Question about asking for upgrades???

[BMJJR]

My wife and I booked an Alaskan cruise on Solstice departing June 20, 2014. We booked a balcony room for ourselves (and because of the steep price) booked an inside cabin for our son & daughter in law.

 

Wow.....now I'm seeing some amazingly low priced last minute deals for our cruise. I don't mind paying a premium to be guaranteed my dates and cabin type......but I'm seeing prices almost half of what we paid for a balcony cabin.

 

The inside cabin we reserved for our son & daughter in law is now about the same price as a balcony on some of the last minute sales.

How difficult is it to request (and get) a complimentary upgrade to a better cabin for them?

Has anyone been successful in doing that?

 

Thanks for any info and suggestions!

 

Bruce

[Lois R]

Hi, complimentary upgrades are far and few between. I have read about

people getting them but to be honest, it is not a "regular thing". Are you

talking about asking after you board the ship? You can always go to

Guest Relations and see if there are available cabins but I am betting

they will make you pay the difference. Very rarely are cabins upgraded

"for free"......all you can do is ask though.

 

As for seeing lower prices on line? It really is about supply and demand.

Sometimes they go way down but other times? They go way up. Just

depends on the cruise.

 

Good luck and hope your family has a good cruise:)

[jelayne]

If the balcony cabin is more than you paid for the inside you might call and ask about paying the difference. No harm in asking. As the previous poster said -free upgrades very, very rare.

[BMJJR]

Lois & Jelayne,

 

Thanks for your responses!

 

I'm in the hotel business so I can certainly appreciate pricing based on supply and demand :-)

 

....I was just wondering if they don't sell some of the premium cabin types why not upgrade those that paid the premium prices??....no increased cost to them. I think your suggestion of calling and asking to pay the difference is a good one! I'm going to try that.

 

Thanks!

[Lois R]

Lois & Jelayne,

 

Thanks for your responses!

 

I'm in the hotel business so I can certainly appreciate pricing based on supply and demand :-)

 

....I was just wondering if they don't sell some of the premium cabin types why not upgrade those that paid the premium prices??....no increased cost to them. I think your suggestion of calling and asking to pay the difference is a good one! I'm going to try that.

 

Thanks!

 

Oh, if you want to pay the difference and upgrade them to a balcony?

That should not be an issue...they will always take your money;)

[WestLakeGirl]

Moving most, or even some, of the people from insides and outsides to verandahs has an effect on the tips to the stewards in those lesser priced areas. It could cause some stewards to have not enough staterooms to be able to make the wages they expect to make

[neverbeenhere]

Price you paid might seem like a good reason to upgrade you to available premium stateroom, but not one that we have seen Celebrity use. Sorry, but early complaining about the location(under the pool, disco, gym, buffet) probably will give you a better chance at an upgrade change than the price you paid. BTW All Celebrity ship sail "sold-out":rolleyes: Just ask.

[May B]

Call and ask if you can move into the nicer cabin for the price you paid. They just change the rate of that cabin, to match what you paid.

 

True of the inside to outside or veranda, or your veranda into a nicer veranda.

 

Then they'll sell the inside that your kids vacated to somebody else.

 

Occupancy in 2013 was 104% over all three lines, so I don't think too many cabins sailed empty.

 

And if it's the Weekend Rate you're looking at, hurry up! Not sure it'll be good after midnight tonight!

[Scubaqn]

If the price is negligible call and ask to pay the difference. I just did that.

[BMJJR]

Wow.....great feed back!

 

Thanks everyone!

[summer slope]

I had booked a balcony on the Constellation in April. Called about 2 weeks before the cruise to see if there were any "freebies"....drink card, OBC, etc. The man said no to those but I can upgrade you to Aqua....I was shocked and grabbed it. LOVE Aqua. It doesn't hurt to ask and I have friends who call their cruise lines daily until they cruise to get upgrades or extras. Have a great cruise.

[Tiggertastic]

give celebrity a call, we found the price for our cabin on a cruise last year had dropped by $1500 and rang them and they let us move to the guarantee with the reduced rate - it was before the final payment date

 

ok we ended up in the last cabin on the corridor but skipped down the corridor every day thinking how much we had saved to walk the extra distance

[Ex-Airbalancer]

give celebrity a call, we found the price for our cabin on a cruise last year had dropped by $1500 and rang them and they let us move to the guarantee with the reduced rate - it was before the final payment date

 

ok we ended up in the last cabin on the corridor but skipped down the corridor every day thinking how much we had saved to walk the extra distance

 

Dave skipping, that thought made me laugh out loud , thanks Jan :p

[BMJJR]

We upgraded "the kids" from an inside cabin to a balcony on the 8th floor (not too far from ours) for about $300! We feel that Celebrity was very fair.

