Getting That Cruise Stateroom Upgrade

It's a long way to our next cruise. Unless we get impulsive, it won't happen until November with our planned river cruise followed by our biannual holiday cruise in the Caribbean. Long ago we gave up on getting to the ship and hoping to be surprised by a stateroom upgrade. Somehow my charming son manages those things but we haven't. We have on occasion paid a discounted price however to get an upgrade.

There are some tips to getting an upgrade and it's all in an article on Cruise Critic. Higher cabins are sold first since they can make more money on them. If you've booked a lower priced cabin you may get offered an opportunity to move up--for a discounted price of course. Beware though, sometimes the higher priced cabin may not be in a prime location. If you don't mind bouncing around at the rear or front of the ship or even on a higher deck, then go for it. (See my post Choosing Your Stateroom).

A good way to find out about a sale of unfilled cabins is through the email newsletters and notices that each line sends out. Sign up for the ones you love to cruise with and if you are flexible in your schedule, you could snag a great deal although you may have to travel sooner rather than later. The reason is that most sales will not happen until the final payment is due for those who have already booked--usually at about three months out from the sail date.

There are lots of other tips and interesting information on how a cruise company fills a ship. They do want that ship filled. They still have staff and crew to pay and of course there's a lot of money to be made through those on-the-ship purchases.

Happy stateroom hunting!

Choosing Your Stateroom

 When people learn we've taken over fifty cruises the question always comes up as to which cruise line we like the best. Our answer is the one going where we want to go for the best price at the right time. We do have a few lines we don't travel but that has to do more with the type of services offered and the kind of shipboard activities and they are usually the ones that aren't going to the places we want to see.

The next question asked is which stateroom is best to book? Where should you be--inside or outside with a balcony? Should you be in the front or back of the ship? Top deck or bottom deck? This one is more a personal choice and some of it depends upon your sea worthiness.

The very front and the very back of the ship will often be the place where there is more up and down motion should the sea become a bit choppy. However there are often very nice larger staterooms at the back of the ship.

Next consideration is upper decks vs. lower deck. Take a pencil or pen and stand it upright on a table top between two fingers. Now move the upper end of that pen back and forth. That's the motion a ship would make. The bottom will stay about the same but the top moves much farther side to side. Now you might get some better views from an upper deck room but it will certainly cost you more. Most of the penthouse suites are on the upper decks. The choice is yours.

Inside or outside? We started cruising with inside rooms. They were much less expensive and fit our budget at the time. Then we spoiled it by getting a room with a balcony. It's tough to go back although our last short impromptu cruise we did. If you don't mind not having a window (the TV will have a live shot of the view from the front of the ship usually) and you expect to spend more time at the pool or with activities and going ashore, then inside will work for you. I need to have a place to retreat so I truly enjoy a balcony.

Some other important things to consider:

• is the stateroom near the elevator? You might get some noisy late night guests.
• what is the stateroom under? Try not to get under the dining rooms. You'll hear early morning preparation or late night clean up. Under the theater is not bad if you don't expect to call it an early evening. There was one cruise where our room was under the pool deck and we heard the clump, clump, and slide of the line dancing in the evenings.
• want a valet or butler? You'll need to get a suite and it will cost you.
• You can get really picky and decide if you want mostly sunrises or sunsets from your balcony depending upon which direction your ship is sailing. Pick port or starboard appropriately. Just remember when it turns around and heads home you'll have the opposite. (By the way port is the left side facing forward and left and port have four letters. Easy to remember.)

If you've never booked your own room, you'll want to go through a travel agent who is familiar with cruise bookings. They will steer you in the right direction. And as my husband always says, it's tough to have a bad cruise no matter where your stateroom is.

A Room With A View

We just finished booking our stay at the East End in Grand Cayman for our annual dive trip with our grandson. I love The Reef Resort which has now been taken over by the Wyndam. This year we'll be renting a condo from one of the owners of a time share. The nice thing about the condos is that they all have an ocean view--a real ocean view.

I remember several times when we've booked a room with a view and it's been a partial view of the ocean and sometimes only if you stepped to one end of the window and placed your cheek against the glass to be able to see it. I think enough people have complained about the misdirection in the room description that now you get "partial ocean view" in the listing.

There are lots of other views that are spectacular other than an ocean and if you can afford to splurge I can tell you that the views from the Grand Canyon El Tovar Lodge are great. Our room didn't look out on the canyon but we did sit out front often and take in the view. We also visited the Many Glacier Lodge in Glacier National Park for lunch one day and sighed as we wondered what it would have been like to have the beautiful view of the lake and mountains from a room there.

One of the most spectacular views I've seen was that from the lobby of the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park.

And lest we forget, there are always amazing views from a cruise ship (unless you get an inside cabin). The views of the ocean are generally unobstructed as long as your stateroom window isn't blocked by a lifeboat. Just be sure to check the deck plans carefully. Then there's always the Royal Caribbean ships like the Oasis and Allure and the newer ones that have views of the interior that can be very interesting.

When booking a room with a view be sure to check out several review spots online and get tips on which rooms are the best for a view. Just remember that a view comes with a price and think about how much time you are actually going to spend in that room looking at the view. If it's worth it, book it!

Dream A Little Dream With Me

Our son, one of the charmers we raised, managed to get his family upgraded to a suite once on a cruise they took. It came with a butler and plenty of space for the four of them. The butler would bring food for the kids' early dinner and then our son and his wife would get to go to dinner on their own later after dropping the kids off at the supervised children's area. They were pampered and made to feel really special and I'm concerned that it spoiled them for any future cruises.

We've been upgraded to what are considered suites a few times but they were nothing like the premium suites available on a lot of ships. The premium suites come with the standard butler service but then you can expect all sorts of other amenities depending upon the cruise line and the ship.

Premium suites usually range in size from about 1,000 to 2,000 square feet compared to a standard cruise stateroom that averages 250 square feet. They often include a grand piano, a whirlpool tub often on the balcony as well as in the bathroom, a small refrigerator and microwave, a dining room table, premium linens,--the list goes on.

Often there are special perks that come with booking a premium suite as well. Sometimes there are designated areas on the ship for suite guests only and special restaurants as well.

On one back-to-back cruise we took, our room was sandwiched between two suites. They must have had a space that needed filling and our stateroom fit there. On one side of us was the top premium suite and when we were in port for the turn around day, our cabin stewardess said we could take a peak. The room wasn't made up yet but it was still amazing. Gold fixtures, a little kitchen and butler's pantry, and of course, the hot tub on the balcony.

Sure we could always book a premium suite for a cruise but that would be it--a cruise. I just couldn't justify giving up several cruises just to be able to enjoy the luxury. Still, maybe someday for a special occasion. Even a practical girl can dream.

Cruising - Do You Settle Or Go For Only The Best?

When we do our 108 day world cruise we will not be traveling in a penthouse suite, not even a balcony, although what we are paying for the journey could get us a super suite on other ships. But neither will we be traveling in an inside stateroom. A 108 days without a window would be a claustrophobic catastrophe for me.

We chose Crystal Serenity for its food, service, entertainment value (including the lectures), and the itinerary it presented for our trip.

Crystal Symphony's bathroom

Having cruised with the ship before, we know something of what to expect. The stateroom is one we had on the New York  to Dover, England cruise in May of 2012. The room is not real large and the window looks out on the Promenade Deck but the bathroom has double sinks (marble topped) and is bigger than the usual small closet-sized ones with the barely-turn-around showers where the curtain gets too intimate with you. Its close to the door to the outside deck so its almost like having a large balcony at our disposal.


The Cruise Critic Cruiser's 2014 Choice Awards were given out earlier this year and I checked to see how the Serenity did. For the small ship category it got a 4.6 rating. The top rating went to Seven Seas Navigator with a 5.2.

There were a lot of ships on the list that we've not sailed with mostly because they are all premium lines and the travel budget doesn't allow for that much luxury all the time.

Our room on the Symphony -Serenity's sister ship

So I am back to the question, do you settle or go for only the best?

I think it's all a matter of expectation. Some of the less expensive cruise lines offer great value and good service. Some food is better than others though but that is a matter of personal likes/dislikes. When you choose, look for the cruise that fits your budget, your timeline, your preferred destination, and keep your expectations reasonable. That last one is important. It's why my husband says, "There is no bad cruise."