When I asked Carnival directly on the upgrades they said ( a couple different representatives) that they are given first to those who paid the most for the category they booked. This is from as you guys have said before that the price goes down close to sailing and people say something to Carnival so they just move them up to make everyone happy.
Next they said are the past passengers
Then the special occasions or special needs.
I always travel as very cheap as possible with many discounts and credits. I usually only get upgraded a level or two - outside to outside on the guarantee. One time in checking in to the guy with the manifest that tells you the cabin # for your luggage tag when you book guarantees said that "wow! I've only seen one other that got cheaper ticket than you and that was only about $20 a person". After over 10 Carnival cruises the people that paid the most will still get upgraded over me.
So I was wondering - did you guys that got the fabulous upgrades pay a good amount for the cruise or was it say $500 a person or less on an outside cabin and still got the suite? I'd love to see if Carnival was not telling the truth about the price - but this is one thing that is not ever mentioned on this board.... Although on every cruise many people ask what someone paid. Debbie
i have been on 12 Carnival cruises and i too have only ever gone up a couple of levels (oceanview to oceanview, but up a deck or two) & i've always booked a guarantee cabin. i never use coupons, i just get a deal through the internet or book directly through carnival. i leave next sunday booked on an OV guarantee, but it's my honeymoon. we'll see if i get a big upgrade for this "special occasion"!!
I booked on the carnival paradise leaving oct. 4th and returing oct. 8th. i booked 2 cabins a total of 6 of us. this is our 1st cruise. i paid a total of 1350.00 for all of us on the reviera deck ( inside) and got upgraded to the empress deck outside. YEA!!!! i did get a VERY good deal on the rooms so i know that i didnt pay alot and i still got a very good upgrade.
Our last CArnival cruise was our anniversary. We booked a outside oceanview and got upgraded to a balcony! We were past cruisers as well.
I had called to change our reservation to the balcony and our t.a told us we were already upgraded!
Not sure what they look at. We've been upgraded with them before, but nothing like that! We loved it and won't cruise without a balcony again.
I think a lot of it depends on the size of the ship and what's available for the upgrade. On the larger Miracle ship with plenty of balconies, I had a great deal on a GTY 8A balcony and got upgraded to a category 8I, extended balcony. The ship was sold out.
This time, on the smaller Celebration, we're celebrating a birthday and anniversary, bought a GTY 4A inside stateroom and was upgraded to a 4C inside stateroom. This ship is also sold out.
I figure one of the reasons we were upgraded to such a great room on the Miracle is because people will pay for a balcony room, but not many will spring for an extended balcony. (If they're going to pay more, they might as well go for one of the suites.) Plus, there were more categories on the ship for upgrades (10 categories on Celebration, compared to 19 categories on the Miracle).
Just my 2 cents.
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I had a fantastic deal on Celebrity in 2000. Hawaii, ten days sailing, three nights in Honolulu, and air fare from Chicago for 1800pp. This was for an inside on the Infinity which was new. We were upgraded to a balcony cabin (our first!)
We had booked with a group and were the only ones upgraded.
I think it's just a random thing, because I know there were lots of passengers that paid more than we did.
As stated above, once you have a balcony, it's hard to go back!
Kissell....what ship are you sailing on? We're on the Conquest leaving 10/3/04....And how do you all , already know you have been upgraded? I thought it was something they did at the time of check in..?
It still seems like it is more random than not I guess. Kissell have a great time! I'd LOVE to be going again! No matter the cabin! HAPPY HONEYMOON!!!! Today is my anniversary and I'm just very happy being with the one I love. Enjoy every minute - it sure seems to fly by. Maybe one day we will both get our upgrade to a balcony!
we booked on a guarntee. i though it was strange too b/c usually it has said TBA on our docs in the past, but our cabin was already listed this time (U241). we're on the Fantasy so i didn't really EXPECT a suite or a balcony upgrade b/c i know those cabins are limited on the Fantasy Class ships & our boat is sold out. we are on the very back of the ship though and i've sailed the aft one other time and loved seeing the wake of the ship from our window. no complaints here! hope you have a wonderful cruise!
Hey we paid a total of $2369.22 for our 1st cruise (Aug 2005) booked in May of 2004 and we're celebrating our 20th anniversary--Booked cat. BL guar. What are our chances of being upgraded?? just curious
karessamom - if you are going Aug 7th 2005 that sounds about right - if you are going later in August I might see about an upgrade now. It looks like the last sailing is waitlisted on cruise.com. That is where I look at prices. The other two dates mid August are a little cheaper but that is because the kids are back in school. I know you'll have an awesome time on a wonderful ship and in a balcony!!! We've only had one balcony and loved it! If you want to look at prices the best place I look is "www.cruise.com" and on top in the middle click on advanced search and you can search by your ship and the date. That is how I keep up - they are usually the cheapest - I don't book through them anymore since I had a probably one time (that I fixed with the cruiseline's help) but I use "seasaver.com" and they match the cruise.com price. Debbie
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Gty Upgrade - Did you Pay A Lot??
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