Princess Upgrade Policy Needs Upgrading

[RickEk]

Same thing happened to us. We always book Caribe for the bigger 1/2 & 1/2 balcony...and we prefer aft. They 'upgraded' us to Aloha mid-ship. I guess they figure everyone wants to be mid-ship? Had to call and get switched back. Thankfully, our Caribe cabin was still available since this was about a month ago and we don't sail until April.

 

We'd love an upgrade to a mini or something some day, but if the alternative is possibly being 'upgraded' to a cabin right in front of the central elevators with a small balcony, we have no choice but to request "no upgrades" possibly missing out on a real upgrade. That's frustrating.

 

There must be a better way.

 

You can always request the "meta upgrade" option. That, apparently, will only allow upgrades to the next meta (balcony to mini-suite for example).

 

And to be fair, the majority of folks will always want an upgrade. The folks here at Cruise Critic may be a bit more meticulous about their cabin choices... but there should be an "upgrade" button on the website for those booking there and I do know that the reservations folks always (or should) ask if you'll accept the complimentary upgrade...

[yoyosma]

Same thing happened to us. We always book Caribe for the bigger 1/2 & 1/2 balcony...and we prefer aft. They 'upgraded' us to Aloha mid-ship. I guess they figure everyone wants to be mid-ship? Had to call and get switched back. Thankfully, our Caribe cabin was still available since this was about a month ago and we don't sail until April.

 

We'd love an upgrade to a mini or something some day, but if the alternative is possibly being 'upgraded' to a cabin right in front of the central elevators with a small balcony, we have no choice but to request "no upgrades" possibly missing out on a real upgrade. That's frustrating.

 

There must be a better way.

There is a way. My TA marks my booking to not upgrade within cabin type, but ok to upgrade to different cabin type. I forgot the exact lingo. But it means they should only upgrade me from inside to outside or higher, outside to balcony or higher, etc. And I should add it worked for us last May to Alaska. We had a decent obstructed view cabin marked like that and were upgraded to a balcony. Thank you upgrade fairy.

 

Oops, I see someone else posted. My TA called it something other than meta though.

Edited December 16, 2013 by yoyosma

[gcvt]

You can always request the "meta upgrade" option. That, apparently, will only allow upgrades to the next meta (balcony to mini-suite for example).

 

And to be fair, the majority of folks will always want an upgrade. The folks here at Cruise Critic may be a bit more meticulous about their cabin choices... but there should be an "upgrade" button on the website for those booking there and I do know that the reservations folks always (or should) ask if you'll accept the complimentary upgrade...

 

I'm not familiar with this meta option (almost typed "meat" option...I love meat LOL!) Can you do this online during the booking process? I've never seen any upgrade 'options' when booking online, so I can only assume they do not exist.

 

If that's the case, you have to call Princess either way, so you might as well call and book over the phone to get the exact experience you're looking for. I get what you're saying about the majority of people booking, but it would not be hard to make a few changes to the website to avoid these issues. Many want to hop online, book the cabin they want, and be done with it....like me :)

Edited December 16, 2013 by gcvt

[caribill]

There is a way. My TA marks my booking to not upgrade within cabin type, but ok to upgrade to different cabin type. I forgot the exact lingo.

 

It's called "upgrade only to next cabin type."

[caribill]

Having a cabin marked no upgrade and having the cabin linked to other ones are two separate things. Having cabins linked together doesn't affect the possibility of an upgrade; frequently people link cabins together so they will be seated together at dinner, but don't care whether they're in different categories and staying on different parts of the ship.

 

OTH, I suspect people book cabins together because they actually want to be close together.

 

Right. The linking of reservations is only for the purpose of identifying people that should have the same table assignment for traditional fixed seating.

 

Princess does not have a feature to indicate different bookings need to have cabins near each other.

[caribill]

Just one more reason why one should not book direct with Princess.

 

There are two ways of booking "direct" with Princess.

 

First is doing it yourself on the Internet and, as we know, there is no upgrade option box to check one way or the other.

 

The second direct way is over the phone with a Princess rep. The rep should always ask what upgrade option you want.

 

Same as booking with a TA.

 

If you do it with a TA strickly with the Internet, there is most likely no upgrade option box to check. If speaking with an agent, the question should be asked.

 

I have no doubt that some agents (be they Princess or TA) fopget to ask the question, but all the ones I have worked with do ask.

[skynight]

 

And to be fair, the majority of folks will always want an upgrade.

 

Don't know if this statement is correct or not. I think it is fairer to state that at the time of booking many want to pay the fare for a lower category, but be assigned a cabin of their choice in a higher category, the so called booking upgrade promo. But, regardless the customer should always be informed of all the options at the time of booking, and the customer's selections need to be confirmed in writing. Princess' customers should not be required to have an intimate working knowledge of the booking system, like those here on CC, to assure they receive what they want.

 

Unfortunately, the new Princess president, Jan Swartz, has been VP in charge of customer service since 2009. So I don't see any great improvements. She had 4 years to make improvements and didn't.

