Have you Purchased An Upgrade After Boarding?

[valbob89]

I have seen signs at guest services announcing if upgrades were available. Have any of you upgraded your cabin after boarding the ship?

We are on a MR cruise in a week, the ship is far from sold out. When I called DCL and asked about purchasing an upgrade at the pier I was told it would be at the same price as the price indicated on the web. Someone on the MR cruise last week confirmed on this forum that at the pier upgrades were not discounted.

When I asked DCL about the price of upgrades on the ship I was told they did not know if upgrades purchased on-board were discounted. Have any of you purchased an upgrade from guest services? Was the price better then the pier upgrade price?

We are hoping to move from a verandah to one of the many one bedroom suites available.

 

[Homemom]

Not what you asked, but i'll tell you our experience in Port Canaveral. We checked in, then went to the supervior's desk and bought an upgrade (from our verandah room to a one bedroom suite) before boarding the ship. The cost was 1/2 what I was quoted on the phone before the sailing. They have a cheat sheet they use at the supervisor's desk to give you the upgrade prices from one cat to another. I would think it would be better to do it preboarding since that is when most people do it. If you wait until after you board I would think most of the upgrades would be gone by the people that do it like I described above. Good luck, the one bedroom spoiled us!

 

[Olaf]

Homemom, were you paying rack rate for your verandah room?

 

[valbob89]

Not what you asked, but i'll tell you our experience in Port Canaveral. We checked in, then went to the supervior's desk and bought an upgrade (from our verandah room to a one bedroom suite) before boarding the ship. The cost was 1/2 what I was quoted on the phone before the sailing. They have a cheat sheet they use at the supervisor's desk to give you the upgrade prices from one cat to another. I would think it would be better to do it preboarding since that is when most people do it. If you wait until after you board I would think most of the upgrades would be gone by the people that do it like I described above. Good luck, the one bedroom spoiled us!

I have heard about the great deals purchased at the pier at PC. Unfortunately, DCL has told me and DISboard members have confirmed, they are not offerring discounts on the MR cruises at the pier. There is a lot of availability on these sailings. The DCL CM said the reason they are not offerring a discount is that they get "a lot" of people walking in on the day of sailing and purchasing cabins at the rack price ??? Do you really think "alot" of people decide at the very last minute to run down and get on a 7 day cruise - at the rack rate? I really doubt it, so I don't know why they aren't discounting in LA like they do in PC.

 

[outahere]

Homemom, were you paying rack rate for your verandah room?

From everything I've read here on the DIS, and from experience, the port upgrade price is based entirely on the cabin category you are upgrading from and the category you're upgrading to, not the price you originally paid or the number of guests in the cabin.

 

[outahere]

The DCL CM said the reason they are not offerring a discount is that they get "a lot" of people walking in on the day of sailing and purchasing cabins at the book price ??? Do you really think "alot" of people decide at the very last minute to run down and get on a 7 day cruise - at the book rate? So I don't know why they aren't discounting in LA like they do in PC.

Not sure why they aren't discounting upgrades in LA, but I have to believe the CM that said that they get walk-ins was misinformed. The cruise lines have to submit passenger manifests to the Dept. of Homeland Security 2 - 3 days prior to sailing.

 

[dededisney]

We were on the MR in Feb and we were able to upgrade at the port at a considerable discount, so I don't know if they have changed it recently or not, but we were able to do it.

 

[kcashner]

Homemom, were you paying rack rate for your verandah room?

When you upgrade at the port, it doesn't matter what you paid for your cabin or (with the exception of suites) how many people there are. It doesn't matter if you got an onboard rebooking discount, FL res rate, military rate, etc. You can have paid with cash or DVC points--again, no difference. Years ago, upgrades were based on the category you'd been ASSIGNED to, now they are based on the category you PURCHASED. For instance, if I booked an 11 and was pixie dusted to a 9, the cost of my upgrade would still be based on the 11 (so in effect, I lose my pixie dust.)

One exception to the above--if you purchased one of the new IGT, OGT or VGT deals, you will not be able to upgrade at the port.

