They lost my bag. At first they tried to say I didn't drop it off on time. 2 days into the cruise they found my bag on the ship. I was in the Haven and the concierge showed up about 5 minutes after the bag was brought to my cabin. He said, "Don't unpack. We are giving you a bigger cabin because you had to by clothes in the gift shop." When I got home I realized they refunded the money I spent buying clothes onboard. That was my very first cruise. I have been loyal to NCL since.
In 2006, spouse and I went on our very 1st cruise to Alaska for our 30th anniversary. We selected a balcony cabin and were asked if we would accept an upgrade if offered. We agreed and promptly forgot about it. In port check in, they couldn’t find our room card. After about 30 minutes they came back and said they had solved the mystery - that we had been upgraded to a suite! It. Was. Amazing!! We have loved Princess Cruises ever since!!
My ever upgrade was RC Alaska , 16 years ago , ( my daughter was 10 ) we booked , inside cheapo , thinking we would be outside as much as possible !! We were upgraded to a Port Hole !! OMG it was like water level , we sat watching the small ice bergs to float by on our way to Mendenhall Glacier !! We were SO SO EXCITED !!!
My friend and I cruise on Holland America. We were in an inside suite right below the kitchen on the 2nd floor, On the first night we were subject to a cart or something rolling back and forth in the kitchen for hours. I called guest services 3 times before they went up and anchored it down. The next day we were called to Guest Services and given a balcony room on the 7 floor! That was an amazing upgrade that we really appreciated.
Not a cruise upgrade, but one year my husband were in Chicago; he was attending the NCET conference and I was just sightseeing while he was at the conference during the day. Mass confusion when we got to our hotel, which was the conference hotel. Somehow, the hotel was overbooked and tempers were frayed as everyone seemed to want to check in at once. The staff asked for a couple of volunteers to spend the night at their sister hotel on Printer's Row. We volunteered. The hotel not only provided a voucher for cab fare but also comped our dinner at the other hotel's restaurant. The next day, went back to our original hotel and found we had been upgraded to a suite that had been used to host a book publisher's event the night before ( my husband taught English comp at a university; this conference was all for English teachers). There was an actual dining room table to seat 10. They also had a HUGE fruit basket sitting on the table, thanking us for giving up our room. We really lived in the lap of luxury that night, lol.
In 2018, we were on Anthem of the Seas in an inside "virtual balcony" cabin. At Bingo on the 1st full day, they raffled off an upgrade to a Grand Suite, which I won. They immediately moved us to the new room, which we had for the next 8 nights. It was absolutely wonderful!!
Not cruise related but I had booked a pet friendly room at a holiday inn. The reservation assistant screwed up and had booked us into a pet free room! The only pet friendly option was a suite, so we were put in there at no extra charge.
On my very first cruise, 25 years ago, I had booked 2 inside cabins for myself, husband and three children. Two days before the cruise Royal Caribbean upgraded us to the Royal Family Suite. What an amazing room and cruise, spoiled for all future cruises😂.
We experienced a wonderful blessing when we were upgraded from a inside cabin to a balcony cabin! I was beyond shock and to top it off I won a free cruise while playing bingo...holy moly!! What a cruise that was...it was on board Celebrity Solcitice roundtrip from Seattle to Alaska . Our first to Alaska! Wonderful memories! ❤❤❤
My wife is allergic to fragrances of all kinds. So we specify before our cruise that the room must be cleaned in a non fragrance sort of way. Because if it’s not done that way, she couldn’t even walk into the room let alone sleep in it. During most cruises this hasn’t been an issue. But one cruise the housekeeping person changed in the middle of it and didn’t know what we needed. She couldn’t enter into the room. They upgraded us to an empty balcony cabin from an interior one for the rest of the cruise.
On my first cruise, back in 2010, I was on a Dahabiya on the Nile river. It's a small sailboat that have 6 normal cabins, 3 on each side, and a biggger double one in the back. I went to pay my trip directly at the agency in Cairo and I met the owner of the agency. I paid for a regulat cabin, but they upgraded me to the larger one. On our cruise, we where only 6 passengers, a couple, 2 sisters and the daughter of one. As a single one, I didn't felt I needed such a large cabin, so I offered to exchange it with the couple. The regular cabin was big enough for me. I didn't get the larger cabin, but I made friends that we keep in touch 14 years after.
@@marianneward8980 Thanks, it didn't cost me anything and I made some friends. Also, I'm a simple guy, I don't feel at ease if I'm treated better than other people around me, I would have felt out of place alone in the suite while the rest of people where in regular cabins. For the couple, it was perfect, more romantic and so on.
Good for you Don. You definitely deserved the upgrade. I can only afford to cruise once a year and my 93 year old mom actually pays for me. You give Princess so much money with your groups that I think it was well deserved.
