Disappointing upsell offer

[Bedruthen]

Wow, didn't expect so many people to comment, but thanks guys, you have all made some very valid comments and I pretty much agree with everything that has been said.
In 15 years of cruising, we have always booked the cabin we want to occupy, have never taken a guarantee, and mark our booking as do not change or upgrade. I only posted originally simply because there is a lot of chatter on here from people hoping that they get an upsell offer, so that when we received one, we expected it to be some sort of great deal.
At the end of the day I always think that when you've booked your cabin, you've booked it a price that you are willing to pay at the time to secure your cruise. I never worry about what happens after that, far too busy planning port excursions and counting down the days. Happy Cruising everyone! Edited April 3, 2015 by Bedruthen

[DaveOKC]

[quote name='boze9999']Keep in mind that most upsells typically happen in the last week or two prior to sailaway and can frequently happen just a few days away, dependent on itinerary.

I agree with all who say - book the room/category you will be happy with, should no upsells which match your financial expectations come your way.

And BTW - if you or your TA mark your reservation "Do not change/upgrade", you typically will not get the upsell email.[/QUOTE]

Since I usually book a cabin I like, I mark it "do not upgrade", as often the upgraded cabin will be less desirable (to me). I still get upsell offers though. I do let my PCC know that I would be interested in an upsell. Edited April 3, 2015 by DaveOKC

[kazu]

One thing I think that can be forgotten is that the posts we see on the boards are often the $199 or $299 upsells on a 7 day cruise. I think these are the exceptions and not the rule especially if the cruise is a longer one.

All upsells are not cheap and you have to have the figure in your mind what is worth it to you and what is not.

Like others, we too have to book far out for things like dog care, time off work, flights (FF miles), etc. We book what we will be happy with and if the upsell fairy smiles upon us (my TA is very good at that) and it is do-able, we will gladly take it if we like the location.

[sapper1]

If I buy a dress I want early in the season I do it with full knowledge that it will be on sale in a few months. However if I like the dress and want to make sure to get it in my size I buy it. I certainly do not begrudge the fact that another person may buy the same dress at half price later. It was my choice to buy it.

The same applies to paying for our cruises. If the price for the cabin we want is what we are willing to pay, we book it. I couldn't care less if someone else comes along at the last minute and takes an upsell to the same category at a saving. That is none of my business and I don't give it a second thought. Until I read this thread I didn't know that some cruisers get bent out of shape about it.
Interesting reading for sure.

[Oceanwench]

What recourse does HAL have if all the Neptune Suites don't sell out?
Leave them empty?

I think it makes more sense for HAL to offer them to the next lower category as an upsell - making it, usually, a win-win for both passengers and cruise line.

I'd rather see HAL get $$$ out of moving people up a notch, than to see the company give out complimentary upgrades.

[Oceanwench]

[quote name='sapper1']If I buy a dress I want early in the season I do it with full knowledge that it will be on sale in a few months. However if I like the dress and want to make sure to get it in my size I buy it. I certainly do not begrudge the fact that another person may buy the same dress at half price later. It was my choice to buy it.

The same applies to paying for our cruises. If the price for the cabin we want is what we are willing to pay, we book it. I couldn't care less if someone else comes along at the last minute and takes an upsell to the same category at a saving. That is none of my business and I don't give it a second thought. Until I read this thread I didn't know that some cruisers get bent out of shape about it.
Interesting reading for sure.[/quote]


Excellent analogy!

[DaveOKC]

[quote name='kazu']One thing I think that can be forgotten is that the posts we see on the boards are often the $199 or $299 upsells on a 7 day cruise. I think these are the exceptions and not the rule especially if the cruise is a longer one.

All upsells are not cheap and you have to have the figure in your mind what is worth it to you and what is not.
[/QUOTE]

Very true. Case in point - look at the difference in Signature and Neptune on most 7 day Caribbean cruises. Now compare Vista to Neptune on a 7 day on one of the smaller ships.

I did a test for Jan 31, 2016. $600 vs $1300! So, a $199-299 upsell is about 1/3 to 1/2 the difference on the larger HAL ships. Using the same ratio we would get $400 to 650 for the smaller ships.

Naturally, similar pricing differences should occur in comparing 7 day to longer cruises. Edited April 3, 2015 by DaveOKC

[sapper1]

[quote name='Oceanwench']What recourse does HAL have if all the Neptune Suites don't sell out?
Leave them empty?

I think it makes more sense for HAL to offer them to the next lower category as an upsell - making it, usually, a win-win for both passengers and cruise line.

