Upgrade / Upsell Fairy

[Anna32]

Got a call from the upgrade fairy (aka Raffael from HAL) yesterday, offering a very favourably priced upsell from our G guarantee ocean view cabin to a signature suite on our upcoming Prinsendam cruise (Aug 5).

 

Since this is the first time this has happened to us, my DH asked about the likelihood of this occuring . Especially since booking this cruise, we have seen cabin prices go up rather than down.

 

I am sure this has been discussed on these boards in lenghty detail. But since this is all new to us, we would be interested in crowd wisdom around it.

 

Our thoughts as to contributing factors:

 

General cabin sales - likelihood of selling cheaper cabins on the market, and trying to move people that are already booked into higher-priced cabins, creating more revenue off of them while at the same time making cheaper inventory available.

 

Status? We are both 3 Star Mariners, so not that high up the food chain...

 

The fact that our cruise (Aug 5 for two weeks) seems to be frequently booked together with the cruise directly before or after ours. Maybe there is a higher demand for oceanview cabins on these longer cruises?

 

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

[Skipper's Mom]

Take it! You'll love it!

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

[DaveOKC]

Getting an upsell 5 weeks out is a bit longer than normal (1-4 weeks), so I would guess sales must be a bit slow. Also, HAL seems to be starting the upsell process earlier than in the past and at the same time starting with higher amounts. Then they do a second or third round with lower prices.

 

Because of this, I generally calculate a price I want to pay and wait for it - if it gets to my level, great, if not, too bad for me. But I am still happy with my cabin, so no big deal.

 

My formula is to pay about 1/3rd of the price difference in the categories involved. For example, if the Signature Suites are CURRENTLY going for $2000 and the Neptunes are $3200, I normally would be willing to pay $400 for an upsell (1/3rd of the $1200 difference). Of course, this can vary a bit depending on how badly I want the upgrade (on cruises with alot of sea days the larger cabin is worth more to me, for example).

[jabcruiser]

Take it if it won't break the bank. You will love signature suite especially for a 14 day voyage. Would do it now as they tend to go quickly.

Jane

[FlorenceItaly]

A call is interesting as I thought they came via email. Let us know what you decide. Happy Cruising!

[Cruising-along]

We have received dozens of upsell offers over the years, but none of them were ever remotely what you could call reasonable.

 

We are leaving in less than 3 weeks for the VOV, and had booked one of the largest "sideways" inside cabins on the Rotterdam. Yesterday I thought what the heck, let's call our TA and see if they can make a deal with HAL for a Vista Suite. The worst that happens is they say no.....well you could knock me over with a feather, lol. We got a Vista Suite for half of the difference between what we paid for our inside and what Vista Suites are going for ($7,000 instead of $14,000). Timing is everything!

[Anna32]

A call is interesting as I thought they came via email. Let us know what you decide. Happy Cruising!

 

It was from their Rotterdam office. I had booked the cruise on the phone with them, maybe that‘s why?

[Anna32]

Take it! You'll love it!

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

 

We decided to take it, so excited!!!

[Anna32]

Getting an upsell 5 weeks out is a bit longer than normal (1-4 weeks), so I would guess sales must be a bit slow. Also, HAL seems to be starting the upsell process earlier than in the past and at the same time starting with higher amounts. Then they do a second or third round with lower prices.

 

Because of this, I generally calculate a price I want to pay and wait for it - if it gets to my level, great, if not, too bad for me. But I am still happy with my cabin, so no big deal.

 

My formula is to pay about 1/3rd of the price difference in the categories involved. For example, if the Signature Suites are CURRENTLY going for $2000 and the Neptunes are $3200, I normally would be willing to pay $400 for an upsell (1/3rd of the $1200 difference). Of course, this can vary a bit depending on how badly I want the upgrade (on cruises with alot of sea days the larger cabin is worth more to me, for example).

 

So these kind of offers seem to be more common than I thought... Thank you for sharing your formula! I just checked current pricing, and we payed about 35% of the price difference. I‘ll definitely keep your 1/3rd rule in mind for the future, seems to be a good baseline.

[Anna32]

We have received dozens of upsell offers over the years, but none of them were ever remotely what you could call reasonable.

 

We are leaving in less than 3 weeks for the VOV, and had booked one of the largest "sideways" inside cabins on the Rotterdam. Yesterday I thought what the heck, let's call our TA and see if they can make a deal with HAL for a Vista Suite. The worst that happens is they say no.....well you could knock me over with a feather, lol. We got a Vista Suite for half of the difference between what we paid for our inside and what Vista Suites are going for ($7,000 instead of $14,000). Timing is everything!

 

Congrats! VOV is high on our bucket list. I really hope HAL will still offer it when we retire and have the time to do it.

[RuthC]

We decided to take it, so excited!!!

You made the right decision. You are going to LOVE your porch!

[Anna32]

You made the right decision. You are going to LOVE your porch!

 

Going through the Kiel canal, I really wanted that private outside space. Doing the happy dance just now... :D

[puppycanducruise]

Lucky you!

Enjoy your cruise.

[Skipper's Mom]

We decided to take it, so excited!!!

We just spent 28 days on her in May, our third sailing on the P. Enjoy your good choice!

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

[kazu]

We decided to take it, so excited!!!

 

Excellent! The Prinsendam Signature Suites are the nicest in the fleet IMO.

 

Totally different layout than other Signature Suites (better).

 

More storage, lovely walk in closet, great seating area.

 

I think you will be very pleased :)

[winddawn]

We decided to take it, so excited!!!

 

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy it and have a great cruise.

[FlorenceItaly]

So happy for you!!!

[drowelf]

Excellent! The Prinsendam Signature Suites are the nicest in the fleet IMO.

 

Totally different layout than other Signature Suites (better).

 

More storage, lovely walk in closet, great seating area.

 

I think you will be very pleased :)

 

And 2 Sinks? One for each!.

 

Interesting that you got one for the 8/5 sailing. We are on the 8/19 sailing (in a SS) and last I heard from my TA was that ours is sold out.

 

We got an upgrade to a Prinsendam SS in 08/2016 and just loved it. I'm sure you will too.

 

Cheers,

[Anna32]

And 2 Sinks? One for each!.

 

Interesting that you got one for the 8/5 sailing. We are on the 8/19 sailing (in a SS) and last I heard from my TA was that ours is sold out.

 

We got an upgrade to a Prinsendam SS in 08/2016 and just loved it. I'm sure you will too.

 

Cheers,

 

We‘ll try and keep everything shipshape for your arrival!

 

The HAL rep told me on upgrading that they had a number of SS available for our sailing. I even got to pick a preference.

 

Cheers

Anna

[DaveOKC]

We‘ll try and keep everything shipshape for your arrival!

 

The HAL rep told me on upgrading that they had a number of SS available for our sailing. I even got to pick a preference.

 

Cheers

Anna

 

I always ask the upgrade person which cabins are available to select from and they always give me a list or check for me given what I prefer. Last cruise they said "well, since there is only one Neptune cabin available, I guess you are stuck with that one!" It was in a very good location (due to last minute cancellation I was told), so I was very happy.