Upgrading stateroom

[horseymike]

Does HAL offer an opportunity to upgrade staterooms at as discount as it gets closer to departure date ?

[Mary229]

Yes.  If you have a TA they will communicate the opportunities it’s them and they will hopefully forward that info.  If you booked online you will receive an email maybe.  Best practice is to call and ask after final payment date. 

[crystalspin]

I would have to say, SOMETIMES. I guess it would be obvious -- they must have better rooms available! We did get and take a "paid upgrade" offer on the Zaandam in 2014, that was great for three adults from an OV to a Vista Suite. Next HAL cruise was through a mail-order travel agency that probably would not have contacted us with any offers. Subsequently we have always marked our reservations, NO UPGRADE, because we book the cabin we want.

[Mary229]

3 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

I would have to say, SOMETIMES. I guess it would be obvious -- they must have better rooms available! We did get and take a "paid upgrade" offer on the Zaandam in 2014, that was great for three adults from an OV to a Vista Suite. Next HAL cruise was through a mail-order travel agency that probably would not have contacted us with any offers. Subsequently we have always marked our reservations, NO UPGRADE, because we book the cabin we want.

There are two different things, one is the automatic upgrade and I completely agree that I want more control.  Then there are upsells which are offered first  to the customer and they make the decision 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Mary229

[Sea Hag]

50 minutes ago, horseymike said:

Does HAL offer an opportunity to upgrade staterooms at as discount as it gets closer to departure date ?

We're doing our first cruise on HAL next month. The other day I got an email offering me paid upgrades. There was a number to call and an attached pdf with price details. I passed on that, since the options didn't appeal to me. I have no idea how often these offers are extended.

[sambamama]

There are upgrades versus upsells. Upgrades are free - if you book an inside guarantee, and you get bumped up to an outside (that just happened to me again.) I book guarantees almost all the time. An up sell comes a month or so before the cruise. Your TA or you gets an offer to buy a better cabin for a certain amount. It is limited to one category up- you can go from an outside to a balcony, for example. But move fast- - they go quickly!

[senorjim]

You can call the upsell department directly and ask. 1-888-628-8107 or 1-206-626-7381

 

Jim

[BobbiSox]

I don't know it star status matters, but I get phone calls to 'bump up' (usually to s suite) since I became 5-star.  I always ask for the location options before I commit. The cost is minimal. I almost always take the offer. 

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, BobbiSox said:

I don't know it star status matters, but I get phone calls to 'bump up' (usually to s suite) since I became 5-star.  I always ask for the location options before I commit. The cost is minimal. I almost always take the offer. 

Star status does not matter.  I have seen one star friends get the exact same offers as five stars.  Remember, HAL is doing this to increase revenue, so they do not care who takes the upsell offer.

[OlsSalt]

You may get an automatic upgrade if you let them choose your cabin - as they allocate the final cabin assignments, and the upgrade fairy waves her magic wand.  Sometimes this happens, sometimes not.

 

Some times the upgraded cabin (an ocean view to a verandah) but is in a less desirable location.  That is why many cruise veterans do end up paying the premium to choose their own cabin upfront, and get what we really wanted all along. That is the real cruise price - the other options are the discounted cabin lottery price.

[Djptcp]

I have used both the email upsell offers and I have called the HAL Inventory Dept. If I use the Inventory Dept. I wait to call the week before the cruise sails. I usually use both to get a Neptune Suite at a very reduced cost (coming from a Verandah or Vista). I have the deck plans available for both so I can choose where I want to be.

[SeaCapt]

8 hours ago, sambamama said:

... It is limited to one category up- you can go from an outside to a balcony, for example. But move fast- - they go quickly!

Everything you mentioned sounds right, except there is no limit to how far you can upgrade. For our 24-day cruise in July we booked a deck 11 Inside, then got an upgrade offer about 3 weeks out, with choice of either Oceanview or Vista Suite, for different prices. It was a deal for 24 days, so we took the suite.

[Dobby36]

57 minutes ago, SeaCapt said:

Everything you mentioned sounds right, except there is no limit to how far you can upgrade. For our 24-day cruise in July we booked a deck 11 Inside, then got an upgrade offer about 3 weeks out, with choice of either Oceanview or Vista Suite, for different prices. It was a deal for 24 days, so we took the suite.

Correct, my last veranda booking earlier this year saw me getting an email with Upsell pricing for both a signature suite and a Neptune suite. I passed as I was happy with my cabin, but both were tempting.  

