Unrequested upgrade

[Envelope21]

Anyone ever receive an upgrade that they didn't ask for? Our cruise leaves in 2 days and I just got a confirmation that we'e been upgraded from an inside to a balcony. I have no idea why. I know it sounds crazy, but we really wanted the inside. It was close to an elevator and DH has mobility issues. The cabin they gave us is waaaay in the back of the ship. Now they say they can't give us the original one back because it has already been assigned to someone else. In fact there are no rooms left in that same category.

 

We booked in the Fantastica category so we could choose a room.

 

Weird.

 

I suppose we could talk to Guest Services when we get on board, but since we booked so late in the game our boarding time is really late.

 

 

[JT1962]

I talked to a few people on my cruise last week who got upgraded without requesting it. It’s possible that they had vacant balcony rooms and needed more inside cabins for those looking to book cheaply at the last minute. 
 

 

[styles27]

Yes our first MSC cruise we received an unsolicited upgrade We were already in Rome when I noticed the email the day before our cruise 

 

In our case we went from a Fantastica aft facing balcony that we really wanted to a balcony room in the YC. 
The YC balcony was a lot smaller than the balcony that came with room we originally booked so at first I wasn’t happy. 
 

I quickly got over that once I realized what the YC was. lol I hadn’t spent enough time on the MSC boards here so it was a surprise. 
 

I can understand why you aren’t thrilled with being moved to another location. We walk at least 8-10k steps a day when we have aft room. 
 

[styles27]

@Envelope21You don’t have to wait for your boarding time they don’t look at that. If you can, get to the port earlier and request the change. 
If you can get a doctor’s note mentioning the mobility issue that may help

Edited January 31, 2023 by styles27
Atrocious spelling lol

[Envelope21]

1 minute ago, styles27 said:

Yes our first MSC cruise we received an unsolicited upgrade We were already in Rome when I noticed the email the day before our cruise 

 

In our case we went from a Fantastica aft facing balcony that we really wanted to a balcony room in the YC. 
The YC balcony was a lot smaller than the balcony that came with room we originally booked so at first I wasn’t happy. 
 

I quickly got over that once I realized what the YC was. lol I hadn’t spent enough time on the MSC boards here so it was a surprise. 
 

I can understand why you aren’t thrilled with being moved to another location. We walk at least 8-10k steps a day when we have aft room. 
 

Thanks. I can see something like that happening if the original booking was a GTY room, but this was not.  

 

Welcome to the world of MSC, I guess. We've been on over 60 cruises. This is our first time on this cruise line. 

[Envelope21]

4 minutes ago, styles27 said:

@Envelope21You don’t have to wait for your boarding time they don’t look at that. If you can, get to the port earlier and request the change. 
If you can get a doctor’s note mentioning the mobility issue that may help

Really? They seemed pretty specific and adamant about not arriving before your boarding time. Our boarding time is 3:00. I don't know who we could talk to unless we are actually on the ship. I don't think the porters that take your luggage would be much help. LOL.

 

I'll see what we can do about getting a note from DH's doctor. Thanks.

[styles27]

1 minute ago, Envelope21 said:

Really? They seemed pretty specific and adamant about not arriving before your boarding time. Our boarding time is 3:00. I don't know who we could talk to unless we are actually on the ship. I don't think the porters that take your luggage would be much help. LOL.

 

I'll see what we can do about getting a note from DH's doctor. Thanks.

Yes we booked Fantastica too. They can change your room anytime they want unfortunately. 
 

We boarded our cruise 12/30 before 11:30a.m. so it is possible if the ship clears immigration early enough that you can get on earlier. By 3:00 you’ve missed a few hours of your first day on the ship. 
Our boarding times always change multiple times before we cruise. It’s crazy MSC stuff. 
 

 

 

[Envelope21]

3 minutes ago, styles27 said:

Yes we booked Fantastica too. They can change your room anytime they want unfortunately. 

 

Wow. Ok. That's so weird. What's the point of Fantastic then, I wonder.

[styles27]

11 minutes ago, Envelope21 said:

Wow. Ok. That's so weird. What's the point of Fantastic then, I wonder.

Exactly what we all say lol 

The room we had chosen could accommodate 4 people so I’m thinking maybe they needed it for a new booking 

[Envelope21]

Isn't there a great Seinfeld bit where Jerry goes to pick up his rental car and the rental agent says, "I'm sorry but we have no cars left."

 

 

[perakcruiser]

31 minutes ago, styles27 said:

Exactly what we all say lol 

The room we had chosen could accommodate 4 people so I’m thinking maybe they needed it for a new booking 

Most probably. If you book a Fantastica Inside for 4 with only 2 people the chances for upgrade are very high as they need these rooms desperately when the ship gets full 😄 

[DCGuy64]

1 hour ago, Envelope21 said:

Isn't there a great Seinfeld bit where Jerry goes to pick up his rental car and the rental agent says, "I'm sorry but we have no cars left."

 

 

Never gets old, I love that scene!

 

[carlmm]

Really?

There are tons of posts from people asking about the chance of and how to get a complementary upgrade. Will the upgrade fairy visit?

Now somebody gets not only a free upgrade within the same typ of rooms, not only from inside to outside but from inside to balcony and still ....😱

Edited January 31, 2023 by carlmm

[Envelope21]

11 minutes ago, carlmm said:

Really?

There are tons of posts from people asking about the chance of and how to get a complementary upgrade. Will the upgrade fairy visit?

Now somebody gets not only a free upgrade within the same typ of rooms, not only from inside to outside but from inside to balcony and still ....😱

Hi. I knew this would happen. It was only a matter of time until i got slammed. You have no idea of a person's particular circumstance and why they book a cruise the way they do.

 

There are tons of posts about people complaining about all sorts of thing ... chair hogs or bathrobes or lack of free soft serve ice cream None of which are the least bit important to me. What is important is the location of a cabin. That is why I don't book a guarantee room. That is why I was not happy when they arbitrarily changed my room to the furthest possible distance to an elevator.

 

But hey,  thanks for your input.

[Aussiegrlfl]

3 hours ago, Envelope21 said:

Really? They seemed pretty specific and adamant about not arriving before your boarding time. Our boarding time is 3:00. I don't know who we could talk to unless we are actually on the ship. I don't think the porters that take your luggage would be much help. LOL.

 

I'll see what we can do about getting a note from DH's doctor. Thanks.

This happened to us a few years back on Celebrity, we specifically booked a large OV in the front of the ship corner close to our friends, the room was heaps bigger and we were so excited, it was an 11 day trip and the extra room and floor to ceiling window looked amazing. When we got to the terminal they had upgraded us to an aft balcony.  We were not happy, it was noisy and loud and 1/2 the size of the room we had booked.  They didn't care, apparently the people in the next cabin needed our cabin for a family trip because it had a connecting door.  So my point is, it's NOT just MSC.  I hope you still enjoy your cruise

[styles27]

39 minutes ago, Envelope21 said:

Hi. I knew this would happen. It was only a matter of time until i got slammed. You have no idea of a person's particular circumstance and why they book a cruise the way they do.

 

There are tons of posts about people complaining about all sorts of thing ... chair hogs or bathrobes or lack of free soft serve ice cream None of which are the least bit important to me. What is important is the location of a cabin. That is why I don't book a guarantee room. That is why I was not happy when they arbitrarily changed my room to the furthest possible distance to an elevator.

 

But hey,  thanks for your input.

I’ve started scrolling right past the “slammers” on here. I’m so tired of their rants it seems that’s the only thing they post. Not helpful at all. 

There’s a lot of walking on some of these larger ships and it can be really difficult so I completely understand your frustration at being moved. 

After all of the thousands of steps we racked up on Divina a

few weeks ago we think it’s time for us to look at the smaller ships.
I’ve had multiple spine surgeries and it’s getting harder and harder to walk a lot. It’s taken me a few weeks to get back to normal. 
Good luck I hope someone can help you get a room closer to your original location. 
~Deb

[GOLDENBONNY]

Never got one on MSC but got it twice on Princess LOL and we asked not to do it from the beginning .In your case just be happy ,to happy balcony instead of inside wow

[Envelope21]

Update: My saga regarding the unrequested upgrade appears to have been resolved. After 3 calls to MSC, and being put on hold numerous times, I finally got someone to help me. They saw in the notes my previous phone calls and were able to escalate my issue to a higher authority (they say it was corporate). 
 

The  ship is almost sold out and the only availability was balcony or YC. I could see on their website there were a few balcony cabins near an elevator. 

The agent asked me if I knew of a cabin number I wanted, I was able to say yes, and I gave him the number of a balcony cabin near an elevator. Within minutes he was able to switch my booking to that cabin. 
 

I think the only reason they were able to work with me on this is because the cruise is only 2 days away — and they probably can’t sell those cabins now anyway. They had already upgraded me to a balcony, so all they had to do was move the location. 
 

I’m so grateful

[L1211]

1 hour ago, Envelope21 said:

Update: My saga regarding the unrequested upgrade appears to have been resolved. After 3 calls to MSC, and being put on hold numerous times, I finally got someone to help me. They saw in the notes my previous phone calls and were able to escalate my issue to a higher authority (they say it was corporate). 
 

The  ship is almost sold out and the only availability was balcony or YC. I could see on their website there were a few balcony cabins near an elevator. 

The agent asked me if I knew of a cabin number I wanted, I was able to say yes, and I gave him the number of a balcony cabin near an elevator. Within minutes he was able to switch my booking to that cabin. 
 

I think the only reason they were able to work with me on this is because the cruise is only 2 days away — and they probably can’t sell those cabins now anyway. They had already upgraded me to a balcony, so all they had to do was move the location. 
 

I’m so grateful

That is great news!  So glad they fixed their mistake. Enjoy your cruise!! 

[phissy]

So glad you were able to get something that will work for you.

Also happy to hear that MSC finally came through.

I have found that sometimes things gets resolved quicker if I have a solution mapped out.
You’re doing the research into the cabins available and making your preference known really made a difference. Good,job.

Now you can look forward to your cruise this week.

Safe travels and Happy Cruising.

 

[styles27]

2 hours ago, Envelope21 said:

Update: My saga regarding the unrequested upgrade appears to have been resolved. After 3 calls to MSC, and being put on hold numerous times, I finally got someone to help me. They saw in the notes my previous phone calls and were able to escalate my issue to a higher authority (they say it was corporate). 
 

The  ship is almost sold out and the only availability was balcony or YC. I could see on their website there were a few balcony cabins near an elevator. 

The agent asked me if I knew of a cabin number I wanted, I was able to say yes, and I gave him the number of a balcony cabin near an elevator. Within minutes he was able to switch my booking to that cabin. 
 

I think the only reason they were able to work with me on this is because the cruise is only 2 days away — and they probably can’t sell those cabins now anyway. They had already upgraded me to a balcony, so all they had to do was move the location. 
 

I’m so grateful

Great news! I’m happy for you! Enjoy your cruise and let us know how it was when you get back!

~Deb

[PG_traveller]

Now I am a bit worried. I have bad knees and sometimes have to walk with a cane. Stairs are a no-go. I specifically booked a cabin by the elevators. But, the MSC agent on the phone put me (solo) in a cabin for four. I really hope they don't move me. 

 

As an aside, on our very first cruise (Carnival) we had booked two balcony cabins and got a free upgrade to two suites. That was nice.

[Notts1964]

On 2/1/2023 at 12:44 AM, Envelope21 said:

Update: My saga regarding the unrequested upgrade appears to have been resolved. After 3 calls to MSC, and being put on hold numerous times, I finally got someone to help me. They saw in the notes my previous phone calls and were able to escalate my issue to a higher authority (they say it was corporate). 
 

The  ship is almost sold out and the only availability was balcony or YC. I could see on their website there were a few balcony cabins near an elevator. 

The agent asked me if I knew of a cabin number I wanted, I was able to say yes, and I gave him the number of a balcony cabin near an elevator. Within minutes he was able to switch my booking to that cabin. 
 

I think the only reason they were able to work with me on this is because the cruise is only 2 days away — and they probably can’t sell those cabins now anyway. They had already upgraded me to a balcony, so all they had to do was move the location. 
 

I’m so grateful

That is great news. 

We were upgraded to a balcony room last year on MSC after booking a Fantastica Inside cabin. We were delighted, but I understand why some people would have issues with the change in location. I’m glad it has now worked out for you.

Have a great cruise.

[Morgsmom]

Just to jump in - I  know on OTHER cruise lines you can mark your cabin "do not upgrade"/move specifically for such reasons, but I have never seen this mentioned regarding MSC cruises.  People do chose cabins for particular and personal reasons. 

Has anyone heard of this on MSC?  

[KennyFla]

On 1/31/2023 at 1:05 PM, Envelope21 said:

Hi. I knew this would happen. It was only a matter of time until i got slammed. You have no idea of a person's particular circumstance and why they book a cruise the way they do.

 

There are tons of posts about people complaining about all sorts of thing ... chair hogs or bathrobes or lack of free soft serve ice cream None of which are the least bit important to me. What is important is the location of a cabin. That is why I don't book a guarantee room. That is why I was not happy when they arbitrarily changed my room to the furthest possible distance to an elevator.

 

But hey,  thanks for your input.

Some people's idea of making themselves look good is to criticize others.  Ignore.  There are many great, helpful people on this board.

Edited February 2, 2023 by KennyFla