Upgrading to all inclusive

[Wblotner]

Is it possible to add the drink/WiFi/gratuity before we board?

[dreamer321]

You can add the each item  à la carte for much more than All Included would have cost you. You may be able the reprice your current booking at todays fare prices and promotions if it's before the final payment date.  Essentially, you are canceling and rebooking. The best way to deal with it to have your travel agent deal with it if you used one; otherwise, call a Celebrity personal Cruise Consultant and ask them the price to upgrade.  It will probably be more expensive than if you had done it originally.

[Arizona Wildcat]

Depends on how and when you booked.  If before final payment contact your TA or call Celebrity.   They can tell you the best way to do it.  The best way depends on when you booked and if prices have changed.

Purchasing after you board is likely to be more expensive.

If after final.payment the same applies except Celebrity doesn't need to do anything.  So ask nicely.

Many TAs (FWIW a bit late today for this booking) offer a group rate that will include AI perks for a reduced or sail only fare.

[Wblotner]

On 12/3/2022 at 6:30 PM, Arizona Wildcat said:

Depends on how and when you booked.  If before final payment contact your TA or call Celebrity.   They can tell you the best way to do it.  The best way depends on when you booked and if prices have changed.

Purchasing after you board is likely to be more expensive.

If after final.payment the same applies except Celebrity doesn't need to do anything.  So ask nicely.

Many TAs (FWIW a bit late today for this booking) offer a group rate that will include AI perks for a reduced or sail only fare.

I’ve made final payment and booked directly with Celebrity.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

14 minutes ago, Wblotner said:

I’ve made final payment and booked directly with Celebrity.

Just log into your Celebrity online account and open the cruise planner for your cruise. There's a button titled "Plan my Cruise" on your upcoming cruises page that takes you there. You can purchase the drink package and WiFi before your cruise on there. You can call in to prepay gratuities.

[Wblotner]

13 hours ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Just log into your Celebrity online account and open the cruise planner for your cruise. There's a button titled "Plan my Cruise" on your upcoming cruises page that takes you there. You can purchase the drink package and WiFi before your cruise on there. You can call in to prepay gratuities.

[Wblotner]

I know how to do that but was just looking for a discount.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

43 minutes ago, Wblotner said:

I know how to do that but was just looking for a discount.

There are some discounts on beverage packages and wifi based on your Captain's Club tier.  However, you do have to call in to utilize these discounts.

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, Wblotner said:

I know how to do that but was just looking for a discount.

Just curious.  Why didn’t you book with the AI initially?  
As you probably know, the AI is not a package you buy.  It is built into the rate you select.  
 

You may be able to take advantage of some discount when buying each item individually.  Keep checking your booking on the Celebrity website and watch your e mails.  Even with a few individual discounts for some of the packages, it will still cost significantly more than the AI booking bundle guilted into the prevailing rate.  

 

Are you Elite on Celebrity or Diamond on Royal?  If yes, you can get some discount.

 

Good Luck.

 

P.S.  You might want to check and see if there are cabins still available that would be an upgrade.  Book a higher level cabin with the AI built in.  At least compare the cost between the upgraded cabin with the AI and your current cabin.  it would have to pay the difference.  Might be worth a try.

 

the Move up bidding will not work as your perks follow you to the new category.  

 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by jagoffee

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

13 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Even with a few individual discounts for some of the packages, it will still cost significantly more than the AI booking bundle.

A few months ago, this was the case but not anymore.  They've recently reduced the discount you receive by bundling AI with your cruise fare.  Now you're only saving money if you plan on utilizing the internet in addition to the beverage package.  If you can go without internet, you'd save money by purchasing the beverage package separately pre-cruise.

 

The other thing that bundling the AI with the cruise fare does is increase your non-refundable price as it's now a part of your cruise fare (final payment) and not an add on which you can cancel without penalty before the cruise in the event you have to cancel within final payment and don't have trip cancellation coverage.

 

Booking AI also complicates re-pricing situations if the cruise price drops.

Edited December 5, 2022 by NorthStarStateCruiser

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

A few months ago, this was the case but not anymore.  They've recently reduced the discount you receive by bundling AI with your cruise fare.  Now you're only saving money if you plan on utilizing the internet in addition to the beverage package.  If you can go without internet, you'd save money by purchasing the beverage package separately pre-cruise.

 

The other thing that bundling the AI with the cruise fare does is increase your non-refundable price as it's now a part of your cruise fare (final payment) and not an add on which you can cancel without penalty before the cruise in the event you have to cancel within final payment and don't have trip cancellation coverage.

 

Booking AI also complicates re-pricing situations if the cruise price drops.

I will have to check that out.  Glad you mentioned it.  
 

I did not realize the difference between the Cruise Only rate and the rate with the AI bundled changed that much.  Just to confirm what you are stating.  The Classic drink package retail price is $69 plus 20% a day, so $83 a day?  The difference between the Cruise Only and the fare with the AI built in is more than $83 a day per person?

 

One advantage for the TA is that they earn a commission on the higher cruise rate.  For many of us that means more refundable OBC for those that share their commission.

 

It sure does complicate getting price reductions after booking, especially if the cost of the any of the packages increase.  
 

I wonder what % of the non casino bookings are actually Cruise Only bookings.  

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

33 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Just to confirm what you are stating.  The Classic drink package retail price is $69 plus 20% a day, so $83 a day?  The difference between the Cruise Only and the fare with the AI built in is more than $83 a day per person?

Yes, for some sailings.  Here's an example breakdown of a sailing to see the difference.  For this sailing it's actually more expensive to book the AI rate than to add on the items after booking even without factoring ongoing sales or CC discounts on the beverage and wifi packages!

 

Celebrity Summit 5 night Caribbean 1/9/2023, 2 passengers, guaranteed veranda stateroom

AI total price (including taxes & fees): $2490.44

Cruise only total price (incl. taxes & fees): $1146.44

Difference in cost: $1344 ($672 per person)

 

Classic beverage package at "rack rate" (incl. gratuities): $414

Onboard gratuities: $87.50

Basic Wifi at "rack rate": $99.95

Total cost for add-ons: $601.45 per person

 

This cost difference will vary from sailing to sailing and between room categories within the sailings.  It's important to compare the difference in prices prior to finalizing the booking.

 

55 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

One advantage for the TA is that they earn a commission on the higher cruise rate.  For many of us that means more refundable OBC for those that share their commission.

Agreed that this affects the TAs commission and OBC offered.

 

57 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

I wonder what % of the non casino bookings are actually Cruise Only bookings.

Likely higher now that they increased the cost for adding AI to the booking.

[Chardonnay Char]

Is it even possible to see the non-inclusive rate on any Website -- for comparison purposes?

[jelayne]

On 12/5/2022 at 11:57 AM, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

A few months ago, this was the case but not anymore.  They've recently reduced the discount you receive by bundling AI with your cruise fare.  Now you're only saving money if you plan on utilizing the internet in addition to the beverage package.  If you can go without internet, you'd save money by purchasing the beverage package separately pre-cruise.

 

The other thing that bundling the AI with the cruise fare does is increase your non-refundable price as it's now a part of your cruise fare (final payment) and not an add on which you can cancel without penalty before the cruise in the event you have to cancel within final payment and don't have trip cancellation coverage.

 

Booking AI also complicates re-pricing situations if the cruise price drops.

That not always the case.  We just booked a 17N in a SV.  The difference between the Cruise Only and AI was $896 pp, or $52 pp pd.  The daily gratuity accounts for $17 of that;  so for $35 pd we got the beverage package and wi-fi. 

[jelayne]

22 minutes ago, Chardonnay Char said:

Is it even possible to see the non-inclusive rate on any Website -- for comparison purposes?

You can see it on the Celebrity website by doing a mock booking. For Suites and Aqua there is no  Cruise Only rate, both those categories are priced with AI.

Edited December 15, 2022 by jelayne

[grandgeezer]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

You can see it on the Celebrity website by doing a mock booking. For Suites and Aqua there is no  Cruise Only rate, both those categories are priced with AI.

Not true, the suites include their normal four perks including premium drink package, and the good internet, while Aqua includes the A.I. Do a mock booking and see for yourself.

[RichYak]

54 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

Not true, the suites include their normal four perks including premium drink package, and the good internet, while Aqua includes the A.I. Do a mock booking and see for yourself.

That’s semantics and irrelevant to the point being made. 

[h2ocruiser]

We recently, November 2022, upgraded to AI with not having to cancel our existing booking. We called our TA after final payment and just asked for a price to upgrade to AI. They came back with an add on amount that was significantly less than adding each item individually. 

[grandgeezer]

3 hours ago, RichYak said:

That’s semantics and irrelevant to the point being made. 

The point is the original statement is false. Why let the facts stand in the way of an informational post.

 

[cdn_tbird]

14 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

The point is the original statement is false. Why let the facts stand in the way of an informational post.

 

If you're going to be a stickler for "facts", you missed one. Suites also come with OBC.

[RichYak]

29 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

The point is the original statement is false. Why let the facts stand in the way of an informational post.

 

No, the point of the original statement is that there is no cruise-only rate for AQ and Retreat which is true. You either missed the point entirely or were unnecessarily looking for a fight. Why let ignorance or vindictiveness stand in the way of an informational post?