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Celebrity Moveup

Bid On A Stateroom Upgrade

You can upgrade your stateroom in a few simple clicks.

Welcome to Celebrity MoveUp - our new program that allows you to bid on a cruise stateroom upgrade after you purchase your cruise.*

*Eligible reservations on all Celebrity Cruise ships within 30 days of departure date. When entering your information below, please make sure to use the first / primary guest last name and valid booking number for your reservation to avoid errors. 

Check if your Cruise is Eligible for Upgrade?

How can you upgrade it’s simple..

Browse through the stateroom options and put in an offer based on the amount you're willing to pay for an upgrade for each stateroom option. Making offers on multiple rooms will increase your chances of getting upgraded, but you'll only ever pay for one upgrade.

We'll notify you via email if your request for an upgrade has been approved. If your offer is accepted, you'll be automatically charged for the upgrade. If not, you pay nothing and enjoy the stateroom you’ve already booked.

Offers are priced per person, based on double occupancy, for the length of your cruise—only the first and second guest in your stateroom will be charged. Additional guests beyond the second guest are upgraded with no additional cost.

Is the offer amount per person per day or for the entire duration of the cruise?

The offer amount is per person for the entire duration of the cruise. Offers are based on two occupants per stateroom - only the first and second guest will be charged.

Does the upgrade include any additional promotions?

The upgrade does not include any additional promotions. However, you get to keep whichever promotions you already have.

What happens if I am part of a group or traveling with another reservation?

Each offer is considered individually, Celebrity Cruises cannot guarantee that all reservations traveling together will be upgraded. Under the circumstance that all reservations are upgraded, Celebrity Cruises cannot guarantee that all the upgraded cabins will be close together.

Can I reject the upgrade after it is accepted?

No, once your bid is accepted, your card will be charged immediately and the upgrade amount paid is final and non-refundable.

What happens with the promotions I already have?

You get to keep the promotions you already have. However, no additional promotions will be added to your reservation.

Can I choose the location or specific features of the upgrade cabin?

No, your cabin location and attributes will depend on availability. Celebrity cannot guarantee a specific cabin number assignment within the upgraded category.

How much do I pay if my reservation includes more than 2 guests?

If your reservation includes multiple guests (between 2 and 5 passengers), the offer amount submitted will be per guest but only for the first and second guest on the reservation.

Can I modify or cancel my offer after I submit it?

You may modify or cancel your offer up until 2 days prior to departure, provided that your offer has not already been accepted by Celebrity Cruises and provided your credit card has not been charged.

When will I know if my offer got accepted?

Your offer can be accepted anytime from the moment it is submitted up until 2 days prior to voyage departure.

If I have two reservations can I bid only once and if accepted, cancel the second reservation and move the guests into the upgraded cabin?

No, if you have two cabins you will need to submit two separate bids and they will be considered independently. Celebrity Cruises cannot guarantee that both reservations will be upgraded. In the case that one of the reservations gets upgraded, you cannot move the other guests into the upgraded cabin. All reservations cancelled within the penalty period will be subject to cancellation fees.

What happens if I am a single guest?

You will be charged based on double occupancy.

Why did I or someone I’m traveling with not receive an invite to bid on a stateroom upgrade?

To receive an email invitation to bid on a stateroom upgrade guest must be opted-in to Celebrity Marketing e-mails. To opt-in, to receive emails guests can sign up on our website, opt-in through the online check in process or within My Reservations section of website.

If I upgrade to a higher category stateroom, will I have to pay a gratuity amount based on the new upgraded category?

Yes, by upgrading to a higher stateroom category, each guest in the booking may be subject to a higher gratuity amount. The Offer Amount does not include the higher gratuity. If the Offer is accepted, the difference between the originl and upgraded stateroom gratuities (if applicable) will be automatically applied to all guests (the "Additional Charges").

Will I earn Captain’s Club points based on my upgraded category?

No, you will earn points based on the original category paid for.

Terms & Conditions

Celebrity Move UP℠ – Upgrade Program T&Cs The Celebrity Move UP℠ upgrade program provides booked guests with an opportunity to submit an offer (an “Offer”) to Celebrity to upgrade from the original Celebrity Cruises stateroom category purchased to a higher stateroom category (the “Program”). The Program applies to cruises, sail dates, and stateroom categories selected by Celebrity in its sole and absolute discretion. Not all cruises, stateroom categories, or bookings will be selected for participation, regardless of availability.

Eligibility Only a stateroom that has been purchased by either the guest or someone authorized to make an Offer on guest’s behalf is eligible for the Program (the “Guest”). If Celebrity selects a booking to participate in the Program, Celebrity will email an invitation to that booking to submit an Offer. Celebrity makes no representation to any person that an invitation to participate will be issued, an offer or upgrade will be reviewed, accepted, made available or processed, regardless of stateroom availability.

Valid Guest Email Required A valid email address must be associated with the booking. Celebrity will send an invitation to the most recently updated email address that is associated with the booking. An email address may have been provided to Celebrity at the time of booking or by any guest on the booking who uses the online “My Cruises” pre-cruise planner tool. Only the Guest named in the email invitation or someone over the age of 18 who is authorized to make an Offer on Guest’s behalf is eligible to submit an Offer. By submitting an Offer, Guest represents to Celebrity that he or she has the authority to act on behalf of and to bind the person or persons named or included on the Offer to these Terms and Conditions and those persons named in the booking.

Submitting an Offer Only one Offer may be submitted per eligible stateroom category. Guest may submit Offers for more than one stateroom category. Offers may be modified in accordance with the terms below.The amount of the Offer consists of the total per person amount that the Guest is willing to pay for the opportunity to upgrade from the original booked stateroom category to a higher stateroom category (the “Offer Amount”) and is separate and in addition to the amount paid for the original booking. The Offer Amount applies to only the first and second guests in the booking (in other words, the Offer Amount will not be charged to third and higher guests if the Offer is accepted). For single occupancy guest bookings, the Guest will be charged the double occupancy Offer Amount.By upgrading to a higher stateroom category, each guest in the booking may be subject to a higher gratuity amount. The Offer Amount does not include the higher gratuity. If the Offer is accepted, the difference between the original and upgraded stateroom gratuities (if applicable) will be automatically applied to all guests (the “Additional Charges”).Prior to submitting your Offer, the Offer Amount and any Additional Charges will be displayed (the “Total Amount”). If Celebrity accepts an Offer, the Guest who submitted the Offer will be obligated to pay the Total Amount. During the Offer submission, Guest must provide credit or debit card information (the “Credit Card”). If the Offer is accepted by Celebrity, the Total Amount will be charged to the Credit Card.

Acceptance and Rejection of an Offer

Celebrity reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine if an Offer is accepted or not, regardless of stateroom availability.  Celebrity may review and make a decision about an Offer at any time after the Offer is submitted, up to 48 hours before the cruise departure date. If Celebrity accepts the Offer, Guest will receive an email confirming the acceptance of the Offer and the details of the upgraded stateroom booking (the “Upgrade”). Celebrity will assign the location of the stateroom in its discretion. The Upgrade will have the same number of berths as the original stateroom. Immediately upon Celebrity’s acceptance of an Offer, the Total Amount will be charged to the Credit Card and becomes final and non-refundable. Refunds, credits, or changes may be issued only in the following circumstances: 1) Celebrity cancels the cruise, or 2) Celebrity cancels the cruise and re-books the guests onto another cruise in a stateroom class that is lower than the upgraded stateroom class. Any refund or credit will be limited to the Upgrade charge and credited back to the Credit Card in the same currency of the original charge; no other charges or fees of any type or nature will be refunded or credited.  If Celebrity does not accept the Offer, the original booking will continue and persons associated with the booking will travel in the original stateroom category. Celebrity will not offer and guests will not receive any compensation, consideration, or other benefit as a result of the Offer not being accepted.

Modifying or Cancelling the Offer

Guest may modify or cancel an Offer up to 48-hours prior to the cruise departure date, but only if the Offer has not been accepted by Celebrity and if the Credit Card has not been charged (the “Offer Period”). If Guest modifies or cancels the Offer during the Offer Period, the original Offer will be voided, and if applicable, replaced with Guest’s modified Offer. Voided or cancelled Offers will not be reviewed.

Modifying or Cancelling the Offer or Booking by Guest After Celebrity Accepts the Offer

If Celebrity has accepted the Offer, the Offer cannot be modified or cancelled, and Guest must pay the Total Amount regardless of whether Guest subsequently modifies or cancels the booking.  If Celebrity has accepted the Offer and Guest modifies or cancels the booking, the Upgrade and the Offer will be cancelled. Celebrity will have no obligation to invite the Guest to submit a new Offer on the modified or new booking or to apply the Upgrade to the modified or new booking or to issue a refund or credit of any kind.

Modifying the Booking by Celebrity

If Celebrity for whatever reason re-books the Guest or any person associated with the booking to another cruise departing on a date that is different from the original booking date, Celebrity, in its sole discretion, may transfer any Offer made in relation to the original booking to the new booking, subject to availability of the upgraded stateroom category.

