On Board Booking Upgrades

[Kellie Poodle]

What is the perk for booking on board when one is booking an outside (ocean view) cabin? Is it just one category up or is it more.

 

I know if I pay for a category 7, I can get a category 6 for the same price, but I thought that if I booked on board another ship, I could pay for a category 8 and get a category 6.

 

I did search for the answer, but I must be looking in the wrong places.

[cruisestitch]

There has been a "three category " upgrade and on M class ships there are three categories ..... Book a Cat 4 and only pay the cat 7 price. S class ships only have two outside non-verandah categories AFAIK so the three category deal is meaningless. Book Cat 7 and pay cat 8 price

[Kellie Poodle]

There has been a "three category " upgrade and on M class ships there are three categories ..... Book a Cat 4 and only pay the cat 7 price. S class ships only have two outside non-verandah categories AFAIK so the three category deal is meaningless. Book Cat 7 and pay cat 8 price

 

Thanks. I am planning to book Infinity which is M class. I'm looking to book Cat 6 at the Cat 8 price, so I guess I can do it.

[RMSeadog]

Don't forget the OBC! Up to $300 for a 14 night cruise. Also important, if you book two seven night cruises as a back to back it counts as 14 nights for OBC, $100 more than if they were separate. ~ Ric

 

[Kellie Poodle]

Don't forget the OBC! Up to $300 for a 14 night cruise. Also important, if you book two seven night cruises as a back to back it counts as 14 nights for OBC, $100 more than if they were separate. ~ Ric

 

 

 

Don't worry. I'm not forgetting the OBC for a second. This is a 15 night cruise so I'll do well.

 

I also like the idea of not having to pay the full deposit when a cruise is a year or more away.

 

I'm picking up a couple of extra future cruise/next cruise open booking certificates, too. I always have one for Royal and one for Celebrity on hand in case a cruise pops up that interests me. Once again, lower deposit and OBC.

[TourDeCruise]

Thanks. I am planning to book Infinity which is M class. I'm looking to book Cat 6 at the Cat 8 price, so I guess I can do it.

 

Janet,

 

While on board our Hawaii cruise with you last April, we booked a Category 6 oceanview for another Hawaii cruise on the Century and we paid the Category 9 price. One upgrade could have been for Captain's Club and two for booking another cruise while onboard. Or maybe all three for booking onboard?

 

Have to take advantage of booking while on board or getting the Future Cruise or Passages certificate! Those OBCs come in handy for pricey tours such as Adventure to Hana.

 

Kathy

[cruisestitch]

Kathy, The three category upgrade was for booking on board. It trumps the one-category Captain's Club upgrade.

[Christine Frances]

And if you are planning to book on board, do it early in the cruise. The Future Cruise Consultant is usually booked pretty solid the last 2-3 days and if even if you get an appt you will feel rushed. There are other pax that are hanging around trying to squeeze in between appts. It can get nasty:eek: One guy even opened the door and barged in saying "I just have one question" We always have a pretty good idea of the itinerary/cabin we want to book when we make the appt. which speeds up the process. We don't use the "fill out the form and drop in the box" system for Open Passages either. I like to leave the ship with documentation in hand rather than having it emailed to me.

[Kellie Poodle]

Janet,

 

While on board our Hawaii cruise with you last April, we booked a Category 6 oceanview for another Hawaii cruise on the Century and we paid the Category 9 price. One upgrade could have been for Captain's Club and two for booking another cruise while onboard. Or maybe all three for booking onboard?

 

Have to take advantage of booking while on board or getting the Future Cruise or Passages certificate! Those OBCs come in handy for pricey tours such as Adventure to Hana.

 

Kathy

 

We're sailing on Infinity so the lowest OV level is category 8. I don't want any higher than category 6 as categories 4 and 5 are way forward cabins. If they would bump me up to a balcony for an OV price, I'd be happy to go for it.;) I have had the Elite upgrade of one cabin grade higher when not booking on board.

 

I've had a Cat 6 deck 3 cabin on Infinity before and loved, loved, loved it. Huge port hole with a big window sill for extra storage. We were portside a little ways down from Guest Relations. One quick flight up to deck 4 which is the promenade on M class so I got to see everything going around Cape Horn on both sides! Also right near SS United States where the Elite breakfast was held and close to elevators and grand staircase. Awesome location!

 

We are doing one of the new deck 3 Cat. 6 cabins on Millenium on the Asian B2B. That one is starboard and a little aft. It's got the picture window. Those were added next to the conference center when they solsticized.

 

If I recall correctly, Century had some outside cabins behind guest relations, too. Is this where you are going to be?

[wvufan]

Janet, have you compared the benefit of getting a gift card? You can get up to $500 which is more than the obc you will get on board.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[Kellie Poodle]

Janet, have you compared the benefit of getting a gift card? You can get up to $500 which is more than the obc you will get on board.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

 

I haven't. Can you combine a gift card with other benefits?

 

I'll have to take a look.

[john2003]

As we have already made a 2014 booking the gift card is not going to help. Will we be able to get any benefits added to this booking when we are onboard Eclipse in 2013?

[TourDeCruise]

If I recall correctly, Century had some outside cabins behind guest relations, too. Is this where you are going to be?

 

Yes, that is where we were for the 2012 Hawaii cruise and also where we will be for Hawaii 2013. We booked the Category 6 again for the reasons you cited as an "awesome location." My only minor complaint was the last night of the cruise, "someone" (assume a crew member) was moving the Promenade deck furniture around at 2:30am! But it only happened one night for a very short period of time and may not happen again. It didn't bother us enough not to re-book the same exact cabin for 2013.

 

And if you are planning to book on board, do it early in the cruise. The Future Cruise Consultant is usually booked pretty solid the last 2-3 days and if even if you get an appt you will feel rushed. There are other pax that are hanging around trying to squeeze in between appts. It can get nasty:eek: One guy even opened the door and barged in saying "I just have one question" We always have a pretty good idea of the itinerary/cabin we want to book when we make the appt. which speeds up the process. We don't use the "fill out the form and drop in the box" system for Open Passages either. I like to leave the ship with documentation in hand rather than having it emailed to me.

 

That "fill out the form" did not work well for us at all on our cruise last month. I won't go into details but after three mistakes by the Cruise Consultant (left dh off booking/deposit; charged $300 versus $200 when making correction; no email followup) we had the Cruise Sales Manager cancel the transaction and decided we would get the future cruise certificates on next month's sailing. I agree it is better to have the face-to-face contact ensuring the Cruise Consultant understands what we want and to have the documentation in hand when we leave her/his desk.

 

Kathy, The three category upgrade was for booking on board. It trumps the one-category Captain's Club upgrade.

 

Thank you for letting me know this. One would think I would know this, but . . . . I didn't.

 

Kathy

[Kellie Poodle]

Just called Celebrity. The gift card can't be combined with the onboard booking deal.

 

Purchasing the gift card is like purchasing an open booking (passages) certificate. It comes with a reservation number. Unlike a passages certificate, there appears to be no OBC. It does not come with a reduced deposit.

 

Bottom line:

 

Booking on board gives me 3 category upgrade (I'm only going 2 up but still it's a $50 pp. savings) $200 in deposit payable now and $300 OBC for a 15 day cruise. I would pay $1299 for a cabin costing $1349. Benefit is saving on the deposit amount and upgrade.

 

Buying a $500 gift card gives me no upgrade, but I can benefit from Elite and pay $1319 for the cabin costing $1349. I would pay a $900 deposit and possibly use the $500 gift card towards that, leaving me paying $400 for the deposit and getting the matching $500 from Celebrity applied to final payment. I'm still not sure if the $500 gift card can be applied to the deposit. Benefit appears to be $140 in savings and larger initial outlay.

 

It's a dilemma, but I think I'm going to go with the onboard booking as I would rather have the lower deposit.

[Kellie Poodle]

As we have already made a 2014 booking the gift card is not going to help. Will we be able to get any benefits added to this booking when we are onboard Eclipse in 2013?

 

Onboard booking perks, as far as I know, are for new bookings only. You might be able to cancel and rebook onboard which would give you OBC and the upgrade.

 

The upgrade is from inside to inside and ocean view to ocean view. It does not apply to veranda and above, though I have gotten a one category veranda to veranda upgrade via Elite status.

[AlanAllyn]

I received upgrades on my last two X cruises by booking on board. For Hawaii on the Century last month, I got upgraded from C2 to C1 when I booked on the RCIAllure. For next December, I got upgraded bro B1 to A1 (3 categories) on the Equinox (booked on the Century).

[Kellie Poodle]

Kathy,

 

On Infinity, we got some open booking certificates from the Captain's Club hostess. That guy on our Century cruise had to be the dumbest booking agent I've ever experienced on any ship.

 

We are on Royal for the next cruise and the Loyalty Ambassador is in the Diamond Lounge doing what the CC hostess does on Celebrity. On Grandeur they had a desk and a terminal right there to take care of stuff like that. I bought a future cruise certificate from her for Royal and used it for out "bargain" cruise next month, so we're getting $100 OBC as well as paying $725 (taxes and gratuities included) for both of us. That's the total for a 7 day cruise! The Cruise Fairy was good to me. :D It's a hump balcony on deck 8!

