Upgrade in cabin after final payment made

[Luke104]

I'm sailing solo in 3 weeks, in a studio cabin. I've noticed the pricing on an interior with one perk is now 70.00 cheaper than I paid. I contacted NCL in expecting to upgrade and receive the difference of money paid in form of OBC. I was told that this was a "special" and I could not upgrade. I would like to hear from others if they were able to upgrade. I think I made have been misled.

[shof515]

depending on the cabin category,, it can be consider a downgrade instead of an upgrade

Edited November 2, 2018 by shof515

[LinnieRed]

I upgraded after final payment just this past month. It wasn’t easy, and I had to persevere and talk to 3 different people, but the room was on line for a certain price and I wanted it! Finally someone made it happen. Call back and fingers crossed that you get someone who knows how to do it. 

[dcipjr]

I've never had a problem upgrading past final payment, but in every case, I've always asked NCL if I could "buy up" to a higher category cabin than what I paid for. Even if it's only a couple hundred dollars difference, NCL won't turn down getting more money.

[heelfan94]

21 minutes ago, LinnieRed said:

I upgraded after final payment just this past month. It wasn’t easy, and I had to persevere and talk to 3 different people, but the room was on line for a certain price and I wanted it! Finally someone made it happen. Call back and fingers crossed that you get someone who knows how to do it. 

I think trying again is the right option.  It seems like I get a different answer when I try that.  Maybe the reps all have different experience levels or maybe some genuinely don't know how to do something, but they almost always give different answers.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, dcipjr said:

I've never had a problem upgrading past final payment, but in every case, I've always asked NCL if I could "buy up" to a higher category cabin than what I paid for. Even if it's only a couple hundred dollars difference, NCL won't turn down getting more money.

but OP is trying to upgrade to a cabin that is cheaper than what he paid for his cabin. Why would he want to pay for this upgrade?

[LinnieRed]

Same logic applies. When price went down I simply called and they moved me into the better cabin. 

 

Maybe the the problem is that in a single studio cabin he paid for himself only. In any other cabin if you are sailing single you still need to pay for the whole cabin (double), minus any taxes and port fees for the second guest. 

[dcipjr]

12 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

but OP is trying to upgrade to a cabin that is cheaper than what he paid for his cabin. Why would he want to pay for this upgrade?

 

I meant that OP might have better luck if he found a better cabin category that is currently more expensive than his, and offered to buy up to that one. NCL probably would be more inclined to accept a paid upgrade (more money in their pocket) rather than moving him into a better cabin and giving OP back OBC (less money in their pocket).

 

I really am surprised that anyone here has been successful in calling a cruise line after final payment and asking for a free upgrade and money back. To me, that seems rather bold. 

 

On the other hand, offering to buy up and pay a bit more for a better cabin is a win/win for everyone.

Edited November 2, 2018 by dcipjr

[neilkear]

51 minutes ago, LinnieRed said:

Same logic applies. When price went down I simply called and they moved me into the better cabin. 

 

Maybe the the problem is that in a single studio cabin he paid for himself only. In any other cabin if you are sailing single you still need to pay for the whole cabin (double), minus any taxes and port fees for the second guest. 

 

There's your answer right there! Studio's are single payment whereas interior's are PP for 2.

[Luke104]

Just to clarify (#9), The interior is NOT posted as PP for 2, it is posted as a solo rate for that particular cruise.

[wayneb1973]

I travel solo and quite often find the solo rate for an inside is cheaper than the studio 

[CoffeeGoddess]

Past final payment they won't let you "upgrade" to a cheaper cabin.  The last time i called to see about getting OBC or switch over to a higher category cabin that was now the same as what I paid, they told me they couldn't do that anymore and it had to be a cabin that cost more, even if it was only a few more dollars.  You can certainly try again and see if the next person will do it for you but you really will have a better chance if you ask for an upgrade to a cabin that will cost you something.   Or wait and see if the studios go down from what you paid and then call to see if they will give you 20% (I think that was the percentage) of the difference in OBC.

[BlueLadyBlue]

Has the price of your studio cabin gone down?  We called after final payment when the price of our cabin went down as I read on CC that NCL would give you 25% of the difference as OBC. The agent I spoke to said that first they have to look to see if there is an upgrade available.  There was and we were upgraded from a balcony to a mini suite.  We are sailing on the Sun and I believe the minis are quite a bit bigger.

in my own experience and having more faith in the knowledge of the folks here on CC then some of the NCL agents, if I don’t get the answer I believe to be correct, I just politely thank the agent, hang up and call back a bit later.

Once I had to phone the corporate number but I finally got what I was looking for.  So, always call back!

[zqvol]

9 hours ago, Luke104 said:

I'm sailing solo in 3 weeks, in a studio cabin. I've noticed the pricing on an interior with one perk is now 70.00 cheaper than I paid. I contacted NCL in expecting to upgrade and receive the difference of money paid in form of OBC. I was told that this was a "special" and I could not upgrade. I would like to hear from others if they were able to upgrade. I think I made have been misled.

 

You can upgrade, but the upgrade has to cost more than you have already paid. You are requesting a downgrade. Check the price on an OV, and see if you can get that for a little bit more.

[zqvol]

6 hours ago, neilkear said:

 

There's your answer right there! Studio's are single payment whereas interior's are PP for 2.

 

Dollars are Dollars. You simply figure the total price for the cabin. Sometimes studio are more than insides, it doesn't matter how many people are there. This is a typical cruise line advertising ploy. The cabins have a set price, they advertise the price as 1/2 the cabin price.

[niborHS]

It could be because you have the studio cabin. At the last minute I joined a group of friends, so took an inside knowing that I was paying double. When the price of an outside dropped to what I had paid, I called and they gave me an outside. However, I had booked directly with NCL, rather than through a TA or some other non-NCL website. I have never found a website that give a better price than either direct through NCL or through a TA. 

[April42749]

OP wants to "upgrade" to a better cabin and get the price difference as an OBC.  It' not going to happen.  They will only upgrade if you pay them more money.

 

As far as price going down and getting OBC....the price went down on my recent cruise and I asked the TA if NCL would give me an OBC (25% as I read here) for the difference.  The TA said "no".  When I asked on this forum about the policy I was flamed blah blah blah for being so greedy & cheap.  I think (and think only) that the policy is to give nothing, but if you deal with NCL directly and get a nice rep and ask to speak to the supervisor and the sun is in the right position, then you may have luck (TA has to do more work and probably receive less in commission).