General Terms

By submitting an Offer, Guest agrees to the terms and conditions of this Program. Offer to participate in the Program is non-transferable and applies only to the Guest and booking identified in the email invitation. Any promotions associated with the original booking will remain in effect. The Upgrade will not be eligible to receive any promotions or benefits that are applicable to the stateroom had it been originally booked at that stateroom category. Each offer is considered on an individual Offer basis, meaning that Celebrity may not invite or accept Offers of staterooms traveling together. If bookings that are traveling together are upgraded, Celebrity does not guarantee that the upgraded staterooms will be close together. The terms and conditions of your original cruise booking will remain in effect following the acceptance of an Offer or if an Offer is not accepted. This includes terms and conditions pertaining to cancellation, penalties, changes, the Captain’s Club program.  Accepted offers will earn Captain’s Club points at the original stateroom category purchased, and not the category of the upgraded stateroom. Upgrade does not include any additional promotions. If you purchase an Upgrade Celebrity Cruises cannot guarantee a specific cabin number assignment within the upgraded category. Your cabin number will depend on space availability.  Celebrity reserves the right to modify and change these Terms and Conditions in its sole discretion at any time without notice. These Terms and Conditions apply in conjunction with Celebrity’s cruise ticket contract, website terms of use, privacy policy, all of which are incorporated into and form a part of these Terms and Conditions. Celebrity reserves the right to cancel the Offer at any time, correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, and change or update fares, fees and surcharges at any time without prior notice. ©2020 Celebrity Cruises. Ships’ registry: Malta and Ecuador.

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10 Ways to Get a Cabin Upgrade on Your Next Cruise

Choosing a cabin on a cruise ship can be a complicated task. Some ships have 20 or more categories, all with different prices, decks, and locations on the ship. When discussing cabin options, one frequent question travelers often ask of their travel agent or cruise representative is, "how do I get a free upgrade on a cabin?"

It's important to remember that there's no magic, secret, or guaranteed way to get an upgraded cabin. Like with hotels and airlines , it's often luck or being at the right place at the right time. However, there are a few things you can try to improve your chances of getting an upgrade.

Book the Cruise Early

Booking a cruise early will sometimes result in an upgrade. Cruise ships usually sell out the most expensive cabins and suites first, but the cheapest cabins come next. If you are one of the first to book a cheap cabin, you might get upgraded as the cruise date gets closer if demand is high for your cabin category.

Be a Frequent Cruiser

Like with airlines and hotels, cabin upgrades often go to members of the cruise line's frequent cruiser programs. If you are a frequent cruiser, you might also get free Internet access, free laundry, or other perks, depending on the number of days you have sailed with the cruise line.

Unfortunately, sometimes being a frequent cruiser can be a disadvantage. A cruise line might not upgrade someone who already loves sailing with them.

Be a First-Time Cruiser

Sometimes, a cruise line will upgrade either new experienced cruisers or first-time cruisers in order to get them "hooked" on cruising with their cruise line. There are two scenarios. Let's say you have always sailed with Cruise Line A, but decided to try Cruise Line B. The new cruise line might give you an upgraded cabin in order to encourage you to sail with them again.

The second scenario applies to first-time cruisers . A cruise line might upgrade someone who has never sailed on any cruise ship in order to improve their overall cruise experience.

Ask Your Travel Agent

Check with your travel agent at the time of booking and again throughout the time before your cruise. Some travel agencies purchase blocks of cabins, and your agent might upgrade you if a higher level cabin is left unsold. The travel agent might also know from past experience which cruise lines, cruise ships, and cruise itineraries are more likely to upgrade. It never hurts to ask!

Book a Guarantee Cabin

Booking a "guarantee" cabin means you are only reserving a particular category, not a specific cabin. The "guarantee" from the cruise line is that you will get either the category you have reserved or a higher one.

The disadvantage of a guarantee cabin is that you might not get either the specific area of the ship you prefer or even the specific deck. The advantage is that you will be more likely to get an upgrade than someone who has booked a specific cabin since the cruise line will not need to ask you before the upgrade.

Monitor Price on Cabin Before and After You Book

Just because you've booked your cruise does not mean you should quit checking the advertised prices as the time gets closer to your sailing date. Many cruise lines and travel agencies offer "low price guarantees" to encourage cruise travelers to book early. With a ​ low price guarantee, you will get a refund or a shipboard credit if the price falls below what you paid. These extra funds could be used to upgrade if a higher level was available. For example, a family of four travelers once booked a 12-day cruise over a year in advance of sailing. When the price dropped $700 per person, they inquired of the travel agency and got a credit. That $2800 paid for all of the shore excursions and onboard expenses. What a pleasant surprise!

Inform Cruise Ship of Problems Early

Most cruises go smoothly and the passengers have a wonderful cruise vacation. However, sometimes stuff happens. If you have a problem with your cabin, inform the customer service staff on the ship immediately. If the problem can't be resolved quickly, you might get an upgrade or a credit on a future cruise.

Sail in Off-Season or to Less Popular Destinations

You are more likely to get an upgrade on a ship that is not full. If you plan your cruise vacation in the off-season or to a less popular destination, you will either get a great deal on the price and/or an upgrade to a higher cabin category. Savvy cruise travelers who love the onboard experience have long recognized the bargains in repositioning cruises  because they feature more sea days and fewer ports.

Look for a Cruise Ship With Relatively Few Inside Cabins

Since the cheapest cabins sell out the quickest, booking an inside cabin on a ship with only a few such cabins might result in an upgrade. Cruise ships like to sail full, and if demand is high for the lower grade cabins, passengers holding reservations for those cabins might get an upgrade. One caveat—don't count on this happening. Be prepared to sail in that small inside cabin. 

Book a Sold-Out Cabin Category

This tip is the opposite of booking early. If you book a cabin in a sold-out category, you might be the one upgraded rather than the passenger who booked early. Sometimes, it's just a matter of luck.

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• Cruise Tips

How to get a cabin upgrade on a cruise: 9 ways that work for me

by Gary Bembridge · July 8, 2022

I get upgraded more than most cruise passengers because I don’t use the most common ways other cruisers chase upgrades. I do something different.

Here’s what I’ve found works: How to get a cabin upgrade on a cruise.

Auto Cabin Upgrades

The first thing most do, and the one that I hear more horror stories about than any other, is by accepting an auto upgrade.

Including my own in my early cruising days when the excitement of being upgraded from a balcony cabin we had carefully chosen on P&O Aurora into a higher-grade cabin put a dampener on our cruise. As I’ll explain.

When booking a cruise, we have the option of accepting an auto upgrade.

If the line has empty cabins, they often move people who have said they will accept auto-upgrades up one or two cabin grades. For example, as we were.

This frees up lower-grade cabins, which are easier to sell and fill than higher-grade cabins.

There are 3 big watch outs with auto upgrades as I discovered

First, the default setting when booking a cruise is usually accepting an auto upgrade. You must opt out if you don’t want one. We didn’t.

Second, we found you have no say in the cabin they move you too.

In our case above a noisy late-night club but could have been below the pool deck with scraping chairs, have a strange layout or an inter-connecting door to the next cabin where we could hear the neighbours.

Thirdly, even though we did not like the new cabin, we couldn’t have the original back as it had been re-sold or someone upgraded into it.

Since then, I have opted out of auto-upgrades.

The next usual way passengers get upgrades is by paying.

I watch people go to Guest Services as soon as they board to see if the ship has empty cabins and are offering upgrades.

On at least 4 of my last 5 cruises, I’ve seen numerous passengers upgrade this way, often for small amounts per day.

An advantage with this approach is you usually get to view and choose your cabin before accepting.

My tip is to go on the second day. By then the ship knows the numbers of no shows, and cabins vacated by those who upgraded are now fee and upgrades tend to be cheaper.

The third popular approach is bidding.

Several cruise lines give the option to bid for an upgrade, usually between 60 and 30 days before departure. They send out emails asking for submissions.

I’ve had them from Norwegian Cruise Line, Azamara, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

I have not bid as first I could not choose the specific cabin I get, so again it may not be in a great location.

And second, I could not accept or reject any cabin and they would charge my credit card as soon as they accept my bid.

I have heard people getting carried away and bidding more than simply changing their booking directly.

So, check the current price for that higher cabin before bidding, and bid low as there may be few bids.

Guaranteed Fares

The other common way passengers use to get upgrades is by booking a guaranteed fare.

A guaranteed fare means booking a cabin grade (Inside, Oceanview, Balcony or Suite) and not a specific cabin. The cruise line allocates you a cabin close to sailing.

On most lines, it’s a cheaper option than choosing your own cabin.

You could find you get a better grade cabin this way. For example, On Holland America Nieuw Statendam I’ve been on recently, there are 5 grades of balcony cabins, and you might be allocated the best grade.

If many on your sailing book a specific cabin and opt out of auto-upgrades, the best grades may be the only ones the line can put you in.

I have seen passengers allocated cabins above the guaranteed grade booked. So, a balcony instead of an Oceanview, or suite instead of a balcony.

Many of the downsides of the other approaches apply to this.

If you book a guaranteed inside or Oceanview this could work to your advantage as these are the easiest cabins for lines to sell, as they are the least expensive.

If a cruise is not full, they may upgrade you to a balcony cabin as they know they can more easily resell inside and Oceanview.

