Upgrades (Not Upsells) Do Happen

[jsglow]

We got one today; a big one. Cruise is later this month. Not going to share any details to 'protect' the Beards. Do note that we are not casino comp folks. Honored they called. I guess loyalty coupled with last minute availability matters. 🛳

[sparks1093]

What great news for you! Have a great trip!

[kdr69]

Awesome news just before your cruise.

[pe4all]

So glad to hear that.  Enjoy your cruise!

[jimbo5544]

Outstanding!  Enjoy!

[angelsfort]

congratulations!

I'm just curious though, what exactly are you protecting the beards from by not telling us how / what your upgrade was?   If it was some super secret thing, then there's no point in us hoping that we may also be gifted with an upgrade... 

[ninjacat123]

Fantastic!  Enjoy!!🥳

[mfs2k]

10 hours ago, jsglow said:

We got one today;

 

I've been upgraded (not upsold) to suites in the past by the ship's sailing coordinator.  It's a great feeling when they do that for you.  What category did you upgrade from and to? 

[ARcruisin2]

What is a "ship's sailing coordinator?"

[ninjacat123]

1 minute ago, ARcruisin2 said:

What is a "ship's sailing coordinator?"

I was wondering that as well. Someone at embarkation?

[mfs2k]

54 minutes ago, ARcruisin2 said:

What is a "ship's sailing coordinator?"

Before computers did most of the work, the ship sailing coordinator worked behind the scenes in the corporate office who assigned guarantee'd cabins and was in charge of making sure everyone was in the correct room type and room.  There typically was one sailing coordinator for each ship.  When ships didn't sail full and there were available cabins, they had some flexibility to upgrade.  I was working in the industry and had connected with the coordinator of a few ships I was sailing on and got upgraded.  Those days are over I think. 

[jsglow]

So kindly understand that my purpose for posting this was that it CAN happen in unique circumstances but I believe should be considered highly unusual. A couple of facts about our cruise and the situation:

- sold out; no online availability

- my call came from the 'upsell department' in Miami.

- the word 'complimentary' was used in the very first sentence. I picked up on that immediately.

- the offer was entirely telephonic; there was no indication of any offer via my online portal.

- last week, we received an 'Upsell' call (that was decent) that we declined.

- I would describe our Upgrade as 2+ from Porthole to an Extended Balc.

 

My sense is that all Upselling was previously completed and that cabin assignments to GTYs might have been in process. I'm also speculating that this particular cruise might have a very limited number of Diamonds. So somewhere a decision was made to offer the cabin to us rather than reward a gambling comp or surprise a GTY purchaser. Hope that provides some additional clarity. It's never happened to us before. 

[jimbo5544]

6 minutes ago, jsglow said:

So kindly understand that my purpose for posting this was that it CAN happen in unique circumstances but I believe should be considered highly unusual. A couple of facts about our cruise and the situation:

- sold out; no online availability

- my call came from the 'upsell department' in Miami.

- the word 'complimentary' was used in the very first sentence. I picked up on that immediately.

- the offer was entirely telephonic; there was no indication of any offer via my online portal.

- last week, we received an 'Upsell' call (that was decent) that we declined.

- I would describe our Upgrade as 2+ from Porthole to an Extended Balc.

 

My sense is that all Upselling was previously completed and that cabin assignments to GTYs might have been in process. I'm also speculating that this particular cruise might have a very limited number of Diamonds. So somewhere a decision was made to offer the cabin to us rather than reward a gambling comp or surprise a GTY purchaser. Hope that provides some additional clarity. It's never happened to us before. 

Nice reply and even better it was not a casino comp.  Enjoy it!!

[Elaine5715]

Comp upgrades also happen when staterooms are removed from service so walk by your originally booked stateroom and see if it is in use. 

[jsglow]

I want to add one more tiny tidbit. When the agent called, she had multiple cabins on 3 different decks on a list for us to choose from. We went down the list and I picked our beloved 'bowling alley'. So I'm guessing GTY assignments were not nearly complete.

[mfs2k]

5 minutes ago, jsglow said:

I want to add one more tiny tidbit. When the agent called, she had multiple cabins on 3 different decks on a list for us to choose from. We went down the list and I picked our beloved 'bowling alley'. So I'm guessing GTY assignments were not nearly complete.

From this scenario, I would assume that the ship oversold the porthole category on your sailing and when that happens, they need to upgrade some cabins if they are unable to upsell them first. If you said "I really want the porthole category I booked" they would have upgraded someone else.   This happens in hotels all the time too.  It's managing the rooms inventory and blocking rooms. 

