Has anyone ever upgraded cabins during check-in?

[erineab]

We are sailing on the Magic next week. We were originally travelling in an adjoining oceanview stateroom with my parents, but my father is having some health issues and they were required to cancel last week.
We originally chose to save the money by taking an oceanview in lieu of a balcony, as my parents go to bed early and would be happy to listen for the kiddies with the adjoining door open while we spent some time on deck in the evenings. Given their recent cancellation, I am wondering if we might be able to upgrade to a balcony once we arrive for embarkation next week. If anyone has done this, are the costs to do so astronomical? I booked this cruise while onboard the Dream last year, so I received the 10% discount. Would the upgrade cost be discounted by 10% as well?
I apologize if these are silly questions.

 

[erineab]

I should also add that, as of today, there is verandah stateroom availability on our sailing.

 

[Tigger&Bubba]

I should also add that, as of today, there is verandah stateroom availability on our sailing.

You may upgrade online now and insure you have a veranda. Or you can wait until you get to the port and see what is available. We have upgraded at the port more than once. It is just a matter of paying for the difference. The amount you pay can vary. They will give you the choices available and a price. It is very easy if you can hand them your credit/debit card.

 

[mmouse37]

Yes, it has been done....it is all based on availability. What you have to do is check in first at the counter. When that is done you would go down to the end of the counter to the supervisor's desk and ask about upgrades. They have a chart that lists the prices going from one category to another and will quote you a price. If you like the quote you upgrade. It is a set rate...no negotiating. It is easy to do but it is all based on IF there is a cabin available that you want.

Don't hold too much stock in what you see online now....inventory changes all the time and the only thing that matters is what is available at the port. Sometimes there will be a sign that says something like "sorry, full cruise no upgrades available".

It also helps to get to the port early in order to do this. Upgrading at the port can be significantly less than upgrading beforehand. But you MUST check in first and then go to the supervisor's desk....which is all the way to the right when looking at the check in counters.

Good luck.

MJ

 

[Namsupak]

... I booked this cruise while onboard the Dream last year, so I received the 10% discount. Would the upgrade cost be discounted by 10% as well?...

You could upgrade now and yes the promo for your reservation would be the onboard credit plus your 10% off (but not for concierge). As the pp stated you can upgrade at port and that is also outlined in the post. No 10% off a port upgrade as it is already discounted greater than that.

I was mistaken about the rate it stays the same as when you originally booked. I must have been thinking about a complete rebook.

 

[erineab]

Thanks so much for the tips. The stateroom verandah availability that is showing on the website right now is priced at over $8,000 for our family of four. Our cruise fare was less than half of that, so if we had to pay the difference, that would be a certain no-go!!!
It can't hurt to try at the port I suppose (as long as no signs are posted indicating that the cruise is full). We are scheduled for the earliest possible arrival time at the port, so we may have a chance. Otherwise, it will not make the break the cruise for us. We can always take turns wandering the decks during the evenings!

 

[tinkerone]

Thanks so much for the tips. The stateroom verandah availability that is showing on the website right now is priced at over $8,000 for our family of four. Our cruise fare was less than half of that, so if we had to pay the difference, that would be a certain no-go!!!
It can't hurt to try at the port I suppose (as long as no signs are posted indicating that the cruise is full). We are scheduled for the earliest possible arrival time at the port, so we may have a chance. Otherwise, it will not make the break the cruise for us. We can always take turns wandering the decks during the evenings!

call your t.a. we booked ocean view 18 months ago and i sent a email to our t.a. about a month ago to see about an upgrade. it will cost 500 to get a veranda for out sail date (which is 48 days out). they go by cost from the date you booked, not on present costs. at least if your agent is worth salt this is the way it is. i have heard some agents cancel and rebook which WOULD put you in the new price catagory.
hope this helps.

 

[Cmbar]

call your t.a. we booked ocean view 18 months ago and i sent a email to our t.a. about a month ago to see about an upgrade. it will cost 500 to get a veranda for out sail date (which is 48 days out). they go by cost from the date you booked, not on present costs. at least if your agent is worth salt this is the way it is. i have heard some agents cancel and rebook which WOULD put you in the new price catagory.
hope this helps.

Yes absolutely do this is as your upgrade should be locked in from when you booked onboard. Also, I would call Disney if you didn't book with a travel agent. I just upgraded on a cruise in June that we booked in Oct of 2010 on board. My upgrade was only $400, but online it was a whole $4000 more for that cabin. Call your TA or Disney (or I think you can do it online if you booked yourself online). Good luck!

 

[valbob89]

Last October we sailed on the Wonder7 Day MR cruise, out of LA. We had booked a verandah for the two of us, 2 adults, with the 10% and $275 OBC from our onboard booking.

We got to the pier at 9:00 and they let us in. At 10:00 we were the first person to check in and after doing so asked about available upgrades. We were told the price is based on chart prices that have nothing to do with how many people are on your reservation but only what category room you are booked into and what category you are upgrading to. The cost to upgrade to the Roy Disney Suite was a total of $1,800 and we kept the $275 OBC.