Those are the ways most passengers use to get an upgrade. I don’t use them. What do I do? The first one is simple but takes planning.

I simply book when there are upgrade promotions, when the line is offering pay for a lower grade and get a better cabin.

For example, I recently booked a Regent Seven Sea Caribbean cruise where I got a cabin two grades up from what I paid for, based on the usual price.

A good time to find these promotions are when itineraries are launched. If there’s a cruise you want to do in two years plus as soon as they come on sale look for these.

Second, about 90 to 60 days before a cruise. This is when final payment is due for most cruises and if the ship is not full, promotions like this are one tool they use to encourage bookings.

Thirdly, during “Wave Season” usually at the start of the year or “Black Friday” towards the end, which are big sale periods with lots of competition for our bookings and this is one popular promotion here I have found.

The way I find out about these is usually though the cruise line email newsletters, so sign up for those.

While this technique has been very successful at snagging me upgrades, this next is the one that has got me more than any other technique.

This is fare-tracking.

When I book a cruise, I set up a price tracker, which I’ve spoken of before, on a site called CruiseWatch.com or CruiseCritic.com

I have a blog post where I explain how to do that, which is linked in the notes of this video.

Those trackers alert if the fares on the cruise have fallen, and if they have, I either ask the line for the lower fare, or for an upgrade.

I’ve had huge success with this, especially in getting a cabin upgrade.

Through this I have recently been upgraded on Cunard Queens Grill from an entry suite to a Penthouse, and on Viking from a balcony to a suite.

The watch-out is it does take some work and negotiation as some lines are more willing than others.

Next in line has also led to upgrades, but is not necessarily a good thing.

This is through complaining.

Not from being difficult and chancing my arm, but when I have an issue with the cabin that I feel is affecting my cruise and needs to be addressed.

Especially since I believe there are cabins the line seems quick to move passengers from when an issue is raised.

Can you believe, I have had a series of cabin upgrades through complaints?

On a Silversea expedition cruise in Antarctica I had some problems with noise underneath me, from some sort of machinery. I was moved from an ocean view cabin into a balcony cabin.

There was also an issue on my Ponant Le Lyrial sailing, with rattling air-conditioning that disturbed me in the night and that they could not fix. Again, I was moved to a better grade cabin.

On a recent Azamara cruise, I had dragging and scraping above in the early hours. When I went to Guest Services, the manager knew off the top of his head that my cabin was below a work area.

When he made a note, it was to a page listing other cabins where people had come to complain.

They moved me to a better cabin without noise within the hour.

I believe that the line knows which cabins have issues, and if you are in one of those and raise the issue, they know it’s genuine and they move you to a better cabin if the ship is not full.

Special Event

Another technique for a cabin upgrade which has worked for me is special events.

When I got married, we booked a Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Crossing for our honeymoon. Our travel agent let the line know that we were going on our honeymoon and were upgraded to a Penthouse Suite.

The Agent had good relationships with the cruise line, makes many bookings for them and so was able to get us on an upgrade list.

So, if you have a big event coming up, especially your wedding, let the line know.

It’s not going to work for birthdays, and I have not heard it working for anniversaries much – but give it a go as worst case they will upgrade the experience on board with champagne, cakes, decorations and maybe some added perks.

Cunard Queen Elizabeth

Remember, that as with airlines, the cruise lines will tend to give upgrade priority to their frequent travellers.

If you like a line and sail often you will have more leverage. But, check if the loyalty programme for that line offers fare discounts as you progress up the tiers.

Many tend to offer booking discounts or free nights as you move up tiers, which you can then use to effectively upgrade by paying the same fare as usual but taking a better cabin.

We are Diamond on Cunard and get discounts now when booking, which helps nudge us up a grade.

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Tags: cabin upgrade cruise cruise cabin cruise ship cruise tips cruising luxury cruise tips for travelers tips for travellers travel travel tips

Gary Bembridge

I grew up in Zimbabwe, but I have been based in London since 1987. My travel life spans more than three decades and that includes more than 95 cruises. In 2005, I launched Tips for Travellers to make it easy and fun for people to discover, plan and enjoy incredible cruise vacations. And the rest, as they say, is history. I have the largest cruise vlogger channel currently on YouTube, with more than 3 million video views per month.

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How to get a free or cheap cruise ship cabin upgrade

A real score for cruise passengers is a free or cheap cabin upgrade. Just like with airline seats, you can't count on an upgrade — but it sure feels great when it happens. Several methods will help improve your chances of landing in better cruise ship accommodations.

Before I get into details, let's start with some facts: On a typical ship, the basic categories of cruise rooms are inside (no view), outside (with window or porthole), balcony, minisuite and suite. It's rare to get more than a one-category upgrade, so don't think you can book an inside cabin and wind up in a fancy suite. More common is that you might find an upgrade to a better inside cabin . Make sure you have realistic expectations.

Your best course is always to book the nicest cabin you can afford. Here are some tricks to scoring a free or discounted cruise ship cabin upgrade and landing better cruise rooms without breaking the bank.

For cruise news, reviews and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

Look for an upgrade sale

Cruise line sales are the easiest way to score cheap or free upgraded accommodations. Various mass-market brands will run periodic promotions, especially during the fall and winter "wave season" sale periods. You might also see discounted upgrades offered on cruises during shoulder seasons, such as immediately after children return to school in the fall.

Free or discounted promotions encourage upgrades from inside cabins to ocean views and from ocean views to balconies. One tactic during these sales is to list outside and balcony cabins at the same price. If you can't find a deal on moving up a category, you might see a free upgrade to a bigger or better-located cabin within the category you originally planned to book. (Even within categories, the sizes and prices of cabins vary.)

Book a 'guarantee' cabin

When you book a cruise, you typically choose a cabin in your desired location. With a "guarantee" cabin , you leave it up to the cruise line to assign you accommodations either in the category you booked or a better one. The bet is that your category will sell out, and the cruise line will have to move you up for free — say, from an outside to a balcony cabin.

In the worst-case scenario, you end up in the category you booked; in the best case, you get your dream cabin. There is a catch, though. Since you still can't choose your specific cabin, you could end up in a noisy or otherwise undesirable area of the ship — even if the room is technically an upgrade from what you booked. For example, that great view you think you snagged may end up being blocked by lifeboats.

Related: Why it pays to upgrade your cabin

Join a loyalty program

Cruise lines naturally give upgrade preferences to frequent cruisers who are members of their loyalty programs . It's easy to join. In fact, you might be a member without even knowing it if your name was added to a cruise line's email and mailing list after your first cruise with the brand.

As a loyalty program member, look out for promotional deals you'll receive. Targeted emails and newsletters will alert you to members-only discounts or offers or inform you about upgrades before nonmembers get word. The cruise line might also send you invitations to bid for upgrades or offer discounted upgrades on cruises you've already booked.

Additionally, you can rack up points for perks that might eventually include free or discounted upgrades. For instance, if you reach the top Diamond status with Carnival Cruise Line's Very Important Fun Person loyalty program , you get a one-time free cabin upgrade.

Work with an experienced cruise travel agent

Travel agents, especially those who do a lot of business with a particular cruise line, have a certain amount of pull. Your agent might be able to snag you an upgrade by contacting the cruise line and asking for a favor. You might not know you have been upgraded until you get to the ship, as it will be based on whether or not cabins are available at the last minute.

Related: 5 reasons to turn down a cruise ship cabin upgrade

Your travel adviser can also steer you toward specific cruise lines or sailings where you stand a better chance of an upgrade. Also, your agency could have access to special group rates, meaning you'll pay a discounted price for that upgraded cabin you desire.

Bid for an upgrade

A few years ago, Norwegian Cruise Line , Royal Caribbean , Celebrity Cruises and MSC Cruises were among the cruise lines that took a page from international airlines (such as Qantas and Aer Lingus) and began offering bidding programs for upgrades. Luxury river cruise line Uniworld also offers bidding.

These online programs are basically silent auctions that only select cruisers (preference is given to loyalty club members) are invited to join. The cruise line sets a minimum bid, and you can go up in price from there.

Your chance of an upgrade might be based on luck, skill or both. The advice from successful bidders is to go up from the minimum, but how much is a personal choice. Some people snag better accommodations for less than $20, some for $100 or more. You don't pay anything unless your bid is accepted.

Ask once on board

The hotel director on any cruise ship has a certain amount of discretion in moving guests to different cabins. Being bold enough to ask for an upgrade once you are on the ship could pay off.

To try your luck, you'll want to ask about an upgrade at guest services. Since the crew there will spend embarkation day fielding many questions and complaints from grumpy, travel-weary cruisers, your best bet may be to head to your assigned cabin. Then, wait until the second day of your cruise to ask for an upgrade.

Put on a big smile, be super friendly and ask if there is any chance a better cabin is available. If they don't offer you an upgrade for free, you might suggest you are willing to pay a small fee.

Related: 6 reasons you'll want to book a balcony cabin on your next cruise

Mention your special occasion

If you're celebrating a special occasion — such as a birthday, anniversary or honeymoon — on board, the cruise line or your travel agent can find ways to fete you, including by upgrading your cabin.

When you book your cruise, note in your reservation (or remind your travel agent to note) that you're celebrating a special event in your life. Whether you are a loyal customer or a first-timer that the cruise line hopes will become a repeat cruiser, you might be rewarded with an upgrade.

