The strongest quality, for me, that this channel has is the videos are not presented in an excitable OTT manner. Next would be the obvious amount of detailed research done for every video.
The best aspect of Gary’s videos is the INFORMATION he provides! His is NOT an ENTERTAINMENT channel. Tony and Don have fun channels for that. But Gary’s videos are almost like “Primers” on the various aspects of CRUISING. And we greatly appreciate it! Thank you, Gary! Sam, Towson, MD
I agree that Garys content is meant to be _informative_ first and foremost, but I have to say I find his content thoroughly _entertaining_ at the same time, too! 🚢🎞👍
On your comment re: Fare Tracking. We did this on our last cruise (Princess Line. Australia). When the fares went down, we approached Princess about compensation of some sort, not necessary a cabin up grade but perhaps WIFI or Drinks package anything really to retain a good customer experience. Their answer was "sorry you booked through an Agent" we cant do anything for you!
When I have been offered an upgrade by email (as with Holland), I always call the Holland agent to learn exactly which cabins I could be upgraded to. Then I look at the deck plan to see where they are. If they are in a good location and I'm offered a reasonable price, then I go for it. I always want to know where I'm going!
If there is a cabin issue, never demand an upgrade. If you are polite and kind, you just might end up in a better cabin! But, always be polite. If you rant and rave, and are mean, you wont get anywhere. The way some people treat others is horrendous.
On a recent cruise we opted into upgrades and had confirmation three days before we sailed that we had been upgraded from a sea view cabin to the highest available grade of balcony cabin, mid-ship, middle deck, cabins all around. For us that was an absolutely fantastic upgrade and we were very happy with it. Equally though, what we did discover was that whilst the cabin itself was amazing and whilst the location was the most sought after we wouldn't personally choose that location. Because my partner is disabled and needs to use a lift, we've found it easier to get a lift from high up or low down on the ship and from forward or aft lifts. Not a deal breaker, we were happy with the upgrade, we'd be happy to be upgraded there again if from a sea view/inside cabin, but we wouldn't specifically choose it.
Just FYI… For Princess cruises when you book online, in the USA, we do NOT have an option on the screen to opt out of the upgrades. You have to have a TA or Princess Vacation Planner or Customer Service check off the no upgrade box. In the UK, you have that option; not sure about Canada or elsewhere.
They are pretty well sound proofed but the music and dancing from the club above can be heard. Even more so when trying to sleep. And people in heels and banging chairs around on the pool deck. The sound still gets through. On our last cruise, I booked cabins away from those areas for us, and away from the lifts too, as they are constantly going bing bong literally from about 6am to 2am. The cabins I chose were utterly silent. I don't recall hearing anything apart from some drunk person shouting in the corridor one evening. Cost us a couple of hundred more per cabin but it is absolutely worth it.
A recent price drop on our transatlantic next April, resulted in a cabin upgrade for us from partially obstructed above a restaurant to a spacious unobstructed on a better deck surrounded only by other cabins.
Auto-upgrade can work.... if you know you are already in the lowest entry level tier of a cabin type then "things can (probably) only get better" but I 100% agree that if I know I'm already in the best say balcony cabin then I'd NEVER take an upgrade as best balcony is generally better than worst suite.
not always. Our first cruise, the Auto-upgrade worked well, we went from an internal to a ocean view, we now try and book ocean view's (we like to be low in the ship), however when we got "upgraded" on our 4th cruise, from one internal (only cabin grade left when we booked) to an internal on a higher deck.... the original cabin would have been better, lower down and crawling distance from the bar! We figured one internal would be much like the others.... not making that mistake again, and if we're forced into an internal, I'll pay the extra to choose which one.
If you follow a lot of Gary's tips, you usually end up in the perfect cabin for you, even if it isn't the best cabin in the class or the best cabin level. For example, my wife and I recently sailed on the Queen Mary 2. I followed Gary's tips for finding a good cabin, and then subbed in my own needs like the fact that I get seasick and we'd be sailing in the Fall during rougher seas. So, I booked a middle of the ship sheltered balcony cabin. Certainly not the best cabin or even the best sheltered balcony, but because it met my needs specifically, I was not about to take an upgrade even though we were offered one near sailing for a relatively small bump in price. The full balconies are less usable in the colder weather and higher up so more prone to feeling movement. The suites are further aft or forward and higher, so more movement. We hit really rough seas twice and our room ended up being not too bad during those times until I got my sea legs and wasn't effected anymore. I knew what I wanted and didn't want to gamble, so it worked out well! Some people may prefer to be nearer to night clubs, buffets, etc because they're not going to be in their rooms much. Some might be families who need a cabin with an adjoining room. Basically, Gary's advice here works well if you know specifically what you need and don't want to roll the dice.
Also if your group is atypical, the potential cabins for auto-upgrade might be a very small subset of possible cabins anyway. I travelled in an inside HAL cabin with 2 friends, and the only 3 or 4 berth cabins that we could have been upgraded into were the highest class of exterior cabin in a location we were happy with (only 37 possible cabins). So it didn't really feel like we were taking a huge risk in ending up with an upgrade that felt like a downgrade.
Upgrade bidding can work IF you know in advance what it would have cost you to book that cabin on day 1 AND there is no cabin (I'm thinking suite) that you woukdb't want to be in. What CAN work is that many cruise lines will sell upgrades at the port, usually at a special desk. The advantage is that you are buying an upgrade to a specific cabin, not a "type," so you know the location before purchase. The key again is to know the price you are willing to pay before you go to that desk, and don't be afraid to say NO.
Beware of the deck plans where there's the undefined 'gray' areas between or across from cabins. Lots of mechanical rooms and crew access doors which can be bothersome at all hours on the 24/7 operations on a cruise ship
Yes! I was going to mention this. The on line deck plans are sneaky! They show those white or grey areas in the centre of the ship they however don’t show where the crew doors are! The first time we chose a cabin across from a white block on the plan we ended up across the hall from a crew door. All night long every night there were carts banging, thumping over the door sill! Makes me wonder why they couldn’t have designed that doorway without a raised sill? Just make it flat and there would be sounds of activity but at least we wouldn’t hear loud banging of metal carts all night! Second time we had the art storage room across the hall from us. Tjey were at it at different to,ex of the night and day as they kept rotating the paintings and that was noisy, not so bad as the carts over a door sill but it could be head frequently and then we always had to negotiate around a large cart parked in the hallway.
Thank you Gary. I’ve just called the travel agent to remove my booked cruises from auto upgrade. Didn’t realise they did this and that you have to opt out. Really helpful to know this.
Yes! We are in our fifties and booked right next to kids' arcade. When asked when arcade opened, was told 7am every morning. Could you imagine twirling carnival music from arcade games starting up. We demanded to be moved. Thank goodness we did get moved. Never again will II chose a pre-determined cabin.
