Cruiselines automatic upgrade ? (Princess)

[labbie]

Do cruiselines normally upgrade cabin reservations automatically, prior to departure date?

We're cruising to Alaska in August , reserved an Oceanview, and I just got an email from Princess with "new booking information" in the subject line with a link to login to our reservation.  The reservation now shows we're in a balcony room.  I'm trying not to get my hopes up until DH calls to confirm.
We'd always said we'd spring for a balcony when we went to Alaska but we were stunned at how much more $ the balcony was for our cruise week vs. for the couple other cruises we were on. This almost seems too good to be true, so I'm waiting for another email taking it away, lol.

[Deleted]

I haven't had one for free but we have had them offer one at a significant discount in order to clear out lower-level rooms since those are more likely to sell.

[gtkim]

I haven't had it happen automatically, but was able to upgrade from a balcony to a junior suite on a flash sale after we had already booked with Princess, and even got money back.  My fingers are crossed for you, because the balcony in Alaska is worth every extra penny!

[labbie]

That would make sense. I also can't recall if DH booked it as a guaranteed rate for 'at least'an oceanview, and we're just getting a cabin assignment now. I'm fairly certain he didn't though because I remember we wanted to choose the cabin itself so we could ensure we were convenient to certain areas, etc.

[labbie]

Jul 2, 2015 13:00:57 GMT -5 gtkim said:

I haven't had it happen automatically, but was able to upgrade from a balcony to a junior suite on a flash sale after we had already booked with Princess, and even got money back.  My fingers are crossed for you, because the balcony in Alaska is worth every extra penny!

Thank you- I'm crossing fingers and toes. We had on our list already to call and try to get in on a sale for a balcony and then this happened (hopefully). 

[dutchgirl678]

We went to Alaska a few years back and just booked inner rooms. We had 3 rooms for ppl in our party and they all upgraded us to balcony rooms before we went. This was with Carnival for a cruise in May.

[dorothyinAus]

Alaska cruises are generally more expensive than Caribbean cruises, and there is quite a bit of sticker shock if what you're used to is Caribbean fares. Also, balcony cabins are limited and very much in demand for Alaska, so they are priced accordingly.

I've had a couple of complimentary upgrades from ocean view rooms to a balcony and to a suite. It does happen, especially if you booked a guarantee cabin.

More common recently is upsells, the cruise line offering a "better" cabin at not much more than your current fare. These you can turn down.

Congratulations on the nice upgrade!

[GilliC]

If your online reservation shows a balcony cabin, you probably did get upgraded. I've experienced Princess doing this twice. On our Alaska cruise, my parents were upgraded from an Inside cabin to a balcony a few weeks before our sail date. When XH and I cruised in East Asia, we were upgraded from an obstructed oceanview to a regular oceanview.