade" or "meta upgrade".

 

But I’ve heard even if you say no upgrade, it’s more like a request and not guaranteed. Correct, again! 😁

Ah, the joys of the upgrade fairy...or not.

[SargassoPirate]

14 hours ago, john watson said:

 

I think this has gone over people's heads.  Basically the cruise lines can move you sideways or upwards to any other cabin they decide whatever you do.

 

Regards John

 

 

I've sailed other lines, always request no upgrades, and Princess is the only one where I've had this happen. And we are Elite, so it's not our first rodeo.

 

I usually check for price drops every day or so.  I guess I need to check for unwanted upgrades too 

[shipsealand]

Had an upgrade from inside to balcony and it was on the port side where it was especially great since we could see the Venice sailaway from it.

[USCcruisecrazy]

Only been upgraded one time but it was a doozy!  We had 4 balcony cabins beside each other and were upgraded to 4 mini-suites beside each other.  Of course, the downside to that was for follow-on cruises we prefer the mini-suites now.  Princess was smart enough to coax us into paying more for a cabin on future cruises.  Those sly dogs!!

[jools222]

I was so disappointed to find I too had been upgraded on my Oct cruise. My own fault as I usually choose no upgrade & probably forgot in my excitement at the idea of cruising again. I had an aft balcony on C Deck - C735 which their deck plan shows as 250sq ft & have been 'upgraded to a mid aft BB grade which shows as 220 sq ft . Horrible error on my part and unable to find the time to hang on the phone long enough to ask for my original cabin back so will be too late & lesson learned. First upgrade in 15 cruises & never used to choose no upgrade so serves me right🙁

[generichandle]

We had a 22-day trans-Pacific cruise canceled, where we had an obstructed outside at a great rate of about $1300/person. We got a 'price protected' transfer to 28-day trans-Pacific on Majestic. Turns out, Majestic does not have outside cabins, so we got 'Deluxe Balcony' at that rate. Saved approximately $9k! Wow!

 

Best part for us is, we are 'budget' cruisers. Outside is usually our highest level. We would not have actually paid the price of the normal balcony, which for us was buku steep. Fun to have one for 28-days. Can't wait [well, must, is April 2023]. 

 

Our only experience with balconies have been upgrades a couple times. We will certainly mostly accept upgrades, as we rarely make exact choices. Different strokes.