Does rccl ever give free upgrades

[James&Rob]

Im just asking because I was a avid Carnival cruiser until may 2 2005, and on just about all my cruises with carnival, Princess and Holland american I got a good upgrade, Not all cruises but most. On my sovereign of the seas June cruise I inquired about an free upgrade because the ship wasnt sold out. I was told by customer service the only way you can get an upgrade with rccl is pay for it. It really doesnt matter I will still sail with rccl but Im just curious If customer service was right or not . Thanks for your imformation in advanse James

[teddie]

We were unexpectedly upgraded from a D to a C (now called the JS). This was a few years back on the Enchantment.

 

I was checking my online docs about a month prior to sail date, and I noticed a change in cabin number...my TA didn't even know about it until I called him!

 

It was only our second cruise w/ RCI; I have absolutely no idea why we were chosen....now I am a little spoiled, I must admit!

 

It has been suggested that lower priced cabins are easier for RCI to sell than the higher priced ones; and that RCI would prefer to bump someone up for free, rather than lose an entire cruise fare on an unoccupied cabin. Sounds logical.

 

I do know that if there are cabins available on sail day, you can upgrade at the pier for a relatively low cost.

[deecruiser]

We booked an Inside Guarantee on our last cruise and ended up getting a Promenade room. Technically still an inside, but an improvement over a room with no windows! Better than we expected and now I won't book less than a Promenade.

[dolphincruiser404]

On the Majesty in April I was bumped from an inside to a delux oceanview, which is a big move on that ship! It was my third cruise with RCI. We got to the port and they said that our room had been changed.

[Bases5]

Does RCCL still Offer Peir Up grades if available?

[CL-JW]

On our first cruise with RCI on Voyager of the Seas, we booked a D2 but were upgraded to a Junior Suite. I believe it is because a large tour group booked a block of cabins on the same deck and they needed to cabin we originally booked to accommodate them. Worked well for us though!

[Gingee]

I was booked for a Sovereign trip in 03 and the prices came down and we got money back (before final payment). Our friends took the upgrades and got up higher in the ship than us and a little money back. Same time - July

[yogimax]

Been upgraded twice from interior to ocean view

[just4kixx]

upgraded in April from D1 aft to Grande Suite... Radiance of the Seas

 

A~:)

[swong13]

Our first cruise was on Legend of the Seas in Alaska. We booked an Oceanview stateroom and we were upgraded (free) to an aft balcony. Paid off for RCI in the long run because my wife decided that we always needed to have a balcony from then on.

 

-Steven

[Jayme580]

BASE5, you can still buy upgrades at check in. We did it and it was a GREAT deal!

[SA Traveler]

We were upgraded to a junior suite (back then called a B) on our first RCI cruise - a repositioning from San Juan to San Diego. It was April 2002 not too long after Sept 11. On that same cruise we had the opportunity to stay on the ship and do a B2B to Hawaii for only $500.00! Unfortunately DH was still working and we weren't able to do that. What a bummer!

[Bases5]

Thanks Jay!!

[cruzzers]

We are on the Sovereign in Oct and wonder if we should do the guarantee room or keep our room assignment. Which do you think is more likely to get an upgrade if there is an upgrade to be given?

[winterstar]

We were on the Vision in May to Alaska. We had booked a specific room number Deck 2, inside stateroom back in November. When we checked in at the pier, we found out we had been bumped up a deck to a large ocean view. We were very excited as we wanted to spend our money on excursions, not the room. It was our first cruise.

[LisaGoeke]

We (or I should say when I traveled with my parents) have been upgraded several times in the past. It's always a nice surprise!

 

I got a call from RCCL yesterday, I thought for sure they were calling to upgrade us to a Royal Family Suite, but I was wrong, it was re my C&A membership. Oh well, I can still hope. :p

[Serious Cruisers]

Wow you are all so lucky...15 RCCL cruises never, ever upgraded!!

[cincicruisers]

no upgrades here either.. need the upgrade fairy to visit! :)

[emeraldcity]

I got upgraded unexpectedly from an Oceanview to a Balcony ... didn't find out till check in. It was a very, very nice surprise.

 

Of course, now I can't go back to anything less ... the next cruise is considerably more expensive.

