Upgrade help

[Garyjames220]

Hey

 

I am going on a med cruise in August and I have been told that I could upgrade to a balcony on board if available and about half the price as it would cost to upgrade now

 

However I spoke to dcl direct and they said the prices onboard for an upgrade will be no different to what they are now

 

What's the truth with this

 

Look forward to hearing from anyone and thanks in advance for any help given

[ducklite]

A few things to note...

 

First, there is no guarantee that cabins will be available for upgrades.

Second, unless the ship is very empty (doubtful) there will be no incentive to offer substantially discounted upgrades.

Third, you really need to book the cabin you would be happy with and never expect to be able to receive any sort if upgrade, paid or otherwise.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[MizDaisy]

Hey

 

I am going on a med cruise in August and I have been told that I could upgrade to a balcony on board if available and about half the price as it would cost to upgrade now

 

However I spoke to dcl direct and they said the prices onboard for an upgrade will be no different to what they are now

 

What's the truth with this

 

Look forward to hearing from anyone and thanks in advance for any help given

 

 

The way that DCL works it, if they have rooms available, is to start moving people who are booked into inside cabins up to the balcony rooms first, by calling them and offering them a PAID upgrade, and it's not usually a discounted rate, or if it is, it's not much of a discount.

 

Often, the only rooms that weren't already booked and paid for in advance will be suites, inside staterooms, or very seldom, a handicap room.

 

As the PP noted, it's very rare that they have any empty rooms at all.....but my knowlege of this is for when they sail out of Port Canaveral or another U.S. port. I have no first hand knowlege of how the Med cruises book up, now that they've been doing them for a while.....but....I would almost have to say that if they weren't booking the last year that they did them, they wouldn't have repeated the itineraries.

 

As to what the CM told you.....that is false. Although it may not be a big savings, if there are still rooms available when you arrive on the ship, they WILL be discounted.

 

Unfortunately, you could call DCL and talk to 3, 4 or 5 different CM's and get a different answer every time.

[moki'smommy]

If YOU call to ask about upgrades, they will be offered at the same rate as on the day you booked you cruise.

 

Last year on the Med cruises that had empty cabins, DCL began e-mailing some guests and offering an upgrade at about 1/3 off the prevailing rate. There was no way to predict who was one of the lucky few. And ultimately, they allowed crew members to book their families at a greatly reduced rate. We did 2 Med cruises with essentially no extra cabins beyond those that are always saved for maintenance problems.

 

DCL does everything possible to fill cabins. Empties may be filled with FL res rates, TA rates, CM rates, etc. On those occasions where there are upgrades available at the port, they are a significant discount over booking in advance--approximately 1/3 to 1/2 off the rate had you upgraded in advance is the norm. However, DO NOT count on any being available.

Edited January 7, 2014 by moki'smommy

[Talex831]

We have cruised 7 times from Port Canaveral and on all of those there have been some upgrades available. This was not during slow times, as we always cruise in the summer or Easter week. However, the number available is often very slim. The key is that you HAVE to be one of the first few people to check-in. Once the upgrades are sold, there is nothing available unless there is a no-show very, very late in the day.

 

We upgraded from a paid Cat. 12, 3 night cruise, kids sail free, Easter sailing to a Cat. 3 for $800. Four of us sailed in a Cat. 3 for $2000 total. Obviously this was pre-Dream class ships, as the categories were labeled different.

 

On a Dream, 4 night, we moved from a 9A to a 4E for $180.

 

I cannot speak for the Med. sailings however. If you hope for an upgrade, get to the port EARLY. And do not expect to get one. Also do not have a preconceived cost in mind. There were plenty of others on our sailings that we opted to not take due to the cost.

 

Bottom line, book what you can be happy with and if an upgrade is available, then consider it good fortune.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Loonbeam]

To clarify the overall procedure. IF there are any upgrades available (we were about 5th in line for our Dream cruise and there were none) there will be a supervisor assigned to process them. The rates can and will vary based on what is available.

 

This is ONLY available at the port, day of sailing, after check-in has opened.