 

I don't know if they will have a set up like that on Mariner (larger ship), but the Loyalty Ambassador is the person who does the bookings, so I don't think we'll have a problem getting it done. I know where the desk is and how to sign up for an appointment. We usually sign up as soon as they put the book out. The longer into the cruise, the harder it is to get an appointment.

[TourDeCruise]

A wealth of good information on this thread. We'll have to look into the gift card. I'm going to have to start asking about the possibility of veranda category upgrades too. Nothing lost by asking.

 

Janet: The guy on Century was a real prize compared to the one we had on the ship we were just on earlier this month. We had a chance to talk with the Century guy on an excursion, and he is a nice guy. I won't name that other ship here, but as a hint, your friend Liz from our Hawaii cruise was on the same cruise with us. It was nice to see her again. Wow - what a terrific deal you are getting on your upcoming cruise! Celebrity & RCI appreciates you and your business.

 

Janet, I need to correct what I said earlier. For Hawaii 2013 we could have had a 3 category upgrade from an 8 to a 5, but we chose only the 2 category upgrade because we did not want what was a less desirable category 5 for the same reasons you mentioned. We could not go from a category 9 to a category 6 because a 9 is an inside and a 6 is an oceanview.

 

Kathy

[Christine Frances]

Onboard booking perks, as far as I know, are for new bookings only. You might be able to cancel and rebook onboard which would give you OBC and the upgrade.

 

The upgrade is from inside to inside and ocean view to ocean view. It does not apply to veranda and above, though I have gotten a one category veranda to veranda upgrade via Elite status.

 

Janet

You can do the upgrades right up to Concierge Class including balconys. They used to let you upgrade to a C1 from a C3 but now you can only do C2 from C3.

 

The "inside to inside" and "OV to OV" is the 1 cat Captain's Club upgrade

[Kellie Poodle]

Janet

You can do the upgrades right up to Concierge Class including balconys. They used to let you upgrade to a C1 from a C3 but now you can only do C2 from C3.

 

The "inside to inside" and "OV to OV" is the 1 cat Captain's Club upgrade

 

Okay, I get confused. I almost always book on board or with an open booking certificate, so it's no wonder. :D

 

Do you think I can upgrade from a cat 6 to a 2C? That would be some deal!

[Aussie Gal]

I'm picking up a couple of extra future cruise/next cruise open booking certificates, too. I always have one for Royal and one for Celebrity on hand in case a cruise pops up that interests me. Once again, lower deposit and OBC.

 

We are new to Celebrity, our first cruise is on the Solstice in March next year. I was wondering if you can buy Future Cruise Credits as we have done on Princess and are they good for a couple of years? Also, are they used as a future deposit and do they come with OBC.

 

I would appreciate any information regading this.

 

Thanks.

 

Jennie

[Christine Frances]

No you still have to stay in the same cabin level - for OV on M Class you can go from an 08 to an 05 or a 07 to a 04. You can't go from OV to balcony. For balcony's you can go from a 2C to a 2A Clear as mud:D:eek:

[Christine Frances]

We are new to Celebrity, our first cruise is on the Solstice in March next year. I was wondering if you can buy Future Cruise Credits as we have done on Princess and are they good for a couple of years? Also, are they used as a future deposit and do they come with OBC.

 

I would appreciate any information regading this.

 

Thanks.

 

Jennie

 

There are two types of Passages Certificates. The first is a "Reserved Passages" where you know and book a specific cruise. The second which you seem to be asking about is an "Open Passages". They cost $200 for a booking in 2 names, they do not expire, and they come with OBC depending on the length of the cruise and a 3 category upgrade.

 

3-5 nights $50 per stateroom

6-9 $100

10-13 $200

14+ $300

[Aussie Gal]

Thanks Christine,

 

That is the answer I was looking for. It sounds as though it is a very similar one to Princess and HAL with a couple of differences. You seem to get more from Celebrity than from the other two. eg. the 3 category upgrades. If you want to book Aqua Class for example, can you book Concierge and then get the upgrade to Aqua?

 

If we enjoy our cruise in March, I will definitely be buying one for the two of us whilst we are on board.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Jennie

[wvufan]

There are two types of Passages Certificates. The first is a "Reserved Passages" where you know and book a specific cruise. The second which you seem to be asking about is an "Open Passages". They cost $200 for a booking in 2 names, they do not expire, and they come with OBC depending on the length of the cruise and a 3 category upgrade.

 

3-5 nights $50 per stateroom

6-9 $100

10-13 $200

14+ $300

 

Good info :). You can actually just book in one person's name and then add the other later when you book the specific cruise. That way you only tie up $100 initially.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl