Diamond Latitude Question

[drumming cruisers]

After last cruise we are now Diamond Latitude. Says we can get a free cabin upgrade. Can we go from a Club Balcony suite to a Haven suite? If not what can we upgrade to from a Club Balcony?

 

TIA

Edited March 7 by drumming cruisers

[Capitan Obvious]

NCL's FAQ

 

I am now a Diamond member, how do I claim my one-time complimentary cabin upgrade?

When you are ready to redeem your complimentary cabin upgrade, call the dedicated service desk (866-625-6086) and provide your reservation ID to receive your free cabin upgrade. You must have an existing reservation or you must make a reservation before redeeming your upgrade for that reservation.

The cabin upgrade is valid for one category increase from the category that the guest booked. You will have 1 year to redeem your complimentary cabin upgrade once you have graduated to the Diamond tier. This complimentary cabin upgrade may only be redeemed once for each member. There are no destination restrictions but holiday sailings are excluded. All upgrades are subject to availability. This benefit is not combinable with other cabin upgrade promotions or offers. Taxes and fees are not included. Complimentary cabin upgrades are non-transferable.

What cabin categories are included in the one-time complimentary cabin upgrade?

The cabin upgrade is not eligible for Suites or Haven. The highest cabin category that a member may be upgraded to is Club Balcony.

[TrumpyNor]

12 hours ago, drumming cruisers said:

After last cruise we are now Diamond Latitude. Says we can get a free cabin upgrade. Can we go from a Club Balcony suite to a Haven suite? If not what can we upgrade to from a Club Balcony?

 

TIA

Since you are saying "we" I am guessing that you are probably a couple? If that is the case, you can have the free cabin upgrade for two TWICE. Personally my husband and I did receive the Diamond upgrade on two cruises in 2022 and 2023 - both times from "obstructed ocean view" to "balcony" - and very happy with that! Especially when I saw (by doing "mock" bookings) what many of my fellow cruisers had to pay for their "regular balcony cabin price" compared to what we paid for an originally obstructed ocean view cabin.

[UKstages]

the diamond upgrade maxes out at club balcony. the highest upgrade is from a balcony to the next highest category, which would be club balcony. also, the way the rules are written is that they will upgrade you from whatever you booked into the next highest category, which could be the lowest end of the next category, if that category has several different types of cabins.

[mking8288]

FWIW, we emailed into Latitudes desk this past December (before final payment) to request 1 of our 2 Diamond one-time upgrade, and it was processed within a few days - went from BB to OB, midship on the lower deck as we also have a 2nd oceanview booked and called in for BOA points to do a single meta upgrade, also BB to OB - both cabins on the same deck, not as close as we like but good enough.  Saved us a fair amount of money at the time for an extended sailing ... prices had flatten out since final payment, prices for club balcony are still substantially higher - and, we just got the "Let's Get You Upgraded ..." invite, for both balcony cabins, like everyone else on the roll call - some wondering what happened to the bidding game (interesting timing-wise) 

 

We are holding off the 2nd Diamond upgrade until later this year - supposed to use it or lose it within a year of reaching this tier, but - not confirmed or verified anywhere in writing - that we can use it to book a cruise beyond the 12 months.  

 

Did considered booking a balcony and then do the Diamond upgrade for a club, but for the newest 2 ships in the fleet, not much difference aside from the pricing, for us ... 

[complawyer]

while i think it's an ok promotion, if you have diamond latitude status, the best you can do is upgrade from a balcony to a club (and there isnt much difference), if you want a suite its a no, so for those of you who want to book a suite, diamond latitude, is of no value and it's a 1 time deal

sorry guys. 

if you're anything like me and my wife, i prefer to look at ncl cabin offerings, and then book  whatever cabin i want, on the deck i prefer, and at the price i wish to pay.

 

when it comes to ncl cabins, and flight offers,( and i'm sure  you have read the horror stories from people who let ncl choose and book their flight) i believe the old adage "if you want something done right, DO IT YOURSELF! caps for emphasis, not yelling

[spanishguy1970]

We are diamond also and we were just upgraded from Balcony to Club suite balcony on the Pearl next November. Remember is only a one time upgrade. No, you don't go to the Haven.

 

so inside to oceanview

Ocean view to Balcony

Balcony to Club suite Balcony.

[KACTravels]

We became Diamond and have our upgrades booked!  We selected Obstructed Ocean View and were upgraded to Balconies. Both are one of the cabins they hold for “Sailaway” but our Free at Sea Promo is in tact. At least one of them is the “Priva-sea” Balcony, but that may play to our advantage, as it is on our New York to Reykjavík, Iceland 14 Day Cruise. Our other upgrade is on a 15 day Melbourne Australia to Auckland New Zealand cruise. We feel like we received great value out of the diamond status upgrades.  Because they were both long cruises, by my math the value is $6,692.45!  And we are knocking out 2 Bucket List trips.  

 

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

We are holding off the 2nd Diamond upgrade until later this year - supposed to use it or lose it within a year of reaching this tier, but - not confirmed or verified anywhere in writing - that we can use it to book a cruise beyond the 12 months. 

