Winning an upgrade - my experience

[acct1975]

we won an upgrade for our grown kids (1st time cruise for them) and on the whole were pleased and excited for it to happen. There were a few hiccups though and I wanted to share those as a "buyer beware" of what could happen.

 

For context we were on the JOY sailing to Bermuda 7/16-7/23.

 

Luggage - we got notice of the change in time to reprint the luggage tags so the bags went to the correct room right away and we didn't have to go around searching for them

 

Room set up - originally we had asked for separate beds and it wasn't set up that way at embarkation. We're accustomed to that so asking was something we were expecting to have to do so not an issue

 

Excursion tickets - this is where the hiccups start. Of the 2 excursions we booked, they received 1 set and a set for another cruiser. We had to go the the shore excursion desk to turn on the one set and have the correct tickets re-printed. Very important to check your tickets as soon as you see them to make sure they are yours

 

Disembarkation - we set up an airport transfer through NCL and when the tags etc were being passed out, they did not get anything. Luckily I'm pretty analog when it come to some things and I had them print off their full edocs which included the itinerary and showed a transfer to airport. All we needed to do was go to Guest Services and they looked it up, got the tags and items we'd need for the transfer. Luckily we checked early because trying to sort that out the day of disembarkation would have been a nightmare. They also did ask us the old cabin number which we didn't remember but wish I had handy. 

 

Takeaways  - 1) if you get an upgrade, print your new edocs and keep them with you as proof just in case. 2) take note of your old cabin number in case there are issues (that's where your luggage could have ended up, tickets and transfers too) 3) check all your excursion info to be sure it is yours

 

Happy cruising all!

 

[JamesIowa]

3 minutes ago, acct1975 said:

2) take note of your old cabin number in case there are issues (that's where your luggage could have ended up, tickets and transfers too) 3)

That’s a great piece of advice!

[clumsyrunner14]

This is really good info, jotting this down for future reference.

 

If you don't mind me asking, what did you cabin type did you book and what was the upgrade?

[acct1975]

43 minutes ago, clumsyrunner14 said:

This is really good info, jotting this down for future reference.

 

If you don't mind me asking, what did you cabin type did you book and what was the upgrade?

We booked a Balcony and bid on a Club Balcony Suite. Not a huge jump but was worth a try 

[Elvis1209]

We were upgraded on our very first NCL cruise.  We went from  a regular balcony to a spa balcony.  Pretty good you say, except no one told us we were upgraded!  The room was the same except for the spa privileges.  About two weeks after the cruise I got a bill from NCL for the bid!  After a call to them I ended up with $500 credit!  All things considered I would have much more wanted the upgrade!

 

Elvis

 

 

[julig22]

Although very valid points, not sure how many of your issues were related to winning an upgrade.  I was missing an excursion ticket on my last cruise, so had to get a new one printed and I've gotten the wrong tickets in the past as well. And no transfer tickets/tags either.

But reviewing your edocs BEFORE you leave and having a copy with you is extremely important.  If you have a last-minute change and can't print new documents, make sure you have a copy of the change notifications with you.  Names mysteriously disappear from the airport transfer lists (had a full planeload of people not on their list once!), excursion tickets go astray, paid-for addons are missing.  It happens - no system is perfect

[BirdTravels]

37 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Although very valid points, not sure how many of your issues were related to winning an upgrade.  I was missing an excursion ticket on my last cruise, so had to get a new one printed and I've gotten the wrong tickets in the past as well. And no transfer tickets/tags either.

Transfer vouchers are in your edocs. So, if you don't print them out, you won't have them. And yes, it sounds like the OP's complaint is that they did not get transfer luggage tags,,, which happens and is not related to being upgraded. 

 

ShoreEx tickets, yup, on rare occasion that are no in the stateroom on embarkation and you need to go and have them re-printed,,, which happens and is not related to being upgraded. 

 

Room Setup, I have never had my room setup per our request, so there is nothing new there,,, and is not related to being upgraded.  

 

Printing new luggage tags when your room changes for any reason, sure, you need to do that.

[SomewhereGirl]

Very good advice.  Make sure your paperwork goes with you to your new cabin.  Back after the restart in 2021, I paid for a cabin upgrade onboard (which some will say is not possible, but that's an argument for another thread).  A crew member helped me move my stuff to my new cabin.  When we got to my new cabin there were suitcases outside the door.  I assume the original occupants upgraded/changed cabin and did not print new luggage tags.  Also, after I moved cabins, I didn't receive any of my disembarkation paperwork, including the sticker to wear for the airport transfer.

[bstreep]

We've had generally good luck with upgrade bidding.  Until now.  So, here's a piece of advice:  Before you bid on an upgrade, check the deck plan. If the cabin you are looking to upgrade could be in a worse place than your existing cabin, be aware that you could get that poorly placed "upgrade" cabin.  I stupidly bid on an "Ocean View" cabin with a low/poor bid (along with a Very Strong" bid for a balcony). We ended up in the bilge with a porthole. 

 

They should figure out how to auction the upgrades.  It would be more fun...

[DCGuy64]

3 minutes ago, bstreep said:

We've had generally good luck with upgrade bidding.  Until now.  So, here's a piece of advice:  Before you bid on an upgrade, check the deck plan. If the cabin you are looking to upgrade could be in a worse place than your existing cabin, be aware that you could get that poorly placed "upgrade" cabin.  I stupidly bid on an "Ocean View" cabin with a low/poor bid (along with a Very Strong" bid for a balcony). We ended up in the bilge with a porthole. 

 

They should figure out how to auction the upgrades.  It would be more fun...

OV's are notoriously poorly placed. I highly doubt someone who bids on an upgrade from an inside cabin to a Club balcony suite is going to end up in an inferior location.

[acct1975]

1 hour ago, julig22 said:

Although very valid points, not sure how many of your issues were related to winning an upgrade.  I was missing an excursion ticket on my last cruise, so had to get a new one printed and I've gotten the wrong tickets in the past as well. And no transfer tickets/tags either.

But reviewing your edocs BEFORE you leave and having a copy with you is extremely important.  If you have a last-minute change and can't print new documents, make sure you have a copy of the change notifications with you.  Names mysteriously disappear from the airport transfer lists (had a full planeload of people not on their list once!), excursion tickets go astray, paid-for addons are missing.  It happens - no system is perfect

They couldn't find the transfer listed under their "new" room number and had to look at the old number to see the transfer. That's why I think in this case it was due to the upgrade that the transfer was missed.

 

As for the other things, you are correct they could happen with any trip and no upgrade but the point of my post was that with an upgrade you may see these and have your edocs printed and keeping a note of your old room number helps you and the staff navigate if any of these come up.

 

I always feel having the more info the better.