Call for upsell this morning!??

[TXRED10]

Got a call this morning for an upsell from our mini-suite to AB Penthouse for Alaska cruise on the Star leaving 5/17/08.

They still wanted $450/pp after I bargained with them!

We turned it down. Just didn't think it was a good enough deal.....for an extra $900 that could cover our wine tab for the week!!!

What would you have done??

[Toyz711]

turned it down and add another excrusion...

a lot you can do with that much money...

[flashdog_1]

I'd have turned it down, too. Did you ask if there was a less expensive suite they'd give you for less? ha

[VoyageVirgin]

I would have probably turned it down as well. You never know, they may come back with a better offer - and even if they don't - you're still going to enjoy the cruise - and be $900. better for it.

[Bigdog49]

All a matter of your bugget. I would have grabed it in a heartbeat. The normal price difference is $2000 to $3000 pp. It was very good upsell offer. The perks including Cagneys, full room sevice menu, ease of reservations, a bathroom to die for, and all the space would be hard for me to pass up. Your $450 would be just the start with additional tips for the butler on concierge.

 

I am booked in a Mini on the Jade next month - Upsell fairy call me, call me LOL

[AFAMILY]

I would have turned it down too. Aside from being able to use the $900 elsewhere, it would be hard, at least for me personally, to go back to a mini-suite in the future. I spoil easily!

 

Enjoy your cruise! :)

[TXRED10]

Thanks for all the replies! Believe me, I had to think about it hard.

Just wondered if we did the right thing.....I think so. :)

Cruising is great no matter what cabin you're in!!!

[Bigdog49]

I would have turned it down too. Aside from being able to use the $900 elsewhere, it would be hard, at least for me personally, to go back to a mini-suite in the future. I spoil easily!

 

Enjoy your cruise! :)

 

That is why the upsell calls. I am having cold sweats having received an upsell from an aft BA to a courtyard villa last cruise. The cruise of a lifetime:) It is so hard to go back but the current $4000+ pp more makes self control easy.

[AFAMILY]

That is why the upsell calls. I am having cold sweats having received an upsell from an aft BA to a courtyard villa last cruise. The cruise of a lifetime:) It is so hard to go back but the current $4000+ pp more makes self control easy.

 

I'm hoping I DON'T get the call. I've been watching the NCL site for our sailing and I keep seeing Mini-suites appear and disappear, one at a time, and figure they must be upselling. I would hope the price of the upsell, if I was offered one, would be too high and like you, it would make it easier to use some self control.

 

Happy Cruising! :)

[slotaddict]

Another vote for turning it down.

[terrymtex01]

I don't know if you are still checking this or not..but I think I would probably pass on that as well. It would be a suite to die for, but that just seems like a high price. I have heard many times where they call back and will offer it to you an 1/2 the price so keep your fingers crossed. For 450.00 or 500.00.. I would jump on it.

 

After I posted this reply, I looked it up on NCL.. Sorry.. I was thinking of a AA cabin. That's the one I would jump at if they offered it to us for $450.00 or $500.00

[Bigdog49]

I'm hoping I DON'T get the call. I've been watching the NCL site for our sailing and I keep seeing Mini-suites appear and disappear, one at a time, and figure they must be upselling. I would hope the price of the upsell, if I was offered one, would be too high and like you, it would make it easier to use some self control.

 

Happy Cruising! :)

 

In my case lots on minis still open but no ABs or AAs. So I am safe. A $450pp upsell to an AB is just about as good as it gets. Nobody can book one at that price unless the magic upsell wheel stops on your name.

[TXRED10]

I told the NCL rep. that we were booked next to my parents in mini-suites so I would want to upgrade their cabin too. I said "what if I upgraded both cabins"? The price was still $450/pp. I don't think that is a good enough deal. The AB Penthouses are next door to the mini-suites anyway!

I did tell her I would do it for $250/pp for 2 cabin upgrades..... "No" she said.

Thanks anyway! :)

It's fun to share upsell fairy stories!

[AFAMILY]

In my case lots on minis still open but no ABs or AAs. So I am safe. A $450pp upsell to an AB is just about as good as it gets. Nobody can book one at that price unless the magic upsell wheel stops on your name.

 

I'm much better off without the temtation too. Now if it was $450 total, I think I'd HAVE to take it. But for $450pp I can still justify in my mind not to, even though it seems like a great offer.

[floridacruiser63]

I would have turned it down too. Much can be done with the extra $900.00

You did great!!!

Enjoy your cruise.:)

[kruzkupple]

I've been curious about these "upsells" for quite a while now. I had read on these boards where you could "call the upsell desk at 1-800-etc." about getting an upsell offer. But yet I had never seen anyone posting that they had actually done this.

 

A few months ago, we were booked in a Mini-AF on the Jewel for a January sailing, our 6th on NCL (and 3rd on the Jewel). Since I was feeling a somewhat flush, I called our NCL PCC (in Phoenix) to inquire about the possibility of an "upsell". Here's what I was told:

 

1) Upsells are always initiated by the folks at NCL's "upsell department", and not by passengers or travel agents;

2) They are offered on a random basis, as the availability situation warrants;

3) It doesn't matter whether you're on your 20th NCL cruise or your first ... it's totally random! Your Latitudes status has nothing to do with it.

4) If you booked through a TA, NCL will call the agent (and not you) with the offer. And according to the PCC, the TA is then at liberty to advise the client or (if I understood correctly) to offer the upsell to another client! [if you booked directly through NCL, of course, the upsell offer would come directly to you.]

 

I was stunned, if truth be told. I even asked the PCC to check with her supervisor, and was assured that this is NCL's policy regarding "upsells". (She was a bit hazy about whether a TA had to pass on an offer to its client.)

