IGT,OGT upgrade question

[NC State Tigger]

If you book an IGT or OGT and there are cabins available to upgrade at the port, will DCL let you purchase the upgrade?

Has anyone done this?? How would the charge be calculated?

 

[luv2sleep]

If you book an IGT or OGT and there are cabins available to upgrade at the port, will DCL let you purchase the upgrade?

Has anyone done this?? How would the charge be calculated?

Straight answer is yes. The cost will be 1/3 to 1/2 of the difference between the price that you paid for your VGT/OGT/IGT cabin and the full price of the cabin you want to upgrade to. For example, if you paid $3000 for your OGT and the 4A verandah you want to upgrade to is $9000, you would pay $2000 (1/3) to $3000 (1/2) to upgrade.

ETA: It might even end up being less. I've seen that too.

 

[cjnix29]

I thought it was the 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of the cabin you actually got, not what you paid for the VGT? I thought I had seen that explanation on the board.

 

[luv2sleep]

I thought it was the 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of the cabin you actually got, not what you paid for the VGT? I thought I had seen that explanation on the board.

Nope. Let's say you paid for an IGT rate cabin for $1000. Then DCL gave you a pixie dust upgrade to a 9A. You then get to port and decide you wait a 4A. You will pay the cost difference between the IGT and the 4A. Think about it, why wouldn't DCL want to get as much $$ as they could out of you as possible? They are already giving you the upgrade at a discounted rate. Asking you pay the cost difference between the IGT and 4A makes better financial sense from their standpoint. The other thing is that cabin sale prices fluctuate from opening day and the time you sail. How would they pick which price to use if you didn't actually pay for the price of that cabin (the 9A)? They instead look at how much $$ you actually paid and use that.

This is the answer I've seen on the boards and this is what a fellow cruiser had to do on our last cruise. She paid the difference between the amount she paid for her VGT cabin and a 4B, not the cost of the 7A she was given and the 4B.

Btw, it would be much nicer to do what you had mentioned because then it would cost us less. It just doesn't work that way. Personally I think the fact that they offer the upgrade at a discount is great. I upgraded from a 9B to a 4A on our MR cruise in April (paid $475). It was wonderful! I would love to do the same for the Hawaii trip.

 

[lbgraves]

I thought it was the 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of the cabin you actually got, not what you paid for the VGT? I thought I had seen that explanation on the board.

That is how it use to be done, but things changed a couple years ago. With the IGT/OGT/VGTs they base it on the lowest category that you could have gotten with that rate. So an OGT would be based on a cat 10. Also, there is a chart that they use. It is dependent on the stateroom category, not the price you paid.

 

[luv2sleep]

Ok things must have recently change. We cruised in April. Sorry for passing on wrong info! It's nice of them to let you pay the category rate and not what you paid for the GT rate. Hope I'm not causing more confusion! Sorry again!

 

[Gdes1]

That is how it use to be done, but things changed a couple years ago. With the IGT/OGT/VGTs they base it on the lowest category that you could have gotten with that rate. So an OGT would be based on a cat 10. Also, there is a chart that they use. It is dependent on the stateroom category, not the price you paid.

OK, I was asking about this on another thread and I checked for a few days and didn't see an answer. My old post on that other thread may have confused the OP. I was basically trying to figure it out because it seemed to good to be true!

So, just to make sure we all understand......We booked an IGT on the EBPC for $4,000 (that's with taxes, but let's use round numbers). Therefore, the lowest room we could get is an 11B (because they have to at least give us one that sleeps four). But let's say we get our confirmation and they have us in a 10A.

Then let's say that the day before we sail, I look online and see that an 11B is going for $4,500, a 10A is $5,500 and a verandah (don't know all the numbers) is $8,000. The math Disney would use to calculate our upgrade fee is $8,000 minus $4,500 (the current 11B rate) and then the 1/3 to 1/2 rule. The $4,500 being a bit more than we actually paid for IGT, but also being the current cost of the 11B stateroom we could have received. And the fact that we received a 10A basically doesn't factor in.

