Princess delusions regarding "Upgrades"!

[back to the islands]

BTW, those angled balconies were wonderful! I asked for footstools so we could really get comfortable out there!

 

[Steelers36]

17 minutes ago, geoherb said:

 

 

D428 is a Cat. BA with a larger angled balcony. C508 is a Cat. DB with more interior space, including the room for the loveseat. 

 

We had one upgrade from an obstructed view to an unobstructed one that ended up being laughable. It was to P201 on the Caribbean. It's a tiny cabin--so small that there was room for just one nightstand. The window is a recessed porthole. I thought it should really be reclassified as an obstructed view. And it seems to me that after nearly 19 years of operation, Princess could accurately label which cabins have portholes on the deck plans instead of just putting up a generic warning that "Select staterooms may have a porthole instead of a picture window." Princess has had plenty of time to label which ones they are.

You got a down-grade for sure, no matter what Princess tries to claim it is. 

 

The only time I would allow Accept Upgrade (and it has to be a Meta Upgrade) be turned on, would be if there is no way they could stick me with a bummer location and call it an "upgrade".  It is worthwhile to check where there is ANY possible cabin category above the guests booked category that you would not accept.  Fate says that's the one they will give you.  And I know there are as many stories where guests receive fantastic upgrades. 

[paulandjoyce]

we were on the Enchanted December 10 - 20 and were also "upgraded" to an aft room from our lovely port mid ship Dolphin location.

We did notice that the Dolphin deck was closed off from the mid ship forward. 

For our Regal trip - they moved us from our port side angled balcony to a regular balcony, also due to covid...our Princess guy could not get us a decent cabin, but waiting for customer service, over an hour, did fix the problem to another angled balcony.

[hllwdcruiser]

7 hours ago, Dall said:

Off topic, but I’m curious, we have a balcony on sun deck on Enchanted, when you say balconies are bigger are you referring to suites or regular balcony cabins?

I was just in a regular balcony on the Sky - S202. Hoping it's the same on the Enchanted. I can't speak for all balconies on the Sun deck but I'll try and check it out in February.

[pris993]

9 hours ago, Sea Hag said:

They "upgraded" us once from a completely non-problematic, unobstructed OV to an OV with the window washer parked outside the window all the time except when they were actually washing windows. An additional "benefit" of the "upgrade" was that the cabin was under the outside eating area of the buffet, treating us to sounds like a bowling alley in the wee hours every morning.

This is why I never, ever allow them to do an upgrade.  I respond no to any upgrade.  I buy the cabin I want and do not want it changed. 

[nini]

12 hours ago, pris993 said:

This is why I never, ever allow them to do an upgrade.  I respond no to any upgrade.  I buy the cabin I want and do not want it changed. 

We always check No Upgrade! We were not given a choice- I posted the note from Princess as this change is due to CDC regulations. And as has been said, this was a Downgrade. Of course I can not get through to Princess or our TA.

[starboardcruiser]

11 minutes ago, nini said:

We always check No Upgrade! We were not given a choice- I posted the note from Princess as this change is due to CDC regulations. And as has been said, this was a Downgrade. Of course I can not get through to Princess or our TA.

You have my sympathy as I experienced something similar. I had booked an aft suite on the Emerald and was "upgraded" to a far forward suite with the tiniest balcony I've ever seen when Princess canceled the Emerald in favor of the Majestic. Unfortunately, that was the only option available since the change was made so close to sailing. To add insult to injury, I got the privilege of paying the same price for a cabin that was certainly less expensive when I booked the prior year (but I had no way to prove it since there's no way I would have booked that cabin). We had also booked two cabins next door and ended up on opposite sides of the ship and different floors. Hopefully you can find an alternative cabin that suits you! Sending good vibes for someone to answer!

[nini]

2 minutes ago, starboardcruiser said:

You have my sympathy as I experienced something similar. I had booked an aft suite on the Emerald and was "upgraded" to a far forward suite with the tiniest balcony I've ever seen when Princess canceled the Emerald in favor of the Majestic. Unfortunately, that was the only option available since the change was made so close to sailing. To add insult to injury, I got the privilege of paying the same price for a cabin that was certainly less expensive when I booked the prior year (but I had no way to prove it since there's no way I would have booked that cabin). We had also booked two cabins next door and ended up on opposite sides of the ship and different floors. Hopefully you can find an alternative cabin that suits you! Sending good vibes for someone to answer!

 

Thank you for your post. We would most certainly be extremely upset! This is so crazy. We will most likely cancel and then book for 2023, due to the dubious nature of the port of St. Petersburg not being open this year. Yes, I know that ports can be and are cancelled, but this itinerary was booked only because of St. Petersburg. Our traveling buddies feel the same. They were moved to a tiny balcony room across from the laundromat.

 

For the itinerary that is round trip from and to St. Petersburg, it says "currently not available" so that is our clue.

[pilot]

On 1/22/2022 at 3:15 PM, nini said:

We ALWAYS declare No Upgrade. This is a "Cabin Change" and is a joke.

We had No Upgrade on our upcoming Sky Princess cruise. I saw there were several unassigned cabins. Called my TA and asked her to remove the No Upgrade. Five days later I noticed that they moved me from my deluxe balcony to a mini suite. They also did the same for my sister and her husband. 
 

Sometimes you get lucky. 

[john watson]

13 minutes ago, pilot said:

We had No Upgrade on our upcoming Sky Princess cruise. I saw there were several unassigned cabins. Called my TA and asked her to remove the No Upgrade. Five days later I noticed that they moved me from my deluxe balcony to a mini suite. They also did the same for my sister and her husband. 
 

Sometimes you get lucky. 

 

Having said "lucky" you had investigated the current situation and made a tactical decision.

 

Well Done.

 

Regards John

Edited January 23, 2022 by john watson

[pris993]

7 hours ago, nini said:

We always check No Upgrade! We were not given a choice- I posted the note from Princess as this change is due to CDC regulations. And as has been said, this was a Downgrade. Of course I can not get through to Princess or our TA.

I responded to your initial post which did not mention the Princess post.  In your case, since you have time, you may consider cancelling if you don't get a cabin that meets your expectations.   That is what I would do.  

[kywildcatfanone]

Upgrades are not always upgrades depending on our location.

[john watson]

7 hours ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Upgrades are not always upgrades depending on our location.

 

Upgrades are simply where the cruise line moves you to a cabin which is a higher grade than your original cabin.  The clue is in the name, where the word "up" prefixes the word "grade" the two relevant factors working as a combination.   It might mean your booking gets transferred to a really awful cabin which you hate, you might even lose a huge balcony where you are moved from a Deluxe Balcony Cabin with a massive balcony to a Window Suite completely lacking any balcony whatsoever.  It is nevertheless an upgrade.

 

Simples

 

Regards John

[MissP22]

17 hours ago, nini said:

We always check No Upgrade! We were not given a choice- I posted the note from Princess as this change is due to CDC regulations. And as has been said, this was a Downgrade. Of course I can not get through to Princess or our TA.

I was amazed at what Princess considers an "upgrade". And to think they actually charge more money for those cabins is an insult all things considered. 

They had to move us also and luckily out TA got through to them & secured an acceptable cabin in the same category for all our B2B's even without having to change cabins. 

[geoherb]

6 hours ago, john watson said:

 

Upgrades are simply where the cruise line moves you to a cabin which is a higher grade than your original cabin.  The clue is in the name, where the word "up" prefixes the word "grade" the two relevant factors working as a combination.   It might mean your booking gets transferred to a really awful cabin which you hate, you might even lose a huge balcony where you are moved from a Deluxe Balcony Cabin with a massive balcony to a Window Suite completely lacking any balcony whatsoever.  It is nevertheless an upgrade.

 

 

Do you have knowledge of anyone being involuntarily upgraded to a window suite? 

 

I usually book guarantees and have had great luck getting good upgrades. Only one time did we get an upgrade that I considered a downgrade due to the location of the cabin, porthole instead of a window, and lack of space. That's the risk I take and understand. Many times we have gotten exactly what we booked or slight upgrades within class (inside to higher category inside, obstructed view to higher category obstructed view, etc.) But we've also gone from inside to unobstructed ocean view and once from an obstructed view to a cabin with a balcony.

 

For my upcoming cruise, the cabins available to choose from in the least expensive balcony category (BF) were on the Lido Deck. I took my chances and got a great upgrade to a deluxe balcony cabin on the Riviera Deck. If I had picked this specific cabin when booking this cruise, it would have cost me more than double. A lot of times Princess will reward those of us willing to be flexible. 

[john watson]

I think the problem with upgrades is that when the option to be allocated a cabin of a higher grade than booked what people immediately infer is that they are being offered a better cabin and in this respect often think a better cabin type.  The take up of people ticking the free upgrade box I suspect is high.  I have never heard of people being upgraded into a window suite but suspect the cruise line is very sensitive about making this allocation because of the radical change.  In terms of booking a guarantee cabin, unlike booking a specific cabin which would have a definitive grade associated with it, a guarantee does not give you a specific allocated cabin or grade.  Therefore in reality if you booked a minimum guaranteed inside cabin and ended up in an ocean view you have actually ended in the exact cabin described in the contract.  Is this an upgrade, as you have ended up with precisely what you had contracted?  Yes you have been lucky and done well.

 

Regards John

 

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by john watson

[memoak]

23 hours ago, starboardcruiser said:

You have my sympathy as I experienced something similar. I had booked an aft suite on the Emerald and was "upgraded" to a far forward suite with the tiniest balcony I've ever seen when Princess canceled the Emerald in favor of the Majestic. Unfortunately, that was the only option available since the change was made so close to sailing. To add insult to injury, I got the privilege of paying the same price for a cabin that was certainly less expensive when I booked the prior year (but I had no way to prove it since there's no way I would have booked that cabin). We had also booked two cabins next door and ended up on opposite sides of the ship and different floors. Hopefully you can find an alternative cabin that suits you! Sending good vibes for someone to answer!

They tried to do that to us when a cruise was moved from the Sapphire to the Royal and our PVP got us moved back to an aft suite. The reason for the original move was that the Vista suites on grand class are the cheapest balcony suites and the forward suites on Royal are the cheapest on that ship

[Reina del Mar]

On 1/22/2022 at 8:37 PM, nini said:

I do not think I can go through Princess as we have a TA.

We have managed to speak directly with Princess and Royal Caribbean, even though we have booked with a travel agent, on several occasions, if we explain we have an urgent issue and cannot contact the travel agent.
 

More experienced Princess/ RC agents will be prepared to sort out urgent issues for you.
 

May not be successful..but definitely worth a phone call!

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, geoherb said:

Do you have knowledge of anyone being involuntarily upgraded to a window suite?

I am sure I have read something from an authoritative view that a guest with a balcony reservation of any sort would not be upgraded to a cabin with no balcony.

[nini]

Again, this was not an upgrade, but a move per CDC issues. Princess is very irritating!

[seagunthera]

This just happened to me and I'm beyond frustrated as I sit on hold for hour number 2!  Is there any other way to decline this offer (email, alternate #, etc.) and what happens if I can't get through over the next 48hours?  This is beyond not OK for Princess to do to its customers. 

 

Thanks in advance for the advice.

[PacnGoNow]

19 minutes ago, seagunthera said:

This just happened to me and I'm beyond frustrated as I sit on hold for hour number 2!  Is there any other way to decline this offer (email, alternate #, etc.) and what happens if I can't get through over the next 48hours?  This is beyond not OK for Princess to do to its customers. 

 

Thanks in advance for the advice.

I would send a message to customerrelations@princesscruises.com

and tell them how long your holding and ask for their help!  They may call you back.  They work it by date of departure.

 

Or, just hold since you’re holding so long.

 

I found the best time to call the 1 800 Princess line, is as soon as they open in the morning.  
 

[john watson]

26 minutes ago, seagunthera said:

This just happened to me and I'm beyond frustrated as I sit on hold for hour number 2!  Is there any other way to decline this offer (email, alternate #, etc.) and what happens if I can't get through over the next 48hours?  This is beyond not OK for Princess to do to its customers. 

 

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

It is not so much an offer as a policy Princess seem to have implemented with Dolphin deck.  I do not think you will be successful in getting your original cabin back because it seem the cruise line need this area cleared out.  When you  get through on the phone I suggest you focus on getting an upgrade to a much better cabin stressing that the cruise line has not really done this and it is at their behest.  I suspect the reason they are doing this type of thing is to comply with local government regulations.

 

Regards John

Edited January 24, 2022 by john watson

[nini]

UPDATE!!!  😁 On the phone with our TA for 2.50 hours

 

First, I went online and found a cabin we would normally book AND it is $774.00 LESS than the original and actually an upgrade! Got it booked and worth the wait. Go figure...

However, it will not be next door to our traveling friends, but that is an issue for another day.

[LACruiser88]

5 minutes ago, nini said:

UPDATE!!!  😁 On the phone with our TA for 2.50 hours

 

First, I went online and found a cabin we would normally book AND it is $774.00 LESS than the original and actually an upgrade! Got it booked and worth the wait. Go figure...

However, it will not be next door to our traveling friends, but that is an issue for another day.

Great News!  And not being next door to your traveling friends is not necessarily a bad thing 🙂