It would be nice, for once, to be offered an upgrade

[racepoint]

Have a Bermuda cruise booked and we sail in 6 weeks. This will be our 7th cruise in a span of 15 years and it occurred to me today that we've never received a free upgrade or a call for an upsell. Ever. Is this typical?? Is there still a chance we could get "that call" or should I give up that thought ???

[Pikaia]

Did you book directly with NCL or with a TA? If you booked with NCL, call your PCC and hint to him/her that you would welcome an upsell call. If you booked with a TA, call and tell him/her the same thing. Then cross your fingers and hold your breath until the sailing date. :p

 

Good luck!

[Sauer-kraut]

Upsell and Upgrade are two different animals..... ;)

[Nalagh]

Upsell and Upgrade are two different animals..... ;)

 

True, but I would jump on either!:D

[aamiee]

been on 10 cruises in the past 4 years we never get the upsell/upgrade either :(

[cliffd64]

The trick to receiving an upsell call is to be booked in a category for which there are many guarantee's being sold and few available cabins... essentially making your cabin in greater demand than the categories above you. When this happens, it is more likely that you might get a call for an upsell.

 

In 27 cruises I have maybe received 2 unsolicited upsells, most of the time I arrange my own upsells by watching prices and jumping when there is a bargain to be had on a higher category.

[rvsullivan]

When you consider that about 15,000 or more folks a week sail on just NCL, and we see postings about 3 times a week from upsell folks, you can guess the odds are very small. I think if you are in a room that is in high demand, i.e., aft suite for example, your odds could be a little better. Folks in inside or ocean view staterooms I think have very small odds. Upgrades can be a little different, you can call anytime and upgrade your room if one is available. You just have to pay the difference in price. Because CC users routinely post when they get an upsell, it appears to happen all the time. Very few get the "call".

Best bet is to book what makes you happy and shop for the best price when you do.

[Fishbait17]

Most of my sailings were booked through CAS, so ineligible for upsells a lot of the time. But I have sailed five cruises eligible for upsell, and out of those I have received one upsell call. That upsell came at a ridiculous price - IIRC, to upgrade from an old "AC" suite to a Haven suite they wanted $1500 per person - not much of a deal and only slightly less than the price difference at the time (I think the difference was somewhere around $1700 pp).

 

Robin

[AlbertaCruisers]

Have a Bermuda cruise booked and we sail in 6 weeks. This will be our 7th cruise in a span of 15 years and it occurred to me today that we've never received a free upgrade or a call for an upsell. Ever. Is this typical?? Is there still a chance we could get "that call" or should I give up that thought ???

 

We have never received a free upgrade or a call for an upsell either. Although it may sound common on these boards, I really don't think it is. I book a lower level category at a price I am satisfied with and then watch prices, and if a sailing isn't selling well sometimes you can get a higher category room for the same price, etc., but only if you see it and call and ask.

[knitlady037]

I recently did just that. Had a sf ph suite booked and I watched prices daily. When the price of the DOS lowered enough I called and switched cabins for no additional charge. Twice the room plus liquor and soda and water included!

[cliffd64]

I recently did just that. Had a sf ph suite booked and I watched prices daily. When the price of the DOS lowered enough I called and switched cabins for no additional charge. Twice the room plus liquor and soda and water included!

 

That's the way to get it done!

[gra2172]

I got an upsell from an inside to a balcony for my last cruise to Hawaii. That was pretty sweet. :D

 

That was my 3rd NCL cruise, so Im not complaining. It really made me feel like NCL thought of me. Of course I was just a number, but still...

[slotaddict]

I have been a customer of NCL for 12 years, I have just went on my 10th cruise and have never been offered an upgrade or upsell...It is what it is I guess...

[DCT61]

On our first NORWEGIAN DAWN cruise, we were upgraded (no cost) from a minisuite to a penthouse suite (9502). The downside is that we've never been able to go back to a regular room after experiencing NCL suite treatment. Gee, thanks NCL.