I'm taking my first cruise with MSC Euribia in March & I chose my balcony cabin on deck 10, port side, halfway along the ship & close to the panoramic lift, so I'm really happy with what I've chosen & if they auto upgrade me, it would be to a suite.
Gary, I just came back from my first cruise. Inside cabin, surrounded on all sides/decks by cabins. No cabin problems at all! And yes, we got that deliberately, because of your advice. So thank you, very much. The line did offer an upgrade, but we remembered your advice and ignored the offer.
@@tipsfortravellersEcho's working on getting the money together. I'm working on the ship & itinerary side of things. I'm currently planning for Diamond Princess, stopping at Tasmania, Adelaide and some of the Bass Strait islands.
We did an Hawaiian cruise where we were put into a upgraded room where every morning above us chairs were re-arranged. it was so annoying. Did not make us hate the cruise, but I'm still talking about it years later.
Great advice thanks! I booked an RCL cruise and departing in a month. I chose my stateroom, a balcony on the stern PRIOR to watching Gary's tutorials. It's connecting and above a lounge. Too late to change, but it's at the end of a passageway so it should be fairly quiet.
Auto Upgrade. We always book M1 on Princess and an upgrade (we've never been offered one) would be to S4 or S5 suites so we'd be positively delighted if they made the offer.
When we cruised out of Barcelona, we had booked two rooms for my husband and myself, and my two sons. My sons could not be in the room by themselves so we split. I went with one son my husband went with another. No big deal It was actually a better thing because we ended up with two bathrooms to be able to get ready in, which is great in my opinion. But when we went into our room, they had done the room up as one bed. So we went to our cabin steward, and asked that he split the bed. The rooms that we were assigned did not have the ability to split the bed. They were just a queen size bed. So they moved us up one floor, and we ended up in Ocean view rooms. I was, of course, thrilled it was nice to have a view. If dissatisfied it never hurts to ask if you can have a change. Just be polite and patient especially if it’s the first day of your cruise in the staff are running around like crazy people trying to get settled.
You are exactly right! Additionally, upgrades like Royal Up can also move you into a disadvantaged cabin. For example, Royal Caribbean offered us an Royal Up upgrade on upcoming cruise from a Grand Suite to a Royal Suite. The Grand Suite that we had chosen was not a connected cabin but some of the upgrade cabins were connected. Those cabins, no matter how nice, can be problematic. We refused to bid and happily stayed where we were. As for complaining about cabin issues (nicely, of course) we’ve had that issue more than once. Each time the ship was at capacity so we couldn’t be moved. In each case we received a future cruise credit. On our last cruise all the issues were corrected immediately and we were still given a future cruise credit!
Well informed, My wife and I sailed every year twice or more on Costa Cruises, on the cruise we booked a new ship for the following year and accepted Guaranteed cabin (We thought that would mean we would not get less than we had booked, How wrong we were) On embarkation the cabin was no where near where we had booked, We had also backed back to back on the same cruise After the first week we were advised to place our cases outside our room by midnight ? Next morning had to be out of cabin by 08:00, and move across to a cabin on the Port side further fwd than the last one, Other new cruisers had the better quality cabins that we had originally booked As cruisers we knew about fwd and aft for movement and deck high or low, What was above or below us as in Kitchens or disco, I still love Costa but I am alone now, and Costa do not accommodate solo's even those that have sailed 30 cruises with them over 20 years :-(
I have a guaranteed room on Regent Seven Seas. It’s because as a solo traveler, these are the discounted rooms. I didn’t understand the importance of this until after I booked.
Just came back from a Princess cruise where I had a balcony cabin. My “issue” is that after years of not having a balcony, I like sleeping with the curtains fully opened, and also the door so that I can hear the sea. HOWEVER if the next room has their outside balcony light on this prevents me from having the above fully opened since too much light gets in my room. Obviously they have full authorization to keep their balcony as they desire, but on last cruise THEIR drapes were fully closed and most likely they were not even aware that their light was on. I went to customer service and suggested the room attendant spend the milli second in turning such light off, which could also give the ship an electrical savings. Hope to see this happen in a regular basis!
Some people can only afford a guarantee cabin. Upgrade bidding is fantastic! I've been a participant since it was beta with NCL. NCL now has solo fares in addition to the studio cabins, it's now fleetwide.
Follow up to stateroom selections - NORWEGIAN SKY, I had a stateroom on Deck 5 (5001-5004) range. I found this to be a great location as the only people in the passage way were your cruisemates and crew. The passageway is closed off at the aft end (5010 & 5109) and I'll assume the other side too. The deck plans make it look open, though I recall having to walk center ships to get out. ONE THING I LEARNED on that cruise, decks that run the length of the ship are great to get from one end to the other. HOWEVER, kids love this as they can sprint down the length and it's noisy! Keep that in mind.
We stated no upgrade and they moved us and put us in a room we did not feel was an upgrade. It Took a while but they ended giving us a mini suite close to we’re we were originally! Now that’s an upgrade 😊
Gary, once again, another great video! Very true points very valid points completely agree. I am about to take Cruz on Caribbean princess and we have a mini suite, if I had selected the auto upgrade, I would be moved to a much bigger room on a lower deck with no balcony adjacent to the women’s bathroom. I am very particular about the cabin selected. In fact, I always try to get as far away from the stairs and elevators as possible.
I cancelled upgrade and just paid for the upgrade and got the cabin that was perfect location. I am glad I didn't take the chance as my husband has some disabilities and we needed next to lifts.
We have always allowed Marell to allocate our cabin without any issues until our last cruise. We got arguably the worst cabin on the ship. Reviews were awful. Some previous guests had ended up with £200+ compensation... When we went to board our cruise cards showed a different cabin number. We checked, we'd been moved. We couldn't find our new cabin on the plan. We assumed we were being moved to another inside cabin. Nope, we now had an outside cabin. Worked in their favour though. 1. I've paid to choose my cabin on my next two cruises. 2. I now want an outside cabin as minimum. I'd always thought it wouldn't be too much of a difference for me and not worth the extra, but I was surprised how much I liked it.
On my very first cruise (2 nights) I was opposite a crew area that had batwing doors. Allnight was squeek-squeek, squeek-squeek as they moved with the ship. If that happens nowadays, I would tell the Purser
It's absolutely appalling cruise companies do this,this is people's hard earned cash and to be put in a sub standard cabin isn't acceptable imo, we never tick the upgrade box either,also got caught out with P&O many moons ago. Ha,Cunard have just sent us the bidding for an upgrade but we choose our same suite every time at the aft and don't want any other room .Great video again sir,always enjoy them ☺️
If you're in the US and are booking on HAL, there is no option to refuse an auto-upgrade and, in fact, their FAQs say that they "reserve the right" to upgrade you! I called to tell them I did not want to be upgraded, and the agent seemed to accept that, but I still have it nowhere in writing. So we shall see...
