Upgrades after final, not Move Up

[yvonneh]

Hi all,

I am trying to make a decision on upgrading to a suite on a cruise I have coming up in June. The final payment is Monday.

Here is my question. There are about 35 suites still available (16 left for a party of 3, which we are). The prices have come down, but should I hold out until after final to upgrade?

Does anyone have experience with the suites dropping further when there are this many still open? I will be so frustrated if I bite the bullet now and then they drop.

Thoughts? Thank you!!

[Jim_Iain]

I recently upgraded from an A1 to a Suites Guarantee.    We were anxious to try an A1 as we had never traveled in one and were able to secure an AFT Center cabin.    I had been watching the prices and they went down a little before final payment.

 

About 10 days after final payment the price of the SkySuite Guarantee dropped to $250 pp over the A1 (BTW it is a short 5 day cruise).   I called and upgraded.    At the time the agents website I had booked on indicated there was only 1 available.    After I booked I went back and looked and sure enough even Celebrity Site was showing no SS's available.   I noticed about a week later another SS Guarantee opened but was $50 more and went fast.  

 

It is now 49 days until cruise and we still do not have cabin assignment.  

 

 

Edited March 1, 2019 by Jim_Iain

[jelayne]

Personally, I would wait until after final payment.  Keep checking after final payment but in my experience it is a week or so after final that the price drops.  

[Tourist1292]

I guess you can wait a little bit but monitor the price and availability. There is still time to see further price drop unless there is a specific suites you want. I did not want to upgrade our rooms as we are interested in large balcony in specific location where we booked our rooms. I just upgraded both last night and moved up 3 floors for a small price but with addition perks.

[mfs2k]

27 minutes ago, yvonneh said:

Hi all,

I am trying to make a decision on upgrading to a suite on a cruise I have coming up in June. The final payment is Monday.

Here is my question. There are about 35 suites still available (16 left for a party of 3, which we are). The prices have come down, but should I hold out until after final to upgrade?

Does anyone have experience with the suites dropping further when there are this many still open? I will be so frustrated if I bite the bullet now and then they drop.

Thoughts? Thank you!!

 

.  After closely watching so much price jumping after final payment for my March 23 cruise, I would wait and keep watching, and make a decision between 60-90 days out. 

[drakes2]

4 hours ago, yvonneh said:

Hi all,

I am trying to make a decision on upgrading to a suite on a cruise I have coming up in June. The final payment is Monday.

Here is my question. There are about 35 suites still available (16 left for a party of 3, which we are). The prices have come down, but should I hold out until after final to upgrade?

Does anyone have experience with the suites dropping further when there are this many still open? I will be so frustrated if I bite the bullet now and then they drop.

Thoughts? Thank you!!

Hold off but keep monitoring those suites daily. I had an obstructed balcony and moved up to a fantastic C2 not a suite but still huge balcony and cost me zero dollars. I actually put it on a courtesy hold and when prices dropped I got it. Cruise is later this month.  They even offered me a C1 for the same price but I wanted the bigger verandah and location.

[yvonneh]

Thank you for your responses! 

[cruiserchuck]

As others have indicated, the prices most likely will drop after final payment date.  However, on several cruises that I have been watching, the low prices available after final payment do not include any perks.  As such, if you currently have any included perks, I believe you would lose them if you upgrade to a discounted fare that does not include perks, such as an exciting deal or resident/senior rate.

Edited March 2, 2019 by cruiserchuck

[yvonneh]

8 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

As others have indicated, the prices most likely will drop after final payment date.  However, on several cruises that I have been watching, the low prices available after final payment do not include any perks.  As such, if you currently have any included perks, I believe you would lose them if you upgrade to a discounted fare that does not include perks, such as an exciting deal or resident/senior rate.

With a suite, Go Best is included, unless you do the Move Up deal, correct?

I have Go Best with my C1 right now.

[cruiserchuck]

5 minutes ago, yvonneh said:

With a suite, Go Best is included, unless you do the Move Up deal, correct?

I have Go Best with my C1 right now.

