Celebrity Move Up

[pna]

Has anyone ever done the Celebrity Move Up?

[Want2Cruise 701]

Yes.  What is your question/questions???

[pna]

Just wondered if it was worth it?  Are you glad you did?   How far ahead did you know if you got the move up?    Is it a good deal or do you end up paying what you would have anyway?

[Want2Cruise 701]

I don't have any regrets.  I did not win.  They notified me two days out.  I did not bid initially since the starting bid was more than I could upgrade myself to since there were cabins available in that class.  A while later, I checked again and they reduced the minimum bid price a good bit so I went ahead.

 

Bottom line is you need to know pricing.

[FlorenceItaly]

It worked well for us.  We booked the Summit, 14 day Canada/New England for October after final payment at an excellent rate.  We booked an interior.  We were invited to submit a Move Up bid.  The minimum to move up to an OV was $100pp.  We bid $110pp and won.  We were notified two days before sailing.   

Edited January 6, 2019 by FlorenceItaly

[Bruin Steve]

I don't really like the system...It's a blind auction--You are bidding against unknown bid amounts...maybe even bidding against yourself.  Of course, you'll never know.  If you really want a better category cabin, just book that cabin in the first place.

 

First time we were on a cruise with this system, we just laughed...The minimum bid they wanted for us to move up to the next category was quite a bit more than we would have had to pay for that category had we just booked it directly...We had an inside cabin...and, just after they announced he move-up bids, we were able to just move up ourselves at no cost since the Concierge cabins were lowered in price to just less than we had paid.

 

But this most recent cruise (just returned yesterday), we submitted move-up bids to two different categories...We were booked in an OV and had one of the best OV cabins on the ship...So I didn't really care that much.  But, since minimum bids for a Veranda or for a Family Veranda were both set at $150 pp, I bid $155 on both (since it otherwise would have cost me over $800 pp to move to a Veranda)...and waited.  Two days before the cruise, we were informed that both bids were rejected.  Ahhh, no big deal...

 

But, when we got to the pier in Hong Kong, we were informed that we had been upgraded...to #6109...one of the Handicapped Verandas...I guess they hold those out until the end just in case...but it apparently either never got sold or it opened up last minute.  Larger than the ordinary Veranda cabin...with a larger balcony and a much larger bathroom and shower.

 

I was still confused as to whether this upgrade was due to the "MoveUp" thing...or just an old fashioned upgrade.  After all, our MoveUp bid was officially rejected.  Turns out that our credit card was NOT charged...so I assume this was just an old fashioned "upgrade fairy" thing and NOT due to the MoveUp system!

[Mparis184]

I have never gotten an upgrade at check in.  We sail on Saturday and that would be a wonderful way to start our cruise on the Equinox.  We booked late and all that were  available were guarantee verandas.  Oh I think we were given the worse  obstructed veranda on the ship and we have a great view of the life boats from our balcony!   

 

I hope we have the same good luck that you had.

 

Marion

[Globehoppers]

Its simply another way for the cruise company to take your money.  Some airlines are also doing this: you can submit a bid to move up from steerage to another class.

[Mparis184]

Yes to us its a great vacation and to them it is a business and they all have stockholders to answer to.  They are spending millions on new ship and upgrading their older fleet and guess who has to pay for it....US!  The bottom line is it's a business and they must make money.

 

Marion

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, Globehoppers said:

Its simply another way for the cruise company to take your money.  Some airlines are also doing this: you can submit a bid to move up from steerage to another class.

Not quite simple, but the cruise lines certainly makes more money compared to providing a free upgrade.  At least with this process everyone has an equal opportunity.

[merinski]

13 hours ago, Mparis184 said:

I have never gotten an upgrade at check in.  We sail on Saturday and that would be a wonderful way to start our cruise on the Equinox.  We booked late and all that were  available were guarantee verandas.  Oh I think we were given the worse  obstructed veranda on the ship and we have a great view of the life boats from our balcony!   

 

I hope we have the same good luck that you had.

 

Marion

Even if you can't look down, you can still look out on an obstructed veranda! Have fun!

[merinski]

We have made only a minimum bid for a veranda & family veranda. I looked on their site at what is available and one of the choices is at the very front. I hope that won't be a problem if we get that one...

[stevenr597]

We are scheduled to sale on the Equinox, January 19th, Eastern Caribbean.  We had booked an Aquaclass Cabin; and  we decided not to upgrade.  The problem with the system is that while one may get a great cabin, one may find that the upgrade, while it is indeed an upgrade, may be in a less desirable section of the ship, such as below the pool, above the nightclub etc.

We felt that the trade off, even if we could upgrade to a suite, without knowing where the suite would be is a choice we were not willing to make.

[Travelicious]

How long before the cruise do you get the offer?

[Mparis184]

9 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

How long before the cruise do you get the offer?

We got the email two weeks before sailing and I received three emails on different days, guess they still have cabins available.  

[jled]

I just got a Celebrity Move Up offer for my sailing on the Equinox on February 2.  When I tried to do a mock booking to see what cabins are available, it comes up with nothing available at all..no cabins...I am interested in moving up if I can, 

[Bruin Steve]

31 minutes ago, jled said:

I just got a Celebrity Move Up offer for my sailing on the Equinox on February 2.  When I tried to do a mock booking to see what cabins are available, it comes up with nothing available at all..no cabins...I am interested in moving up if I can, 

That happens...Cruises will appear to be sold out, then cabins will open up... Some people drop out last minute...Sometimes groups or travel agencies hold cabins in a group booking, then release them late...

