Getting upgrades

[95roadking]

We are leaving tomorrow (yahoo!!) to meet the Constellation in Ft Lauderdale for the 11 day South Carib trip, departing 6 Apr 09. Our travel agent told us its "very likely" we will get a cabin upgrade (currently in 8007, cat 2a). My question is, is this a snow job? How likely is it really? And can you request an upgrade while boarding?

[nps001]

I don't know how your TA would know at this point unless she has had it done and not told you already.

 

You can visit the Pier Coordinator during the check in. They usually offer upgrades for sale. I have also heard they if there are empty cabins after check in, you can go to Guest Services and request one there and the price is usually much lower than at the pier. Good luck. I hope your TA is right.

[flashdog_1]

First, did you book a 2A guarantee, a balcony guarantee, or the exact cabin you have?

 

Celebrity is not famous for random upgrades without reason! I wish you could tell us your travel agency, but you can't on cruise critic. Some of them with good status with Celebrity do say they get the upgrades. Hope that is your case.

 

While waiting for your answer, I'll tell you that if you do not receive an upgrade at the pier, you may ask for the pier coordinator (his booth is usually at the far end of the check in counters) to find out if there are any higher category cabins available, and to determine a price for an upgrade (usually, if available, quite a bit less than what it was when you booked). However, sometimes there is a sign posted that says, "The ship is full. There are no upgrades available." Or I've seen it say, "The ship is full. No cabin changes."

 

Had a friend from a Summit roll call who was booked into a sky suite who saw the Pier Coordinator and negotiated an upgrade to the Royal Suite for $300 each! I don't think she's ever sailed in anything less than that since that time. It was huge!

 

Her traveling companions were in, I think, a balcony, and since they learned that her sky suite had been vacated, asked to buy an upgrade to that. And so on down the line, availability develops for lower categories from a single high category cabin vacancy. But if you are not there at the moment one is vacated, you would never know.

 

Some say the Pier Coordinator just wings it depending on how many cabins are available, and others have said they've seen a chart showing what he should charge, based on what you paid. Who knows!

 

Let us know!

[95roadking]

We had at minimum a balcony guarantee. When we booked we were told we may not know the actual cabin till boarding, but when the confirmation came it included the cabin number.

 

Thanks for the tips on the pier coordinator and checking with guest services. Im hoping that the ship won't be chock a block with guests and there will be something available.

 

Regardless, really looking forward to it. This will be our first cruise with a balcony and even if its tiny, its better then a window.

[CathyCruises]

I was able to upgrade from a balcony to CC on board for $200/pp each (14 day Med) but they wanted $7500 for the RS! The upgrade to CC on the website, before we left, was $600/pp. So we were happy to have the extra space, if not the amenities.

 

Cathy

[95roadking]

Thats not too bad a price. Thanks Cathy.

 

Did you find it worthwhile to lay out the extra cash?

 

Jim

[travelingmom37]

Thank you all for sharing info. re.the Pier Coordinators! News to me.

We are Elite Captains Club members and have never recieved an upgrade when asking at Guest Relations upon boarding. The loyalty program does not make the difference.We sail on the Solstice on 4/12. If good cabins are left, it's worth a shot.

 

For us the CClass is worth a total of $100 per cabin. Sometimes I select deluxe balcony over CC due to location even if the price is almost the same.

:D

Thanks again for the great tip!

[sunlovermtl]

Thank you all for sharing info. re.the Pier Coordinators! News to me.

We are Elite Captains Club members and have never recieved an upgrade when asking at Guest Relations upon boarding. The loyalty program does not make the difference.We sail on the Solstice on 4/12. If good cabins are left, it's worth a shot.

 

For us the CClass is worth a total of $100 per cabin. Sometimes I select deluxe balcony over CC due to location even if the price is almost the same.

:D

Thanks again for the great tip!

 

Hello we booked a guaranteed balcony on our Constellation cruise and when we boarded found out we had a cc cabin. Sweet is was with all the extras. We defintely like the balcony over an inside. It all comes down to the price and the saling. This time we have a Celebrity suite on the Summit April 18th sailing. We are hoping to get upgraded to the many empty royal suites. But if not we will check with the pier coordinator.

 

take care

Claudette

[CathyCruises]

Thats not too bad a price. Thanks Cathy.

 

Did you find it worthwhile to lay out the extra cash?

 

Jim

 

We did find it worth the money--for the extra square footage most especially. The CC cabins on the M class ships are about 15% larger--and that made a big difference to us for the long trip. The perks are not worth very much, however, at least to us.

 

Cathy