Ask me before you upgrade me!

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

What I have read and heard here,  now more than ever, is that it is really a special request for No Upgrade.  And you have to keep checking.    We have not ever been automatically upgraded, but it seems common!

Even when marked No Upgrade, if they have their reasons, cover, staffing, whatever,  Princess can and will move you!

 

Again, GoldenBonny,  if there is an actual upgrade in your cabin category, you can go look online, like you are making a booking, to see what is showing available.  (Note the problem with booking Deluxe Balconies for two guests if that is the category).  You can easily make a cabin change to cabins in that same category.

[GOLDENBONNY]

Thank you all. I got my cabin back and my brother got next door from his original one. Now we will monitor it . It is forward cabins and I hope they are not really using it for Covid as it been said here. We are deck 11 and 12 

Edited August 27, 2022 by GOLDENBONNY

[Kabuki12]

Glad you got your cabins back!

[leck57]

On 8/26/2022 at 3:45 PM, Kabuki12 said:

I have never seen a no upgrade option when I have booked.  It's not an option on the site.  

If I try to book a cruise I get this option regarding upgrades on the booking page, after you select a cabin (the check boxes next to each option have not copied across but the option to accept/refuse upgrades is there) :-

 

Stateroom Upgrade Preference:

This is an automatically allocated upgrade and can be anywhere on the ship. Should an upgrade be assigned, you will not be able to return to your original stateroom choice.

Yes, I would like to be considered for a stateroom upgrade

No, I DO NOT want to be considered for a stateroom upgrade

 

Edited August 27, 2022 by leck57

[wowzz]

30 minutes ago, leck57 said:

If I try to book a cruise I get this option regarding upgrades on the booking page, after you select a cabin (the check boxes next to each option have not copied across but the option to accept/refuse upgrades is there) :-

 

Stateroom Upgrade Preference:

This is an automatically allocated upgrade and can be anywhere on the ship. Should an upgrade be assigned, you will not be able to return to your original stateroom choice.

Yes, I would like to be considered for a stateroom upgrade

No, I DO NOT want to be considered for a stateroom upgrade

 

That is the same as on the UK site. I still am amazed that it would not be on the US site as well. 

[marymount]

My TA didn't ask me if I wanted upgrade. Is it marked on my reservation somewhere? 

[dog]

I recently received an upgrade across from elevators. Had booked preferred aft balcony.  No upgrade was selected by calling Princess rep.

 

missed the 48 hours to decline it , but noticed they had already released my chosen cabin & moved me to upgrade.  
 

 

[Sea Hag]

On 8/26/2022 at 12:40 AM, wowzz said:

As far as the cruise line is concerned,  cabins midships and on lower decks are more desirable,  as they are less susceptible to movement.  They are therefore considered to be an upgrade from a aft cabin on a higher deck.

If you have been "upgraded" on every cruise,  I am surprised that  you did not raise the issue at some point with the customer service team on board,  when they would have told you about the "no upgrade" option. 

They have probably changed their stance on higher/lower deck since the "upgraded" us many years ago. They moved us from a lower deck oceanview with no obstructions or issues to a side aft cabin on Aloha deck with mondo noise early am from outside area of the buffet and with a window washer parked permanently outside our window. We complained, and they told us that was an upgrade because it was on a higher deck.

Edited September 19, 2022 by Sea Hag

[PacnGoNow]

On 8/25/2022 at 9:47 PM, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

Golden.....   it is possible that you will not be able to get your original cabins back.

Even if they are marked No Upgrade, they will still move cabins to create the necessary Covid Isolation area.  It seems that I have seen forward sections of lower decks used for this.  And I notice you don't like to be Aft.

 

A recent thread here was about how somebody was aft, and wanted to be there, but Princess kept trying to move them.  I don't think any reason why was ever figured out!

 

Free random upgrades would probably be very rare now that Princess is starting the new Bid for Upgrade system.

 

One thing that you can do is this.  Now that you have your new upgraded cabin calories,  look for cabins with that category that might still be available.  You can do an even category move easily.

 

And, do make sure that it is marked NO UPGRADE.   Hopefully Princess will not move you again unless there is some real reason.

 

I was recently “upgraded” on a b2b and both UG to different cabins, of course.

No UG was on my bookings, my TA was NOT notified.  I just happened to check over my bookings and noticed it.

 

The cabin was then open for sale, of course over the weekend. So, on Monday my TA was able to get my original back on both sailings.  It was not operational, if they were going to re sell them.

 

The upgrade they gave me was on a deck   with a smaller balcony, one fwd and one aft. Definitely not an UG IMO.

 

So, check your cabins periodically. It’s still happening, even with bidding going on.

[TessieTravels]

I am so glad I found this thread.  Thank you all for the insight.  We are booked on the Island Princess in Dec. 2022 and Princess has swapped our "perfect" cabin TWICE now informing us that we have been "upgraded" to a cabin near the lifts/elevator and stairs (high traffic area vs very low traffic area).  The first time they moved our cabin, Princess was gracious enough to put us back in our "perfect" cabin with a "no auto upgrade" notice since our preferred cabin was still (thankfully) available.  We decided to move our booking to a TA to better monitor and this time Princess reps reported to our TA that "yes, there is a note for no upgrades", but Princess is making that particular hallway an isolation hallway (which I can respect); HOWEVER, 1. the hallway on the port side showed ALL the cabins available.  Why wouldn't they make that hallway the isolation hallway since no one has booked a cabin there or they "upgraded" everyone that had? So odd of a decision in my opinion, but I can only think that there is more to the story that I'm not privy to. The good news is at least my TA was able to get our cabin switched to the same cabin but on the Port side.  I am not very confident that Princess will honor our request to stay in that cabin/deck and per our passenger contract, I realize they have every right to change our location at any time, for any reason without notice.  The OTHER interesting tidbit of information is that my mom is booked in an inside cabin in the same Starboard hallway, yet she has not been relocated to another interior cabin or "upgraded" to a non "isolated" hallway, maybe that notice will come soon. 

 

Thank you for allowing me to vent about my situation. 🙂

 

[PacnGoNow]

8 hours ago, TessieTravels said:

I am so glad I found this thread.  Thank you all for the insight.  We are booked on the Island Princess in Dec. 2022 and Princess has swapped our "perfect" cabin TWICE now informing us that we have been "upgraded" to a cabin near the lifts/elevator and stairs (high traffic area vs very low traffic area).  The first time they moved our cabin, Princess was gracious enough to put us back in our "perfect" cabin with a "no auto upgrade" notice since our preferred cabin was still (thankfully) available.  We decided to move our booking to a TA to better monitor and this time Princess reps reported to our TA that "yes, there is a note for no upgrades", but Princess is making that particular hallway an isolation hallway (which I can respect); HOWEVER, 1. the hallway on the port side showed ALL the cabins available.  Why wouldn't they make that hallway the isolation hallway since no one has booked a cabin there or they "upgraded" everyone that had? So odd of a decision in my opinion, but I can only think that there is more to the story that I'm not privy to. The good news is at least my TA was able to get our cabin switched to the same cabin but on the Port side.  I am not very confident that Princess will honor our request to stay in that cabin/deck and per our passenger contract, I realize they have every right to change our location at any time, for any reason without notice.  The OTHER interesting tidbit of information is that my mom is booked in an inside cabin in the same Starboard hallway, yet she has not been relocated to another interior cabin or "upgraded" to a non "isolated" hallway, maybe that notice will come soon. 

 

Thank you for allowing me to vent about my situation. 🙂

 

They had been only using the balcony rooms for isolation, not the insides. So, that might-be why they didn’t move her.

[sloopsailor]

For those of you who have had their cabin "upgraded" without being asked, when did this happen? Close to the cruise date, or weeks or even months prior? 

 

Thanks!

[Kabuki12]

Mine happened shortly after I booked.

[PacnGoNow]

8 minutes ago, sloopsailor said:

For those of you who have had their cabin "upgraded" without being asked, when did this happen? Close to the cruise date, or weeks or even months prior? 

 

Thanks!

6 mos out.

[suzyed]

18 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

6 mos out.

Also 6 (or 7) months out. 
And I have never had them ask me before hand. And I don't believe I have ever accepted the "upgrade"...I always insist it be switched back to the original cabin. Only once was it not available and I had to get one nearby/similar.

Edited September 25, 2022 by suzyed

[FawnRiver]

I received unwanted “upgrades” on my last cruise and again for my upcoming cruise in January. Both times I had to call in to get either my original room or one similar. 
It wouldn’t be that hard to write a program to analyze cruisers’ historical preferences to offer cabins to people that they’d be willing to take.

Each time, they’ve tried to move us forward from our favourite aft cabins. Not everyone wants to be smack dab in the middle of the ship. I’d take an upgraded forward cabin before a mid ship one, unless it’s a big jump (small balcony to a large mini suite or suite).
I agree that it would be great if they could just add a Do Not Upgrade button for online bookings. They could easily do that and add a disclaimer to cover themselves if they have to force a move on someone.

[satxdiver]

I have only been "upgraded" once and I was able to get my old stateroom back.  I watch it checking every other say because I am well aware of their "upgrade" program.  I always mark my reservation as no upgrade but on this one occasion they did it anyway.  We should not have to watch our reservation but unfortunately due to Princess ineptitude we do.  Sad