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Can I upgrade my cabin?

Upgrading guest's stateroom

Guests who wish to upgrade their stateroom should speak to their travel agent or a member of our Customer Contact Centre - please visit our website for contact details. Please note, upgrading will incur a cost and this price would be based on the voyage  price when the guest's booking was originally made.

Should the stateroom type they wish to upgrade to not be available, they may be able to join a waitlist. If a stateroom becomes available while they are on the waitlist, they will be contacted so that they may take advantage of the upgrade.

Reduced fare upgrades

We may offer reduced fare upgrades for guests who have already booked from time to time, meaning that they may be offered a higher stateroom type at a discounted rate.

These will be offered to applicable guests based on the grade of stateroom available and offered in a random order to Cunard Fare guests.

Should a guest be offered a reduced fare upgrade by one of our Upgrade Specialists and wish to accept it, they will be required to make payment with our Upgrade Specialist at time of offering, regardless of whether they have booked direct with Cunard or via a travel agent (unless it is an agency where they can only pay the agent direct - in this case, they need to call the agent to pay). A new confirmation will be sent (to a travel agent where applicable) to reflect the updated booking details.

If the guest chooses not to accept the reduced fare upgrade at time of offering, but changes their mind later, they will able to accept the offer at a later date, subject to availability on a first come first serve basis. Guests should be aware that there will be limited availability on reduced fare upgrades.

Please note, if guests are travelling as a group, an upgrade may not be offered to all parties in the group as these are offered in booking date order.

Complimentary upgrades

Occasionally, for operational reasons, it may be necessary for us to change the stateroom that guests have booked. Should this occur, rest assured we will move them to a more preferential stateroom* within the stateroom type booked i.e if they booked an Inside stateroom, they will remain booked in an Inside stateroom but in a more preferential location* at no extra charge. These are called "automatic upgrades" and are allocated automatically.

If a guest only wishes to be considered for an automatic upgrade if it would result in an upgrade to a different stateroom type, they should make this distinction at the time of booking. Please note, this option is not yet available to guests who book online. For guests who have booked online wishing to opt in for this upgrade option, please call our Customer Contact Centre, who will amend the booking. If a guest receives a free automatic upgrade, please note that it is irreversible.


If a guest has chosen their booked stateroom for a particular reason (for example to be in a specific position on the ship or to be located close to friends or relatives in their party) and do not wish to be considered for a automatic upgrade, they should simply let us or their booking representative know at the time of booking.


Please note, the opportunity of an automatic upgrade is never guaranteed and any stateroom changes are made at the discretion of Cunard. If the guest wishes to pay to upgrade their stateroom (from a Ocean View (Outside) to a Balcony stateroom for example), they should call their booking representative.

*Preferential staterooms are based on historic guest data and preferences.

Additional Information

Upgrading an existing booking at a cost

For a guide on how to upgrade a cabin on Polar online, please click here. If the grade of cabin the guest is interested in is not available, a waitlist can be made.

If a promotion becomes unapplied during the upgrade process, please call the Partnership Helpdesk.

Reduced Fare Upgrades

  • Should we contact a guest booked with you to offer them a reduced fare upgrade, we will forward you a new confirmation stating the booking has been upgraded and payment taken. Such upgrades are commissionable.
  • As Reduced Fare Upgrades are often popular, we will handle all such instances so that the offer can be made and accepted quickly. We will not be forwarding a list of those guests who have been offered an upgrade and have booked via yourselves as this will slow the process down.
  • Please note, if you are contacted by a guest who has booked via yourselves, the upgrade offer is only open to that person and they cannot request that other parties in their group be offered the same upgrade. Guests should contact P&O Cruises / Cunard directly to accept the upgrade.
  • Please note that if your guests have booked an Early Saver, the upgraded cabin will still show as a guarantee and the cabin number will be allocated nearer to departure.
  • The new booking confirmation will highlight the upgrade and the total fare will be adjusted accordingly. We will only take payment for the "upgrade", nothing else, so any "balance due" will remain the same for your own accounting purposes.
  • We will only offer this to those customer bookings where you (the travel agent) have ticked the boxes about your cusgtomers being open to an upgrade: "Open to upgrade" / "Only upgrade to the next stateroom type".

Complimentary upgrades

Since we are not able to upgrade every booking, you should book your customer in a category in which they will be happy to sail.

If an upgrade occurs, it will be automatically added to the booking prior to sailing, and a confirmation will be sent to the agency.

We do not guarantee the following:

  • That linked bookings will all be upgraded, or that they will be upgraded to cabins near each other.
  • That an upgrade will occur.

How to set the upgrade option online:

Step 1: Select the brand and click Manage Booking

Step 2: On the Booking Confirmation screen select the Booking Information button located in the bottom left hand corner.

Step 3: Change the Auto Upgrade option by clicking on the radio button highlighting the option green and click.

Step 4: Your option will then be amended. Your amendment will be confirmed by a message that appears in the top right hand corner of the page. 

Things to remember:

Open to any upgrade:

Choosing this option will mean the guests would like to be considered for an upgrade.

Only upgrade to the next cabin / stateroom type (ex. Balcony to Mini Suite):

Choosing this option will mean the guests would like to be considered for an upgrade but only if the upgrade is to a higher meta, e.g. from an inside grade to an outside grade.

Do not upgrade:

Choosing this option will mean the booking will not be considered for any upgrade.

We recommend declining the automatic upgrade if the guests are linked to other bookings and would like their cabins near each other or if the guests have very specific requests regarding their cabin (side of the ship, near the elevators, etc.) In order to decline the upgrade, click the “DO NOT UPGRADE” box.

Declining an upgrade that has been assigned

If a complimentary upgrade is given, a confirmation is automatically sent. The cabin cannot be changed if an automatic upgrade has been allocated. Please note if the booking has been made on a guarantee basis you cannot decline the automatic upgrade option, this includes bookings made on Getaway, Early Saver or any other promotional fares. 

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