This sort of upgrade would typically be a "surprise" that occurs when you check in at the pier, so you can't plan for it in advance. It never hurts to remind the staff how excited you are to be celebrating on the ship and ask if there is any chance for an upgrade.

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We cannot accommodate requests for upgrades on the day of your cruise as we sail at capacity. Carnival has made selecting the stateroom location you want more affordable than ever. Choosing your stateroom as early as possible ensures you get the best locations available.

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Travel Guides, Tips, and Tales

10 Secrets on How to Get a Free Balcony Upgrade on a Cruise

February 8, 2023 By John Widmer 28 Comments

It sure is nice to have a balcony stateroom on a cruise. You gotta love those mesmerizing ocean swells, the warm sea breeze, those beautiful island vistas on the horizon, the occasional seagull flying by, and the soothing sound of the surf.

But balcony cabins on cruises can also be very expensive! Splurging on a veranda stateroom can be difficult to justify for those who are traveling on a budget. That’s why we have deeply investigated the many different ways of how to get a free balcony cabin upgrade on a cruise ship.

As we’ve taken dozens of cruises all around the world totaling over a half year at sea, we’ve been quite successful with these tactics used to score a free balcony upgrade. So we’re now revealing all our tips in this post to show what works to actually achieve a free cruise cabin upgrade.

In the earlier days of cruising, it was fairly commonplace to be able to walk onto a ship and ask Guest Relations if there were any free room upgrades on the cruise. Often you would actually get a positive response and be immediately switched to a coveted balcony cabin, with an upgraded room free of charge. Unfortunately, in today’s world of cruising, free cruise cabin upgrades at the port or when walking onto the ship have become nearly impossible to finagle.

But we’re here to show you that cruise cabin upgrades are absolutely possible. In fact, we’re living proof as we managed to score a free balcony upgrade on about half the cruises we take! It can just take a little work, know-how, and sometimes a bit of luck.

We’ve been fortunate to receive cruise cabin upgrades to balcony staterooms that were five times the cost of the little interior cabin we booked, for absolutely free! But it doesn’t always work. We’ve been denied upgrades in a fair share of instances too. Yet having been successful in scoring free balcony upgrades on about half of the many cruises we’ve taken – that’s pretty good odds!

Some may claim that free balcony upgrades on a cruise are impossible nowadays. But we’re here to show that cruise upgrades are still a very possible reality. In this post, we reveal our proven tactics detailing how to get these free balcony upgrades on a cruise!

Understand: Why It’s Difficult to Get a Free Cruise Cabin Upgrade

Before we go into all the details of our tips to get a free balcony cabin upgrade, first understand what’s going on behind the scenes to make getting a free cruise upgrade so difficult to accomplish.

Cruise lines are aggressively and strategically pricing their itineraries in attempts to fill every single cabin on their ship. Cruise lines are particularly interested in filling those higher-margin balcony staterooms. Inventory of staterooms on cruises is closely monitored, as sophisticated financial algorithms are utilized to adjust prices to lure passengers.

This is all done in a grand attempt to fill the ships to capacity. Often cruise lines are successful in filling their ships. As a result, sometimes there simply are no available balcony rooms to offer when the cruise ship is sailing away. So in many instances, these balcony staterooms may be completely occupied. Hence a cabin upgrade on a cruise is just not possible, whether free or paid.

Also, the cruise lines have gotten wise to passengers’ attempts to upgrade their staterooms for free. So if there are some balcony rooms available, and you inquire after boarding, you’ll likely be offered that balcony upgrade for an upcharge, not as a complimentary stateroom upgrade.

If there are any balcony staterooms still available in the weeks before embarking, many cruise lines will try to entice guests with special balcony upgrade deals that you can buy at discounted rates or bid for after you’ve already purchased a lesser stateroom. It’s a big attempt by the cruise lines to fill those balcony staterooms before you even step foot on the boat.

These can sometimes be decent deals that are certainly worth considering a nominal fee to ensure your upgrade. We’ll discuss that a bit more later. But we’re really here to show you how to score a cruise balcony upgrade, not for a fee, but for F-R-E-E!

Decide: Are Cruise Balconies Worth It?

Before divulging our 10 tactics on how to score a free cruise upgrade, each prospective cruise passenger reading this article should decide for themselves what a balcony stateroom is worth to them.

Is it worth your time while on vacation to attempt to seek out a free stateroom upgrade? Is it worth an extra hundred dollars to pay out of pocket to guarantee an upgrade before you sail? Only you can decide this for yourself.

After all, cruise passengers with interior staterooms can head up to the lido deck and enjoy the same views that others are enjoying from their balcony rooms. But by enjoying those views in public spaces, you don’t have the immediate access or the privacy that a balcony stateroom offers. You won’t be able to wake up to those fresh views and relax from the privacy of your stateroom balcony. It is nice to have a balcony stateroom on a cruise. But at what cost?

Is it worth a thousand dollars more to have a balcony stateroom? For some passengers, it’s worth the splurge. For us, the answer is “no.”

Yet it is absolutely worth our time to try to score a free balcony upgrade. And it may even be worth splurging on if we can score a cruise upgrade offer for a few hundred dollars more.

Here are some considerations to help you decide whether a balcony room may be worth it for your upcoming cruise.

Consider booking a balcony stateroom or paying to upgrade when:

• You’re cruising scenic areas (e.g., Alaska cruise , Panama Canal , etc.)
• This is a romantic trip (e.g., anniversary, honeymoon)
• You plan to spend lots of time in your stateroom
• Your itinerary includes many days at sea
• You are claustrophobic or agoraphobic
• You like to sunbathe
• You have mobility issues that prevent you from easily going to a public deck
• The price of a balcony room isn’t much more than an interior or oceanview cabin

Consider forgoing a balcony stateroom  and trying for a free cruise upgrade when:

• You have a port-intensive itinerary with little time on the ship
• You spend little time in your stateroom
• You frequently use the ship’s amenities (pool, gym, bars, shows, games, lectures, movies, etc.)
• You’re the type of person who simply uses a hotel room to sleep at night
• Balcony prices are simply not within your travel budget

If you can’t justify spending for that balcony stateroom, then read on. With a bit of strategy and a little luck, a free cruise balcony upgrade could become a reality.

Our biggest piece of advice is this : be sure that you’ll be comfortable with whatever cabin class you book on your cruise. Then go ahead and use some of these tactics to attempt to score that free balcony upgrade.

How To Get a Free Cruise Stateroom Upgrade

1) get a free balcony upgrade promotion and how to find them.

Occasionally cruise lines will run special promotions on particular ships, itineraries, and/or destinations offering balcony staterooms at the same price as an outside or inside cabin. You can attempt to find these deals throughout the year but they can be common during “Wave Season” (around February – April) when cruise lines tend to be most aggressive with pricing and promotions.

Most commonly you’ll see one-category stateroom upgrades. This means you can book an oceanview stateroom for the price of an inside cabin, or book a balcony for the price of an oceanview. When such a promotion is coupled with an additional perk like a drink package, free gratuities, or a generous onboard credit – these can be fantastic deals to take advantage of.

Occasionally we see really good limited-time promotions in which inside cabins, outside cabins, and balcony staterooms are all at the same price. Of course, you choose the balcony! This is another way cruise lines use promotions to offer free balcony upgrades.

So how exactly do you find these balcony upgrade promotions?

If you happen to know a really good travel agent who specializes in cruises, they may already be aware of free room upgrade promotions right off the top of their head.

But cruise room upgrade promotions do change frequently and can often be complicated. Free upgrades on cruises often contain lots of asterisks since certain deals only apply to certain ships, dates, itineraries, etc. So you may just want to take a gander at exactly what each line’s current promotions are. Each major cruise line has a web page that is dedicated to listing their deals, potentially including free balcony stateroom upgrades.

Image courtesy of Celebrity Cruise Lines, as retrieved on their Deals page.

Here are links to all of the major cruise lines’ promotion pages to check if they are currently offering any free balcony upgrade promotions:

• Carnival Cruise Line cruise deals
• Celebrity Cruises cruise deals
• Disney Cruise Line special offers
• Holland America Line cruise deals
• MSC cruise deals
• Norwegian Cruise Line cruise deals
• Princess Cruise Line cruise deals
• Royal Caribbean cruise deals

2) Monitor Price Drops After Purchase to Get a Free Balcony Upgrade

Even after purchasing a cruise, always be sure to continue monitoring that cruise’s prices. Unlike airline tickets, if the price of the cruise drops, you can actually make changes to your booking to upgrade your cruise cabin if there are price changes that are in your favor. Or you can even cancel your booking and re-book for any better deal you find.

For example, let’s say you booked a 7-day Caribbean cruise in which inside cabins were running $1,000 per person, and balcony staterooms were $1,800 per person. So you book the inside cabin because you don’t want to shell out the extra cash to have a balcony.

Even though you’ve already booked your cruise, keep watching those prices. If the price of a balcony stateroom was to suddenly drop to $1,000, then call your booking agent immediately! If you make this phone call before the final payment date, you should be able to switch to that balcony completely free!