With regards to the price gap, I found this when booking a cruise on P&O Azura for 2025. I am a solo traveller and naturally I was initially looking at solo cabins until I discovered I could get a much larger double occupancy ocean view cabin for just £20 more.
Great advice with the room upgrade and I completely agree with you. When I was selecting the room for my first cruise (for my honeymoon), as I didn't want to lose any control with my selection arising from the auto-upgrade I had selected the no upgrade option.
We are on a Viking cruise at present. We were in a high class PV1 cabin under the World Cafe. From 5am until 10pm we were disturbed by the noise of trolleys and furniture being moved, etc. Don’t assume an expensive cabin on a high class cruise line will be perfect. We were able to shift, albeit to a slightly inferior cabin, which was a great relief.
Yea, not me [heard of it] either. I think you would have to give permission or opt-in ... the cruise line cannot simply "force" you to give up the room you booked and take a room you did not even consider.
I am disabled and need a cabin close to the elevators for ease of moving around. I did prebook a cabin on NCL Breakaway and asked one too many questions, an NCL agent moved me from the cabin to one way farther away without asking. Yeesh.
I traveled once with cruise line through travel agency so I did not be able to choose a specific cabin.I where how ever able to choose type cabin.The cabin where rather in a noise area not so far from engine room it was a window cabin.
I remember sailing RC and I had a cabin in the forward of the ship. When the night club closed down, the dj would set up at the staff rec room and loud thumping music started at 2:00am with staff laughing and clanging beer bottles. I called security and they can and heard the sound, their reply was staff needs to unwind so get use to it. I was shocked with the response and we were Diamond members too. Our mistake was to accept it and not complain to Guest Services.
Went on our 20th cruise with HA. On embarkation day went to our balcony cabin where the sewer had backed up. Took them 4 days to correct it to their satisfaction, not ours it stunk the whole time. Their answer was to split the three of us up into two inside cabins at different points on the ship.. I blew a gasket finally after trying my best to remain calm and listen to their excuses, finally the hotel manager decided he should speak with us after denying my polite requests over the previous three days. He came to our cabin and said he could smell it all the way down the corridor, but unfortunately there was no other cabin available. Tried to buy us off with a free dinner and shore excursion. Finally gave us a cruise credit each. It was the worst time of our now, 35 cruises, and we have sailed with HA a few times since, but they should have dealt with the issue on day one, not day 4.
Thank you so much for telling us about the website where we can check cruise prices. I’ve been alerted twice. The price of our current cruise has decreased twice and I’ve taken advantage of the savings. Also, I do agree with you about guaranteed cabins. I will never book one. I also have our travel agent remove us from auto upgrade as we were once “upgraded” to an obstructed ocean view cabin, and I demanded we be returned to our inside cabin, that I purposely chose. Thank you again for great tips!
We got lucky with our guarantee cabin on our upcoming Celebrity Apex December 2 cruise. We booked unobstructed view Infinite Veranda and got upgraded to Prime Concierge Class, midship, on Deck 12. I booked a guarantee cabin again for an April cruise and that time our cabin was assigned immediately and we like the location.
Another great informative video. Only cruise that was negatively impacted by the cabin was when I booked an inside cabin....hated it! Made me realize how much a balcony means to the entire cruise experience
We’ve been fortunate with guaranteed fares, as our travel agent tends to be very well informed - and accurate - as to where we will end up. Having said that, we’ve just booked a Select Fare for a balcony cabin for a Caribbean cruise on P&O Britannia. By the time we made a “like for like” comparison, taking into account on-board sending money, the cost of shuttles, etc, etc, the cost to us of having the ability to chose our cabin was £50 each, which is not much for a 14 day cruise.
Very interesting about the dress code! ❤❤❤❤ just love it. They must be very lax about it,as I don’t consider a white dress with a navy blue blazer Formal Wear 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
7:30 tip # 4 is totally true -- on multiple NCL cruises I've done solo, I've ended up booking an Inside (or once even a Balcony!) for basically the same price as a Studio. Although I missed the Studio Lounge access (a.k.a. free espresso machine!!) it was totally worth the switch to book an Inside or better.
Usually we would agree completely with this advice! However, for a recent booking on Queen Elizabeth we took the chance and booked a guaranteed Club cabin. Our thinking is these are some of the better cabins so not much to go wrong! Some though are under the top deck and can get some chair noise but we found this ok when in one of these cabins previously. So, we have our fingers crossed!
Agree! I think, though, this (taking chances) generally works for non-picky or high-tolerance people. In an attempt to save money (as I always do 😉 ), I deliberately waited till very close to sailing day to book a sailaway inside cabin, got my assignment a couple weeks before embarkation. No issue with the cabin at all to me (but then I live in a busy and noisy city all my life, therefore I am quite immune to noise and chaos.) 🤷♀
I guess we've been lucky with guaranteed rooms, probably because we book ocean view for the specific reason that they tend to be lower in the ship and thus less susceptible to the "pendulum effect". Noise has never been a real problem for us, as we only really need 10 mins of quiet to fall asleep, and then can (and have often) sleep through an earthquake. Our next cruise has us in a cabin with a joining door though, so we'll see how that goes. Auto Upgrades though... yes, been bitten by that. P and O (Australia) we had no choice but to book an internal (last min deal), and just before embarkation, got "upgraded" from a lower deck internal, to an internal 3/4 of the way to the top (that was the same size as the original). This was also the only cruise my partner suffered from motion sickness.
I'm in the same situation as you too with an adjoining room. Let's hope we both luck in with good neighbours. So far, never had any issues either going this route, but as someone who lives onboard a 30' sailboat at anchor in rough waters at times. I think I've learned to think of a floating city stateroom, no matter where, a luxury compared to floating cottage and self service (make your espresso yourself in a snug galley😂).
We did the Carnival pick our a cabin ONE TIME and Oh MY it was horrible. We ended up with bunk beds AND we were on deck 2 all the back .. almost the last cabin and we could feel AND hear the main prop turning and changing gears.. it was the worst experience we ever had but we made the best of it.. didn’t sleep well tho 😢
Once on Carnival I was in a weird room with bunk beds. It build around structural things, including a stairwell and some kind of support wall. It also had bunk beds (I think). It worked out for me because it also had two portholes (but was listed as an inside) and I was a solo passenger, so the single bed was fine with me. I just hoped a honeymooning couple never got that room.
I often opt for upgrades and guaranteed cabins and have never had a bad experience. I have gotten some wonderful "deals". The only awful cabin we ever had on over 40+ cruises was one that we paid full fare for and was recommended by our personal cruise consultant--right underneath the Lido deck on a Carnival cruise that we went on with the grandchild--loud bass music until early hours of the AM daily. I blame myself for that one.
Gary there's a big trap on Holland America with solo cabins where they are fare more expensive than the inside cabins and those solo cabins are right above a performance stage at the front of the ship!!
Every bidding upgrade was in fact just that and upgrade. one of our rooms that we got into was on the upper decks. And it was right next to the solarium in Royal Carribean. We loved this because the Solurium was quiet all day and if you wanted to go hot tubbing it was just a few feet away. We also went from an interior cabin to an a larger balcony that had a gorgeous view. Our second one was not as good but gave us a view in front of the ship. We had more space inside the cabin to place our luggage. Both cabins did enhance our cruising experience. But everyone has their own likes and dislikes.
Years ago, I think it was the 1980s, a man from Barbados booked a holiday and had not been told that it was for British-passport holders only. He had to fly back home.
We cruise (for now) exclusively on Royal Caribbean and have noticed a few times when we were booking that suites were sold out or nor available. Later they emailed us about bidding for them. So why were they marked as unavailable? The problem with the Royal Upgrade system is that loyalty points are based on number of days AND type of cabin. You earn twice as many points in a suite than in a balcony cabin. But not if you got the suite in bidding for it. That shows disrespect to the customer base.
Hi Gary. Could you please tell me what cruiseline is in the shot for your example of an oceanview cabin (at 1:04)? The following suite example is a lovely room too.
My partner requires an accessible cabin, of which there are limited numbers on each ship, so it's more a matter of getting a cabin than getting the best one.
I'm confused. I thought guaranteed pricing meant I locked in the lowest price of the cruise, if booked well in advance of the sailing, particularly when there's a sale, such as Black Friday.
My issue is that it's better for me to book non-directly as I can get a good price for a flights and cruise package. I haven't gone on a cruise yet but I wonder if booking from third party sites would allow me to pick a cabin.
MSC Belissima Japan missed two ports in a row. Passenger are stuck on ship more than 3 days. F&B package does not work. Guest service keeps on pushing dinning room and dinning room push back it doesn’t show on their IPAD. One of the worst experience. Going out of country to stuck on a boat.
Bidding upgrades worked for me. Paying just $200 per person we received a much larger cabin over looking the rear of the ship with a huge balcony. Fantastic. Would have cost us $1000 more per person had we booked it directly. So sometimes, depending on cruise line it works. This was NCL on a 15 night cruise though. RCCL are stinkers by comparison. It's why I don't cruise with them as they nickel and dime you the whole cruise, close late eateries bar a tiny sandwich hub. Yep choosing the cruise line is the biggest factor to get right.
The last time I was on a NCL ship ruined the entire line for me. We were on Pride of America and our toilet did not work for 2 days. We were told to just use the public restroom by guests services. I had to contact corporate to get it fixed. I should have never had to go outside of the ship to get something fixed. Plus the staff was visibly hungover most of the time. Most of the staff acted as if guest were inconveniencing the staff.
Can't compare PoA to the rest of the NCL fleet. It's the only US flagged ship and therefore has a very American crew. Completely different atmosphere from any of their other ships.
I would never book a guaranteed cabin! Never ever. I want cabins above, brlow, and either side of me. I have twice bid on cabin upgrades from a balcony to a club balcony but I have never chosen an auto-upgrade. No way! Bigger isnt always better. My next cruise is a balcony, last cabin aft before the actual aft facing suites. I will not bid for an upgrade as I have my choice cabin! Right after covid, we bid minimum and got it. Now that sailings are not running at 1/2 capacity, the amount to win one isn't worth it.
I have a question Gary. Why when I try to book a cruise through the cruise line website can I not select the room I want? We’ve done over 35 cruises and have two coming up in January, but I only seem to ever get a few choices of cabins, some of which are partially obscured. In calling the cruise line though they can get me the cabin I want or very close to it, one agent told me it’s because travel companies worldwide block a lot of rooms, but that the cruise line can free the up, does this make sense?
what if booked through an agent i had this when the balcony we booked but the premium balcony dropped way lower when i asked the travel agent if we could get the premium they more or less ignored us we asked for the upgrade and not a refund of the difference .so maybe best booking direct with the shipping line .when we do we always seem to get an offer from them when we get back never had anything from a travel agent .
I'm curious about your tip for asking for a better cabin if the fare drops below what I've paid or booked at. Could this result in me getting an undesirable location? If so, then maybe I might try asking for onboard credit or just leave aside this tip entirely cuz I don't want to experience horror stories like getting cabins near busy areas or at the far ends of the ship.
Yea, right?! Not a veteran cruiser like Gary and many commenters here, yet I had been on a number of cruises booked and researched and planned by myself. I've never been automatically "upgraded" without my consent (and I never knew about this having to *opt out* practice.) I was OFFERED [via email], yet when I ignored and deleted the emailed offer, it simply went away and I was not affected. Hence, I really don't know what they are talking about ... I mean nobody can "force" us to give up a room we booked and take a room we did not even consider, right!?
The strongest quality, for me, that this channel has is the videos are not presented in an excitable OTT manner. Next would be the obvious amount of detailed research done for every video.
Well said!
Thanks! Really appreciate you watching and your feedback 👍🏻
I trust this channel because he isn’t trying to sell something. He pays for his own cabin.
My travel agent keeps Track of the price going down.
So true👍😊🤟
The best aspect of Gary’s videos is the INFORMATION he provides! His is NOT an ENTERTAINMENT channel. Tony and Don have fun channels for that. But Gary’s videos are almost like “Primers” on the various aspects of CRUISING. And we greatly appreciate it! Thank you, Gary!
Sam, Towson, MD
I agree that Garys content is meant to be _informative_ first and foremost, but I have to say I find his content thoroughly _entertaining_ at the same time, too! 🚢🎞👍
On your comment re: Fare Tracking. We did this on our last cruise (Princess Line. Australia). When the fares went down, we approached Princess about compensation of some sort, not necessary a cabin up grade but perhaps WIFI or Drinks package anything really to retain a good customer experience. Their answer was "sorry you booked through an Agent" we cant do anything for you!
They should have given you on-board credit for the differential.
When I have been offered an upgrade by email (as with Holland), I always call the Holland agent to learn exactly which cabins I could be upgraded to. Then I look at the deck plan to see where they are. If they are in a good location and I'm offered a reasonable price, then I go for it. I always want to know where I'm going!
I totally agree on choosing your own cabin and book early.
These are the best ideas.
If there is a cabin issue, never demand an upgrade. If you are polite and kind, you just might end up in a better cabin! But, always be polite. If you rant and rave, and are mean, you wont get anywhere. The way some people treat others is horrendous.
@@Tolpuddle581 indeed!!! 😀
On a recent cruise we opted into upgrades and had confirmation three days before we sailed that we had been upgraded from a sea view cabin to the highest available grade of balcony cabin, mid-ship, middle deck, cabins all around. For us that was an absolutely fantastic upgrade and we were very happy with it.
