Offer to upgrade to a higher level for a price

[wwinfl91]

HI,

 

We are booked in a Sky Suite for a 14 day cruise in March 2019 on the Eclipse. I got an email this morning from my travel agent that I could make a bid to upgrade to a Royal (only 1 available) or a Celebrity Suite (at least 4 are open). Two questions:

Is a Celebrity Suite really that much better than a Sky Suite. I understand they are slightly bigger and evidently have a walk in closet but with the Sky Suite we get suite dining (one of the main reasons we book them) and Michael's club.

Secondly how much of bid might win an upgrade the amounts evidently on the Celebity Suite go from 0 to $2000.

Has anyone ever gotten one of these offers and if so did you bid and if so how much?

Thanks

[Jim_Iain]

The CS and above are true suites (meaning separate bedroom with a door) as oppose to a SS which is just a slightly larger room than a veranda.   RS and PS also get Free Laundry, Free Bar Setup etc.  

 

To be honest -  If the upgrade is 1,000 or less I would upgrade.

[NCHPcruiser]

We would absolutely pay a reasonable amount to upgrade to a CS or RS.  We are currently booked in a CS for our upcoming Solstice cruise.  The separate bedroom is key.     While we enjoyed the extra space/storage, larger bath and other perks the RS offers we don't usually find the price difference to be worth it for us but would take advantage of a good upgrade opportunity.  The unlimited specialty dining, laundry and bar set up would help offset the additional cost.   We also had the best butler ever while in a RS.  

[wrk2cruise]

Might depend on which sky suite I had.  If I had a S1 corner I'd stay with that over a CS.  I probably wouldn't bid much more than $500 for a CS.  But for a RS the perks which come with the room can be worth quite a bit.  For me the RS is the best room on the ship with an extra 1/2 bath.  Premium Bev package, Complimentary Specialty Dining, Unlimited Wifi, Laundry is all included.  If you have booked with 1 perk included and you picked classic bev package you should be able to get that changed to free gratuities if you were to win the RS bid.   I don't know what the RS range is but I'd probably go around $2000 for that.  Not sure your TA explained but there are different bid ranges for each category and you can bid on any or all categories giving separate bid amounts for each.

 

[kenevenpar]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

Might depend on which sky suite I had.  If I had a S1 corner I'd stay with that over a CS.  I probably wouldn't bid much more than $500 for a CS.  But for a RS the perks which come with the room can be worth quite a bit.  For me the RS is the best room on the ship with an extra 1/2 bath.  Premium Bev package, Complimentary Specialty Dining, Unlimited Wifi, Laundry is all included.  If you have booked with 1 perk included and you picked classic bev package you should be able to get that changed to free gratuities if you were to win the RS bid.   I don't know what the RS range is but I'd probably go around $2000 for that.  Not sure your TA explained but there are different bid ranges for each category and you can bid on any or all categories giving separate bid amounts for each.

 

 

Sky Suite comes with all 4 perks.  Does not include laundry or specialty restaurants.

 

Be careful with S1's, at least on SIL and Ref - some on deck 6 (I think) have a small balcony.

 

[wrk2cruise]

Thanks for reminding me they were already in a sky suite and may be getting 4 perks.  I try to book senior or resident discounts for suites as the perks aren't worth it to me for what they charge.  I do value the premium drink package to some extent (not the full value) so take that into account when considering an upgrade to RS.

[Freestyle Cruiser]

The RS has a separate tub and shower. So you always have a clean tub if you prefer a tub over a shower, as I do.  The 2nd half bath is always open when 2 people are sharing the cabin. The perks are the best as described above.  The ultimate dining pacakage in the RS covers everything, even the cafe al bacio and ice cream. This was an easy to enjoy perk. 

 

I would take a chance at an upgrade. I would look at what the new booking cost would be, and then consider offering perhaps up to 50% of the difference or more, if you decided you really want to try either cabin at a less than full cost price.

 

If you look at the dollar per square foot cost, you can convince yourself that the CS or RS is the better value. Also, sometimes a special deal like this does not always come up. So a splurge might be in order. We got some great deals and sailed 3x in a RS.  14 days in a RS would be heaven. 

[jagoffee]

On 1/22/2019 at 3:11 PM, Freestyle Cruiser said:

The RS has a separate tub and shower. So you always have a clean tub if you prefer a tub over a shower, as I do.  The 2nd half bath is always open when 2 people are sharing the cabin. The perks are the best as described above.  The ultimate dining pacakage in the RS covers everything, even the cafe al bacio and ice cream. This was an easy to enjoy perk. 

 

We got some great deals and sailed 3x in a RS.  14 days in a RS would be heaven. 

It sure is.