Instances like this happen more often than you may realize. The cruise lines themselves will NOT notify you of these price drops. So it’s completely up to you to be vigilant of price fluctuations after purchasing your cruise cabin.

It is important to note that free balcony upgrades using this method are only available if you make the switch before the cruise’s cancelation period, which tends to be around 60-90 days prior to the embarkation date. But this varies by the cruise line and itinerary.

Yet even if you notice the room prices change after the cancelation period, it is still absolutely worth calling your booking agent to inquire about. There’s a decent chance you still may be able to lock in that free balcony upgrade. This free upgrade is simply not a sure thing like it is prior to the cancelation date.

Yet we’ve successfully gotten a free cruise upgrade with this tactic! Balcony prices were slashed a few weeks before our sail date. Because we were already locked in to the cruise since the cancelation period had passed, there was no way to cancel and rebook. Furthermore, the cruise line had absolutely no obligation to honor an upgrade. But we called, were very nice, explained the situation, and pointed out that balcony cabins were now priced at the same price as our inside cabin. So the cruise line switched us to the balcony room, for free!

Another consideration is if the price of a balcony stateroom drops to within a reasonable range in which you are willing to pay the difference.

Continuing with the earlier example, let’s say those balcony staterooms dropped from $1,800 to a price of $1,100, which is now only $100 more than the $1,000 you initially paid for your inside cabin. In this case, you can usually pay that difference – $100 per person – and secure a balcony stateroom. Sure, it’s not free but it may be worth the extra $100 per person. Again, the cruise line may even permit you to make such changes after the cancelation period. So if you notice an instance like this, call your booking agent to inquire about the possibility.

You can check your cruise’s prices regularly to stay abreast of pricing drops. After booking a cruise, I recommend bookmarking a pricing page. Then take 10 seconds each day to monitor it for any price changes.

Alternatively, you can also consider using free cruise price monitoring services , which will alert you when prices change. There are a few different sites that offer free cruise price tracking and will alert you when prices change. Here are two you can try:

• CruiseWatch : The website allows you to select cruises to monitor and will send you email alerts on price changes based on the criteria you select.
• Cruiseline : Search and select your cruise, then set up a price alert. You will be emailed when prices change. Alternatively, you can also do this using Cruiseline’s Ship Mate Cruise App .

3) Use Credit Card Points To Get a Free Balcony Upgrade on a Cruise

There are so many great travel reward credit cards out there in which you can use points towards travel. And while it can be difficult and time-consuming to rack up enough points to pay for an entire cruise, it can be relatively quick and easy to accumulate enough points/miles to apply them towards the difference between your inside/outside cabin and a balcony stateroom.

Allow me to explain exactly how we did that to get a free balcony upgrade for free, paid for with points.

One of our favorite travel rewards credit cards is the Capital One Venture Card in which you get 2% cash back miles on all purchases to use towards any travel expenses. This includes cruise expenses. So you can redeem Capital One points to get balcony upgrades!

For example, months after booking an inside cabin on the Celebrity Eclipse for a transatlantic sailing, we noticed that the price between an inside and a balcony had dropped to only a $200 difference total ($100 per person).

So we called our booking agent to make this change to a balcony stateroom. This upgrade initially came with a $200 charge. We paid that $200 using our Venture Card. We then simply erased that charge off of our statement using 20,000 miles we had accumulated just from everyday spending. So ultimately, this gave us a balcony upgrade at absolutely no out-of-pocket cost to us.

We again successfully used this technique on our Norwegian Star cruise in which we had booked an inside cabin. The price for an outside cabin later dropped to a mere $20 per person ($40 total) more than the price of the inside we booked. So, again, we paid that meager difference but then used our miles to refund that amount, essentially giving us a free cruise cabin upgrade from an inside to an outside stateroom. (See screenshot of transaction below.)

This is perhaps the best surefire way to achieve a free balcony upgrade on a cruise and guarantee it, rather than rely on luck or chance.

At the last update to this article, Capital One is offering a new card member signup bonus offer of 75,000 miles with a referral offer. After qualifying for the offer, you can redeem those miles to cover $750 worth of cruise expenses, such as a balcony upgrade. So feel free to use our referral link here to get this Capital One Venture Card offer and see if you qualify for the card. It could be the key to unlocking a balcony upgrade for free!

Important Note : it only makes sense financially to accumulate credit card points to apply towards cruise upgrades if you can pay off your balance in full every month. Otherwise, this tactic is not for you, as the high-interest rates you’ll be incurring will likely exceed the benefit.

4) Wait Until After the First Port to Ask for a Free Cruise Cabin Upgrade

As already discussed, it is nearly impossible these days to walk onto a cruise ship and get a free cruise cabin upgrade by inquiring with Guest Services at the port or soon after boarding the ship. But it may still be worth trying. There is a simple strategy you can use to increase your odds of getting an affirmative response from Guest Relations.

Simply wait until after leaving the first port of call before asking for a free room upgrade.

Instead of being one of the hundreds of passengers queuing up at Guest Relations on the first day to address an issue or inquire about a free balcony upgrade, just be patient. You must understand that the guest relations desk is extremely busy on the first day of every cruise. They simply won’t have time to cater to your desire for free cruise cabin upgrades.

Even more importantly, cruises don’t really know their exact occupancy until after the first port of call. This is because of:

• possible no-shows and
• passengers who unexpectedly disembark early.

At embarkation, there are often prospective cruise passengers with delayed flights, illness, and other unfortunate circumstances who didn’t make it on the ship before it set sail. Sometimes these unlucky vacationers will try to fly to the ship’s first port to join the cruise. Or they may have decided to just abandon the cruise completely.

The ship won’t know what those prospective passengers ultimately chose to do until after leaving the first port. So their empty room will be held for them in the instance they were able to get a flight to join the ship at the first port.

Meanwhile, there may be other passengers who got on the cruise but had to disembark the ship at the first port due to medical issues, family emergencies, or other personal reasons.

These aforementioned circumstances all make for available staterooms that were not available on Day 1 of the cruise itinerary. So just wait until after leaving the first port of call before asking Guest Services if any free cabin upgrades on the cruise are available.

By waiting, there will be no line to wait in and your chances of actually scoring that balcony stateroom upgrade will be greatly improved. And because a day or two of the cruise has already ticked by, you likely won’t be charged for the cabin upgrade as you would on Day 1.

Whenever we inquire about a free cabin upgrade on a cruise, we always wait until after the first port .

And it works. We’ve been successful with this free balcony upgrade tactic three times. Most recently, on the Norwegian Bliss, we spent the first few nights in our small, inexpensive interior cabin. Then after we departed the beautiful Azore Islands, we simply asked Guest Relations if it would be possible to switch to a balcony cabin. Without any hesitation, he happily fulfilled our request and immediately showed us to our big new veranda stateroom located midship! No charge, no questions asked.

This method is still far from a sure thing, but it doesn’t hurt much to take five minutes out of your day to ask about this possibility. Remember to smile and be polite. You may even get to sail away from that first port in your upgraded balcony stateroom!

5) Why Book a “Guaranteed Stateroom” on a Cruise

Booking a guaranteed stateroom is a gamble. But it’s a gamble in which the cruiser has everything to gain and nothing to lose . When booking a guaranteed stateroom on a cruise you are “guaranteed” a room within the cabin designation you booked: inside, outside, balcony, or suite. By booking these staterooms you get the absolute lowest price for that category.

The gamble is that you could either end up in a very convenient location on the ship or find yourself in a less desirable cabin location like somewhere up in the bow or underneath a noisy area. Either way, you’ll be paying the lowest price. And since your specific cabin has not been assigned, there’s a small yet realistic chance of getting bumped up to a higher category. It’s happened to us!

During a Panama Canal Cruise on the Celebrity Infinity , we booked a cheap last-minute inside guaranteed cabin. We were instead assigned a big beautiful veranda stateroom on the Penthouse level. Really!

There was no congratulatory email (e.g., “You’ve been upgraded!”) When our stateroom was assigned, we simply noticed that it was a balcony rather than the interior room we booked. We were thrilled!

But this didn’t just happen to us. We spoke to a few other lucky cruisers on this voyage who reported the same circumstance.

It’s our theory that this is a pricing strategy that cruise lines use to fill the ship without publically lowering the value of their balcony staterooms. So go ahead and book that inside guaranteed room and you could get lucky. You can’t get any lower than an inside cabin, so you only stand to gain in this situation.

To try to seek out situations like this, look for cruises that have inside or outside guaranteed staterooms available but show no inventory of assigned rooms within those particular categories . This likely means that all of those interior and porthole rooms have been assigned, which means you may actually get an elusive upgrade when it comes to assigning your specific cabin.

It can be a time-consuming task to sleuth out by clicking through several cruise listings and pretending to go through the purchase process to see their cabin inventory. But your thorough detective work may pay off in the form of a free balcony upgrade.

However, if using this tactic, just be sure that you are still comfortable with the stateroom category you book because it is still not a sure thing that you’ll get the free balcony upgrade. An upgrade may go to someone else in an assigned cabin, and then you’ll be assigned to the cabin that received the upgrade. But don’t lose hope. It is possible and we’re living proof of that.

6) Complain If You Have a Legitimate Reason

If you have a legitimate complaint, particularly with your cabin, it doesn’t hurt to see how the cruise may be able to help make up for the issue .

