Celebrity MoveUp

[kathynorth]

11 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

No, the Move Up bidding does not involve the TA.

Some of the discussion here relate to the fact that a particular big box  wholesaler will not allow Celebrity  to offer their clients a Move Up bidding offer. Probably a contact stipulation?

 

Ive booked through the big box TA that I believe people are posting about and know they didn’t participate in the prior phone call dependent program that required the TA to pass on a message indicating eligibility for a paid upgrade. However the current move up program addresses that problem by booking the move up directly through the passenger and not the TA, unless I’m missing something.

[jagoffee]

1 minute ago, kathynorth said:

 

Ive booked through the big box TA that I believe people are posting about and know they didn’t participate in the prior phone call dependent program that required the TA to pass on a message indicating eligibility for a paid upgrade. However the current move up program addresses that problem by booking the move up directly through the passenger and not the TA, unless I’m missing something.

True, but several people have reported that “they” will not allow Celebrity to offer this new program to their clients.  Have you been able to participate with a cruise booked with them?

[Diamond lover]

56 minutes ago, kathynorth said:

 

Ive booked through the big box TA that I believe people are posting about and know they didn’t participate in the prior phone call dependent program that required the TA to pass on a message indicating eligibility for a paid upgrade. However the current move up program addresses that problem by booking the move up directly through the passenger and not the TA, unless I’m missing something.

 

We were told by Celebrity directly that we were not eligible BECAUSE we booked with bigbox.  We couldn’t submit an offer through TA, through Celebrity website, through phone call or Celebrity, through emails to TA and Celebrity.  We were simply ineligible due to booking with bigbox.

[TFree]

54 minutes ago, Diamond lover said:

 

We were told by Celebrity directly that we were not eligible BECAUSE we booked with bigbox.  We couldn’t submit an offer through TA, through Celebrity website, through phone call or Celebrity, through emails to TA and Celebrity.  We were simply ineligible due to booking with bigbox.

Right. We have the same situation as you. I have submitted a customer care type email to the Big Box customer service. Their system says responses expected in 3 to 4 weeks. Approaching 3 weeks now. If I have not received a response by the time we get back from our current trip, I will get on the phone with Big Box Travel office to try to get an answer / complain. 

 

Tom & Judy

[LuvCruzn4Evr]

12 hours ago, jagoffee said:

No, the Move Up bidding does not involve the TA.

Some of the discussion here relate to the fact that a particular big box  wholesaler will not allow Celebrity  to offer their clients a Move Up bidding offer. Probably a contact stipulation?

I recently booked a cruise through a TA, not the big box one I typically use. I received a MoveUp offer in an email and the email cc'd my TA.  The email address they used for my TA was their 'general' email and not the specific email address for my individual travel consultant.  

 

When my friend questioned the big box wholesaler as to why they do not participate, the answer was because the email offer is sent to their general email and they cannot monitor that address sufficiently to handle all the emails.  My guess is they opted out of the program because of this, thus making clients ineligible.  I know for a fact I have not received any offer for a MoveUp on cruises I've booked with this big box wholesaler.  

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, LuvCruzn4Evr said:

I recently booked a cruise through a TA, not the big box one I typically use. I received a MoveUp offer in an email and the email cc'd my TA.  The email address they used for my TA was their 'general' email and not the specific email address for my individual travel consultant.  

 

When my friend questioned the big box wholesaler as to why they do not participate, the answer was because the email offer is sent to their general email and they cannot monitor that address sufficiently to handle all the emails.  My guess is they opted out of the program because of this, thus making clients ineligible.  I know for a fact I have not received any offer for a MoveUp on cruises I've booked with this big box wholesaler.  

 

True, but IMO it sounds like a poor excuse.  As far as I know the TA does not have any responsibility for the actual bidding or acceptance.  I did notice that my TA was copied on the initial Move Up bidding offer, but not on the e mail acknowledging that Celebrity received my bid.  

 

You bring up a good point as to if the TA has to be involved if and when  you win a bid.  I did not win on my two opportunities, so I do not know.

 

I am just curious as to why you keep using this TA even though they do not participate.  Are you unable to find a TA that offers the same or better deal?  I would guess that most people do not even know they are not eligible for the Move Up bidding.  

