Upgrades

[57eric]

A free upgrade can be major (e.g. Inside to Outside) or minor (e.g. BB to BA).  Some cruise lines allow you to specify that you will only accept a major upgrade.  I am not clear whether Cunard permits this distinction.  Does anyone know?

 

Also, does Cunard maintain lists of those willing to pay for upgrades, or do you have to wait to be asked?

 

Thanks.

[kentchris]

You can't specify which sort of upgrade you're willing to accept if you book via Cunard's web site, but if you book by phone you can. 

[Summergee]

I telephoned to see see if  I could pay for an upgrade if a suitable cabin became available. Within 3 days I was offered a paid for upgrade, which we accepted. A few days before we left home we were also given a complimentary upgrade.

[Jack E Dawson]

6 hours ago, kentchris said:

You can't specify which sort of upgrade you're willing to accept if you book via Cunard's web site, but if you book by phone you can. 

kentchris,

Could that possibly be a UK thing? I booked a cruise 2 weeks ago and was asked if I wanted to be available for an upgrade or not. When I asked if I could specify the type of upgrade, I was told no. That if I opted in for an upgrade, then I had to take whatever was given if one did come along. This was the same experience I had last year and the year before.

 

Jack

[MCC retired]

36 minutes ago, Jack E Dawson said:

kentchris,

Could that possibly be a UK thing? I booked a cruise 2 weeks ago and was asked if I wanted to be available for an upgrade or not. When I asked if I could specify the type of upgrade, I was told no. That if I opted in for an upgrade, then I had to take whatever was given if one did come along. This was the same experience I had last year and the year before.

 

Jack

In the US , yes you can specify if you are willing to take either Any Upgrade or only a upgrade to the next level (ex: Oceanview to Balcony)

Can be done by your TA or calling .

[kentchris]

4 hours ago, Jack E Dawson said:

kentchris,

Could that possibly be a UK thing? I booked a cruise 2 weeks ago and was asked if I wanted to be available for an upgrade or not. When I asked if I could specify the type of upgrade, I was told no. That if I opted in for an upgrade, then I had to take whatever was given if one did come along. This was the same experience I had last year and the year before.

 

I can't imagine why it should be a UK only thing, and MCC retired confirms it's available in the US so you should have been able to do it. My experience is necessarily restricted to the UK on a booking I'd made directly with Cunard: I had a change of mind so called them and changed from 'no upgrades' to 'only upgrade to the next stateroom type' with no fuss on their part. 

 

Carnival's POLAR booking engine offers the option to restrict upgrades to stateroom type (the screen shot is from an old-ish promotional document aimed at TAs, it's not a system only available in-house to Carnival Corp sales) so you may have been misinformed by someone who possibly should have known better. 

[bluemarble]

Maybe I'm missing something, but this system where the options are "Open to any upgrade", "Only upgrade to the next stateroom type", or "Do not upgrade" seems like it's missing an important option.

 

As the OP stated, "some cruise lines allow you to specify that you will only accept a major upgrade." I think that's something I would like to take advantage of too if it were offered.

 

When I book a sheltered balcony on a winter QM2 crossing, I'd just as soon not be upgraded to only the next stateroom type, a standard Britannia glass-fronted balcony. But I sure wouldn't mind being upgraded to the Grills (not like that's likely to happen, but one can always hope) or even to Britannia Club.

 

Or am I misunderstanding that "Only upgrade to the next stateroom type" means the same thing as a "major" upgrade? That is, would a sheltered balcony and a regular balcony be considered the same stateroom type in this context for the purposes of complimentary upgrades?

 

And does "Only upgrade to the next stateroom type" perhaps mean any higher stateroom type, not literally only the next stateroom type?

Edited March 24, 2019 by bluemarble

[bluemarble]

I think the answer to one of my questions above just dawned on me. Both sheltered and glass-fronted Britannia balconies on QM2 have stateroom category codes that start with "B".

 

I suppose that means requesting "Only upgrade to the next stateroom type" would do what I'd like and prevent an upgrade from a category "BZ"-"BU" sheltered balcony to a category "BF-BB" glass-fronted balcony. It should allow an upgrade from a sheltered balcony to a category "A1"-"A2" Club Balcony which would qualify as a major upgrade.

 

Now does requesting "Only upgrade to the next stateroom type" mean a multiple category upgrade is possible from a sheltered balcony to the Grills (as unlikely as that may be in reality)? Or does it literally mean the only possible upgrade is a one category upgrade from category "B" (Balcony) to the next category, category "A" (Club Balcony)?