During a Carnival cruise, we had friends who unbeknownst to them were assigned a stateroom adjacent to the ship’s lively nightclub. After the DJ provided for a few sleepless nights on the fun ship, the passengers kindly addressed the issue with Guest Relations.

To help compensate for their misfortune, Guest Relations gave them a free cruise cabin upgrade to a suite with a balcony, that was far away from the thumping nightclub. Undoubtedly, they slept better.

Note: we do not condone or recommend coming up with false complaints to try to better your cruise stateroom situation. We were once at the Guest Relations desk and overheard a crabby lady who was making a huge stink about a little bit of dust on the top of her phone and some other very petty issues. It felt like she was trying to find complaints to get some sort of compensation for free. She was grasping at straws and being very rude about it. Don’t be that person.

But if you do have a genuine issue, be sure to address the problem. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you unexpectedly find your cabin to be in a noisy position. You could get a free upgrade to a balcony. Be kind and polite when explaining the issue to Guest Relations.

7) Celebrate Something!  

Are you cruising as part of a honeymoon, anniversary, birthday, or something else special? Sometimes there’s a place for you to mention this when filling out the online check-in forms. Or perhaps just work it into conversation with a crew member. They’re always looking for ways to make passengers happy.

Although we’ve scored some choice tables in the main dining room using this method, we have never been successful at getting a free balcony upgrade on a cruise by name-dropping a celebration. Yet it’s not completely unheard of. You’ve got nothin’ to lose. So go ahead and put on that party hat – celebrate that special occasion and be sure to let the entire ship know! 😉

8) Apply Onboard Credit Toward a Balcony Upgrade

Many cruises have been generous lately in offering substantial sums of onboard credits during promotional cruise sales. Unfortunately, you cannot use that onboard credit to apply toward an upgrade before you set sail. But once you’re on the ship, onboard credit is fair game to use on a stateroom upgrade .

So if you have a large sum of onboard credit that you may not spend during your cruise, it’s worthwhile to inquire with guest relations how much a balcony upgrade would cost. Be clear in letting Guest Relations personnel know you’re willing to pay for the cruise cabin upgrade, even though you’ll ultimately be applying your free onboard credit to do so.

If there are balcony staterooms available, this upgrade while already on the ship may come at a reduced cost than what the difference was before the sailing. And now onboard the ship, your onboard credit absolutely can be applied to this upgrade. So if your onboard credit can cover the cost of the balcony upgrade, go for it! You will have just gone a roundabout way at nabbing a free balcony upgrade!

Score Onboard Credit during Your Cruise to Apply Toward a Balcony Upgrade

If you don’t have enough onboard credit to apply towards an upgrade, you can usually take advantage of a generous onboard credit offer for your current cruise by simply booking another cruise while on the ship.

For those who aren’t sure what future cruise or dates you may want to go on, just book a cruise at a date far enough out since you can always change it to something else later without penalty.

You will likely need to put down a deposit to capitalize on this free onboard credit. Yet if you’re planning to take another cruise on the same cruise line, sometime in the future – booking a cruise while on the ship is an excellent workaround to score onboard credit that you can then possibly turn into a free stateroom upgrade.

9) Increase Your Odds of a Free Cruise Cabin Upgrade

To achieve a free cruise cabin upgrade, you’ll need a bit of luck. But there are a few factors you can look for when booking a cruise that may increase your chances of actually landing the elusive balcony upgrade.

• Book an outside cabin – You may have a greater chance of getting a free balcony upgrade on a cruise by booking an outside cabin. Going from an interior stateroom to a balcony is a double upgrade. If balcony upgrades are available, chances are that outside staterooms will be considered for an upgrade before an interior cabin. Plus, if you really want to have a balcony that bad, ensuring that you’ll at least have a window is a decent consolation.
• Book unpopular itineraries & dates : Less attractive dates for cruising will likely have a higher number of unoccupied balcony staterooms, which will certainly increase your chances. Book cruises when kids are in school and a week or two before or after major holidays. Also, oft-snubbed routes like repositioning cruises , which contain a higher number of sea days, tend to have a much higher chance of getting the upgrade. The low price of the repositioning cruise itself is an indication that there are many unsold rooms still available. We’ve been most successful with free balcony upgrades on repositioning cruises. (Read more about repo cruises here: Repositioning Cruises: Your Ultimate Guide to Cruising One-Way .)
• Book a ship with more balconies – Many of the newest megaships are going balcony crazy with a very high percentage of their cabin inventory consisting of balcony staterooms. These ships with higher balcony ratios simply have a greater number of balconies to fill. Hence a balcony upgrade can be more likely.
• Be loyal – Loyalty tends to pay off in dividends when cruising. If a certain category of staterooms is full, a cruise line may just decide to reward some of their more frequent passengers rather than a complete newbie. While we certainly wouldn’t recommend being loyal to a cruise line for this reason, it could be helpful to know that you may be at the top of the pecking order. Also, always be sure to join the cruise line’s loyalty program even if it’s your first time. It costs nothing and you get rewarded with benefits.

10) Get Lucky!

When it comes to cruise cabin upgrades, sometimes you just need some luck on your side.

Once, a few days into a Royal Caribbean transatlantic cruise, we received a phone call notifying us that there was an electrical repair that needed to be made to the lighting of our inside stateroom. For the trouble of asking us to change rooms, they reassigned us to a complimentary balcony stateroom.

We almost couldn’t believe it. Without even trying, we had just got completely lucky and scored a free balcony upgrade!

Every once in a while, luck may just be on your side for a free balcony upgrade on a cruise. Don’t count on this to happen, but know that strange instances like a repair issue are possible. Are you feeling lucky?

Bonus Tip) Bid on a Stateroom Upgrade Before Your Cruise

Most major cruise lines have begun offering a silent bidding process to allow cruise passengers to make an offer to upgrade their stateroom in the month leading up to their cruise embarkation day.

If your specific cruise is eligible for an upgrade, you will typically get emailed within 30-60 days of your sailing. You can then put in a bid for how much you’re willing to spend to get upgraded to your desired room. Don’t worry, you only pay if your bid is accepted.

Select the minimum bid if that’s within an affordable amount for you. Selecting a higher amount will increase the chances of your bid being accepted. But you’re paying for it, so only bid what you can afford and what it’s worth to you.

Pro tip : use a cruise booking website to do a mock booking simply to see the availability of balcony staterooms on your exact sailing. If there are loads of balcony cabins left, bidding the minimum amount could likely prove to be a winning bid. You stand a good chance of scoring a great deal by bidding the minimum amount allowed. But if you see that your sailing is nearly booked full, then you may want to consider bidding higher than the minimum amount.

While these cruise room upgrades by bidding aren’t free, they can prove to be excellent value if a minimum bid is accepted. You can ultimately get these paid upgrades for free by using credit card points, as we outlined in tip #3.

Here is a list of how to make a paid upgrade for each of the major cruise lines:

• Carnival – no upgrade bidding program but you can purchase a cabin upgrade ( more info )
• Celebrity MoveUp – bid on an upgrade within 30 days of the cruise ( official info )
• Disney – no bidding program but you can pay for upgrades before you sail ( official info )
• Holland America – no bidding program but HAL has been known to email upgrade offers as an upsell
• Norwegian Upgrade Advantage Program – bid on an upgrade ( program FAQs and full terms )
• Princess Upgrade – bid on an upgrade ( official info )
• MSC Bid Upgrade Program – bid on an upgrade
• Royal Caribbean RoyalUp – bid of an upgrade ( official info )

Recap: How to Get a Free Balcony Upgrade on a Cruise

The free cruise upgrade tips we’ve listed have worked for us or we’ve witnessed firsthand. So give them a try! With a little effort combined with a fair amount of luck, you may be sailing away with the wind in your face on a beautiful veranda stateroom. Keep an eye out for dolphins!

We wish you the best of luck in your search for a free cruise cabin upgrade and hope one of these methods may work out to get you out of that small inside cabin and into that sought-after balcony stateroom.

If it’s worked for you or you have your own tips to get a free balcony upgrade on a cruise, do let us know in the comments below.

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Publishing note: this article on How to Get a Free Balcony Upgrade on a Cruise was last updated November 2023.

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November 21, 2023 at 1:37 PM

I booked a solo room – ocean view, friends booked a balcony (a huge price difference with Regent). When I checked in I noticed this cabin number was different than the number on my itinerary. Regent had upgraded me to a balcony beside my travelling companions. What a treat. I am now a loyal Regent guest.

December 11, 2019 at 12:07 AM

Sometimes you just have to be lucky(note also a VIP member), only second cruise – Carnival Spirit, booked Balcony Quad 12mths out from date, 2 weeks before, upgraded to Ocean Suite Quad, 1 week before upgraded to Grand Suite…

November 18, 2019 at 1:41 PM

Even though our cruise was already paid in full, I called my travel agent to let her know that I noticed that balcony rooms were now cheaper than what we had paid for our oceanview room. She said she didn’t think we could upgrade, but she would call. They upgraded us to a balcony room at no extra cost with no issue! Thanks for all these tips!

