Upsell fairy called...

[The Other Tom]

OK, actually an email. They want to upsell us a penthouse suite for $1,000 per person. We're in a balcony now. That would essentially double the price of my cruise. Why should I do that ?

[Jancruz]

Negotiate with them..for $750 if you really want to upgrade

Jancruz1

[SissasMomE]

That lasted :rolleyes:

 

OP - it's up to you if it's worth it or not. I personally wouldn't, but there are others here who definitely would.

[All-ready2cruise]

OK, actually an email. They want to upsell us a penthouse suite for $1,000 per person. We're in a balcony now. That would essentially double the price of my cruise. Why should I do that ?

 

Not sure I would do it for that price but it really depends what's important to you. We lucked out on a cruise a couple years ago. We were booked on the Pearl and they had lots of suites still available a month prior to the cruise date. We were, like you, in a balcony and upsold into an AFT PH for less than $100 PP.

Plus, you'll need to figure in the additional tip for the Butler & Concierge, so while the perks are great, the cost is not just about the cabin.

 

I'd figure out what's more important but truthfully the extra zero seems pretty steep to me.

 

Good luck making your decision and enjoy your cruise no matter what you decide.

[AF-1]

I would take upsell if they thru in the UDP/UBP, and all service charges.

[Kingmaker_inc]

... a balcony and upsold into an AFT PH for less than $100 PP.

 

Our upsell was from a mini-suite to a 2 Bdr Haven for $1500. It was totally worth it, but we have not been able to go back. The extra expense carries on to future cruises. :)

[15yearsandwaiting]

On the Jewel in Jan of 2014 we went from an inside cabin and a balcony for 4 total people to a 2 bedroom suite for $171 total. We did lose our $200 obc but got $300 obc. No Brainer I did not even consult my husband. Booked a DOS for this Jan because 6 of us are going.

[cruiserninja1]

On the Jewel in Jan of 2014 we went from an inside cabin and a balcony for 4 total people to a 2 bedroom suite for $171 total. We did lose our $200 obc but got $300 obc. No Brainer I did not even consult my husband. Booked a DOS for this Jan because 6 of us are going.

 

 

I want this to happen to me lol

[cruisencrazy]

How far out from your departure are you receiving these offers? We leave on the 24th. Wondering if I should be checking my messages...lol

[Tiggertastic]

It's what you can afford or not

 

You get breakfast and lunch in cagneys

Butler and concierge

Access to suite amenities but nit the haven

Does it include udp and ubp as its not haven

Has a great coffee machine if you're into coffee

Nice bathroom with a tub

 

Do you do it or use the money for a second cruise?

[The Other Tom]

Thanks for the replies. We're sailing May 17, so about two weeks out. I'm not going to take this upsell (too much $$). Will save the money for something else.

[Nola26]

Thanks for the replies. We're sailing May 17, so about two weeks out. I'm not going to take this upsell (too much $$). Will save the money for something else.

 

You can always counter. You're in a balcony if you want a spa balcony ask for that upsell. It would give you access to the thermal suite for your cruise. If you can make that happen for less than $400 you have a deal.

[ute_fan]

Thanks for the replies. We're sailing May 17, so about two weeks out. I'm not going to take this upsell (too much $$). Will save the money for something else.

 

Got the same kind of offer for the same date. Mine actually had my choice of 3 different upgrades -- penthouse suite with large balcony, Haven 2 bedroom family suites, or the deluxe owners suite -- for increasing amount of $$$. All of the offers were too rich for my blood.

 

I emailed my PCC to see if there was anything he could do to sweeten the deal and didn't hear anything (at least yet), but it would have needed to be a significant decrease before I would have jumped. I don't drink coffee and wouldn't know what to do with a butler or concierge if I had one, and we don't spend enough time in our cabin to feel that it's worth the extra cost.

[GateGuardian]

I got the upsell fairy call once for a NCL Sky cruise, it was well worth it. I think I went from Balcony to Owner Suite for $600 on a 4 day cruise.

 

Cross fingers and hopefully I will get a call for me Getaway cruise as I think it may be too crowded to hang around public spaces all the time.

 

Anyone know if the upsell fairy is the same person as the PCC or it's a whole different department? Wondering if there's any point in letting my PCC know I'm interested in last minute upgrade deals.

[Cruising Golfer]

Got my E-Mail today. Upsell from Balcony to Haven, 1500-2000 per person.

I want some of whatever it is they are smoking!!! :eek:

I could just book another cruise or two on Carnival... :cool:

[mking8288]

Got my E-Mail today. Upsell from Balcony to Haven, 1500-2000 per person.

I want some of whatever it is they are smoking!!! :eek:

I could just book another cruise or two on Carnival... :cool:

LOL, you gotta that right. To each their own, I suppose. ROTFLMAO.

For $3,500 to $4,500 - you can fly seasonally round-trip LAS to HNL, get a real oceanview hi-floor suite for a week and pay for lots of fine dining, do a fancy luau feast, etc.

Suffice to say, NCL in its quest to become an upscale line isn't necessary doing so well pimping its higher end cabins - not all cruisers care for upgrading beyond mini-suites & spa balconies. Definitely can book 2 nice equally nice ones or a B2B on CCL, with the larger "regular" balcony, walking around with a buzz at all hours to not waste the UBP isn't our idea of a cruise vacation.

Edited May 6, 2015 by mking8288

[ute_fan]

So, the upsell fairy strikes again. Got another email this morning, with the previous offers cut in half cost-wise. Hooked me with this one :).

 

We did use $1,500 worth of cruise rewards on this cruise. I kept saying we had a balcony room for less than the cost of an inside cabin. We now have a suite for less than the cost of a balcony, so I was pleased with the offer.

[RSFCruiser]

Our upsell was from a mini-suite to a 2 Bdr Haven for $1500. It was totally worth it, but we have not been able to go back. The extra expense carries on to future cruises. :)

 

Indeed "the extra expense carries on to future cruises". We got the Fairy call four cruises ago and once we got a taste of The Haven we have never been able to book otherwise. OP - consider wisely . . .LOL :D

[The Other Tom]

So, the upsell fairy strikes again. Got another email this morning, with the previous offers cut in half cost-wise. Hooked me with this one :).

 

We did use $1,500 worth of cruise rewards on this cruise. I kept saying we had a balcony room for less than the cost of an inside cabin. We now have a suite for less than the cost of a balcony, so I was pleased with the offer.

You made out well since you had the cruise rewards. We don't have any rewards so we decided not to pull the trigger on the "half price" sale. My guess is that's their last reduction unless we get reeeeaaalll lucky and they offer an upgrade at check in.

Edited May 13, 2015 by The Other Tom

[Cruise4Real]

Nice job!

 

To answer some of the questions here, from what I can discern it looks like initial upsell emails go out about two weeks before sail date. If that doesn't move enough cabins, they send out another, with lower prices ($250 pp lower for all cabin types, in our experience) about one week before sail date. And then if THAT doesn't work they send out a third (again with lower prices, probably just a few days before sail date. That may be when they start making calls, if they still do that.

 

There's a devoted department to handle upsells. It's called, wait for it, Upsell Dept. That's how they answer the phone and if you call them, you will get different people, so it seems there are more than a few people handling this. One wonders just how much profit NCL makes from all this. Are their highest-priced cabins anything more than an elaborate marketing ploy to "keep the dream of all-inclusive alive," even as they chip away at the fundamentals of that dream down in steerage?

 

You will get more than one bite at the apple. You can call them and negotiate, but in our experience they weren't interested. They did tell us repeatedly that "we can't make that deal right now, but maybe later (next week)." I think if you get to the third email (without the cabin you're interested being sold off!) you may be able to negotiate successfully.

 

I used to hear about upsell calls, but now it seems they do it with emails and you call them. I think we're hearing more about upsells recently, perhaps because more people are getting emails than got the calls? Or maybe those super suites don't sell as well as hoped? I note that NCL has doubled down with even MORE Haven suites on the Escape -- gentlemen, start your upsell engines!

[Cruise4Real]

You made out well since you had the cruise rewards. We don't have any rewards so we decided not to pull the trigger on the "half price" sale. My guess is that's their last reduction unless we get reeeeaaalll lucky and they offer an upgrade at check in.

 

Tom, did you get (so far) two upsell emails on the two weeks prior, one week prior schedule? If you read my post immediately above this, you'll see I suggest there may be ONE last chance to get an upsell. Assuming there's still inventory to move, you could get an email TOMORROW. If you're still interested (though sounds like you've kind of decided against), now is also the time when you may be able to negotiate a lower price than what's offered in the email.

[conandrob240]

Our offer 6 moths ago was for $1000 total for the room, not pp if that info helps in you negotiation. We got them down to $750

[The Other Tom]

Tom, did you get (so far) two upsell emails on the two weeks prior, one week prior schedule? If you read my post immediately above this, you'll see I suggest there may be ONE last chance to get an upsell. Assuming there's still inventory to move, you could get an email TOMORROW. If you're still interested (though sounds like you've kind of decided against), now is also the time when you may be able to negotiate a lower price than what's offered in the email.

Yes, so far I've received two emails as you described. I called after the first one and tried to negotiate but no go. Hope I get one tomorrow. Thanks for the insights.

Edited May 14, 2015 by The Other Tom

[The Other Tom]

Alas, no third email. Maybe they sold out....:(

[Fergus29]

Alas, no third email. Maybe they sold out....:(

 

Of course you could go onto the NCL site and see what rooms (or as some of those large suites could be called - "apartments") are still available. If they are, you might be able to play dumb and reply to the most recent email you received.

 

We are in a ocean view guarantee for our next cruise to Alaska. First time ever. Have been to Alaska twice before, and all of our past cruises have always been in a balcony of some sort :p But we are operating on a budget for this one and it was a spur of the moment booking.

 

We are waaaay down the deck levels on this one. But, we have done this in the hope that we might get upgraded. We'll take the gamble, but if it doesn't pay off we are travelling with friends who are in a Balcony, so we will just go and make ourselves at home with them lol.

 

For now we are in "Aquarium Class - with the fishies" as my husband has decided to call it... :D

 

However we did get a free upgrade from a BA to an SF Aft Penthouse on our last Alaska cruise, so you just never know. Hang in there.