Cabin Assignment Timeline w/upgrade fairy

[GulfShoresCruiser]

The upgrade fairy visited today, sort of....Here is the story.

 

Booked 2 inside guarantee cabins mid February for 3/23 Eurodam 7 day EC.

 

The family joke is that cheapo Dad (me) always book "steerage". This is our 5th HAL cruise (2* Mariners). There is no such thing as a bad cabin on a HAL ship and I prefer to spend as little as necessary to get me on the ship.

 

Two weeks after booking, I notice a price drop and called the TA. For $80 per cabin, we could upgrade from inside guarantee to balcony guarantee. I took it.

 

Today (12 days before sailing), the cabin has been assigned as a VA Balcony on the Rotterdam deck!!!!

 

Anyway, just passing along the info and I am sure we will enjoy our balcony digs!!!!

 

I have decided not to tell DW and DD and friend and let that be a surprise at embarkation. They will not believe cheapo Dad got a balcony and I will give all the credit to HAL and the upgrade fairy. And I worry that once they have seen how the other half lives, I might not get them back to "steerage".

 

Smooth sailing to all!

[George C]

great upsell, only problem is you will be spoiled with balconey and will not want the inside room again

[momatibm]

Once they taste the balcony, steerage is out of the question. If you want to make another mistake -- accept the upgrade to a Neptune suite -- even you won't want to go back.

[kazu]

wow, you have done well! very nice indeed.

 

What a great surprise!

[aliaschief]

Yup! Another one bites the dust!:D Congratulations.;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Congratulations!!

You all will be spoiled!!

Enjoy!!

[cruz chic]

Great story. I used to book the insides. I took a balcony for my 50th birthday 2 years ago and that's all I want now. Have a wonderful cruise!

[BumperII]

Great story. I used to book the insides. I took a balcony for my 50th birthday 2 years ago and that's all I want now. Have a wonderful cruise!

 

We just booked our first balcony cruises after thirty cruises booking inside cabins. (The IRA has recovered :D) So we will be spending most of the month of August in Alaska in balcony cabins. We will let you know how we make out.

[RuthC]

Take it from one who has happily returned to her cave after a foray into a balcony cabin---it can be done.

Yes, I loved my little porch when HAL upgraded me. But I am very pleased with my steerage cabins when I cruise.

Spoilage is not guaranteed. ;)

Congratulations on your great assignment. Have a wonderful time.

[bphman]

We've gone from ocean view to balcony to full suite back to obstructed ocean view then full suite. No to make you dizzy but we have done it and didn't mind. Our preference obviously are for higher categories but we go for ship and itinerary. We have never rejected a cruise for cabin level. You got a great upgrade and upsell. We have had a few slight upgrades but nothing to write home about and, generally, when we book a guarantee.

[dobiemom]

The upgrade fairy visited today, sort of....Here is the story.

 

Booked 2 inside guarantee cabins mid February for 3/23 Eurodam 7 day EC.

 

The family joke is that cheapo Dad (me) always book "steerage". This is our 5th HAL cruise (2* Mariners). There is no such thing as a bad cabin on a HAL ship and I prefer to spend as little as necessary to get me on the ship.

 

Two weeks after booking, I notice a price drop and called the TA. For $80 per cabin, we could upgrade from inside guarantee to balcony guarantee. I took it. Wow, that's only $20 per person. Score! :D

 

Today (12 days before sailing), the cabin has been assigned as a VA Balcony on the Rotterdam deck!!!! Another score! :D

 

Anyway, just passing along the info and I am sure we will enjoy our balcony digs!!!!

 

I have decided not to tell DW and DD and friend and let that be a surprise at embarkation. They will not believe cheapo Dad got a balcony and I will give all the credit to HAL and the upgrade fairy. And I worry that once they have seen how the other half lives, I might not get them back to "steerage".

 

Smooth sailing to all!

Bon Voyage! :D

[Seago2]

I'd be fine in the little nest forever but DH needs to "breathe". That said, I'm very happy to hear of your success with the upgrade fairy. Just try to keep from smiling and/or spilling the beans until the last second- it will be worth it!!

[Dodge34]

Would be glad to see that fairy, we booked inside guarantee for our April 1st cruise, would be nice to taste perhaps a ocean view cabin instead, but I guess we would have to pay more for that to happen and we can't afford any price increase for that, perhaps we will be lucky and be upgraded for free but I think I have better chance to win the lottery and have a plane crash at same time (statistically, it will never ever happen to anyone) than getting a free upgrade on a cruise ship, since its our first cruise on HAL, I guess the upgrades are for mariners that have a load of stars, perhaps one day I would be one of them...

