What is your experience with upgrade offers?

[sammiedawg]

Jacquie, Move over offers are unpredictable but they can be lucrative. We booked a segment of the Insignia world cruise while on board Regatta. The cruise was sixteen months out when booked. Within a couple of months the move over offers started coming. The initial offers were not that great and since we always book our own air we had that cost as a consideration. We had no intention of accepting any of the offers but they kept sweetening the pot and we finally caved several months prior to the cruise date. We were able to change our air for a minimal cost and came out way ahead financially. We also had some flexibility in our schedule, which often is not the case.

I have no proof but wonder if passengers buying segments of the world cruise get more of these offers. It was cheap for O to move us out of a segment if they could get a customer on board for one hundred plus days.

I also wonder if R ship sailings generate more offers due to smaller passenger capacity?

O books lots of small alumni, bar and medical association groups. If they want to get a a Go Next Group on it is cheap to move others out. Not sure if this influences move overs?

My travel agent has no predictive model, she says sales patterns are hard to predict. She says O is hot, high volume business.

Edited October 14, 2015 by sammiedawg

[cruisingxpert]

sammie, I hate to be stupid, but what is a "move over offer" please? I know upsells and downgrades, but I haven't heard of move over offers before.

 

This is our first O cruise, and from what I can see everything is waitlisted from Concierge A and up? Can things change that much?

 

I am probably missing the boat and apologies if I have.

 

thanks :)

 

On our 7 day Med cruise last summer, we had 4 members of our Roll Call accept move over offers to a 10 day Papeete -Papeete cruise and keep all their perks. Most were on Inside cabins and were offered balcony cabins.

[Paulchili]

I just looked up your cruise and their seems to be a lot of availability :)...I am thinking you just may get your wish.

 

Actually, the less availability the more likely one is to be offered an upsell - especially if your category is full and higher ones are open.

The more popular (more fully booked) the cruise is the more likely there is going to be an upsell/move over offer.

[Paulchili]

If it is the case that the cruise is undersold and there are upgrade offers (that's a big if),

 

 

IME, if the cruise is undersold, O will offer incentives/lower prices to fill the ship with new bookings rather than offer upsells to those already booked (unless their category is full and higher ones are open).

[kazu]

Jacquie, Move over offers are unpredictable but they can be lucrative. We booked a segment of the Insignia world cruise while on board Regatta. The cruise was sixteen months out when booked. Within a couple of months the move over offers started coming. The initial offers were not that great and since we always book our own air we had that cost as a consideration. We had no intention of accepting any of the offers but they kept sweetening the pot and we finally caved several months prior to the cruise date. We were able to change our air for a minimal cost and came out way ahead financially. We also had some flexibility in our schedule, which often is not the case.

I have no proof but wonder if passengers buying segments of the world cruise get more of these offers. It was cheap for O to move us out of a segment if they could get a customer on board for one hundred plus days.

I also wonder if R ship sailings generate more offers due to smaller passenger capacity?

O books lots of small alumni, bar and medical association groups. If they want to get a a Go Next Group on it is cheap to move others out. Not sure if this influences move overs?

My travel agent has no predictive model, she says sales patterns are hard to predict. She says O is hot, high volume business.

 

On our 7 day Med cruise last summer, we had 4 members of our Roll Call accept move over offers to a 10 day Papeete -Papeete cruise and keep all their perks. Most were on Inside cabins and were offered balcony cabins.

 

thank you both very much. This seems to more prevalent on O than the other lines I have sailed. Appreciate it :)

[kazu]

Jacquie,

 

I referred to this kind of offer in my answer to Lee (not sure if it was on this thread or not).

 

We were booked on an oversold Alaska cruise in a PH. Oceania offered us a choice of one of three Med cruises a month or so later with an upgrade to a Vista (with no payment involved). They also gave us free Turkish visas, an extra $250 in OBC (we already had $1,000 for booking the Alaska cruise in the first season) and something else, I forget which. Maybe free internet.

 

It was an offer we couldn't refuse especially since it gave us our first opportunity to sail on Marina. This was in Oct 2011.

 

Obviously, there are no absolutes as to how often these offers come through or even if you will receive one. The best thing is to let your TA know that you are interested should such an offer come along.

 

Mura

 

thanks Mura. we're fine - I just didn't realize what this offer was. Got it now ;)

[sitraveler]

The Alaska situation was a one off. When O found it's sales were poor, they dropped the price and added OBC. Sales took off and they found themselves seriously oversold. They offered ever increasing incentives to resolve the situation, we were àctually on a Oceania pre cruise excursion and still getting offers.