Edited March 24, 2019 by bluemarble

[kentchris]

2 minutes ago, bluemarble said:

Now does requesting "Only upgrade to the next stateroom type" mean a multiple category upgrade is possible from a sheltered balcony to the Grills (as unlikely as that may be in reality)? Or does it literally mean the only possible upgrade is from category "B" (Balcony) to the next category, category "A" (Club Balcony)?

Don't get hung up on the terminology, just look at cabin categories and the grades therein, ideally with the assistance of deck plans (not that the plans that now shown on Cunard's web site are terribly helpful since they no longer show the cabin categories and grades). You appear to be getting it with your second post: 'Stateroom Type' is from e.g. Balcony to Club (or higher), whereas 'Any upgrade' could be from forward to midships within Balcony, or (on QM2) from sheltered balcony to glass fronted balcony, something which many people might not consider to be an upgrade at all.

[bluemarble]

44 minutes ago, kentchris said:

Don't get hung up on the terminology, just look at cabin categories and the grades therein, ideally with the assistance of deck plans (not that the plans that now shown on Cunard's web site are terribly helpful since they no longer show the cabin categories and grades). You appear to be getting it with your second post: 'Stateroom Type' is from e.g. Balcony to Club (or higher), whereas 'Any upgrade' could be from forward to midships within Balcony, or (on QM2) from sheltered balcony to glass fronted balcony, something which many people might not consider to be an upgrade at all.

 

OK, thanks for that clarification. I'll interpret "Only upgrade to the next stateroom type" to actually mean "Only upgrade to any higher stateroom type" then.

 

Thankfully, the full deck plans complete with the category designations are once again available for download from the Cunard website via the ship details pages. Initially they were only available for QM2 following the rollout of the new website. Here are the links to the full Cunard deck plan pdfs for those that are interested.

 

QM2: https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/inventory-assets/ships/QM/9/qm2-deck-plans.pdf

QV: https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/inventory-assets/ships/QV/8/qv-deck-plans-2019.pdf

QE: https://www.cunard.com/content/dam/cunard/inventory-assets/ships/QU/7/qe-deck-plans-2019.pdf

Edited March 24, 2019 by bluemarble

[57eric]

Thanks for the responses.

[Bigmike911]

My approach to upgrades has always been book the accommodation you would be happy with. Any upgrade would be an improvement to that, but you can indicate upgrades you would not take. For example there are a few suites that don't have balconies, and since a balcony is important to me. I would not accept an upgrade to that category. 

[majortom10]

In the UK you cannot choose what sort of upgrade you either ask for no upgrade or upgrade and if you are upgraded then you cannot refuse it and cannot stay in original stateroom as it might have been allocated to somebody else. The only time I have opted for upgrade is when we booked a Q6 suite on QE 2yrs before the cruise on brochure release date hoping that we would have a good chance with booking early but failed miserably and were not upgraded.

[Bigmike911]

2 hours ago, majortom10 said:

In the UK you cannot choose what sort of upgrade you either ask for no upgrade or upgrade and if you are upgraded then you cannot refuse it and cannot stay in original stateroom as it might have been allocated to somebody else. The only time I have opted for upgrade is when we booked a Q6 suite on QE 2yrs before the cruise on brochure release date hoping that we would have a good chance with booking early but failed miserably and were not upgraded.

It would be nice if the rules were applied without regard to geography, but since Carnival is a US Corporation as well as a UK PLC, perhaps it is because different legal systems apply, and the UK seems to have stronger traveler protection laws than the US so maybe that explains it. I would be nice to know why. 

[bluemarble]

Here's an explanation for how upgrades work in the UK, straight from the FAQ on the new UK website. I kid you not! 

 

(Q)  Can I upgrade my stateroom?

(A)  Stateroom hair dryers are provided for the comfort of the guest, these are specially bought for the ships and are of lower current ratings and hence compatible with the ships electrical systems.

[david,Mississauga]

On 3/23/2019 at 10:07 PM, bluemarble said:

...

Now does requesting "Only upgrade to the next stateroom type" mean a multiple category upgrade is possible from a sheltered balcony to the Grills (as unlikely as that may be in reality)?

...

 

In the last great recession the Grills were not selling well, unlike now. In 2009 we had booked a Deck 8 stateroom (not the obstructed view type) on a QM2 crossing and were upgraded to Princess Grill.  Being spoiled, the next year we booked Princess and were upgraded to Queen's. The next year there was a special deal: book Princess and get Queen's - a different type of upgrade that anyone could get, not just those lucky enough to have been in favour with the "upgrade fairy."  Since then the Grills sell well and the fare  has gradually increased considerably in relation to Britannia.  It was nice while it lasted, but we are happy in Britannia.

[kentchris]

3 hours ago, majortom10 said:

In the UK you cannot choose what sort of upgrade.