 

i'm only a lowly sapphire, but my understanding of the diamond upgrade is NOT that it has to be used within a year, but that it has to be used while you're still a diamond. (if you move up to ambassador, the diamond upgrade is forfeited.)

[Capitan Obvious]

3 hours ago, mking8288 said:

We are holding off the 2nd Diamond upgrade until later this year - supposed to use it or lose it within a year of reaching this tier, but - not confirmed or verified anywhere in writing - that we can use it to book a cruise beyond the 12 months.  

 

Disagree.

 

One-Time Free Cabin Upgrade – Diamond

Diamond members will be offered a one-time complimentary cabin upgrade once they have reached the Diamond tier. The cabin upgrade is valid for one category increase from the category that the guest booked. The Latitudes member must first make their booking, then call to redeem their complimentary cabin upgrade. The cabin upgrade is not eligible for Suites or Haven. The highest cabin category that a member may be upgraded to is Club Balcony. Eligible members will have one (1) year to take the complimentary cabin upgrade after graduating to the Diamond tier.

The complimentary cabin upgrade may only be redeemed once for each member. There are no destination restrictions but holiday sailings are excluded. All upgrades are subject to availability. This benefit is not combinable with other cabin upgrade promotions or offers. Taxes and fees are not included. Complimentary cabin upgrades are non-transferable.

Terms and conditions are subject to change and inventory is subject to availability.

 

1 hour ago, UKstages said:

'm only a lowly sapphire, but my understanding of the diamond upgrade is NOT that it has to be used within a year, but that it has to be used while you're still a diamond. (if you move up to ambassador, the diamond upgrade is forfeited.)

 

First time hearing that claim. From where did you gain that understanding? You'd think something like that would be published considering the number of people who reach Diamond (350 points) and them somehow cruise enough to move to Ambassador (700 points) without having an opportunity to upgrade their cabin.

[complawyer]

when is your new york to reykjavic cruise and onwhat ship

[mking8288]

4 hours ago, Capitan Obvious said:

Disagree.

One-Time Free Cabin Upgrade – Diamond

Diamond members will be offered a one-time complimentary cabin upgrade once they have reached the Diamond tier. The cabin upgrade is valid for one category increase from the category that the guest booked. The Latitudes member must first make their booking, then call to redeem their complimentary cabin upgrade. The cabin upgrade is not eligible for Suites or Haven. The highest cabin category that a member may be upgraded to is Club Balcony. Eligible members will have one (1) year to take the complimentary cabin upgrade after graduating to the Diamond tier.

The complimentary cabin upgrade may only be redeemed once for each member. There are no destination restrictions but holiday sailings are excluded. All upgrades are subject to availability. This benefit is not combinable with other cabin upgrade promotions or offers. Taxes and fees are not included. Complimentary cabin upgrades are non-transferable.

Terms and conditions are subject to change and inventory is subject to availability.

Fine, good, agree to disagree.  I am (was) very cautious in making my remarks about using it beyond the 1 year written deadline, others have posted flexibility in how the rules are applied.  We'll roll with the dices and see how things come together when we get back home again in May, although maybe I should ask for the upgrade sooner for better "assignment" of the upgrade cabin, it might not matter anyway.   

 

Refer to this post about other Diamond member results - also see post #100  ... and, as you noted from the quoted - (which we know ... NCL isn't the greatest when it comes to updating) 

Terms and conditions are subject to change and inventory is subject to availability.

 

  

We are still going to be within our 1 year window using this one-time upgrade perk ...  Then, there are accrued Worldpoints that we've been banking to use.  It is better, for us, to apply these perk or earned benefits on a longer cruise, doing to math & looking at the cabin inventory, etc. etc. like the upcoming eastbound TA.  

Edited March 9 by mking8288

[UKstages]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

NCL isn't the greatest when it comes to updating

 

indeed.

 

in a perfect world, NCL would update its customer-facing website promptly when rules change. but they don't. in fact, there still are a lot of places where they refer to the "daily service charge," which has been renamed for quite some time. you can also find the term "mini suite" throughout the site!

 

again, my understanding is that there is no 1 year requirement.

 

Edited March 9 by UKstages

[TrumpyNor]

Regarding the originally 1 year requirement to use the free Diamond upgrade: 

My husband and I obtained the Latitude Diamond status when NCL added the new tiers (beginning of 2022?). We had 2 cruises booked for the summer of 2022, and asked for the free upgrade on both these cruises. We were however not happy with one of the upgrades and asked to get our original cabin instead. According to the rules at the time, my understanding was that we then "lost" that second free upgrade.

 

A few months later I saw here on CC someone posting about the 1 year requirement being "removed". I then asked my PCC at NCL to apply for a free diamond upgrade on the cruise we had booked for August 2023 instead, and within a couple of days we received the email from the Latitude upgrade department with our new cabin number (upgrade from ocean view to balcony). 

[KeithJenner]

16 hours ago, mking8288 said:

We are holding off the 2nd Diamond upgrade until later this year - supposed to use it or lose it within a year of reaching this tier, but - not confirmed or verified anywhere in writing - that we can use it to book a cruise beyond the 12 months.  