Upgraded to a 1200 sq ft room with separate dining room , living room , kitchen at the Luxor in Vegas. Valentines weekend we booked a free room with a hot tub in the center. They really needed it for a bride/groom and offered us the high roller suite!
We got upgraded on our first ever cruise on a Princess cruise. We booked a interior cabin on Discovery Princess on a Alaska cruise and were upgraded without asking us to a beautiful oversized balcony cabin.... We were shocked after never getting a upgrade after 15 cruises on Carnival. Loved it
On my first cruise, Carnival Conquest 2003, we booked the TBA balcony, and the ship wasn't sold out. we got bumped into a suite. we have always booked a balcony since then spoiled my wife and me. Watch you every day. New Iberia, LA
Is this a repeat post? I saw this the other day….. Glad you received an upgrade. I only cruised 5 times and have never been offered an upgrade, but enjoyed all of the cruises.
I was upgraded on the Royal Princess I had an inside cabin and the thermostat wasn’t working the cabin was so hot I could hardly breathe so they told me to go to a new cabin thinking it was an inside but when I arrived and the cabin was in the outside I was thrilled !!! I was lucky ! You deserve all the perks they offer you !!!
My husband and I booked an inside cabin on an NCL cruise for our 25th anniversary, but when we checked in at the port, we were told our cabin had been changed. We discovered we now had a balcony cabin with room for 2 people, because they needed our inside cabin with room for 3 people. Our luggage, however was sent to our previous cabin, so we had to go find it outside the original assignment. Fantastic upgrade!
I once got upgraded on an international flight to Europe from California from Coach to first class. A couple wanted to be together and as I was a single traveler, I got lucky.
Back in December- I was on Royal Caribbean and I got a FREE upgrade from an inside cabin to a balcony cabin!!! The first upgrade out of 50 cruises- WOW, Free!!!
Upgraded to Leif Erickson Suite on Radiance of the Seas because they screwed up our cabin and had us booked in a “Covid Isolation” room. We required an accessible room and the suite was not booked so they moved us to that. It was fantastic we felt like royalty!
Leif Erickson. That's a blast from the past. I think he was a rock star on an episode of Chips once. Nevermind. That was Leif Garrett. I just googled it.
Congrats on your upgrade! I've been in the travel industry since 1986, most of that time at high end agencies. The most I've ever received is a six pack of Amstel Light from a sales rep
In 2001, 3 couples booked a Panama Canal Cruise. It was a month after 911 and the cruise was overbooked as no one wanted to fly. We were asked if we would rebook to a later date. We all agreed and in January 2002 the 3 couple were all upgraded to suites. One was the owner suite with a grand piano. We enjoyed that cruise immensely! This was on NCL and trip was now San Diego to Ft. Lauderdale. We live in Miami and it worked like a dream! Best cruise ever!
I always book a guaranteed inside cabin. On my last HAL cruise on the Eurodam , I was upgraded to a oceanview cabin on the 1st deck. Everyone said it was terrible as it was 20 yards from the Main Theater. The room was quiet and the view ... I think that we only heard the hatch openint twice for about 2 minutes.
Very first Princess cruise, about 18 years ago, we booked a balcony. Our cabin number was changed when we checked in, but being new cruisers, we didn’t ask why, just accepted the change. Went to the new cabin, thought it was very nice. When we were at dinner, listening to table mates complaining about the tiny showers, I mentioned at our balcony cabin had a bathtub and the rest of the table told us we were in a mini suite. Huh…we had no idea. We thought all balconies were like ours. We only book mini suites now! Princess knew how to hook new cruisers.
We were upgraded on Holland America. When we boarded and went to our balcony stateroom at the back of the ship we found that it was already occupied. They first offered us a balcony on the side of the ship I informed them that that was not good enough. We got upgraded to a Neptune Suite and as a result we have been purchasing those suites ever since. So it was a good investment for them.
I’ve only been on one cruise (a knitting cruise) which got canceled/delayed due to Covid. Instead of asking for our deposit back, we let it ride for 2 years… when we got on the ship, we were moved from a porthole cabin to a balcony!
Good for you. You deserve it. Wish I was a travel agent like you and had the skills to do a show like you do. Being a travel agent was one of my choices as a kid, but I ended up being a chauffeur instead. I like how you mentioned all my favorite cruise bloggers like Alana, Tony, Ben and David, Stuffy Gary. I like him, but I saw him at MIA one day and tried to say hello and he appeared to purposely ignore me.
Yes, we were on Princess during Covid and our room was next to where the elevators were. Well, that section was closed off and we had to go all the way around the opposite direction and come back up the opposite side of the ship. My wife has mobility issues and we asked the steward if they could do something. We were moved up one deck and given a suite for the rest of our cruise. They were great for moving us. It made getting around easier for us.
never got an upgrade on a cruise. I did get a great upgrade at the Rio in Las Vegas once. We had a comp room and they upgraded us to a suite, two rooms, dining area, monster bathroom and a panoramic view of the Las Vegas strip. Pretty good for free.
