The Magical Upgrade Fairy

[notscb]

I've been keeping an eye on Carnival's website for our upcoming cruise on the Dream, and noticed in my "planner" and in my "booking and order" pages there's an offer for a $94 upgrade from a cove balcony to a traditional balcony on deck 8 or 9 (plenty available it looks like). It's my first time on Carnival in 10 years, so I was surprised to see any upgrade offer at all.

 

My question is, is it worth the switch to the regular balcony when the coves are a unique experience and offer more privacy? I assume the rooms themselves are the same size. Our current cove is right at the edge of the kitchen and the dining room, so it should be relatively quiet versus some of the others which are more directly under the galley.

 

[matymil]

Depends where on the ship you are. I had a cove last year, loved that it was enclosed and that we had shade. Liked being that close to the water but we had easily the worst noise above weve ever had on a cruise ship. We went to customer service on the 2nd day and the guy said "im not going to lie to you, you've probably got one of, if not the worst cabin on the ship for noise." We were right under the galley and i think we were also under the dishwasher or some big machine because the noise went on literally all night. If you dont have anything like that above you id stay in the cove.

[BobbiSox]

Before booking your cabin, you could go to deckplans.com and look at the cabin you're thinking of taking. You'll have access to a diagram of what will be above you, and under you, which is always a good thing to know. I I bought memebership for more detailed info, but you can also use the site for free to see the location of the cabins. 

[Rudyard]

I got the same offer for my upcoming Vista cruise. Cove to decks 8 or 9 for $110. I could be tempted by a free Lido balcony but that's about it. 

[Sea Hag]

5 hours ago, BobbiSox said:

Before booking your cabin, you could go to deckplans.com and look at the cabin you're thinking of taking. You'll have access to a diagram of what will be above you, and under you, which is always a good thing to know. I I bought memebership for more detailed info, but you can also use the site for free to see the location of the cabins. 

I think you mean cruisedeckplans.com.

[notscb]

12 hours ago, BobbiSox said:

you could go to deckplans.com and look at the cabin you're thinking of taking

 

This is always solid advice and I've definitely done that for this sailing. We were originally in a connecting cove under the galley and i was able to get us moved forward at no cost.

 

I think my question was really is there a huge benefit to the upgrade they're offering when it seems like the coves are a unique experience already? I've heard that the staff sometimes close off access to the balcony in rough weather when it's that low to the water, but otherwise I don't see a real reason to upgrade.

[notscb]

On 10/14/2022 at 7:34 PM, matymil said:

We were right under the galley and i think we were also under the dishwasher or some big machine because the noise went on literally all night

 

That sounds absolutely awful. I think we're in the clear on this one because I read something similar on another thread about the coves and promptly moved our room forward to be more under the dining room vs under the galley.

 

I really appreciate your reply, though, because without folks sharing this experience others of us wouldn't sleep for a week on our cruise 🙂

[mdin]

Going to jump on this thread instead of starting a new one.

 

I received my first ever upgrade offer. I'm currently in an interior room for a March 2023 sailing on Mardi Gras. The offer is to move to a deck 12 balcony towards the back for $350. Out of curiosity, is that a good deal as far as upgrades go?

[ledges1]

I was once offered an upgrade from an interior on 7 to a cove balcony. I considered it more of a downgrade. I guess I could fish from the cove balcony. However, I would consider a balcony on 8 or 9 over a Cove.

[farjar]

1 hour ago, mdin said:

Going to jump on this thread instead of starting a new one.

 

I received my first ever upgrade offer. I'm currently in an interior room for a March 2023 sailing on Mardi Gras. The offer is to move to a deck 12 balcony towards the back for $350. Out of curiosity, is that a good deal as far as upgrades go?

