Limited cabins showing on UK website

[NewWestwardbound]

I am considering upgrading my booking to a suite on a cruise departing in September. But the only suites showing on the Celebrity and two well known UK cruise travel agent websites are Sky Suites. Is there any way of establishing if other classes of suite are unsold -, for example if they have been allocated to a travel agent but not yet sold - and the price?  I imagine if I phone Celebrity UK they will only have access to inventory showing on the Celebrity UK website. Interested in others experiences in this area. 

[Toftwood]

Can I ask which cruise in particular? I would imagine there are only certain people within Celebrity’s contact centre that have the necessary clearance to be able to access blocked out inventory so to be fair, most of the people you would probably ask would give you what in their opinion was a very honest answer.

 

 Have you tried a general Google type search for your sailing date and ship name to see if anything comes up which suggests block bookings or possibly part charter although charter does not often include premium cabins - but you never know!

[NewWestwardbound]

It's the Med cruise from Southampton on 8 Sep. I have googled and found nothing. I find it very hard to believe all suites other than Sky Suites are booked. 

[Toftwood]

18 minutes ago, NewWestwardbound said:

It's the Med cruise from Southampton on 8 Sep. I have googled and found nothing. I find it very hard to believe all suites other than Sky Suites are booked. 

 

It looks as if it is a very busy cruise. Many categories are sold out. From what I can see there are no Aqua class cabins at all, C1s are fully sold as are all the family view rooms.  But back to suites, both categories of Sky appear to be available but Royal suites and Celebrity suites all seem to be sold out.  This looks as if it is already a very busy cruise.  It is an excellent departure date for those wishing to avoid children who will have just returned to school by that date and I think for that reason amongst others it is a very popular sailing. 

Edited April 12, 2019 by Toftwood

[NewWestwardbound]

I agree that this is how it looks from the Celebrity UK website. But I have been watching price movements daily and no category has seen significant price increases in the last month or so. If anything prices have reduced, suggesting weaker than expected demand (which I would expect given BREXIT and exchange rate uncertainties). Yet all suites other than Sky Suites appear to be sold. I just struggle to believe that. I think I will call Celebrity UK tomorrow and see if they have access to inventory not shown on the website.    

[Toftwood]

I wish you success. It might be worth noting that this long itinerary (14 days) Mediterranean in September is not being repeated next year in September. It is been brought forward to August 1st 2020 and for Silhouette loyalists, they may see this is the last opportunity to do a long 14 day Mediterranean cruise without school aged children. The itinerary for 2020 has been brought forward to accommodate a few more other cruises and  before the ship goes to its new winter home in South America.

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, NewWestwardbound said:

I am considering upgrading my booking to a suite on a cruise departing in September. But the only suites showing on the Celebrity and two well known UK cruise travel agent websites are Sky Suites. Is there any way of establishing if other classes of suite are unsold -, for example if they have been allocated to a travel agent but not yet sold - and the price?  I imagine if I phone Celebrity UK they will only have access to inventory showing on the Celebrity UK website. Interested in others experiences in this area. 

 

In our experience of regularly booking RS and an occasional PH the Celebrity U.K.  site does list all top suites available. TA’s contact them if a client wants to book them. This is in contrast to other categories where a TA may have a block booking for x number of a particular category of cabins...

 

 

This is a very popular cruise from Southampton and RS and PH suites are frequently sold out within a week or two of initial release. We have found that for ‘a last taste of summer’ the Canary Island/Azores cruises for higher suites offer better value. Equally it can we worthwhile pricing up a Mediterranean cruise from, for example, Barcelona. There are some free flight offers. The snag in the Mediterranean this Summer/Autumn is that the offered cruises are on two M class ships ready for a refurbishment and the new Edge which (despite discounts) is still priced very high...

 

As the cruise becomes closer (towards final payment) an odd CS/RS will probably become available but, in our experience on this itinerary often at an inflated price...

 

If you are more interested in trying a higher suite experience (which I would recommend)  and you have some flexibility in timing you could consider changing cruises. Cost should be £75 per first and second guest on the reservation (free if you are Elite or above)...As cruises from Southampton other  than the Mediterranean one you have presently chosen may be cheaper and a few days less in duration an upgraded suite room may not be that expensive....

 

Equally if you are happy with your itinerary choice a Sky Suite may meet your needs. It will give you access to Luminae and Michael’s Club and you will have a more spacious room and a butler. These are major perks...

 

Whatever you choose to do hope you have a fantastic cruise!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[NewWestwardbound]

Thanks to you both for your very helpful replies. I have now booked the last remaining S1 Sky Suite according to the Celebrity operator on the current UK offer, and am happy with that. If a larger suite becomes available I will consider an upgrade - though the PH on the UK website at £25K is a little rich for my tastes!

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, NewWestwardbound said:

Thanks to you both for your very helpful replies. I have now booked the last remaining S1 Sky Suite according to the Celebrity operator on the current UK offer, and am happy with that. If a larger suite becomes available I will consider an upgrade - though the PH on the UK website at £25K is a little rich for my tastes!

 

Hope you really enjoy.

 

Keep checking and see if any other suites become available. The U.K. is now part of the ‘move up’ programme where you can ‘bid’ on a higher suite near to sailing date. The CS offers a bigger two room suite but on Silhouette it is above that level that offer additional perks like in suite bar set up, unlimited speciality dining, laundry....

 

Make sure you follow reviews on CC to ensure you maximise your use of suite facilities including butler and concierge, both can really add those little things that make a cruise special.

 

Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise.

Edited April 14, 2019 by chemmo

[GeorgesGal]

On 4/12/2019 at 2:13 PM, NewWestwardbound said:

I am considering upgrading my booking to a suite on a cruise departing in September. But the only suites showing on the Celebrity and two well known UK cruise travel agent websites are Sky Suites. Is there any way of establishing if other classes of suite are unsold -, for example if they have been allocated to a travel agent but not yet sold - and the price?  I imagine if I phone Celebrity UK they will only have access to inventory showing on the Celebrity UK website. Interested in others experiences in this area. 

 

I just checked the US site and it indicates this cruise is 'sold out'.

[NewWestwardbound]

Interesting. The Celebrity UK website still shows availability for all cabins except Aqua Class, though the only Suites remaining are S2 (3) and PH (1).