Upsell to Penthouse

[Palmetto Lady]

My TA just notified me of an upsell offer from an A2 cabin to a Penthouse for $600 each. Other than a larger cabin allowing for 2 chairs and a bathtub which we would never use, is it worth the extra money???

[LHT28]

Don't forget the butler;)

 

It is a personal choice

If you are happy with deck 7 then don't worry

[StanandJim]

Palmetto Lady-

 

In our opinion, it would be worth it, because of the butler service and the additional access to the specialty restaurants.

 

The in suite dining in a Penthouse is also much nicer than in a concierge room, if only because of the room for a "real" Dining Table (which they will bring in upon request). We believe that a Penthouse works out to be 50% larger than a cat A, but they FEEL much larger than that.

 

Unfortunately, by not jumping on the offer you have probably already missed the chance. Those offers don't last long.

[douganswerphone]

My TA just notified me of an upsell offer from an A2 cabin to a Penthouse for $600 each. Other than a larger cabin allowing for 2 chairs and a bathtub which we would never use, is it worth the extra money???

 

The extra space is very nice. We normally book a B2 cabin, but several years ago on Tahitian Princess (the old R4), we had a chance to upgrade to whatever Princess called the Penthouse; it was $150 pp for a 10 day cruise in Polynesia. We thought a total of $30 a day was well worth it.

 

For closer to $100 per day, we'd probably stick with the B2, but that's just us. $600 pp makes this a very cheap upgrade by O standards.

 

StanAndJim make 2 very good points. Personally, we wouldn't use Butler services enough to make them valuable to us.

 

Also, while suite passengers are "guaranteed" more specialty restaurant seatings, we've never had much problem requesting extra seatings. Quite often, you can just walk-in on the first night, because most people are sleeping off their jet lag. Ditto for the last night, when most people are packing. We've also found that after the first few days, anybody can request additional seatings; there's usually availability on port days where the ship departs late or stays overnight, because so many people choose to eat ashore.

[tak2]

Palmetto Lady-

 

In our opinion, it would be worth it, because of the butler service and the additional access to the specialty restaurants.

.

 

Just to clarify for OP, A cabins and PH both have same number of guaranteed specialty reservations. On paper, PH guests do not have priority over those in A when it comes to getting in on "waiting list".

What PH guests have is additional access to specialty restaurant menu via room service. We did this 4 times in 14 days on our last cruise.

[Palmetto Lady]

We've decided to pass on the offer. If we dine in at all, it is only for breakfast when we have an early excursion. We had butler service once on Regent Navigator (we were visited by the upgrade fairy). It was nice, but we really did not use him and we did not need the afternoon snacks.

Thanks for your responses. It just does not seem like it is worth the extra money (At least for us.)

[brian_uk]

Forgive me, but is this not the same as giving a discount on a PH.

 

That was what I have been waiting for but still the price for a PH remains the same.

 

Just seems odd

 

Brian

[LHT28]

Forgive me, but is this not the same as giving a discount on a PH.

 

That was what I have been waiting for but still the price for a PH remains the same.

 

Just seems odd

 

Brian

If there are still PH's available on an upcoming cruise they will offer an UPSELL to fill those cabins( usually for those booked in lower CAT).....not the same as discounting across the board

 

Lyn

[Globe]

Also received a call from our TA with the same upgrade offer on an upcoming med cruise on Regatta, only the price quoted was $750pp. We are presently on deck 7 in an A1 cabin. We will stay put.

 

Have previously been on Deck 8 but in one of the only two A1 cabins on that level. Chose it because it was directly midship and we couldn't get that general area on Deck 7 when we booked.

 

Definitely wouldn't do it again though because we were woken up very early most mornings ( in the 5:00 am range ) by banging and scrapping from the crew setting things up for the day on the pool deck above. We did bring this to their attention a couple of times and there was some improvement in the noise etc. after the second complaint.

[LAexNY]

Also received the upgrade offer today from A2 to PH for $750 p.p.

[StanandJim]

Just to clarify for OP, A cabins and PH both have same number of guaranteed specialty reservations.

 

On paper, you are correct, Tak2, however, having a butler, especially the right butler. can work wonders with the restaurant reservation desk.

Remember, long after the passenger has come and gone, those fellows work together. The butler knows who to ask, when to ask, etc.

 

As an example of Butler-magic, a couple that we befriended on our last O cruise (it was their first, btw) were in a penthouse and only ate one dinner (out of 12) NOT in Polo or Toscana.

 

Funny enough, -we were with them for that lone GDR experience (it was a birthday party for another guest), and they really enjoyed the food!