September 30, 2019 at 1:26 PM

Thank you for the great information. We just got off of Norwegian for the first time and loved it. We’re looking into booking another Norwegian next year for Europe. Any advice? Should we book early or do you think we should wait?

October 3, 2019 at 11:57 PM

Booking early or waiting simply depends on so many factors. Typically it can be best to book as early as possible to secure a good rate on a cruise you really want to take. Then, if prices do drop, you can either upgrade or rebook, so long as it’s before the cancellation period. Waiting until last minute can be a good strategy for cheap last minute rates only under a special set of circumstances (it’s low season in the area, you live near the cruise port or can get there inexpensively, you don’t have a preference on the ship/itinerary, you won’t be disappointed if prices do rise).

September 12, 2019 at 4:27 PM

Wow this is awesome advice. I recently booked a cruise with carnival and its a surprise for my wife for our anniversary and if I can get a free room upgrade it will make it that much better 🙂

Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences and what has worked for you guys!

September 1, 2019 at 3:55 AM

what is the latest you guys have booked a cruise? I am stalking the celebrity millennium for oct 12 of this year and having trouble deciding when to pull the trigger! thanks!

September 7, 2019 at 9:54 PM

We’re on the Millennium right now actually, heading over Japan! 🙂 It’s always a gamble on pulling the trigger. Sometimes it’s really tough to be able to predict what prices are going to do. It all comes down to supply and demand of that particular sailing. Probably that latest we’ve done so is 3-4 weeks out. Usually, we book 1-3 months in advance.

February 10, 2023 at 9:44 PM

that was interesting, when my mum book a cruise of pacific encounter for 7th june this year, i found a deal 2 people pay + 2 free deal and immedately told mum to check this deal out and we giot it booked and save $900 which is what we want, paid half the fares and still waiting for the cabin number, is this a good chance we may have an upgraded cabin later on?

June 1, 2019 at 2:40 PM

We were scheduled on Oceana for a cruise in the Carribean. We were notified if we change the dates, and the ship we would have a penthouse withy a butler. And we did!!!!!!

June 2, 2019 at 5:21 PM

That’s awesome! That would be a tough offer to refuse. 🙂 Interesting to hear about that. It sounds like they may have oversold that itinerary, so gave an enticing upgrade offer to switch dates. Enjoy your penthouse with butler – woohoo!

April 29, 2019 at 1:46 PM

In your experience have you been offered upgraded rooms even if you book through an agent or do you have to book through the cruise line?

May 4, 2019 at 5:00 PM

We usually tend to book with a third-party agent simply because we’ve found they tend to be able to offer better deals and perks. And we have indeed received when doing so. Am unaware that booking direct could potentially increase the odds of an upgrade.

August 9, 2019 at 8:39 AM

How do you find a reputable third-party agent? Thanks.

August 13, 2019 at 12:14 PM

We often book cruises online using websites like CruiseDirect and Priceline (both reputable and trustworthy). VacationsToGo is another site we use, but ultimately to book over the phone. Having a good local travel agent can also be a good third-party to use.

December 1, 2018 at 2:05 AM

Your advice and explanations were very clear and made sense. Thank you

September 22, 2018 at 9:04 PM

Loyalty really does work. We got a call 3 days ago offering us a free balcony stateroom upgrade from an inside cabin. We sail tomorrow. Carnival is great for offering upgrades once they recognize your loyalty.

September 25, 2018 at 2:21 PM

Woohoo! Love it when travel brands reward their loyal customers. Good on Carnival for doing so! That’s pretty amazing to be able to go from an interior to a balcony. Enjoy your upcoming cruise and those ocean breezes from your veranda! 🙂

September 13, 2018 at 1:49 AM

Those balcony are looking wonderful! I try it very soon. What a delightful post!. I appreciate your work and your trying to give me better articles. Excellent explanation all point like an expert writer. You figure out a real story. That’s an awesome work i get from you.

September 11, 2018 at 6:00 AM

thank you,your advice seem very practical and i will try those that match our needs.

July 23, 2018 at 1:09 AM

We got lucky ….in April 2018 , we booked balcony with Royal Caribbean cruise for July 8th and paid all at once … three days before the cruise we got upgraded to junior suite. It was awesome and so glad we did guaranteed cabin. It was worth it doing it. Love the trip and the room was amazing and big.

July 25, 2018 at 5:14 PM

That’s awesome! Love booking guarenteed cabins – there’s really not much of a downside. Amazing you got upgraded to a suite. We’ve yet to pull off a suite upgrade ourselves, but hopefully one day! Glad to hear you got lucky – what a great surprise!

June 24, 2018 at 3:27 AM

It works quite well for me

April 14, 2017 at 12:24 AM

We booked a last minute cruise in an inside stateroom. Since it was in the front of the ship it had a window with an obstructed view. The day before the cruise they upgraded us to a balcony room. It turns out that our original booking was a handicapped accessible room and they needed it for a person in a wheelchair.

April 17, 2017 at 6:15 PM

Hey Mary, thanks for the comment and sharing your good fortune with the room upgrade!

January 25, 2016 at 5:33 PM

Just to let you know that we booked a cruise on QE2 in the lowest category in November 2014. In July 2015 we found that a firm was advertising the same cruise at about £1000 less per person. On approaching Cunard we were offered an upgrade to Premium. As we could find no details of this grade, we emailed Cunard to be informed that there was no difference but it may be on a different deck! We were shocked and cancelled losing a deposit of £700.

January 27, 2016 at 3:43 PM

Ouch! We’re sorry to hear about that experience. Like airfare, cruise prices always fluctuate. It can be a gamble at knowing when to buy. Sometimes prices go up, sometimes they drop. To make matters more complicated, often times agencies will sell cruises at different rates than the cruise lines themselves. Because of this, we always recommend checking at least 6 or more agencies for pricing and always be familiar with cancelation policies before booking. Many cruise lines will allow you to cancel within 60-90 with no penalty at all. Therefore if you do find a better deal, you can book it with no penalty. It sounds like the Queen Mary’s policy wasn’t as kind with their policy. Am sorry to hear that, as that can always be an unsettling feeling.

We wrote a detailed post with our strategies for booking low-price cruise that you may find helpful. It’s tailored to repositioning cruises but you can apply the strategies to any cruises, really. http://www.roamingaroundtheworld.com/how-to-get-a-repositioning-cruise-deal-for-less-than-50-per-day/

November 9, 2015 at 11:54 AM

Those are some SICK balconies! You two and you cruises….

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How can I change or upgrade my room on a Royal Caribbean cruise?

Because of the popularity of cruising almost all our rooms are occupied. It is very unlikely to be able to change or upgrade your room onboard. It is strongly recommended that you book the category of room you wish to enjoy during your cruise vacation. If a stateroom is available for a complimentary upgrade, and it meets your upgrade preferences, we will notify you at your email address on file to communicate the upgraded stateroom details.

Should you wish to change your room before your sail date, please call one of our customer service agents at 866-562-7625. They will do the best to accommodate you.

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The Secret Cruise Cabin Upgrade You Need to Know About

H ave you ever heard of people winning a cruise cabin upgrade but wondered how exactly it works? The process can seem like a mystery, with some getting an email invite to participate in bidding for a cabin upgrade while others don’t. If you’re one of the lucky ones with an invitation, the question then becomes, should you bid for an upgrade and how much should you bid? In this article, we’ll demystify the cruise cabin upgrade process once and for all.

How Does It Work?

If you’re new to cruise upgrade bidding, let me give you a quick rundown. Once you’ve booked your cruise, you might receive an email from the cruise line inviting you to bid for an upgrade.

Not all cruise lines offer this program, but Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises, and MSC Cruise are among those that do. Keep in mind not everyone will receive an email invite to bid on a cruise upgrade, and each cruise line may have slightly different procedures.

You do need to be opted in to receive the cruise line’s marketing email to receive the upgrade offer. So, make sure you have that turned on, so you’ll increase your chances of getting an invitation to bid on a cabin upgrade.

Cruise Cabin Upgrade Options

Let’s take my MSC cruise cabin upgrade as an example. I’ve booked a 7-day Caribbean cruise from New York in a deluxe balcony stateroom. MSC Cruises emailed me with two options for upgrading my cabin. 

I could either upgrade to the MSC Yacht Club Deluxe suite or the Suite Aurea cabin. The MSC Yacht Club Deluxe suite has a starting bid price of $1530 per person, and the maximum bid on the slider is $2315 per person. On the other hand, the Suite Aurea cabin with Terrace and Whirlpool upgrade starts at $625 per person, and the maximum bid on the slider is $950.  

Interestingly, I discovered that not everyone gets the same upgrade offer. My parents are also going on the same cruise, but they’re staying in a different cabin. They were offered three cabin options to upgrade, including the MSC Yacht Club deluxe suite and the Suite Aurea Cabin with the Whirlpool. They were also offered an upgrade to an MSC Yacht Club Interior Suite, starting at $495 per person, with the maximum bid on the slider being $745.

It’s also important to note that if I were to win the upgrade to the Yacht Club or Aurea, I’ll have access to their exclusive restaurant, private solarium, and lounge, along with other cabin benefits. This makes the upgrade more attractive.

