How Often Are Room Upgrades Given?

[Dug720]

Our last upgrade was on the 2011 Med Cruise. I did book 11GTY. Maybe that is why the upgrade happened.

Can you request NOT to get an upgrade?

You can put a request on, but if they need the cabin for something (entertainer's family, etc.) or something mechanical goes wrong, you'll be upgraded anyway. Or at least moved.

 

[Dug720]

Were those upgrades given, or did you have to pay extra?

I'm curious about that too. I know RCCL and Princess are known to give "upsell" offers where you can pay a discounted amount for a higher category (not positive about HAL, but I think they do too). Technically that is what happens if you purchase a higher category cabin at the port with Disney. Those are technically upsells. In travel-speak, being given an upgrade means it just happens and you aren't paying anything extra.

 

[Geomom]

Our last upgrade was on the 2011 Med Cruise. I did book 11GTY. Maybe that is why the upgrade happened.

Can you request NOT to get an upgrade?

That does make a lot of sense for your big upgrade! I think it is more likely (though not often!) to happen on a GTY, *GT as they may be out of a room that fits your size family, etc. Less likely to just be a random upgrade from a stateroom you picked, unless there is an issue with the room. Sometimes they'll refurbish sections of rooms while still sailing (vs. while in drydock), so that could be a time you'd be upgraded

 

[RedSox68]

Were those upgrades given, or did you have to pay extra?

We always book a verandah or a large picture window oceanview. We never book hoping we will get an upgrade. In those two cases, the Princess upgrade was from a standard verandah to a mini-suite -- and it was free and only because they were having a sale that my particular booking didn't qualify for (after having had two sale discounts already), so they offered to upgrade us instead -- which I thought was incredibly generous. For HAL, we had an oceanview on the 10-night NE/Canada cruise and they called the week before and offered to upgrade us to a verandah for $300 -- which was a no-brainer.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Are the ceilings on deck 5 lower?

Yes, a little. That deck is the same one that has the kid's club on it and they designed it that way so the kids feel "bigger".

Our last upgrade was on the 2011 Med Cruise. I did book 11GTY. Maybe that is why the upgrade happened.

Can you request NOT to get an upgrade?

You certainly can have "DO NOT UPGRADE" added to your reservation, but, as noted, if something is wrong with your room, or it's needed for another reason, you still would be moved/upgraded.