Stateroom upgrades?

[cdncruiseluver]

[quote name='immargaret']My TA told me the other day that waiting 1 week after final payments are due is when she has gotten the best deals. For my 4/14 cruise she told me she will call the first week of Feb., final payment is due on 1/28 I think.[/QUOTE]
We are on the same sailing. Did your TA have any luck? I also used a TA but he's useless. Can I call NCL directly? Will they deal with me or does it have to be thru TA?

[cdncruiseluver]

[quote name='immargaret']My TA told me the other day that waiting 1 week after final payments are due is when she has gotten the best deals. For my 4/14 cruise she told me she will call the first week of Feb., final payment is due on 1/28 I think.[/QUOTE

We are on the same sailing. Did your TA have any luck? Do you know if I can deal directly with NCL as my TA is useless?

[miss-riss]

No, I have not had any luck with contacting NCL directly. I have read several posts stating that they are no longer accepting the calls regarding upgrades. They are now saying, if we have something we will contact you! My TA is not being very helpful either. Well, I have learned my lesson and in the future, I will book directly!

[annie m]

same with me miis-riss but going through NCL directly does not guarantee anything and they were also alot more money!!

[seahorse]

[quote name='miss-riss']No, I have not had any luck with contacting NCL directly. I have read several posts stating that they are no longer accepting the calls regarding upgrades. They are now saying, if we have something we will contact you! My TA is not being very helpful either. Well, I have learned my lesson and in the future, I will book directly![/QUOTE]

Or find a better TA:D

[annie m]

You are right!! But - I got catagory I chase and paid for AF mini so I'm still happy!!

[DJ Dale]

I'm about to take my first NCL cruise and am really excited about it. I have cruise on several other cruise lines.

 

I've been monitoring this board and posting here and there but this topic has me interested. Not because I want to upgrade...I love my guaranteed room and dont want anything different.

 

I went through Travelocity to book my cruise. It was an incredible price. I saved about $500 by booking this way as compared to going directly through NCL and my deal even came with $200 in Target gift cards.

 

What I dont understand is....why would someone want to pay $500 more (and dont get the Target cards) just to have a "chance" to get an upgrade???

 

Please let me know what I am missing here.

[budgetED]

After reading several posts regarding upgrades, I called NCL Reaccomadation Desk. As posted here previously, they do not take calls for upgrade requests. They "will call you" as upgrades become available. Apparently they use the sailing manifest to determine who gets called first. Among the criteria they use as to who gets called first is:

- Who paid the most for their rooms

- Are you a Latitudes Member

They call passengers in order of "the list." Every Monday they get a new "grid" designating a limited number of rooms available for upgrades. Sounds to me like it would be difficult to upgrade.

[flowerchild]

Does anybody know if the info on this thread is still valid?

[BLONDIE35]

what is the big difference with all of the upgrades? I have a categoryBB balcony so what would be next on the upgrade list and why would I want it? and how much would be a good price??? sailing the Star May 5 so its getting close and may be empty since its soo early to sail to Alaska.

:confused: :o

[electricron]

Just adding a little so others will not get confused.

 

Upgrade > Always FREE, usually given to those who book with a guarantee (GTY)

Upsell > Always with a CHARGE, to those lucky enough to get a call from the upsell fairy.

 

While just about everyone on this thread lately have been using the word Upgrade, they are actually discussing the an Upsell.

[cruisingfromMN]

what is the big difference with all of the upgrades? I have a categoryBB balcony so what would be next on the upgrade list and why would I want it? and how much would be a good price??? sailing the Star May 5 so its getting close and may be empty since its soo early to sail to Alaska.

:confused: :o

 

The upsell would be something higher than a BB. Could be a better location but it could be a better room, like a Mini-Suite or better yet, penthouse. So that's why you would want it, if you are willing to pay for it. Chances are they have already started working on upsells for your May 5th sailing.

[flowerchild]

Blondie, what we are talking about are UPSELLS, which basically means that close to the sailing date, NCL will try to fill the empty higher class rooms for a discounted price...I just upgraded from a BD on the 8th floor to a mini suite on the 11th for only $78 pp more. The mini is a bigger cabin, has a bigger balcony, a larger bathroom w/ a tub and some other amenities, like concierge service. NCL will make an offer of so many $$ for the upgrade and you can decide to take it or not. For you in a BB, the next grade up would be a BA. It is the same size but may be on a higher floor or a better location, like forward or aft. If your cabin is already located on the starboard or port sides of the ship, why don't you check to see if the mini suites are comparatively priced? If you are in an aft or forward cabin, I would probably stick with what I already have.

[daveco58]

You all realize, dont you, that UPGRADES are what people get, when they are too smart to fall for UPSELLS? If there are that many cabins available, and they cant UPSELL them, then they start UPGRADEing people.

 

first they ask, would you like fries with that? and if nobody buys the fries, they give them away, rather than throw them away.

 

and all y'all falling for the UPSELL are degrading my chances of an UPGRADE

[wallaby20]

:cool:

You need to call the reaccomadation desk ( the 800 number was listed above)

give them your reservation number and ask them if there are any upsales available on your cruise and see what they offer. Sometimes when you give them a counter, they will check with a supervisor. It all depends on supply and demand and what you want to pay. Good luck!

Do they have a direct phone number as we will be calling from Austrlia.

[beachchick]

Does anybody know if the info on this thread is still valid?