 

Lucky for you to have been upgraded.

[cruz chic]

Would be glad to see that fairy, we booked inside guarantee for our April 1st cruise, would be nice to taste perhaps a ocean view cabin instead, but I guess we would have to pay more for that to happen and we can't afford any price increase for that, perhaps we will be lucky and be upgraded for free but I think I have better chance to win the lottery and have a plane crash at same time (statistically, it will never ever happen to anyone) than getting a free upgrade on a cruise ship, since its our first cruise on HAL, I guess the upgrades are for mariners that have a load of stars, perhaps one day I would be one of them...

 

Lucky for you to have been upgraded.

I think as a newbie you are WAY more likely to get an upgrade then any of us with more stars. Going from an inside to a balcony (especially on the Maasdam) would be highly unlikely. If it does happen you should for sure buy a lotto ticket:D.

[alwaysfrantic]

Yea, you are not going back to the basement again.

[Dodge34]

I think as a newbie you are WAY more likely to get an upgrade then any of us with more stars. Going from an inside to a balcony (especially on the Maasdam) would be highly unlikely. If it does happen you should for sure buy a lotto ticket:D.

 

Like I said, I don't even think about getting a balcony, I know it won't happen, perhaps I could get an obstructed view porthole cabin or something like that, would still be interesting, but I don't count on that, I love interior stateroom for one fact, when we close the lights, its pitch black dark inside and it help me a lot to sleep, if only I could remove the damn window in my bedroom without freaking people out in the neighborhood I would do it and replace it with a dark wall. It doesn't help that I have the eyes of a cat somehow I see a lot better than anyone at night.

[BumperII]

We played the upgrade fairy game for a while, and I have to say, nine of the first ten times we were upgraded favorably. Then came the cruise where we were upgraded from an inside to a closet with a porthole. The cabin was so small, you had to go out into the hallway to change your mind. But for my money, booking guarentees is the best way to go until you figure out what fits your style of cruising. There is absolutely nothing wrong with accepting a bargain upsell!! Bon Voyage!!:)

[solocanadian]

Congratulations on your upsell. You will enjoy the balcony in warm water cruising. Happy cruising.:)

[profteedee]

Would be glad to see that fairy, we booked inside guarantee for our April 1st cruise, would be nice to taste perhaps a ocean view cabin instead, but I guess we would have to pay more for that to happen and we can't afford any price increase for that, perhaps we will be lucky and be upgraded for free but I think I have better chance to win the lottery and have a plane crash at same time (statistically, it will never ever happen to anyone) than getting a free upgrade on a cruise ship, since its our first cruise on HAL, I guess the upgrades are for mariners that have a load of stars, perhaps one day I would be one of them...

 

Lucky for you to have been upgraded.

 

Keep your hopes up, Dodge34! We are sailing on HAL for the first time and received a free upgrade from a VE Balcony to an SY Suite! I had read about price drops on another CC posting and saw that our original booking (we had reserved our balcony room in December) had dropped in price over $600. When I spoke to a HAL rep, she put me on hold to speak to her supervisor and came back on to tell me about the upgrade. Two other couples traveling with us were also offered the upgrade. One like us to a suite and the other who had booked a guarantee balcony to a VA Balcony! If HAL needs to fill its ship by slashing prices, they will probably offer upgrades to those already booked. Keep a close eye on your cruise and give HAL a call closer to your cruise date. Good luck and smooth sailing!

[Dodge34]

Keep your hopes up, Dodge34! We are sailing on HAL for the first time and received a free upgrade from a VE Balcony to an SY Suite! I had read about price drops on another CC posting and saw that our original booking (we had reserved our balcony room in December) had dropped in price over $600. When I spoke to a HAL rep, she put me on hold to speak to her supervisor and came back on to tell me about the upgrade. Two other couples traveling with us were also offered the upgrade. One like us to a suite and the other who had booked a guarantee balcony to a VA Balcony! If HAL needs to fill its ship by slashing prices, they will probably offer upgrades to those already booked. Keep a close eye on your cruise and give HAL a call closer to your cruise date. Good luck and smooth sailing!

 

Thanks for the infos, since we booked just a month before our cruise, I don't really think we would see too much price drops especially on interior stateroom guarantee, I guess they upgrade people that reserve at least a ocean view stateroom, but I still don't know my stateroom number right now since its a guarantee I could have a surprise but I have no hope in that for now.