 

[erineab]

I always make the reservation myself and then transfer it to my friend's mom, who is a travel agent, prior to final payment (that way she receives the commission). I know I can't officially make changes to my reservation, but I called DCL today, as I thought they would at least be able to tell me what the cost of upgrade would be. Unfortunately, they are not able to discuss anything money related with me. I just emailed my TA, so hopefully she can find out what it would cost and we can go from there. Thanks once again for all the input!

 

[Grumpymom73]

Just wondering if anyone can tell me how they handle families who book 2 cabins. We are a family of 4 with 2 inside cabins booked for Alaska. If upgrades are avail. at the port will they let us all go in 1 veranda cabin or would we have to upgrade both cabins? If so do they tell you where they are located? We want to be as close as possible.
Thanks!

 

[Cmbar]

I always make the reservation myself and then transfer it to my friend's mom, who is a travel agent, prior to final payment (that way she receives the commission). I know I can't officially make changes to my reservation, but I called DCL today, as I thought they would at least be able to tell me what the cost of upgrade would be. Unfortunately, they are not able to discuss anything money related with me. I just emailed my TA, so hopefully she can find out what it would cost and we can go from there. Thanks once again for all the input!

Great! Hope it works out. Please post back so we can see what happens. Sorry about your parents not being able to come. My Parents bailed on us also for June, but they were more concerned about the ship and cruising because they watched a show on the terrible tragedy in Italy with the Concordia!! Oh well, we usually have my son stay with them and we have more room in our cabin with my Daughter but since they bailed we decided to upgrade to a larger cabin so we can have more room as a family. I am forever grateful to the Disboard people who told me to have my TA check since we should be locked in to our 2010 prices. I just kept thinking I would have to pay a large difference as what was on the website was SOOOO much more money! So glad I checked! Good Luck!

 

[kcashner]

Just wondering if anyone can tell me how they handle families who book 2 cabins. We are a family of 4 with 2 inside cabins booked for Alaska. If upgrades are avail. at the port will they let us all go in 1 veranda cabin or would we have to upgrade both cabins? If so do they tell you where they are located? We want to be as close as possible.
Thanks!

Each cabin is a separate reservation; you can upgrade one or both. Yes, you can see a map and know the location of the available cabins before you choose to upgrade or not.

What you cannot do is to combine a 2 cabin reservation into one for an upgrade, even if the new cabin will hold all the people. You officially upgrade only one reservation number.

OP if you choose to upgrade now, the cost will be based on the day you originally booked, not the current price. It will be discounted 10%. If you upgrade at the port, your original booking cost doesn't matter--the upgrade price is the price and you either pay it or pass on it.

 

[mytripsandraces]

Yes absolutely do this is as your upgrade should be locked in from when you booked onboard. Also, I would call Disney if you didn't book with a travel agent. I just upgraded on a cruise in June that we booked in Oct of 2010 on board. My upgrade was only $400, but online it was a whole $4000 more for that cabin. Call your TA or Disney (or I think you can do it online if you booked yourself online). Good luck!

Thank you for this information! If I upgrade to concierge level, would it still be the rate from when I originally booked onboard or would an upgrade to concierge be at the current rate?

 

[erineab]

Great! Hope it works out. Please post back so we can see what happens. Sorry about your parents not being able to come. My Parents bailed on us also for June, but they were more concerned about the ship and cruising because they watched a show on the terrible tragedy in Italy with the Concordia!! Oh well, we usually have my son stay with them and we have more room in our cabin with my Daughter but since they bailed we decided to upgrade to a larger cabin so we can have more room as a family. I am forever grateful to the Disboard people who told me to have my TA check since we should be locked in to our 2010 prices. I just kept thinking I would have to pay a large difference as what was on the website was SOOOO much more money! So glad I checked! Good Luck!

My travel agent called back and it is $900 and change for us to upgrade. We decided not to go for it at this point. She said it is worth asking again at the port, which we will do.
This whole ordeal has been so disappointing for my family, as well as my parents (especially my mom). My dad had a rough 2011 health-wise, but the past 5 months have been great for him. Until just a few weeks ago when he had some new symptoms. If ever there was a year where he and my mom NEEDED a vacation, this is it. Anyway, I know this really isn't the place to vent, but I thought it might perk my DH and I up a bit to have that balcony. The important thing is that my kids have an amazing time and we hopefully have good news about my dad health-wise when we return. I am going to need a few bottles of wine on that boat to unwind and relax!
I will post an update when we get back to let you know if the upgrade was possible at the port or not!

 

[kendall]

Definitely ask at the port. We upgraded at the port on our 1/29/2012 MR cruise, and it was much more economical to upgrade at the port than the prices we saw online. Have a price point in mind and as others have mentioned, the price is not negotiable at the port. The price at the time of our sailing was about 60% off the price had we switched to a verandah stateroom prior to the cruise - we had our number in mind and the upgrade came in under that number. You will have a great cruise, whether with a verandah or not!