I'd rather see HAL get $$$ out of moving people up a notch, than to see the company give out complimentary upgrades.[/QUOTE]

As a shareholder I agree with this reasoning. In fact, I really like this reasoning. :)

[Hlitner]

We are in empathy with the OP. The only upsell offer we have ever received was for $9,999 from a porthole cabin to a suite on the Prinsendam. We did make a counteroffer which was rejected and that upsell cabin remained sans passengers for out entire cruise.

Hank

[Randyk47]

[quote name='Hlitner']We are in empathy with the OP. The only upsell offer we have ever received was for $9,999 from a porthole cabin to a suite on the Prinsendam. We did make a counteroffer which was rejected and that upsell cabin remained sans passengers for out entire cruise.

Hank[/QUOTE]

While not exactly the same, only $4,000 in our case, this is very similar to the one and only upsell offer from what is now called a Vista suite to a Neptune suite. It was for 100% of the fare difference so not a penny of savings or discount. We counter offered but got basically a "thanks but no thanks". Supposedly the ship was full when we sailed so they found somebody to pay something for the cabin(s).

[Lizzie68]

[quote name='sapper1']If I buy a dress I want early in the season I do it with full knowledge that it will be on sale in a few months. However if I like the dress and want to make sure to get it in my size I buy it. I certainly do not begrudge the fact that another person may buy the same dress at half price later. It was my choice to buy it.

The same applies to paying for our cruises. If the price for the cabin we want is what we are willing to pay, we book it. I couldn't care less if someone else comes along at the last minute and takes an upsell to the same category at a saving. That is none of my business and I don't give it a second thought. Until I read this thread I didn't know that some cruisers get bent out of shape about it.
Interesting reading for sure.[/quote]

I absolutely agree. I feel happy for those who get a nice upgrade or upsell, but I certainly don't begrudge them for paying less than I did for my cabin. I got to pick exactly what I wanted long ago, and didn't have to worry about where I would end up on the ship.

[Cruzin Terri]

[quote name='sapper1']If I buy a dress I want early in the season I do it with full knowledge that it will be on sale in a few months. However if I like the dress and want to make sure to get it in my size I buy it. I certainly do not begrudge the fact that another person may buy the same dress at half price later. It was my choice to buy it.

The same applies to paying for our cruises. If the price for the cabin we want is what we are willing to pay, we book it. I couldn't care less if someone else comes along at the last minute and takes an upsell to the same category at a saving. That is none of my business and I don't give it a second thought. Until I read this thread I didn't know that some cruisers get bent out of shape about it.
Interesting reading for sure.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you. And if I decide to wait for the dress to go on sale, I am not going to be "disappointed" at the sale price. If I don't like the lower price then I don't buy it.
The same with the cruise. It appears to me that this board sometimes creates an unreal expectation of low-price upsells and free upgrades. I think they happen a lot less frequently than we are led to believe.
I too, book my cruise at the best price I can get and live with it, knowing full well the occupants of the next cabin may have gotten a better deal. I rarely get an upsell; if I do and the price is right, I would take it.
Terri

[DaveOKC]

Another thought on the upsell pricing - what we see reported on CC is mostly the best deals, and the folks that pay a higher price than that ($199-299) are unlikely to post the higher amounts - human nature.

[cruz chic]

[quote name='DaveOKC']Another thought on the upsell pricing - what we see reported on CC is mostly the best deals, and the folks that pay a higher price than that ($199-299) are unlikely to post the higher amounts - human nature.[/QUOTE]

There has only been once when I saw an offer like this. I've paid multiples of this amount for upsells. People really need to understand that this isn't the norm and not to expect it. Thankfully hal has a few standards to upsells. It gives enough away already.

[Randyk47]

[quote name='DaveOKC']Another thought on the upsell pricing - what we see reported on CC is mostly the best deals, and the folks that pay a higher price than that ($199-299) are unlikely to post the higher amounts - human nature.[/QUOTE]

I agree. I think what we most often see here are the extremes, either extremely low or extremely high upsell offers. My all time favorite upgrade/upsell related posting from a few years ago wasn't an upsell but an upgrade complaint. Poor poster came here and said they'd never cruise HAL again because they'd booked a guarantee and didn't get upgraded and may have even gotten the worst cabin available in their booked category. I don't remember the outcome of that thread but it was apparent after some back and forth their understanding of "guarantee" was that you were guaranteed to get a higher level cabin for a lower category price. Kind of like all upsells are bargains. :)

[cruz chic]

[quote name='Randyk47']I agree. I think what we most often see here are the extremes, either extremely low or extremely high upsell offers. My all time favorite upgrade/upsell related posting from a few years ago wasn't an upsell but an upgrade complaint. Poor poster came here and said they'd never cruise HAL again because they'd booked a guarantee and didn't get upgraded and may have even gotten the worst cabin available in their booked category. I don't remember the outcome of that thread but it was apparent after some back and forth their understanding of "guarantee" was that you were guaranteed to get a higher level cabin for a lower category price. Kind of like all upsells are bargains. :)[/QUOTE]

I think some folks are very confused about guarantees. They seem to think that hal is interested in their laundry list of wants and needs in a cabin then get very angry when someone posts that's not what a guarantee is.

