Can I upgrade my Carnival cruise room online?

You booked your Carnival cruise vacation, and now you’re rethinking the cabin category you’ve chosen. Perhaps, you’ve changed your mind and are willing to pay more for a room with a window or a balcony — or maybe you’re curious if you can get a nicer room without paying full price. Can you upgrade your Carnival cruise room online or with a phone rep?

The most obvious method of upgrading your cabin is to call the cruise line or your travel agent and ask to change your reservation to a more expensive room. Prior to final payment, you can even do it yourself online by canceling the old room and rebooking a new one. You will pay the going rate for the new cabin and possibly a change fee, depending on the restrictions of the promotion you booked.

After final payment, it gets far more complicated (and expensive) because the cruise line’s tiered cancellation fees apply. In that case, you’d stand a better chance of having those fees waived by dealing with a travel agent or a phone representative.

But what if you want a nicer cabin for less than full price? Let’s look at how you can upgrade your Carnival cruise line online and over the phone.

Why would cruise lines like Carnival offer discounted upgrades?

Today's competitive cruise market means cruise ships are sailing at or near capacity. Consequently, cruise lines are leaning toward strategically managing upgrades using computer algorithms to fill the last remaining cabins in the most profitable manner.

The key to scoring an upgrade offer through these complicated systems is not who you are or who you know but which room you are giving up by upgrading. The computers are looking for rooms that sell more easily than the ones that remain empty.

Here’s an example to help you see how the cruise lines juggle rooms for higher profit. Let’s say you booked a well-positioned inside cabin a year ago at a bargain Black Friday price. Two months before your cruise departs, windowless rooms like yours are selling for double what you paid.

If the cruise line can get you out of the room you booked, they stand to make more money on it. They get what they want by offering you a paid upgrade to a slow seller — maybe something like an obstructed view balcony room. As long as you’re happy paying for an upgrade from no view to partial view, it’s a win for both you and the cruise line.

Related: Why it pays to upgrade your cruise ship cabin

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Elusive offers that allow you to upgrade your Carnival cruise room online

So how do you find those offers to upgrade your cabin before sailing? Carnival hints at potential upgrade offers with this statement on its FAQ page: "Opportunities to purchase an upgrade are available prior to your cruise, subject to availability." Unfortunately, there is no further explanation of how to access those opportunities.

With a little digging, I discovered a few methods Carnival uses to offer room upgrades online. My aunt recently received an upgrade offer in an email, which she initially skimmed past. Days later when she realized what it was, she used the link in the email to try to claim her offer. What she got instead was, "This offer is no longer available." Turns out, anyone with a booking can visit this link (carnival.com/PostBookingSales) whenever they want, input their information and hope the upgrade fairy is kind.

I tried it and was rewarded with the same message my aunt got from her email offer. A quick check online of unsold rooms on my sailing turned up just over a dozen rooms left 35 days before departure. Since I have a balcony cabin already, it's not likely I would jump on an upgrade for the last remaining suite (currently selling for over $3,000 per person) even if it was offered.

The lesson here is if you know that higher-category cabins are still available on your sailing, pay close attention to your email and keep trying the above link.

The other possibility I uncovered is to navigate to your Cruise Manager, where you buy shore excursions and onboard extras like Wi-Fi and drink packages for your booked cruises. On the left side of the page, you’ll find a header labeled "My To-Do List." Normally, this list includes notices like the date for your online check-in and a link to print documents (that's where your luggage tags are, by the way). If you have upgrade offers to claim, they might also appear there.

I watched an online video of a Carnival cruiser using the to-do list link to claim an upgrade from an inside cabin to a midship balcony for a total of $374 (for two passengers) on a six-night cruise. This video was a bit dated, but recent social media posts report that upgrades appear there. Some Carnival cruisers claim they appear at exactly 45 days before departure. Others swear by checking every week.

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

Does Carnival allow guests to bid for room upgrades?

