Top Tips For a Cabin Upgrade!

Cabin upgrades

Firstly it is important to note that there are no magic upgrade fairies or secrets to ensure you always get an upgrade. There is no way at all to guarantee you get an upgraded cabin.

Although it may be down to luck or being at the right place at the right time, there are a few things you may want to try to improve your chances of getting an upgrade.

Book Early

Booking a cruise early will sometimes result in an upgrade. You usually find that the cabins which sell out first are the suites, family rooms and top balcony cabins. Then after that it is usually the cheapest cabins that sell out, so if you are one of the first to book a cheap cabin, you might get upgraded as the cruise date gets closer. If the cruise line has quite a few mid-range cabins still to sell they might decide to reward you if you booked well in advance by upgrading you thus freeing up some lower grades which sell quicker.

Join the Club

Join your cruise line’s frequent cruiser program. You would be surprised how many people do not register when they go on a cruise. If you are a member of their club you may get consideration before non-members when they are allocating cabins. You also may get other perks like free wifi access, free laundry, or discounts on on-board shopping etc.

Unfortunately, sometimes being a frequent cruiser can be a disadvantage. A cruise line might not upgrade you if you already love sailing with them as they know you are likely to re-book anyway.

Tell them you are New to Cruise or to their Cruise line

Sometimes, a cruise line will upgrade either a customer who has not cruised before or who has not cruised with them before in order to ensure that customer’s loyalty when booking future cruises. It can be used as a way of swaying you to re-book if you have cruised before as you may think you never got upgraded by the previous firm so this one must be better. Alternatively if you have never cruised before it may make you feel appreciated and loyal to their brand next time.

Book a Guarantee Cabin

Booking a “guarantee” cabin means you are only reserving a particular category, not a specific cabin. The “guarantee” from the cruise line is that you will get the category you have reserved or a higher one. The disadvantage of a guarantee cabin is that you might not get the specific area of the ship you prefer (or even the specific deck). The advantage is that you will be more likely to get an upgrade than someone who has booked a specific cabin since the cruise line will not have to ask you before the upgrade.

Keep checking the price of your cruise after you book?

Not o sure about this anymore. Checking the advertised prices as the time gets closer to your sailing date may not actually help. Many cruise lines and travel agencies used to offer “low price guarantees” to encourage cruise travellers to book early. With a low price guarantee, you will get a refund or a shipboard credit if the price falls below what you paid. These extra funds could be used to upgrade your cabin. These were quite common at one time but you do not see price guarantees very often now, but still worth looking out for.

If your cabin or something on your cruise is not right, tell someone

Most cruise passengers have a wonderful cruise with no issues. However, sometimes things happen and cabins have problems etc…  If you have a problem with your cabin, inform customer relations staff on the ship immediately. If the problem can’t be resolved immediately, you may get an upgraded cabin if they have to move you or a credit on a future cruise.

Sail in Off-Season or to Less Popular Destinations

It stands to reason that if the ship is not full and there are upgraded cabins empty you will stand a much greater chance of being upgraded. With this in mind if you can, plan your cruise when it is not peak season or opt for a less popular destination.  Yu just might get your upgrade or if not at least get a better price on the grade you want. This is why many cruisers opt to go on re-positioning cruises as they have quite a lot of sea days so tend to be great value for money. These are usually on offer in October/November or March/April when ships switch between the Mediterranean and the Caribbean or Far East and vice versa.

Look for Ship with Fewer Inside Cabins

As we have already established the cheaper cabins sell out the quickest, so booking an inside cabin on a ship where inside cabins are lower in numbers may well secure you an upgrade.  This especially applies to a lot of the newer ships which are trending towards mainly balcony cabins. But beware, if you don’t get the upgrade you will be travelling in the inside cabin. With this in mind you may want to opt for an outside at least and see if you can’t get an upgrade to a balcony.

or

Book a Sold-Out Cabin Category or in other terms a wait-listed cabin.

This tip is the opposite of booking early. If you book a cabin which is on waitlist, at some point the cruise line will have to make a decision if no cabins open up in that grade if they are going to upgrade you to a higher grade or lose your booking. You may well be the one upgraded rather than the passenger who booked early. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of luck. Be prepared however to be dis-appointed if it does not clear and you don’t get your cruise.

Down to earth with a bump!

Don’t however lose sight of the purpose of your cruise. Upgrades are great when they happen and we all like to think we got a good deal or something for nothing but the most important thing is the Ship, the facilities, the food, the entertainment, the company and the Itinerary. If all this is great nd you have a fantastic time does it really matter if you got an upgrade?

What are your views or do you have a top tip to share? Let me know.