Celebrity Cruises Introduces Upgrade Program for Loyal Cruisers

[Hlitner]

As we mentioned in a previous post, HAL has been doing lots of "upsells" for years. And it has long been thought (by many HAL regulars) that the line favors new cruisers over their long term regular customers. We even have one cruise agent (from a very high volume agency) who admits that she routinely sees first or second time cruisers getting the best upgrades/upsells. The theory is that a cruise line knows that long term regular cruisers are generally going to continue to be good customers, so why not use upgrades/upsells to lure in new customers.

 

Hank

[need2bespoiled]

As we mentioned in a previous post, HAL has been doing lots of "upsells" for years. And it has long been thought (by many HAL regulars) that the line favors new cruisers over their long term regular customers. We even have one cruise agent (from a very high volume agency) who admits that she routinely sees first or second time cruisers getting the best upgrades/upsells. The theory is that a cruise line knows that long term regular cruisers are generally going to continue to be good customers, so why not use upgrades/upsells to lure in new customers.

 

Hank

 

This is true of United Airlines. When lower level or no status members checkin for flights, they're given up sell prices less than those of higher level frequent fliers who may not get any up sell options at all. Go figure.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Iamcruzin]

And I'm sure this will all work quite well with their current IT set up....can barely get cruisepass info entered let alone boarding passes .....bet dining assigments will also be easy to follow!

 

Guess the ships are not as full as we think....also seeing extra perks offered on certain sailings..you can book big but maybe do better!!

 

OMG...The IT system. I can only imagine purchasing the upgrade and finding another couple in the room when I arrived.

[BosoxI]

I'm curious how they will select who gets the offer as well. Wonder if we'll ever find out.

 

Maybe lm being cynical, but something tells me that Elites and Elite +s will never get the upgrade opportunity, as they've already been hooked.

 

Cleve guy, what level in the CC is your friend?

[cle-guy]

Maybe lm being cynical, but something tells me that Elites and Elite +s will never get the upgrade opportunity, as they've already been hooked.

 

Cleve guy, what level in the CC is your friend?

 

Either Classic or Select, not sure, if select, its towards the lower end of that scale.

 

Remember this program doesn't apply to all sailings, only when they need to.

 

If booked via a travel agent, the travel agent will get the email and need to reach out to the guest.

 

If booked direct, must have CC number on reservation, and must be getting all the promotional emails all the time and read them when they come in. We read often here how people request emails but never seem to get them.

 

And it's possible they may only email certain cabin categories (if their system can handle that...?) to upgrade, i.e. no need to email people in Suites if all suites are already booked. Maybe they have noted a demand for extra Veranda Cabins, so their intent tis to mover veranda folks up to open verandas, so no need to contact inside cabins.

 

And possibly they send the emails out in small batches until they clear all upgrade space. In the case of my friend that upgraded, there were 8 suites. I can't imagine they would have considered emailing all 2000 cabins to clear 8 suites. Maybe send out 100 invites at a time, awaiting results before going on. Imagine the deluge to the call centers if the entire ship got notified, or even if all elites on the ship got notified.

 

So there are lots and lots of variables.....

[cle-guy]

 

Guess the ships are not as full as we think....also seeing extra perks offered on certain sailings..you can book big but maybe do better!!

 

In the case of my friend's sailing, the ship had 18% open cabins when they offered the upgrades. The next day they were down to 12%, so they sold 6% of cabins overnight when they opened up lesser categories.

 

Today we are at 6% open, for sailing on 11/28, so sold another 6% in a week's time. I bet we get to full or less than 1% by sailing. Oh, and the last cabins are selling for their highest fares since the sailing went on sale, not the lowest. Remaining Verandas selling for $600 per cabin more than they were. OV $200 per cabin than they were.

 

In the recent Earnings call, they did discuss that more cabins are sailing empty due to the new pricing strategy of not deeply discounting last minute, but that revenues are up so the offset of the empty cabin is made up by protecting the integrity of the pricing program with fewer discounted cabins. Also it takes a full season of sailing to get people used to the pattern, get the last minute bookers back in line to booking in advance etc. In any case even with fewer cabins occupied (and the difference is small), profitability has increased, even with perks being offered.

[Cruisennerable]

In the case of my friend's sailing, the ship had 18% open cabins when they offered the upgrades. The next day they were down to 12%, so they sold 6% of cabins overnight when they opened up lesser categories.