We also received a move over offer from a trans Atlantic cruise to the then new Riviera, a longer Med cruise with upgrade to a penthouse. We later rebooked the TA cruise, at a higher price. I should have investigated just buying the move over offer. There were several on the Riviera who took the offer. Oceania knew they could sell the transatlantic, and used the offer to fill slow selling itinerary.

[buggins0402]

IME, if the cruise is undersold, O will offer incentives/lower prices to fill the ship with new bookings rather than offer upsells to those already booked (unless their category is full and higher ones are open).

 

Yes, what I should have said was what was in your parenthetical statement.

 

Both my cruises were full on the lower cabins, with openings on the higher priced cabins. So rather than gifting guaranty cabins free upgrades, O started shuffling things around with upsell offers about 7 to 10 days before sailing to maximize total ship revenue. But, my experience is not as extensive as yours.

 

Both my O cruises were not high demand though - one was a Baltic (impacted by Putin invading Ukraine) and an early December Caribbean. Took upgrade offers on both.

[TrulyBlonde]

Actually, the less availability the more likely one is to be offered an upsell - especially if your category is full and higher ones are open.

The more popular (more fully booked) the cruise is the more likely there is going to be an upsell/move over offer.

 

Thanks Paulchili....that makes sense and I learn something new everyday.

[newbie60]

Our recent New England/Canada trip was oversold and we began getting move over offers about six months out. At first they were just straight move offers with no money incentive. Then the offers started getting better and better: longer cruises, more perks, and cash back. The last offer came after final payment and was to give up our 10 day cruise for a 34 day Grand Voyage with cash back!

 

Timing is everything in life and we were not able to accept this lucrative offer but a comment earlier in this thread now reads very true -- the ship was loaded with Go Next People! In fact, nearly all of them were on large group tours so that the roll call for our cruise was virtually non-existent.

 

While on board, the groups did not create any fuss - Horizons had areas blocked off several times for their cocktail parties, etc. but it didn't cause any real difficulties. The funniest part was the folks (from a Southern college I shall not name) who felt it necessary to stick their college logos on their doors - I wanted to tell them they weren't on Celebrity anymore :)

[orchestrapal]

[quote name=newbie60;48012067

 

While on board' date=' the groups did not create any fuss - Horizons had areas blocked off several times for their cocktail parties, etc. but it didn't cause any real difficulties. The funniest part was the folks (from a Southern college I shall not name) who felt it necessary to stick their college logos on their doors - I wanted to tell them they weren't on Celebrity anymore :)[/quote]

 

We had the College crowd on one of the segments of a longer Med cruise.

The noise they made yelling at one another was truly not part of the usual O experience. The door stickers went up immediately and fortunately the housekeeping supervisor quickly removed them....so much for that Carnival touch!:mad:

Edited October 14, 2015 by orchestrapal

[newbie60]

We had the College crowd on one of the segments of a longer Med cruise.

The noise they made yelling at one another was truly not part of the usual O experience. The door stickers went up immediately and fortunately the housekeeping supervisor quickly removed them....so much for that Carnival touch!:mad:

 

Sorry, I should have said Carnival but having not been on either line, it was an honest "C" mistake.

[Hawaiidan]

Oh garsh! Now I'm thinking I really want that PH. :p

 

Next question: when you've received those upsell offers, at what point did you get them? How long should we wait before we just go ahead and upgrade ourselves at full pop?

 

First your master thesis on marina is valid...7008/7009 ( I spent 34 days Tahiti to NY in7008... Yes it is wind sheltered and spray too... huge open balcony 2 chase, 2 chairs and a table!!!

 

Be cautious about the first extended B3s on the aft section...

 

The way they are set up the dividers are the perfect wind trap/scoops. Looking aft from7008 I could clearly see the wind ( 25 kts) gathering intensity as it slams to the air dams...

No way would I get the first aft B#3 . The air gathers in intensity all the way down the ship.

Id look for a better option unless you love being in the eye of the storm.

[riandei]

I just looked up your cruise and their seems to be a lot of availability :)...I am thinking you just may get your wish.

 

 

 

i was hoping all this availability would lead to a DEAL

 

I've had my eyes on this sailing ... I love to go in January ...I like celebrating my birthday at sea

 

keeping my eyes OPEN

[G&G]

I did not read all the posts responding to the OP's request but the following is my experience with Oceania up sells.

 

We have sailed six times on Oceania since March 2013. Five of these cruises we received upsells and accepted.

 

This is what I do:

 

1. Stay in contact with your TA at least twice a week starting early December.

 

2. Also contact Oceania to see if upsells will be available. Do not worry if the Oceania Agent says no upsells. On a cruise in Oct14 I was told there would be no upsells from Oceania two days prior to sailing even though I found cabins unsold. Call my TA and told him to see what he could do. Received upsell 1 day prior to sail date.

