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Smarter Cruising Newsletter
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"Smarter Cruising" Newsletter
October 18, 2007 -- Issue #11
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In This Issue:
1) How Can You Land an Upgrade?
2) Take Advantage of These Great Last-Minute Deals!
3) Smooth Sailing Tip: Save on Spa Treatments in Port
4) Rough Seas Ahead?: Don't Miss the Boat!
5) Visit Clark's SMARTER CRUISING BLOG!
==================== FEATURE EDITORIAL ===========
1) How Can You Land an Upgrade?
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After our feature on choosing a cruise cabin in last month's
Smarter Cruising Newsletter, we received several notes
and questions from readers about a related topic: cabin upgrades.
Jerzy, a reader from Australia, wrote that he and his wife
along with her sister and brother-in-law had booked a 12-night
Royal Caribbean cruise to Fiji along with some family friends,
who had booked a separate cabin.
Jerzy and his wife and other relatives had booked and paid for
a cabin on an upper deck, while their friends had booked and
paid for a less expensive lower deck cabin.
But then came the rub: the friends got a call from their
travel agent informing them that they had received a free
upgrade to a more expensive higher-deck cabin.
The result: the friends paid less for their cabin but got one
of equal or even more value than Jerzy and his family.
Not surprisingly, Jerzy wanted advice on how he and his family
could get an upgrade, too.
I wrote him back that there were no magic bullets for this
situation, which, even though it may seem unfair, is all part
of the mysterious and complex phenomenon known as cruise-ship
pricing.
Without knowing the exact background, I guessed that Jerzy's
friends got upgraded because the cruise line had oversold the
cabins in their chosen price range and had bumped them up to a
higher category, free of extra charge.
I suggested the best thing Jerzy's family could do would be to
ask their travel agent if they could get upgraded, too, on the
theory that it never hurts to ask.
As unscientific as that sounds, it works as well or better than
any other strategy in this situation. I'll let you know the
results later in this article.
First, we'll share another reader's experience.
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Landing an upgrade without really trying
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A second reader, Scott from Tampa, Florida, had an experience
much like Jerzy's friends.
Scott and his wife took their first-ever cruise this August, a
week-long Carnival voyage to the Western Caribbean.
When they booked the cruise in May, about three months before
the trip, they opted for the cheapest inside stateroom category
-- on a low deck without so much as a porthole.
"Category" is the key word here because rather than selecting
a specific cabin, they left that up to the cruise line.
By choosing that option, they also made themselves eligible
for a possible free upgrade. (I wish I could say they did this
on my advice, but they figured it out on their own).
When they arrived for their cruise, they discovered much to
their very pleasant surprise that they had been upgraded to
Deck 8 -- in a stateroom with private ocean-view verandah!
As Scott puts it, "We ended up spending many hours on our
verandah and often had breakfast there with the sunrise
-- all for the price of steerage!"
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Manipulating your chances to get an upgrade
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Even though it was their first cruise, Scott and his wife
hit upon something even some veteran cruisers don't know: you
can up your odds for an upgrade by taking certain actions when
you book your cruise.
Here are some ways you can do just that:
** Chances of getting an upgrade improve if you buy your
cruise through a major travel agent or a big Internet agency.
Cruise lines sometimes allow travel agents to upgrade passengers
as a "carrot" to dangle to attract interest in a cruise that
isn't selling well. In all likelihood, they'll turn to their
most-favored, best-selling agents for this plum.
** Chances are better to get upgraded in low season or
shoulder season, especially if it becomes clear to the cruise
line that a particular sailing isn't going to fill to
capacity. You aren't likely to land an upgrade during high
season, when most cabins are liable to be booked.
** The earlier you book a cruise, the better your chances
for an upgrade.
** You might also stand a better chance if you've sailed
on the cruise line previously -- past passengers often receive
priority.
** You might be able to pay for an upgrade, often a token
amount that's far less than the usual price difference between
the two cabins. Again, you're more likely to get such an
opportunity if you're booking a cruise that isn't likely to
fill up. Ask you travel agent about this possibility.
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Guarantees -- your best shot at getting upgraded for free
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Chances are your best chance of receiving a free upgrade is
through the "guarantee" system. This is what worked so well
for Scott.
For various reasons, most major cruise lines will offer cabin
guarantees. That is, if you agree to pay for a particular
category cabin (such as a standard inside, as Scott did) without
selecting a specific cabin, the line will guarantee that you will
receive at least that level of cabin -- or better.