Edited May 14, 2019 by jagoffee

[bEwAbG]

My guess (just a guess) is that the big box TA has such a high volume of sales that they don't want to field the extra inquiries such emails might generate.  Their offers are always much better than anyone else, so I won't look a gift horse in the mouth.  We all know that X's roll-out and handling of these types of programs is often haphazard at best.  I can only imagine what it's like to deal with them business to business.

Edited May 14, 2019 by bEwAbG

[LuvCruzn4Evr]

21 hours ago, jagoffee said:

 

True, but IMO it sounds like a poor excuse.  As far as I know the TA does not have any responsibility for the actual bidding or acceptance.  I did notice that my TA was copied on the initial Move Up bidding offer, but not on the e mail acknowledging that Celebrity received my bid.  

 

You bring up a good point as to if the TA has to be involved if and when  you win a bid.  I did not win on my two opportunities, so I do not know.

 

I am just curious as to why you keep using this TA even though they do not participate.  Are you unable to find a TA that offers the same or better deal?  I would guess that most people do not even know they are not eligible for the Move Up bidding.  

Your guess is correct. I had no idea until recent they did not participate nor that I was ineligible because they did not participate. I'm now in the dilemma of whether I  can move our future cruises to a different TA because of this. I feel I'm being penalized and I imho feel too it's a poor excuse.  We most always book onboard and have been assigning the cruises to this big box agency but no more, especially since they no longer provide OBC on Celebrity cruises and provide a cash card instead. 

[Diamond lover]

23 hours ago, jagoffee said:

 

True, but IMO it sounds like a poor excuse.  As far as I know the TA does not have any responsibility for the actual bidding or acceptance.  I did notice that my TA was copied on the initial Move Up bidding offer, but not on the e mail acknowledging that Celebrity received my bid.  

 

You bring up a good point as to if the TA has to be involved if and when  you win a bid.  I did not win on my two opportunities, so I do not know.

 

I am just curious as to why you keep using this TA even though they do not participate.  Are you unable to find a TA that offers the same or better deal?  I would guess that most people do not even know they are not eligible for the Move Up bidding.  

 

I didn't know about their lack of participation in the move up bidding programme.  I'll re-think using them again next time, but I will have to think about it, because their price was good, the perks they added onboard were good, and i came home to a $680 gift card for their warehouse.....so if I wasn't successful in bidding with another agency, I'd have lost all that.

[jagoffee]

3 minutes ago, Diamond lover said:

 

I didn't know about their lack of participation in the move up bidding programme.  I'll re-think using them again next time, but I will have to think about it, because their price was good, the perks they added onboard were good, and i came home to a $680 gift card for their warehouse.....so if I wasn't successful in bidding with another agency, I'd have lost all that.

We cannot recommend specific TA’s, but I suspect you can find the same or better deal with a different TA.  (This has been my experience). The key with my two TA’s is to get a quote. (The OBC does not show on line).  Usually 9-10% refundable OBC.

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, jagoffee said:

We cannot recommend specific TA’s, but I suspect you can find the same or better deal with a different TA.  (This has been my experience). The key with my two TA’s is to get a quote. (The OBC does not show on line).  Usually 9-10% refundable OBC.

 

I agree. I’ve got no bone to pick with the big box store (shop there regularly), but my own personal experience has been finding equally or better perks/deals through other agencies. 

[Luvcrusn]

2 hours ago, Diamond lover said:

 

I didn't know about their lack of participation in the move up bidding programme.  I'll re-think using them again next time, but I will have to think about it, because their price was good, the perks they added onboard were good, and i came home to a $680 gift card for their warehouse.....so if I wasn't successful in bidding with another agency, I'd have lost all that.

Not necessarily. We also are frequent customers of the place referred to, but get as good or better deals through a large online TA located in the US. Their customers can participate in the Move Up program. They offer the same or lower prices, extra perks and OBC that's refundable. That allows us to take that extra OBC and spend (or pocket it) as we wish and where we wish. Do some research and you may be pleasantly surprised. Good luck. DH and I find the shopping for and planning of future cruises part of the fun, and if you do also, enjoy the process.

