Question RE: Upgrading Comp'd Casino Cruises

[FreeCasinoCruiser]

Does the upgrade fairy ever visit folks who booked free casino cruises?
I'm on the Nov 19 Meraviliglia sailing out of Brooklyn and have an oceanview room.

I can upgrade through the casino hotline to balcony for $850 or Yacht Club for 3k. 

 

It's a special trip (anniversary and birthday) -- very interested in balcony, but doesn't quite seem to be worth it for me. Would go for Yacht Club but unsure about price, especially since its the same for a 10 day cruise (so feels like a worse deal for 8 days).

 

Havent received bidgrades or anything (happy to pay for upgrade but 850 from OV to Balcony seems steep). Since it's a OV guarantee cabin I'm wondering if anyone has experienced the upgrade fairy for these free cruises? Or if anyone has successfully asked onboard for an upgrade in this situation?

 

I see reports of folks getting upgraded from Interior Bella to Balcony. Just curious if a OV --> balcony for free is feasible at all when booked through casino. 

Thanks all

[voyagerL]

We were on a casino cruise on our last sailing, we didn't get offered plusgrade until we'd checked in. Make sure you tick the 'accept emails from third parties' box. We got an upgrade to YC from comp'd balcony. 

[FreeCasinoCruiser]

Thanks! Both me and my partner have that checked but sadly nothing yet. 😞 

[voyagerL]

3 hours ago, FreeCasinoCruiser said:

Thanks! Both me and my partner have that checked but sadly nothing yet. 😞 

 

Yes, they definitely sometimes leave it quite late. This will be my last casino comp cruise I think, the new points tariff is just terrible! 

[FreeCasinoCruiser]

1 hour ago, voyagerL said:

 

Yes, they definitely sometimes leave it quite late. This will be my last casino comp cruise I think, the new points tariff is just terrible! 

Ah gotcha - this is my first MSC cruise. I matched my status to Diamond. I got my comp through a land casino. Wonder if that makes any difference... We're a week out so upgrade email seems like it's on the late side. But I see a ton of available balconies on my 8 day cruise... hm..

[DaKahuna]

@FreeCasinoCruiser  If your really want to make the anniversary special, I would recommend upgrade to YC and not worry about the cost.  

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

How many nights for your cruise?  3k for YC is a no brainer and completely worth it. 

[FreeCasinoCruiser]

For context, I’m in school right now so I have a lot of external costs and no income, unfortunately. I got the land offer through credit cards and matching statuses, so I was thrilled to have a great trip for minimal cost (about ~1.5k for getting to New York, staying in New York, and then the cruise deposit)
 

3k is a lot of money. Especially when looking at it over an 8 day period. Almost $400 a day could presumably be spent in many other ways. Is YC really so superior that it can’t be compensated by a portion of that money spent outside?

 

as I said I’m ok with spending some money, I just don’t know if 3k is the amount that makes sense for me. Especially for the situation described above.

 

i also worry since we are so close to the departure date that something will get messed up with MSC’s customer service and I will pay 3k and not have it register onboard.

 

at any rate, I would be thrilled with just a balcony in non-YC— it seems there are many available. I was hoping people would have some data points for comped cruises specifically. 
 

I wish I had the money where I could see 3k and have it not make my stomach drop, but it is what it is. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 hours ago, FreeCasinoCruiser said:

I wish I had the money where I could see 3k and have it not make my stomach drop, but it is what it is. 

Totally understand the school/limited income situation!  You can absolutely have a wonderful experience outside of YC.  I have no experience with random upgrades happening from the upgrade fairy. But the cost to upgrade being presented by the casino is very, very reasonable...especially for an 8 night cruise.  Personally, if we were on a very tight budget I would stick with the comped room I was given and use any extra money I allotted for the trip for drinks and other expenses.  There are so many places to enjoy the outdoors on the ship.  In fact, our last YC room was an interior...we spent a lot of time on the sun deck so I didn't miss the balcony.

[FreeCasinoCruiser]

Thanks @Georgia_Peaches! Great to have the perspective— I appreciate the response 

[Pizaz]

I will say Yacht Club is indeed that much superior to the Gen Pop experience on the ships.  YC Interior is a cheap option to upgrade.  Like mentioned before, the YC areas of the ship are nice enough where you won't need to spend a lot of time in your cabin and the service / experience completely makes up for it.  While waiting for a drink is rare in the YC (after the Top Sail/Pool Deck staff learned our drinks they were constantly flowed), wait times around the other areas of the ship can be 10 - 20 minutes of standing around jockeying for bar space to gain attention.  Also, if you do gamble, I have found through the hosts, a much more generous Point Comp at the end of the cruise (two times I was given a certificate for a higher room comp than I actually earned through play).  Worth a consideration at the least.