 

Just so there's no disappointment: No, this thread is not valid because the Upsell Dept no longer accepts any incoming calls requesting upsells (either from pax or from TAs). One of the main reasons was this is a teeny, tiny department with basically one person handling all upsells for a particular ship and then a few "extra" people to handle some of the last minute offers. The department was being inundated with pax calling in daily (or even more often) and starting months before their cruise date to ask/beg/plead for an upsell. The department simply couldn't handle the volume of calls, so the PTB said, "Enough! We are going to a 'don't call us, we might call you' system of upsells." (Some of the worst offenders were members of our very own forums, who learned about upsells here. A few of our NCL veterans kept warning everyone not to abuse the system, but it didn't help because the calls kept increasing and now we've lost the privilege.):(

 

One of the other reasons was that many, many pax (long-time NCL cruisers as well as new cruisers who found the information here or on other sites) were specifically booking categories that were far lower than what they wanted. Then, they would start in with the calls to upsell hoping for, and often expecting, a cheap upsell fare. The Revenue Department was not happy.

 

Now, the rhyme and reason of upsells is known to few. Mostly, it's going to be to try to move pax up into higher, open categories from lower categories which the cruise line feels it will be able to re-sell for a new booking. It just depends on how the cruise is selling and what categories they want to free up.

 

Some people continue to insist that we should all just call in anyway. Please don't because they do take a note of who calls (especially if you call often) and they may be (and have been) instructed to not offer an upsell, even if one becomes available. It really is possible to get yourself on the "s" list with them. (I got all this information from someone who works with, but not in, the Upsell Department.)

 

So, keep fingers crossed and think happy thoughts and who knows, you might just get a call for an upsell at a great price.:D

 

beachchick

[beachchick]

You all realize, dont you, that UPGRADES are what people get, when they are too smart to fall for UPSELLS? If there are that many cabins available, and they cant UPSELL them, then they start UPGRADEing people.

 

first they ask, would you like fries with that? and if nobody buys the fries, they give them away, rather than throw them away.

 

and all y'all falling for the UPSELL are degrading my chances of an UPGRADE

 

Actually, that's really not the standard for NCL. They are far more likely to simply lower the fare for the available cabins. And the fact is that there are many, many pax who are happy to pay a small price to upsell to something terrific.

 

No one is "degrading" your chances of a free upgrade. Those are few and far between in any case. (And honestly, I wouldn't care even if we are hurting your personal chances of a free upgrade. I'd rather have it go to me than you. Just human nature. If I pay $100 to upsell, so be it.)

 

If you want a higher category, book it.

 

beachchick

[watchdiva]

We've chosen to cruise only 1 x a year and go "all out" rather than do several cruises yearly. We always book the category we are happy to be in (AF and above) and then, if we get an upsell offer we're happy but if not, we're still happy:D .

 

Dawn - AF to AB

Pearl - AB to A3

 

I don't see how my upsells hurt anyone's upgrades - everything depends upon what inventory (cabin category) NCL wants to open up and what's available above that cabin they can "upsell" to. Pretty much a domino effect. I upsold AB to A3, one of my fellow roll call members got my AB, another person got his AF and so on down the line.

 

Book the category you'll be the happiest in............and then if the upsell fairy calls it's a bonus!

[daveco58]

I guess I need my friend, Captain Obvious, to help me out here. Sometimes my sarcasm is too subtle. Guess I should have said you are hurting your own chances for a free upgrade.

If they cant get you (or someone else) to pay for an upsell stateroom, then, in the normal course of cruiseline business, they will give it to someone as an upgrade. The object either way is to free up lower priced cabins for marketing purposes, in undersold cruises. Upselling, they get a little extra money. Upgrading they only get good will from grateful passengers, which is okay, but obviously not quite as good as getting good will and money. What they WONT do, is sail with empty suites and balconies if at all possible.

Nothing wrong with paying a little extra to nail down the better cabin, rather than keeping your fingers crossed for the upgrade.

For my own self, I get the cabin I want (and that fits my budget), and do my negotiating upfront. My choices are more limited than most peoples by my brothers need for a wheelchair accessible cabin. Category Guarantees dont work for me. So, I have only once been upgraded.

But, for instance, on the PoH, I negotiated a 549pp price (lowest inside) for an II cabin, currently selling for 830pp or so. Which, if you want to look at it that way, would be a nine category upgrade.

[crimmj]

Oops - typed before I finished reading......

[flowerchild]

I figured I would try to call the upsell desk just to feel the situation out. The number at the begining of this thread is still correct. I had a conversation with the person that answered the phone and she basincally told me that they are not accepting ANY INCOMING INFORMATION from either passengers or TAs. She said that upsells are selected randomly, but then disclosed that they DO go to Latitudes passengers first. I would imagine they also go to the people that paid the most for thier cabins, too.

 

She did mention that if I had a TA, that the TA would get the email and/or call...she also suggested that I mention that I want the upsell to ,my TA and for the TA to be looking for the upsell offers, which they very often to do not relay to the passengers.

 

Oh well, I basically got nowhere, but I had to try! Am keeping my fingers crossed for the AE upgade!

[jsaadat]

DITTO !!! :confused:

[TJ Monks]

Watchdiva...

Dawn - AF to AB

Pearl - AB to A3

I'm in AB on Pearl for a 1-nighter. May I ask what you paid for the AB to A3 and how many nights ? I'm trying to get an idea what the Upsell fairy could ask for the 1-nighter AB to A3, AA, A2, etc... Thanks to all.