Upgrades at Port?

[mpenna16]

I am sailing on the 14 night Hawaii cruise in October and right now I booked into stateroom 2045 a deluxe inside stateroom. I wanted to know what the cost might be if I tried to upgrade to a stateroom with a veranda at the port? We would love to have a veranda as it s a very long cruise...? Any help with info would be great as then we would know how much money to set aside. Also so you know we booed this cruise with DVC points so I am not sure if that changes anything..... Thanks!

 

[mmouse37]

I am sailing on the 14 night Hawaii cruise in October and right now I booked into stateroom 2045 a deluxe inside stateroom. I wanted to know what the cost might be if I tried to upgrade to a stateroom with a veranda at the port? We would love to have a veranda as it s a very long cruise...? Any help with info would be great as then we would know how much money to set aside. Also so you know we booed this cruise with DVC points so I am not sure if that changes anything..... Thanks!

Welcome to the Cruise Board. This is probably one of the most asked questions on the board. There is no set price that can be given with certainty. The first thing would be IF there are upgrades available. They are not always available on every cruise.

What you have to do is check in at the port first....then when that is done you then go to the supervisor's desk and inquire about an upgrade. The CM will consult a chart that will have the price it costs to upgrade from the cabin you booked to the cabin you want. No one here has that chart but there are several threads of what people paid to upgrade to different categories.

The "average" is about 1/3 of the cost of what it would cost you to upgrade before getting to the port so a good deal....if an upgrade is available.

MJ

 

[mpenna16]

Thanks so much!

 

[CEGrant]

I found another extensive thread where a guy estimated that it was roughly $100-200 per night per category jump. So from an ocean view to a verandah for a 7 night cruise would be $700-1400. I have no idea if this is accurate. Knowing Disney, they probably have a very sophisticated computer program that generates charts for each sailing based on its specific occupancy.

One way to get a feel for it is to create a dummy booking and see how many rooms of the type you want are unbooked. If only a few are left, you're probably out of luck.

 

[pharmjenn]

One way to get a feel for it is to create a dummy booking and see how many rooms of the type you want are unbooked. If only a few are left, you're probably out of luck.

Ok, How do I do that. I just went through and chose the category, and it gave me a suggested cabin, or I can choose a cabin. How do I find out which cabins are "available"

 

[CEGrant]

Try choosing your own cabin by clicking on "view on map". There's a drop down box on the upper right to choose the deck. Go through deck by deck and count how many are available. Good luck.

 

[mpenna16]

I understand the 1/3 off the price at port but, the 100-200 a night seems a bit off considering that most therds say much less. But I am not sure what think as no one really has a concrete answer....

 

[CEGrant]

Not really. I think it varies tremendously based on what's available. You won't know until you get there.

 

[kcashner]

I understand the 1/3 off the price at port but, the 100-200 a night seems a bit off considering that most therds say much less. But I am not sure what think as no one really has a concrete answer....

The $100-$200 per night is a lot more than my personal experience. I've typically paid about $100 per night to go from an inside to a verandah. However, it really depends on how full the cruise is and what is available. All you can do is to ask at the supervisor's desk.

 

[GotMickey?]

I had to call DCL to check something and so I asked about upgrades and cost in port. She told me she could give me the price of what it would cost to upgrade now. Then when she entered my res # she said because I booked through the travel agent I would have to upgrade through the travel agent. I asked if I would be able to do it in port and she said no. Anyone know if that is correct??

 

[CarolAnnC]

We arrived very early to the port for the Hawaii cruise last April but alas no upgrades. I think there were only one or two which went immediately. Anyone can purchase regardless of using a travel agent or not, at the port as long as one is available.

 

[CEGrant]

Yeah. At the port all bets are off. It's a free for all. Except sadly, it's not free.

 

[kcashner]

I had to call DCL to check something and so I asked about upgrades and cost in port. She told me she could give me the price of what it would cost to upgrade now. Then when she entered my res # she said because I booked through the travel agent I would have to upgrade through the travel agent. I asked if I would be able to do it in port and she said no. Anyone know if that is correct??

If DCL has upgrades available to purchase, you will be able to price and purchase one. If there are none available, you won't be able to. It makes no difference at that point whether you booked with a TA or not.

Prior to arriving at the terminal, anything involving money needs to go thru your TA.

 

[mpenna16]

ok well i guess we will just have to wait and see!!! But i also wanted to throw out there that the Hawaii cruise is around the end of October....does anyone know if there will be any Halloween themes while on board?

 

[jilljill]

I had to call DCL to check something and so I asked about upgrades and cost in port. She told me she could give me the price of what it would cost to upgrade now. Then when she entered my res # she said because I booked through the travel agent I would have to upgrade through the travel agent. I asked if I would be able to do it in port and she said no. Anyone know if that is correct??

Of course the reservation agent will tell you that you can't upgrade at the port, they are on the phones to sell DCL cruises not to give pointers on how to get cheaper upgrades at the port.

 

[CEGrant]

Of course the reservation agent will tell you that you can't upgrade at the port, they are on the phones to sell DCL cruises not to give pointers on how to get cheaper upgrades at the port.

 

[cruisecrasher]

If I was trying to surprise DH with this, what do you need to being after you've checked in to upgrade at the supervisors desk?
Or must all of us be together like at checkin?

 

[Purdue Mouse]

The upgrade cost at port is based on what the room rate was at the time of your booking. There can be a vast difference in price say for a category 9 on opening day vs. cat. 9 a week later. There is a chance you will be upgraded anyway before you cruise, but if you want to upgrade further, the cost difference is based on what you booked and what you are upgrading to.
I asked about upgrading on our recent Alaska cruise since we were one of the first 5 families to check in. I told my family the ship was almost full but I would try for it anyway and to not get their hopes up. (I admit, I hoped someone had to cancel their trip last minute ) The only veranda rooms available were for parties of 3 (no ceiling bunks). We stayed in our cat 9A and were quite happy. We did not need and probably would not have benefited from a veranda except on Tracy Arm day. There are plenty of viewing areas on the ship. So, for one day out of seven, I'm glad I did not book the higher category. The trip was still 10K for a family of 4 flying out of Chicago with flights and excursions and 2 days in Seattle.
But...it was the best cruise/family trip of our lives! we would book again in 2013 if we could afford it.

You will love the trip no matter what but it never hurts to ask.

 

[mmouse37]

If I was trying to surprise DH with this, what do you need to being after you've checked in to upgrade at the supervisors desk?
Or must all of us be together like at checkin?

Just you can do it...you don't need everyone, I believe.

MJ

 

[mmouse37]

ok well i guess we will just have to wait and see!!! But i also wanted to throw out there that the Hawaii cruise is around the end of October....does anyone know if there will be any Halloween themes while on board?

Since this is a totally different topic it should be asked on another thread. There are several Halloween threads out there. Just Google "Halloween on DCL - the Dis" and you should get a few hits on threads that discuss it.

MJ