[snackcracker675]

For the record, we sail in 8 days and haven't heard anything about our bids. It says we have until two days before the sailing date, so we'll see what happens! We're happy with our cheap last minute deal either way. 

[kathynorth]

On 5/14/2019 at 12:18 AM, Diamond lover said:

 

We were told by Celebrity directly that we were not eligible BECAUSE we booked with bigbox.  We couldn’t submit an offer through TA, through Celebrity website, through phone call or Celebrity, through emails to TA and Celebrity.  We were simply ineligible due to booking with bigbox.

 

I appreciate your clear, detailed response! Thank you

[Klutz]

I'm at the 2 day mark. Hoping to hear good news today!

[LINGBER]

10 hours ago, Klutz said:

I'm at the 2 day mark. Hoping to hear good news today!

Any update?  

 

[Klutz]

2 hours ago, LINGBER said:

Any update?  

 

Sadly our bid was not accepted. But still looking forward to a great cruise in a nice dark room 😉

[Stuart2019]

Having just completed an excellent cruise with Celebrity I have to say one of the few downsides would be the extras and add on's that are asked for after you have paid for the cruise. Excursions are at a high cost and a lot of passengers arranged independent travel companies to provide the same or better tours at half the price. Gratuities seem to be almost obligatory and I put that down to the U.S. culture of tipping. Removing gratuities from your account at Guest Relations leads to a note and envelopes at the end of the cruise reminding you to provide a cash gratuity and 'suggesting' an amount per day per person for all departments, even if you have tipped individuals for good service throughout the cruise. And then there is the 'Moveup' scheme which appears to be some sort of lottery providing cabins to the highest bidder. A rather tacky approach through an independent contractor to increase the profit to Celebrity.    

[citronella]

Really, the extras and add ons that you say are “asked for” is not the case. You don’t have to book the shore excursions, participate in the Move Up program or in your case, pay the gratuities. So, no extra cost for you.

[korryp]

Just say NO. Real simple!

[Bruin Steve]

4 hours ago, Stuart2019 said:

Having just completed an excellent cruise with Celebrity I have to say one of the few downsides would be the extras and add on's that are asked for after you have paid for the cruise. Excursions are at a high cost and a lot of passengers arranged independent travel companies to provide the same or better tours at half the price. Gratuities seem to be almost obligatory and I put that down to the U.S. culture of tipping. Removing gratuities from your account at Guest Relations leads to a note and envelopes at the end of the cruise reminding you to provide a cash gratuity and 'suggesting' an amount per day per person for all departments, even if you have tipped individuals for good service throughout the cruise. And then there is the 'Moveup' scheme which appears to be some sort of lottery providing cabins to the highest bidder. A rather tacky approach through an independent contractor to increase the profit to Celebrity.    

 

Stuart,

I see you are fairly new to Cruise Critic, so, perhaps you can be excused from knowing of the large number of past threads on  the gratuity issues...and I dread to address it here once more, but, apparently you have a mistaken concept of what is in play here.  It is NOT a "US culture of tipping".  It is really a matter of how service employees (ie waiters) are compensated in various places around the world.  In countries with an apparent "culture" of no tipping, waiters are compensated either by an added "service charge" or by higher wages reflected in higher meal prices.  Either way, you, the customer, have no choice--the charge is either required or hidden in your bill...and passed on to the waiter.  In the US, it is not...and waiters earn a lower wage supplemented by the customary gratuities--which may vary depending on the quality of the service and the whim of the customer.

 

Understand that US-based cruise lines--like Celebrity--operate in the same manner...the crew is paid a very low wage...and make most of their money from those gratuities.  Most of us understand that...and leave the standard gratuities on the bill.  Many of us hand out additional cash gratuities to service crew who we feel went well above and beyond the standard.  Even the "suggested gratuities" actually provide a small amount compared to what we might pay in gratuities back home.

