Introducing Cunard Upgrade

Further frequently asked questions about Cunard Upgrade

Cunard Upgrade Programme - Official Terms (“Terms”)

These terms govern Cunard Upgrade, the stateroom bidding upgrade programme (the “Programme”), which is available on certain cruises operated by Carnival Plc trading as Cunard (“Cunard”).

In these terms, when we refer to "we", "us" or "our", we mean Cunard. When we refer to "you" or "your" we mean you, the person who is an eligible guest using the programme. “Your voyage” means the cruise element of the holiday you have booked with us. “Your stateroom” means the individual stateroom you selected when booking your voyage or that we first allocated to you.

If you are an eligible guest and choose to take part in the programme, these terms will apply to you.

1.       About the Programme

1.1.     The programme allows you to submit an offer to upgrade your stateroom to a higher grade of stateroom on your voyage. Information about the stateroom grade(s) we use can be found here.

1.2.     We cannot confirm in advance which individual staterooms will be offered for upgrades through the programme. Any upgraded stateroom will always be a higher stateroom grade than your stateroom but may have different features and be in a different location onboard.

IMPORTANT: We will automatically allocate you an upgraded stateroom if your upgrade offer is accepted. You may not reject the upgraded stateroom we allocate to you and revert to your stateroom once your upgrade offer is accepted. The programme may not be suitable for you if you have booked your stateroom because it has certain features or is in a particular location onboard.

1.3.     Upgrade offers are legally binding offers from you to pay us the amount you select when making an upgrade offer. When you make an upgrade offer you are agreeing to pay us this amount if your offer is accepted.

1.4.     If we do not accept your upgrade offer it will be considered unsuccessful and you will not be required to make any further payments to us.

1.5.     The programme is optional. You do not have to submit an upgrade offer but if you do  we do not guarantee it will be accepted. The choice to accept an upgrade offer is ours alone and only we will decide which staterooms are allocated as upgrades through the programme.

1.6.     Upgrade offers are payable on a per-person basis for each person sharing your stateroom. If it is accepted, the cost of your upgrade offer is payable in addition to the price of your voyage.

2.        Who Can Take Part

2.1.     The programme is only available on some cruises to guests who we have selected to participate, called “eligible guests”. You must be aged 18 or over to be an eligible guest and the balance of the price of your voyage must be fully paid.

2.2.     Only one person associated with your booking can submit an upgrade offer for your stateroom. You can make as many upgrade offers for higher stateroom grades as you wish but we will only accept one upgrade offer for your stateroom.

2.3.     If you have booked multiple staterooms on your voyage, any upgrade offer you make will not apply automatically to all staterooms associated with you as the lead guest. Individual upgrade offers must be submitted for each cabin booked. You must the full authority and permission of all guests associated with your booking if you submit an upgrade offer on their behalf.

3.       How to Take Part

3.1.     If you have not opted out of receiving pre-voyage information from us, we will email you directly with details on how to take part in the programme.

3.2.     To submit an upgrade offer you must visit our dedicated programme website which can be accessed via the link in the email inviting you to take part in the programme. This is called the “offer site”. You must enter the booking reference associated with your voyage and your name to enter the offer site.

3.3.     The list of stateroom grades available for upgrade offers will be shown on the offer site. These are unique to you and may not appear for other guests. You must follow all directions shown on the offer site to submit an upgrade offer.

4.       Upgrade Offers

4.1.     “Upgrade offers” are the amount that you and all other guests sharing your stateroom are willing to pay to upgrade your stateroom to a higher stateroom grade.

4.2.     All upgrade offers you submit are private and are not visible to other guests. Only we will be aware of the value of any upgrade offer(s) you submit.

4.3.     To submit an upgrade offer you must visit the offer site and enter the amount that you and all other guests sharing your stateroom are willing to pay to upgrade your stateroom.

4.4.     Upgrade offers are legally binding offers from you to pay us the amount you choose when making your offer. When you make an upgrade offer you agree to pay us the amount you select if your upgrade offer is accepted.