Upgrades at the port typically cost about 1/2 of the cost difference between what you booked and what the upgrade would cost in advance. For example (I know these are not realistic numbers) if I paid $1000 for my cabin and the cat 6 that I want would cost me $2000 in advance (difference of $1000), a realistic estimate of the cost at the terminal would be $500. I've seen it be a little more or a little less, but this gives you a ballpark of what to expect.

I don't know what is going on with upgrades in LA...but I don't believe they are seeing huge numbers of walk-ons. First, that's not allowed, although you can book the day before. Secondly, it's not realistic. "Hey honey, let's pack our suitcases and drive down to the terminal to see if we can buy passage on that Disney ship..." Right......

 

[princesskayla]

I would totally go see if I could board the ship on the day of the cruise if it was a good deal....but no way would I do that if it was rack rate!
I have a feeling that the particular CM was not totally informed.

It is really sad that they are not offering discounts to MR cruisers at port. We are on the sailing after yours. Will it possible to post what you found out with the upgrade situation after you get settled onboard? We are wanting to get to port earlier to secure an upgrade from 4A to Cat 1 as well. If we pay rack rate- it's not going to happen (I will just get a few spa treatments instead!) If I knew in advance that we were not willing to pay the cost then I will not feel pressured to get to port early. KWIM? I would call the limo company and change my pickup time to a little later and enjoy a few rides at DL before we left for port.

 

[molly mouse]

We booked an GTY room (I believe it was an IGT) for our Alaska sailing this past pay.

We ended up being assigned to one of those sideways inside rooms

It was just under $2000 for two people.

At the port, we were able to upgrade to a 1BR suite for a little over $1,000.

So I think it's the room you're assigned to that counts...

 

[kcashner]

We booked an GTY room (I believe it was an IGT) for our Alaska sailing this past pay.

We ended up being assigned to one of those sideways inside rooms

It was just under $2000 for two people.

At the port, we were able to upgrade to a 1BR suite for a little over $1,000.

So I think it's the room you're assigned to that counts...

I'm confused by the last line of your post--the inside "sideways" rooms are cat 11s. Why does that make you thing that it is the assigned room that counts? The current price of an IGT on a 7 night cruise is $1585 for 2 people...might you have had an 11gty rather than an IGT? Or the prices could have been more when you cruised. How far before the cruise did you book? I'm not trying to be picky, just to find out if what we've been told is accurate--that you can't purchase an upgrade from an IGT, OGT, or VGT.

I can promise you that at one point it did change from the category I were assigned to the category I purchased. It is possible that it has changed back again recently.

Getting a suite for $1000 on a 7 night cruise was GREAT! Congrats.

 

[Homemom]

Homemom, were you paying rack rate for your verandah room?

Nope, we had a kids sail free deal.

 

[Olaf]

Wow, great deal, Homemom!

This is a really interesting thread. I've done six cruises and I only had a vague notion about upgrading at port. I will definitely check into doing that on our next cruise.

 

[Samantha_Mommy]

I have heard about the great deals purchased at the pier at PC. Unfortunately, DCL has told me and DISboard members have confirmed, they are not offerring discounts on the MR cruises at the pier. There is a lot of availability on these sailings. The DCL CM said the reason they are not offerring a discount is that they get "a lot" of people walking in on the day of sailing and purchasing cabins at the rack price ??? Do you really think "alot" of people decide at the very last minute to run down and get on a 7 day cruise - at the rack rate? I really doubt it, so I don't know why they aren't discounting in LA like they do in PC.

Hmm that's funny that you say that... I hardly doubt it as well. I wonder if you waiting until the ship set saila nd you went to customer service you could question about upgrading and pricing....hmmm I wonder what they would say to you then???

 

[Samantha_Mommy]

I have seen signs at guest services announcing if upgrades were available. Have any of you upgraded your cabin after boarding the ship?

We are on a MR cruise in a week, the ship is far from sold out. When I called DCL and asked about purchasing an upgrade at the pier I was told it would be at the same price as the price indicated on the web. Someone on the MR cruise last week confirmed on this forum that at the pier upgrades were not discounted.

When I asked DCL about the price of upgrades on the ship I was told they did not know if upgrades purchased on-board were discounted. Have any of you purchased an upgrade from guest services? Was the price better then the pier upgrade price?

We are hoping to move from a verandah to one of the many one bedroom suites available.

you should ask about the upgrade with discount...if they give you the reason that "people" might come to the port to purchaserolleyes:as if!) then question once you sail could you request it then? I wonder what they would say?

