Upgrades at Port?

[kcashner]

Since they didn't use that room, did they get any $ back? Or Disney just got extra$?

While I can't address this specific instance, there is no refund if you turn a cabin back to DCL. They honestly don't care if you turn it back, use it as an extended closet, or whatever. No perks, no benefits, no cost difference whether you turn it back or keep it.

 

[vwalker715]

We had 3 successful upgrades at port. We sailed on the Fantasy on 9/8 we had 2 Category 9C (oceanview fwd deck 7 connecting) and 1 Catg. 5C (deck 7 verandah fwd) and upgraded all to 5A (midship deck 9) with one connecting and all 3 right next to each other. For the 2 9C it was $560 a stateroom and for the 5C it was $70. I was quoted on the phone just 3 days earlier for almost $1000 for a 5C from the 9C so I thought i was a pretty decent deal and I had been saving to a possibility of an upgrade. I think it was well worth the upgrade since we were midship and had strollers and it was near everything. We were also told that ( and I saw the supervisors lists) there were plenty of staterooms available for our sailing. We asked the supervisor and she said that it really depends on the sailing for upgrades sometimes that have a lot and sometimes they had nothing. We also made sure we were at the port once it opened for check-in.

 

[kaseyC]

We had 3 successful upgrades at port. We sailed on the Fantasy on 9/8 we had 2 Category 9C (oceanview fwd deck 7 connecting) and 1 Catg. 5C (deck 7 verandah fwd) and upgraded all to 5A (midship deck 9) with one connecting and all 3 right next to each other. For the 2 9C it was $560 a stateroom and for the 5C it was $70. I was quoted on the phone just 3 days earlier for almost $1000 for a 5C from the 9C so I thought i was a pretty decent deal and I had been saving to a possibility of an upgrade. I think it was well worth the upgrade since we were midship and had strollers and it was near everything. We were also told that ( and I saw the supervisors lists) there were plenty of staterooms available for our sailing. We asked the supervisor and she said that it really depends on the sailing for upgrades sometimes that have a lot and sometimes they had nothing. We also made sure we were at the port once it opened for check-in.

We were on that cruise too. There was a lot availability. We upgraded to one of the last two 1 bedroom suites on that sailing.

 

[drsg]

We were on that cruise too. There was a lot availability. We upgraded to one of the last two 1 bedroom suites on that sailing.

Of course, we are all dying to hear what Cat. you upgraded from and the number of $$ it was....

 

[GrandCanyon]

We paid big bucks for a concierge 1-Bedroom Suite on the Jan 6 sailing, and snagged one of just two Cabana's at Castaway left. Hopefully, they'll upgrade us to the Walt Disney Suite; LOL.

 

[stoofyg]

We upgraded on the 9/15 Western 7 night Fantasy sailing. We originally booked a 8A, got pixie dust to a 5E and then paid to upgrade at the port to a 1 bedroom cat T $1960. It was heavenly, no way could we have paid $10,000 for that room though! But, $6000 - worth it for the tub! I don't know if we will ever get a chance again, but I am happy we did it this time!

Our concierge did tell us one of the best times to do this is in September, that most other times of year they are all booked.

 

[Nikki'sMommy]

We were on the 9/22 eastern carribean - booked a 4A- upgraded at port to 1 BR for $1,225. Amazing room, amazing experience- we are sold on the conceirge experience!!! Our friends traveling with us had a 6a GTY- (given a 4a) and upgraded from the 6a to Cat V for $1,100. Good luck- the secret is out and the line was very long for upgrades-

 

[KJohnsonDisneyFan]

So since the secret is out for upgrades, what is the earliest you can get there? We're new to cruising and I hope that's not a silly question.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

9/27 Dream 3-night...upgraded from 05b to 00T...$720

Good luck! Arrived on first bus from the airport but definitely were NOT the first in the terminal. Long line at Supervisor's Desk. The secret is out and the port is definitely opening well before 11 a.m.

 

[kcashner]

We were on the first bus and were the first ones in the terminal (literally...DD and I were the first at security). This was about 10:25. They opened the terminal to non-bus guests about 10:30, as soon as the bus people were inside.

Yes, you need to check in and then go to the supervisor's desk.

 

[Subi WRX]

If the secret is out and the lines for port upgrades are long, how long before DCL wises up and raises port upgrade prices significantly?

 

[kcashner]

If the secret is out and the lines for port upgrades are long, how long before DCL wises up and raises port upgrade prices significantly?

Port upgrades have been available and been popular for several years now...and there have been some changes to the system over the years. For instance, you now pay for an upgrade from the category you BOOKED, not the category you were assigned. So, if I book an 11 and get pixie dust to an 8 but then want to upgrade, I'll pay from the 11 to the ???

DCL has played with prices, and while they do tend to fall into particular ranges, some of the recent costs I've seen posted are quite a bit lower than in the past. I suspect they keep track of how many people ask about upgrades but then don't buy--we've done that. I have no problem with walking away from an upgrade quote if the price is too high for my sensibilities. And the cost of upgrades does seem to vary with the number available. If there are only a few, they can charge more knowing that someone will take it. If the ship is half empty, the prices seem to be better.

Disney/DCL are masters at maximizing profit from each guest and/or stateroom.

 

[Bear3412]

If the secret is out and the lines for port upgrades are long....

And if the port is consistently crowed early, they may begin enforcing the PAT more accurately.

 

[Az Pirates]

So since the secret is out for upgrades, what is the earliest you can get there? We're new to cruising and I hope that's not a silly question.

Not a silly question at all, and it looks like it's been answered.

I just wanted to point out that depending on what kind of upgrade you're looking for you might actually have better luck after some shuffling has already taken place.

It was after 1pm when we got to the port and we were still able to get the upgrade we were looking for, which also opened up the stateroom the folks at the desk next to us were looking for. Niether of us were looking for concierge level though, if that's what I wanted I would definitely be there early.

7 night Pixar cruise - booked VGT (so I believe our upgrade price was based on 7A although we were assigned 5B) and we upgraded to 4A for $350

 

[jilljill]

And if the port is consistently crowed early, they may begin enforcing the PAT more accurately.

I can see this happening, especially on the cruises that have more availability than the sold out cruises.

 

[collectoraholic]

We were able to port upgrade on the Sept. 22nd Magic sailing out of Galveston. It was the first sailing out of Galveston for the Magic and there was quite a bit of availability for upgrades when we got to the desk. We booked a 5B GTY and were assigned a 5A, so our upgrade was based on the 5B pricing. We wanted to get a 1-bedroom suite and I had checked availability on-line 3 days prior to our sailing before the cruise was no longer available on the DCL site. @ the 3 Day mark, there were three 1-bedrooms open. When we got to the desk, 2 were still open for upgrade. For us, the upgrade price was 50% off of what we would have had to pay to upgrade it on-line @ 3 days prior to our sailing. We thought it was a good deal, so we took it. We were also told that we could have gotten a 2-bedroom or either the Walt or Roy Royal suites, as both of those were available as well. Since it was just 2 of us, we opted to just do the 1-bedroom as we'd originally planned. I do know that someone must've upgraded to the Walt b/c we saw people come out of that Royal Suite one afternoon.

Hope this info helps!

 

[ImDMous]

We did our first port upgrade this time around for the Sept 23 Pixar cruise. We had booked an IGT so we wanted to see if we could get an outside. We had a figure in our head and decided not to go over. Well, she told us we could get an outside on deck 2 for less than $200 so we gave her our price and worked backwards. We ended up with an awesome navigator's veranda for $375. It was the first on deck 6 starboard so had 3/4 of a regular veranda wall and only a tiny bit enclosed. I think someone before us had upgraded from it and that was the only reason why it was available, but it seemed they had tons of rooms left. Our second seating for dinner was half empty every night. We checked in about 11 and there was only 1 person in line at the supervisors desk. I think it got a lot longer later.

 

[Daisy'sMama]

So, I have a question. We booked our first cruise - 3 night next Feb on the Dream. For this trip, all I could afford was Cat11C GTY. We are spending a week at WDW afterwards with friends. Are only the people that paid for nicer, bigger rooms eligible for upgrades, or are we cheapies eligible too? (I don't think we are steerage class, but maybe pretty close). What are the chances we will be pixie dusted to a higher CAT?
thanks
Stephanie

 

[HollandmillerFamily]

So I'm currently ON my cruise and I'm going to post some of the info I really wanted when I was cruising the boards and reading this thread regularly wondering about upgrade possibilities... The price.
So, as noted, it depends on factors like cruise length, ship, time of year, and--I think--how full the ship is. It doesn't matter how many people are in the room or how much you paid originally. The chart they use just factors in what your category is and what cat you want to upgrade to. (Edit: This is for a seven-day Western Caribbean on the Fantasy.)

From a 9B to cat T (one bedroom concierge) was $2170
From a 9B to cat V (standard verandah concierge) was $1470
From a 9B to cat 4 (largest verandah room without being concierge) was $945

From a 7A to cat T (one bedroom concierge) was $1925
From a 7A to cat V (standard verandah concierge) was $1225
From a 7A to cat 4 (largest verandah room without being concierge) was $700

One thing I read that someone else posted was that the problem with upgrading to concierge is that you Will never be able to cruise Disney again without it, which I thought was cute and funny. Yeah, well--take that seriously. We had a blast the last two times we cruised and, like everyone, we've been blown away by the service and friendliness of the crew. So the concierge service is like that on crack. My husband forgot cuff links and Julia found some and brought them down to us in the Walt Disney Theater... And then went and bought caramel corn for us while we stayed in our seats. And totally insisted and didn't make us feel lazy for letting her do it. . This is just one example of the amazing over-the-top concierge service... The one bedroom is freaking amazing and we have the accessible room so it's even bigger! We're just trying to absorb it all. Anyway, just getting some of the info out there now. I promise to post more later. Now back to the cruise!
April
PS--did I mention I'm typing this on the iPad I borrowed for free using the free 100-minute Internet package that comes with concierge? IT ROCKS.

 

[FJS961]

One thing I read that someone else posted was that the problem with upgrading to concierge is that you Will never be able to cruise Disney again without it, which I thought was cute and funny. Yeah, well--take that seriously. We had a blast the last two times we cruised and, like everyone, we've been blown away by the service and friendliness of the crew. So the concierge service is like that on crack. My husband forgot cuff links and Julia found some and brought them down to us in the Walt Disney Theater... And then went and bought caramel corn for us while we stayed in our seats. And totally insisted and didn't make us feel lazy for letting her do it. . This is just one example of the amazing over-the-top concierge service... The one bedroom is freaking amazing and we have the accessible room so it's even bigger! We're just trying to absorb it all. Anyway, just getting some of the info out there now. I promise to post more later. Now back to the cruise!
April
PS--did I mention I'm typing this on the iPad I borrowed for free using the free 100-minute Internet package that comes with concierge? IT ROCKS.

Thats awesome - have a great cruise! Julia has to take our award for the best overall concierge we ever had. Tell her the Setter family says hello and wishes her well ....