Upgrades

[scott mencer]

Has anybody ever got a decent upgrade when booking a guaranteed room through Princess?

[Toto2Kansas]

Sure lots of passengers have. And some of us have gotten great upgrades when booking an assigned stateroom also. It's just all the luck of the computer draw as to who receives them and who doesn't. Good Luck though!

[janina]

Yes several times...but it is just the luck of the draw. I've also not been upgraded many times.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes but not guaranteed. :D

[Rob & Beckys mom]

Yes! We were upgraded to a BA catagory from a BG and i must say this is the best balcony cabin ever. We are in C614 & the balcony has 4 chairs & a table, but could easily fit in 2 more chairs ... & the shower is somehow configured so that it is bigger than the regular balcony cabin showers. I can shave my legs!! Would book this cabin again for sure.

 

Jan in Michigan

[awhcruiser]

A true upgrade is from inside to outside, balcony to mini suite, etc...

[rdsqrl]

Yes, Cat. D oceanview guarantee to minisuite.

I have to mention that every now and then just to torture people . . . I'm a bad, bad person.

Anyway, good luck; hopefully the Fickle Finger of Fate will point kindly at you (using only the index, ring, or pinky finger, of course).

[btrojanoski]

Nineteen Princess cruises so far. Have booked Insides, Obstructed OV's, OV's, and Balcony's...have not booked a mini or full suite. Not one upgrade yet...even within same category...go figure.

 

Barry

[lovevacadays]

Yes, obstructed oceanview guarantee to full oceanview on the Plaza deck this past February on the Sapphire Princess. Also, not a guarantee but received an upgrade from an Aloha deck balcony to a Dolphin deck mini-suite in 2008 on the Sapphire Princess.

 

Best of luck:):):)

[wilfros]

Couple of weeks ago we received an upgrade from BF (balcony cabin guarantee) to BA (balcony cabin on Caribe Deck with larger balcony).

 

It sure feels like an upgrade to me! And I'm still in the same catagory. Thanks to Princess for thinking of us, we really do appreciate it even though we don't understand the reasoning behind their choice.

 

We are looking forward to the larger balcony and the central location.

[lovevacadays]

Couple of weeks ago we received an upgrade from BF (balcony cabin guarantee) to BA (balcony cabin on Caribe Deck with larger balcony).

 

It sure feels like an upgrade to me! And I'm still in the same catagory. Thanks to Princess for thinking of us, we really do appreciate it even though we don't understand the reasoning behind their choice.

 

We are looking forward to the larger balcony and the central location.

 

That's fantastic and that is a great upgrade because of the wonderful balconies on Caribe deck that are larger than the balconies on Aloha and Baja. Enjoy your cruise on the Sapphire. Is your cruise the 10 day Mexican Riviera cruise?

 

BTW, I love your signature when you explain why you hadn't cruised between 1973 and recently. Those kids and homes can cost!

[CALMOM]

Why and when would they do a free upgrade for a passenger that has an assigned cabin? I can see for the guarantee but not for assigned cabin.

[wilfros]

Is your cruise the 10 day Mexican Riviera cruise?

 

BTW, I love your signature when you explain why you hadn't cruised between 1973 and recently. Those kids and homes can cost!

Sapphire Princess La to Hawaii Round Trip. I just retired and always dreamed of a round the world cruise, but alas... This was the best we could do at the time.

Now I have a dream for the future (perhaps).

Again... Those darn KIDS!! LOL

[Toto2Kansas]

Why and when would they do a free upgrade for a passenger that has an assigned cabin? I can see for the guarantee but not for assigned cabin.

 

It took 25 Princess cruises before we finally received our first real upgrade. We don't book guarantees anymore and haven't in years, as we like to choose where our stateroom will be located....................I will repeat that last sentence to myself over and over again so I remember it for the next time this might happen.

 

Last cruise, this past May, we had booked an assigned AA mini suite. A few days before our cruise we got a call from our travel agent saying we were upgraded to a PH suite, after all this time. Sounds great in theory, but it was the worst PH suite on the ship. I am sure many ask "how bad can a full suite be"? Noise (I mean LOUD NOISE) constantly from above except for a few hours in the middle of the night, as we were underneath a major walkway by the pool, and under the ping pong tables. To the point where sleeping was just something we wished we could do, but we were not going to be doing much of it for the entire week. I would have taken an inside cabin after the second night had one been available............yes it was that horrible.

All upgrades are not great, and some aren't even good upgrades. For us, I will never accept another upgrade unless I throughly research it's location. I will book the cabin I will enjoy, and forget about the upgrade fairy. I couldn't wait to get off the ship so I could go home and get some sleep.

[CALMOM]

It took 25 Princess cruises before we finally received our first real upgrade. We don't book guarantees anymore and haven't in years, as we like to choose where our stateroom will be located....................I will repeat that last sentence to myself over and over again so I remember it for the next time this might happen.

 

Last cruise, this past May, we had booked an assigned AA mini suite. A few days before our cruise we got a call from our travel agent saying we were upgraded to a PH suite, after all this time. Sounds great in theory, but it was the worst PH suite on the ship. I am sure many ask "how bad can a full suite be"? Noise (I mean LOUD NOISE) constantly from above except for a few hours in the middle of the night, as we were underneath a major walkway by the pool, and under the ping pong tables. To the point where sleeping was just something we wished we could do, but we were not going to be doing much of it for the entire week. I would have taken an inside cabin after the second night had one been available............yes it was that horrible.