 

[melisgur]

Please let us know what you find out. We will be traveling in 4 weeks and were thinking of upgrading from a category 4 to a 1 bedroom as well. Looks like there a quite a few open on our trip as well.

Thanks!

 

[Disney Dreams]

We just returned from a 7 night Mexican Riviera on the Wonder. We booked with DVC points, so I'm not sure how that factors into everything but...

We booked an outside porthole. Two adults, no children.
We asked to upgrade to a verandah at the port.
We were told the only upgrade available was to a suite and it would be $2,100. ("Ummm... no thank you.")
We were also told to check at Guest Services the next day if we were still interested to see if there were any other options at that time.

***Lesson We learned***
If a stateroom is booked, but the party does not show up upon embarkation, DCL will know by the next day whether or not that party is going to join the cruise at the next port or has decided for whatever reason not to cruise. DCL must have their original room available for them if they join the cruise at the next port.
******

The next afternoon we checked at the desk and were given the option of upgrading to a specific verandah for $200. We decided to think about it.

A day later (day 3, after first port day) we upgraded (to a different verandah that had become available). We packed everything. They sent someone with a cart to assist. DH and the gentleman with the cart went to the new room. I took our KTTW cards down to Guest Services. New cards were issued. Boom - we were in our verandah ( ) for the remainder of the cruise.

A few things to note if you switch mid-cruise:

• We wanted to make sure to tip appropriately to both room stewards. Guest Services helped us with this. We gave gratuity for X days to room steward 1 and for Y days to room steward 2.
• A few things got mixed up due to the room change, but once we discovered each individual issue, Guest Relations fixed it.
• All Shutters photos "made the move" to our new KTTW card.
• So did all onboard charges!

Hope this helps someone,
Dreams

 

[LKFan]

***Lesson We learned***
If a stateroom is booked, but the party does not show up upon embarkation, DCL will know by the next day whether or not that party is going to join the cruise at the next port or has decided for whatever reason not to cruise. DCL must have their original room available for them if they join the cruise at the next port.
******

The next afternoon we checked at the desk and were given the option of upgrading to a specific verandah for $200. We decided to think about it.

A day later (day 3, after first port day) we upgraded (to a different verandah that had become available). We packed everything. They sent someone with a cart to assist. DH and the gentleman with the cart went to the new room. I took our KTTW cards down to Guest Services. New cards were issued. Boom - we were in our verandah ( ) for the remainder of the cruise.

That's interesting. I know on our cruise in Feb, the ship was "sold out." There were a couple of people who had problems (with sewage, etc) in their rooms and were able to change rooms only after PV (our first port) so what you say makes sense.

My question to you is, didn't you have two days at sea before your first port? If so, why was the upgrade available on the second day? Was it because you stopped at Ensenada?

 

[kcashner]

DCL always holds a few cabins open for people who might have "issues" in their room.

We were on a "full" cruise and had a problem with the flip sofa in our cabin--once it came out to a bed, it couldn't be returned to the couch position. Engineering was called and spent about 4 hours in our cabin one afternoon. They got it flipped back, but the next day we had the same issue. After again having a man in the cabin all afternoon, I went to GS with a "can't they just trade us out for a new couch?" request. I was told no, that they could only do this at Port Canaveral. OK, after 8 hours of a guy in my cabin, I'm being told that he can't fix it....GS offered another cabin, same category and they moved us. (I packed).

So, that's how I learned that there ARE empty cabins even on a "full" cruise.

 

[Disney Dreams]

That's interesting. I know on our cruise in Feb, the ship was "sold out." There were a couple of people who had problems (with sewage, etc) in their rooms and were able to change rooms only after PV (our first port) so what you say makes sense.

My question to you is, didn't you have two days at sea before your first port? If so, why was the upgrade available on the second day? Was it because you stopped at Ensenada?

We only had one full sea day before a port day.

Our itinerary was:

Sunday: Depart Port of LA
Monday: Day at Sea
Tuesday: Cabo San Lucas
Wednesday: Cabo San Lucas
Thursday: Day at Sea
Friday: Day at Sea
Saturday: Ensenada
Sunday: Return Port of LA

- Dreams