 

Today we are at 6% open, for sailing on 11/28, so sold another 6% in a weeK

 

How did you figure out availability %?

[Glendakayself]

On our Summit, September 6, 2015, two week Canada/New England, cruise we received a surprise call from a Celebrity rep offering to upgrade us from a 2C Sweet Sixteen balcony to a Sky Suite for $750 total. We stuck with our original booking and kept the $750. I did not ask what category the Sky Suite was or whether we could keep our perks. However, I met a couple on the cruise who had taken the offer and were assigned an S2. We are Elite with Captain's Club. No one else on our roll call posted that they had received an offer.

Edited November 7, 2015 by Glendakayself

[cle-guy]

How did you figure out availability %?

 

There are several 3rd party websites we can't list here due to CC forum rules, that readily show this kind of data.

[need2bespoiled]

 

SNIP

 

And it's possible they may only email certain cabin categories (if their system can handle that...?) to upgrade, i.e. no need to email people in Suites if all suites are already booked. Maybe they have noted a demand for extra Veranda Cabins, so their intent tis to mover veranda folks up to open verandas, so no need to contact inside cabins.

 

SNIP

 

NO WAY. If they could do that, they would not be marketing dining packages and beverage packages to me, when I am in a cabin that comes with this as a perk (was booked under 1,2,3 all inclusive anyway).

 

I think it is more likely they pick and choose the cabins manually and do send them out in small batches.

 

As an FYI, they have been doing this to some extent since at least 2012. We met guest on our roll call that upgraded from a CS to a PH on one of these calls, but I think they were a bit more selective with less official policy about it.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[jagoffee]

When ever Celebrity says you asked for it you know it is a lie. They said the same thing about the Captains Club changes. Nobody said they wanted a difference of so many points between elite plus and zenith. Celebrity does what is best for them and not what they say we want! This new deal is so they won't look like they are discounting at the last minute!:p

 

Foggy memory.

Many people made comments and asked for changes to the CC system. There was never any official category above Elite. They then created Elite Plus and published the Zenith. Definitely in response to comments/requests. Why in the world do you think this only benefits Celebrity?

 

IMO offering paid upgrades in a formal manner has been suggested many times and it is a great change. IMO there is no downside for the customer except perhaps those who book lower priced GTY cabins hoping for a "free" category above their booking. Now those of us who like to pick our own cabin might be able to take advantage of an offer if we wish.

 

Win/win.

[A Sixth?]

This thread taught me enough to call my TA to ask about what's-what on my B2Bs coming up on the Summit

 

... so again a big thanks to all :D

 

 

Should hear Monday and latter though I am more than happy with my AQ and Balcony stuff now.

 

(dreams of Luminiae :p )

Edited November 8, 2015 by A Sixth?

[chamima]

This thread taught me enough to call my TA to ask about what's-what on my B2Bs coming up on the Summit

 

... so again a big thanks to all :D

 

 

Should hear Monday and latter though I am more than happy with my AQ and Balcony stuff now.

 

(dreams of Luminiae :p )

 

I made a note on the calendar to call the TA at 45 days out (since that's when Celebrity says they'll start offering these upsells).

 

And I agree with all those that said this is a nice feature for those of us who book well in advance to get specific cabins.

I like the feature of being offered a specific cabin rather than just a guarantee.

[mcrcruiser]

Either Classic or Select, not sure, if select, its towards the lower end of that scale.

 

Remember this program doesn't apply to all sailings, only when they need to.

 

If booked via a travel agent, the travel agent will get the email and need to reach out to the guest.

 

If booked direct, must have CC number on reservation, and must be getting all the promotional emails all the time and read them when they come in. We read often here how people request emails but never seem to get them.

 

And it's possible they may only email certain cabin categories (if their system can handle that...?) to upgrade, i.e. no need to email people in Suites if all suites are already booked. Maybe they have noted a demand for extra Veranda Cabins, so their intent tis to mover veranda folks up to open verandas, so no need to contact inside cabins.

 

And possibly they send the emails out in small batches until they clear all upgrade space. In the case of my friend that upgraded, there were 8 suites. I can't imagine they would have considered emailing all 2000 cabins to clear 8 suites. Maybe send out 100 invites at a time, awaiting results before going on. Imagine the deluge to the call centers if the entire ship got notified, or even if all elites on the ship got notified.

 

So there are lots and lots of variables.....