[jsglow]

21 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

From this scenario, I would assume that the ship oversold the porthole category on your sailing and when that happens, they need to upgrade some cabins if they are unable to upsell them first. If you said "I really want the porthole category I booked" they would have upgraded someone else.   This happens in hotels all the time too.  It's managing the rooms inventory and blocking rooms. 

I can certainly see that but the ONLY way to get a Porthole is to book it specifically by cabin number. Said another way, there's no such thing as a GTY PT or 1A, etc. That's not saying that a person booking a INT GTY couldn't be assigned there as an upgrade.

 

Still, practically every time we have had a PT, we've received one or more UpSell offers so there's no doubt those PTs are always in demand.

Edited Thursday at 04:55 PM by jsglow

[n6uqqq]

I have been the beneficiary of an upgrade, probably just by chance. I had a cruise set for the Freedom 8 day in Feb last year and they switched ships to the Spirit. I had an inside room on the Freedom but at switch over they put me into a regular balcony room with no notice at all. It was a nice surprise. I am guessing the Freedom has more interior rooms than the Spirit so I randomly got put into a balcony. I used to be a balcony person but am now happy with the 4K on the Spirit class with the tall window and between lifeboats.

[jsglow]

51 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Comp upgrades also happen when staterooms are removed from service so walk by your originally booked stateroom and see if it is in use. 

That gives me an idea Elaine. I may walk down there, knock on their door, and introduce myself so we can compare stories. My hope is it's some young couple taking a much deserved vacation and 'thrilled' that they were able to upgrade from their INT to this 'wonderful' PT. That would make me very happy. 😁

[ninjacat123]

4 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

I have been the beneficiary of an upgrade, probably just by chance. I had a cruise set for the Freedom 8 day in Feb last year and they switched ships to the Spirit. I had an inside room on the Freedom but at switch over they put me into a regular balcony room with no notice at all. It was a nice surprise. I am guessing the Freedom has more interior rooms than the Spirit so I randomly got put into a balcony. I used to be a balcony person but am now happy with the 4K on the Spirit class with the tall window and between lifeboats.

That 4K on Pride between lifeboats was what we had on our Bermuda cruise a couple weeks ago.  Very bright with a view of the ocean!  My DH who loves balconies said this room was a great "instead of a balcony room".  I was fortunate to be able to book the exact room for our Legend cruise June 2026!  Saves some $$$!

Edited Thursday at 05:03 PM by ninjacat123

[jsglow]

3 minutes ago, n6uqqq said:

I have been the beneficiary of an upgrade, probably just by chance. I had a cruise set for the Freedom 8 day in Feb last year and they switched ships to the Spirit. I had an inside room on the Freedom but at switch over they put me into a regular balcony room with no notice at all. It was a nice surprise. I am guessing the Freedom has more interior rooms than the Spirit so I randomly got put into a balcony. I used to be a balcony person but am now happy with the 4K on the Spirit class with the tall window and between lifeboats.

So tell me about those 4Ks. I think I'd like to try one sometime. We're typically Deck #1 Starboard folks on any Spirit.

[n6uqqq]

Just now, ninjacat123 said:

That 4K on Pride between lifeboats was what we had on our Bermuda cruise a couple weeks ago.  Very bright!  My DH who loves balconies said this room was a great "instead of a balcony room".  I was fortunate to be able to book the exact room for our Legend cruise June 2026!  Saves some $$$!

I saw that in your review 😉 . I like that they are balcony layout and with natural light and a peekaboo peak to boot! 

[n6uqqq]

1 minute ago, jsglow said:

So tell me about those 4Ks. I think I'd like to try one sometime. We're typically Deck #1 Starboard folks on any Spirit.

The rooms you want are between lifeboats and the ones with a peekaboo peek are 4114, 4115, 4122, 4123, 4132, 4133, 4140, 4141, 4148, 4149 and the 4 person rooms are 4194 and 4195. Same exact layout as a balcony. Same rooms on Spirit, Pride, Legend, and Miracle. My personal favorites are 4140 and 4148 because the front three lifeboats are bigger and slightly less of a view.

[ninjacat123]

Here are some pics from our 4K last cruise! 4122

 

Edited Thursday at 05:09 PM by ninjacat123

[ninjacat123]

The speckles on the window never went away.  Always looked like it might be raining.  FYI