[Pizaz]

I will say Yacht Club is indeed that much superior to the Gen Pop experience on the ships.  YC Interior is a cheap option to upgrade.  Like mentioned before, the YC areas of the ship are nice enough where you won't need to spend a lot of time in your cabin and the service / experience completely makes up for it.  While waiting for a drink is rare in the YC (after the Top Sail/Pool Deck staff learned our drinks they were constantly flowed), wait times around the other areas of the ship can be 10 - 20 minutes of standing around jockeying for bar space to gain attention.  Also, if you do gamble, I have found through the hosts, a much more generous Point Comp at the end of the cruise (two times I was given a certificate for a higher room comp than I actually earned through play).  Worth a consideration at the least.

[FreeCasinoCruiser]

Thanks Pizaz -

It's 5 days til the cruise. There are currently no interior YC available and only 3 YC balconies left. (there were 7 yesterday, I assume people are upgrading or buying late)

 

The cost for me would be the same for interior/balcony YC because the casino prices them out the same.  

[voyagerL]

On 11/14/2023 at 1:35 PM, FreeCasinoCruiser said:

Thanks Pizaz -

It's 5 days til the cruise. There are currently no interior YC available and only 3 YC balconies left. (there were 7 yesterday, I assume people are upgrading or buying late)

 

The cost for me would be the same for interior/balcony YC because the casino prices them out the same.  

Don't take the online inventory as golden information, we’ve been plus graded into a YC Deluxe when it had showed as sold out for 3 straight weeks prior! 
 

If you don’t land a plusgrade, you can always ask for an onboard upgrade price. 

[BeeeJay]

On 11/13/2023 at 6:31 AM, FreeCasinoCruiser said:

For context, I’m in school right now so I have a lot of external costs and no income, unfortunately. I got the land offer through credit cards and matching statuses, so I was thrilled to have a great trip for minimal cost (about ~1.5k for getting to New York, staying in New York, and then the cruise deposit)
 

3k is a lot of money. Especially when looking at it over an 8 day period. Almost $400 a day could presumably be spent in many other ways. Is YC really so superior that it can’t be compensated by a portion of that money spent outside?

 

as I said I’m ok with spending some money, I just don’t know if 3k is the amount that makes sense for me. Especially for the situation described above.

 

i also worry since we are so close to the departure date that something will get messed up with MSC’s customer service and I will pay 3k and not have it register onboard.

 

at any rate, I would be thrilled with just a balcony in non-YC— it seems there are many available. I was hoping people would have some data points for comped cruises specifically. 
 

I wish I had the money where I could see 3k and have it not make my stomach drop, but it is what it is. 

 

My experience was min bid on YC interior $775 * 2 rec'd upgrade from Bella Balcony to YC Deluxe so ended up getting double upgrade for $1,550 for 14 nights cruise, total cost just under $5,000 for 2 weeks yacht club w/balcony on Seascape. 

 

While I found that an incredible value, I still canceled my subsequent Yacht Club upgrade bids.  I had more fun in Gen Pop using that extra money for specialty dining, excursions, and I also found I got excellent drink service from the floor bar staff once I started giving some strategic tips.  Still spent way way less than the yacht club upgrade and I could argue I ate better and had more fun. 

 

I won't argue that I wasn't way more annoyed by crowds in the main ship, but I definitely liked the adult-only infinity pool on deck 8 aft better than the yacht club pool the week there were 50 kids in Yacht club.

 

Booking a casino comp for upcoming cruises using the certificates I earned is proving to be borderline brutally difficult.  I literally have the certificates in hand (thank god I insisted on getting them rather than waiting for the emails that never came) and I am still unable to book after multiple emails and calls.

 

1st call last week I was told to email msccasino and ask them to "locate and load" my offers.  I did so and received an email back asking to provide my preferred cruise and they would book.  So I both emailed AND called, and they still don't have the ability to book me after 3 rounds of calls and 3 rounds of emails.  One offer is loaded but has no details, the other still isn't appearing.  They are talking about having to reach back out to the casino host who gave them, he just left the ship (presumably for 2 months like everyone else) when I got off the last cruise.  Both the cruises I'm trying to book have limited availability for my room type.  Already booked flights and hotels thinking it was a done deal.   Mildly frustrating.   I guess I'll just book another cruise line if they can't get it together.

 

[voyagerL]

On 11/14/2023 at 1:35 PM, FreeCasinoCruiser said:

Thanks Pizaz -

It's 5 days til the cruise. There are currently no interior YC available and only 3 YC balconies left. (there were 7 yesterday, I assume people are upgrading or buying late)

 

The cost for me would be the same for interior/balcony YC because the casino prices them out the same.  

 

Did you get a plusgrade offer in the end? 🙂 

[FreeCasinoCruiser]

1 hour ago, voyagerL said:

 

Did you get a plusgrade offer in the end? 🙂 

I did not! Hope that data point helps