Upgrades

[jimbo1683]

Im ready to book my first cruise and im booking via the Princess website. I've done my research and know what I'm getting.

 

But what should I choose when asked about upgrades? I have very carefully chosen a cabin (mini suite club class forward) so do I say no to being considered for an upgrade because one upgrade from there would be a midship mini suite and I don't want midship, and the next cabin up from that could be (i think from looking at the prices) a window suite which again I don't want.

 

How do upgrades work? Do you get automatically moved or do you have the option to decline?

[CineGraphic]

In your case, I'd say "no upgrade".

You already have what you want, and you don't seem to care for the few options you have.

[geoherb]

Just be warned that the request for no upgrade is just a request. You have to be vigilant. Princess has moved people even when they requested no upgrade. In theory, you should receive notification of an upgrade and have an option to decline. It doesn't always work that way either.

[pms4104]

No upgrade request cannot be done online ... after you book on Princess website, call them to add that to your booking.

 

And, it is a request ... Princess can and will move you if they need or want your cabin.

[jimbo1683]

8 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

No upgrade request cannot be done online ... after you book on Princess website, call them to add that to your booking.

 

And, it is a request ... Princess can and will move you if they need or want your cabin.

Sorry i dont understand your comment - as part of the booking process i am asked whether or not i want to be considered for an upgrade.

 

Having never cruised before I do not know under what circumstances an upgrade would happen, and to what cabin one might be upgraded hence my question.

[jimbo1683]

25 minutes ago, geoherb said:

Just be warned that the request for no upgrade is just a request. You have to be vigilant. Princess has moved people even when they requested no upgrade. In theory, you should receive notification of an upgrade and have an option to decline. It doesn't always work that way either.

Are there cabin types where this is more likely? I.e. booking a club class mini suite means there are only full suites above me which presumably costs Princess more to provide the extra services?

[voljeep]

3 minutes ago, jimbo1683 said:

Sorry i dont understand your comment - as part of the booking process i am asked whether or not i want to be considered for an upgrade.

 

Having never cruised before I do not know under what circumstances an upgrade would happen, and to what cabin one might be upgraded hence my question.

might be a UK booking 'thing' versus a USA booking 'thing'

[jimbo1683]

44 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

In your case, I'd say "no upgrade".

You already have what you want, and you don't seem to care for the few options you have.

That's what i thought. Thanks

[wowzz]

46 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

No upgrade request cannot be done online ... after you book on Princess website, call them to add that to your booking.

 

And, it is a request ... Princess can and will move you if they need or want your cabin.

 You can select "no upgrade" online when you book. Or at least you can when booking online in the UK. 

[pms4104]

46 minutes ago, jimbo1683 said:

Sorry i dont understand your comment - as part of the booking process i am asked whether or not i want to be considered for an upgrade.

 

Having never cruised before I do not know under what circumstances an upgrade would happen, and to what cabin one might be upgraded hence my question.

Sorry if I gave you bad info ... I understand that here in the States we do not have the option to mark a booking "no upgrade" on the website ... perhaps it is different acrosd the pond.

[wowzz]

18 minutes ago, pms4104 said:

Sorry if I gave you bad info ... I understand that here in the States we do not have the option to mark a booking "no upgrade" on the website ... perhaps it is different acrosd the pond.

There are quute a number of significant differences between the UK and US booking systems. Given that 90% of posters on here are American, it is quite easy to give information based on the US procedures.

Shows why it is important that posters show their location on their profile.  

[memoak]

1 hour ago, jimbo1683 said:

Are there cabin types where this is more likely? I.e. booking a club class mini suite means there are only full suites above me which presumably costs Princess more to provide the extra services?

Moves from mini suites to full suites are usually done through up sells rather than upgrades if all full suites do not sell out

[nini]

An upgrade can be as simple as moving from one floor to another or from aft to mid ship. We ALWAYS request No Upgrade because we know what we like. An upgrade NEVER implies moving from an inside to a balcony, etc. Yes, it can happen nut upgrade is totally the discretion of Princess.

 

On our first Princess cruise, we were "upgraded" from an inside cabin (I do not remember the location) to another inside cabin which was considered an upgrade because it was one floor higher. It was also ALL OF THE WAY forward. It was a good thing that we do not get sea sick!!!

[Sea Hag]

I agree with the others - have a no upgrade request put on your booking and then watch it like a hawk. We have two cruises upcoming where we have one of those wonderful club class minis forward, corner, and I check those regularly to make sure they haven't moved us to a midship mini that I wouldn't like.

[lakemurraykid]

Today I wrote to Princess regarding an upsell -- we're in a club mini.  Within about 90 minutes i had a response saying that did not have any upsells now but to continue watching.  I knew it was a shot in the dark and that's fine.  I just wanted to try it.