The cruise lines expect these things to happen, so they hold things like MoveUp bids and Guarantee bookings to give them flexibility until the very end.

I am pretty certain the cabin I got moved to on embarkation day had been sold but the party booking it cancelled last minute...

 

Edited January 11, 2019 by Bruin Steve

[jled]

The minimum bids are pretty high...Minimum bid to Move up to Aqua class is $ 250 pp,  so that would be $ 500 for both of us..Family Veranda minimum bid is $ 300 per person.  We don't need all that space. I would love Aqua so I can eat in Blu..I never had that.  I've cruised in Concierge...that is $ 125 per person, and I don;t think that is worth the extra.   I will keep checking back...

Maybe they will go down....

[jagoffee]

4 hours ago, jled said:

The minimum bids are pretty high...Minimum bid to Move up to Aqua class is $ 250 pp,  so that would be $ 500 for both of us..Family Veranda minimum bid is $ 300 per person.  We don't need all that space. I would love Aqua so I can eat in Blu..I never had that.  I've cruised in Concierge...that is $ 125 per person, and I don;t think that is worth the extra.   I will keep checking back...

Maybe they will go down....

What Is the Category of your current booking?  

 

Edited January 12, 2019 by jagoffee

[justcrusn]

On 1/10/2019 at 2:11 PM, merinski said:

We have made only a minimum bid for a veranda & family veranda. I looked on their site at what is available and one of the choices is at the very front. I hope that won't be a problem if we get that one...

So, your reasoning seems sound, but is flawed by the way the system works.

whats open NOW is not what will be open when the move up system starts running.

First let’s say an Aqua moves up to a suite. Then a concierge moves up to Aqua, then a sunset veranda movesup to Concierge. You might get the sunset veranda that always showed as occupied. Or not. Who knows?

The computers move everyone in such a way as to maximize the income.

[jled]

I am currently booked in a 2B Veranda Stateroom...So the availability and prices change ?  I am sailing on Feb 2.  I remember NCL used to have the Upsell desk and I got a few good upgrades...just suprised that it shows that no cabins other than inside are available right now.  I've heard that there are some very big groups on this cruise...

[jagoffee]

26 minutes ago, jled said:

I am currently booked in a 2B Veranda Stateroom...So the availability and prices change ?  I am sailing on Feb 2.  I remember NCL used to have the Upsell desk and I got a few good upgrades...just suprised that it shows that no cabins other than inside are available right now.  I've heard that there are some very big groups on this cruise...

I am not sure that the Move Up bid ranges change unless there is some kind of initial error.  Of course you can adjust you bid whenever you wish before it is accepted.

i would not be too concerned, because your cruise does not show any availability.  Celebrity might be trying to maximize revenue while dealing with the GTY cabins that have not been assigned.  ie take a Move Up bid for a higher level cabin and assign a GTY in the lowest level in the GTY category.  

 

A person on our 1/20 sold out cruise that won a bid for a veranda from an Oceanview.  She was delighted.  I would guess someone with an Oceanview or Inside GTY are going to get something closer to what they purchased.  I would thing the GTY bookings are going to be the category that is the most impacted by the Move Up bidding process.

 

I am not sure what the normal difference is between a 2B balcony and Aqua Class, but I would not bid more than 50% of that difference.  In your example it is $37 a person per day for the minimum bid.   If you do not value the footstool, the Persian Garden, sparkling wine, ice tea, or any of the other differences, then it might not be worth it just for Blu.  But it is less than a Speciality restaurant and it includes breakfast.  How bad do you want to try it.

  

The bottom line is if you do not value the Move Up category by somewhat more more than the minimum bid  then do not bother bidding.

 

Enjoy your cruise as any balcony is great.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I booked a last-minute Thanksgiving cruise (10 nights) in November in an inside, allegedly the only thing available, at a very attractive price.  I got a move up bid offer with a choice of OV, balcony, concierge, or aqua.  I bid a few hundred on a balcony and got it.  Pleased with the cabin and the location.  Since I paid very little in the beginning, this was a great deal for me.  I live in Florida and can drive to the port, so I can do this last-minute stuff.

[avp1234]

Hi. We leave next week and I received an e-mail yesterday that one of our offers was accepted.  Booked a regular verandah, don't remember the cat., and I bid on Aqua and the two highest Suites.  We won the Aqua, 1A, and I'm happy. 🙂 

 

I did bid on the high end on the Aqua and lower to mid on the Suites.  The ship was sold out,  so someone must have dropped the Aqua.  I looked and now there is one Verandah showing and it's the room number we had. 

 

I was ok with bidding high on the Aqua because I really like the spa and Persian Garden, and...it's my birthday trip,  so why not splurge a little!  All the starting bids were on the higher side, but the ship was sold out, so I considered that also. We got the move up offer about 30 days out and the starting bid never changed.   

[Diamond lover]

I did not even know about this program.  Duh.  I should read everything.  Thanks for enlightening me.  I sail late February so I will research to know what’s a good deal and what isn’t, if I get an offer.