[Redheel Girl]

I have had three up-sells. Twice on a Pearl Cruise. They called my TA about two weeks before the Cruise and they offered me a Penthouse with two Bedrooms and I had a Mini Suite. I took it of course. Then the Up-Sell Fairy called one week before we were to leave and they offered my TA the Owners Suite that has two Balconey's. It was to die for. My last Cruise to Panama I was offered a Forward Penthouse and for the Canal Cruise it was the Best.:D:D:D

[Starry Eyes]

Let's assume there are about 1000 cabins on each of the ship's you have sailed. Nearly everyone would be happy to be offered a free upgrade or cheap upsell. Only a few upper level cabins are unsold on a given cruise. so your odds of being the one to get the call are low.

 

I do watch prices on my cruises. If the price of a better cabin drops to a price I like, I call, credit card in hand, and ask to pay for an upgrade. If the prices do not fall to a level that appeals to me, I stay put. That works like a charm.

[Carnac767]

As I think others have already mentioned, upsells are usually offered to pax booked in cabins NCL thinks they can rebook quickly, such as aft balconies and minis, and penthouses. Those are popular locations. I was offered a GV for my aft-mini on a Jade Med Cruise and a DOS for my 2-BR family penthouse on a Jewel Canada cruise. The first was for $1100 more and the latter was $900. I turned down the DOS because I like the AB (or whatever it's called now) better.

 

I've also been seeing posts that claim that NCL is no longer offering Haven upsells, because the people who've paid full price have their knickers in a twist that they're rubbing elbows with people who got a better deal.

[sugarking]

What is CAS?

[Fishbait17]

What is CAS?

 

Casinos At Sea - NCL's casino points program.

http://www2.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/casinos-at-sea/overview

 

Robin

[Budget Queen]

I have 27 cruises with NCL, 74 total. One time I got an inside/balcony upgrade, got a few inside/outside upgrades. Couldn't care less. :) The cabin means little to me, what is outside the ship, does.

 

Having that cheap cabin to begin with is all I care about, and the ability to sail 4-5 times per year. :)

[GSLMOM]

I, too, would love an upsell/upgrade call. I will be going on my 6th cruise with NCL this summer - not that many compared to some. We were actually booked on a Royal Caribbean cruise but my kids did not want to go on anything but NCL!! I do book a room that I want and will be happy with -- but any cabin is better than no cruise at all!

[WildcatRock]

I hate to admit this, but we've been on three cruises and have received calls from the "Up-sale Fairy" for every cruise. The reason I believe is that we love the Aft Penthouse (SF) and have been told by our PCC that the SF's are among the most popular rooms on the ship. You can see on our upcoming cruises listed below that we book our SF over a year in advance - and have to do so if we want one of those rooms since they're so popular.

 

We've never booked a cruise expecting a call from the "Up-sale Fairy" and have only accepted one up-sale - the 2010 cruise where went from an SF to the GV. Holy cow was that incredible.

 

The best advice is to book the room you want, and will be happy with, and if you get the call, great; if not, enjoy the cruise.

[michmstr]

We are on the Epic in a week (family balcony mini-suite) and got the "upsell" call yesterday. Unfortunately it was nothing free and we had to say no. They were offering a move to a 2-bedroom Haven suite for $2000.00. I guess if we paid full price it would have cost $6,000.00 more. But an extra 2K was not in our budget. They wouldn't come down on the price. I asked for something less expensive, like a cabin with just a little more room, but they said the ship was sold out other than the suites.

 

If you are really interested in getting a deal on a suite, I would try calling yourself. There is an upsell department, try asking for that.

[DMH15]

We are on the Epic in a week (family balcony mini-suite) and got the "upsell" call yesterday. Unfortunately it was nothing free and we had to say no. They were offering a move to a 2-bedroom Haven suite for $2000.00. I guess if we paid full price it would have cost $6,000.00 more. But an extra 2K was not in our budget. They wouldn't come down on the price. I asked for something less expensive, like a cabin with just a little more room, but they said the ship was sold out other than the suites.

 

If you are really interested in getting a deal on a suite, I would try calling yourself. There is an upsell department, try asking for that.

Actually NCL prefers to initiate the call. They know what cabins they need to move and which combination works.

 

As others have said upsells are rare.

[suometar]

We got upsells on our last two cruises, from aft balcony to aft penthouse for our Western Caribbean cruise, and before that from the same aft balcony to a haven suite (sweet!) for our Alaska cruise. Have booked the same magic balcony for our cruise this coming Saturday, but it seems that the upsell fairy does not strike three times in a row :( (On the other hand, we'll inally get to stay in that often booked balcony cabin ...)