It might depend on the length of the cruise.  We paid $420 to go from a guaranteed inside to an extended balcony on our recent 16 day Panama Canal cruise on the Spirit.  We were very glad we did because of the length of the cruise and the uncertainty of a guarantee.  At first they offered us a cabin under one of the bars.  I had previously gone to "The Box Store the Costs" site and knew which cabins in the same category were still available.  I was able to pick one of our choosing not what they wanted to give us. Do some research and see what is above and below their offering before you make a decision.

[csm5986142]

2 hours ago, mdin said:

I received my first ever upgrade offer. I'm currently in an interior room for a March 2023 sailing on Mardi Gras. The offer is to move to a deck 12 balcony towards the back for $350. Out of curiosity, is that a good deal as far as upgrades go?

 

The best way to know if this is good deal/offer based on your booking, is if you know how much you would have paid for a balcony cabin at the time you booked (versus the interior).  I just did a mock booking on Mardi Gras for March 4th.  I can book a balcony (double occupancy) for $350 per person more than an interior.  Granted this example doesn't take into consideration the deck and location of the rooms, etc, but you get the idea.  So assuming your upgraded rate is a total of $350 for 2 people, it sounds like it could possibly be about 50% less than you could have booked it for originally (depending on when you booked of course).

In general for me it would not be worth it, but much of it is personal preference.  We've been on Mardi Gras twice (balcony cabins both time) and there is so much to do on that ship, we spent very little time in the room.  

Also we recently sailed the Mexican Riviera during hurricane Kay and while many of the people with balcony cabins said the high winds caused their cabins to be noisy all night (for multiple nights), it was perfectly quiet in our interior cabin.  Of course that was a different ship/different time of year, but food for thought. 🙂

[mdin]

2 hours ago, csm5986142 said:

 

The best way to know if this is good deal/offer based on your booking, is if you know how much you would have paid for a balcony cabin at the time you booked (versus the interior).  I just did a mock booking on Mardi Gras for March 4th.  I can book a balcony (double occupancy) for $350 per person more than an interior.  Granted this example doesn't take into consideration the deck and location of the rooms, etc, but you get the idea.  So assuming your upgraded rate is a total of $350 for 2 people, it sounds like it could possibly be about 50% less than you could have booked it for originally (depending on when you booked of course).

In general for me it would not be worth it, but much of it is personal preference.  We've been on Mardi Gras twice (balcony cabins both time) and there is so much to do on that ship, we spent very little time in the room.  

Also we recently sailed the Mexican Riviera during hurricane Kay and while many of the people with balcony cabins said the high winds caused their cabins to be noisy all night (for multiple nights), it was perfectly quiet in our interior cabin.  Of course that was a different ship/different time of year, but food for thought. 🙂

Good advice, thank you. Ironically it is for that same March 4th sailing (7 day W. Caribbean). Comparing today's balcony price to the price I paid in January for interior it's a savings of $259.

 

Being this is my wife's and mine first time on Mardi Gras, I think we'll be exploring the ship more than relaxing on the balcony. Will probably pass on it this time.

[Elaine5715]

On 10/15/2022 at 9:22 PM, notscb said:

 

This is always solid advice and I've definitely done that for this sailing. We were originally in a connecting cove under the galley and i was able to get us moved forward at no cost.

 

I think my question was really is there a huge benefit to the upgrade they're offering when it seems like the coves are a unique experience already? I've heard that the staff sometimes close off access to the balcony in rough weather when it's that low to the water, but otherwise I don't see a real reason to upgrade.

The reason to take the upsell it that Carnival wants to sell underselling balconies.

[notscb]

31 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

The reason to take the upsell it that Carnival wants to sell underselling balconies.

 

It really seems like an inventory and pricing thing, to be honest. I've mock booked the same cruise (in private browsing) and balconies are going for +$1,000 what I paid for our cove balcony originally. The coves, to me, seem like a really neat experience even if they are lower on deck. $94 to upgrade (total) isn't a bad price by any means, but it's not like they're offering us a suite or junior suite.

[notscb]

7 hours ago, mdin said:

$350. Out of curiosity, is that a good deal as far as upgrades go?