Do you have a source for that? I first learned about the three-way auto upgrade option (no upgrade, any upgrade, or upgrade only to the next cabin type) on CC over a year ago, I think on the P&O forum. P&O's FAQ actually spells it out, unlike Cunard's which helpfully talks about hair dryers.

 

AFAIK from comments on CC you're correct about not being able to back-track if you don't like the automatic upgrade you're given. However, unless you're talking about something other than automatic/complementary upgrades I think you're confused re the selection aspect: I changed my preference last year to 'auto upgrade only to the next cabin type', having originally opted for 'no upgrade', as I realised I could cope with even the worst Club Balcony cabin as an alternative to my 'good' Balcony cabin. The Cunard call centre person knew exactly what I was talking about and confirmed she'd changed my booking accordingly.

Edited March 25, 2019 by kentchris

[anglobibliophile]

How can you know what you've chosen re: upgrade or not? It's our first crossing, and it was so long ago that we booked that I feel certain I made a decision, but I can't remember what it was (or find it anywhere on any documentation).

[MCC retired]

13 minutes ago, anglobibliophile said:

How can you know what you've chosen re: upgrade or not? It's our first crossing, and it was so long ago that we booked that I feel certain I made a decision, but I can't remember what it was (or find it anywhere on any documentation).

Call whomever you booked with .

[Bigmike911]

You can look at your booking confirmation, In the second column you will see "Stateroom/CAT" if you have chosen to upgrade it will say GUAR/XX, XX being the category you booked in. The GUAR means guarantee for the booked category, and indicates to Cunard that you want an upgrade  If it shows a stateroom number, you have been assigned, you are not on the upgrade list. 

Edited March 27, 2019 by Bigmike911

[bluemarble]

57 minutes ago, Bigmike911 said:

You can look at your booking confirmation, In the second column you will see "Stateroom/CAT" if you have chosen to upgrade it will say GUAR/XX, XX being the category you booked in. The GUAR means guarantee for the booked category, and indicates to Cunard that you want an upgrade  If it shows a stateroom number, you have been assigned, you are not on the upgrade list. 

 

That's correct if you have booked a stateroom guarantee rather than a specific stateroom. If instead you have booked a specific stateroom, that stateroom number (and its category) will appear on the booking confirmation. But if you have opted to accept an upgrade, you could still receive one.

 

The one time we received a complimentary upgrade was on a QM2 voyage where we had selected a specific sheltered balcony stateroom at the time of booking. It wasn't until a few days before departure that we received that upgrade. We had our e-tickets and our luggage labels printed showing the stateroom number we had originally booked, but then we received a complimentary upgrade to a glass-fronted balcony. We found out about it by checking our voyage personaliser and seeing we had a new stateroom number.

[AspirationalFlyer]

I’m not sure how accurate it was, but I’ve previously being told at the call centre (on several occasions) that if you opt into upgrades you must accept what you are given and cannot specify one form of upgrade over another. 

 

Three cruises in and no upgrades given to date. That said, I have one cruise booked for June and another for early next year so fingers crossed! 

[MCC retired]

Your reservation can specify :

Any Upgrade

Upgrade to the next cabin type ( ex: OV to Bal)

No Upgrade 

 

Best chance for any upgrade is booking a Guarantee but be sure that you can accept what cabins are at or above your Guarantee. Category.

[Jack E Dawson]

On 3/22/2019 at 3:33 PM, MCC retired said:

In the US , yes you can specify if you are willing to take either Any Upgrade or only a upgrade to the next level (ex: Oceanview to Balcony)

Can be done by your TA or calling .

MCC retired,

Thanks for the excellent information. I did not realize that I had choices. Last Friday I called Cunard directly (in California) and spoke to an agent. She explained that I had 3 options in requesting an upgrade. 1. Take anything that is offered, 2. Specify only accept an upgrade to the next major category and 3. Specify that you will only take an upgrade if you stay on the same side of the ship (port or starboard). Of course the Cunard Upgrade Fairy is one of the most mysterious and elusive creatures in the world but we will see what happens. Regardless, we have booked a great cabin that I know we will be happy in. 

Thanks again MCC retired.

Jack

[bodsfanclub]

You don't need to rely on the Upgrade Fairy ...

 

We booked at 22 day b2b TA and filler in an Inside on QM2 - at the time of booking it was all we could afford.  Our circumstances changed so I rang and asked if there were any available paid for upgrades to a balcony and how much they might be. What we paid to upgrade was significantly LESS than what that stateroom was originally priced at when I first made the booking. Of course it doesn't work for every one all of the time but if you don't ask, you don't know.

 

But ... be warned. If you haven't opted out of the auto-upgrade and you get upgraded when you don't want to be - you lose your original stateroom. Happened to us, and I was gutted. All because our TA didn't tick the NO UPGRADE box despite us asking him to.