 

On my upcoming cruise, Celebrity has been offering big discounts on suites as part of the weekly Exciting Deals and also as resident/senior promos.  When I checked the prices online, there were no perks included, and the cost to add the perks has been running about $800 per person.  

[wrk2cruise]

Correct generally these low prices are done as a senior or resident discount or exciting deals.  Senior and Resident never have perks bundled and if the exciting deal is really a deal I suspect it won't either.

[MamaChach]

what happens if you try to upgrade after final payment?  How do you do this?

[cruise kitty]

I was able to upgrade recently from an Aq2 to an S1.  My perks (go best)  plus my additional OBC for booking on board carried over to the new cabin.  This was about 10 days or so after final payment was due.    There were two price brackets for the sky suites, guarantees at much lower cost than what I paid for my Aq2 (couldn't do that, plus I would have lost my perks)  & a "pick your own cabin" option priced just a little higher than what I'd paid for my Aq2.   A nice surprise was that my additional OBC actually jumped up a bit, offsetting some of the additional money paid for the S1.  Hope this helps.  

[miched]

It is after final payment on our cruise.  Sky suites are $3900 pp and includes all 4 perks.  They now offer the Sky Suite guarantee   for $2700 pp but it doesn’t include any perks but they offer the same cabin with all 4 perks for $3900.   

 

Suites do not always come with all or any perks.  It depends on the promo and pricing.  

 

Our first time in Liminae the server asked if we had a drink package when we ordering drinks.  I asked him why he asks since being in Luminae we would have to be in a suite and suite passengers  get all the perks.  He said not really as there are many on our cruise in suites that don’t have any drink pack.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited March 2, 2019 by miched

[Tourist1292]

2 hours ago, MamaChach said:

what happens if you try to upgrade after final payment?  How do you do this?

Just call your TA.

[duck65]

Did this last May on a 10 day Iceland cruise. Upgraded after final payment when suite price went down from 7200pp to 3000. Paid the difference, if it is a guaranteed room, you may be waiting awhile for your room assignment. It was six days before the cruise before we got ours. Enjoy your trip.

[H2OH!]

17 hours ago, yvonneh said:

Hi all,

I am trying to make a decision on upgrading to a suite on a cruise I have coming up in June. The final payment is Monday.

Here is my question. There are about 35 suites still available (16 left for a party of 3, which we are). The prices have come down, but should I hold out until after final to upgrade?

Does anyone have experience with the suites dropping further when there are this many still open? I will be so frustrated if I bite the bullet now and then they drop.

Thoughts? Thank you!!

 

 

 

Hello-

 

We are on the same cruise as you. This is a tough call and a roll of the dice either way. Although this cruise has alot of cabins left, we went ahead and booked our favorite suite cabin- which will make it "our" cabin 3 years in a row. It came with all 4 perks plus the big box gift card when we get home (of which we have purchased a computer and TV in the past).  We did contemplate taking the resident rate offer   which is approx 1500 less with no perks but after doing the math- the perks on an 11 day cruise are worth more than that so we are staying put. If it drops after final payment- so be it- we love the location of our cabin and the perks.

 

In the  past, we have seen the price drop close to AQ and CC cabin prices but one never knows and it may not have perks. In the past we did upgrade to suite guarantee on a med cruise but didn't to get our cabin assigned until 2 weeks before the cruise. The price increase totaled $300.00 for the two of us with perks but most low prices seem to be void of perks these days.

 

I would decide on what your comfortable paying and then book based on that whether it is before or after final payment and then never look at the prices again- tha'ts what we do 🙂. Good luck

 

 

 

[Cruise a holic]

20 hours ago, yvonneh said:

Hi all,

I am trying to make a decision on upgrading to a suite on a cruise I have coming up in June. The final payment is Monday.

Here is my question. There are about 35 suites still available (16 left for a party of 3, which we are). The prices have come down, but should I hold out until after final to upgrade?

Does anyone have experience with the suites dropping further when there are this many still open? I will be so frustrated if I bite the bullet now and then they drop.

Thoughts? Thank you!!

