Looking for advice about upgrading room

[molly2kit]

Hello all,

 

I am looking for some advice about possibly getting a better room on an upcoming cruise.

 

We booked through a Canadian TA. 2 cruises back to back.

 

For some reason it looks like it was booked as one cruise of 16 days, not a 7 day and then a 9 day.

 

We are in an oceanview room - the date for the cruise is approaching and I would like to move to a balcony. It does not appear that there is a balcony room available for the full 16 days but there are balconies for the 7 day and then different ones for the 9 day cruise.

 

I did call the upsell department and they said no rooms available. Is the fact that this is booked as one long cruise going to be an issue? We do not mind if we have to change to a different room after the first cruise.

 

Does anyone have any experience with this or any suggestions other than calling the upsell department?

 

Thank you

[April42749]

The upsell dept. is only for upsells, right before the cruise.

Call your TA or NCL reservations (not upsell).

Edited April 23, 2016 by April42749

[molly2kit]

Ok, thank you, will try that

[molly2kit]

I called Norwegian who told me to call my travel agent.

 

I called my travel agent who phoned Norwegian - Here is the story she was told. Apparently this was originally a 16 day cruise, Norway and then Baltic. It wasn't selling well so it has now been split into 2 cruises, 7 day to Norway and 9 day to Baltic. There are now no Balcony or higher cabins available for the full 16 days in the same cabin. I advised we are fine for 2 separate cabins but that is a no go.

 

I told the agent when I booked (of course I don't have a screen shot) it showed the 7 day cruise, the 9 day cruise and a 16 day cruise. I guess I got booked on the 16 day because that would have only been one form to fill out or who knows. We booked the cruise Sept 1 2015.

 

Anyway, because the 2 consecutive cruises have been booked as one, that means there will be no paid upgrade for us. I do not plan on using this travel agency again and will always book individually when doing B2B cruises. I usually book with the cruise line direct because I like to be able to talk to them directly, with no go between.

 

Lesson learned.

Edited April 25, 2016 by molly2kit

[littlelulu01]

That's a tough call and you never really know which way prices will go on these b2b's. I used to think it was always a better deal to book as two separate and get twice the perks plus an opportunity to upgrade one or both would be better because the chance of certain cabins available both legs decreases closer to sailing.

 

But last year I saw some b2b sailings that were half the cost and reduced drastically just prior to sailing whereas if booked separately they didn't go down much.

 

This year I wanted to book the Jade as two separate but when I initially booked for September this year, price was half if booked as one cruise, the only perk difference was a couple extra speciality dinners and the taxes/port fees were higher if booked as two separate so I ended up booking as one cruise. I've been watching price drops for the May Jade sailings and last minute deals are still no better than I got booking far in advance. I know I'll probably be in the same boat you are in and not be able to upgrade at the last minute but with such port intensive itineraries I'm ok with that.

 

I still think overall your chances of upgrades are better if booked as two separate but it all depends. Not sure if you priced separately when you booked but at the time it may have been a considerable savings like mine was, which can give you piece of mind.

 

The whole ta thing can be a pain to have to go through them vs just being able to call NCL but if they give you a good obc it's worth it. If little difference then I just go with NCL. Always good to check first to see what the ta can give you before deciding.

 

Have a great trip. 16 day cruise with a great itinerary and no need to switch rooms halfway through. We were on b2b last year and 2nd half I could have upgraded from ov to balcony for like $20. My kids would not switch because they didn't want to lose their steward or pack.

 

Idk if it would work but always worth a try to call the upsell number yourself and try again. I've not read any account of someone in your situation but perhaps you might have some luck there.

Edited April 26, 2016 by littlelulu01

[molly2kit]

Thank you for this. We didn't get any perks from the TA, we got our choice of a few options and we chose gratuities, would have gotten them with either option. I really don't recall if there was a price difference in booking the single cruise, if there was it was minimal, like $100 each. Ironically, the reason I chose the TA was because I am Canadian and NCL only shows online prices in US$. We always book in Canadian. I have had an NCL rep call frequently and email even more in the past and it was hard to stop and I didn't want it to get started again. I have recently found a new big warehouse Canadian travel site that does give more perks so might have to try that. I will call upswell again and I have sent an email to NCL customer service asking if there is anything that can be done, I am trying to pay for an upgrade, not get a free one.

[littlelulu01]

I'm not sure if NCL customer service will be able to help you because your ta owns the reservation. You could see if ta can try again but seems like if there isn't one room available for both segments they probably can't sell you an upgrade. You never know if one will pop up though because others are also probably upgrading thus potentially vacating a potential room for you.

 

Seems like if the upsell department is in the business of selling out the ship at last min unadvertised prices they may also be able to work on getting you into two different rooms. they're winning by getting more $ from you so they may be able to do something that NCL regular booking process can't? Since you are still three weeks away I'd keep trying. Perhaps at two weeks out if there's quite a bit of inventory they can do something they normally wouldn't be able to.

 

If not, the ocean view rooms are not bad. We found some favorite deck spaces and enjoyed the public areas. Ship public areas never felt too crowded. People are off the ship most of the day and ship never felt crowded even on sea days. You could always treat yourselves to something special with the money you were willing to spend on the upgrade if it doesn't pan out. Good luck.