edmusic Posted December 20, 2011 #1 Share Posted December 20, 2011 To make a long story short, I have a HAL certificate good for a seven day cruise to Mexico, Alaska, Caribbean, or New England/Canada. The certificate provides an ocean view cabin for two people. DW and I have only had verandas on our past three cruises and are somewhat accustomed to that. I can pay $200 per person extra to be given a VH guarantee. My question is: If I stay with the ocean view cabin, will there be a chance we can be visited by the upgrade faerie and bumped up to a verandah cabin? Does anyone have experience in this matter? Thanks in advance for all your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Flyer Posted December 20, 2011 #2 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Can't say for sure but it happened to us aboard the Eurodam Eastern Caribbean. Booked a DD cabin on the main deck and got upgraded at the pier to a V cabin on the navigation deck.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krazy Kruizers Posted December 20, 2011 #3 Share Posted December 20, 2011 It is hard to judge how the upgrade fairy will work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamrag Posted December 20, 2011 #4 Share Posted December 20, 2011 To make a long story short, I have a HAL certificate good for a seven day cruise to Mexico, Alaska, Caribbean, or New England/Canada. The certificate provides an ocean view cabin for two people. DW and I have only had verandas on our past three cruises and are somewhat accustomed to that. I can pay $200 per person extra to be given a VH guarantee. My question is: If I stay with the ocean view cabin, will there be a chance we can be visited by the upgrade faerie and bumped up to a verandah cabin? Does anyone have experience in this matter? Thanks in advance for all your help. It is highly unlikely, but not impossible. It is much more usual for upgrades to be given up to the highest grade within category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtl513 Posted December 20, 2011 #5 Share Posted December 20, 2011 It happened to us - we went from an H to a V - but it is very rare. If that certificate you hold is free (like a bingo prize for example) then the chance for a veranda is essentially zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catl331 Posted December 20, 2011 #6 Share Posted December 20, 2011 It also depends on where and when you are going. Alaskan cruises during the summer are usually fully booked. Cruises between Thanksgiving and Xmas have openings. It doesn't matter if you are a long time Mariner either. We met a couple, first-time HAL cruisers who jumped up to a veranda. My husband's brother and wife jumped up to veranda with us on a Med. cruise. I think the Upgrade Fairy just spins a wheel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz chic Posted December 20, 2011 #7 Share Posted December 20, 2011 It also depends on where and when you are going. Alaskan cruises during the summer are usually fully booked. Cruises between Thanksgiving and Xmas have openings. It doesn't matter if you are a long time Mariner either. We met a couple, first-time HAL cruisers who jumped up to a veranda. My husband's brother and wife jumped up to veranda with us on a Med. cruise. I think the Upgrade Fairy just spins a wheel! I think newbies are way more likely to get really good upgrades even though someone is sure to say it's not true. I've found that to be true on Princess as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliaschief Posted December 20, 2011 #8 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Just went from a SC guarantee to a SA on our upcoming cruise so yes, there is always a possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Ellen Posted December 20, 2011 #9 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Just went from a SC guarantee to a SA on our upcoming cruise so yes, there is always a possibility. That's a deluxe suite to a deluxe suite. You didn't change categories as the OP is hoping to do. OP - if you want the verandah, I'd suggest paying the extra $200. While I've known of an outside to verandah upgrade to happen, I sure wouldn't bet a vacation on it if it is important to you. From what I've been told, one of the factors that comes into play for the upgrade fairy is how much one pays for their original cabin. If that is so, you'd probably be at the bottom of the upgrade list. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sapete Posted December 20, 2011 #10 Share Posted December 20, 2011 On our first HAL cruise we were upgraded from a Superior Suite guarantee to an SC aft corner cabin on the Oosterdam. Got us hooked on the SC aft corners and we have one booked for May. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMLincoln Posted December 20, 2011 #11 Share Posted December 20, 2011 We had a C category guarantee and got a C category room, which we enjoyed a lot.... but no upgrade to a balcony, which probably would have been a steel rail, windy, small balcony that no balcony customer would have wanted, but I'd have liked to have tried it:) m-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmoo here Posted December 20, 2011 #12 Share Posted December 20, 2011 We got a G to VB upgrade on our Alaska cruise. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edmusic Posted December 20, 2011 Author #13 Share Posted December 20, 2011 If that certificate you hold is free (like a bingo prize for example) then the chance for a veranda is essentially zero.Well..........the certificate was purchased by a non-profit organization to be used as a raffle prize at their annual fundraiser and I won the raffle! The non-profit paid $1000 to HAL for the certificate so it's not like the freebie given out at the onboard Bingo games. As fate would have it, I won the exact same raffle last year at the same fundraiser (I was the most hated person in the room last month because I won it again and it was the same group of folks in attendance :D). For the first freebie, I paid for a VH guarantee ($400 for DW and I) and we were upgraded to category V on the 8th deck, Navigation, on the Nieuw Amsterdam to the Western Caribbean. DW and I have pretty much settled on the 7 day Alaska RT from Seattle on June 10th aboard the Ooosterdam. While we prefer a balcony, I was thinking of rolling the dice and see if we can get visited by the upgrade faerie to a Verandah. But as was said earlier, I probably don't want to risk my vacation on a 'chance' and not get it, especially for the spectacular views that balconies afford in Alaska. I'm not trying to be cheap, but $400 is $400 plus I have to pay for airfare and excursions. I'm pretty sure I'll be paying the extra and hope for a same category upgrade in the Verandahs. After going must of my life never winning anything, I'm now two for two with HAL cruises! BTW, I bought 5 tickets at $20 each and there were about 200 tickets sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinjudy Posted December 20, 2011 #14 Share Posted December 20, 2011 We were upgraded from a CA guarantee on Maasdam to a Balcony last summer, but it doesn't happen often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KirkNC Posted December 20, 2011 #15 Share Posted December 20, 2011 An awful lot of "upgrades" reported here or are they "upsells"..I have found upgrades to be very rare, upsells much more common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmoo here Posted December 20, 2011 #16 Share Posted December 20, 2011 An awful lot of "upgrades" reported here or are they "upsells"..I have found upgrades to be very rare, upsells much more common. Ours was an upgrade. We found out about it 2 days before we cruised. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising-along Posted December 21, 2011 #17 Share Posted December 21, 2011 We have had two upgrades (not upsells) that jumped categories. Once from an outside to a "SY" and once from an outside to a regular verandah. No, it doesn't happen often, at least not jumping categories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisinjudy Posted December 21, 2011 #18 Share Posted December 21, 2011 An awful lot of "upgrades" reported here or are they "upsells"..I have found upgrades to be very rare, upsells much more common. Ours was an upgrade. My TA let me know about it, no money involved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riversedge Posted December 21, 2011 #19 Share Posted December 21, 2011 If you are going to Alaska I wouldn't even hesitate. Pay the $200 each and guarantee yourself a balcony. It's till a very cheap cruise. You will LOVE your balcony. I would never go to Alaska any other way. Congratulations on your winnings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrackersAndCheese Posted December 21, 2011 #20 Share Posted December 21, 2011 On a Mediterranean cruise in July on the Noordam, we were upgraded from a VA guarantee (Deluxe Verandah Ocean View) to an SS (Superior Verandah Suite). It was our first cruise with Holland America. We weren't even told of our cabin number until embarkation. We were very much spoiled and of course now we'll always book a guarantee (in a category we'd be fine with) with hopes for an upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1cruiselvr Posted December 21, 2011 #21 Share Posted December 21, 2011 I think newbies are way more likely to get really good upgrades even though someone is sure to say it's not true. I've found that to be true on Princess as well. So not true. Gotten many a free upgrade and I'm a 3-star mariner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerryl12 Posted December 22, 2011 #22 Share Posted December 22, 2011 An upgrade is slightly possible but highly unlikely. To us a balcony makes no real difference on an Alaskan cruise, we have taken an inside and an ocean view and realy didn't miss a balcony. Now, a Caribbean cruise is different where the air is toasty warm and you can sit outside day or night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz chic Posted December 22, 2011 #23 Share Posted December 22, 2011 So not true. Gotten many a free upgrade and I'm a 3-star mariner. ...but you must understand that doesn't happen to everyone. Please read my post again. I said newbies are more likely....not that it doesn't happen to higher star mariners. I've had upgrades too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andeesue Posted December 22, 2011 #24 Share Posted December 22, 2011 We got a G to VB upgrade on our Alaska cruise. :) Wow! That was a great upgrade! You must have been jubilant!:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1cruiselvr Posted January 3, 2012 #25 Share Posted January 3, 2012 ...but you must understand that doesn't happen to everyone. Please read my post again. I said newbies are more likely....not that it doesn't happen to higher star mariners. I've had upgrades too. And unless you have inside information, your statement is really an opinion and should be stated as such and not worded like it's a known fact. Nobody knows how the CL assigns upgrades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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