Need help to settle an argument

[karmac]

So Geoff, what are my chances of being upgraded from a t grade cabin to ANY other outside cabin ANYWHERE on the ship???

[Sonyac]

What about going from an inside room on the Emerald Deck to either an inside room on Dolphin Deck or an outside room on Dolphin Deck?

[arxcards]

So Geoff, what are my chances of being upgraded from a t grade cabin to ANY other outside cabin ANYWHERE on the ship???

Good? :D

Actually Karen, I have read conflicting info as to whether they upgrade by alphabet or upgrade directly to obstructed outsides, so can't really answer that with any degree of confidence.

[karmac]

Also, when we booked we got a cabin number straight away. Brushtail booked a few days before us (also t-grade) & doesn't have one:rolleyes: . Not sure if that makes ny difference at all but I would think NOT having a cabin number was a good sign.

[arxcards]

What about going from an inside room on the Emerald Deck to either an inside room on Dolphin Deck or an outside room on Dolphin Deck?

You will very likely upgrade beyond an inside on Dolphin. It is the next highest category available, and there are only 5 insides on that deck.

 

To get to obstructed outside on Dolphin is upgrading through approx 150 cabins (to full oceanview on Dolphin = approx 350 cabins)

[Sonyac]

Fingers and toes crossed for the upgrade fairy then! :D

[MargnGrah]

Hi Sonyac

 

Hope the GOOD FAIRY UPGRADE comes to you. Will keep my fingers crossed for you!!!!!!!!!!:)

[mum and son]

Yes, keep your fingers crossed... I'm on the Diamond Princess in December and booked on one of the super special deals a couple of weeks ago... I booked an Obstructed Oceanview Guarantee (Cat HH) and was assigned a cabin number within 24 hours, being a couple of categories up (Cat F) but still obstructed and still on the same deck, just a better position.

 

Then, lo and behold, last night I checked my Cruise Personaliser and I have been upgraded to Cat BC, Baja deck Outside WITH BALCONY, and mid ship. Do you think I have stopped smiling yet??? :) :) :)

[MargnGrah]

Yes, keep your fingers crossed... I'm on the Diamond Princess in December and booked on one of the super special deals a couple of weeks ago... I booked an Obstructed Oceanview Guarantee (Cat HH) and was assigned a cabin number within 24 hours, being a couple of categories up (Cat F) but still obstructed and still on the same deck, just a better position.

 

Then, lo and behold, last night I checked my Cruise Personaliser and I have been upgraded to Cat BC, Baja deck Outside WITH BALCONY, and mid ship. Do you think I have stopped smiling yet??? :) :) :)

 

Wow!! that is an upgrade and a half.....congratulations you have done very well......now all you have to do is have a fantastic cruise...

[mum and son]

Wow!! that is an upgrade and a half.....congratulations you have done very well......now all you have to do is have a fantastic cruise...

 

I'd have a good cruise if I was sleeping in a deck chair !!! This one is going to be a rippa :D .

[arxcards]

Yes, keep your fingers crossed... I'm on the Diamond Princess in December and booked on one of the super special deals a couple of weeks ago... I booked an Obstructed Oceanview Guarantee (Cat HH) and was assigned a cabin number within 24 hours, being a couple of categories up (Cat F) but still obstructed and still on the same deck, just a better position.

 

Then, lo and behold, last night I checked my Cruise Personaliser and I have been upgraded to Cat BC, Baja deck Outside WITH BALCONY, and mid ship. Do you think I have stopped smiling yet??? :) :) :)

WOW - gotta love that fairy dust! :D

[Sonyac]

Well, it has been the same since we got the tickets so there is no change yet but who knows, still got 12 days to go.....

[Sandy_D]

Sonya,

I just checked cruise personaliser, and have been upgraded from outside Plaza (P133) to outside Emerald (E135).

I liked that P135 was near the coffee at the patisserie, but in hindsight, it was next to the pursers desk and the lifts, so would probably be noisy.

E135 is under the showlounge, that shouldn't be a problem, as i would probably be up there watching the shows anyway.

Let us know if yours is showing an upgrade yet.

Not long to go now.

Sandy (& Dean)

[mumzie]

When we booked in person at TA lol, we got a room number than and there and also I did have leave open for upgrade, but have since changed that to no as I like where the room is and it does not bother me at this being my first cruise whether I'm inside or out. we are inside on aloha deck PD..

[Sonyac]

Ok, well I just checked and we still have the same room. :(

 

Maybe it might change before we go but I don't know. I was hoping the upgrade fairy would visit but not having had it change probably means we will be in that room.

