Should You Accept That Cruise Cabin Upgrade?

Staterooms & All About Upgrades

They come in all sizes, configurations and yes, prices and it’s not uncommon for a cruise to offer you a cabin upgrade. Understand, there may be valid reasons to turn down a stateroom upgrade.

If you do more than a few cruises, chances are you will, at some point in time, be offered an upgrade. Generally upgrades fall into a several categories:

Upgrades at discounted rates
A promotional offer
Complimentary upgrade
Last minute upgrade offer at time of sailing

Usually the first reaction when offered an upgrade is elation over your luck, but don’t jump at that offer right away. There are a few things to consider, so be sure and ask a few questions.

If you’re being offered a stateroom upgrade ask if the usual category perks are still included with the upgrade. They can include complimentary spa use, a special restaurant, preferred seating at shows, preferred boarding to tenders. Often the upgraded does not include those perks and you need to consider if the change in stateroom location is worth the little extra room?

Additionally, often the cabin upgrade is in a less desirable location. Could it be noisy being near to an area that operates late into the night? Is it still on one of your preferred decks? Be sure and check a ship map to see if it is next to a void where there could be machinery or elevator noise?

There is also an upgrade on booking called “run of the ship”. What that means is you will be guaranteed a specific stateroom upgrade but you’ll learn about the actual location when you board the ship. That means the stateroom could be on a lower deck, a high deck, all the way forward or include an obstructed view. While you can save money in booking by accepting “run of the ship” staterooms, that is a decision you consider in relationship to your budget and if the savings is worth the possible inconvenience. In the case of this upgrade there usually isn’t a reduction in fare.

If you’re interested in an upgrade there is really no way to understand how to go about getting one. Your chances do improve with your frequent cruising status on a cruise line and that is based on the number of cruises you’ve taken. Also remember the cruise ship knows a lot about the desirability of specific staterooms onboard and they intend to get some advantage out of making the offer. Sometimes it’s intended to increase your loyalty to their cruise line and that’s the real win-win!

If you’re picky about cabin location, understand you usually cannot choose the location of your upgrade stateroom or suite and if you’re excited about the upgrade for the increased perks, you need to know that most cruise lines don’t offer those perks with a free or discounted upgrade from a standard class cabins. So be sure you understand everything that offer includes.

There is also a new twist that’s been added to cruise stateroom upgrading. Usually shortly before your sailing you may get an offer to bid on an upgrade. Like any auction you’ll be bidding against other passengers so keep that in mind when making an offer. From the cruise’s point of view, if the ship has unbooked cabins that’s time-sensitive inventory that will have no value when the ship sails. This offer simply gives them an opportunity to get paid something for upgrading your booking that represents no actual cost to them. When thinking about bidding keep in mind that all of the same cautions still apply. Just like all transactions, in upgrading the caution “buyer be ware” is good advice.