RoobyDoo Posted March 29, 2019 #1 Share Posted March 29, 2019 I’m booked on the Breakaway for a late May sailing, in a mid-ship balcony (BA). I made final payment in mid-January. My paid cruise fare is $1479pp, and the current fare is $1229 for a BA balcony. I was considering calling NCL at a later date, to see if they might give me some modest OBC due to the $250 price drop, as that has been suggested on these boards. But I called today for a different purpose. I was curious to see if I could get a cabin upgrade from mid-ship balcony to aft balcony, if I paid the difference between the current prices of those two cabins. BA balcony is now $1229, aft balcony is $1349, so the fare difference is $120. I asked this question of the NCL rep, then she put me on hold while she discussed with a supervisor. After several minutes, she replied that they would offer me a complimentary upgrade to an aft balcony! I went silent for a few seconds because I wasn’t expecting this response. I figured they would either say no, or maybe they’d take this opportunity to offer me a small amount of OBC as compensation for the fare decrease. So I guess you could say I made an unofficial “bid” of $120 to upgrade from mid-ship to aft balcony, and they accepted my “bid” for free. Of course, not really “free”, since Ithe fare I have paid is still more than a current aft balcony would cost. But I am happy to have received the aft balcony upgrade instead of OBC! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare misguy Posted March 30, 2019 #2 Share Posted March 30, 2019 Great score. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worktocruise610 Posted March 30, 2019 #3 Share Posted March 30, 2019 that's awesome!! have a great cruise 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adline1 Posted March 30, 2019 #4 Share Posted March 30, 2019 No that’s what I call great service! Enjoy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjtravelnews Posted March 31, 2019 #5 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Congrats on scoring the "free" upgrade! Loved the Breakaway! Sailed on her twice to Bermuda. Will be taking the Escape this time. Enjoy your cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lescas Posted March 31, 2019 #6 Share Posted March 31, 2019 I bid for upgrades on Getaway and got it, 70 pp for window from inside. Tried all three categories, but glad I got at least one step up. This was at 48 hr window exactly. We sail tomorrow, March 31st! Of course after I printed out the luggage tags 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stlcardsfan79 Posted March 31, 2019 #7 Share Posted March 31, 2019 We were in Aft Balcony on Breakaway in January and loved it. Congrats and enjoy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIvacationgirl Posted March 31, 2019 #8 Share Posted March 31, 2019 We also had an aft balcony on the Breakaway. We really enjoyed the view and the peacefulness. Have a great cruise! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLadyBlue Posted March 31, 2019 #9 Share Posted March 31, 2019 Excellent, enjoy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joaljoe Posted March 31, 2019 #10 Share Posted March 31, 2019 That’s amazing!! Have a great time and enjoy your aft balcony! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KermitClin Posted March 31, 2019 #11 Share Posted March 31, 2019 On 3/29/2019 at 5:47 PM, RoobyDoo said: I’m booked on the Breakaway for a late May sailing, in a mid-ship balcony (BA). If you don't mind sharing, which sailing are you on? I'm also sailing on the Breakaway in late May and tried to purchase an upgrade last week. The upgrade would have been about $40pp more than what I originally paid compared to the current pricing (Oceanview to a BD Balcony). Unfortunately I wasn't as lucky as you and NCL offered $480 for the two of us to upgrade to the balcony, which we didn't accept. If we're on the same sailing as you, I'm thinking it might be worth asking them again. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havenfan Posted March 31, 2019 #12 Share Posted March 31, 2019 20 minutes ago, KermitClin said: If you don't mind sharing, which sailing are you on? I'm also sailing on the Breakaway in late May and tried to purchase an upgrade last week. The upgrade would have been about $40pp more than what I originally paid compared to the current pricing (Oceanview to a BD Balcony). Unfortunately I wasn't as lucky as you and NCL offered $480 for the two of us to upgrade to the balcony, which we didn't accept. If we're on the same sailing as you, I'm thinking it might be worth asking them again. lol I know that, technically, NCL doesn't have to let you upgrade yourself after final payment by paying the difference between the current price and your original price, but I thought they pretty much always allowed it anyway. Has anyone else been denied when they tried this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoobyDoo Posted April 1, 2019 Author #13 Share Posted April 1, 2019 19 hours ago, KermitClin said: If you don't mind sharing, which sailing are you on? I'm also sailing on the Breakaway in late May and tried to purchase an upgrade last week. The upgrade would have been about $40pp more than what I originally paid compared to the current pricing (Oceanview to a BD Balcony). Unfortunately I wasn't as lucky as you and NCL offered $480 for the two of us to upgrade to the balcony, which we didn't accept. If we're on the same sailing as you, I'm thinking it might be worth asking them again. lol I'm on the May 26th cruise out of Miami ("7 Day Western Caribbean"). Our situations are a little bit different though. I was asking for an upgrade within the same stateroom type, i.e., Balcony (from mid-ship to aft), while you are trying to upgrade to a different type (OV to Balcony). Maybe that's why they're not being as generous with your case. Can't hurt to keep trying. I'm sure it must also depend on whichever rep handles your call, if it's not your PCC. (My original PCC who booked me no longer works there, so I was dealing with a random rep in this instance). Enjoy your cruise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KermitClin Posted April 1, 2019 #14 Share Posted April 1, 2019 6 minutes ago, RoobyDoo said: I'm on the May 26th cruise out of Miami ("7 Day Western Caribbean"). Our situations are a little bit different though. I was asking for an upgrade within the same stateroom type, i.e., Balcony (from mid-ship to aft), while you are trying to upgrade to a different type (OV to Balcony). Maybe that's why they're not being as generous with your case. Can't hurt to keep trying. I'm sure it must also depend on whichever rep handles your call, if it's not your PCC. (My original PCC who booked me no longer works there, so I was dealing with a random rep in this instance). Enjoy your cruise! Thanks! We're also on different cruises, so I'm guessing that's the biggest factor. A few years ago, I upgraded from and Inside to a Balcony after final payment was due and we only had to pay the difference. I was rather surprised when they came back with a much higher offer. Our TA was the one requesting the upgrade for us (as she was last time too) and she said she talked to the supervisor and also tried to talk to the supervisor's supervisor, but they stuck firm on their upgrade offer. No biggie though, it was worth trying and we still have plenty of time left to try again if we want to. Regardless of which cabin we're in, we're thrilled to be on a cruise! Hope you have a great time on yours too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjtravelnews Posted April 10, 2019 #15 Share Posted April 10, 2019 On 4/1/2019 at 12:30 PM, KermitClin said: Thanks! We're also on different cruises, so I'm guessing that's the biggest factor. A few years ago, I upgraded from and Inside to a Balcony after final payment was due and we only had to pay the difference. I was rather surprised when they came back with a much higher offer. Our TA was the one requesting the upgrade for us (as she was last time too) and she said she talked to the supervisor and also tried to talk to the supervisor's supervisor, but they stuck firm on their upgrade offer. No biggie though, it was worth trying and we still have plenty of time left to try again if we want to. Regardless of which cabin we're in, we're thrilled to be on a cruise! Hope you have a great time on yours too! I think whether they accept your offer or not may be dependent on how many unbooked rooms they have in the category you are requesting and how close you are to sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KermitClin Posted April 10, 2019 #16 Share Posted April 10, 2019 2 minutes ago, bjtravelnews said: I think whether they accept your offer or not may be dependent on how many unbooked rooms they have in the category you are requesting and how close you are to sailing. We didn't make them an offer, just requested how much it would cost to upgrade to a new cabin now. I've since learned that the reason why NCL's offer to upgrade was so high was because it included taxes we didn't have to pay as part of a promo they were running last April when we originally booked. That promo saved us about $400! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkanderson Posted April 10, 2019 #17 Share Posted April 10, 2019 That’s awesome! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alreadypacked Posted April 10, 2019 #18 Share Posted April 10, 2019 3 hours ago, KermitClin said: We didn't make them an offer, just requested how much it would cost to upgrade to a new cabin now. I've since learned that the reason why NCL's offer to upgrade was so high was because it included taxes we didn't have to pay as part of a promo they were running last April when we originally booked. That promo saved us about $400! We recently upgraded our OV cabin to a mini suite with no problem just by paying the difference in fare (which was under $200). I simply checked the published price for the new room we wanted via the NCL website, called my vacation planner, told them the room number we wanted, and paid for it. We would never go through their Upgrade Advantage system because we like to pick our specific room number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KermitClin Posted April 10, 2019 #19 Share Posted April 10, 2019 9 minutes ago, alreadypacked said: We recently upgraded our OV cabin to a mini suite with no problem just by paying the difference in fare (which was under $200). This is exactly what we were trying to do too, and what I've done in the past. However, this time the difference in fare also includes the taxes that we didn't have to pay with the original booking because of the TAXDAY promo that gave us free taxes and port fees. Upgrading our cabin would make us lose that promo and therefore have to pay all applicable taxes and port fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alreadypacked Posted April 10, 2019 #20 Share Posted April 10, 2019 4 minutes ago, KermitClin said: This is exactly what we were trying to do too, and what I've done in the past. However, this time the difference in fare also includes the taxes that we didn't have to pay with the original booking because of the TAXDAY promo that gave us free taxes and port fees. Upgrading our cabin would make us lose that promo and therefore have to pay all applicable taxes and port fees. I see what you're saying. Yes, we lost $110 OBC, but the new promo gave us $100 OBC, so only a $10 loss there. And yes, the taxes went up a little, as did the gratuities on the beverage and dining promos, but even with that, the upgrade was less than $200. Just depends on the various factors of the particular sailing... Sorry it didn't work out for you; maybe keep checking. You never know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KermitClin Posted April 11, 2019 #21 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Just now, alreadypacked said: Sorry it didn't work out for you; maybe keep checking. You never know. Thanks, yeah I'm keeping an eye on the prices, but they'd have to drop a ridiculous amount to make up for the taxes that we didn't have to pay. I highly doubt they'll drop that low. I'd be great if they did, but I'll still be perfectly happy with my current cabin if they don't. 😊 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackie101 Posted April 11, 2019 #22 Share Posted April 11, 2019 we also got a free upgrade for the Dawn 2 ocean view rooms to 2 balcony rooms, so excited, we leave next week 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myjillian Posted April 12, 2019 #23 Share Posted April 12, 2019 On 3/29/2019 at 7:47 PM, RoobyDoo said: I’m booked on the Breakaway for a late May sailing, in a mid-ship balcony (BA). I made final payment in mid-January. My paid cruise fare is $1479pp, and the current fare is $1229 for a BA balcony. I was considering calling NCL at a later date, to see if they might give me some modest OBC due to the $250 price drop, as that has been suggested on these boards. But I called today for a different purpose. I was curious to see if I could get a cabin upgrade from mid-ship balcony to aft balcony, if I paid the difference between the current prices of those two cabins. BA balcony is now $1229, aft balcony is $1349, so the fare difference is $120. I asked this question of the NCL rep, then she put me on hold while she discussed with a supervisor. After several minutes, she replied that they would offer me a complimentary upgrade to an aft balcony! I went silent for a few seconds because I wasn’t expecting this response. I figured they would either say no, or maybe they’d take this opportunity to offer me a small amount of OBC as compensation for the fare decrease. So I guess you could say I made an unofficial “bid” of $120 to upgrade from mid-ship to aft balcony, and they accepted my “bid” for free. Of course, not really “free”, since Ithe fare I have paid is still more than a current aft balcony would cost. But I am happy to have received the aft balcony upgrade instead of OBC! WONDERFUL.....😍😎😁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare misguy Posted April 13, 2019 #24 Share Posted April 13, 2019 On 3/31/2019 at 12:07 AM, Stlcardsfan79 said: We were in Aft Balcony on Breakaway in January and loved it. Congrats and enjoy! Did you have your cabin on the cabin crawl? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stlcardsfan79 Posted April 13, 2019 #25 Share Posted April 13, 2019 57 minutes ago, misguy said: Did you have your cabin on the cabin crawl? Yes we were in 12306, we were at the end of the tour (we weren’t on the list) our cabin was next door to the aft haven that was shown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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