[Jaffa]

Although l am not a regular on this board, but am an experienced international cruiser and occasional travel writer, I thought l would add some points that might be of help.

 

1/ Often cruise lines reward there best selling T/A's by giving there best customers more upgrade priority if space allows and the T/A makes a special request.

My experience here on the luxury all inclusive cruiselines is that if your T/A knows it is a special occasion cruise and you are genuine in your request, they will make every effort to have a suprise waiting.

The more demanding you are the less chance your T/A will go to bat for you.

 

2/ Cruise passengers that book there cruise very early and a long way out from the cruise are generally more likely to recieve an upgrade over last min bookings.

 

3/ Whilst discounted cruise ticket holders do get upgrades it is more likely that those that pay the regular fare will have a better chance of upgrades.

What many people don't realise is that if you book a cruise 12 month's early when the cruise is first released for sale this is the time of best savings. It is also in the cruislines favour and advantage to look after these bookings well, as forward yields save the company a lot of dollars. Cruise lines love this type of passenger and generally look after them very well.

 

4/ Past passengers like frequent flyers will always be at the top of the list.

This is one thing that always kept me away from the Aussie cruise lines, it is only recently that P&O have started to recognize their loyal repeat clients.

The same thing happened with Princess Australia< they did not care about there repeat clients.

I had taken 5 cruises in owners suites on Pacific Princess when it was operating under the banner for P&O Australia for 6 months each year and wrote several articles about this very subject. Princess in the USA and Europe would reward repeat clients with recognition benifits but just refused outright to offer the same to Australian cruisers.

I am glad things are starting to change here, it is very long overdue.

 

 

To finish perhaps a word of warning,

An upgrade is not always an upgrade, before you accept any offer always check what is being offered, the location, and any details you can find out. sometimes your original cabin or suite allocation is better than what is being offered even if it is a lower cat. The grass is not always greener on the other side

 

Remember!

Use a T/A that does lots of business with the cruiseline you want to take.

Let your T/A know that it is a special occasion and you really want it be your trip of a lifetime and something special.

Let your T/A know that you are a repeat passenger and what benifits are being offered for return bookings.

Book your cruise as early as possible, your cruiseline will notice and like you even more.

Many cruiselines offer an extra discount if you book your next cruise whilst onboard your present trip. It is usually anywhere from 2 to 5% extra. Just ask on the ship to talk to the onboard cruise consultant.

 

Happy cruising......

[Sonyac]

In reply to your post Jaffa:

 

1/ Didn't think about special occasion. We booked this cruise as an anniversary gift to ourselves. Although our anniversary was on the 13th of October, this is the gift we gave to each other. It will not be thought of that way by the T/A though so probably wouldn't get this as a passable request.

 

2/ We booked the cruise in February this year, would think that was far enough in advance?

 

3/ We booked discounted fares with an online T/A. However, being that we booked so early, I would think we would still count maybe??

 

4/ Not a past passenger, this is my first cruise so I am ruled out here.

 

Your finish up: our room is located directly next to the Shark Shack, although we may only be in the room to sleep, if one of us gets sick and needs bed, it is going to be pretty ordinary if the walls are just a little thin that you can hear all of the noise. I wouldn't mind if we were just given the room next door that isn't next to the Shark Shack if it were possible. When I was looking at the T/A's website before it shutdown the booking page, there was still a lot of fares that had not been sold out on the upper decks so who knows.....maybe the upgrade is still to come.

[arxcards]

Although l am not a regular on this board, but am an experienced international cruiser and occasional travel writer, I thought l would add some points that might be of help.

 

1/ Often cruise lines reward there best selling T/A's by giving there best customers more upgrade priority if space allows and the T/A makes a special request.

My experience here on the luxury all inclusive cruiselines is that if your T/A knows it is a special occasion cruise and you are genuine in your request, they will make every effort to have a suprise waiting.

The more demanding you are the less chance your T/A will go to bat for you.

 

2/ Cruise passengers that book there cruise very early and a long way out from the cruise are generally more likely to recieve an upgrade over last min bookings.

 

3/ Whilst discounted cruise ticket holders do get upgrades it is more likely that those that pay the regular fare will have a better chance of upgrades.

What many people don't realise is that if you book a cruise 12 month's early when the cruise is first released for sale this is the time of best savings. It is also in the cruislines favour and advantage to look after these bookings well, as forward yields save the company a lot of dollars. Cruise lines love this type of passenger and generally look after them very well.

 

4/ Past passengers like frequent flyers will always be at the top of the list.

This is one thing that always kept me away from the Aussie cruise lines, it is only recently that P&O have started to recognize their loyal repeat clients.