[sea_u_onboard]

I find it difficult to email Princess about anything. It appears they want you to call (no paper trail??).

 

I clicked Technical Problems with Website (or something along those lines)and got an email link. I wrote in there that the website should have an OPTIONS button for those wishing to book online or make changes after the fact in the Personalizer. Not sure where it will go, but at least I let my feelings be known.

 

If I called in there would be no record of my concerns (not that I got any kind of confirmation to my email, but I do have the sent email).

[bdjam]

I find it difficult to email Princess about anything. It appears they want you to call (no paper trail??).

 

Suspicious much?

As for the topic of the thread, although there are a number of people who publish here that they've been dissatisfied with upgrades, I bet when you look at the overall Princess population, most would opt in to an upgrade. Everyone wants something for less don't they?

A good travel agent would know how to handle turning off the upgrade option and would also know how to handle reversing an upgrade. If you use a discount booking engine or you book yourself, you're on your own. Buyer beware.

[sea_u_onboard]

Suspicious much?

 

As for the topic of the thread, although there are a number of people who publish here that they've been dissatisfied with upgrades, I bet when you look at the overall Princess population, most would opt in to an upgrade. Everyone wants something for less don't they?

 

A good travel agent would know how to handle turning off the upgrade option and would also know how to handle reversing an upgrade. If you use a discount booking engine or you book yourself, you're on your own. Buyer beware.

Normally I'm not a suspicous person but in this day in age email is the norm for communication - but Princess doesn't give many choices in that regards.

 

I can flip that coin the other way.

• You say a good travel agent - unfortunetly not everyone has a good travel agent and they usually find out the hard way - after the fact. I also prefer to do things on my own. I should have to rely on a travel agent.
  
• I booked directly with Princess - which should be the #1 resource for giving me the best customer service and the agent never mentioned that upgrades were the default. I was moved and I almost deleted my "upgrade" email becuase it looked like spam. Fortunately I was able to get my original cabin back. Others have not.
  
• While "everyone" might love an upgrade, what Princess considers an upgrade is not necessarily an upgrade (in my opinion). I book for a specific cabin to meet my needs. My son is autistic and doesn't like loud noise so if Princess felt they were doing me a favor by upgrading me from an oceanview on a quite floor to a balcony over the disco they would be dead wrong. I know I'm not the only one who has reasons for getting a particular cabin. Should I have asked knwoing my situation? Maybe. But I've sailed other cruiselines several times and have yet to be upgraded unless I paid for it.
  

To me it's a simple fix. Make the default not to upgrade. The agent can still ask if the person would like to be considered for an upgrade, no extra effort there if they are already supposed to asking if they don't want upgraded. Give the customer the opportunity to select upgrade options during online booking and later from within the personalizer. This would allow them to change it themselves if they decided they wanted the other option.

 

MANY who cruise have no idea there is a resource such as Cruise Critic to help them navigate the system. I was on my 3rd cruise before I found it. So Princess should not expect all it's customers (especially first timers) to know all the intricate details of their booking system. It's only after it happens (when you don't want it to) that you find out such an option as automatic upgrades exist.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Maybe they should reverse it and if you book a specific cabin, the default should be "do not upgrade". This issue comes up all the time and it is not obvious to most cruisers that the default is "will accept upgrades".

 

I am guessing most people are not booking with a real person so they do not understand how Princess handles this.

 

Right. The linking of reservations is only for the purpose of identifying people that should have the same table assignment for traditional fixed seating.

 

Princess does not have a feature to indicate different bookings need to have cabins near each other.

 

As someone who had marked our booking "no upgrade" for our last three cruises, after selecting a specific cabin, I too feel that both Princess booking reps and TAs need to be doing a better job about asking what options we want. Too many come on CC for the first time complaining about one these issues, and then people say they should have known better. No, it's more these questions need to be ask:

1) Do you wish an upgrade or do you want to be considered for an upgrade? (and definitely this option should be offered on the Princess site if booking through it...and at least obvious enough as I imagine some people would still miss the box)

2) Do you have a preference for dining (early traditional, late traditional, and anytime)?

3) any extra options for wishing cruise air, shuttles, etc. (I know know to emphasize that we don't wish a shuttle, after somehow we were charged for an obviously unnecessary one from the San Fernando Valley to San Pedro, all of 50 miles, and had to call up to have it taken off our booking)

 

One reason I don't book with those online companies is that I want to have control over the booking, and if something goes wrong, I have to call the company and try to get it taken care of. If I had confidence in a TA, that's better.

[ssantow]

I am not going to complain about my upgrade worth over $1000.

[DrJohn999]

I've gotten upgraded from, for example, BE to BB but never from one class to the next like balcony to mini-suite. After a few cruises I started to book the cabin I want since the differences between the various in-class options are small compared to my preferences for certain areas. Plus I usually tend to wait until Princess puts cabins on sale a couple of months out (my business travel makes it impossible to book very early), and I almost always book through their website.