[hondorner]

I ate in either Polo or Toscana 10 nights on one cruise (5 in each), and by the end of it, I was really tired of the same menu each time. On our subsequent cruises, I have limited it to 3 or 4 nights in each restaurant to avoid the boredom. I have been able to choose either any night I wanted to go. If the maitre 'd is at their station in the Terrace buffet at breakfast, there is room in at least one of the specialty restaurants that evening. There was only one day out of 51 that I did not see the maitre 'd taking reservations.

 

By the way, we were A2 concierge for 2 of those cruises and C1 for the third, and have never had a butler. It never seemed to matter when it came to reservations. On one occasion, we were approached by one of the specialty restaurant staffers while eating lunch in the buffet -- they had extra space in Toscana and solicited us to make a reservation. We did, for 4 people, then notified our friends (who were in a C2) that we had their reservations.

 

We have never given an additional tip to a maitre 'd.

[tak2]

We have never given an additional tip to a maitre 'd.

 

That's exactly it. Their corporate culture is " the desire to please( the guest) "

[meow!]

horndorner: Do you think they can recognize your picture on this board?

[Jenn1121]

My husband and I were called by Carnival asking if we wanted to upgrade from balcony to Penthouse. We decided to do this since it is our 10th anniversary cruise. We have never sailed on Carnival (usually RCI or Princess). Do you know what extra stuff you get in a Penthouse on the Sensation (smaller ship). The only thing I remember my husband say is that I have a tub and the room is bigger. Does anyone know if a chaise lounge will fit on the balcony since it is a Penhouse room?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Jenn

[jerseygirl3]

My husband and I were called by Carnival asking if we wanted to upgrade from balcony to Penthouse. We decided to do this since it is our 10th anniversary cruise. We have never sailed on Carnival (usually RCI or Princess). Do you know what extra stuff you get in a Penthouse on the Sensation (smaller ship). The only thing I remember my husband say is that I have a tub and the room is bigger. Does anyone know if a chaise lounge will fit on the balcony since it is a Penhouse room?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Jenn

 

We sailed in a Penthouse Suite on Carnival Imagination (sister ship to Sensation). As I recall, the balcony was approx. 70 sq. ft., which should be large enough for a lounger. However, I don't recall there being any loungers on the balcony...just chairs and a small table. But I suppose you could request one.

 

BTW, the Penthouse Suites on the Fantasy class ships are quite nice. They have a separate sitting area that can comfortably accommodate approx. 6 people. There is a bar with refrigerator as well. The bathroom has a jacuzzi tub. I think you will be happy with your cabin.

 

Jo-Ann

[Jenn1121]

Thanks for the info Jerseygirl. At this point we are so happy to get away that I think I would even be happy sleeping on the bottom level in an interior cabin. My husband has been home since May (tore his achilles). We were to go away in November for 10th anniversary but he wasn't getting paid (now he is!!!) and then my grandfather passed away. So needless to say we cancelled our trip to Vegas. And now we are 12 days away from our anniversary/getaway cruise!!!!

 

Jenn

[LHT28]

My husband and I were called by Carnival asking if we wanted to upgrade from balcony to Penthouse. We decided to do this since it is our 10th anniversary cruise. We have never sailed on Carnival (usually RCI or Princess). Do you know what extra stuff you get in a Penthouse on the Sensation (smaller ship).

 

Jenn

 

You may get a better answer on the Carnival forum

[jerseygirl3]

Thanks for the info Jerseygirl. At this point we are so happy to get away that I think I would even be happy sleeping on the bottom level in an interior cabin. My husband has been home since May (tore his achilles). We were to go away in November for 10th anniversary but he wasn't getting paid (now he is!!!) and then my grandfather passed away. So needless to say we cancelled our trip to Vegas. And now we are 12 days away from our anniversary/getaway cruise!!!!

 

Jenn

 

I wanted to mention that there are no "perks" so to speak in a Penthouse Suite on Carnival. You will get priority boarding, but other than that, nothing specific. The cabin itself is the "perk."

 

Enjoy! While certainly not Oceania, Carnival is not a bad product at all. The food is surprisingly good, and the Fantasy class ships are my favorite in the entire fleet.

 

Jo-Ann

[LAexNY]

Also received the upgrade offer today from A2 to PH for $750 p.p.

 

Received the same offer again today to upgrade from A2 to PH1, this time for $500 p.p.

[Palmetto Lady]

We also received the offer again to upsell from A2 to Penthouse, but for $600 (same as before). We again passed.