The same thing happened with Princess Australia< they did not care about there repeat clients.

I had taken 5 cruises in owners suites on Pacific Princess when it was operating under the banner for P&O Australia for 6 months each year and wrote several articles about this very subject. Princess in the USA and Europe would reward repeat clients with recognition benifits but just refused outright to offer the same to Australian cruisers.

I am glad things are starting to change here, it is very long overdue.

 

 

To finish perhaps a word of warning,

An upgrade is not always an upgrade, before you accept any offer always check what is being offered, the location, and any details you can find out. sometimes your original cabin or suite allocation is better than what is being offered even if it is a lower cat. The grass is not always greener on the other side

 

Remember!

Use a T/A that does lots of business with the cruiseline you want to take.

Let your T/A know that it is a special occasion and you really want it be your trip of a lifetime and something special.

Let your T/A know that you are a repeat passenger and what benifits are being offered for return bookings.

Book your cruise as early as possible, your cruiseline will notice and like you even more.

Many cruiselines offer an extra discount if you book your next cruise whilst onboard your present trip. It is usually anywhere from 2 to 5% extra. Just ask on the ship to talk to the onboard cruise consultant.

 

Happy cruising......

Thanks for your insights Jaffa.

 

That is generally true, and yes, we have specified no upgrades to avoid being shifted to a higher category/poorer location cabin for 3 of our upcoming cruises.

 

Past cruisers and those that book early are those that get the best of the upgrades. The higher the category booked, the higher the starting point for the upgrade too.

 

Booking on specials vs booking normal price does not play a part, except that the specials are usually for the lowest rated inside categories, so you are usually starting at the bottom category. They like passengers booking these inside guarantees, as it allows them a lot more flexibility with category availability till after final payment date.

 

The past cruiser stuff was not recognised in the past with Pacific Princess cruising for P&O. Can't see why it would if they were operated as P&O cruises, not Princess. This was a sore point with many non US cruisers on the Princess boards last year. Even US cruisers with Princess past cruiser benefits (free laundry, priority embarkation and tendering, free internet etc) could not get them on these P&O operated Pacific Princess cruises.

 

When Princess Australia was created last April and they decided to keep Sun Princess here as a Princess Australia ship (instead of P&O for 5 months), they started to honour these cruises for repeat loyalty (Captain's Circle) benefits. They also made Captains Circle available to Australians in the middle of last year.

 

All of your past P&O Pacific Princess cruises now qualify as past cruises with Captains Circle, as well as all P&O Australia and Sitmar cruises dating back over 30 years. I would have a fair idea that the number of your past cruises would put you into Elite Captains Circle status.

[planning obsessed]

A little off topic but Geoff's previous post mentioning Sitmar has prompted me to ask - could I attend the Captain's Cocktail Party for past passengers as a past passenger on Fairstar 1983? The ship was then Sitmar but later became P&O. Should have mentioned I'll be on Pacific Dawn. How detailed are the questions on the invitation to the party? Or would I not receive an invitation to the party because when asked at the time of booking I said that I hadn't previously sailed with P&O?

[arxcards]

A little off topic but Geoff's previous post mentioning Sitmar has prompted me to ask - could I attend the Captain's Cocktail Party for past passengers as a past passenger on Fairstar 1983? The ship was then Sitmar but later became P&O. Should have mentioned I'll be on Pacific Dawn. How detailed are the questions on the invitation to the party? Or would I not receive an invitation to the party because when asked at the time of booking I said that I hadn't previously sailed with P&O?

I would suggest ringing P&O and asking for the past cruiser contact.

 

I am not sure it applies though. P&O only recognises P&O, and I think Sitmar was bought out by Princess. Certainly worth asking though.

[dorioty]

So Geoff, what are my chances of being upgraded from a t grade cabin to ANY other outside cabin ANYWHERE on the ship?

[arxcards]

So Geoff, what are my chances of being upgraded from a t grade cabin to ANY other outside cabin ANYWHERE on the ship?

Buckleys!!

It would help if you bought a ticket first! :p

[karmac]

So Geoff, what are my chances of being upgraded from a t grade cabin to ANY other outside cabin ANYWHERE on the ship?

 

I've read that somewhere before;) :rolleyes:

[arxcards]

I've read that somewhere before;) :rolleyes:

Yes, poster shows a recent history of doing the same thing on other boards too. I think I know why, but I am not about to comment on CC policy.

[karmac]

Yes, poster shows a recent history of doing the same thing on other boards too. I think I know why, but I am not about to comment on CC policy.

 

Really???Would be nice if poster came up with his/her own questions/