Unlike Virgin Voyages, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, Carnival does not use a third-party agent to manage its unsold inventory of rooms through a bidding process. In those systems, passengers booked in cabins considered hot last-minute sellers might be offered the chance to bid on one of the last remaining “better” rooms.

Instead of bidding, Carnival provides various specific cabin options, each with a set upgrade price that you are free to accept (or decline). If you accept, your booking changes at once. No waiting or wondering if you won the bid.

Remember that in any upgrade system, including Carnival’s, "upgrade" is a relative term. For example, you might be offered an upgrade from a balcony cabin on Deck 6 to one on Deck 8. If you prefer to be on a deck sandwiched between two cabin floors to avoid restaurant, pool and bar noise above or below, you might not consider this much of an upgrade on every ship. Cruise lines, however, almost always view higher decks as upgrades within each category.

The key to deciding the value of an online room upgrade is to do a quick study of the deck plans of the ship, followed by a math check to make sure it's a deal you are willing to take. The consensus among cruisers who have done online upgrades is that you must act fast. Someone else is likely out there viewing the same offers and ready to click.

Related: The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship

Other ways to get a Carnival cruise upgrade

The Carnival website says that upgrade requests cannot be accommodated on the day of sailing, "as we sail at capacity." That means the days of standing in line at the guest services desk on board, hoping for a last-minute upgrade, are probably over.

Carnival has long provided travel agents with upgrades they could use to grant higher-tier cabins to their best clients. Establishing a relationship with a travel adviser could, over time, result in a free or discounted upgrade for you. Even if you don’t fall into the “best client” category, if you are serious about upgrading to a better room, an agent might be able to at least get change fees or cancellation fees waived.

Loyalty to the cruise line could also get you a nicer room. Carnival cruisers who make it to the Diamond level of the Very Important Fun Person (VIFP) Club are rewarded with a one-time single-category upgrade, not including balcony to suite.

Sometimes the best method is to look for deals with built-in cabin upgrades, so you’re upgrading at the time of booking rather than after you put down a deposit. I found an offer for VIFP members of all levels that included a three-category upgrade within cabin types. It's an automatic upgrade at the time of booking allowing you to pick a better room within your chosen cabin class. In other words, you won't be upgraded from an inside cabin to a balcony, but from a basic inside room to a substantially better inside cabin.

Who gets those last remaining rooms if automated online upgrade systems do not fill them?

It's always possible to call guest services, your travel agent or your Carnival Personal Vacation Planner (PVP) to ask for an upgrade. The worst that can happen is they will offer you a better room at the going rate. One must assume there is a bit of human salesmanship involved when it comes to filling the last rooms on a ship. Travel agents and PVPs might even keep waiting lists for popular cabins on popular sailings, always hoping for a call that creates an open room they know they can sell if they can convince you to move up.

Status in the VIFP Club and in the Carnival Player’s Club for casino players likely plays a part in last-minute upgrades as well, so who you are matters a bit.

Also, remember that cruise ships almost always hold back a few rooms of each cabin type for emergencies. I've been on numerous cruises where passengers were moved to a different room on a supposedly sold-out ship when a burst water pipe flooded a cabin or a thermostat failed.

Related: I earned a 'free' cruise in a ship casino — here's what it cost, plus tips for getting comped

Bottom line

Carnival uses online upgrade offers to shuffle last-minute room inventory. These offers allow passengers to purchase an upgrade to a room of a better type or higher category within the same type at a reduced fare. There is no bidding. You can accept or decline any offer to change your cabin, but not every room on every sailing is eligible for these upgrades. Upgrades are based on availability and demand as the departure date draws near.

Carnival makes it clear on its website that it's best to choose the cabin that suits you and your budget well in advance. You won’t always be able to upgrade your Carnival cruise cabin online or over the phone — but it sure is a nice surprise when you can pounce on an upgrade offer and get a better room at a discounted rate.

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