[DaveOKC]

[quote name='cruz chic']I think some folks are very confused about guarantees. They seem to think that hal is interested in their laundry list of wants and needs in a cabin then get very angry when someone posts that's not what a guarantee is.[/QUOTE]

Agree. Its like they expect HAL to figure out what each cruiser values in a cabin. Maybe someday this will be the case, but it certainly is not so now.

[Randyk47]

[quote name='cruz chic']I think some folks are very confused about guarantees. They seem to think that hal is interested in their laundry list of wants and needs in a cabin then get very angry when someone posts that's not what a guarantee is.[/QUOTE]

Absolutely. Of course threads get lost, in the sense they're old and get buried several pages, but there certainly have been some very good discussions over the years about what guarantees, upsells, and upgrades are or are not. Probably doesn't help that not all lines handle these the same way which leads to a transfer of what may be correct information for one line but not the other.

[JohnDG]

Make it easy on yourself.

Figure out ahead of time how much you are willing to pay for an upsell. Let us say you are willing to pay $1,000:

* If you get the upsell, then you got a bargain and you happy.
* If you don't get the upsell, then you saved $1,000 and you are happy.

Win/win.

jdg

[Oceanwench]

I am amused by the people who book an Oceanview guarantee and expect to end up in a Neptune Suite.
Why would HAL do that, when they can dangle the upsell carrot in front of pax in an SS or SY?

[cruz chic]

[quote name='Oceanwench']I am amused by the people who book an Oceanview guarantee and expect to end up in a Neptune Suite.
Why would HAL do that, when they can dangle the upsell carrot in front of pax in an SS or SY?[/QUOTE]

Totally agree. It always seems to happen to people that don't want to pay $50 for an upsell and then something like that falls in their laps. Edited April 3, 2015 by cruz chic

[Rosethorn40]

Last week I booked a 12-day Baltic's cruise. Because the sail date is less than 75 days out I knew that if the price dropped I probably wouldn't get to take advantage of the lower fares, so I booked an interior, in the hopes that in the next month or so prices would come down and I might be able to upgrade my cabin at little or no cost. Naturally, last night I get an email from HAL and my cabin category had dropped $200 pp in price. :( I called HAL to see if I could move over to an OV, since they were now lower than what I originally paid. I was transferred to a supervisor (Really don't know why? I didn't ask for one and wasn't upset, just asking if it could be done) who started playing [B]"Let's Make a Deal"[/B] Door #1-I could move over to an OV with no increase in price. Door #2-I could upgrade to a veranda for less than the new published price (About 50% less), or Door #3, a Signature Suite (Guarantee SY) for an additional $550 pp. To go from an interior to a suite on a 12-day cruise for $1100 more seemed like a good value to me, so I took it.

Now it's on to [B]"Wheel of Fortune" [/B]to see what my SY Guarantee gets me. :)

[cruise_bunnies]

[quote name='Bedruthen']Okay that's interesting. We haven't sailed with Holland America before, so not sure how these things work. It's a bit of a disadvantage being in the UK because of the time difference. We got the offer at midnight, so had to wait until the UK office opened the next day But they have to contact Seattle to confirm any offers, by which time the Seattle office is closed, so closing the deal quickly would be quite a challenge!![/quote]

We are HAL NL and we always receive the upsell offer after the closing of NL office. So we call HAL USA and they will upgrade us, never a problem. I suggest you do this if you get a real tempting offer.

You can't book through USA/Seattle, but they can upgrade you, as they have the upsell offers on file.

[Tampa Girl]

We always book a specific cabin and usually at least 15 - 18 months in advance if it is a TA. And we are probably paying top dollar at that point. But - what some seem to not realize, is that just because you booked at top dollar does not mean that prices will not be later reduced. In that case, as we have discovered, and as our most recent TA advised, keep track of the prices and ask for a reduction because HAL usually will reduce it. We had several reductions on our last TA, the last being after final payment. HAL did not reduce the price, but they did give a very healthy OBC pp, which effectively did reduce the price.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Post deleted. Edited April 5, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78