Upgrades on Celebrity after final payment

[squeeky336]

I have sailed with Carnival, MSC, RC, and NCL. This time I have 2 cruises to Alaska. My first on Celebrity and another on NCL. Both had price drops and free beverage packages with upgrades. NCL were real sweethearts and let me upgrade. I have have the drink package with a outside guarantee with a very possible upgrade to a veranda. Even if i dont get moved to a veranda I am a very happy camper and will sail with them again. Paid only the small difference in the fare.

 

But Celebrity says I can't. I would have to pay 50% penalty and rebook at an even higher rate becasue I am not a "new" booking..Or I can just buy the drink package for a lot more than than the difference in cruise fare and not have as nice of a room.. Why? I think they are being real stinkers about it. Seems like the want to punish someone for booking early.:confused:

 

Other than to go out of my way and not spend money on their ship (which I can do real easy) and not book with them ever again any advice? I really don't get it. I am willing to spend the extra $470. for the room that is not filled yet and the extra perk. Why make me unhappy when I have not seen sailed yet.

Edited April 19, 2015 by squeeky336
spelling

[squeeky336]

Oh it is more. I aid only 579 for an inside with no perks.. an outside was very over 1000 at the time I booked. But then the price of an outside went down to 799 on a guarantee or 809 with room assignment and they offered a pick your perk package.. So i felt it was worth it. it is a difference of over $400, but to get both the better room and the drink package i would pay it. But they said no.. I have to cancel and rebook.. But they offered me to add on a drink package for both for over 800 with the same inside room.. That is not worth it to me and i would pay 50% to cancel the other way.. I dont drink that much.

 

I dunno or care what there polices are.. I would think they would do it to make me happy as a customer. at least I would pay them 400 more and might sail again with them. To get me to pay 400 more is better than to get me to pay 0 more and leave unhappy.

 

NCL does it.. and i have sailed with them several times. The last tiem i went on NCL was on the EPIC out of Miami last December.. the price dropped at last minute so they upgrade me.. This time I paid an extra $30 but got a drink package with an upgrade. I know that NCl will also give me 100 OBC right on the ship if i comit to sailing with them again. Which I have no problem doing. I do not think I am being cheap, i just like to strech my money out.. I do spend on the ship a lot.

 

I would think they would want to make me happy.. I guess maybe Celebrity is too upscale for me and they dont want ppl that watch for specials .. I will certainly make the most out of my trip ad have a good time.. But i won't be spending much on their ship or book with them again.

 

OH well

[squeeky336]

I guess it is ok.. a matter of live and learn.. I was excited to try Celebrity. I want to try all the different lines over time.. So far I like NCL best.. I liked MSC when I cruised the Greek Isles the food was great and I loved traveling with Europeans.. But when I went on the sister ship Divina out of Miami it was horrible.. Food was awful.. SO you try different things I guess and see what you like. Celebrity was suppose to be known for service. But so far I would disagree. I will try Princess sometime soon. HA I was waiting to try when i am a little older. I am 58.. So far I liked NCL best but I went off season when kids were in school. :rolleyes:

Edited April 19, 2015 by squeeky336
spell

[CantanaLobo]

... I will try Princess sometime soon. HA I was waiting to try when i am a little older. I am 58...

From what I've read on the Princess forum, post-final adjustments are hit-or miss depending on the CSR you get. I've read that HAL is more consistent in applying their policy. I've also read NCL is more generous with post-final price drops. I'd suggest you read the HAL and Princess boards about post-final prices drops if it's important to you.

 

I'll always call for price drops post-final to see if I can get any adjustment. If they say no, it's no big deal - all I've done is spend a few minutes of my time. If they say yes, lucky me. The cruise lines seem to handle the issue a little bit differently, and it's easier just to call them then trying to find out who has which policy. But I don't get upset if they tell me there's nothing they can to.

 

Honestly, they're big corporations. They could care less if I never sailed with them again. They're not trying to punish anyone, they're trying to maximize revenue. Different lines choose to achieve that differently. You may (or may not) be blown away by the product Celebrity provides vs NCL. Then you'll have to decide if going on another Celebrity cruise is worth putting up with the Celebrity post-final policy.

 

As far as HAL being for "the nearly dead", we were on a Princess Alaska cruise and seemed to be playing tag with a HAL ship getting to the various ports. It looked like HAL had pretty much the same mixture of young couples, families, and older folk as were on the Princess ship. That was due, I believe, to the fact that 7-day Alaska cruises tend to attract the same demographic regardless of cruise line. I think if you pick a 7-day HAL cruise, you'll get a younger crowd than a 14-day or 21-day cruise if that's important to you.

 

BTW, our next cruise is on HAL, and I'm only 55. Gonna enjoy ourselves regardless. Maybe I'll rent me a scooter so I fit it :) And you kids get off my lawn :)

[Flatbush Flyer]

I have sailed with Carnival, MSC, RC, and NCL. This time I have 2 cruises to Alaska. My first on Celebrity and another on NCL. Both had price drops and free beverage packages with upgrades. NCL were real sweethearts and let me upgrade. I have have the drink package with a outside guarantee with a very possible upgrade to a veranda. Even if i dont get moved to a veranda I am a very happy camper and will sail with them again. Paid only the small difference in the fare.

 

But Celebrity says I can't. I would have to pay 50% penalty and rebook at an even higher rate becasue I am not a "new" booking..Or I can just buy the drink package for a lot more than than the difference in cruise fare and not have as nice of a room.. Why? I think they are being real stinkers about it. Seems like the want to punish someone for booking early.:confused:

 

Other than to go out of my way and not spend money on their ship (which I can do real easy) and not book with them ever again any advice? I really don't get it. I am willing to spend the extra $470. for the room that is not filled yet and the extra perk. Why make me unhappy when I have not seen sailed yet.

 

 

Yet another reason to have a top producing TA for your preferred cruise line. Though not always guaranteed, our TA has been able to secure an added special price break after final payment and, on another occasion, a match of another top TA's special promo with that line.

[geoherb]

Hopefully Celebrity will overcome the OP's disappointment. I say it's best to book at a price you think is good and then not worry if someone else is getting a better deal. There's a reason cruise lines mark specials "new bookings only" especially after the final payment date. That's a reason we book a lot of cruises after that date. Sometimes we end up not going because prices rise instead of coming down.

[Wastegirl]

I do wonder at Celebrity's reasoning some time. We were going on the Century, paid a good price for a Verandah Stateroom with perks. Close to sailing date the suites came down to a price I was willing to pay. Got our TA to contact them to tell Celebrity we would pay the difference between what we paid for our cabin and the suite to upgrade. That would then give them a vacant verandah in a good position to allocate.

 

Absolutely not they said, new bookings only. Fair enough but I could not see the reasoning behind it, there was no cost disadvantage to upgrade me and the price of verandahs at the time were higher than what I paid so they would come out ahead. I was not trying to 'get something for nothing'.

 

After having travelled on HAL where they offer upsells to existing customers before putting our their suites at lower rates close to sailing date, I thought Celebrity's stance was very negative.