Current Upsell Approach

[oakridger]

What is a Neptune Spa suite?  That's a new term for me.

[SailorMarg]

On 6/11/2022 at 1:59 PM, SailorMarg said:

What would you recommend is the ideal number of days prior to embarkation to make your first call for upsell opportunities?

I called the day after I asked this question (28 days before sailing) and they had offers available (July 9th Alaska) that had not been sent out yet.  I upgraded from Spa Balcony (VQ) to Signature Suite (SS).  The upgrade to Neptune was doable but I’m one of those in the minority that doesn’t really see the value of a Neptune suite.  We spoiled ourselves with a Neptune Suite during a 14 night Panama Canal transit cruise earlier this year and found we never used the Neptune Lounge as being in a windowless room while at sea didn't appeal to us.  We rarely eat breakfast so the Pinnacle Grill breakfast didn't have great value to us. We are not snackers so the tid-bits in the Lounge weren’t tempting.  I prefer the lattes at the Exploration Cafe over the cappuccino from the machine in the Neptune Lounge. Laundry can be purchased very reasonably.  So other than the Neptune Lounge Concierge helping us with relocating to a different Neptune Suite after finding ours was not able to be cooled sufficiently, we didn’t make much use of the Neptune perks.  The Signature Suite cabins are plenty roomy with the size difference between it and a Neptune Suite basically the width of the dressing room area that also adds the same width between the foot of the bed and the seating area and then the balcony. Exact same bathroom.  So, we are very happy with our Signature Suite upsell.  We greatly overpaid for our Spa Balcony (VQ) a long time ago so it was nice to apply that to the Signature Suite and with the upsell charge come out about $2500 less than for what a Signature Suite (SS) is currently selling.

[*Miss G*]

12 hours ago, oakridger said:

What is a Neptune Spa suite?  That's a new term for me.

 

It’s a Neptune Suite at the front of the ship, over the spa area.  Tiny balconies and a long walk to the lounge.  Definitely not worth the money.

[EMc&DrS]

1 hour ago, *Miss G* said:

 

It’s a Neptune Suite at the front of the ship, over the spa area.  Tiny balconies and a long walk to the lounge.  Definitely not worth the money.

I wouldn't have paid full price for one, but considering we got it for just a few hundred more than a regular balcony room, we were happy to grab it. Yes, the balcony is small, but the room is huge with a window looking out the front of the ship. We had already pre-paid for access to the thermal suites at the spa, so now we just have to walk down the spiral staircase and we are at the spa.

[SailorMarg]

Delete

Edited June 16, 2022 by SailorMarg

[SailorMarg]

Self edited.

[cruisingrob21]

Also got an upsell on July 9th Eurodam.  We've got a cabin of 4 so a signature suite won't fit us.  The neptune suite would be nice, but for nearly 1800 extra, I might rather drop down to two lower category balconies with a door between them.  I've never used the neptune lounge so I don't really know what I'm missing - and probably will keep it that way.

[glutenhab]

Will be a 4 Star Mariner after our Oct/22 cruise & have NEVER been offered an upsell or gotten an upgrade. WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?

Edited June 23, 2022 by glutenhab

[DaveOKC]

6 minutes ago, glutenhab said:

Will be a 4 Star Mariner after our Oct/22 cruise & have NEVER been offered an upsell or gotten an upgrade. WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?

Who/how do you book your cruise with.  Some large agencies do not pass along upsell offers to their clients.

 

[glutenhab]

2 hours ago, DaveOKC said:

Who/how do you book your cruise with.  Some large agencies do not pass along upsell offers to their clients.

 

Have booked trough both HAL & larger agencies. Have always selected the option of being contacted for upgrades/upswells.

Always book longer itineraries (24-60 days). Sometimes these are b2b’s so I assumed they did not want to take up a better cabin for 2 or more cruises as the reason we were NEVER offered anything. Is that possible?

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, glutenhab said:

Have booked trough both HAL & larger agencies. Have always selected the option of being contacted for upgrades/upswells.

Always book longer itineraries (24-60 days). Sometimes these are b2b’s so I assumed they did not want to take up a better cabin for 2 or more cruises as the reason we were NEVER offered anything. Is that possible?

Apparently it’s harder to get upsells when you are on a b2b.

[*Miss G*]

5 hours ago, glutenhab said:

Will be a 4 Star Mariner after our Oct/22 cruise & have NEVER been offered an upsell or gotten an upgrade. WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?

 

I’ve only ever received an upsell when booking with a PCC.  Never received one when I booked through a TA.  If you have booked with a PCC for your October cruise, keep an eye on your junk mail folder starting 4 weeks out.  That might be where they’re going if you have never seen one.

[john2003]

But you can also call HAL which is what I did. Need to talk to the upsell dept. Reservations won't be any help.

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, john2003 said:

But you can also call HAL which is what I did. Need to talk to the upsell dept. Reservations won't be any help.

 

I did the same thing. You don’t need to be waiting around for an offer that may/may not ever come.

[albingirl]

Don't sit on your hands.  Pick up the phone.