Equally though, what we did discover was that whilst the cabin itself was amazing and whilst the location was the most sought after we wouldn't personally choose that location. Because my partner is disabled and needs to use a lift, we've found it easier to get a lift from high up or low down on the ship and from forward or aft lifts.
Not a deal breaker, we were happy with the upgrade, we'd be happy to be upgraded there again if from a sea view/inside cabin, but we wouldn't specifically choose it.
If you don't know how to play the game, you're gonna get played.
Thankfully, Gary is here to teach us.
Just FYI… For Princess cruises when you book online, in the USA, we do NOT have an option on the screen to opt out of the upgrades. You have to have a TA or Princess Vacation Planner or Customer Service check off the no upgrade box. In the UK, you have that option; not sure about Canada or elsewhere.
I am amazed that the cabins are not sturdier at keeping noise out! That would be a huge issue for me. Thank you for the video
They are pretty well sound proofed but the music and dancing from the club above can be heard. Even more so when trying to sleep. And people in heels and banging chairs around on the pool deck. The sound still gets through.
On our last cruise, I booked cabins away from those areas for us, and away from the lifts too, as they are constantly going bing bong literally from about 6am to 2am. The cabins I chose were utterly silent. I don't recall hearing anything apart from some drunk person shouting in the corridor one evening. Cost us a couple of hundred more per cabin but it is absolutely worth it.
@@mikeh2006 👍
A recent price drop on our transatlantic next April, resulted in a cabin upgrade for us from partially obstructed above a restaurant to a spacious unobstructed on a better deck surrounded only by other cabins.
You were lucky!
Auto-upgrade can work.... if you know you are already in the lowest entry level tier of a cabin type then "things can (probably) only get better" but I 100% agree that if I know I'm already in the best say balcony cabin then I'd NEVER take an upgrade as best balcony is generally better than worst suite.
not always. Our first cruise, the Auto-upgrade worked well, we went from an internal to a ocean view, we now try and book ocean view's (we like to be low in the ship), however when we got "upgraded" on our 4th cruise, from one internal (only cabin grade left when we booked) to an internal on a higher deck.... the original cabin would have been better, lower down and crawling distance from the bar! We figured one internal would be much like the others.... not making that mistake again, and if we're forced into an internal, I'll pay the extra to choose which one.
If you follow a lot of Gary's tips, you usually end up in the perfect cabin for you, even if it isn't the best cabin in the class or the best cabin level. For example, my wife and I recently sailed on the Queen Mary 2. I followed Gary's tips for finding a good cabin, and then subbed in my own needs like the fact that I get seasick and we'd be sailing in the Fall during rougher seas. So, I booked a middle of the ship sheltered balcony cabin. Certainly not the best cabin or even the best sheltered balcony, but because it met my needs specifically, I was not about to take an upgrade even though we were offered one near sailing for a relatively small bump in price. The full balconies are less usable in the colder weather and higher up so more prone to feeling movement. The suites are further aft or forward and higher, so more movement. We hit really rough seas twice and our room ended up being not too bad during those times until I got my sea legs and wasn't effected anymore. I knew what I wanted and didn't want to gamble, so it worked out well!
Some people may prefer to be nearer to night clubs, buffets, etc because they're not going to be in their rooms much. Some might be families who need a cabin with an adjoining room. Basically, Gary's advice here works well if you know specifically what you need and don't want to roll the dice.
Also if your group is atypical, the potential cabins for auto-upgrade might be a very small subset of possible cabins anyway. I travelled in an inside HAL cabin with 2 friends, and the only 3 or 4 berth cabins that we could have been upgraded into were the highest class of exterior cabin in a location we were happy with (only 37 possible cabins). So it didn't really feel like we were taking a huge risk in ending up with an upgrade that felt like a downgrade.
Upgrade bidding can work IF you know in advance what it would have cost you to book that cabin on day 1 AND there is no cabin (I'm thinking suite) that you woukdb't want to be in. What CAN work is that many cruise lines will sell upgrades at the port, usually at a special desk. The advantage is that you are buying an upgrade to a specific cabin, not a "type," so you know the location before purchase. The key again is to know the price you are willing to pay before you go to that desk, and don't be afraid to say NO.
Beware of the deck plans where there's the undefined 'gray' areas between or across from cabins. Lots of mechanical rooms and crew access doors which can be bothersome at all hours on the 24/7 operations on a cruise ship
" doors which can be bothersome "--Understatement of the week. 😒
Yes! I was going to mention this. The on line deck plans are sneaky! They show those white or grey areas in the centre of the ship they however don’t show where the crew doors are! The first time we chose a cabin across from a white block on the plan we ended up across the hall from a crew door. All night long every night there were carts banging, thumping over the door sill! Makes me wonder why they couldn’t have designed that doorway without a raised sill? Just make it flat and there would be sounds of activity but at least we wouldn’t hear loud banging of metal carts all night! Second time we had the art storage room across the hall from us. Tjey were at it at different to,ex of the night and day as they kept rotating the paintings and that was noisy, not so bad as the carts over a door sill but it could be head frequently and then we always had to negotiate around a large cart parked in the hallway.
Thank you Gary. I’ve just called the travel agent to remove my booked cruises from auto upgrade. Didn’t realise they did this and that you have to opt out. Really helpful to know this.
Yes! We are in our fifties and booked right next to kids' arcade. When asked when arcade opened, was told 7am every morning. Could you imagine twirling carnival music from arcade games starting up. We demanded to be moved. Thank goodness we did get moved. Never again will II chose a pre-determined cabin.
We have rarely done guaranteed, but the last time we did we got a suite. Really lucked out. But, we do prefer to choose our own cabin.
I'm taking my first cruise with MSC Euribia in March & I chose my balcony cabin on deck 10, port side, halfway along the ship & close to the panoramic lift, so I'm really happy with what I've chosen & if they auto upgrade me, it would be to a suite.
Your clip at 8:13 mins illustrates exactly why we no longer cruise Cunard Queen’s grill.
Gary, I just came back from my first cruise. Inside cabin, surrounded on all sides/decks by cabins. No cabin problems at all! And yes, we got that deliberately, because of your advice. So thank you, very much.
The line did offer an upgrade, but we remembered your advice and ignored the offer.
So pleased you had a great trip and cabin!!! Hope you will be going on another one soon!
@@tipsfortravellers Oh, absolutely! I'm planning my next trip already.
@@tipsfortravellersEcho's working on getting the money together.
I'm working on the ship & itinerary side of things.
I'm currently planning for Diamond Princess, stopping at Tasmania, Adelaide and some of the Bass Strait islands.
I totally agree about cabins. I like to have my chosen location for my room and floor.
We did an Hawaiian cruise where we were put into a upgraded room where every morning above us chairs were re-arranged. it was so annoying. Did not make us hate the cruise, but I'm still talking about it years later.
Great advice thanks! I booked an RCL cruise and departing in a month. I chose my stateroom, a balcony on the stern PRIOR to watching Gary's tutorials. It's connecting and above a lounge. Too late to change, but it's at the end of a passageway so it should be fairly quiet.
Auto Upgrade. We always book M1 on Princess and an upgrade (we've never been offered one) would be to S4 or S5 suites so we'd be positively delighted if they made the offer.
Always enjoy your sound advice. I’ve never cruised and I view your videos to be prepared for when I do go on my first one.
When we cruised out of Barcelona, we had booked two rooms for my husband and myself, and my two sons. My sons could not be in the room by themselves so we split. I went with one son my husband went with another. No big deal It was actually a better thing because we ended up with two bathrooms to be able to get ready in, which is great in my opinion. But when we went into our room, they had done the room up as one bed. So we went to our cabin steward, and asked that he split the bed. The rooms that we were assigned did not have the ability to split the bed. They were just a queen size bed. So they moved us up one floor, and we ended up in Ocean view rooms. I was, of course, thrilled it was nice to have a view. If dissatisfied it never hurts to ask if you can have a change. Just be polite and patient especially if it’s the first day of your cruise in the staff are running around like crazy people trying to get settled.
You are exactly right! Additionally, upgrades like Royal Up can also move you into a disadvantaged cabin.
For example, Royal Caribbean offered us an Royal Up upgrade on upcoming cruise from a Grand Suite to a Royal Suite. The Grand Suite that we had chosen was not a connected cabin but some of the upgrade cabins were connected. Those cabins, no matter how nice, can be problematic. We refused to bid and happily stayed where we were.
As for complaining about cabin issues (nicely, of course) we’ve had that issue more than once. Each time the ship was at capacity so we couldn’t be moved. In each case we received a future cruise credit. On our last cruise all the issues were corrected immediately and we were still given a future cruise credit!
Well informed, My wife and I sailed every year twice or more on Costa Cruises, on the cruise we booked a new ship for the following year and accepted Guaranteed cabin (We thought that would mean we would not get less than we had booked, How wrong we were) On embarkation the cabin was no where near where we had booked, We had also backed back to back on the same cruise
After the first week we were advised to place our cases outside our room by midnight ? Next morning had to be out of cabin by 08:00, and move across to a cabin on the Port side further fwd than the last one, Other new cruisers had the better quality cabins that we had originally booked As cruisers we knew about fwd and aft for movement and deck high or low, What was above or below us as in Kitchens or disco, I still love Costa but I am alone now, and Costa do not accommodate solo's even those that have sailed 30 cruises with them over 20 years :-(
Thanks, Gary! Although you've covered these topics in previous videos this compilation is invaluable. Excellent presentation of this information.
I have a guaranteed room on Regent Seven Seas. It’s because as a solo traveler, these are the discounted rooms. I didn’t understand the importance of this until after I booked.
Just came back from a Princess cruise where I had a balcony cabin. My “issue” is that after years of not having a balcony, I like sleeping with the curtains fully opened, and also the door so that I can hear the sea. HOWEVER if the next room has their outside balcony light on this prevents me from having the above fully opened since too much light gets in my room. Obviously they have full authorization to keep their balcony as they desire, but on last cruise THEIR drapes were fully closed and most likely they were not even aware that their light was on. I went to customer service and suggested the room attendant spend the milli second in turning such light off, which could also give the ship an electrical savings. Hope to see this happen in a regular basis!
Some people can only afford a guarantee cabin.
Upgrade bidding is fantastic! I've been a participant since it was beta with NCL.
NCL now has solo fares in addition to the studio cabins, it's now fleetwide.
Follow up to stateroom selections - NORWEGIAN SKY, I had a stateroom on Deck 5 (5001-5004) range. I found this to be a great location as the only people in the passage way were your cruisemates and crew. The passageway is closed off at the aft end (5010 & 5109) and I'll assume the other side too. The deck plans make it look open, though I recall having to walk center ships to get out. ONE THING I LEARNED on that cruise, decks that run the length of the ship are great to get from one end to the other. HOWEVER, kids love this as they can sprint down the length and it's noisy! Keep that in mind.
We stated no upgrade and they moved us and put us in a room we did not feel was an upgrade. It Took a while but they ended giving us a mini suite close to we’re we were originally! Now that’s an upgrade 😊
Gary, once again, another great video! Very true points very valid points completely agree. I am about to take Cruz on Caribbean princess and we have a mini suite, if I had selected the auto upgrade, I would be moved to a much bigger room on a lower deck with no balcony adjacent to the women’s bathroom. I am very particular about the cabin selected. In fact, I always try to get as far away from the stairs and elevators as possible.
I cancelled upgrade and just paid for the upgrade and got the cabin that was perfect location. I am glad I didn't take the chance as my husband has some disabilities and we needed next to lifts.
Hi Gary. Thanks for the point about auto-upgrades and often needing to opt-out of those. Great tip!
We have always allowed Marell to allocate our cabin without any issues until our last cruise. We got arguably the worst cabin on the ship. Reviews were awful. Some previous guests had ended up with £200+ compensation... When we went to board our cruise cards showed a different cabin number. We checked, we'd been moved. We couldn't find our new cabin on the plan. We assumed we were being moved to another inside cabin. Nope, we now had an outside cabin. Worked in their favour though. 1. I've paid to choose my cabin on my next two cruises. 2. I now want an outside cabin as minimum. I'd always thought it wouldn't be too much of a difference for me and not worth the extra, but I was surprised how much I liked it.
On my very first cruise (2 nights) I was opposite a crew area that had batwing doors. Allnight was squeek-squeek, squeek-squeek as they moved with the ship. If that happens nowadays, I would tell the Purser
It's absolutely appalling cruise companies do this,this is people's hard earned cash and to be put in a sub standard cabin isn't acceptable imo, we never tick the upgrade box either,also got caught out with P&O many moons ago. Ha,Cunard have just sent us the bidding for an upgrade but we choose our same suite every time at the aft and don't want any other room .Great video again sir,always enjoy them ☺️
If you're in the US and are booking on HAL, there is no option to refuse an auto-upgrade and, in fact, their FAQs say that they "reserve the right" to upgrade you! I called to tell them I did not want to be upgraded, and the agent seemed to accept that, but I still have it nowhere in writing. So we shall see...
With regards to the price gap, I found this when booking a cruise on P&O Azura for 2025. I am a solo traveller and naturally I was initially looking at solo cabins until I discovered I could get a much larger double occupancy ocean view cabin for just £20 more.
Great advice with the room upgrade and I completely agree with you. When I was selecting the room for my first cruise (for my honeymoon), as I didn't want to lose any control with my selection arising from the auto-upgrade I had selected the no upgrade option.