 

The option to upgrade is the default on the website; I had to choose a specific cabin to not ask for an upgrade the past couple of times. The rest of the options are pretty well spelled out, but getting it right the first time does require some previous familiarity with the site — I agree it could use a makeover.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[skynight]

Normally I'm not a suspicous person but in this day in age email is the norm for communication - but Princess doesn't give many choices in that regards.

 

I can flip that coin the other way. ....

 

Totally agree with your entire posting. Full disclosure and full information to the customer at the time of booking and afterwards is proper and honest customer relations. The customer can make the choice they want.

[cruiserone]

By the time I called Princess someone was already in our Caribe deck cabin! They called it an upgrade but it is the same size cabin but instead of us being aft, as we booked, they put us in a mid aft cabin with a smaller balcony. Having cruised Princess many times I DID mark NO UPGRADE but was informed that THEY (Princess) moved us anyway and by the time I called our cabin was given to someone else. We really were not happy but this is only a 5 night cruise and I won't battle with them but if it was a 10 or 12 day I would have cancelled if they did not move me. Lot's of other lines that want our business.

[geoherb]

We are starting our back-to-back cruises on the Ruby this weekend. It's the first time I've had my TA mark our reservation "no upgrade." We wanted to stay in the same cabin for both cruises.

[Gunner22aa]

Had mine for over 10 years. There are between 6 and 8 Vista Suites on the Grand Class ships that we sail on and she knows that's only where we stay. If she can't get one she finds us another trip. I don't have to tell her or anyone else to annotate the booking no upgrade because she knows we don't want one as we only sail in aft cabins. No doubt if she was offered an upgrade to the Owners or Royal suite on these ships she would jump on it for us but such has never been the case to date. I use a TA for a couple of reasons. Costs me nothing, she gets me perks I wouldn't get on my own and if push comes to shove and the war is on she leads the charge on my behalf and I don't waste my time.

[plastx]

The system needs to be changed. Suggest a)the default be "no upgrade", and/or b) notify in advance and give the customer a chance to accept or decline. The way it is now it is easier for the line, but fails the tests of customer friendly, and, customer fully informed prior to purchase, and after purchase. Kind of a reverse bait & switch.

 

Plastx, were you on deck 10 and with the upgrade are now on deck 12, two decks higher?

 

No, we booked on deck 12 and were moved to deck 10.

[RickEk]

We booked a January 2014 cruise on the Ruby this past summer and had selected a very specific cabin. We didn't want to take the guarantee category, and wanted to try a cabin with an extended balcony. Come to find out today, we had been upgraded to a cabin of the same size (BE to BB), two decks lower, and a smaller balcony. We called Princess and they can only put in a request for the cabin we originally booked. I don't "recall" being informed of the "upgrade" and was told they did this back in September.

 

We are not new cruisers, and have cruised 16 times on many different lines (Disney, Cunard, NCL, Holland, Carnival, Royal). This is our first Princess cruise. We are very upset by this "upgrade" which is not at all an upgrade. Since this ship is sold out and sails in one month, we probably have lost our original cabin. We are very disappointed with Princess's upgrade policy, which was not fully explained to us when we booked, and for their huge lack of communication. We've never had this happen on other sailings and lines.

 

After reading other CC threads on this, we see it is an issue for Princess. :mad:

 

No, we booked on deck 12 and were moved to deck 10.

 

Okay, I'm confused. :confused: You say that you were booked in a BE on Aloha deck 12 and then moved to a BB on Caribe deck 10. First off, there are no BB's on Caribe. Secondly, Caribe is the deck with the extended balconies, not Aloha. Please clarify! :)

[skynight]

Okay, I'm confused. :confused: You say that you were booked in a BE on Aloha deck 12 and then moved to a BB on Caribe deck 10. First off, there are no BB's on Caribe. Secondly, Caribe is the deck with the extended balconies, not Aloha. Please clarify! :)

 

From the description, I believe Plastx booked either R746 or R747 (BE) which have larger balconies and then was upgraded to a cat. BB on deck 11 the Baja deck two decks lower. Those two Riviera deck cabins have the advantage of being right next to the Terrace Pool in addition to the larger balconies. The disadvantage is some chair noise from the buffet directly above.

[caribill]

We are starting our back-to-back cruises on the Ruby this weekend. It's the first time I've had my TA mark our reservation "no upgrade." We wanted to stay in the same cabin for both cruises.

 

Whenever I have had a B2B booked in the same cabin, if I received an upgrade, it was for both segment so I would remain in one cabin.

[RickEk]

From the description, I believe Plastx booked either R746 or R747 (BE) which have larger balconies and then was upgraded to a cat. BB on deck 11 the Baja deck two decks lower. Those two Riviera deck cabins have the advantage of being right next to the Terrace Pool in addition to the larger balconies. The disadvantage is some chair noise from the buffet directly above.

 

No... he says he was moved from Aloha to Caribe...