3rd and 4th Guests Free

The cruise cabin upgrade price is per person and applies for the duration of the cruise. And only the first and second guests in your cabin will be charged for the upgrade. This means that if you have third and fourth guests, their upgrade will be free of charge. 

The upgrade process is similar to a silent auction. You submit your bid, and you have no idea what the competing offers are. 

Bid on Multiple Cabins

It’s worth noting that the MSC cruise upgrade offer I received allows me to bid on more than one cabin upgrade. By submitting my bids on multiple options, I can increase my chances of winning an upgrade.

Winning the Cruise Cabin Upgrade

MSC Cruise will send you an email to notify you if you won the bid for a cabin upgrade. If you’re the lucky winner, your credit card will be charged. On the other hand, if you don’t win, your credit card won’t be charged.  

It’s important to remember that once you bid on a cabin upgrade, it’s non-refundable. If you win and your credit card gets charged, you’ll be assigned to the upgraded cabin, and you won’t be able to switch back if you’re not satisfied with your new cabin location. So, you need to be flexible with having the cruise line assign your cabin location.

Should You Place a Bid?

It’s always a good idea to do some research before deciding whether to bid for a cabin upgrade. First, compare the price of the upgrade with the cost of booking a cabin outright. If booking outright works out cheaper, then it’s better to do that instead of bidding. One of the main advantages of booking a stateroom outright is that you get to choose your cabin location.

Another thing to consider when deciding whether to bid is if you’re okay with not being able to choose your cabin location. For example, if you’re fussy about where your cabin is and only want a mid-ship cabin, then it’s probably best not to participate in the upgrade offer because you can’t choose your cabin location. 

If you’re traveling with a group, you might not want to bid for an upgrade either since there is a chance you will be split up. If you want to stay close to each other, it’s better to stick to your original cabin.

You should also know that a cabin upgrade may incur additional charges. For example, your gratuity may be higher, and you may have to pay more for travel insurance if you have a more expensive cabin.

How Much Should You Bid?

I can’t say this enough, you need to do some research before placing a bid on your cabin upgrade. Check the price of booking a stateroom at a higher category level and compare it to the bid price. 

In some cases, booking a room outright might be cheaper. Only place a bid if the upgrade offer price is lower than the booking price.

Since it’s a silent auction, you should not go overboard with your offer because you don’t know if you have competition. There is a chance that you are the only bidder. Going up 20-30% higher than the lowest price could get you ahead of other bidders and make you the winner.

There’s no exact science to placing a bid, you just have to estimate what makes sense. The key is to know the maximum amount you want to spend by pricing out the cost of upgrading your cabin, so you don’t overbid. Check out: 7 Ways to Get a Cabin Upgrade on a Cruise for Free (or Cheap)

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Princess Upgrade? Yes, Please!

New princess upgrade program allows cruisers the opportunity to bid on higher stateroom categories.

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Princess cruisers experiencing stateroom envy, wishing they had booked more elevated accommodations, can now bid up as part of the cruise line’s newly introduced Princess Upgrade program.

Launching on Sept. 6, Princess Upgrade is a bid-based system, in partnership with PlusGrade, that allows guests residing in the U.S. the opportunity to secure a coveted upgrade - to oceanview, balcony, deluxe balcony, mini-suite and even a full suite.

Upgrades will be available initially on five North America-based ships (Caribbean Princess, Discovery Princess, Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess and Ruby Princess), with plans to roll out fleetwide by the end of October.

“Upgrading is a popular request from our guests and we’re pleased to deliver a process that lets them improve their stateroom category by making an offer that fits their budget and lifestyle,” said Princess President John Padgett.

The Princess Upgrade process is simple—once the sailing is within the Final Payment period and full payment has been received, guests will receive an invitation to take part in the program and submit a bid – they can bid on any stateroom category that is above the one they are currently booked in. Guests can change or cancel their bid any time before it is accepted.

If for any reason Princess guests miss the Princess Upgrade invitation e-mail, there will be a link on princess.com so they can initiate the process without going through the e-mail. Additional details about Princess Upgrade can be found here: https://www.princess.com/plan/princess-cruise-room-upgrade/ .

More information about Princess Cruises is available through a professional travel advisor, by calling 1-800-PRINCESS (1-800-774-6237), or by visiting the company's website at   www.princess.com .

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Holland America Line Enhances Alaska Cruisetours with McKinley Chalet Resort Room Upgrades and New Gold Rush Experience

Twenty-eight rooms at the hotel will be upgraded to Denali Suite category by adding balconies; new included ‘Klondike Gold Tour’ tour explores Klondike Gold Rush history

Seattle, Wash., Feb. 14, 2024 — Holland America Line is elevating its award-winning Alaska Cruisetours in time for the 2024 season with room upgrades at McKinley Chalet Resort and a new, included tour in Dawson City , Yukon. Alaska Cruisetours combine an Alaska cruise with an overland tour to Denali, and Holland America Line is the only cruise line that extends those tours into the Yukon .

Balconies will be added to 28 river-view rooms at McKinley Chalet Resort — Holland America Line’s hotel property at Denali National Park — upgrading them to the Denali Suite category. In addition, a new Deluxe category of non-balcony rooms with suite amenities is being introduced. For the excursions, guests on select Denali and Yukon Cruisetours will have a new “Klondike Gold Tour” that expands on the region’s famed gold rush experience. The tour visits the original discovery claim site that launched the gold rush and Gold Dredge 4.

“We are consistently evolving our Alaska Cruisetour product by adding new amenities that will enhance the overall experience and opportunities to learn more about the destination,” said Dan Rough, Holland America Line’s vice president of revenue management. “Increasing the balcony rooms at McKinley Chalet Resort offers even more visitors the opportunity to take in the incredible views, and adding the Deluxe category allows additional guests to have an elevated stay at the property.”

New Balcony Suites and Deluxe Rooms Added at McKinley Chalet Resort Holland America Line’s McKinley Chalet Resort, nestled at the entrance of Denali National Park, is adding balconies to 28 existing river-view rooms. The property will now offer 84 Denali Suites — giving more guests stunning balcony views of Denali National Park or the Nenana River. Holland America Line also will upgrade 45 non-balcony rooms to feature all the suite amenities, creating a new Deluxe room category.  

Special Deluxe and Suite amenities include a s’more kit to enjoy at Denali Square, Pendleton blankets, premium bathrobes and a Keurig coffee machine. Standard rooms are included in the Alaska Cruisetour fare, and Deluxe and Suite room upgrades are available to book for an additional fee.

New 'Klondike Gold Tour’ Included at Dawson City The new Klondike Gold Tour is complimentary for all guests on select Alaska Denali and Yukon Cruisetours that include Dawson City. Guests will visit the Discovery Claim National Historic Site that started the Klondike Gold Rush and enjoy time at Gold Dredge 4, a preserved wooden-hulled dredge once used to mine gold in the Klondike River Valley. A Parks Canada guide shares the history of gold dredging in the area and about the first discovery of gold in the Yukon.

“The Yukon Territory is where the Klondike Gold Rush began, and we’re excited to include this new tour to Gold Dredge 4 that will give our guests a first-hand encounter with an important part of North American history and in-depth insight into this era,” added Rough. "Holland America Line is the only cruise line that shows the beginning and end of the Klondike trail, from Skagway all the way to the Yukon.”

Guests can delve deeper into the Klondike Gold Rush on an Alaska cruise or Cruisetour on additional shore excursions in Skagway, including visiting the Gold Rush Training Camp and panning for gold, taking the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad to Liarsville Gold Camp , and visiting the Gold Rush Cemetery and Historic Skagway Inn (the largest brothel in Skagway during the gold rush era).

Highlights of 2024 Yukon and Denali Cruisetours:

• Holland America Line is the only cruise line to offer an Alaska cruise combined with an overland tour to Denali and the Yukon.
• Yukon and Denali Cruisetours range from nine to 18 days and include either a three- or four-day Inside Passage cruise on Koningsdam or Zaandam, or a seven-day Glacier Discovery cruise on Nieuw Amsterdam or Noordam; a two-or three-night stay at Denali; a journey into the Yukon and additional city visits.
• Yukon and Denali Cruisetours feature one or two nights in Dawson City, affording guests more time to relive gold rush history.

Highlights of 2024 Alaska Cruisetours

• Nieuw Amsterdam and Noordam offer Denali Cruisetours from nine to 14 days.
•  All Denali Cruisetours include a seven-day Glacier Discovery cruise featuring Glacier Bay, plus either College Fjord or Hubbard Glacier (depending on the direction), Inside Passage, up to three nights at McKinley Chalet Resort, and additional city visits.

McKinley Chalet Resort and Denali Square Every Cruisetour includes a stay at the McKinley Chalet Resort at the entrance to Denali National Park. The property is Holland America Line’s 68-acre hotel on the Nenana River. The resort features a reception hall, dining facilities and guest rooms.

Centrally located between the McKinley Chalet Resort and riverfront guest rooms, Denali Square is a gathering area with restaurants, an amphitheater, fire pits for keeping warm or making s’mores, outdoor seating, retail shops offering local goods and more. Walking paths in and around Denali Square show off the property’s mountainous landscapes and beautiful setting.

Editor’s Note: Photos are available at https://www.cruiseimagelibrary.com/c/ijdrquxs