In Las Vegas I was upgraded to the gallery suite at the Cromwell, Planet Hollywood I was upgraded to the Apex suite. At Mandalay Bay I was randomly upgraded from a Penthouse to a 2 bedroom panoramic Penthouse When there was a flooding problem in my original room. No surprise upgrades on cruises yet- I did win a bid for a balcony cabin once.
Our very first cruise, we had been s booked into a handicapped room. We were in the theater getting a lecture on the cruise and how things work. Suddenly, over the loudspeaker they stated our names and asked us to come to the purser’s desk immediately. We were nervous but we got there and they needed that room for a handicapped person. They did not upgrade our room but they did give us each 3 free shore excursions. It was an identical room jus two floors lower and not a handicap accessible room
I got your message, good for you. We have 73 cruises and back around 50 cruises; my wife took me on a 16-day Med cruise on HAL for my 60th BD ... got upgraded to the Pinnacle suite, took three days to figure out how to close the curtains and never did get the entertainment system to operate. Lots of advice is available, but not one of those "Please help me" folks. Had a major grouping party, and when disembarkation came about, I advised the Butler that there were no charges on the Invoice for these extras... he stated you could have done that every day as included in the fare!. I never did get to play the Grand Piano. One other time also with HAL, in a Neptune suite got relocated up one Deck to the Neptune service area, no change in cost.
My 3rd cruise on Carnival!! On embarkation day. We got directed to our “next in line” podium to show our boarding documentation, when I showed our boarding pass, they asked us to wait a few minutes. When they returned we were upgraded from a balcony to an amazing ocean suite on Mardi Gras.
When we started cruising again after the pandemic, the ships were only about half full. Princess upgraded us without us asking, to a minimum-suite. It just so happens the airline also upgraded us to first class, so we were on cloud 9. Our last Princess cruise I bid $500 thinking we didn’t have a chance, but we were upgraded to a Vista Suite. Spent more time in our cabin than any other cruise.
Not for free, but the best upgrade I got was shortly after the Restart, early Dec 2021. I booked an interior cabin and then two weeks before the cruise I received an upgrade offer to move to a balcony for $150. I basically moved across the hall. I don't think I will ever be able to go back to an interior cabin now. Sneaky sneaky Carnival, they made a little extra money on that cruise and got me to book more expensive cabins going forward.
My friend got upgraded many yrs ago to presidential suite...they got hordourves...champaign every night...fully stocked fridge..huge living rm area they loved it. I think even a private butler!
We were upgraded by Princess last October on a 32 day cruise on the Sapphire Princess. A couple of days before we were set to leave for LA we got an e-mail with our new cabin number. We were upgraded from a balcony to a mini-suite. It was great! and a very nice surprise.
We paid for the Royal Suite on the Marella Explorer 2 for my 70th birthday last year. We've never had an upgrade, but that cabin would take some beating. You work hard, Don, and deserved it. Mx
first cruise ever. Golden Princess Seattle round trip to Alaska. July 2011. booked mini suite midship dolphin deck. two days before cruise told room now S705 Sun Deck. could not find on deck plan. arrived. given directions to room. full suite. walked in said, 'well this is nice'. didn't realize how good we had it as never been on cruise ship before. soon realized good fortune. only ten cabins on Sun Deck. has not happened again on the next seven cruises to Alaska. thanks Don for getting Robin and me L209 on Majestic Princess for your group cruise 2022. just wished you were with us and not quarantined in Norway. going to meet you in person someday. mike
I booked an ocean view cabin on the Grand Princess when I checked in the cabin I was given was not on the deck I had booked. I asked if there was a mistake, the agent very cryptically said please look at the room before you request a change. It was one of those rare ocean view suites. We had a lovely cruise watching Quebec go by our picture window.
Not an upgrade but we were very happy. We were booked on an Alaskan Cruise Tour 18 days total. About a week before our cruise the cruise was canceled. We were given all our money back and a cruise credit for the total amount of the cruise and land portion of the trip. We booked 2 cruises and half of our rebooked Alaska trip with our large cruise credits.
Back in 2022, we were on a ship that was only 38% full, and we were upgraded from an ocean view to a balcony cabin. Deck 5 was closed off. We had pre-cruise covid-19 tests and wore masks on inside decks, but it was still fun.
We got a free upgrade from an oceanview room to a balcony on VV Resilient Lady’s MerMaiden Voyage from Melbourne, Australia. It was also my birthday on that cruise too. It was our 7th cruise, so it was an amazing feeling considering we don’t have that many cruises under our belts.