If your cabin category has already sold out or later sells
out -- a good possibility if you select a popular cabin category
-- then you will receive an upgrade. It may be to a cabin just
one category higher -- or several, as happened with Scott --
depending on the availability in other categories.
Why do cruise lines offer guarantees?
Most cruises sell out first in two categories: the most
expensive and the least expensive, generally in that order. It's
all the cabins in the middle that are harder to fill.
Guarantees allow cruise lines to fill a ship nearer to capacity
by luring in more passengers who only want to pay the lowest
rates. Some of them are likely to end up in nicer middle-range
cabins while still only paying the minimum.
That makes passengers very happy but also helps cruise lines
fill cabins.
And it also has another effect: some of those upgraded passengers
are going to enjoy their higher-cost cabins so much they'll pay
for them the next time to ensure a similar experience.
Just ask our reader Scott: As he wrote me, "I'll certainly book
a verandah room in the future, so Carnival was wise to give us the
upgrade."
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Improving your prospects on guarantees
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Depending on the number of guarantees sold per cruise -- some
lines sell many times the number of cabins that are
actually available in a given category -- you're better off
booking early, because upgrades are generally distributed on
a first-come, first-served basis.
Your chances are also better if you're looking for a standard
double room -- larger rooms are scarcer so it's less likely the
line would offer guarantees for triples or quads.
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Some downsides to guarantees
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Keep in mind that by accepting a guarantee, you are also taking
a risk.
If a cabin is available in your requested category, or for that
matter even if you are upgraded, you'll be assigned a cabin of
the cruise line's choice, with no recourse for changing to another.
That means that if it's a particularly noisy location, is subject
to more rocking motion, or perhaps has an obstructed view, you
won't be able to change it.
Remember, not all cabins in any given category are created equal.
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The bottom line
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Sometimes, upgrades appear out of the blue. Other times, you can
do everything you can to manipulate the system -- and still not
get your upgrade.
In short, there are no hard and fast rules.
Which brings us back to our reader, Jerzy, from Australia.
After I wrote him suggesting he contact his travel agent to see if
he could get an upgrade like his friends got, he did just that.
And guess what: I just heard back from him. He got it -- a higher
deck, a larger cabin, and a balcony, with an extra 46 square feet
of cabin space.
And this week, he boarded his cruise to Fiji, a happier passenger.
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Do you have a question for Smarter Cruising?
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If you have a topic you'd like to see covered in an upcoming
newsletter, or just a cruising question you'd like answered,
drop me a line at clark@smartercruising.com.
I look forward to hearing from you!
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2) Take Advantage of These Great Last-Minute Deals!
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Fall sales drifting into early winter are at full flower, with
great deals abundant in the off season:
** Grand Circle Travel has just put five of its soon-to-depart
Eastern Europe river cruises on sale, all at prices of either $1695
or $1795 per person on any deck -- rates that include roundtrip
airfare from Boston and New York and, for one departure, Baltimore
as well. This represents a savings of up to $3100 per couple off
brochure rates. The sailings depart between October 28 and
November 18, 2007, and you have to book by October 24 at the
latest. See the October 18 posting on my Smarter Cruising blog
for more details, or call Grand Circle at 866/313-3744, ASAP.
** Holland America is holding a three-day sale ending October 19
(ends 11:59 pm Pacific time Friday) with seven-day Mexican Riviera
cruises starting from $449 per person; other deals include 10-day
Panama Canal cruises from $999, week-long Alaska cruises from $649,
and six-day Caribbean cruises from $499. Fares are based on double
occupancy and for new bookings; call 877/724-5425 and ask for
promo codes FJ or FN. Some taxes are additional.
** Internet discounter Vacations to Go has two great deals on
upcoming weeklong Carnival cruises out of Miami to the Caribbean:
December 1 with prices starting at $479 per passenger, 71 percent
off brochure rates (ask for Fast Deal #10173); or a January 20, 2008,
departure with prices starting at $449, 73 percent off brochure rates
(ask for Fast Deal #21108). Call 800/338-4962 from the U.S. or Canada,
or 001-713-974-2121 internationally.
** More from Carnival: a three-day cruise to Baja, Mexico, departing
December 14, 2007, with prices starting at $269; three-day cruises to
The Bahamas departing December 7 and 14, 2007, with prices starting
at $209; a four-day Western Caribbean cruise departing December 13,
2007, with prices starting at $249 per person. Call Carnival at 888/CARNIVAL.
