Free Cruise Upgrades
There is a lot of mystery surrounding cruise upgrades, where you pay for a lower category and somehow wind up with a higher room category than what you purchased originally. In this day and age, much of the commotion is unwarranted, and there is a lot of mythology traveling by word-of-mouth and the Internet. Each cruise line has its own policies, ways and means of upgrading, but the hows and whys are more closely guarded than some government secrets. It's all internal, sometimes based on past passenger status, the amount of money paid, when the booking was made or the size of the agency that booked the cruise for you, and sometimes it's a computer randomly pulling a name. Having your travel agent call every week to pester the cruise line for an upgrade will more likely move you down the mystery list than up, as the cruise lines have ways of electronically flagging problem records, and that may enter into the secret upgrade equation.
Part of the mythology is that the cruise lines have lots of open cabins each week that they give out to people. That is very far from the truth. Even with all the new, larger ships, in 99% of the cases they are sold out by the time the sailing date rolls around. People who think they can complain loudly to someone and get something for nothing, generally wind up just complaining loudly. No cruise line is going to kick another passenger out of his stateroom to accommodate someone wanting something for free. That's basic common sense.
The way most cruise lines are set up now, passengers are given the opportunity to buy upgrades at the time of booking. There are promotions where you can get a 1 or 2 category upgrade at the time you purchase your room, but with today's modern ships that really doesn't get you much. Let's look at the 2 largest cruise lines, Carnival and Royal Caribbean. On Carnival, if you purchase a minimum inside cabin with twin beds, sometimes you can get upgraded, or you can pay for an upgrade to a higher category. In each case, the cabins are 100% identical other than location. They are all exactly the same in every detail. Oceanview cabins are all the same, and balcony cabins are identical as well, until you get up into the demi-suites and suites. So with the cookie-cutter shipbuilding, an upgrade doesn't mean better accommodations, it means up a flight of stairs or two. For many people, this is not necessarily a good thing. Royal Caribbean is very similar, too. Inside categories are virtually identical staterooms. Outside cabins are also identical, though on their older ships, some have windows, while others have portholes. But you get the idea. If you're thinking you can pay for the minimum inside, and when you arrive at the ship they will have you in a suite, it's probably just not true.
From our standpoint, cabin location is much more important than category. If
you can get an upgrade that gets you one deck closer to the activities deck, you
can still get a good location and it's free, then why not? But there is a lot
more perception than reality when it comes to upgrading. You should always
purchase a cabin you'd be happy with regardless, and enjoy your vacation.