4.5.     The lowest upgrade offer you can submit for any grade of stateroom will be shown on the offer site. Upgrade offers cannot be lower than the minimum offer amount shown.  

4.6.     Upgrade offers are calculated on a minimum double occupancy basis. If you are a single occupant in your stateroom, any upgrade offer you make will automatically be doubled by the offer site. You will be shown the final total amount on the offer site before you submit your upgrade offer.

4.7.     If you booked your voyage in connection with any promotion offered by us that entitled you to certain benefits or onboard credit linked to a particular grade of stateroom, then those benefits or onboard credit will remain associated with the grade of your stateroom you selected at the time of booking. They will not be increased to reflect any upgrade you might obtain through the programme.

4.8.     Upgrade offers must be submitted in whole denominations and paid for in the same currency you used when booking your voyage.

4.9.     You must submit a valid credit card number when prompted by the offer site to make an upgrade offer. These credit card details are required to validate your upgrade offer and will not be stored or retained by us once your upgrade offer is submitted. We will not automatically collect payment using these credit card details if your upgrade offer is accepted – you must still contact us to arrange payment in accordance with these terms.

4.10.    You may change, alter or withdraw your upgrade offer by following the directions on the offer site before the final offer date provided it has not already been accepted by us.    

5.       Offer Period and Availability

5.1.     The period in which you can submit an upgrade offer is called the “offer period”. The offer period starts eighty (80) days before the advertised departure for your voyage.

5.2.     The “final offer date” is the day seven (7) days before your voyage’s advertised departure date. The offer period ends on the final offer date.

5.3.     Only we will select the participating voyages and stateroom grades available for upgrade offers through the programme. The programme is not available on all cruises we operate. The selection of staterooms available for upgrades through the programme will be based on the availability of staterooms onboard from time-to-time and may change during the offer period.

5.4.     Not all grades of stateroom we provide on our ships may be available for upgrade offers on each cruise, regardless of their availability.

5.5.     We will continue to publicly sell staterooms in the stateroom grades which are available for upgrade offers during the offer period. Submitting an upgrade offer does not guarantee you an upgraded stateroom until the upgrade offer is accepted by us. We do not guarantee that any staterooms in stateroom grades shown as available for upgrade offers will still be available by the final offer date.

6.       Acceptance of your Upgrade Offer

6.1.     If your upgrade offer is accepted, we will reassign your stateroom to an upgraded stateroom within the applicable stateroom grade. This is called your upgraded stateroom.  We will then send you a new booking confirmation email with details of your upgraded stateroom and a statement of all amounts you must pay to us.

6.2.     Your upgrade offer is only accepted when we notify you by email that it has been accepted. Once your upgrade offer is accepted, you must pay us all amounts associated with your upgrade offer in accordance with these terms.

6.3.     There is no agreement between you and us to provide you with an upgraded stateroom until your upgrade offer is accepted and you have paid all amounts associated with that offer. We are not required to provide you with an upgraded stateroom until this payment has been received by us, in full.

6.4.     If we do not inform you that your upgrade offer has been accepted, you will not be entitled to an upgraded stateroom. In this case you are not required to make any further payment to us and you will continue to travel in your stateroom.

6.5.     Once paid for, upgrade offers are non-refundable, unless permitted by these terms.

6.6.     Our acceptance of your upgrade offer will be automatically withdrawn if you do not pay us all amounts associated with your upgrade offer when required by these terms. If this should happen, you will be assigned a new stateroom in the same grade as your stateroom and will not be permitted to travel in the upgraded stateroom.  

6.7.     In most circumstances we will accept the highest value upgrade offer(s) for the corresponding stateroom grades. The criteria and processes we use for accepting upgrade offers are confidential to protect our legitimate business interests. The acceptance of upgrade offers and allocation of upgraded staterooms will always be at our sole discretion. In some situations we may choose not to accept the highest-value upgrade offer we receive for any particular grade of stateroom.

6.8.     Your upgraded stateroom will include the in-stateroom amenities that are advertised as included with your upgraded stateroom grade during your voyage.