 

Can anybody confirm or dispute any of this? Has anyone had a recent experience with NCL in which a different policy was followed? Just curious. Thanks. :)

 

-Jack-

[Bigdog49]

I've been curious about these "upsells" for quite a while now. I had read on these boards where you could "call the upsell desk at 1-800-etc." about getting an upsell offer. But yet I had never seen anyone posting that they had actually done this.

 

A few months ago, we were booked in a Mini-AF on the Jewel for a January sailing, our 6th on NCL (and 3rd on the Jewel). Since I was feeling a somewhat flush, I called our NCL PCC (in Phoenix) to inquire about the possibility of an "upsell". Here's what I was told:

 

1) Upsells are always initiated by the folks at NCL's "upsell department", and not by passengers or travel agents;

2) They are offered on a random basis, as the availability situation warrants;

3) It doesn't matter whether you're on your 20th NCL cruise or your first ... it's totally random! Your Latitudes status has nothing to do with it.

4) If you booked through a TA, NCL will call the agent (and not you) with the offer. And according to the PCC, the TA is then at liberty to advise the client or (if I understood correctly) to offer the upsell to another client! [if you booked directly through NCL, of course, the upsell offer would come directly to you.]

 

I was stunned, if truth be told. I even asked the PCC to check with her supervisor, and was assured that this is NCL's policy regarding "upsells". (She was a bit hazy about whether a TA had to pass on an offer to its client.)

 

Can anybody confirm or dispute any of this? Has anyone had a recent experience with NCL in which a different policy was followed? Just curious. Thanks. :)

 

-Jack-

Stunned :confused: That is in fact has been NCL's policy for years.

[beachchick]

kruzkupple: I can confirm that this has been the policy since the summer of 2006 and had been started a bit before that. The reason is that savvy cruisers (many of our own members here included) were booking cabins in much lower categories than they wanted and then calling asking/pleading for upsells every day and starting months before their cruise date. Upsell is a tiny little department with one rep handling most upsells for each ship. They simply couldn't handle the volume, so management said, "Okay, we're going to 'don't call us, we might call you, and if you call and pester us, we might put you on our 'don't call for an upsell' list." (This is first-hand from actual NCL employees, not my speculation.) As well, the Revenue dept was getting pretty ticked over losing money due to those same cruisers scoring cheap deals.

 

Now upsells are initiated by the Upsell dept and based on what cabins are selling or not selling, what they think they can upsell and then resell the original cabin, and any number of other factors. Who gets called is a secret known only to the Upsell Fairies themselves...There's a reason they're called "Upsell Fairies" because we never know who will get "the call" for a deal.

 

Bigdog49: We had an incredible upsell deal from an AF to an A4. What a treat! I know what you mean; no way we can pay the full rate, and we know that the A4 was a really special cruise for us. We also know that a cruise in a BA or an AF will be wonderful too. As long as we have a balcony, we're golden. We've learned that the balcony cabin is our own personal "minimum" level.

 

beachchick

 

p.s. to TXRED10: We would have turned that down too. Quite a bit of $$ to have for other uses. But you never know; if no one takes it at that offer, there's always a chance that they'll lower the asking price and that you might get a second call!

[superflyjeff]

It's all a matter of choice, but I would have jumped on that upsell in a second. You'll never get the chance to book that cabin at such a deeply discounted price. If the suite doesn't matter to you then, you made the right choice. Some people really enjoy their cabin (such as my wife and I) and find the value in paying more for it. Either way...you'll have a great cruise!

[garycarla]

This has been the policy for sometime - re: random, you can not call etc.

 

I think the poster might have been "stunned" that the TA does not have to call the customer. I think that might be better said is that the TA is then supposed to call the customer. BUT - nobody can make sure they do it. Some TA's are just so busy they may not bother, or make the decision that you would not buy it, etc. etc. That is just life. Nothing anyone can do about it. Seems that lots of folks do have good TA's that do call them based on upsell stories that are posted.

[2Cruise4Ever]

I would have jumped on it. In fact, I did jump on it 3 years ago. 4 of us (Me, DH, 2 kids) were in an AF on the Dawn and got the upsell call for the AB for a total of $900. It would have been an additional $4,000 if we had booked it out-right. So, we figured it was a cruise of a lifetime with that kind of luxury. But, guess what? We sailed in an AB last year and will again this year (in 4+ weeks!!!). Once you do an AB, you never go back! We have scrimped, saved, and scraped for it. It's soooo worth it!

[garycarla]

Yes, the AB is great. On some ships it is even better because it has the extra mini bedroom for another couple or kids. Not all ships have that though.

 

As to being worth it. Some say YES, others say maybe and some can barely afford the inside they saved for in the first place. Depends on where you want to spend the money. We have stayed in the AB before and loved it.

 

But, if it was $900 for the room, OR a helo trip to a glacier or floatplane to an inland lake instead, I would settle with the balcony. If I have the money to do both, then go for it, the AB is sweet. And, based on visiting the AA and the AB - I would actually prefer the AB.

[gcjstri]

does anyone know when they start doing the upsells for a particular cruise. Is it close to your sailing date or way before ???

 

I got a GREAT deal on an AB last September 07 for a cruise on the Dawn in Oct 08. I am still hopping for an upsell from an AB to an AA. I girl can always dream.

 

thank u for any info

minimom:) :) :)

[ULuv2Travel2]

Do you have to be paid in full before the upsell fairy pays you a visit?

[gcjstri]

Hi All, just wanted to up lift this thread. Anyone have any answers to the last two posts of this thread ???????

 

thank u

minimom:) :) :)