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, jimbo1683 said:

That's what i thought. Thanks

Well, perhaps.  Rather than copy in a bunch of posts, I'd like to offer some corrections.

 

If you have a booking marked NO UPGRADE and discover Princess has moved you, get after them or your TA quickly.  Many guests/members post here indicating getting after Princess, especially when marked NO UPGRADE, and they get their original cabin back.  Squeaky wheel.

 

Next, when a guest elects to have UPGRADE flag on, there are two types.  ANY UPGRADE or META UPGRADE.  The latter means you only accept possible UPGRADE to next major category.  Since you are already in the top level of Club Class Mini, this requires an upgrade to a Suite - not another Mini.  Now, you mentioned you don't want a Window Suite.  Well, they don't have Balconies and your Mini has a Balcony.  They won't upgrade you from a Balcony cabin to a non-Balcony cabin.  Therefore, a META UPGRADE for you  - if it were to be offered - is to a Suite with a Balcony.

 

But, make your own mind up.  It is more likely you would get an UPSELL offer than a free UPGRADE in any case.

 

Good luck.

 

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Next, when a guest elects to have UPGRADE flag on, there are two types.  ANY UPGRADE or META UPGRADE. 

But, again, this is not the case in the UK.

As the OP is from the UK, it is misleading to give information that is not relevant.

[pms4104]

10 hours ago, lakemurraykid said:

Today I wrote to Princess regarding an upsell -- we're in a club mini.  Within about 90 minutes i had a response saying that did not have any upsells now but to continue watching.  I knew it was a shot in the dark and that's fine.  I just wanted to try it.

Upsell to full suite???

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, wowzz said:

But, again, this is not the case in the UK.

As the OP is from the UK, it is misleading to give information that is not relevant.

Oh, sorry - I didn't realize that.  That does seem strange, but I will take your word for it presuming you have inquired of Princess about it.  At least it is relevant for N.A. markets and always new people that don't realize it.  It was something I learned here on CC years ago.

[skynight]

Based on your posting I'm thinking you are booked in one of the four category M6 club class mini suites on deck 15 and 16. If you wish to sty in that cabin have your booking marked no upgrade. There is a very good chance that is where you will remain.

In case of an upgrade most likely you will not be given the option to accept or decline in advance. You have to keep watching. 

 

[memoak]

3 hours ago, pms4104 said:

Upsell to full suite???

Up sells to full suites from mini's used to be quite common but lately the full suites seem to sell out quickly so I am not sure if this happens anymore.  We used to get offers often but after one cruise of not getting one just decided to book the full suites for any long cruises

[rabin1]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Up sells to full suites from mini's used to be quite common but lately the full suites seem to sell out quickly so I am not sure if this happens anymore.  We used to get offers often but after one cruise of not getting one just decided to book the full suites for any long cruises

When they did the CC to full suite for you about how much was it and How long before the cruise?

Thank you

[voljeep]

on our upcoming Thanksgiving cruise - little 5 day - only 1 of the true aft Penthouse suites is currently showing as 'sold / not being available' - leaving about a dozen or so showing as available

 

the current pricing of those suites is $3k+ per person - for 5 days in the caribbean ... which would be over $ 2k pp difference from our current premium deluxe balcony ( all pricing includes PPlus )

 

we were discussing how much we would be willing to pay for an 'upsell' to one of those suites and I can't see us spending even $ 500 pp ( $ 100 per person per day ) for that ...

 

cray, cray, I know, huh

 

as I remember our only suite was an upsell from a regular balcony to a mid-ship PH and it was about 3 weeks before cruise date - maybe less

[memoak]

1 hour ago, rabin1 said:

When they did the CC to full suite for you about how much was it and How long before the cruise?

Thank you

I was well after final payment - if I recall it was about 30 days out from sailing date.  It was a discount of the full suite but still quite a bit more than the mini.  It worked for any suite on the ship for the same price.

[pms4104]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

Up sells to full suites from mini's used to be quite common but lately the full suites seem to sell out quickly so I am not sure if this happens anymore.  We used to get offers often but after one cruise of not getting one just decided to book the full suites for any long cruises

I fully understand the whole process of upgrades and upsells.

 

My point:  book what you'll be happy with categorywise and stop begging for better.

 

If I were in the Yield Mgmt Dept, I would de-activate that email address for inbound messages.  If somehow a request made it through, I would compare the price the client paid to that of the higher category ... and make that amount less maybe $50/pp the cost of the upsell.

 

Upgrades and upsells ought to come from Princess.  Just my opinion, likely not shared by many.