My husband and I have done the same thing on our last two cruises and it has worked out perfectly. We have found it less expensive to buy 2 device/1 person plan.
Prior to our last cruise I noticed a price drop on our fully paid cruise (booked directly with Celebrity). I called and requested to be upgraded to Concierge (which was now priced at what I paid for a balcony). Agent was very pleasant and the upgrade was made without any fuss.
Many, many years ago we were booked in a balcony room on the Mercury for an Alaskan cruise...after embarkation we were inexplicably upgraded to a sunset veranda. I surmised that some other passengers probably needed adjacent rooms and we were the lucky winners asked to move!
You can ask your Concierge to have a cheese plate instead of the usual afternoon canapés; if you request crackers they will most likely be saltines. After a few days of that you can ask him to cancel the whole thing!
We also tip a few $ for any HH drinks, as we are not sure that the server will receive a gratuity otherwise. The servers are always grateful and often remember you if you return on a following evening.
Oh my, Ale-handsome did a whole presentation about the beginning of the pandemic featuring your cruise! Great pictures of staff and passengers improvising and making do. I had not realized the lengths to which Celebrity went to get some passengers and crew home.
Also, don't forget to pack your corkscrew if you plan to bring wine on-board. We have had lovely cabin stewards who have loaned us one when I have forgotten but not sure I would count on it.🍷
No insight into scheduling but totally agree with sandbug2. Alejandro and Guiseppe are the absolute best cruise directors we have ever had on a cruise (sailing with Celebrity since the 90's).
We have also had this happen a few times and a call to Celebrity has resulted in upgrade. The agents have been very pleasant and happy to make us happy. Good luck to you!
Thank you for taking us along on your journey...now you have me dreaming about returning to Caribbean! My last cruise there was early March 2020- the week cruising shut down! Had a very unpleasant excursion experience and frazzled staff on board as we all faced an unknown future.
Chocolate covered strawberries do exist. We were at the start of a TA on RC one time and I was attempting to order lunch in the MDR. The waiter said to me, "It's a long cruise madam, have a salad." I am a small person so it was funny to me but may not have been to others. I mentioned to head guy for dining room and let him know that while I was not offended others could be. We later received chocolate covered strawberries and a note in our cabin.
Watched it yesterday (beach, red, cheese, Amalfi coast). I really enjoyed seeing some of the Captains from past cruises (especially Captain Matt) and the one for our upcoming cruise. We may never make it to the El Bacio level but this was an enjoyable presentation.
I agree with all the positive points mentioned in previous posts...it is a charming, unique experience with delicious food.
Another thing that I really appreciated was the QUIET atmosphere. It was very relaxing, almost spa-like, to dine in a darkened room with none of the ambient noise you have in the larger dining venues.