best way to get an upgrade?

[flashdog_1]

We had booked two inside cabins on Century in Dec. 2001; I saw a couple weeks prior to boarding that there were two outside cabins available on the same deck. I called and asked if we could please be upgraded to those and we were. Maybe holiday spirit; hasn't happened since.

 

And the upgrade was free?

[Holly2]

Yes -- no charge.

[cadcruiser]

We just returned from our South American cruise on the Millennium and were told that complimentary upgrades with Celebrity do not exist anymore.

 

To make a long story short, we are Elite Captain's Club members and our reservations for the cruise were cancelled twice after final payment due to a computer glitch and the mid ship cabin we had was lost. Our travel agent was told that there was no availability on the ship and we can ask for a mid ship cabin or an upgrade when we checked in. I checked Celebrity's website and there was plenty of availability. I was also told by Celebrity's customer service that we may be upgraded at check-in if cabins were available.

 

At check-in we were told there were many cabins available but we would have to pay extra as Celebrity must show revenue for all their cabins.

 

I guess this is what we get for being loyal to Celebrity.

 

We've been upgraded a few categories on Princess and Holland America when we booked a guarantee.

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Curious to know if you were even eligible for a Captain's Club upgrade. CC and suites are not eligible for the one category upgrade. You also must request the upgrade at time of booking.

[Duanerice1]

We have never been upgraded on Celebrity but we always book a CC cabin in a location we want. So unless they would upgrade us to a Suite, which I doubt, we wouldn't want an upgrade.

 

Living in South Florida we usually take one 3 or 4 night weekend cruise a year on Carnival. The deals are great. We usually book an inside cabin guarantee because for these cruises price is more important than the cabin. We have always been upgraded, not necessarily to a different class, but usually to a higher deck in a better location.

 

enjoy,

Duane

[Danno]

I don't think X is big on upgrades...be careful of any TA that says you should expect one.

[cadcruiser]

Curious to know if you were even eligible for a Captain's Club upgrade. CC and suites are not eligible for the one category upgrade. You also must request the upgrade at time of booking.

 

Sorry if I made the wrong point. We weren't in CC or a suite and didn't expect an upgrade based on our Elite status. I was just commenting on the fact that people on the boards were getting upgrades for no apparent reason. We only expected an upgrade because Celebrity lost our reservations twice (even after receiving boarding docs) This resulted in problems too numerous to mention including loss of prepaid excursions, loss of dining room seating and most importantly loss of our mid-ship cabin. Trying to get this resolved was a nightmare. There were mid-ship cabins available one category higher which woud not be given to us because we were told that Celebrity does not give complimentary upgrades anymore.

[CruiseQueen13]

Never an ugrade here either. Parents have been on over 20 cruises - upgraded once and I believe it was Celebrity.`

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Sorry if I made the wrong point. We weren't in CC or a suite and didn't expect an upgrade based on our Elite status. I was just commenting on the fact that people on the boards were getting upgrades for no apparent reason. We only expected an upgrade because Celebrity lost our reservations twice (even after receiving boarding docs) This resulted in problems too numerous to mention including loss of prepaid excursions, loss of dining room seating and most importantly loss of our mid-ship cabin. Trying to get this resolved was a nightmare. There were mid-ship cabins available one category higher which woud not be given to us because we were told that Celebrity does not give complimentary upgrades anymore.

 

Yes, that is a nitemare that Celebrity should have taken responsibility for and corrected the situation immediately. Sometimes there is just no sense to the inaction of people in responsible positions. Maybe it's "Murphy's Law" and they have risen to their level of incompetence.

 

No complimentary upgrades anymore? They sure gave you a complimentary downgrade though. Shame on Celebrity for doing that.

[poetic license]

We have been upgraded EVERY SINGLE TIME we cruised on another line OTHER THAN X.

 

So I think the loyalty thing goes right out the window here.

 

So how do you get an upgrade on X? Simple. You pay for it. :D

 

Cheers,

[pepelapew]

On our very first cruise DH and I were upgraded. We had booked an inside cabin and upon embarkation got a oceanview cabin. It was really nice as we never expected that being our first cruise an all. That cruise took place in Oct 04, on the Empress of the Seas. Our second cruise will be this Oct 7th on the Zenith. Wondering if that upgrading thing will happen again....Sure would be nice if it did. ;)

[Andy]

 

So how do you get an upgrade on X? Simple. You pay for it. :D

 

Cheers,

 

Hi Nicki !

 

Yes, that just about sums it up. I have never been upgraded by Celebrity, and I have sailed with them countless Cruises. I never even think about an upgrade anymore, as I know it is probably not going to happen. While we occasionaly hear that the upgrade fairy does exist (supposedly) her trips are practically down to nothing.

 

This is another area that IMHO, Celebrity is making a huge mistake with. I feel they should be willing to give an occasional upgrade, especially to their most loyal and frequent passengers.

 

I feel it would bring a tremendous amount of goodwill, and a heck of a lot more long term benefits, as opposed to the few extra dollars that Celebrity gets by selling the upgrade instead.

 

It is sad when the bean counters take control, but that is how it is at most companies these days.

[slotaddict]

Cruised 6x with x and never an upgrade. We booked an inside on the last trip and there was a price drop, so we opted for an outside and a refund. Thats as close to an upgrade as we ever got.

[Shmobo]

Never got upgrade. After cruising X and RCCL over 10 times, I just pay for the cabin I am happy in.

[wildbill32]

We were upgraded on our first Celebrity cruise, on the Summit, in 2004. We booked a Sky Suite and about 2 weeks before sailing, received a call from our TA that we had been upgraded to a Royal Suite. She had no idea why. It was our first cruise on Celebrity after many cruises on other lines.

[masterbaker]

We've cruised 16 times and have gotten 3 upgrades. All three have been when we booked a guarantee. I doubt that loyalty status has much if anything to do with upgrades when the booking is for a specific cabin. It sure hasn't worked for us. ;) Actually when I book a specific cabin, it's because I WANT THAT cabin for a reason and would probably refuse the upgrade anyway.