Celebrity Cruises Introduces Upgrade Program for Loyal Cruisers

[excitedofharpenden]

Hopefully they will be offered to Zenith members first. Out of 110 Celebrity cruises I have only received 2 or three free upgrades.

Also 45 days out sounds WAY too long before the cruise. Most Exciting Deal offers are that far out!!! Seems like a week or two before would make more sense. That is when I had to wait till when negotiating for a paid upgrade with Lee a couple of years ago

 

A similar program operates on Azamara although you register for it when booking the cruise and if there are cabins available in a higher category a month or less before the cruise then you stand a good chance of it being offered. It's prioritised so those with the highest status and number of Azamara cruises get the best chance and also those who registered the earliest. It's excellent value if the inventory works in your favour. £218 in the UK to go from a balcony to a Club Continent Suite. It's $398 in the US.

 

Phil

[tangerinebunny]

How much did they want for the upgrade?

 

The upsell from Sky Suite to Celebrity Suite was $300 for the two of us. Well worth it.

 

The move from Aqua to Sky Suite was less, but I've forgotten the amount. Since that one was so hurried with no time to check location, and some SS's are noisy, we passed on it.

 

Each time the offer was one level above and each time there was time pressure.

Edited November 5, 2015 by tangerinebunny

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

The upsell from Sky Suite to Celebrity Suite was $300 for the two of us. Well worth it.

 

The move from Aqua to Sky Suite was less, but I've forgotten the amount. Since that one was so hurried with no time to check location, and some SS's are noisy, we passed on it.

 

Each time the offer was one level above.

 

Agreed - at $300 (for the additional space and use of Michael's) - WELL worth it!

 

Tom

[chamima]

A similar program operates on Azamara although you register for it when booking the cruise and if there are cabins available in a higher category a month or less before the cruise then you stand a good chance of it being offered. It's prioritised so those with the highest status and number of Azamara cruises get the best chance and also those who registered the earliest. It's excellent value if the inventory works in your favour. £218 in the UK to go from a balcony to a Club Continent Suite. It's $398 in the US.

 

Phil

 

That's a great way to format a program but Celebrity's IT would NEVER be able to handle that.

(They can't even seem to retain my booked cruises in my online file.)

[excitedofharpenden]

That's a great way to format a program but Celebrity's IT would NEVER be able to handle that.

(They can't even seem to retain my booked cruises in my online file.)

 

I think you are right! Plus the differing cabin categories on Celebrity. It's much easier on Azamara.

 

Phil

[Redtravel]

Anything for nothing is very nice. Thank you for all of the Captains Club perks. I have been traveling for years on several cruise lines. I come back to Celebrity often because I like the product. I am elite plus. One of my favorite perks from another line is 5% discount for previous cruisers. Book within 60 days of a previous cruise and they double it to 10%. It allows me to take my time booking a future cruise without losing time on my present cruise and avoiding pressure of selecting a specific sailing. I often cruise with friends or family. There is nothing worse than spending cruise time waiting in line to talk to a future cruise consultant. I have waited in lines. Sometimes I book if the price is attractive. If it isn't, I am annoyed at wasting my cruise time. On my recent cruise I knew that I wanted to book a future cruise for my whole family to celebrate a very special upcoming event. I was told by your future agents that I could only book one cabin. As a result, i did not book anything. Allow ample time to book a future cruise with the on board perks.....60 days. Allow multiple booking for a family group. My most recent cruise was in October. I will be booking the family cruise very soon. If I were able to book the family group on board with a discount, I would have booked. While you can book and cancel, most people who book a cruise take that cruise. I get lots of mailings from cruise lines. When I am booked ahead, I toss those mailings on the trash unread. If I am not booked ahead, I read the mailings. Sometimes I get an offer that is attractive and I book it.

[cle-guy]

On my recent cruise I knew that I wanted to book a future cruise for my whole family to celebrate a very special upcoming event. I was told by your future agents that I could only book one cabin. As a result, i did not book anything..

 

FYI Celebrity DOES allow you to book up to 3 cabins with Future Cruises for people not sailing with you. If this comes up again, press the issue and ask for a supervisor.

 

If you want to book more than 3, they have to get permission from Miami to do so.

 

Also remember that the internet is free to use if you are looking at the Celebrity Website, so to save some time, just use the computer lab and research cruises at your leisure, then find one you like and go to future cruises to book it and get the on board booking perks. Can even fill out a form and leave in drop box and they will send you a confirmation to your cabin - never have to even see a future cruise consultant - and no lines!

 

If you want Group rates and perks (i.e. 8 cabins or more that get a free cabin) then you have to book with Onshore Groups, as Future Cruises can't book those special fares, and On Board Booking perks wouldn't apply to those group rates.

 

I have booked cabins for friends not sailing with me while on board, even providing their method of payment for deposits.

 

I do however like your suggestion that you have some time post cruise to get On Board booking perks, though I'd say 7 days is enough time for that, not 60 days. I just went thru this after my summit sailing, last night a bunch of us were talking and I was able to get a group of 6 to go in on the Reflection Suite for the next year's sailing. Future cruises was closed, so I called in the day I got home, and was told no they wouldn't give me the OnBoardBooking perks. I chased this up with Loyalty, Guest Services, and finally Suite Concierge, who said she was able to make a special exception and give met the OBC I'd have gotten from booking on board, but it was a process...