 

As others have said, I'm wondering what the balcony is going for on it's own right now vs. how much you paid for yours. Other questions: how pone are you to seasickness, as deck 12 can often "feel" the ship moving more than lower decks. Also, what's above/below where they're trying to move you?

 

edit: for $350, I'd almost rather take another excursion or upgrade an excursion than just upgrade my room.

Edited October 19, 2022 by notscb
see edit

[LaRue1975]

I was in a cove balcony on the Panorama last week and absolutely loved it! 4 of the 7 nights the weather was cool enough to leave our balcony door propped open, it was wonderful falling asleep to the sound of the rushing water. We stay on the beach often in our RV and it was better the crashing waves. We were up front in the same area you are and the cove was so much quieter than the balconies we’ve had on the upper decks. I would not take the upsell they are offering if it was free, try the cove to see if you like it, I think you will. Have a great cruise! 

[Elaine5715]

9 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

I was in a cove balcony on the Panorama last week and absolutely loved it! 4 of the 7 nights the weather was cool enough to leave our balcony door propped open, it was wonderful falling asleep to the sound of the rushing water. We stay on the beach often in our RV and it was better the crashing waves. We were up front in the same area you are and the cove was so much quieter than the balconies we’ve had on the upper decks. I would not take the upsell they are offering if it was free, try the cove to see if you like it, I think you will. Have a great cruise! 

Please don't leave your door propped open.  

[Lee Cruiser]

Like others have said, do your research before you take it.  We received an upgrade offer on Mardi Gras this past April.  It was for a move from an extended balcony on the side on deck 7 to an Ocean Suite for around $200 or so if I remember correctly.  We didn't take the offer.  We typically book the cabin area that we want when we first book.  We were glad we didn't take the offer because we later found out that the suites they were trying to "upsell" us on actually had uncovered balconies where people could easily see in and you were not out of the sun.  We loved our extended balcony and actually spent several hours each sea day laying out on our own balcony away from the crowds.  Plus, you could always stay out of the sun, unlike standard balconies.  We liked it so much that we have extended balconies booked again on Mardi Gras, as well as Celebration next year and Jubilee in early 2024.  Yes, we are those people who do spend a lot of time in our rooms (or actually on our balconies) if the location is right and especially if we can actually lay down there.

[notscb]

10 hours ago, LaRue1975 said:

I was in a cove balcony on the Panorama last week and absolutely loved it!

 

That's so good to hear! I originally had the option of booking a regular balcony or a cove, and ultimately decided on the cove in the first place for the protection from the sun and to be closer to the water more generally. I go cruising because I love being on the water, and I think I'm going to bypass this "offer" to go for a new experience.

[notscb]

18 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

e loved our extended balcony and actually spent several hours each sea day laying out on our own balcony away from the crowds.

 

It's so interesting to hear folks talk about cabins on these (and other) boards. Some people talk so much about how they're never in the room, but I suspect those folks have never had a private space away from the crowds to just enjoy the setting that the balcony area provides. It sounds like y'all had a great time and got a ton of use out of yours. On my last sailing (RCL) I was upgraded (for free) to a balcony from an ocean view and suddenly wanted to spend every second on it and wasn't so eager to get out of the room everyday.

[LaRue1975]

5 hours ago, notscb said:

 

That's so good to hear! I originally had the option of booking a regular balcony or a cove, and ultimately decided on the cove in the first place for the protection from the sun and to be closer to the water more generally. I go cruising because I love being on the water, and I think I'm going to bypass this "offer" to go for a new experience.

Then the cove is definitely for you, we love being on the water also, most of our vacations include the ocean or a lake. When we did a land vacation in Alaska we went to Seaward and Coopers Landing on the Kenai Peninsula instead of Denali. Seaward is in a spectacular bay and Coopers Landing is right on the upper Kenai River, the water is the turquoise color of the Caribbean, just siting and watching it go by was incredible. Sitting on your balcony in a cove is very similar, enjoy!