Upsell Fairy Paid Us A Visit

[Sprocket]

We are booked on the Ryndam Pacific Coastal leaving San Diego on May 5th for Vancouver. Yesterday when I was at work, our PCC called and offered us a great deal to upgrade from our guarantee Cat K to a balcony. We even got to choose which cabin we wanted which surprised me.

It will be nice to have a balcony again........

[maxout]

Nice! :D

 

 

She has done you well...

 

 

[canadianbear]

Don't you just love having days like that! Enjoy your trip.:)

[fridayeyes]

Hi, Sprocket,

 

We're on the same cruise and the fairy swung by us as well. We went from a G (ocean view) guarantee to a BC (verandah) guarantee for a price we couldn't refuse. I called the fairy back to see if there was an offer for an S-suite but no word yet.

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

[Sprocket]

Hi, Sprocket,

 

We're on the same cruise and the fairy swung by us as well. We went from a G (ocean view) guarantee to a BC (verandah) guarantee for a price we couldn't refuse. I called the fairy back to see if there was an offer for an S-suite but no word yet.

 

Cheers,

 

Friday

 

Happy to hear you got a deal as well:) I did ask when she called if they were offering any S upsells but I was told they were sold out. Maybe something will come thru for you though. Only 2 weeks to go!

[fsdj1097]

We were able to catch one of those upsells to a Suite last year on our Amsterdam cruise to Alaska....it was sweet, indeed!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Congratulations on doing an upsell.

 

Enjoy!!

[ldog]

Congrats. I'm very jealous... we've never been offered an upsell or upgrade.

[sahara1]

Any upsells or cabin assignments on the June 7 sailing from Amsterdam?

[fridayeyes]

Just FYI - we ended up in a BQ Spa Suite. We are both Mariners (2 stars, shooting for 3) and my suite-mate is an avid user of the spa services. I wonder if that influenced our assignment?

[Sprocket]

Good for you Friday Eyes! When my PCC told me I had my choice of available B's I never even thought to ask about the BQ's, but we are thrilled with our choice, and who knows we may get a pier upgrade. :D

Last time I checked the roll call was still dead for our sailing, but maybe we'll run into you on the ship.

[Annily]

Hi...sorry.....basically a newbie here having only done the one cruise. How does one know or find out what Q`s or BQ`s or S`s or any other of the letters mean please?

 

Also wondering if those "Fairies" appear once you are a Mariner?

 

Thanks so much in advance for knowing these things!

[fridayeyes]

Hi, Annily!

 

The letters are cabin categories. You can see what they mean by going to the HAL website and taking a look at the different kinds of cabins, then looking at the deck plan. Within a single cabin type (e.g. inside, ocean view, verandah, etc.) certain decks or certain locations are considered to be preferable. So an inside cabin that is midship and higher up is technically an upgrade from an inside cabin on the lowest deck in the very back of the ship. This gives you the breakdown in the letters (BA, BC, etc). The spa cabins all have a Q after them. In general, the closer you are to A, the higher category you have up until you get to the Deluxe Suites. Those start with S, or PS for the Penthouse.

 

We started with a category G guarantee - minimum ocean-view. We paid for an upgrade to the lowest balcony cabin (BC) and we ended up in a spa balcony cabin (BQ). I've never sailed in the spa cabins, but I believe that's considered a further upgrade from the BCs.

 

I've seen first timers get nice upgrades, so I think it's luck of the draw plus ship capacity as far as who gets one. Once we were tagged for an upsell, however, I wouldn't be surprised if HAL's computers crunched my companion's spa predilection and sent us to that section on purpose. Could be completely wrong, of course!

 

Happy sailing!

[Annily]

Thanks fridayeyes!!

 

We did end up being lucky enough to get an upgrade on the trip we took last month. I had won it though and was not really clear on what the agent told us we would have. I know she said it was "guaranteed" and could get upgraded ...but to be honest I didn't understand how one gets that when booking on their own. I knew we had paid extra for the verandah but thought it was to be at the back, about 4 levels down from the top... so was completely floored when we found our room. It was on the Port side, about 6 back from the front and on the 2nd highest level.

 

I counted ourselves as so extremely lucky...but now havta learn how to figure out how to try and do it again!! ;)

 

Being on here certainly helps. Thanks again!!

[rafinmd]

Hi, Annily!

 

So an inside cabin that is midship and higher up is technically an upgrade from an inside cabin on the lowest deck in the very back of the ship.

Happy sailing!

 

I can see the logic of higher up being an upgrade for outside cabins since there would presumably be a better view but I don't understand why it would be an upgrade for an inside cabin. Seems like the smoothest ride is midships and low.

[fridayeyes]

I can see the logic of higher up being an upgrade for outside cabins since there would presumably be a better view but I don't understand why it would be an upgrade for an inside cabin. Seems like the smoothest ride is midships and low.

 

Yes, I agree with you about the smoothest ride. I think the notion that higher is better is a holdover from the glory days of the passenger liners. Steerage was low and inside, and people still talk about 'foul ball' cabins - low and inside.

 

My ideal cabin - when I can afford it - is an aft balcony.

 

Cheers,

 

Karen

[moondoggie]

We booked an inside guarantee, because we are OK with any cabin. That being said, we would love to be upgraded/upsold. Any way I should indicate that, or just wait till closer to cruise time (december 3)? We're doing a 14 day BTB, and woudl love a balcony. What kind of upsell costs do they offer?

Thanks, all!

[scamper]

We booked an inside guarantee, because we are OK with any cabin. That being said, we would love to be upgraded/upsold. Any way I should indicate that, or just wait till closer to cruise time (december 3)? We're doing a 14 day BTB, and woudl love a balcony. What kind of upsell costs do they offer?

Thanks, all!

 

A guarantee means that you will at least get the "minimum" cabin in that category. By not choosing a specific room number you increase your chances of an upsell offer or an upgrade. The difference in fares for the upsell vary.

[fridayeyes]

Our cost to go from ocean view guarantee to verandah guarantee was about $20 per person, per night.