[cruzinrph]

Someone (maybe on the inside) must know the magic formula to getting upgrades;)

[beachguy]

(This is beachchick)

 

Aside from being C&A Diamond Plus members, there seems to be absolutely no rhyme nor reason to it. You can cruise with RCI 20 times and get no upgrade ever or you can luck out on your first cruise and get one. I think they do sometimes upgrade if a particular category is selling well and they want to open up more cabins or if a particular category isn't selling well and they want to fill it. You are far less likely to get an upgrade from say a suite to a higher suite than you are to get one from an oceanview to a balcony. It is a rare event indeed (not sure I've ever heard of it at RCI, at least in the last 6 or 7 years) that you would get upgraded from, for example, an oceanview to a suite.

 

(As an aside, I have noticed several posters who usually cruise with Carnival or Princess or other lines that routinely give upgrades come and complain that they didn't get "their" free upgrade on RCI. I have to laugh--they are complaining because they got what they paid for in the first place. LOL.)

 

However, it should be noted that RCI is known for being stingy with their free upgrades (they do sell upgrades at the pier for a usually reduced fare if cabins are available). Do not expect it to be like Carnival or Princess which seem to practically give automatic upgrades.

 

Also, if you are lucky enough to get one on your first cruise, keep in mind that many (actually most) of us have cruised with RCI many times and haven't ever received one. I say this because, while I'm glad when someone gets an upgrade, it irks the heck out of me that RCI doesn't see fit to give those upgrades to their loyal, repeat customers. When a first-timer then brags about it (not in the "I can't believe how lucky we were" tone, but the "we got a free upgrade and you didn't" tone), it's truly annoying.

 

beachchick

[AMARINEMOM]

Has anyone upgraded at the pier from JS to GS. What kind of 'reduced' price difference was paid. On my cruise MOS 9/11/05 JS is $1399 and GS $1899 which is $500 difference pp. What could I expect to pay at the pier (if available)?

[Pam]

Several years ago, we had booked a cruise with our children and grandchildren, on Majesty of the Seas. Because our daughter had two children, and we wanted balconies, we were forced to pay full price for the joke that was the Royal Family Suite (catagory AA at that time).

 

When we got to the pier, a woman and her two grandchildren had gotten a "free upgrade" into our daughter's suite; they were already in it, and the Purser's Office had to literally force them to vacate.

 

One of our children wasn't able to go at the last minute, so these people were moved into their smaller suite; they still had a nice upgrade, but the granddaughter told her onboard friends that she was having to sleep on the coffee table because of us.

 

Nobody ever figured out where the glitch came from, but it made for a bad first day for all of us.

[takeabreath3]

i haven't ever received a free upgrade either! i always book a balcony cabin, since that's what i booked the first time i cruised and yes i'm now spoiled! since i'm a solo cruiser i would think i would get bumped up to lets say...the owner's suite on my next cruise to alaska...hint hint..lol

 

judy

[caviargal]

(This is beachchick)

 

Aside from being C&A Diamond Plus members, there seems to be absolutely no rhyme nor reason to it. You can cruise with RCI 20 times and get no upgrade ever or you can luck out on your first cruise and get one. I think they do sometimes upgrade if a particular category is selling well and they want to open up more cabins or if a particular category isn't selling well and they want to fill it. You are far less likely to get an upgrade from say a suite to a higher suite than you are to get one from an oceanview to a balcony. It is a rare event indeed (not sure I've ever heard of it at RCI, at least in the last 6 or 7 years) that you would get upgraded from, for example, an oceanview to a suite.

 

(As an aside, I have noticed several posters who usually cruise with Carnival or Princess or other lines that routinely give upgrades come and complain that they didn't get "their" free upgrade on RCI. I have to laugh--they are complaining because they got what they paid for in the first place. LOL.)

 

However, it should be noted that RCI is known for being stingy with their free upgrades (they do sell upgrades at the pier for a usually reduced fare if cabins are available). Do not expect it to be like Carnival or Princess which seem to practically give automatic upgrades.

 

Also, if you are lucky enough to get one on your first cruise, keep in mind that many (actually most) of us have cruised with RCI many times and haven't ever received one. I say this because, while I'm glad when someone gets an upgrade, it irks the heck out of me that RCI doesn't see fit to give those upgrades to their loyal, repeat customers. When a first-timer then brags about it (not in the "I can't believe how lucky we were" tone, but the "we got a free upgrade and you didn't" tone), it's truly annoying.

 

beachchick

 

Beachchick, I totally agree! I have 45 RCI cruises under my belt and was only upgraded when I booked GTY categories and then not by much and not often. Now that there is a Diamond Plus category, things are different and I get a call 2 weeks prior if there is better space available.

 

They are VERY stingy with upgrades, IME.