We are on a Viking cruise at present. We were in a high class PV1 cabin under the World Cafe. From 5am until 10pm we were disturbed by the noise of trolleys and furniture being moved, etc. Don’t assume an expensive cabin on a high class cruise line will be perfect. We were able to shift, albeit to a slightly inferior cabin, which was a great relief.
Good tips in this one, especially avoiding auto upgrades, never heard that before
Yea, not me [heard of it] either.
I think you would have to give permission or opt-in ... the cruise line cannot simply "force" you to give up the room you booked and take a room you did not even consider.
No autoupgrade on NCL.
Just bidding.
I am disabled and need a cabin close to the elevators for ease of moving around. I did prebook a cabin on NCL Breakaway and asked one too many questions, an NCL agent moved me from the cabin to one way farther away without asking. Yeesh.
I traveled once with cruise line through travel agency so I did not be able to choose a specific cabin.I where how ever able to choose type cabin.The cabin where rather in a noise area not so far from engine room it was a window cabin.
I remember sailing RC and I had a cabin in the forward of the ship. When the night club closed down, the dj would set up at the staff rec room and loud thumping music started at 2:00am with staff laughing and clanging beer bottles. I called security and they can and heard the sound, their reply was staff needs to unwind so get use to it. I was shocked with the response and we were Diamond members too. Our mistake was to accept it and not complain to Guest Services.
As always, great content Gary, thanks.
Went on our 20th cruise with HA. On embarkation day went to our balcony cabin where the sewer had backed up. Took them 4 days to correct it to their satisfaction, not ours it stunk the whole time. Their answer was to split the three of us up into two inside cabins at different points on the ship..
I blew a gasket finally after trying my best to remain calm and listen to their excuses, finally the hotel manager decided he should speak with us after denying my polite requests over the previous three days. He came to our cabin and said he could smell it all the way down the corridor, but unfortunately there was no other cabin available. Tried to buy us off with a free dinner and shore excursion. Finally gave us a cruise credit each. It was the worst time of our now, 35 cruises, and we have sailed with HA a few times since, but they should have dealt with the issue on day one, not day 4.
Thank you so much for telling us about the website where we can check cruise prices. I’ve been alerted twice. The price of our current cruise has decreased twice and I’ve taken advantage of the savings. Also, I do agree with you about guaranteed cabins. I will never book one. I also have our travel agent remove us from auto upgrade as we were once “upgraded” to an obstructed ocean view cabin, and I demanded we be returned to our inside cabin, that I purposely chose. Thank you again for great tips!
Happy New Year sir, to both of you. Peace from San Francisco.
We got lucky with our guarantee cabin on our upcoming Celebrity Apex December 2 cruise. We booked unobstructed view Infinite Veranda and got upgraded to Prime Concierge Class, midship, on Deck 12. I booked a guarantee cabin again for an April cruise and that time our cabin was assigned immediately and we like the location.
Another great informative video. Only cruise that was negatively impacted by the cabin was when I booked an inside cabin....hated it! Made me realize how much a balcony means to the entire cruise experience
We’ve been fortunate with guaranteed fares, as our travel agent tends to be very well informed - and accurate - as to where we will end up. Having said that, we’ve just booked a Select Fare for a balcony cabin for a Caribbean cruise on P&O Britannia. By the time we made a “like for like” comparison, taking into account on-board sending money, the cost of shuttles, etc, etc, the cost to us of having the ability to chose our cabin was £50 each, which is not much for a 14 day cruise.
Very interesting about the dress code! ❤❤❤❤ just love it. They must be very lax about it,as I don’t consider a white dress with a navy blue blazer Formal Wear 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
Thank you. I needed this reminder.
I would love a cabin that I could hear the music..especially on the balcony. That would be a plus for me.
7:30 tip # 4 is totally true -- on multiple NCL cruises I've done solo, I've ended up booking an Inside (or once even a Balcony!) for basically the same price as a Studio.
Although I missed the Studio Lounge access (a.k.a. free espresso machine!!) it was totally worth the switch to book an Inside or better.
Usually we would agree completely with this advice! However, for a recent booking on Queen Elizabeth we took the chance and booked a guaranteed Club cabin. Our thinking is these are some of the better cabins so not much to go wrong! Some though are under the top deck and can get some chair noise but we found this ok when in one of these cabins previously. So, we have our fingers crossed!
Agree! I think, though, this (taking chances) generally works for non-picky or high-tolerance people.
In an attempt to save money (as I always do 😉 ), I deliberately waited till very close to sailing day to book a sailaway inside cabin, got my assignment a couple weeks before embarkation. No issue with the cabin at all to me (but then I live in a busy and noisy city all my life, therefore I am quite immune to noise and chaos.) 🤷♀
I guess we've been lucky with guaranteed rooms, probably because we book ocean view for the specific reason that they tend to be lower in the ship and thus less susceptible to the "pendulum effect". Noise has never been a real problem for us, as we only really need 10 mins of quiet to fall asleep, and then can (and have often) sleep through an earthquake. Our next cruise has us in a cabin with a joining door though, so we'll see how that goes. Auto Upgrades though... yes, been bitten by that. P and O (Australia) we had no choice but to book an internal (last min deal), and just before embarkation, got "upgraded" from a lower deck internal, to an internal 3/4 of the way to the top (that was the same size as the original). This was also the only cruise my partner suffered from motion sickness.
I'm in the same situation as you too with an adjoining room. Let's hope we both luck in with good neighbours. So far, never had any issues either going this route, but as someone who lives onboard a 30' sailboat at anchor in rough waters at times. I think I've learned to think of a floating city stateroom, no matter where, a luxury compared to floating cottage and self service (make your espresso yourself in a snug galley😂).
@@FatCatAnna I get that, I don't live on a boat, but have spent a considerable number of nights in the "million star hotel" without a mattress 🤣
Another pleasant and helpful video. Cheers!
We did the Carnival pick our a cabin ONE TIME and Oh MY it was horrible. We ended up with bunk beds AND we were on deck 2 all the back .. almost the last cabin and we could feel AND hear the main prop turning and changing gears.. it was the worst experience we ever had but we made the best of it.. didn’t sleep well tho 😢
Once on Carnival I was in a weird room with bunk beds. It build around structural things, including a stairwell and some kind of support wall. It also had bunk beds (I think). It worked out for me because it also had two portholes (but was listed as an inside) and I was a solo passenger, so the single bed was fine with me. I just hoped a honeymooning couple never got that room.
😮
I often opt for upgrades and guaranteed cabins and have never had a bad experience. I have gotten some wonderful "deals". The only awful cabin we ever had on over 40+ cruises was one that we paid full fare for and was recommended by our personal cruise consultant--right underneath the Lido deck on a Carnival cruise that we went on with the grandchild--loud bass music until early hours of the AM daily. I blame myself for that one.
