Upgrade at Embarkation

[Brennbob]

So I spoke with NCL yesterday to see how much more I could pay to upgrade from an OV to a Balcony. I was quoted a 1000.00 more so I decided we would just be happy with the cabin we had. Before I hung up with the CS rep whose was very nice and helpful she said "Oh and remember you can always upgrade once you check-in." Now my question is why wouldn't the Upsell Fairy call people rather than have people attempt to upgrade at embarkation? My sailing date is April 11th, a week away, and the price has actually gone up not down on the rooms and by looking at NCL's website there are still rooms in almost every catagory available. I guess I just do not understand the legistics of cruisin', but you can believe I will be asking if we can upgrade when we are checking in:p

[Sally Forth]

So I spoke with NCL yesterday to see how much more I could pay to upgrade from an OV to a Balcony. I was quoted a 1000.00 more so I decided we would just be happy with the cabin we had. Before I hung up with the CS rep whose was very nice and helpful she said "Oh and remember you can always upgrade once you check-in." Now my question is why wouldn't the Upsell Fairy call people rather than have people attempt to upgrade at embarkation? My sailing date is April 11th, a week away, and the price has actually gone up not down on the rooms and by looking at NCL's website there are still rooms in almost every catagory available. I guess I just do not understand the legistics of cruisin', but you can believe I will be asking if we can upgrade when we are checking in:p

 

Things might be different now in the bad economy, but every cruise I've been on had a card at the registration desk that said the ship was full and there were no upgrades available.

 

Viv

[Arwenmark]

Normally they do not do upgrades at the pier, some agents still tell you that but it rarely happens. Also did you call the re-accomodation desk to ask about upgrading? or did you just call NCL and speak to an agent?

[Brennbob]

I only called the NCL # and talked to a rep, I have no idea how to get to the re-accomidation desk. Am I supposed to ask for that desk when I call. Sorry for all of the questions this is my second cruise am not very knowledgable in this area. Thanks for the help.

[njhorseman]

I only called the NCL # and talked to a rep, I have no idea how to get to the re-accomidation desk. Am I supposed to ask for that desk when I call. Sorry for all of the questions this is my second cruise am not very knowledgable in this area. Thanks for the help.

 

 

You shouldn't apologize for asking questions! The vast majority of us are more than happy to be of assistance to people who are relatively new to cruising.

[Arwenmark]

I only called the NCL # and talked to a rep, I have no idea how to get to the re-accomidation desk. Am I supposed to ask for that desk when I call. Sorry for all of the questions this is my second cruise am not very knowledgable in this area. Thanks for the help.

 

No worries about the questions that is what the forum is for. I am not surprised that you don't have the number and it is unlikely they will give it to you or connect you.

 

That number is actually rather a secret, but I didn't know if perhaps you knew about it.

Cannot post that number on here.

Did you book directly with NCL or did you go through an agent? I am guessing direct or NCL would not have talked to you at all.

 

Anyway my point was that if you call a regular NCL agent all they will tell you is the cost it would be to move from your category to the higher category at the current price, in other words just as if you were a new customer booking and called they would quote you the then current price for the cabin you want.

 

any special deals must come through the re accomodation desk or the Upsell Fairy as they are called on here which is when they, for whatever reason call a few days from sailing and offer you a deal to upgrade.

[RachelG1016]

Hey BrennBob... I will be on the same cruise. Hope you plan on going to the Meet & Greet. :):):)

[nlt46]

Sometimes we travel with another couple. In the 3 cruises that we have gone on with them, he always asks for an upgrade as he boards. So far, they have never had one. I never understand why he waits if he wants an upgrade. Oh well. Whatever works for him, I guess. Nancy

[njhorseman]

Sometimes we travel with another couple. In the 3 cruises that we have gone on with them, he always asks for an upgrade as he boards. So far, they have never had one. I never understand why he waits if he wants an upgrade. Oh well. Whatever works for him, I guess. Nancy

 

 

If he never gets an upgrade, I'd like to suggest it doesn't work. ;)

[garycarla]

No problem with asking here.

 

Too bad that Cust Svc reps really do not know what they are talking about. To start with, if the ship is FULL, which is often the case, you can not get an upgrade for even $1,000. No room, no upgrade.

 

Most of the folks at the pier are not actually NCL employees in the first place and just process the paperwork they are told to do. They might send you to the front desk, where you will see a sign that says, sorry, we can not move anyone as we are sold out.

 

Can you maybe get an upgrade at the pier? Possible, but remote. Most of the folks in the one thousand other cabins would like one too.

[dtracker]

So I spoke with NCL yesterday to see how much more I could pay to upgrade from an OV to a Balcony. I was quoted a 1000.00 more so I decided we would just be happy with the cabin we had. Before I hung up with the CS rep whose was very nice and helpful she said "Oh and remember you can always upgrade once you check-in." Now my question is why wouldn't the Upsell Fairy call people rather than have people attempt to upgrade at embarkation? My sailing date is April 11th, a week away, and the price has actually gone up not down on the rooms and by looking at NCL's website there are still rooms in almost every catagory available. I guess I just do not understand the legistics of cruisin', but you can believe I will be asking if we can upgrade when we are checking in:p

 

Hey Brennbob...I see you're from my neck of the woods? :) We're booked for a September cruise on the Jewel. I can only dream of an upgrade. Here's wishing the best for you on your cruise in a few days! I hope you get your upgrade!! I'm so jealous!! :)

 

DT

[Brennbob]

You know I am interested to know am I checking the amount of rooms correctly, because I have been checking for a month now and the rooms always stay the same, they never fill at all. I would think that there would be less by now but there are literally 12 balcony cabins that I can count and other lower catagories also. Just to make sure I am doing right do I go to NCL and pretend like I am rebooking? Is this the way others do this?:o

[terrymtex01]

First of all, ask any questions you have. That is what the boards on CC are all about.. 8-)

 

Upgrades and upsells are two different animals. Upsels are made by a very small department (I have read, but can not confirm, that there are two people that make upsell calls).

