Experience w/paid upgrades at port?

[Woobie]

I'm currently booked in 2 cat 11's next door to each other. For medical reasons, I need adjoining cabins now. What is your experience w/requesting paid upgrades at the port? Are they discounted much? Does DCL ever offer UNpaid upgrades when requesting a paid one? Do you have to track your luggage down at the old cabin? Thanks!!

Woobie

 

[pcutrone]

Upgraded at port on the 5/4/03 Wonder cruise from 2 Category 10 to 2 Category 4's. Total price was a little over a thousand dollars.

 

[cat1239]

Where did you go to request your upgrade??? Did everything work out o.k. with your luggage etc..

Cathy

 

[Mjasp]

Wow thats a GREAT price. A little over a thousand dollars for 2 cabin upgrades to a Cat. 4.

I will have to check it out when we sail, or maybe before. LOL

Joanna

 

[dzneprincess]

I am also curious about this.I called a few weeks ago to inquire, and just going from 2 cat 10's to 2 cat 9s they wanted $157 pp! Yikes.............I would love to go from 2 cat 10s to 2 4s for a little over $1000! Was your cruise during a peak season?

 

[vgaskin]

From what I got from that post was they upgraded at the port. That meant Disney had extra rooms in that category the were not going to be sold. So they will do just about anything to get some money and upgrade them to cabins that are already available at embarkation. But Disney almost always sails full. So yes, if cabins are available on embarkation date, you will get a better deal. But you are more than likely to get there and not have any to upgrade to. So if you want a guarantee, upgrade now at a higher price, if you want a nice suprise, try at the port.

 

[pcutrone]

I had originally booked two cat. 11 guarantees about three weeks prior to sailing on the May 4th 4 night Wonder cruise. We were upgraded at no charge to 2 Cat. 10's before sailing. When we got to the pier, we immediately went to the upgrade desk. They offered me one Cat. 9 and one Cat. 4. The Cat. 9 upgrade was $258 and the Cat. 4 was $876. When we got to our rooms, my sister in law was having a panic attack because she is claustrophobic (she was in the Cat. 9). I went back down to the upgrade desk and asked if they had any balcony cabins left. They said they had just come up with two additional Cat. 4's. She called her supervisor over and the supervisor instructed her to give us the additional Cat. 4 at no charge since we had already paid over a thousand dollars. They were very helpful, especially considering that the cruise was almost completely sold out. I don't know if they always have cabins available at the pier. I booked our next cruise (10/5 Wonder) at Florida Resident rates and the difference between a Cat. 10 and a Cat. 4 is $600. If I wait until I get to the pier it would cost $876 to upgrade. If you booked at regular rates, it would probably make sense to wait until you get to the pier.

We did have problems with our luggage. We had to complain a couple of times before our luggage was finally delivered to the correct stateroom. It was really just a minor hassle considering the upgrade. Having the verandah when we thought we were going to have inside rooms made it all worthwhile.

 

[abitjaded]

We upgraded two cabins at the port, from cat 11 to cat 8 at $250 per cabin. The normal charge should have been about that per adult (5 adults total, two children) therefore a savings of $750 for both cabins had we booked that category originally. Our cruise was only 2/3 full. Our luggage was delivered to the old cabin, but we went down to get it. It was still in the hall and we just moved it up. We also had a gift from Shirley. It was in the old cabin, the steward let us in to retrieve it. The Cruise Line staff would have moved everything for us, but we were too impatient, we wanted to get unpacked, pop our champagne and celebrate. If your cruise is at an off time, and finances allow, an upgrade may be reasonable at the port.

Carla

 

["Ginger"]

Usually during off season Disney has the higher Cat. to offer as upgrades at the port. From what I have been told by DCL at the port to go from a Cat.9 to a higher Cat. is much cheaper than upgrading from a lower Cat. Last October's Halloween cruise on the Magic you could go from a 9 to a 4 for $375.

 

[AnnMorin]

It certainly would not hurt to inquire.
What is the medical reason that you need adjoining cabins? If that is a neccessity I would not wait until getting to the port but call DCL and see if you could purchase an upgrade now.
My motto has always been purchase what you need now,... if you get more sit back and smile but always take care of your needs in advance (note I said needs not wants-I am forever trying to get DS to understand the difference between what he NEEDS versus what he WANTS )

 

[Mjasp]

Originally posted by AnnMorin
-I am forever trying to get DS to understand the difference between what he NEEDS versus what he WANTS ) [/B]

And when, or should I say if, you ever find the way for him to understand, Please share it with the rest of the parents in the world. LOL

Joanna

 

[AnnMorin]

Hi Joanna- well according to Mike he NEEDS what he WANTS. It is as simple as that, ... that boy will never understand, he NEEDS food but he WANTS macaroni and cheese...he NEEDS water but WANTS koolaide.... each time I try to explain it to him he looks right at me and says as serious as can be.. I need what I want mommy, that is how I will be happy.... I give up...

 

[SueEllen]

Originally posted by "Ginger"
Usually during off season Disney has the higher Cat. to offer as upgrades at the port. From what I have been told by DCL at the port to go from a Cat.9 to a higher Cat. is much cheaper than upgrading from a lower Cat. Last October's Halloween cruise on the Magic you could go from a 9 to a 4 for $375.

Ginger--we went from a 9 to a 4 on that Halloween cruise for much more than $375--it was more like $700. Wish I would have recieved it for only $375!

Sue Ellen

 

[pcutrone]

Has anyone ever upgraded at the port to a Cat. 3 or higher? If so, what was the cost?

 

[WebmasterAlex]

We went from a 9 to a 4 for 375 on our 7 day western.

 

[lbgraves]

Has anyone ever upgraded from an 8 to a 6 at the port? Now that we have the porthole, I am thinking that this is the closest we will ever get to a veranda and since the 7 is out since we have 4 people...I am starting to thing about trying to get 6 if they have one. I will check us in and not tell DH about it. We aren't doing any excursions so this would be a little treat for us.

 

[Mjasp]

anyone go from a 10 to a 6 or 5???

If so, how much

Thanks
Joanna

 

[Favorite Auntie]

OK, here's a question....we booked a cat 11 gty for our November cruise. We just found out we were upgraded to a cat 8. If we wanted to upgrade at port, would the price be from a cat 11 or cat 8?? IE, if we now wanted a cat 6, would we be charged the difference between a cat 11 and a cat 6, or a cat 8 and a cat 6?? Just curious?

 

[AnnMorin]

I would assume it would be from your current cabin catagory. Which would be from an eight to a six.

 

[pcutrone]

When I upgraded at the port from a 10 to a 4, I paid the difference between a Cat. 10 price even though I had originally booked a Cat. 11 guarantee. You would pay the difference between an 8 and a 6. On my sailing, the only cabins they had available at the pier were a Cat. 9, a couple of Cat. 4's and one Cat. 3. I didn't see anything in either Cat. 5 or 6.