bkbarrym

6 hours ago, webecruzin2 said:

Thanks!

  It just seems odd that ours is showing expired when the offer was just 2 days ago  and the cruise is not until early September and the concierge cat. is still showing pending but I'm not able to modify it.  
   

Very strange. We were able to modify all of our pending bids and inched them up several times.  You are able to do so up to 48 hours before sailing (unless the bid is accepted or rejected prior to this). 

Just came off the Summit and was in 3123.  Very quiet with very little foot traffic. Loved the location too with easy access to the mid-ship elevator and stairwell.The only time we used the elevators were to go up to the buffet and pool. To get to the Tuscan Grill or aft elevator you need to walk across at mid ship and use the starboard corridor where 3112 to  3140 are.

59 minutes ago, webecruzin2 said:

We received a move up offer 2 days ago. Currently booked in an oceanview room only because veranda wasn't available when we booked it and the suites were astronomical.  
Our offers were for veranda, family veranda and concierge.  I bid for all 3 in the fair meter area.  
Just checked to see if still pending and the veranda and family veranda bids show expired.  Never heard of of expired status, only accepted or rejected. 
The concierge still shows pending, but it doesn't give me the option to modify it any more.  
Has anyone else had their bids expire, and how long was your bid in  before it expired? 

On the cruise we just finished we had an OV and made mid range bids on same ctgys as you. Ours remained in pending status until 48 hrs before sailing when we received notification that they were rejected.

Got our tags successfully from X. If I recall there was an option to do so from Manage Reservation. It was in the same area where you could print your cruise documents. This option disappeared a few weeks before sail date.

• Ship:  Summit
• Length of Cruise: 10 days
• Cruise Sail Date: June 27, 2019
• Date email offer received: May 5
• Captain’s Club Tier [“PREVIEW” = first Celebrity Cruise]: Elite
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: Celebrity Direct
• Current Cabin: 3123
• Bid?  Yes/No: Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category: Veranda / Family Veranda / Concierge / Aqua
• Bid Offer:  $310 CAD  / $500 CAD / $385 CAD / No bid on Aqua (felt that minimum was too high)
• Notification Date: June 25
• Accepted / Rejected:  All Rejected

General Comments (offer details, etc.) : Min bids were: Veranda $135 CAD, FV - $205, CC-$270, AQ- $405. Bid more conservatively at outset and increased bids over time as it became apparent that inventory was tight. Thought that our final bids were quite reasonable at 75% of maximum bid and 2.25 to 2.4 times the minimum bid. Bids remained in pending status until today - 48 hours before sail away.

Found this all somewhat strange. There was a lot of cabins available through early May so believed that eventually we could upgrade to a veranda at little or no cost.  Prices did drop but not enough to make it work. Then cabins sold out very quickly and prices went back up. Were were boxed in and then had to rely more heavily on the move up process. I'm guessing that the availability was too tight to support a lot of move ups for this cruise. Live and learn!

4 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

 I guess we'll see lots of folks with very swollen ankles now on Celebrity!  I wonder what they did with all those foot rests?

Certainly would have made sense to put these all back to where they were prior to the refurbs. A real head scratcher for X to remove them without replacing them with same or better. 

1 hour ago, Aralim said:

 

I’ve noticed the lone cabin on deck 10 that shows up, and it’s weird because that block of rooms are the new AQ cabins that were installed on the refurb. No idea why that one cabin shows as Verandah instead of AQ

These new deck 10 AQ cabins were recently re-classed as 2C verandas. 

30 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

My assumption would be that the algorithm would be designed to maximize profit rather than whatever your definition of integrity maybe. 

Agree. My point was that they likely work to formula instead of awarding arbitrarily. I'm sure the goal is to maximize return.

5 minutes ago, ggo85 said:

So as I see it, Move Up is really just the upgrade fairy reinvented.  X can pick whomever they want, regardless of the bid.  So even if you are the highest bidder, i

 

Which really means that X need not even pick the highest bidder -- they can pick anyone they want who makes any bid or, in theory, even someone who didn't bid at all if they don't like the bids they receive.

 

Thus, MU is nothing more than the upgrade fairy, reinvented -- only now we get to pay for the "privilege," but there's no alignment of payment and reward. 

 

They are even more clever than I gave them credit for.  Seriously. 

Do you know this for a fact and have examples of this? My guess is that it is not as arbitrary as you think. I think that there is some sort of algorithm in play here in order to maintain integrity of the program. At least I hope so.

17 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 I could just pack my own blow up or folding foot stool but that kind of defeats the purpose of the extra cost of feeling pampered.  

Agreed. Seems like some turn this into a camping trip rather than a luxury cruise,  schlepping fold up stools and tables. We could never manage this with airline restrictions on checked and carry-on luggage, nor would we want to.

We pay a lot to cruise and such amenities should be provided especially given that they were there (but removed).

Odd that X would remove these in the first place and open themselves up to criticism.

Perhaps with the negative feedback they will reappear in time. Be sure to continue to mention this on your post cruise surveys and reviews.

