upgrade too good to be true

[Jacky4]

I booked the cheapest room I could get, IS GTY, on the Freedom 4/19/09. I haven't been assigned a room yet. I called Carnival today and asked how much to upgrade to an OV. First she told me it would be $113.00 less than I paid. Of course I agreed knowing when she came back from hold she was going to tell me she was mistaken. And she did. She told me it would be $77 more than I already paid. This comes out to less than $20 extra pp. She sent me confirmation and gave me Riveria 1252. Does this sound too good to be true?

 

PS... if I were to book an OV online the price would have went up by $308.00.

Also 1252 is an ajoining cabin. Is it possible we will get moved if someone else needs ajoining cabins?

[jeepfella]

In my experience Upgrades on Carnival are pretty common, In the past few times I've sailed with them they have moved me around, on some ocasions, I've had to request to be moved back (due to cabin location, on the ship etc...).

 

On time they moved me up 1 deck and way in the aft and called it an upgrade when we had booked the deck below because of it's proximity to everything on the ship.I wasn't told this until I received our Cruise Documents. When I called they had given my cabin away already w/o even asking, it was a big mess, and they refused to switch it back and gave us $100 on board credit.

 

It was a pretty bad ordeal, and is one of the reasons Carnival is my last resort line.:(

[TheVegasMan]

I booked the cheapest room I could get, IS GTY, on the Freedom 4/19/09. I haven't been assigned a room yet. I called Carnival today and asked how much to upgrade to an OV. First she told me it would be $113.00 less than I paid. Of course I agreed knowing when she came back from hold she was going to tell me she was mistaken. And she did. She told me it would be $77 more than I already paid. This comes out to less than $20 extra pp. She sent me confirmation and gave me Riveria 1252. Does this sound too good to be true?

 

PS... if I were to book an OV online the price would have went up by $308.00.

Also 1252 is an ajoining cabin. Is it possible we will get moved if someone else needs ajoining cabins?

$77 x 4 = $308. I wonder if you were quoted the cost of the upgrade per person and you thought it was the total. Call your CC company and see how much you were billed.

[jetexpress]

$77 x 4 = $308. I wonder if you were quoted the cost of the upgrade per person and you thought it was the total. Call your CC company and see how much you were billed.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I HOPE it was $77 for the cabin but you might want to make sure.

[Jacky4]

$77 x 4 = $308. I wonder if you were quoted the cost of the upgrade per person and you thought it was the total. Call your CC company and see how much you were billed.

 

 

Thanks for the replies.

 

I didn't even think of that. I just checked with my bank and they only deducted the $77 (I used my debit card). I wonder if it should have been $77 pp but Carnival only charged me for one person. They also sent me an updated booking with the total. I knew something didn't sound right but who am I to argue? I only called them in the first place to ask about my fuel refund. Hopefully I won't find a 231.00 deducted from my account tomorrow.

[mikefast]

Well, we booked the cheapest guarantee room on a RCCL ship for last month. We got an ocean view room for $135.00 LESS than we paid for the guarantee room. This was credited to our credit card. Then we also got our fuel surcharge refunded as a cabin credit. So, things to work out like that sometimes.

[sunlover5]

We are going on the Freedom on 2/22 and we had 2 inside cabins booked. Awhile back I got a email from my TA to call asap. Did and we could get 2 OV on the Riveria deck that were adjoining for a little bit less than our original cabins. We could have saved a little bit more also, but we wanted midship as one gal has a tendency to get seasick. If we would have gone aft or forward she said we would have bigger savings. Also got 54.00 onboard credit for fuel surcharge so it does happen!! We were so pleased as we wanted connecting cabins as we are 4 gals doing a birthday cruise!!

[Jacky4]

This is an update on my upgrade from IS GTY to OV for $77.00. I just called Carnival to see the status of my fuel surcharge refund and found out that the upgrade wasn't $77.00. It was $185.00. I only had to pay $77 because they took my fuel surcharge of $108.00 and instead of refunding it, applied it to the upgrade. I specifically said "this is only going to cost me $77.00" and Carnival said yes. I am not going to complain about an upgrade for $185.00 but honestly I wouldn't have upgraded for $185.00. This seems little shady especially since I asked them to put my fuel surcharge on my account as an OBC and they said they couldn't do that since my cruise was too far out but they have no problem putting it towards an upgrade. Ok Carnival you got me this time.:rolleyes:

[Vanessa L]

This is an update on my upgrade from IS GTY to OV for $77.00. I just called Carnival to see the status of my fuel surcharge refund and found out that the upgrade wasn't $77.00. It was $185.00. I only had to pay $77 because they took my fuel surcharge of $108.00 and instead of refunding it, applied it to the upgrade. I specifically said "this is only going to cost me $77.00" and Carnival said yes. I am not going to complain about an upgrade for $185.00 but honestly I wouldn't have upgraded for $185.00. This seems little shady especially since I asked them to put my fuel surcharge on my account as an OBC and they said they couldn't do that since my cruise was too far out but they have no problem putting it towards an upgrade. Ok Carnival you got me this time.:rolleyes:

 

Well, I guess your title pans out then :( That was crappy of them to do. Hope you have a good time anyway. :)

[caribbean dreams]

Also 1252 is an ajoining cabin. Is it possible we will get moved if someone else needs ajoining cabins?

 

Yes, it is possible that you could be moved if someone has requested the ajoining cabins, But this could be good news, you could be upgraded again.

[tnt091605]

In my experience Upgrades on Carnival are pretty common, In the past few times I've sailed with them they have moved me around, on some ocasions, I've had to request to be moved back (due to cabin location, on the ship etc...).

 

On time they moved me up 1 deck and way in the aft and called it an upgrade when we had booked the deck below because of it's proximity to everything on the ship.I wasn't told this until I received our Cruise Documents. When I called they had given my cabin away already w/o even asking, it was a big mess, and they refused to switch it back and gave us $100 on board credit.

 

It was a pretty bad ordeal, and is one of the reasons Carnival is my last resort line.:(

 

I guess I am not understanding this. You booked a room or a GTY?

[Vanessa L]

Yes, it is possible that you could be moved if someone has requested the ajoining cabins, But this could be good news, you could be upgraded again.

 

Best I can tell, CD, she was not upgraded, but upsold, and while they told her it would be $77, they negelected to inform her that the other $108 of the upsell price was coming off her fuel refund. :eek: I agree with OP, I'd have taken the upsell at $77 but not at $185.

[afcj1]

This is an update on my upgrade from IS GTY to OV for $77.00. I just called Carnival to see the status of my fuel surcharge refund and found out that the upgrade wasn't $77.00. It was $185.00. I only had to pay $77 because they took my fuel surcharge of $108.00 and instead of refunding it, applied it to the upgrade. I specifically said "this is only going to cost me $77.00" and Carnival said yes. I am not going to complain about an upgrade for $185.00 but honestly I wouldn't have upgraded for $185.00. This seems little shady especially since I asked them to put my fuel surcharge on my account as an OBC and they said they couldn't do that since my cruise was too far out but they have no problem putting it towards an upgrade. Ok Carnival you got me this time.:rolleyes:

 

That's not very good Customer Service to pull a fast one like that:rolleyes: Unless you just want to chalk it up to a lesson learned, I'd definitely call them and speak to a Supervisor about the "deceptive" upsell.

[Jacky4]

I guess I am not understanding this. You booked a room or a GTY?

 

I originally booked a IS GTY last year. I called Carnival the other day and asked how much to upgrade. When she said it was $77 to move to OV I said at least 3 times "so it's only going to cost me $77 more to upgrade to an OV". She said yes and I even checked my debit card to see that they only charged me $77.:mad:

[navybaby1113]

I would definitely call and complain. That was very shady of them.

[brilliantseas]

Especially with last minute bookings, booking the lowest available category guarantee generally results in an upgrade because often times those lowest categories (4A Guarantee, 6A Guarantee, 8A Guarantee) are the first to sell out and Carnival likes to start assigning cabins 45-60+ days out, so they'll upgrade you to where they still have cabins available. It is not unusual to get a 2 or 3 category upgrade when you book an "A" level or GTY level cruise last minute.

 

That being said, your upgrade may move you from say a lower deck in a prime mid-ship location to a higher deck far forward or aft.

 

There are both perks and problems with booking a guarantee of any type vs. selecting a specific cabin. For example, you could end up directly above or below a galley or lounge/disco with a guarantee, places you probably would not want to be. By assigning yourself a specific cabin, you can look at deck plans and tell exactly where you will be on the ship in relation to everything else.

 

I prefer to be "sandwiched" between two other passenger decks rather than being on the bottom or top deck of cabins because it minimizes noise from higher traffic public areas or mechanical noises.

[Vanessa L]

Especially with last minute bookings, booking the lowest available category guarantee generally results in an upgrade because often times those lowest categories (4A Guarantee, 6A Guarantee, 8A Guarantee) are the first to sell out and Carnival likes to start assigning cabins 45-60+ days out, so they'll upgrade you to where they still have cabins available. It is not unusual to get a 2 or 3 category upgrade when you book an "A" level or GTY level cruise last minute.

 

That being said, your upgrade may move you from say a lower deck in a prime mid-ship location to a higher deck far forward or aft.

 

There are both perks and problems with booking a guarantee of any type vs. selecting a specific cabin. For example, you could end up directly above or below a galley or lounge/disco with a guarantee, places you probably would not want to be. By assigning yourself a specific cabin, you can look at deck plans and tell exactly where you will be on the ship in relation to everything else.

 

I prefer to be "sandwiched" between two other passenger decks rather than being on the bottom or top deck of cabins because it minimizes noise from higher traffic public areas or mechanical noises.

 

I have no idea what this has to do with OP's issue :confused: She was upsold (and in a very shady way). This has nothing to do with being moved around or "upgraded" in a guarantee.

[jeepfella]

I guess I am not understanding this. You booked a room or a GTY?

A specific assigned cabin..

[DanJ]

I originally booked a IS GTY last year. I called Carnival the other day and asked how much to upgrade. When she said it was $77 to move to OV I said at least 3 times "so it's only going to cost me $77 more to upgrade to an OV". She said yes and I even checked my debit card to see that they only charged me $77.:mad:

 

To be fair, if you asked "so it's only going to cost me $77 more to upgrade to an OV", then they didn't lie to you. It did only cost you $77 more. They might have better explained how part of it was the fuel supplement refund, but bottom line was you wanted a better cabin and were only charged $77 for it. You had already planned to spend the fuel money on the cruise when you booked in the first place.

[Vanessa L]

To be fair, if you asked "so it's only going to cost me $77 more to upgrade to an OV", then they didn't lie to you. It did only cost you $77 more. They might have better explained how part of it was the fuel supplement refund, but bottom line was you wanted a better cabin and were only charged $77 for it. You had already planned to spend the fuel money on the cruise when you booked in the first place.

 

That is wrong, Dan. She specifically stated that if she had been told that the TOTAL COST of the upgrade was $185 she would have declined it to begin with. So, to say that it "only" cost her $77 is incorrect. She could have used the $108 fuel refund (plus the $77 she paid) on something else given that she said she would have declined the upgrade.

[Jacky4]

It was already money spent but I would have rather spent my $108.00 on an excursion or on the ship. I don't think it's worth $185.00 to look out a window at the ocean when I can go up on deck and see all the ocean I want for free. Maybe for a balcony:rolleyes: