Upgrades

[shadow2252]

I am currently on a guarantee veranda list for my cruise on the 5th of Nov... I was just sent a Penthouse Suite Opportunity (what they called it)... should I go for it.. It is not for that cruise it is for 4 other ones they list on my e-mail.. anyone else out there every had one of these sent to them... did you take them up on their offer.. I am very tempted right now.... Thanks

[JimandStan]

I am currently on a guarantee veranda list for my cruise on the 5th of Nov... I was just sent a Penthouse Suite Opportunity (what they called it)... should I go for it.. It is not for that cruise it is for 4 other ones they list on my e-mail.. anyone else out there every had one of these sent to them... did you take them up on their offer.. I am very tempted right now.... Thanks

 

If there is any way that you can swing it financially, you owe it to yourself to sail in a Penthouse at least once in your life, they are HEAVEN

Be careful though, they are ADDICTIVE. :eek:

[potterhill]

We have switched cruises and had our room upgraded twice now. It is a wonderful opportunity if you can do it. We are not retired so it can be difficult to flip the schedules around.

 

In fact we leave in two weeks for our second one.....the trick is to book a cruise that is popular. Sometimes there are no rhymes or reasons why one sailing is sold out and others are languishing. Just the luck of the draw.

 

Mo

[gillianrose]

I am currently on a guarantee veranda list for my cruise on the 5th of Nov... I was just sent a Penthouse Suite Opportunity (what they called it)... should I go for it.. It is not for that cruise it is for 4 other ones they list on my e-mail.. anyone else out there every had one of these sent to them... did you take them up on their offer.. I am very tempted right now.... Thanks

 

Would you mind telling us which are the other voyages they offered you?

 

Are the other voyages something you considered and would be happy taking or is the itinerary you have already something you are thrilled to be doing?

[LHT28]

If it is an itinerary you want & the price is right go for it or wait and see if you get a cabin for the cruise you booked

 

Do not wait too long offers go very quickly

[Mura]

Just chiming in ...

 

We had a similar offer last summer to leave our Alaska cruise on Regatta. We were in a PH on Regatta, and O would bump us up to a Vista for no extra cost. We had a choice of three cruises and opted for the one on Marina (since we had been wanting to try the then-new ship anyway). So we had a Vista on a Med cruise for what we paid for a PH in Alaska, which worked out to HALF price.

 

We thought it was a great deal and didn't regret it, especially since we were told that rain was constant in Alaska last August!

 

But you DO have to act quickly (as you have been told, and by the time I am writing it may be too late) ... find an itinerary you like and go for it.

 

And if there isn't an itinerary that you consider at least equal to the one you are giving up -- then don't do it.

 

Mura

[wallen]

Everybody is saying "decide quickly", but we'd recommend just the opposite. They offered us a switch off of a popular cruise where most of the categories were showing as wait listed and we declined. A week later they upped the offer, getting us onto a better cruise in a better room with a $1000 rebate! That one we couldn't resist!

[shadow2252]

Well we did it... I took the upgrade I was originally on the Nov sailing a 12 day and changed to the 15 day Land of Time on the 27 of Sept.. I was given a PH1 for the same price as a guarantee Veranda... almost the same ports but three more days...

[globevest]

Congrats. Good choice.

[Mura]

Everybody is saying "decide quickly", but we'd recommend just the opposite. They offered us a switch off of a popular cruise where most of the categories were showing as wait listed and we declined. A week later they upped the offer, getting us onto a better cruise in a better room with a $1000 rebate! That one we couldn't resist!

 

If you want to wait for a better price, then yes I would agree -- wait. But be aware that it may not come through.

 

If you really want it and the price is right, then grab it.

 

When we jumped at the chance to upgrade to a VS from a PH by switching from an Alaska cruise on Regatta to a Med cruise on Marina it turned out that we could indeed have waited. VS cabins were still available for quite a while because that cruise did not sell o0ut until shortly before the departure date.

 

At the time the cruise we selected (Rome-Istanbul) remained very much undersold, and since there are more VS accommodations on Marina than there are on the "R" ships space continued to be available. Maybe if we'd waited we'd have gotten a better deal, but as it was we were paying for the VS on Marina what we had paid for the PH on Regatta (a 50% discount), and we were happy with the deal.

 

If you have an offer for a VS or OS on an "R" ship, the odds are you cannot wait for a better deal. If you are offered a PH or lower on any ship, you probably can -- as long as you don't mind risking the loss of the offer.

 

It's a matter of deciding what you are willing to pay for. When I had a chance for an upsell to an OS on Regatta back in 2005 for $1,000pp (from a PH) I grabbed it. Had I known I was going to blow out my knee the day before boarding and really NEED that OS, I'd have paid ANY amount.

 

So I guess it pays to figure out in advance what you are willing to pay for an upsell, depending on the category.

 

Mura