[crystalspin]

1 hour ago, Dobby36 said:

...my last veranda booking earlier this year saw me getting an email with Upsell pricing for both a signature suite and a Neptune suite. 

Did they call them "Upsells"? While it's been awhile since I got an offer (as I said above), I thought HAL used "paid upgrade" and "complimentary upgrade", and that Upsell was a Cruise Critic term.

[Real NHDOC]

HAL does not use the term upsell for these paid offers to upgrade. 

They call them paid "preferrred limited upgrade special"

 

Sometimes the offers get emailed out and sometimes not.  If the ship is full or near full they usually don't offer any upgrades.  The best thing to do if you are interested is to start calling the ship inventory department 888-628-8107 about 30 days prior to the sailing date and ask.  They will ask for the booking number and you ought to have a deck plan and credit card ready.  If you aren't satisfied with the offer you can ask if they have anything else (sometimes they will offer another, higher level).  It doesn't matter if you book through a TA or not, you can buy an upgraded cabin directly from HAL this way.

[DaveOKC]

13 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Did they call them "Upsells"? While it's been awhile since I got an offer (as I said above), I thought HAL used "paid upgrade" and "complimentary upgrade", and that Upsell was a Cruise Critic term.

You are correct.

 

[Ellencruise]

On my most recent cruise 7/29 to 8/12, my TA contacted me a couple of days before cruise and said HAL contacted her offering us an upgrade to deck 6 from 7 and mid from aft. All good for us, nice mid ship. BTW, only 3 star mariner at this point 

[Dobby36]

2 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

You are correct.

 

 

15 hours ago, crystalspin said:

Did they call them "Upsells"? While it's been awhile since I got an offer (as I said above), I thought HAL used "paid upgrade" and "complimentary upgrade", and that Upsell was a Cruise Critic term.

Gotcha, my terminology was off. I just meant to convey it had a cost, as opposed to a free upgrade.  

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, Ellencruise said:

On my most recent cruise 7/29 to 8/12, my TA contacted me a couple of days before cruise and said HAL contacted her offering us an upgrade to deck 6 from 7 and mid from aft. All good for us, nice mid ship. BTW, only 3 star mariner at this point 

Just to confuse things a bit more, MOST times (not all) a free upgrade is within your category (such as Oceanview), while a paid upgrade (upsell) is to a higher category (like going from an Oceanview to a Verandah).

[Ellencruise]

29 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

Just to confuse things a bit more, MOST times (not all) a free upgrade is within your category (such as Oceanview), while a paid upgrade (upsell) is to a higher category (like going from an Oceanview to a Verandah).

Agreed, our upgrade was not a bigger balcony, just deck  and ship location

[AFNavigator]

6 hours ago, Ellencruise said:

Agreed, our upgrade was not a bigger balcony, just deck  and ship location

One of the best "upsells", if booking early enough, is Club Orange.  For the cost of Club Orange, you can often upgrade to a great cabin location at a lower overall cost than that cabin itself would cost.  For example, you book an obstructed view balcony, buy Club Orange, and upgrade to a V category balcony.  The total cost, including Club Orange, likely will be lower than the V-category cabin price.  Pretty sweet deal especially if you are on a Pinnacle class ship and get the Club Orange dining room too.

[cchicki]

Did something change recently? We booked through a TA. We tried calling the inventory department at the 30 day and maybe about 25 days out. The inventory department said we had to go through our TA. 

[SusieKIslandGirl]

On our last cruise I was regularly checking prices after final payment. The vista suite was less than the price we had paid for the verandah. Had my TA call for an upsell, knowing it was less, and got the vista cabin for no extra.

[CH_ca]

2 hours ago, SusieKIslandGirl said:

On our last cruise I was regularly checking prices after final payment. The vista suite was less than the price we had paid for the verandah. Had my TA call for an upsell, knowing it was less, and got the vista cabin for no extra.

When you paid to upgrade to a vista suite, is it considered a new booking? Like did the booking number change? Did you get to keep all the OBC you had on your verandah booking? What about the Platinum Protection Plan if you have bought it for your verandah booking?

[DaveOKC]

8 hours ago, CH_ca said:

When you paid to upgrade to a vista suite, is it considered a new booking? Like did the booking number change? Did you get to keep all the OBC you had on your verandah booking? What about the Platinum Protection Plan if you have bought it for your verandah booking?

Not certain in this example. but whenever I take an "upsell" offer from HAL. all the extras stay the same as before.  Remember that the Platinum Protection Plan cost will increase a bit however.