** Vacations to Go has a seven-day Royal Caribbean cruise through
the Mediterranean departing Venice November 10, 2007, listed at
starting prices of $599 per person. Call 800/338-4962 from the U.S. or
Canada, or 001-713-974-2121 internationally, and ask for Fast Deal #17037).
** Expedia is offering a number of four-night Royal Caribbean cruises
to Mexico or The Bahamas at prices starting at less than $200 per
passenger. From Los Angeles, the Monarch of the Seas sails to Ensenada,
Mexico (via San Diego and Catalina Island) on October 22 and 29; November
5,12,19,26; and December 3, 10,and 17 as well as a number of
early 2008 departures. Inside cabins start at $189 per person,
while oceanview start at $229. Meanwhile, the Majesty of the
Seas sails from Miami to The Bahamas on exactly the same dates
with inside cabins starting at $199 per person.
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For insider tips on HOW TO BOOK THE BEST CRUISE DEAL
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Our new guide, "How to Book the Best Cruise Deal" is loaded
with insider tips and techniques -- all geared toward
saving you lots of money when you book your next cruise.
And for a short time you can get it for a very special price!
That's right -- an incredible deal on information that could
easily save you hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars
on your next cruise.
Here's what one of our satisfied customers had to say:
"Smarter Cruising's new eBook 'How to Book the Best Cruise Deal'
is packed with useful information.
Cruise line pricing has always been mysterious to me. This book
helped me understand not only the 'whats' of booking early vs.
booking late, but also the 'whys.'
Very helpful! I recommend this book to anyone planning a cruise,
whether it will be their first or their twentieth."
-- Mary Sullivan, Oakland, California
I know that many of you are planning to book a cruise
for 2007 or 2008 in the next month or two.
Don't go into "battle" negotiating your fare
without being armed with all the money-saving secrets
contained in "How to Book the Best Cruise Deal!"
To learn more about "How to Book the Best Cruise Deal,"
check out:
http://www.smartercruising.com
And if you order right away, we'll add FREE bonus books
on saving on airfare, and even on how you can avoid airfare
altogether!
Don't miss out! Visit:
http://www.smartercruising.com
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3) Smooth Sailing Tip: Save on Spa Treatments in Port
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Spa treatments on cruises can get very pricey, but
you might be able to save some bucks by scheduling the
treatments while the ship is in port; the cruise lines
often offer specials at that time since so many
potential customers are off exploring the destination.
I personally wouldn't skip a port to save money on a spa
treatment, but if you plan to spend only a few hours
off ship during a full-day stop, for instance, book a time
slot after you return to the ship or before you plan
to set out. As with any booking, it's a good idea to do it
as soon as possible, to avoid getting shut out.
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For free subscriptions to this newsletter
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If you're reading this newsletter and haven't yet subscribed,
you can get your free monthly subscription by going to:
www.smartercruising.com
and signing up. That's all there is to it!
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4) Rough Seas Ahead?: Don't Miss the Boat!
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When in port, always make sure your watch is
synchronized to ship time to make sure you make it back
to the ship before departure. Sometimes the time will
change overnight between ports and catch you off guard.
I've also been on ships that didn't change ship time
to local time -- perhaps to avoid confusion, even though
that only confuses anyone who does know the local time.
When in doubt, ask members of the crew. And whatever
you do, don't miss the boat!
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5) Visit Clark's SMARTER CRUISING BLOG!
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If you haven't had a chance yet to check out my
Smarter Cruising Blog, you can find it at
http://SmarterCruising.blogspot.com.
It's loaded with deals on big mainstream cruise
lines, adventurous small ships, and scenic river cruisers,
ranging from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean, the
Black Sea to the Amazon.
The October 17 blog posting details a number of special
promotional offers connected to this week's "World's
Largest Cruise Night" sponsored by the Cruise Lines
International Association; the October 18 posting
reveals a great last-minute offer on Eastern Europe
river cruises from Grand Circle Travel.
Please come for a visit!
And keep checking back often -- I often post items
that have a short window of opportunity,
such as special sales and discounts that cruise lines
offer for a short time only -- sometimes just one day!
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Do you have a comment you'd like to share with other
Smarter Cruisers?
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Leave a comment on my Smarter Cruising blog:
http://smartercruising.blogspot.com.
Let's keep the cruising conversation going!
Happy cruising,
Clark Norton
The Smarter Cruiser
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