upgrading at port

[foolish-mortal]

Wil be on the Fantasy next week, cruising out of PC. It looks like a LOT of people have canceled. So, I believe the capacity is going to be very low. I've never tried up upgrade at the port before but interested in possibly moving from a verandah stateroom to a family verandah room. Any ideas on what it might cost? Do we do it on the ship or at the port? Thanks!

 

[Ikaikalani]

Next week! I bet you're excited!! We're thinking of upgrading at the port as well. I've been going to the website and going through the motions of making a new booking to get an idea of what's available. Is there a trick to seeing the level of cancellations?

 

[foolish-mortal]

Next week! I bet you're excited!! We're thinking of upgrading at the port as well. I've been going to the website and going through the motions of making a new booking to get an idea of what's available. Is there a trick to seeing the level of cancellations?

I'm in a Facebook group with others from the same sailing. A lot of them have been cancelling. And I've been trying to sign up for tastings, I check back every day. And I see a lot of availability - even for mixology which books up quickly. They are getting booked again after they're released - but you see a lot of them coming through.

 

[supergirl04]

Is it cheaper to upgrade at the port?

 

[Ikaikalani]

I'm in a Facebook group with others from the same sailing. A lot of them have been cancelling. And I've been trying to sign up for tastings, I check back every day. And I see a lot of availability - even for mixology which books up quickly. They are getting booked again after they're released - but you see a lot of them coming through.

Thanks!

 

[MomOTwins]

Is it cheaper to upgrade at the port?

Yes, but recently people have been saying the discounts aren’t as good in the past. Also inventory for port upgrades is limited even when a ship is empty—in fact sometimes on emptier ships they are reassigning people’s confirmed rooms to other rooms because they have to balance lifeboats and make sure stateroom hosts have coverage for the rooms (which is further complicated by crewmembers being quarantined).

I guess I am just saying even if the ship has very few guests, I would be prepare for at port upgrades to be limited and/or not steeply discounted.

 

[Marc D]

Is it cheaper to upgrade at the port?

It depends on the size of your group and the destination room, plus the popularity of the cruise. When you upgrade from home, what you are doing is paying a new individual fare for all passengers, for your new room, at the rate that was valid when you booked the cruise in the first place (since DCL raises the cost of the cruise steadily as it fills up).

When you upgrade at the port, you pay an amount based only on the room you booked (or were assigned) and the destination room, regardless of the number of guests and the cost paid for the initial room. There’s a fixed price matrix they use to charge the upgrade cost.

Therefore, upgrading a 2-guests party at the port will usually result in minimum savings, even when making an important upgrade in category, unless you booked a discounted rate (FL, military or *GT). You should modify your booking from home to an available stateroom that you would prefer instead of taking a gamble at the port.

If you are upgrading a 4 or 5-guests party, it will result in much better savings. If an interesting stateroom is available at the time they stop selling them online (3 days out I believe), you should try to arrive as early as possible at the port to try and get it. Of course, under the current rules, you can’t do that and are tied to your PAT.

I’m always sceptical of reports that discuss the quality of the discounts offered at port because there are many variables involved and not many occurrences. The only valid comparison would be the same upgrade, for the same group composition, for a similarly priced cruise, booked at the same time in relation to the cruise date.

 

[brianz09]

What happens to your checked luggage if you upgrade at the port? Will it just be sitting outside of your original cabin for you to retrieve, or does your luggage make it to your new, upgraded room?

 

[MomOTwins]

What happens to your checked luggage if you upgrade at the port? Will it just be sitting outside of your original cabin for you to retrieve, or does your luggage make it to your new, upgraded room?

It will get delivered to your new room. They will notify the stateroom hosts of the change and get it taken care of.

 

[SnowWhite2]

I was just on the Fantasy and upgraded about 10 days prior to sailing. I went from a 8B to a 8A - opening day prices for 2 people. It was $58 for a 6 day cruise. Well worth nothing having to deal with it during boarding.

 

[Pixarfans]

Can you change from an outside state room to a vgt? If so what’s the downside, other then the flexibility to reschedule? Upside it’s $1000 less and will be a veranda.

 

[Marc D]

Can you change from an outside state room to a vgt? If so what’s the downside, other then the flexibility to reschedule? Upside it’s $1000 less and will be a veranda.

No, a *GT booking needs to be a new booking. You would need to cancel the first booking (and incur any applicable penalties) and book the new *GT one. A *GT is not refundable, non-transferable and needs to be paid in full at the time of booking. They usually make them available only after the PiF date, so guests already booked do not rebook without losing money or breaking even.

 

[mmouse37]

The procedure for port upgrades (if you want to try) used to be you check in at the port like normal and then you were sent to the supervisor's desk to inquire about an upgrade. They would tellyou the price of the upgrade based on their matrix (which no one knows the details of) and you can accept or say no thanks. Many times even before you get to the supervisor's desk you will see a sign that says something like "Sorry, Mickey has no upgrades available for this sailing".

Also, about luggage. If you do upgrade and your bags don't show up definitely check outside your original room. Sometimes things are missed and not delivered to new room.

MJ

 

[Joel0917]

On fantasy today
Booked 7a. Was $3367 to upgrade to concierge 3a
We upgraded to a 4b for $560.

 

[Derry Wade]

I know this message string is a few months old now, but wondering that IF upgrades are available do you get to choose a specific stateroom from a selection they offer or is like GTY where you are selecting a room category and then you are assigned a stateroom? Thank you

 

[Mommb]

If upgrades are available, you will be given a choice of specific rooms and the upgrade cost. That way you can decide if that room is worth the cost to you.

 

[Derry Wade]

If upgrades are available, you will be given a choice of specific rooms and the upgrade cost. That way you can decide if that room is worth the cost to you.

Thank you!