 

Their soul purpose is to move folks into a higher catagory of cabin so they can sell the lower end to people who have not booked yet and are waiting on last minute deals. When they call, they offer anywhere from 50% to 70% off of the difference in cost between two cabins in question. None of us have ever been able to understand who they choose to call to make these offers to.

 

Then you have upgrades which is where you and I call in saying we are in this cabin but are thinking we might want another cabin, how much will it cost. You would think that by offering people a discount on the difference in the booked cabin and the cabin they are thinking they may want they would make more money than by giving a bigger discount to folks the upsell people call... but... I am sure they have their reasons.

 

Up until our cruise last Oct on the Pearl I would have said "good luck" in getting any kind of an upgrade when you actually check in, but on that cruise they did have several balcony cabins and several suites that were still available and I know they upgraded some people from inside staterooms to balcony rooms and they gave some suites away for onboard drawings. So I say to you that anything is possible. They know a happy pax will spend money onboard and that is a full quarter of the ships income.

[Brennbob]

Thanks everyone for your great posts and I really cannot say enough how useful this site is. I really appreciate everyone being kind and patient with people like me who have millions of questions. Thanks again.

[mactrio]

 

Most of the folks at the pier are not actually NCL employees in the first place and just process the paperwork they are told to do.

 

In New Orleans once inside the building at the port, they are all NCL employees. Everyone, once you get past security works on the ship. The guy who checked us in & took our pictures told me he works in the hotel area of the ship. I know this because I asked when we were waiting to get on board.

[maggiecatenjay]

Is there a reliable indication of how full the ship is or getting?

I, too have gone through the 'find a cruise' process on NCL.com and keep seeing the same cabin numbers as choices and have wondered if that means sales are slow... or if it means anything at all LOL.

Phhhht.

Newbies.

Just wondering.

Clare

[Don Haynes]

Also think in these terms. Say if there are 100 cabins left not sold, they won't necessarily upgrade or upsell 100 cabins higher. They will do some, but there is a limit to how many they will move, the fewer cabins sold means there will be less revenue to give up.

 

On the other hand they will upsell and upgrade ten cabins easily without a second thought, they are almost meeting their goal of selling out. A full ship earns more money.

 

But if they are not going to reach their goal of selling out, why discount anymore?

 

You have seen sales at grocery stores where they limit the number of T-bones. In other words there is a point in the bell curve where the curve heads down, not up.

[radzer0]

The way i look at this. It does sound like a smart move on NCL's part.

 

If a ship has 20 oceanviews left for example. Highest class being $150 more than the cheaper oceanviews.

 

If they can move people up out of interior rooms or to a higher class for even $75. its $75 more because the person is there spending there money and nobody would have been in that room to begin with.

[mickeysgal]

No worries about the questions that is what the forum is for. I am not surprised that you don't have the number and it is unlikely they will give it to you or connect you.

 

That number is actually rather a secret, but I didn't know if perhaps you knew about it.

Cannot post that number on here.

Did you book directly with NCL or did you go through an agent? I am guessing direct or NCL would not have talked to you at all.

 

Anyway my point was that if you call a regular NCL agent all they will tell you is the cost it would be to move from your category to the higher category at the current price, in other words just as if you were a new customer booking and called they would quote you the then current price for the cabin you want.

 

any special deals must come through the re accomodation desk or the Upsell Fairy as they are called on here which is when they, for whatever reason call a few days from sailing and offer you a deal to upgrade.

 

So if you were to call, you'd ask for a "re-accomodaton desk"?

[ma_t_gus]

I know this is a NCL forum but my friend was able to get an upgrade from ins to ov on our last 7-night Disney cruise during X-mas '08 week. As I was checking in, I asked the rep if it was going to be a full ship and she said no and that I can get an upgrade. I told her I didn't need one but I told my friend about it. He was able to upgrade to the ov for $300 more and it was for him, wife and son. The ship wasn't full because there was the snowstorm up in the North and it knocked out alot of airports. Alot of people missed their flights to MCO. So there were alot of cancellations. Good thing we got an early flight from Jersey and was able to bypass the storm.

[njhorseman]

I know this is a NCL forum but my friend was able to get an upgrade from ins to ov on our last 7-night Disney cruise during X-mas '08 week. As I was checking in, I asked the rep if it was going to be a full ship and she said no and that I can get an upgrade. I told her I didn't need one but I told my friend about it. He was able to upgrade to the ov for $300 more and it was for him, wife and son. The ship wasn't full because there was the snowstorm up in the North and it knocked out alot of airports. Alot of people missed their flights to MCO. So there were alot of cancellations. Good thing we got an early flight from Jersey and was able to bypass the storm.

 

Obviously, a lot of cancellations because passengers could not fly in due to a snowstorm is not typical.