As an addendum to my "upgrade history" I mentioned above, the time when we purchased an upgrade when we first embarked was on the Navigator in Alaska. We knew we had made a mistake in not booking a balcony as soon as we got to the ship. In our case, we had to go up two categories to get a balcony. I checked after the cruise, and the price we were charged for the upgrade was LESS than if we had booked the balcony cabin in the first place. I don't know if such things are usual, unusual, or what. I just know it happened that one time in our case.

Thanks,
Richard :) :) :)