 

3. Your cruise is currently wide open with unsold cabins. Check the status twice a week starting early Dec15. There are several sites other than Oceania where you can find the exact number of cabins unsold per category. Not able to tell you which sites due to CC rules.

 

4. Our upsells averages $200-$250/ person.

 

Hope this helps

[Travelcat2]

Not trying to throw cold water on this thread but I can't help myself. The more upsells are discussed, the more people tell their TA's that they want one. When the offers go out, they go to many TA's. If you don't "jump" on the offer immediately, it could disappear. This thread, IMO, is making more competition for yourself. I try to be helpful on the CC boards but prefer not to get too detailed when it comes to upsells!

 

P.S. TA's that work alone are at a disadvantage (actually, their customers are at a disadvantage) because if an offer comes through and no one is there, you lose the opportunity.]

Edited October 16, 2015 by Travelcat2

[Mura]

Travelcat,

 

You are right. I won't argue. But remember that the percentage of passengers on any cruise who log into CC are relatively few.

 

It has always been the advice of ANYONE who responds to such an inquiry: jump on it if you are interested. Personally, I feel that people who take time to post here to ask if they should take an offer have probably lost the opportunity.

 

There are times when you need to make a decision quickly without asking the opinions of others. I can understand wanting support for what you are inclined to do, but in general when this kind of opportunity comes up -- you need to say yes without waiting for other peoples' opinions.

 

Mura

[G&G]

 

P.S. TA's that work alone are at a disadvantage (actually, their customers are at a disadvantage) because if an offer comes through and no one is there, you lose the opportunity.]

 

I have been very lucky getting upsells. Why? Even though I have a TA I start calling Oceania 2-3 weeks prior to sailing to see first what they tell me. Also check to see how many cabins are unsold for each category. Three of my upsells originated from talks with calling Oceania, not waiting to hear from TA.

 

You are correct; if you wait to hear from your TA for an upsell it will probably be too late.

[Leejnd4]

First your master thesis on marina is valid...7008/7009 ( I spent 34 days Tahiti to NY in7008... Yes it is wind sheltered and spray too... huge open balcony 2 chase, 2 chairs and a table!!!

 

Be cautious about the first extended B3s on the aft section...

 

The way they are set up the dividers are the perfect wind trap/scoops. Looking aft from7008 I could clearly see the wind ( 25 kts) gathering intensity as it slams to the air dams...

No way would I get the first aft B#3 . The air gathers in intensity all the way down the ship.

Id look for a better option unless you love being in the eye of the storm.

 

I posted a thread on this very topic -- the wind buffeting in the first open extended-balcony cabins aft -- which is what I was originally booked in (7111). I did read that the wind can be pretty rough in those cabins, but at the time we booked it was the only open-sided extended balcony cabin available.

 

But then when our friend joined us, apparently somebody had cancelled because 7009 was available, so we nabbed it. YAY! :)

 

i was hoping all this availability would lead to a DEAL

 

I've had my eyes on this sailing ... I love to go in January ...I like celebrating my birthday at sea

 

keeping my eyes OPEN

 

If you do end up joining us, please be sure to check out our roll-call thread. So far it's pretty dead! But there are a few of us in there, and I'm sure it'll pick up as we get closer to sail date.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Leejnd4

[Leejnd4]

Travelcat,

 

You are right. I won't argue. But remember that the percentage of passengers on any cruise who log into CC are relatively few.

 

It has always been the advice of ANYONE who responds to such an inquiry: jump on it if you are interested. Personally, I feel that people who take time to post here to ask if they should take an offer have probably lost the opportunity.

 

There are times when you need to make a decision quickly without asking the opinions of others. I can understand wanting support for what you are inclined to do, but in general when this kind of opportunity comes up -- you need to say yes without waiting for other peoples' opinions.

 

Mura

 

This has been a common refrain for as long as I've been on CC - sshhhh don't talk about ABC or XYZ, or everyone will know! :D Booze smuggling techniques, secret beaches, underrated tours, the best private guides, etc. Unfortunately CC is pretty much the only way we HAVE to discuss these things with our fellow cruisers. So yes, you're absolutely right, Travelcat...we do tip our hands to the cruising public (as well as the cruise lines) when we discuss such issues, and that comes with risk. But I don't know any other method for asking these questions of such a friendly, helpful group of experienced cruisers, so I'll take that risk! :)

 

And as Mura has pointed out, the percentage of cruisers on CC really is quite low. That's been made very obvious to me numerous times when so few of my fellow passengers seem to know any of the awesome tips to improving the cruise experience that we've learned from CC.

 

A perfect example: the number of passengers on my Baltic cruise a few years ago who took at face value the information that Crystal sent them that they would need to purchase a Russian visa in order to go on any tours other than the ship tours. I met numerous people on board that cruise who would have MUCH preferred to use one of the private tour companies in St. Petersburg, but they read their docs and didn't dare. Whereas those of us on CC asked the questions and got the real skinny, and had fantastic private tours for half the price of the ships tours, with no visa needed.

 

Anyway...I have spoken with our TA, and given her a number for what we will be willing to pay for an upsell to a PH. If any offers come in at that amount or below, she has our permission to jump on it immediately, without waiting to contact us. And the number I gave her is not all that much lower than what it would cost to just buy the upgrade ourselves, so I figure any upsell will likely be less than that.

 

I wish I had the luxury of saying no at first and waiting for a better offer, but if we get the chance to get into a PH I don't want to lose it! So we'll take whatever comes in.

Edited October 16, 2015 by Leejnd4

[texasskier]

Agree 100% with dundeene. Let your travel agent know what you are willing to pay because the up sell offer may vanish before you hear about it. We were lucky enough to grab one from veranda to PH on our Riviera cruise last spring and are now totally spoiled.:)

[KBgirl]

The last time we sailed on the Riviera in 2013, we were offered an upgrade offer from Veranda to Penthouse - initially it was $1,500, and we said no. Then about a week later, the offer was for $1,000, and we grabbed it.

[potterhill]

Next question: when you've received those upsell offers, at what point did you get them? How long should we wait before we just go ahead and upgrade ourselves at full pop?

 

 

We've had offers months out and yesterday we got an offer for our cruise that departs on Oct 31. So like everyone else said, it depends.

 

Mo

[Travelcat2]

This has been a common refrain for as long as I've been on CC - sshhhh don't talk about ABC or XYZ, or everyone will know! :D Booze smuggling techniques, secret beaches, underrated tours, the best private guides, etc. Unfortunately CC is pretty much the only way we HAVE to discuss these things with our fellow cruisers. So yes, you're absolutely right, Travelcat...we do tip our hands to the cruising public (as well as the cruise lines) when we discuss such issues, and that comes with risk. But I don't know any other method for asking these questions of such a friendly, helpful group of experienced cruisers, so I'll take that risk! :)

 

And as Mura has pointed out, the percentage of cruisers on CC really is quite low. That's been made very obvious to me numerous times when so few of my fellow passengers seem to know any of the awesome tips to improving the cruise experience that we've learned from CC.

 

A perfect example: the number of passengers on my Baltic cruise a few years ago who took at face value the information that Crystal sent them that they would need to purchase a Russian visa in order to go on any tours other than the ship tours. I met numerous people on board that cruise who would have MUCH preferred to use one of the private tour companies in St. Petersburg, but they read their docs and didn't dare. Whereas those of us on CC asked the questions and got the real skinny, and had fantastic private tours for half the price of the ships tours, with no visa needed.

 

Anyway...I have spoken with our TA, and given her a number for what we will be willing to pay for an upsell to a PH. If any offers come in at that amount or below, she has our permission to jump on it immediately, without waiting to contact us. And the number I gave her is not all that much lower than what it would cost to just buy the upgrade ourselves, so I figure any upsell will likely be less than that.

 

I wish I had the luxury of saying no at first and waiting for a better offer, but if we get the chance to get into a PH I don't want to lose it! So we'll take whatever comes in.

 

I have no problem giving out information (except smuggling liquor - we would never even think of doing that) and have given out many "secrets". However, IMO, upsells are few and far between and I prefer to keep that information to myself as much as possible. Many times there are only 1 or 2 staterooms/cabins available and there are enough people on CC to snap them up quickly.

 

Most of our cruises are on Regent, but when we sail on Oceania, we book the suite that we want. Having followed Oceania's website for a long time, we learned that the best suites (for us) are booked up quickly (i.e. Oceania suites and Vista suites). On Regent, we book PH (which is okay) but hope for a level or two up from there and have been able to get them over 50% of the time.

[Mura]

It has never even occurred to me to reveal "secret" info about upsells because I know that it's hard enough to get one if you respond quickly. It just always has seemed a waste of time to post such info. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen such information posted. Maybe someone says "I got one!" but that's about it.

 

As to smuggling liquor on board, I confess to having done so on NCL ... I was too used to Oceania permitting us to bring our own on board. And I wouldn't think I'd need to on Regent given their policy.

 

I HAVE gotten good info about private guides ... and if I know of a good one that I have used, it wouldn't occur to me to keep it secret. It's up to the members here to try to contact one if they have a recommendation. What's the crime in that?

 

Mura