[Garyjames220]

Ok and if I am one of the lucky few and get offered at check in. How much of a saving could it be

[Loonbeam]

No way of knowing. If there are only a few, they might only knock it down 10 percent from original price, knowing someone will take it.

 

As noted above, if there is a type of cabin you want, book it. Your odds of getting it any other way are slim to none.

 

Ok and if I am one of the lucky few and get offered at check in. How much of a saving could it be

[Hawaiidan]

If YOU call to ask about upgrades' date=' they will be offered at the same rate as on the day you booked you cruise.

 

Last year on the Med cruises that had empty cabins, DCL began e-mailing some guests and offering an upgrade at about 1/3 off the prevailing rate. There was no way to predict who was one of the lucky few. And ultimately, they allowed crew members to book their families at a greatly reduced rate. We did 2 Med cruises with essentially no extra cabins beyond those that are always saved for maintenance problems.

 

DCL does everything possible to fill cabins. Empties may be filled with FL res rates, TA rates, CM rates, etc. On those occasions where there are upgrades available at the port, they are a significant discount over booking in advance--approximately 1/3 to 1/2 off the rate had you upgraded in advance is the norm. However, DO NOT count on any being available.[/quote']

 

 

The best way to get considered for a UP-sell discount is not to book with the cruise line.

Book through a Travel Agent ad they will be given first notice not individuals. Why? To reward high volume agents and their clients .

That's the experience I have had An Agent selling$ 800,000 in cruises will get called before one selling $500,000 That puts the passenger paying $3000 on the bottom of the list.

Too, working with an agent the cruise line allows them to give up to a 5% advertised discount off the lowest cruise price the line offers. However, better agents will give their repeat customers 8 to10% in "un advertised discount in the form of a cash-rebate.

[Loonbeam]

We're not talking about upsell discounts pre-sailing. We're talking at the docks, which can be much deeper.

 

The best way to get considered for a UP-sell discount is not to book with the cruise line.

Book through a Travel Agent ad they will be given first notice not individuals. Why? To reward high volume agents and their clients .

That's the experience I have had An Agent selling$ 800,000 in cruises will get called before one selling $500,000 That puts the passenger paying $3000 on the bottom of the list.

Too, working with an agent the cruise line allows them to give up to a 5% advertised discount off the lowest cruise price the line offers. However, better agents will give their repeat customers 8 to10% in "un advertised discount in the form of a cash-rebate.

[Hawaiidan]

We're not talking about upsell discounts pre-sailing. We're talking at the docks, which can be much deeper.

 

The ship wants to know it exact situation 14 or more days out. They are going to do stuff prior.

On the dock selling is only due to freak conditions like some one cancels at the last day.... In 30 years of sailing many lines and many cruises I have never seen it happen, nor has anyone I know ever seen it. It happens I guess with Disney and maybe some of the Mega 5000+ ships but its not the norm.

I would expect winning the lottery has a better chance.

And the day of the Up-grade are gone it is an up-sell...not free.

 

Again that's what your agent is for.

[Shmoo here]

The ship wants to know it exact situation 14 or more days out. They are going to do stuff prior.

On the dock selling is only due to freak conditions like some one cancels at the last day.... In 30 years of sailing many lines and many cruises I have never seen it happen, nor has anyone I know ever seen it. It happens I guess with Disney and maybe some of the Mega 5000+ ships but its not the norm.

I would expect winning the lottery has a better chance.

And the day of the Up-grade are gone it is an up-sell...not free.

 

Again that's what your agent is for.

 

DCL has done at the port upsells as long as we've been cruising with them (since 2008). Happens all the time, as long as there is availability to move up, DCL will do it (for a fee).

 

The best way to get considered for a UP-sell discount is not to book with the cruise line.

Book through a Travel Agent ad they will be given first notice not individuals. Why? To reward high volume agents and their clients .

That's the experience I have had An Agent selling$ 800,000 in cruises will get called before one selling $500,000 That puts the passenger paying $3000 on the bottom of the list.

Too, working with an agent the cruise line allows them to give up to a 5% advertised discount off the lowest cruise price the line offers. However, better agents will give their repeat customers 8 to10% in "un advertised discount in the form of a cash-rebate.

 

We've received upsell offers from HAL, and booked directly with the cruiseline. Got e-mail sent directly to us with the offer.

Edited January 7, 2014 by Shmoo here

[moki'smommy]

The ship wants to know it exact situation 14 or more days out. They are going to do stuff prior.

On the dock selling is only due to freak conditions like some one cancels at the last day.... In 30 years of sailing many lines and many cruises I have never seen it happen, nor has anyone I know ever seen it. It happens I guess with Disney and maybe some of the Mega 5000+ ships but its not the norm.

I would expect winning the lottery has a better chance.

And the day of the Up-grade are gone it is an up-sell...not free.

 

Again that's what your agent is for.

 

Yes, the cruise line will do any complimentary upgrades in advance, but they will continue to sell a spot on board as late as the day before (you have to call DCL, not go thru on line booking to do this).

 

As to selling upgrades at the port--we've seen it frequently on DCL cruises. Sometimes the supervisor will have a list of 30 or more cabins available with prices, sometimes only a few. Of course, I've also been on cruises with no upgrades available.

 

As to complimentary upgrades, we've gotten them several times on DCL, most recently summer 2013. In reality, that was sort of a compensation as there was a problem with our original cabin that couldn't be fixed despite multiple efforts. But we have gotten some nice upgrades with no explanation.

 

Another thing DCL does is the *GT bookings. There are lots of reports of people booking an OGT and getting a balcony.

 

The goal is to fill the ship as full as possible at the best possible price. BUT if there are cabins available, DCL will happily take a few hundred dollars more to sell someone an upgrade.

[Loonbeam]

It's not rare on Disney at all, though having a lot of cabins to do so IS. Disney has a higher than average late cancellation rate because of the nature of their passenger mix. Kids get sick, etc.

 

I've seen it personally happen twice although both time we go to the supervisor too late to get one, people in front of us did.

 

This is very different than how other lines handle it, but then again, this is Disney.

 

An agent will not make a difference with an at the dock upgrade (bear in mind I generally am a big recommended of agents), it all depends on timing, being in the supervisors line when the cabins are released (remember, if someone buys the upgrade, their original cabin is now on the market).

 

The upgrade cost here WILL be less than any pre-sell, most commonly because they have already been paid for the cancelled cabin.

 

The ship wants to know it exact situation 14 or more days out. They are going to do stuff prior.

On the dock selling is only due to freak conditions like some one cancels at the last day.... In 30 years of sailing many lines and many cruises I have never seen it happen, nor has anyone I know ever seen it. It happens I guess with Disney and maybe some of the Mega 5000+ ships but its not the norm.

I would expect winning the lottery has a better chance.

And the day of the Up-grade are gone it is an up-sell...not free.

 

Again that's what your agent is for.

[Garyjames220]

Thanks for your help guys but there are quite a few different answers here

[ducklite]

Thanks for your help guys but there are quite a few different answers here

 

 

The question you asked doesn't have a cut and dry answer. The best answer is that if there are rooms available when you get to the port, they might be available to upgrade to for anything from a small discount to a major one.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[Garyjames220]

Ok thanks for your help

[moki'smommy]

Thanks for your help guys but there are quite a few different answers here

 

The only thing we can do is to relate our personal experience. In our approx 30 cruises, the situation has varied--even on B2B cruises. Leg 1, we purchased an upgrade for a few hundred dollars. Leg 2, no upgrades available (at any price!) Since we were the first people in the terminal due to the B2B, I am absolutely sure there were no upgrades for purchase on that second leg.

[Hawaiidan]

I guess Disney has a different business model which others do not follow.

 

I think they can afford to do this where others can not because Disney charged a very high premium( 50 to 100% higher) fare which allows the ship to be profitable and a much lower occupancy than others. The free up-grade has on other lines pretty much been replaced by the Up-sells from my experience.

 

The cruise division of DIS is a very productive sector this works for them and increased profit as well. As A DIS investor I like that... we all win.