We have used both of ours and they were both used on cruises that were much more than one year out (one isn’t until September 2025), so I can confirm that you can use it to book a cruise more than a year out.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I called recently to inquire about the one year limit and was told it was no longer the case.  We made Diamond right before the shut down and as such were not able to book cruises.  NCL is notorious for not upgrading their documents, so this is no surprise.   

Edited March 9 by MagnoliaBlossom

[UKstages]

what I always find curious about every cruise critic thread is that the folks who challenge other posters…. you know, the ones who say flat out that what has been posted is wrong and demand data… the ones who want links to “sources” and quotes and spread sheets and who invariably request blood samples and birth records… (and it’s always the same people)… these folks rarely return to say, “oops, looks like i was wrong, i guess a lot of people are reporting as accurate the very thing i questioned and ridiculed other posters for. my bad.” they’re just on to the next thread where they repeat the same demands and insist that others prove the validity of their statements.

 

 

[KACTravels]

21 hours ago, complawyer said:

when is your new york to reykjavic cruise and onwhat ship

Hi!  If this was to me, August 8, 2024 on the Star

[complawyer]

ok thank you

[The Traveling Man]

On 3/9/2024 at 7:29 AM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

We made Diamond right before the shut down

If memory serves correctly, the Diamond level was added to the Latitudes program, and the Platinum Plus level was renamed Sapphire, in February of 2022.  That would have been after the return to sailing following the pandemic shutdown.  This marked the first major upgrade to the Latitude tiers since February of 2017 when the Platinum Plus and Ambassador levels were added, IIRC.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

Ya know, you’re right.  Hmm, can’t remember why we couldn’t use ours that first year, thanks for refreshing my memory - or at least point out that I don’t have one! 🤣

[The Traveling Man]

14 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Ya know, you’re right.  Hmm, can’t remember why we couldn’t use ours that first year, thanks for refreshing my memory - or at least point out that I don’t have one! 🤣

I applied my upgrade benefit just a couple of days after NCL created the new Diamond level and announced its benefits.  The reservation clerk with whom I spoke didn't have a clue about it, but put me on hold while she looked up the terms and conditions.  I had a particular Club Balcony room in mind and insisted that she assign us that room.  She did and we couldn't have been happier with the result.  We thought about using my wife's upgrade for a cruise which we took later that year, but we never got around to it during her first year of eligibility.  We had pretty much given up on it when we began noticing mention on CC that other Diamond members had been allowed to use their upgrade more than a year after they "graduated" to Diamond.  We may check again with NCL to see if we can still use it this Fall on the Jade.  I have heard, however, that now NCL selects the cabin assignment for you, that you no longer can specify the room you want.  Just like other forms of upgrades on which you bid, you must accept whatever room they assign in the category you select.  Anyone use their Diamond upgrade lately who can confirm or deny that aspect of it?

[KeithJenner]

5 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

I applied my upgrade benefit just a couple of days after NCL created the new Diamond level and announced its benefits.  The reservation clerk with whom I spoke didn't have a clue about it, but put me on hold while she looked up the terms and conditions.  I had a particular Club Balcony room in mind and insisted that she assign us that room.  She did and we couldn't have been happier with the result.  We thought about using my wife's upgrade for a cruise which we took later that year, but we never got around to it during her first year of eligibility.  We had pretty much given up on it when we began noticing mention on CC that other Diamond members had been allowed to use their upgrade more than a year after they "graduated" to Diamond.  We may check again with NCL to see if we can still use it this Fall on the Jade.  I have heard, however, that now NCL selects the cabin assignment for you, that you no longer can specify the room you want.  Just like other forms of upgrades on which you bid, you must accept whatever room they assign in the category you select.  Anyone use their Diamond upgrade lately who can confirm or deny that aspect of it?

I didn’t get any choice of the cabins we were upgraded too, even though I did make a request (I did it by email). The first one was not long after they introduced the new levels (but later than yours), and I was happy with the cabin we got so just left that. My wife’s one was about 6 months ago and we got an upgrade from an ocean view to the lowest level balcony. By that time it was clear that people weren’t getting requested rooms so we again just accepted it. Even though it’s a hull balcony it’s still a decent upgrade over the ocean view.

[KACTravels]

We just used our Diamond upgrades on 2 cruises and did not get a choice of cabins. We booked Obstructed Oceanviews and were upgraded to Balconies. One is a “Privasea” Balcony that is normally assigned to Sail away category on the 8th deck forward. The second was also for “Sail Away” Category, 8th deck aft. The email confirmation states

 

“Your ONE TIME Diamond upgrade has been applied to your reservation.The cabin is auto select and cannot be changed.”

Edited March 12 by KACTravels

[complawyer]

hey keith, any upgrade is most certainly better than a stick in the eye, but what  would have been the actual cost if you just had booked a balcony cabin initially. you could have had your choice of cabins (depending on availability). and we've stayed in a privasea cabin, it even was a have 2 bedroom suite on the epic. while i hope you enjoy your cruise to the fullest, i would not ever booked a privasea cabin again. it's a little to enclosed onthe balcony for me.