 

This inventory control program is interesting if we see a chance to upgrade at a lower effective cost . We booked a inside cabin for the May 12 ,2016 Alaska cruise on Millenium & we are Elite + . We have e-mailed our TA to be sure my Captains club number is on our reservation . Right now there are a lot of cabins unsold in all categories ;)

 

We need to find out when Millenium will be sent to dry dock for refurbishment ;as it was soltizied May 2012 & a new engine replaced in 2013 in the Bahamas . Captains Club had no information on the newest refurbishing date .Perhaps calling corporate would get the answer ?

[cle-guy]

We need to find out when Millenium will be sent to dry dock for refurbishment ;as it was soltizied May 2012 & a new engine replaced in 2013 in the Bahamas . Captains Club had no information on the newest refurbishing date .Perhaps calling corporate would get the answer ?

 

May 2016.

 

Not sure if this website is allowed to be called out on CC or not, but they have recently added headers on each ship with drydock details. If it's known what's happening at drydock, they even include those details - such as with Summit changing restaurants in March.

 

http://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Celebrity-Millennium

Edited November 8, 2015 by cle-guy

[1cruiselvr]

The reality of an upsell program is that very few get an offer. The new program doesn't get me excited at all. Chances are I will never get that email. Never did with HAL who has had a similar program for years and we sailed them at least 2x a year for over a decade. I know, people will say HAL isn't X but an upsell program basically works the same no matter what cruise line. It's a reshuffling of inventory as needed by motivating people to change cabin categories for a little $ incentive. Just my thoughts on the subject.

Edited November 8, 2015 by 1cruiselvr

[richstowe]

The reality of an upsell program is that very few get an offer. The new program doesn't get me excited at all. Chances are I will never get that email. Never did with HAL who has had a similar program for years and we sailed them at least 2x a year for over a decade. I know, people will say HAL isn't X but an upsell program basically works the same no matter what cruise line. It's a reshuffling of inventory as needed by motivating people to change cabin categories for a little $ incentive. Just my thoughts on the subject.

Maybe you have a better chance of getting a upsell with Celebrity then you do with HAL . It makes little sense offering these deals to new rather then frequent customers but , as I previously posted , I happily accepted an upsell on my one and only HAL cruse . So your odds are good .;)

[DonnaMW]

Well the new Program is working. We are on the Reflection Saturday and my T/A called me today with Celebrity on the Line.

 

Offered a sky Suite from our C3 NO Charge Complimentary!!! And it is to a Accessible One.

 

I never thought we would be offered an ungrade mainly because we have to have an accessible cabin.

But yes we are Elite Plus. So maybe that helped.

 

Can't wait for Saturday.

 

So I am a believer!!!

[TommyD3]

Well the new Program is working. We are on the Reflection Saturday and my T/A called me today with Celebrity on the Line.

 

Offered a sky Suite from our C3 NO Charge Complimentary!!! And it is to a Accessible One.

 

I never thought we would be offered an ungrade mainly because we have to have an accessible cabin.

But yes we are Elite Plus. So maybe that helped.

 

Can't wait for Saturday.

 

So I am a believer!!!

 

That is NOT the new program.

The new program has an upcharge associated with it.

[DonnaMW]

That is NOT the new program.

The new program has an upcharge associated with it.

 

How stupid of me Sorry!!!

 

I guess the only way it is associated with the new program is that it took a suite away from

someone for an upsell.

[chemmo]

New system or the upgrade fairy, who cares, so pleased for you, enjoy your cruise!

[tangerinebunny]

Well the new Program is working. We are on the Reflection Saturday and my T/A called me today with Celebrity on the Line.

 

Offered a sky Suite from our C3 NO Charge Complimentary!!! And it is to a Accessible One.

 

I never thought we would be offered an ungrade mainly because we have to have an accessible cabin.

But yes we are Elite Plus. So maybe that helped.

 

Can't wait for Saturday.

 

So I am a believer!!!

 

So happy for you. Enjoy!

[DonnaMW]

Thanks TangerineBunny and Chemmo,

 

Really excited

[LewiLewi]

I recently received an email from Celebrity about a new policy for upgrades for Captains Club members. I deleted it before I really had a chance to read it.

Has anyone else received this email and have they looked into it?

[Wiltonian]

NOT complimentary; they'll be offering upgrades at a price.

 

See: http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2276932

 

Stuart