Thank you very helpful and posative, just beginning our life in cruising. Great to finf such a informative and subjective channel.
I didn’t know about auto upgrade. I’ll have to be sure to watch that in the future
Gary there's a big trap on Holland America with solo cabins where they are fare more expensive than the inside cabins and those solo cabins are right above a performance stage at the front of the ship!!
Great video! Very informative !!!
Very few solo cruisers check the prices and just book a solo cabin straight away. Always look at value, not price.
I am not a fan of the solo cabins. They are almost the same price as regular and they are so much smaller.
Yes 100%!!!
Every bidding upgrade was in fact just that and upgrade. one of our rooms that we got into was on the upper decks. And it was right next to the solarium in Royal Carribean. We loved this because the Solurium was quiet all day and if you wanted to go hot tubbing it was just a few feet away. We also went from an interior cabin to an a larger balcony that had a gorgeous view. Our second one was not as good but gave us a view in front of the ship. We had more space inside the cabin to place our luggage. Both cabins did enhance our cruising experience. But everyone has their own likes and dislikes.
Years ago, I think it was the 1980s, a man from Barbados booked a holiday and had not been told that it was for British-passport holders only. He had to fly back home.
We cruise (for now) exclusively on Royal Caribbean and have noticed a few times when we were booking that suites were sold out or nor available. Later they emailed us about bidding for them. So why were they marked as unavailable? The problem with the Royal Upgrade system is that loyalty points are based on number of days AND type of cabin. You earn twice as many points in a suite than in a balcony cabin. But not if you got the suite in bidding for it. That shows disrespect to the customer base.
Hi Gary. Could you please tell me what cruiseline is in the shot for your example of an oceanview cabin (at 1:04)? The following suite example is a lovely room too.
My partner requires an accessible cabin, of which there are limited numbers on each ship, so it's more a matter of getting a cabin than getting the best one.
Good heavens. This sounds like so much work navigating all these pricing schemes.
I'm confused. I thought guaranteed pricing meant I locked in the lowest price of the cruise, if booked well in advance of the sailing, particularly when there's a sale, such as Black Friday.
My issue is that it's better for me to book non-directly as I can get a good price for a flights and cruise package. I haven't gone on a cruise yet but I wonder if booking from third party sites would allow me to pick a cabin.
😊great advice
MSC Belissima Japan missed two ports in a row. Passenger are stuck on ship more than 3 days. F&B package does not work. Guest service keeps on pushing dinning room and dinning room push back it doesn’t show on their IPAD. One of the worst experience. Going out of country to stuck on a boat.
Bidding upgrades worked for me. Paying just $200 per person we received a much larger cabin over looking the rear of the ship with a huge balcony. Fantastic. Would have cost us $1000 more per person had we booked it directly. So sometimes, depending on cruise line it works. This was NCL on a 15 night cruise though. RCCL are stinkers by comparison. It's why I don't cruise with them as they nickel and dime you the whole cruise, close late eateries bar a tiny sandwich hub. Yep choosing the cruise line is the biggest factor to get right.
#1 - ABSOLUTELY!
The last time I was on a NCL ship ruined the entire line for me. We were on Pride of America and our toilet did not work for 2 days. We were told to just use the public restroom by guests services. I had to contact corporate to get it fixed. I should have never had to go outside of the ship to get something fixed. Plus the staff was visibly hungover most of the time. Most of the staff acted as if guest were inconveniencing the staff.
Can't compare PoA to the rest of the NCL fleet. It's the only US flagged ship and therefore has a very American crew. Completely different atmosphere from any of their other ships.
That’s doesn’t sound pleasant .
How do you opt out of auto cabin upgrades on HAL? This will be our first cruise & in have looked all over the website & can’t find it.
I love guaranteed suite, have never been disappointed, saved $494 a person compared to pick your own for an upcoming cruise on Royal Caribbean
I would never book a guaranteed cabin! Never ever. I want cabins above, brlow, and either side of me. I have twice bid on cabin upgrades from a balcony to a club balcony but I have never chosen an auto-upgrade. No way! Bigger isnt always better. My next cruise is a balcony, last cabin aft before the actual aft facing suites. I will not bid for an upgrade as I have my choice cabin! Right after covid, we bid minimum and got it. Now that sailings are not running at 1/2 capacity, the amount to win one isn't worth it.
Does NCL do auto-upgrades? I’ve never noticed this as an option and thankfully haven’t experienced it.
Bingo Gary, NCL upgrading bidding is a scam. I'll never do this again.
Wow,I would never ever bid on a cabin!
We've taken 30 cruises on 7 lines. I've never heard of Auto Upgrade. Is that only on specific lines?
I have a question Gary. Why when I try to book a cruise through the cruise line website can I not select the room I want? We’ve done over 35 cruises and have two coming up in January, but I only seem to ever get a few choices of cabins, some of which are partially obscured. In calling the cruise line though they can get me the cabin I want or very close to it, one agent told me it’s because travel companies worldwide block a lot of rooms, but that the cruise line can free the up, does this make sense?
what if booked through an agent i had this when the balcony we booked but the premium balcony dropped way lower when i asked the travel agent if we could get the premium they more or less ignored us we asked for the upgrade and not a refund of the difference .so maybe best booking direct with the shipping line .when we do we always seem to get an offer from them when we get back never had anything from a travel agent .
I'm curious about your tip for asking for a better cabin if the fare drops below what I've paid or booked at. Could this result in me getting an undesirable location?
If so, then maybe I might try asking for onboard credit or just leave aside this tip entirely cuz I don't want to experience horror stories like getting cabins near busy areas or at the far ends of the ship.
Going on a cruise is my idea of hell, but I love any videos about boats or sailing. Weird..
I find it really problematic that cruise lines try to deliberately screw people over. If a company is devious why use continue to use them?
I always pick my cabin. I’m not going to face the wrath of my wife with a bad guaranteed cabin !
Which ship/cabin did you have noise issues with on your Silversea Antarctica trip. I'm going in Jan 2024 and hope I didn't land in the same cabin.
Have you done a Hawaii cruise?
It's very simple...stop being so cheap when booking. Pay the price to choose your cabin.
I didn’t know about the forced upgrade. I let it be clear I want the exact cabin and picked the the exact cabin I wanted. I hope they don’t move me.
Yea, right?! Not a veteran cruiser like Gary and many commenters here, yet I had been on a number of cruises booked and researched and planned by myself. I've never been automatically "upgraded" without my consent (and I never knew about this having to *opt out* practice.) I was OFFERED [via email], yet when I ignored and deleted the emailed offer, it simply went away and I was not affected.
Hence, I really don't know what they are talking about ... I mean nobody can "force" us to give up a room we booked and take a room we did not even consider, right!?