All upgrades are not great, and some aren't even good upgrades. For us, I will never accept another upgrade unless I throughly research it's location. I will book the cabin I will enjoy, and forget about the upgrade fairy. I couldn't wait to get off the ship so I could go home and get some sleep.

 

How horrible for you to have to experience that misery. I agree, I just book the specific cabin I want and then don't worry about it. I think it is a good strategy for those passengers who book a guarantee for the lowest grade of cabin, they have no where yo go, but up from there.

 

I must have a balcony and I will not be in a forward cabin, therefore, I choose, I pay and I relax :D

[caribill]

Why and when would they do a free upgrade for a passenger that has an assigned cabin? I can see for the guarantee but not for assigned cabin.

 

If you book a specific cabin, you can have it marked "will accept upgrade" or "will not accept upgrade".

 

If marked "will accept upgrade", you may receive one as Princess will give upgrades to categories that are not selling well so they can resell your cabin if it is a category that is demand.

[hansi]

Has anybody ever got a decent upgrade when booking a guaranteed room through Princess?

 

Yes, got one this morning. OK, it was only an inside guarantee, but got a midships cabin on A Deck. No complaints there!

[CALMOM]

If you book a specific cabin, you can have it marked "will accept upgrade" or "will not accept upgrade".

 

If marked "will accept upgrade", you may receive one as Princess will give upgrades to categories that are not selling well so they can resell your cabin if it is a category that is demand.

 

Yes, I always mark, Do Not Upgrade but I don't understand why a passenger would book a particular cabin and then allow upgrade. Why don't they just do a guarantee?

[CALMOM]

Yes, got one this morning. OK, it was only an inside guarantee, but got a midships cabin on A Deck. No complaints there!

 

Congrats! Enjoy your cruise.

[BlueCat1105]

I must have a balcony and I will not be in a forward cabin, therefore, I choose, I pay and I relax :D

 

Why do you feel so strongly about forward cabins? I've never been in one, so please don't think I'm criticizing, but I almost had one for my March cruise, and switched when the furthest aft came available. I have just seen so many people who have that same feeling, and wondered why. I realize the motion thing is a problem for some, but are there other reasons?

[luvtocook]

New to Princess. Do they ALWAYS call and ask before they upgrade you? I've read where people who had marked no upgrades still got them. We're in E728 on Star--GREAT cabin & balcony but would take a full suite if they asked, but like Toto said--gotta know the location FIRST.

[awhcruiser]

I see that cabin is still available on the Emerald for Apr 2011. Hopefully everyone has gotten the heads up.

 

It took 25 Princess cruises before we finally received our first real upgrade. We don't book guarantees anymore and haven't in years, as we like to choose where our stateroom will be located....................I will repeat that last sentence to myself over and over again so I remember it for the next time this might happen.

 

Last cruise, this past May, we had booked an assigned AA mini suite. A few days before our cruise we got a call from our travel agent saying we were upgraded to a PH suite, after all this time. Sounds great in theory, but it was the worst PH suite on the ship. I am sure many ask "how bad can a full suite be"? Noise (I mean LOUD NOISE) constantly from above except for a few hours in the middle of the night, as we were underneath a major walkway by the pool, and under the ping pong tables. To the point where sleeping was just something we wished we could do, but we were not going to be doing much of it for the entire week. I would have taken an inside cabin after the second night had one been available............yes it was that horrible.

All upgrades are not great, and some aren't even good upgrades. For us, I will never accept another upgrade unless I throughly research it's location. I will book the cabin I will enjoy, and forget about the upgrade fairy. I couldn't wait to get off the ship so I could go home and get some sleep.

[tenmile]

We are booked on the Star Princess, sailing in Oct. We booked an E (Partially obstructed) category oceanview guarantee and were upgraded last April to a C Oceanview (2 portholes) on the aft Aloha deck. C is listed as the highest oceanview category, but I'm wondering if we will be disappointed with 2 portholes. This is our first Princess cruise, so we were surprised to receive the upgrade we have. Does anyone know about this cabin--A748?

[Carol_Hill]

There could be issues with excessive wind on a balcony in a forward cabin also.

[TheCrosswordPuzzler]

If you book a specific cabin, you can have it marked "will accept upgrade" or "will not accept upgrade".

 

If marked "will accept upgrade", you may receive one as Princess will give upgrades to categories that are not selling well so they can resell your cabin if it is a category that is demand.

 

We booked our last cruise through an online travel agency and I don't remember getting this option. Of course it may have been there and I didn't see it, but it seemed as if I were required to select a specific cabin.

 

Anyway, we've been really fortunate with the upgrade fairy. I always book a specific cabin (a mini suite)...and twice out of the four cruises we've taken, we've gotten upgraded to a full suite. The first suite was an aft suite, I cannot remember the "class" but it was huge and fabulous and I wish I had the $$ to book it outright every time. The second suite was a PH...and while it was definitely nice, it was, save the bathroom, not that much bigger than a mini. But still nice for the perks.

 

I feel guilty reading about some who have taken many cruises but not received an upgrade..it seems that being a Platinum or Elite customer should give you first "dibs". I'd love, like all of us, to know precisely what goes into the upgrade calculation...but I'm sure the employees are sworn to secrecy in some sort of blood ritual.