Very happy!

Thanks for the advice/feedback.

[Lois R]

We upgraded "the kids" from an inside cabin to a balcony on the 8th floor (not too far from ours) for about $300! We feel that Celebrity was very fair.

Very happy!

Thanks for the advice/feedback.

 

Hi, thanks for coming back to let us know what happened and congrats

on the cabin. Happy to see you are happy:).....and hope your kids know

how nice their parents are too;)

[jkgourmet]

Quick question: if we booked using a TA, will Celebrity even discuss these upgrade options with us? Or will they simply say "call your TA"?

[wrk2cruise]

You have to go through the TA. My understanding is that if the current price is at least $1 more they will upgrade you. Some report they will upgrade if the new cabin is less than or equal to what you paid (with no refund or OBC) but that seems to depend on who you get on the phone.

 

Remember some Xciting deals and new bookings only offers won't qualify but it always pays to ask.

[USVI-4-me]

We upgraded "the kids" from an inside cabin to a balcony on the 8th floor (not too far from ours) for about $300! We feel that Celebrity was very fair.

Very happy!

Thanks for the advice/feedback.

 

 

Congratulations.

Thanks for letting us know.

Enjoy the cruise.

 

-Marisa

[jkgourmet]

You have to go through the TA. My understanding is that if the current price is at least $1 more they will upgrade you. Some report they will upgrade if the new cabin is less than or equal to what you paid (with no refund or OBC) but that seems to depend on who you get on the phone.

 

Remember some Xciting deals and new bookings only offers won't qualify but it always pays to ask.

 

Then how does one know when to call the TA to see if a negotiated upgrade is available? I mean, I'm not going to hassle her weekly but recognize that she can't follow evrry single promo from evrry cruusr line and bug bucket online TA's, aka order takers,

[Lois R]

Then how does one know when to call the TA to see if a negotiated upgrade is available? I mean, I'm not going to hassle her weekly but recognize that she can't follow evrry single promo from evrry cruusr line and bug bucket online TA's, aka order takers,

 

I follow my own booking on a regular basis.......If I see my cabin

category has gone down in price? I email my TA (she is a good friend

and is always helpful) and she will follow up with Celebrity for me.

Oh, it is not a hassle....or I should say, it should not be a hassle.

She is your TA and she should know what promotions are being offered.

[RickT]

I've had zero success in getting an upgrade (paid or otherwise) but that doesn't stop me from checking and asking because each situation can be different and you never know :D

 

My next cruise includes the 1,2,3 go beveridge package and I suspect that should an opportunity to upgrade appear (I'm past final payment date) that I'd lose the 1,2,3 go.

 

To the OP, congrats on your upgrade!

[larcklorn]

Saw that our cabin prices for the June 27th Millennium cruise had gone down this week. Had the TA call Celebrity and was switched from an interior to Oceanview room.

[jules57]

Last year I booked and paid for an Aqua Class. After I had made the final payment I had my TA contact X and ask how much to upgrade to a CS. I paid the difference which was very reasonable and a few days later they upgraded me free of charge to a RS. This happened on a previous occasion. It was a last minute booking and I paid for an outside view. I was worried about the location and had TA phone and paid for a one category upgrade. Shortly before the cruise I was upgraded to a C1. Happy bunny on both occasions but unlikely to happen again.

[Merriem]

My wife and I booked an Alaskan cruise on Solstice departing June 20, 2014. We booked a balcony room for ourselves (and because of the steep price) booked an inside cabin for our son & daughter in law.

 

Wow.....now I'm seeing some amazingly low priced last minute deals for our cruise. I don't mind paying a premium to be guaranteed my dates and cabin type......but I'm seeing prices almost half of what we paid for a balcony cabin.

 

The inside cabin we reserved for our son & daughter in law is now about the same price as a balcony on some of the last minute sales.

How difficult is it to request (and get) a complimentary upgrade to a better cabin for them?

Has anyone been successful in doing that?

 

Thanks for any info and suggestions!

 

 

 

Bruce

 

I would recommend once you get on the ship...ask what the cost would be. If it is acceptable, then take it. We were on a South America cruise, and everyone was at the front desk wanting upgrades for free. When I got up there, I simply ask the cost to upgrade to a suite...the young lady smiled, said to come back in an hour...and we were upgraded for a reasonable cost

[jules57]

The answer appears to be if you play fair with Celebrity and offer to pay for an upgrade, you may be rewarded.