Departing in 11 days, no upsell offer

[serendipity1499]

HAL seems to have created an expectation for upsells/upgrades. That is not a good thing. People now say their cruise won't be spoiled because they didn't get more than they chose and paid for? :confused: What a bad pattern HAL has created.

 

OP, you've been so fortunate so many times to be offered more for less than 'full price'. What good luck. Maybe your luck will hold and you will again get an offer.

 

If not, go and enjoy. Hope you have a great cruise even if your cabin is in the category you chose. :)

 

 

As another poster mentioned, I don't believe that HAL can be blamed for creating an expectation that one will be offered an up-sell either... IMO the expectation has been created only by posters on Cruise Critic.. Those in the travel field know that carriers or airlines only have last minute sales of their left over cabins or seats & that's when up-sells are offered.. It's very rare to have cabins or airline seats left over in peak periods, such as Christmas/New Year holidays..

 

Out of 13 cruises, we've only been offered an up-sell once when we cruised by ourselves & that was on a 7 day cruise to Bermuda.. We were offered an upsell to a Lanai or a Veranda, & chose the Lanai..Loved it!

 

Also of our 13 cruises on HAL we've only booked by ourselves 4 times.. We normally travel with another couple, book the longer cruises of 14 to 68 days including some collectors cruises.. Never been offered an upsell on any other HAL, or on 5 cruises on NCL or 2 cruises on Oceania either..

 

We book early & choose our preferred cabin.. After booking we don't ever think about an upsell, but do check the prices before final payment..

Edited December 4, 2014 by serendipity1499

[cruz chic]

I have a questions about upsells.

 

This is our first HAL cruise. We have a large OV but would LOVE a verandah.

Are you more likely to be offered an upset if you booked directly with HAL than if you booked through a TA??

 

I believe you are way more likely to see an upsell if you book thru the cruise line. I believe that some TA's have special circumstances with hal and they will see them. With a PCC or direct there is no middle man so it only makes sense that it would be more productive especially if the price is good.

[drowelf]

We've gotten 1 upsell in 15+ years of cruising and that was on our first ever cruise. We went from a Ocean View to what is now a Neptune Suite on the Ryndam. Don't remember what they called it then. But it was only $300 apiece for a 7 day Alaska Cruise. They sure new how to hook us young!

[jaguarstyper]

I'm 3 stars, almost 4 and have been sailing regularly on HAL since 2000 and have never had so much as a sniff at an upsell or upgrade. However, on our upcoming cruise, we booked an SC guarantee and ended up in an SA. So, I guess that's an upgrade of sorts. It doesn't bother me since I generally book the cabin category I want to be in. This is the first time I ever booked a guarantee and I only did it because the price was so appealing.

 

As for HAL setting some expectation, I don't know about that. They do what they need to do to manage their inventory and free up cabins that are selling better than others. Its just good business.

 

I think this site tends to skew the trend a little bit. Regular posters here are always quick to announce when they get an upsell or upgrade, but no one announces when they don't. Tens of thousands of people cruise on HAL every week. How many actually get upgrades or upsells? Its probably not a lot. But we hear about them here often, which perpetuates the perception that it happens a lot. My guess is, in reality, its rarer than most people think. But, that's just a guess, I could be totally out whack on this.

[sail7seas]

It sure is a nice upgrade from an "SC" to an "SA". Congratulations and enjoy being near Neptune Lounge. :)

 

[jaguarstyper]

It sure is a nice upgrade from an "SC" to an "SA". Congratulations and enjoy being near Neptune Lounge. :)

 

Yes, I suppose it is a nice upgrade. Thank you. Honestly, I really don't use the Neptune lounge all that much. We normally book the aft corners, so we're used to being a ways away from the NL. But even on one cruise where we were literally right across the hall, we rarely used it.

 

I would have been perfectly happy in an SC one deck down, but I'll just as perfectly happy in an SA one deck up. :D We did get assigned one of the SAs right next the the exterior glass elevator and I know some people don't like that. But, I really don't mind it at all. Waving to fellow passengers on the elevator will give me something to do while out on the veranda. LOL

[PathfinderEss]

Yes, I suppose it is a nice upgrade. Thank you. Honestly, I really don't use the Neptune lounge all that much. We normally book the aft corners, so we're used to being a ways away from the NL. But even on one cruise where we were literally right across the hall, we rarely used it.

 

I would have been perfectly happy in an SC one deck down, but I'll just as perfectly happy in an SA one deck up. :D We did get assigned one of the SAs right next the the exterior glass elevator and I know some people don't like that. But, I really don't mind it at all. Waving to fellow passengers on the elevator will give me something to do while out on the veranda. LOL

 

Did you get an up sell or upgrade? Congratulations and I hope you have a great cruise.

[MaxThrusters]

Still nothing from HAL, and we are now about a week out from sailing.

 

I think we would have paid for an upgrade to an SY from VF, if it was a reasonable amount.

 

Perhaps it being a back to back collector cruise lowered our chances, for I noticed all the S cabins are sold out for the first week. Perhaps they don't call when changing cabins is required?

 

Also, from what I read above, we were unusually lucky on previous cruises with upgrades/upsells.

 

I'm happy with our cabin location as it is though: right below spa, and a few decks above that is the cabana we booked.

[Krazy Kruizers]

You are probably correct -- a Collectors Cruise may have lowered your chances to get an upgrade or an upsell.

No one really know how Seattle decides who should get upgrades or who should be offered upsells.

[cruz chic]

Still nothing from HAL, and we are now about a week out from sailing.

 

I think we would have paid for an upgrade to an SY from VF, if it was a reasonable amount.

 

Perhaps it being a back to back collector cruise lowered our chances, for I noticed all the S cabins are sold out for the first week. Perhaps they don't call when changing cabins is required?

 

Also, from what I read above, we were unusually lucky on previous cruises with upgrades/upsells.

 

I'm happy with our cabin location as it is though: right below spa, and a few decks above that is the cabana we booked.

 

I believe it is more difficult to get an upsell for a collectors cruise. For my November cruise upsells did go out to the one week people but I don't believe any went out for the two week people. It may be that hal was too busy giving them away for next to free for some cruisers. There was a poster that got a neptune for $500 iirc plus obc. That was the total price not an upsell.

[Halgirl1278]

We received an upsell yesterday (which we took ) for 12/14 on the Eurodam

 

Went from VA to SB aft wrap around Verandah Cabin for $299 pp

 

We are very very happy with this.

 

 

We were upgraded from a VA to a Neptune Suite once, at time of embarkation - didn't know til we got to check in that we were being upgraded.

 

We have accepted Neptune Suite Upsells our past 3 cruises though.

 

We are 4 star mariners, not sure if that factors in

[sail7seas]

We received an upsell yesterday (which we took ) for 12/14 on the Eurodam

 

Went from VA to SB aft wrap around Verandah Cabin for $299 pp

 

We are very very happy with this.

 

 

We were upgraded from a VA to a Neptune Suite once, at time of embarkation - didn't know til we got to check in that we were being upgraded.

 

We have accepted Neptune Suite Upsells our past 3 cruises though.

 

We are 4 star mariners, not sure if that factors in

 

 

 

There are some here who think new cruisers have better chance of upsells/upgrades than loyal HAL cruisers. I'm not sure either way.. :)

 

[DaveOKC]

There are some here who think new cruisers have better chance of upsells/upgrades than loyal HAL cruisers. I'm not sure either way.. :)

 

 

Happened to me last year - my first timer (on HAL) brother was in a Signature Suite right next to mine. He got the upsell offer and I did not!

 

Dave

[jaguarstyper]

Did you get an up sell or upgrade? Congratulations and I hope you have a great cruise.

 

Not sure if its considered an upgrade or not. We booked an SC guarantee and were assigned to an SA. We were not contacted or asked and we didn't pay any additional money. It was just a cabin assignment. Is that considered an upgrade?

[kazu]

Not sure if its considered an upgrade or not. We booked an SC guarantee and were assigned to an SA. We were not contacted or asked and we didn't pay any additional money. It was just a cabin assignment. Is that considered an upgrade?

 

yes, in my book it is. SC is a lower category than SA which is a better location, so it is indeed an upgrade.

 

upgrade = better category with no $ required.

[sail7seas]

Not sure if its considered an upgrade or not. We booked an SC guarantee and were assigned to an SA. We were not contacted or asked and we didn't pay any additional money. It was just a cabin assignment. Is that considered an upgrade?

 

Yes, certainly it is an upgrade.

Look at the price of an "SC" and compare to the price of "SA".

If you are assigned a cabin in higher category, that is listed at a higher price and you pay nothing more, that is an upgrade.

 

How could it be considered anything but an upgrade? :confused:

 

[cruz chic]

We received an upsell yesterday (which we took ) for 12/14 on the Eurodam

 

Went from VA to SB aft wrap around Verandah Cabin for $299 pp

 

We are very very happy with this.

 

 

We were upgraded from a VA to a Neptune Suite once, at time of embarkation - didn't know til we got to check in that we were being upgraded.

 

We have accepted Neptune Suite Upsells our past 3 cruises though.

 

We are 4 star mariners, not sure if that factors in

 

That's a great price! Congrats. Can I ask if you booked thru a TA or directly with hal (online, phone or PCC)?

Edited December 5, 2014 by cruz chic

[cruz chic]

<snip>

 

How could it be considered anything but an upgrade? :confused:

 

 

I'm wondering the same thing.

[cruz chic]

Did you get an up sell or upgrade? Congratulations and I hope you have a great cruise.

 

Hal does not do upsells within the same category.

[jaguarstyper]

Yes, certainly it is an upgrade.

Look at the price of an "SC" and compare to the price of "SA".

If you are assigned a cabin in higher category, that is listed at a higher price and you pay nothing more, that is an upgrade.

 

How could it be considered anything but an upgrade? :confused:

 

Umm, I don't know. So, it is an upgrade. I finally got an upgrade on HAL. That's awesome. :D

 

I guess in my mind, an upgrade is something you would pay for. Like you call HAL and say I would like to upgrade, what are my options. I always viewed an upsell as a something generally unsolicited that HAL throws out to people. But, I now know the difference between an upgrade and an upsell.

 

Thanks!

Edited December 6, 2014 by jaguarstyper

[sail7seas]

Umm, I don't know. So, it is an upgrade. I finally got an upgrade on HAL. That's awesome. :D

 

I guess in my mind, an upgrade is something you would pay for. Like you call HAL and say I would like to upgrade, what are my options. I always viewed an upsell as a something generally unsolicited that HAL throws out to people. But, I now know the difference between an upgrade and an upsell.

 

Thanks!

 

 

An Upsell is when you pay more to HAL to go from one category to a higher one.

 

An Upgrade is when HAL moves you to a higher category without charging you anything more than what you paid for the lower category cabin. :)

 

[PathfinderEss]

Hal does not do upsells within the same category.

 

Yes they do, when you pay less for an SC then an SA they do upsell them.

[sail7seas]

Yes they do, when you pay less for an SC then an SA they do upsell them.

 

While they are both Neptune Suites, they technically are not the same category as the "SC" costs less than the "SA" cabins. I suppose you are right, though, seeing they have the same descriptive name but different locations.