Edited November 5, 2015 by cle-guy

[LauraS]

Check out the latest Celebrity Cruises news from Cruise Critic:

 

Celebrity Cruises Introduces Upgrade Program for Loyal Cruisers

[gsb]

Looks like they're trying to charge for something rather than "giving" upgrades as in the past. :confused::cool:

[diesel1973]

I usually book cruises early for 2 reasons,price and room location. By accepting their offer I lose both.The extra fee increases the cost and if they are assigning guarantee class rooms,who knows where you might end up. Years ago we accepted a free upgrade from veranda to aqua guar. because of price. We were excited to try aqua but after finding out where our room was we wished we didn't move.

[Rufferto]

Wow, sounds interesting. I am worried about this: "passengers chosen for the offer will have only one day to make a decision". I'm sure that if I get an offer and I don't respond to it in time, I'll be pretty bummed out. Let's see how this plays out.

[wrk2cruise]

In my case I was able to choose the room while I was on the phone with the representative who was processing the upgrade. It was not a GTY room.

 

I also think they do this at a time when they are trying to "close out" the ship. The number of free rooms dropped significantly a few days after I was presented the upgrade. Quite possibly they try to do the upsells before assigning the remaining GTY bookings.

 

I believe the upgrade price is based on some formula which considers the price you have already paid and the discounted rate of the new cabin class.

[tangerinebunny]

In my case I was able to choose the room while I was on the phone with the representative who was processing the upgrade. I

 

I believe the upgrade price is based on some formula which considers the price you have already paid and the discounted rate of the new cabin class.

 

That's been our experience too. These were cabins with numbers not guarantees.

 

And I agree about the pricing (at least in the past). We were offered upsells twice out of two cruises. We book early for location and not necessarily the cheapest rate going.

 

Of course the changes work to the cruise line's benefit, but by offering upsells to a wider range of cruisers, it should work in their favor too.

[suec12]

I wonder if you will be offered an upgrade for a category and can be told what cabin you would be in - to some that would be a very important detail.

 

I think they have already been doing this, sort of. I know we were contacted on our May sail by Celebrity with upgrade offers - by phone, not by email. It worked out quite nicely for us.

[richsea]

Looks like they're trying to charge for something rather than "giving" upgrades as in the past. :confused::cool:

 

"Giving" upgrades???...when have the EVER given upgrades?:confused:

[SusieV]

Please, Celebrity- it's been a stressful year. I've already tried to upgrade but can't without losing my perks... A reasonable upsell on my low season cruise would really brighten my day :D

[crilski]

I am an Elite and did not receive the email announcing this 'program' and yes they have my email address to communicate with me. Anyone else not receive the email? Does that mean I wouldn't get the chance to upgrade? :-(

[barbarah]

Hi. We are Elite also and didn't receive the email.

[chamima]

I am an Elite and did not receive the email announcing this 'program' and yes they have my email address to communicate with me. Anyone else not receive the email? Does that mean I wouldn't get the chance to upgrade? :-(

 

Hi. We are Elite also and didn't receive the email.

 

 

 

Call the Captains Club number and ask the rep to make sure you're on their email list.

https://secure.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/contact-us

[crilski]

Thanks for advice chamima. I called Captains Club. . . they checked to see if they had my email and if it was 'checked' for marketing. It was. So she will forward my concern? And hopefully if something happens in the future - like a good deal - I will be informed.

[shirazcruiser]

I use a travel agent and am concerned that I wouldn't be contacted in a timely manner. When Celebrity contacted you by phone, was your booking made directly through Celebrity or a travel agent? Thanks for the info.

[Iamcruzin]

All I can say is if I wanted to pay more for a higher category I would have booked that category to being with. I'm in a C2 and I could have booked Aqua for $50p p more at the time of booking. They would probably offer the upgrade for more than that now since the price has gone up in all categories. Last time I checked prices Aqua was selling for less than a C3. I suppose if you aren't price savvy you may think you are getting a good deal.

[2psoki]

I wonder if you will be offered an upgrade for a category and can be told what cabin you would be in - to some that would be a very important detail.

 

I think they have already been doing this, sort of. I know we were contacted on our May sail by Celebrity with upgrade offers - by phone, not by email. It worked out quite nicely for us.

 

Hi Sue2....we are going to the Baltics, also, on the May 2 sailing of the Silhouette. Your cruise?

[kfrey68]

I believe this is something they finalized after some testing earlier this year. We were booked in an ocean view for a 12 night Alaska cruise in May for 3 in the cabin. About 4 weeks before sail date I received a call from Celebrity offering an upscale. We were offered a concierge class for a small fee (would have been a no brainer to accept). I think there were about 4-5 cabins we could choose from. We were also offered an upscale to one of 2 CS cabins for a larger fee but still far less than what the cabin could have been booked for. After much debate we took the CS as we saw it as a once in a lifetime experience since we could never justify the cost. The length of the cruise, the fact that DS is a teenager with school work that needed to be done, and now having a balcony made us decide to do it. It was great and the total price of the cruise for all 3 of us was about the same as the cost of 1-1 1/2 people in the CS regularly. BTW we were select level captains club.

[cruiselover57]

Anyone else just get the Celebrity email about the reduced rate upgrade program? Thoughts? I understand not getting "extra" Captain's Club points for the upgrade, but will we keep "perks" from our original booking? I booked my next cruise under the old 123 GO promotion...

 

Sometimes having a great TA works wonders as well! She worked her magic for us on an upcoming Solstice cruise - we would've gotten one upgrade from a category 8 to a 7 but lo and behold, I turned down that complimentary upgrade because I did not like the location of those OV cabins and she got us a balcony which we thought was great. Timing is everything sometimes! I have heard about people getting amazing upgrades for literally pennies at time to upgrade and sometimes I don't think it's fair to make those offers to people who don't hold at least Elite status or above.