[crystalspin]

On 6/16/2022 at 6:46 AM, *Miss G* said:

 

It’s a Neptune Suite at the front of the ship, over the spa area.  Tiny balconies and a long walk to the lounge.  Definitely not worth the money.

I have seen those rooms on the floor plan but did not know they qualified as Neptune Suites! We are in Spa Verandahs (party of two couples) on the Nieuw Amsterdam in October -- we don't use the balcony much, but I decided on being able to at least sit outside if desired was worth it... In COVID times!

[boze9999]

We always use a PCC w/ HAL, however with theme cruises/speciality cruises we have to use their designated booking TA. What we've found was when using a non-HAL PCC, ALL communication from HAL goes first to the TA and then to you (whenever they get around to forwarding it to you). So yes - upgrade opportunities (which sometimes disappear in minutes or hours), itinerary changes, flight changes (if booked w/ your cruise) have a middle man layer delaying your receipt of timely information. Just my experience.....

Edited June 24, 2022 by boze9999
typo

[john2003]

You are correct there is the extra step. 

[happyglobetrotter]

On 6/23/2022 at 2:50 PM, glutenhab said:

Will be a 4 Star Mariner after our Oct/22 cruise & have NEVER been offered an upsell or gotten an upgrade. WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?

It also depends how much you have paid for the cabin. If you have a 'deal' price, upsells are more expensive or just go not happen. 

 

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, happyglobetrotter said:

It also depends how much you have paid for the cabin. If you have a 'deal' price, upsells are more expensive or just go not happen. 

 

It seems that people that are on casino deals get upsell offers all the time.  Hard to believe it depends on the price you pay unless they are going out to people that paid the least.  From the stupid things that hal pulls at times I wouldn’t be surprised.

[DaveOKC]

3 hours ago, happyglobetrotter said:

It also depends how much you have paid for the cabin. If you have a 'deal' price, upsells are more expensive or just go not happen. 

 

 I really do not think this is the case.  On my most recent cruise I had a VERY good deal (IMO) and still received an upsell offer from a verandah to either a Signature or Neptune suite.  I moved very quickly on it and got a great location SA cabin (I got to select the cabin).

[SLOTheta]

I booked an Alaska 7 day cruise out of last year that was a casino rate. It was only a few hundred less than regular rate, but had prepaid gratuities along with the Have it All perks. We leave on July 3rd. I started receiving Preferred Limited upgrade specials a few weeks ago. But, my family is cruising for the first time and we have 5 rooms all next to each other. I felt guilty taking the deal. I’m staying in the spot we have. Next time, we will take the offer if we weren’t all together. For $700 for a Neptune, it was very hard to pass up. Our friends in our group of 20, who aren’t traveling with their family, took the deal 

 

PREFERRED LIMITED UPGRADE SPECIAL
Upgrade for select bookings from your Verandah stateroom (Category VA to VH) to the following best available:
Neptune Suite (Category SA to SC) for an additional $399pp USD/$499pp CAD Signature Suite (Category SS to SZ) for an additional $199pp USD/$249pp CAD

[Florida_gal_50]

17 minutes ago, SLOTheta said:

I booked an Alaska 7 day cruise out of last year that was a casino rate. It was only a few hundred less than regular rate, but had prepaid gratuities along with the Have it All perks. We leave on July 3rd. I started receiving Preferred Limited upgrade specials a few weeks ago. But, my family is cruising for the first time and we have 5 rooms all next to each other. I felt guilty taking the deal. I’m staying in the spot we have. Next time, we will take the offer if we weren’t all together. For $700 for a Neptune, it was very hard to pass up. Our friends in our group of 20, who aren’t traveling with their family, took the deal 

 

PREFERRED LIMITED UPGRADE SPECIAL
Upgrade for select bookings from your Verandah stateroom (Category VA to VH) to the following best available:
Neptune Suite (Category SA to SC) for an additional $399pp USD/$499pp CAD Signature Suite (Category SS to SZ) for an additional $199pp USD/$249pp CAD

That’s a very good rate.  For me to go from a balcony to a Neptune was multiples of that and I didn’t get a cheap price for my cruise either.

[WriterOnDeck]

On 6/23/2022 at 6:19 PM, *Miss G* said:

 

I’ve only ever received an upsell when booking with a PCC.  Never received one when I booked through a TA.  If you have booked with a PCC for your October cruise, keep an eye on your junk mail folder starting 4 weeks out.  That might be where they’re going if you have never seen one.

I've received good upsell offers and I always book through a TA. I have a great TA who doesn't sit on offers and even seeks them out for me. Just as with PCCs, it depends on the quality of the person.

[Florida_gal_50]

18 minutes ago, WriterOnDeck said:

I've received good upsell offers and I always book through a TA. I have a great TA who doesn't sit on offers and even seeks them out for me. Just as with PCCs, it depends on the quality of the person.

Totally agree on the quality of the person thing.  That said if you deal with a pcc it comes right through the upsell department.  The pcc does get a cc on that information I believe.