The best way of getting a free cabin upgrade

Very often I am asked about cabin upgrades, free of course. Why and how other passengers are getting these upgrades and I’m not? Here are a few points that may help you to get a free upgrade on your next cruise.

1. When booking with certain cruise lines such as P&O and Cunard, always make sure you ask to stay open for any upgrade and do not decline the free upgrade, unless you have 2 cabins next to each other that you don’t want to lose.

2. Book early, as cruise lines often wants to sell the cheaper cabins last, so they may upgrade you so they can sell your cabin when in demand.

3. Book the cabin on a guarantee basis when possible as cruise lines always upgrade from there and rarely you get the grade that you have booked.

4. Monitor prices after you booked as well as before as some cruise lines (not all) will then give you a cabin upgrade if prices are dropped to make it up to you.

5. Always enrol and be a frequent cruiser with the cruise line as often they reward past passengers with an upgrade and some do it as part of the deal for a past passenger.

6. Look out for a ship that has just few inside cabins like Oceania for instance as if you book early and demand later on is high for it, there is a good chance you get upgraded to sell your cabin.

7. Always inform the cruise line of problems early ,If you have a problem with your cabin, inform the customer service staff on the ship immediately. If the problem can’t be resolved immediately, you might get an upgrade or a credit on a future cruise.

8. Sometimes you just need to be lucky as cruise lines often get in touch nearer the time to ask you if you accept a free upgrade or just pay a little fee to upgrade as they have cabins available, usually you need to be a quick decider.