7.       When Will I Be Told If My Upgrade Offer Is Accepted?

7.1.     We can accept your upgrade offer at any time after it is submitted.

7.2.     We will try to notify you if your upgrade offer has been accepted before the final offer date but, in some exceptional circumstances, we may accept your upgrade offer as late as one (1) day before your voyage departs.

7.3.     We will always contact you by email to confirm if your upgrade offer is accepted.

8.       How Do I Pay For My Upgrade Offer?

8.1.     You must pay us all amounts associated with your accepted upgrade offer via our dedicated payment site. This can be accessed via the link in our email notifying you that your upgrade offer is accepted. Alternatively, you can call our Contact Centre on 0344 338 8641 to make payment.

8.2.     You can use any valid Future Cruise Credit (FCC) issued to you to pay for all or a part of your upgrade offer. To use FCC to pay for your upgrade offer, you must tick the corresponding box on the offer site before submitting your credit card details.

9.       When Must I Pay For My Upgrade Offer?

9.1.     All payments must be made within 72 hours (3 days) of us notifying you that your upgrade offer is accepted, except where we notify you after the final offer date.

9.2.     We will contact you directly by telephone to confirm if your upgrade offer is accepted after the final offer date. In this case, all payments must be made directly to us and within 24 hours (1 day) of our telephone call with you. Our representative will be able to collect payment from you directly on that telephone call.

9.3.     If we attempt to collect payment from you using any credit or debit card details that you provide to us and these payments are declined, we may (but are not required to) contact you to arrange an alternative method of payment.

If we are unable to contact you in a reasonable time, or, if we decide it is necessary for us to allocate the upgraded stateroom to another guest, we will inform you by email that our acceptance of your upgrade offer is withdrawn. In these circumstances, we will allocate you a new stateroom in the same grade as your stateroom and you will not be entitled to travel in the upgraded stateroom. Any stateroom we allocate to you will be an equal or higher grade to your stateroom but may not be the same stateroom you originally booked or which was first assigned to you.

9.4.     Any decision we make to withdraw our acceptance of your upgrade offer is final and cannot be appealed or challenged by you.

10.    Cancellations

10.1.    The terms relating to the cancelation of your voyage in our booking conditions will continue to apply if you make an upgrade offer.

10.2.    If you or we cancel your voyage once your upgrade offer is accepted and paid for, the cost of your upgrade offer will form part of the price you have paid for your voyage. Any cancelation fees you are required to pay under the terms of our booking conditions will be calculated using this increased amount. Equally, if we cancel your voyage, any refund or credit we are required to provide you under the terms of our booking conditions will be calculated in line with this increased amount.

11.    Important Terms

11.1.        By submitting an upgrade offer you agree that you have read and will be legally bound by these terms.

11.2.        Upgrade offers apply to your stateroom only. We cannot guarantee that any upgraded stateroom will still be close to (or will still be interconnected with) the staterooms of other guests you are traveling with.

11.3.        We will always try to act reasonably in processing and accepting upgrade offers but any decision we make to accept (or withdraw our acceptance of) any upgrade offer in accordance with these terms remains ours to make alone. Our decision on these matters is final and may not be challenged or appealed once it is communicated to you.

11.4.        We do not make any promises, representations or guarantees to you (or other guests traveling with you) that you (or they) will receive an upgrade as a result of submitting an upgrade offer.

11.5.        We reserve our right to amend the terms of, or if necessary, completely withdraw the programme (and any upgraded stateroom allocated to you) if commercial considerations or situations outside of our reasonable control make it necessary to do. This may happen at any time, including after we have accepted your upgrade offer.

If, in this situation, it is no longer possible for us to allocate you a stateroom in the same stateroom grade as your upgraded stateroom, any amounts you have already paid for an upgrade offer will be refunded to you and you will not be required to pay us any other amounts. Except where this refund is due to you, we will not be liable to you for any other costs or expenses you incur as a result of us altering or withdrawing the programme.

11.6.        Our booking conditions that you agreed to when booking your voyage remain in full force and effect if you participate in the programme. They are incorporated into these terms, in full.  

11.7.        These Terms are subject to, and will be governed in accordance with, English law.