Again, if that's how they do it, that is a sweet deal. And, yes, I realize that it's rare for rooms to be available in every category and that most ships sail at full capacity.

Am I understanding the math part correctly?

 

[lbgraves]

I have never heard of them charging a percentage of the current rate. I do know that it is greatly reduced. Yes, what you figured is correct. Back in 2005 we were upgraded from a cat 8 to a cat 4. Back then we could have upgraded to a cat 3 for around $600 because DCL would have based it from a cat 4 that we were cruising in. Now it would be based on the cat 8 that we originally booked and paid for. Yes, sometimes still look back and shake my head that we let that one chance go to cruise concierge at a great price.

 

[jilljill]

I've also never heard of them basing the cost of the upgrade on the cost you actually paid for your cruise. DCL has a chart they go by and everyone pays the same upgrade cost regardless of what they paid for their cruise.
Example - I booked a cruise using a FL resident rate. When I upgraded at the port the supervisor looked at the chart for the cabin we were in and went across the columns to see what the cost was to upgrade to a cat. 3. There was only 1 chart she was looking at with one set of numbers.

The percentage basis should be used a guideline to guess what the upgrade might cost at the port, not on what it will actually cost at the port.

 

[NC State Tigger]

Thanks eveyone for your information

 

[luv2sleep]

So how do they determine what to start with on a GT rate? If you book an OGT and end up being placed in a 9D do they latest cost for a 9D? Opening price cost? Or do they use the price of a 9A since its the most expensive cabin class in that category?

 

[jilljill]

So how do they determine what to start with on a GT rate? If you book an OGT and end up being placed in a 9D do they latest cost for a 9D? Opening price cost? Or do they use the price of a 9A since its the most expensive cabin class in that category?

The cost of the cabin is not factored into the equation. DCL uses a chart to price upgrades at the port.

 

[luv2sleep]

The cost of the cabin is not factored into the equation. DCL uses a chart to price upgrades at the port.

Oh! I think I'm understanding this now. I hope! So you think the just look at a column that says, for example, OGT, and then move over to the upgrade category for, let's say, a 4A to get the price?

 

[Gdes1]

From what I have read here and on other threads, it sounds like they create a chart for each sailing that simply lists the upgrade cost between cabin or category X and Y. The costs are based on the current selling price (not opening day, or peak). In general, the upgrade cost is 1/3 to 1/2 of the current price difference for the different rooms/categories (but the cost could be more or less than 1/3 to 1/2). This chart is then used for anyone who asks for an upgrade.

What seems to differ is how they determine your "starting point", so to speak. If you booked and paid for a 10B, then they use that category. If you booked and paid for IGT, then they use the lowest category of IGT (11C???). But, they are not looking at the dollar amount you actually paid, they are looking at the current selling price of that category/stateroom (what's listed on their chart).

Another important point is that they don't seem to factor in the # of people in the room, so port upgrades are a big benefit if you have more people in the room.

I'm not an expert and have never done this (but hoping to!), but I think I have it figured out correctly now. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, though.

 

[lbgraves]

So how do they determine what to start with on a GT rate? If you book an OGT and end up being placed in a 9D do they latest cost for a 9D? Opening price cost? Or do they use the price of a 9A since its the most expensive cabin class in that category?

They use the lowest category that you could have received in that category to determine your upgrade price. So with an OGT they would use a 9D [no matter which category you were placed in] and if you have a VGT they would use a 7A [again, even if you were assigned a cat 4.

 

[luv2sleep]

They use the lowest category that you could have received in that category to determine your upgrade price. So with an OGT they would use a 9D [no matter which category you were placed in] and if you have a VGT they would use a 7A [again, even if you were assigned a cat 4.

Ok got it! Finally! That really helps clear up my obvious confusion!

 

[luv2sleep]

Also that's really good! The OGTs for Hawaii cost less than the 11C. So if they give you the upgrade based on the cost of a 9D you pay way less than what it would be if you had to pay based on the difference in cost between the original OGT price and the cabin category you upgrade to.