I have called Celebrity and negotiated with them- before the "move up" program was in place.  Always successful expecially if you are Elite or higher.  Got a good deal- works if you sail when the ship isn't full non-prime time.  Do not hold out too long or you will be out of luck- call and negotiate

[Tourist1292]

I just upgraded my stateroom a couple days ago (70 days before the cruise) when it was around a month after final payment. I called my warehouse TA and it went smoothly. Even the C2 room became cheaper than the 1A that I have paid for, I added the 2 perks deal to make it qualified for the upgrade. Celebrity is doing a $50 bonus OBC promotion right now, so for each room I upgraded I also got $50 back in OBC. This was not mentioned to me by the TA or publicized. I found out later by doing a mock reservation on Celebrity. In addition, I actually paid less than the difference between the current rate for the C2 room and the amount I had paid for due to the increase in port fee/tax in 2019. My gift card incentive was also increased after the upgrade. So you have to take all these into account to calculate the cost of upgrade. For us, we paid $480  to upgrade the 2 rooms, but we also received $700 OBC, $50 more gift card, $15 more cash back, and classic beverage packages for 4 after the upgrade. It is a no brainer for us.

It does not matter if you are elite member or not as this is our first cruise. We picked the upgraded cabins at the exactly the same location of the original one but 3 floors up.

Edited March 2, 2019 by Tourist1292

[yvonneh]

38 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

I have called Celebrity and negotiated with them- before the "move up" program was in place.  Always successful expecially if you are Elite or higher.  Got a good deal- works if you sail when the ship isn't full non-prime time.  Do not hold out too long or you will be out of luck- call and negotiate

After final? What did they do for you? Ships not full, and we are Elite as well. 

[Cruise a holic]

29 minutes ago, yvonneh said:

After final? What did they do for you? Ships not full, and we are Elite as well. 

Yes- paying more is fine- not downgrading after final payment.  We are Elite Plus- but Elite when upgrades were made.  Good luck!  Any problem ask to speak to captains club.

[Jim_Iain]

15 hours ago, miched said:

It is after final payment on our cruise.  Sky suites are $3900 pp and includes all 4 perks.  They now offer the Sky Suite guarantee   for $2700 pp but it doesn’t include any perks but they offer the same cabin with all 4 perks for $3900.   

 

Suites do not always come with all or any perks.  It depends on the promo and pricing.  

 

Our first time in Liminae the server asked if we had a drink package when we ordering drinks.  I asked him why he asks since being in Luminae we would have to be in a suite and suite passengers  get all the perks.  He said not really as there are many on our cruise in suites that don’t have any drink pack.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

You are correct.    I specifically was shopping for a SkySuite using either the State or Age discount since I already get a free drink package due to status.   I chose a SS Guarantee with no perks.  

[yvonneh]

Just wanted to follow up!. I was about to pay for my C1 last night, and I decided to check pricing one last time for the S1 that I wanted, and the prices dropped, even from my morning check! It was a no brainer, and even though there are still several suites left and prices may continue to drop, I feel like I paid a fair price, and the suite came with Go Best. 

[Tourist1292]

16 minutes ago, yvonneh said:

Just wanted to follow up!. I was about to pay for my C1 last night, and I decided to check pricing one last time for the S1 that I wanted, and the prices dropped, even from my morning check! It was a no brainer, and even though there are still several suites left and prices may continue to drop, I feel like I paid a fair price, and the suite came with Go Best. 

Good for you. We are picky for location and have two rooms. That restricts our options. There are still plenty of cabins available and it is only 65 days away. I will keep my eyes open. 

[H2OH!]

On 3/6/2019 at 7:31 AM, yvonneh said:

Just wanted to follow up!. I was about to pay for my C1 last night, and I decided to check pricing one last time for the S1 that I wanted, and the prices dropped, even from my morning check! It was a no brainer, and even though there are still several suites left and prices may continue to drop, I feel like I paid a fair price, and the suite came with Go Best. 

YEAH!!  We also saved another $ 600.00 and kept our perks since they were offering the go Best! See you on board! I do suspect more deals given the inventory but feel the price was perfect!