 

When you remove the gratuities from your bill and do not otherwise at least duplicate those with cash in the envelopes, you are, in fact, pretty much stiffing all of these great service employees who have served you so well during the cruise.  It is not a matter of differing "culture" among passengers of different nationalities.  It is a matter of not conforming to local culture--which directly affects the compensation of the crew.  When you book a US-based cruise line, you need to understand that the "service charge" or crew compensation is IN ADDITION to the cruise price--NOT INCLUDED.

 

As to the high priced shore excursions, NOWHERE does anyone suggest they are included in your cruise fare. Clearly they are optional.  You have the choice--in every cruise port--to book (and pay for) one, to book your own tour independent of the cruise line, or to just wanbder off into port and explore on your own.  You are a complete "free agent" off the ship.

 

And, as to the "MoveUp" program, again, no one is obligated to make a bid.  When you book your cruise, just choose and pay for whichever cabin category you want.  If you want a better cabin, you are always free to book it and pay the higher price.  The "MoveUp" thing IS a way for the cruise line to try to encourage customers to upgrade and pay for a higher category cabin IF they have them available...and, perhaps, to pay a lesser price than if they had booked it originally.  The customer gets an upgrade, the cruise line fills a higher priced cabin and squeezes out a little more money.  BUT, again, it is completely optional on your part.  You can also buy a high priced new watch in the shops onboard--and the cruise line squeezes more money out of you that way--but nobody makes you buy the watch.

 

Edited May 19, 2019 by Bruin Steve

[Luvcrusn]

Bruin Steve previous post was a beautiful, and non judgemental explanation. Thanks

[korryp]

Well written Stuart. Totally agree.

[Stuart2019]

27 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

Bruin Steve previous post was a beautiful, and non judgemental explanation. Thanks

 

It was extremely judgemental  and quite aggressive in it's nature, with lots of capitals. It was also flawed. I have been on cruises with a number of cruise companies and Celebrity's cost of a cruise is similar to other cruise companies. Therefore why the need for customers to subsidize the company's salary to their employees? Why should customers need to be put in the invidious position of having to compensate staff to a level they should be by their own company? 

 

Excursions are not included in the initial cost with any cruise company that I am aware of. But the cost is always somewhat higher with the cruise company than with an independent provider. The only advantage is the guarantee that the customer will not miss their ship with any delays. That concern is emphasized by all cruise companies.

 

The moveup program is tacky and just looking to make as much money out of customers as possible. There is also the concern that cabins are withdrawn from general purchase so that bidders can push up the price in the moveup program (see BEAV posted May 6th).

 

Edit: We tried to book a suite for the cruise but none were available. We still received the moveup email. When none were available? Or withdrawn for the lottery of the moveup program?

 

I provide an opinion based on my experience and don't require to have it critisized as being unreasonable on the basis of your opinion. You have your view. I have mine. Thank you.  

 

 

Edited May 19, 2019 by Stuart2019
Additional part.

[hiccups]

19 minutes ago, Stuart2019 said:

 

It was extremely judgemental  and quite aggressive in it's nature, with lots of capitals. It was also flawed. I have been on cruises with a number of cruise companies and Celebrity's cost of a cruise is similar to other cruise companies. Therefore why the need for customers to subsidize the company's salary to their employees? Why should customers need to be put in the invidious position of having to compensate staff to a level they should be by their own company? 

 

Excursions are not included in the initial cost with any cruise company that I am aware of. But the cost is always somewhat higher with the cruise company than with an independent provider. The only advantage is the guarantee that the customer will not miss their ship with any delays. That concern is emphasized by all cruise companies.

 

The moveup program is tacky and just looking to make as much money out of customers as possible. There is also the concern that cabins are withdrawn from general purchase so that bidders can push up the price in the moveup program (see BEAV posted May 6th).

 

Edit: We tried to book a suite for the cruise but none were available. We still received the moveup email. When none were available? Or withdrawn for the lottery of the moveup program?

 

I provide an opinion based on my experience and don't require to have it critisized as being unreasonable on the basis of your opinion. You have your view. I have mine. Thank you.  

 

 

Wow, if you think Steve's post was judgmental and aggressive, you definitely are new to Cruise Critic.

I'd suggest since you're so unhappy with Celebrity, please look elsewhere for your next cruise.  Perhaps pick a cruise line that includes gratuities and excursions (there are several that include them).