So pleased for you Don to have received such a wonderful suite after so many cruises. We were so very fortunate on our Princess 75 DAY CIRCLE PACIFIC CRUISE in 2017 from Brisbane to Brisbane Australia to be upgraded from a balcony to a Mini Suite, couldn't believe our luck. The cruise went through Asia including Kora and Japan, over to Alaska, Canada, USA, and home via Hawaii, Tahiti and New Zealand....bucket list stuff. The difference in cost between would have been an extra $18,000. Alaska seen from the nice big balcony was awesome. Not expecting anything like that to happen again.
We always used to book a guaranteed balcony and often got a better position balcony. The best we had was an upgrade to a mini suite on a 48 day cruise. Since then we had an offer to bid on an upgrade and got a club class minisuite for an extra $20 per day!
My very first cruise, roommate and I arrived at our room to find that the previous cruiser decided not to vacate. We got moved to another cabin. Original cabin would have had balcony obstruction with lifeboats. New room had balcony with no obstruction 🤗
I had a porthole window cabin reserved on the Carnival Conquest which falls into the interior cabin category. They upgraded me to an oceanview. I think they were sectioning off the part of the ship with the portholes in case covid isolation was needed.
I received VIP in a balcony cabin. This was my first cruise, which we won a bid for a balcony . I was a little spoiled. We received the same treatment as the ones who booked a suite. This wad with NCl. How we received it, my husband's boss's sister, was a lawyer for NCl. She put us in for just a bottle of wine or something. It turned into VIP. Needless to say, we ate breakfast at Cafney's Steakhouse everyday.
Are you sure you might not be forgetting about the upgrades the cruise lines were giving immediately after covid when ships were sailing at 50% capacity? That's when I got upgraded from a oceanview on the Apex to a Cat 12 Concierge with Infinity Veranda?
We were booked on Celebration last November for my usual birthday cruise. I do not know why or how, but Carnival contacted me 3 days before embarkation and upgraded me to an Aft Excel Suite. The absolute best cruising experience of my life!
Hi Don. I've followed your world travels for a few years and always enjoyed your informative views on your different journeys. I'm from Montreal and couldn't resist telling you about my incredible upgrade. Early last year I had booked a 7 day Iceland Cruise with Viking with a regular balcony cabin. A few days before departing I received an e mail telling my wife and I that they had overbooked the cruise. They were still willing to honour our booking but made us this insane offer. Full refund including airfare with a choice of a free cruise of up to 10 days. We selected the 10 day Athens to Venice cruise including free airfare and an upgrade to a Penthouse Junior suite with the drink package to boot!!!!! We're going this September and are super thrilled on going on this all inclusive cruise. We decided to purchase the optional 2 day stay in Venice as an icing on the cake. Have you been on Viking Ocean cruise yet? It's a whole new ballgame. Keep well & happy cruising.
I have never been upgraded. I always book a balcony so I just keep paying😂. Don you deserve this, I hope there are many more upgrades waiting for you I the future😊
I once got upgraded to a suite at a hotel. well, I'd bailed our guide out after he kept losing group members, three times in a row. a trip to remember. needless to say, we never used him again.
I had a cruise on the Carnival Panorama in August 2022 and the day before our flight to LA going home by train in NY, Carnival leaves me a message on my cell phone. I wonder what could it be since I was leaving the next day LA for this cruise. I called them back at 7PM and found out I had the opportunity to upgrade to a balcony for only $200 for the entire week with no blocked area. I only have Gold status with Carnival. This was a great surprise and we enjoyed it.
No upgrades but got a downgrade to inside. 😢Original room had issues with plumbing and was told nothing available except one inside. We took it. Ship was later scrapped 🎉
The very first cruise I took with my Mom (Freedom of the Seas) was an upgrade. When we went to the check-in desk (back when they would hand you your room key card before boarding the ship), the associate could not find our cards. She stepped away to ask about them and came back to say that we were moved from the cabin that we had reserved. (We had a cabin on 3rd deck with a porthole) Then she said we would probably be happy about the change as it was a balcony cabin on deck 6. My mom and I were so surprised! We never knew why we were given the upgrade, but we wondered if it could be because our reserved cabin may have had a/c or plumbing problems. At any rate, it was an amazing start to our very first cruise, and we've reserved balcony cabins ever since😁!
We were on a 14 day cruise to Alaska and we're bumped to a mini suite ,for only 7 days at the end of our 7 days we were kicked out. Needless to say we were miffed. What a mixup. I just wish we could have stayed in our original cabin.
We were upgraded on Celebrity. I usually bid for concierge when I am in a balcony. In may I was notified that they accepted my bid. It was the first time that ever happened.
Dan, I started cruising about 25 years ago back then there were empty cabins carnival automatically upgrade to a better upgraded at least four times and never asked and never had to pay for but now things have changed. Ships are too full and they give nothing away for free anymore.