9 hours ago, CruiseCrew123 said:

I really want to cancel and rebook but can’t see how to on the planner - any ideas appreciated

Go into cruise planner in your online reservation. At the top of the page click on the link for "Order History" . This will show all the items you have purchased. From here you should have an option to cancel. Credit will be applied to whatever payment method you used either OBC or credit card. If you used OBC it will be credited back immediately. Once cancelled you can reorder it. I did this a while back to rebook shore excursions at a lower price.

1 hour ago, fstuff1 said:

 

hm.. why wouldnt you sail in one if celebrity named and promoted it as an oceanview with windows that open?

(and priced between a regular ov and a regular veranda)

 

 

Would be interested to see how Celebrity would deal with the Aqua and Concierge Class cabins. They may have backed themselves into a corner given that 63% of the cabins are IVs.

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

Barry, refer to post 231.  In the daily it lists shuttle options(for a fee) from port to city center.  If memory serves me right it is $9.99 one way or $17.99 round trip, but, must be purchased on board.  I hope this helps.

Thank you very much, big help. Assume (hope) that they will also run shuttle this for our cruise as well.

Jim,

Looking ahead to Boston would appreciate your feedback as to whether a shuttle  (either offered by Celebrity or run by the port) is available to and from the port to Quincy Market/Faneuil Hall area. We have been checking into it for our cruise on the 27th but have not be able to get a definitive answer. We will be in Boston on July 4th. TIA.

Barry

31 minutes ago, jimzgoldfinch said:

 

If you are booking cruise in Canada would you be paying in CAD $? Therefore no bank fee.

True, no bank fee if booked directly thru Celebrity in $CDN or through local TA.

However, their fares already have the exchange rate factored in.

Celebrity actually converts at a little less than prevailing rates. Currently 1.32 vs 1.34.

But if you book through a US T/A which many do, the bank fees would apply.

32 minutes ago, jimzgoldfinch said:

 

I see that the current exchange rate is $1 = Cad$1.34 - difference of 34%. Are saying that you effectively paying 30% more on top of the exchange rate?

 

Could pay another 3% bank fee on top of that so 1.37 to the $US. About 7 years ago the $CDN was at par with the $US. 20-20 hindsight I should have bought more $US at that time to stash into travel/vacation fund.

2 hours ago, LA_CA_GAL said:

I apologize for responding and suggesting you ask your steward for a footstool.

 

Please disregard my suggestion.  You are probably right.  There are absolutely no footstools whatsoever on the ship.

 

However, as a regular Celebrity cruiser, I have had some wonderful stewards, and if there were no footstools available and I requested one, some of the stewards that I had would literally have built one for me. 

 

Maybe I just have that special type of charisma or magnanimous personality.

 

 

Sorry for the flack you're getting. Like you I believe the the steward or GS would be able to come up with a footstool or something suitable to accommodate this passenger's physical requirement to prop their foot up.

17 minutes ago, GoHoward said:

 

We have a solution for the dining table - a $25 folding aluminum camp table from Aldi. Not ideal to tote our own furniture onboard, but now we know we will be able to enjoy family room service dinners on the veranda!

Why?? Passengers should not have to bring their own solutions on board! If it turns out that there isn't a proper table there, request one. You've paid a premium for that cabin.

Jim, will be interested in you feedback as well. We sail on the Summit the cruise following your B2B.

Perhaps these larger tables were never part of the original floorplan for these cabins but added by request along the way and just left there for others to enjoy. They look as though they were borrowed from other areas of the ship. When these ships were revolutionized everything was likely removed and went back to plan without them. Passengers going forward should try to request them to restart the cycle. Just my thought.

3 hours ago, hcat said:

Thanks for the link...an excellent concise review of EDGE and Sunset Veranda....can't wait for our turn!

 

Hoping we can get a lounger but may try to  pick up a foldover beach lounger before we cruise and tag it...not sure we are allowed?????

It really shouldn't be necessary for Passengers to bring their own solutions aboard for things that should have been provided in the first place.

3 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

So according to the newsletter I just received, the IV's are our fault, the passengers.  They stated in a survey that passengers only use their balcony 20% of the time (that seems like a decent amount of time to me) so they decided to maximize space somewhere else. Funny, I don't remember being asked.

They are sleeping or washing up the rest of the time. 

It was there for me. You could also access your move up status by following a link in one of your move up confirmation emails.

1 hour ago, Luckiestmanonearth said:

So on Celebrity , if you put a deposit on a room and you see better deals later, if you book a different room and get a reduced rate or added perks, what happens to your deposit?

 

Of course this is assuming before you make final payment

Assuming you remain on that sailing nothing should happen to your deposit if before final payment. However, if you originally booked with a reduced deposit you may need to pay the difference to whatever the prevailing deposit rate is.

12 minutes ago, Big_G said:

 

Thanks. I wasn't aware of that. I wonder if they're in high demand after all the hubbub about the IV's.

Probably. There are only 36 SVs.  The  IA & 1B cabins are located either far forward or aft and the balcony, though open, appears somewhat enclosed.