1cruiselvr

We too are on the Constellation in 2016 and have booked the Sky Suite.

We are looking forward to the new Suite dining room (supposedly for breakfast, brunch and dinner). We've cruised on Cunard in Queens Grill and they have their own dining room and we did enjoy it.

We have grown tired of the main dining room and have been either booking Aqua Class so we have access to Blu or booking a balcony and eating in specialty restaurants. With the suite having more space, the added private dining room and the full in-suite dining, we thought it was worth the extra money. Time will tell.

I can't decide. I go back and forth on the decision. The difference would be around $2,000 which is a lot of money that could be spent on excursions, etc. So that's my issue - is the suite experience and dining perk worth the extra money? Decisions...decisions...;)

Thank you for your considerate response.

Did I understand correctly - suite pax will be getting new/different perks in 2015? If so, would someone please explain the differences. I am currently booked in a C1 on Constellation in early 2016 but I am wondering if the new perks are worth spending the extra $$ to change my booking to a sky suite. Thx.

It happened to me last year with my Feb 2014 cruise. I also was concerned but was assured by my TA that we were really booked and it turned out ok, nothing ever happened. Based upon others experiencing the same issue, I believe it is truly a website issue. But you'd think they would get it fixed.:confused:

Sky Suite should have the same deposit. CS and higher is above Sky :-)

If you're uneasy just ask your TA to verify this before you make any changes.

Thx. My TA gets me great pricing but they don't like too many questions, so that's why I asked the 'experts' on CQ!

Yes, as long as you do not do it as a cancel & rebook, in other words keep the same booking ID, you can upgrade the cabin. If you upgrade to a high level suite, CS & above, you will need an additional deposit. Mary Lou

Thanks. Is a Sky Suite a high level suite or will my original deposit suffice for that category?

I purchased a 'Cruise Later' Certificate earlier this year while sailing on the Century. The future cruise consultant office was very busy the day I wanted to book, so I did the easiest thing - I bought the cruise later certificate. It was my first X cruise and I was not familiar with this certificate other than I could book a future cruise of my choice and my $100 certificate purchase would be my deposit. So here's my question: I finally chose a cruise and booked it thru my TA but now I'm reconsidering the cabin category I picked. Can I contact my TA and switch categories/cabins without jeopardizing my cruise later certificate? I don't want to request a change and my TA comes back and says this change will void your certificate and we need an extra $800. Is there any negative impact to requesting a change from a booking made with one of these certificates?

Congratulations! Very nice visit from the upgrade fairy!

Sailed on Century in a CC balcony cabin in February 2014. No cabin difference other than location between regular balcony cabin and a CC. You are paying for location and the extra perks (which we wanted to try but now think not really worth the $$). It's up to the individual and price difference as to whether it's worth the extra $$ or not.

A little off topic but..... You are well in advance of the final payment date. Keep an eye on the price to see if an inside cabin of a higher category goes on sale for a price lower than your guarantee as well as possibly an ocean view or higher also going on sale. You never know. This of course assumes you're in north america where you can cancel/rebook prior to final payment date without penalty.

Very good point! Drops before final often happen and allow pax to score a higher grade cabin for the same price.

I don't know if you've sailed with other cruise lines in the past, but X is not like a lot of others that upgrade and change GUAR bookings frequently. Once assigned, you are most likely going to be sailing in that cabin. So if it's location is not to your liking, it's best to do as others suggested and change to a more midship location within the same inside category.

We cruised in February on Century and booked GUAR. Within a week, we were assigned our cabin and it never changed. I think you will find most people confirming that. Happy Sailing!

I think people are confusing terminology. An Upsell is when you pay more to move up a category or cabin type (OV to balcony) for $$. An Upgrade is a freebie, you paid nothing, like someone described, looked at their reservation and discovered they have been moved from OV to balcony, etc. Also, if you are GUAR booking, then the discussion gets even more complicated as this is neither an Upsell nor Upgrade in the true terms of those words within the cruise industry. It's an assignment of your cabin. So some of these postings are trying to compare apples to oranges. Happy Sailing!

OK well the last post got me all worried, so I called Celebrity. They couldn't help me though because my reservation is booked as a group and she couldn't look it up, so I would have to have my travel agent call. As I mentioned before my TA already did call and was told we did have the internet package (but she was told all four of us did, or at least that's what she thinks they said, but maybe she misunderstood). Anyway, CSR I spoke to said that if it is on my paperwork then that is what is in the system and possibly the My Celebrity is just incorrect. She said if it would put my mind at ease I should bring the paperwork with my in case there is any issue.

Sorry I worried you. My Celebrity is not always accurate, they seem to have a problem showing the correct promotions tied to a booking. So just bring your paperwork and should there be a problem, start hounding Guest Services until it's resolved.

You booked in February 2014 and got the upgrade to C1???

No we booked around July 2013 for our Feb 2014 cruise. Sounds like their policy has changed since then???:rolleyes:

I don't get this conversation. We booked/paid for a C2 on our Feb 2014 Century sailing. We were assigned a C1 by X because of the 1 category upgrade benefit. So how is OP's situation any different and required special handling?

I wouldn't put a lot of faith in Guest Services straightening out problems. On our Feb 2014 Century cruise, the OBC was suppose to be $100, however X had only given us $75. We showed our paperwork to Guest Services, they took notes, said they'd call corporate office to straighten out. I went back every day to get status on the situation. Was always told, they are working on it. Finally, last day on ship, I asked again and was told 'corporate never heard back from your TA so there is nothing we can do about it.' SIGH Contacted our TA when we got home only to find out they were never contacted by X at all!!! Our TA did the right thing and sent us a check for the missing $25. So my point is, get the problem(s) straightened out before you get on board if you can. Don't trust that Guest Services will fix it because it doesn't always happen.

FWIW sometimes those B4drydock cruises are sold off for cheap cheap.... may be a good call if you don't mind some minor inconveniences... while I said I wouldn't book one again... if the price was right.... it wasn't as if the toilets didn't work or the food and drinks ran out!:p

 

Good point...however, the pricing that's currently listed on X's website doesn't seem to be cheap to me. Maybe as time gets closer they might drop their pricing, but we are talking about Oct 2015 so they have time. I was trying to use the OBC being offered if you book any 2015 sailing by May 31st. There doesn't seem to be many Caribbean cruises being offered during the fall of 2015 which is why I was considering the Oct 5th Infinity sailing.

Thx to everyone that responded. Based upon your comments, I think I will try to find another cruise. Can't book the first one after the drydock even if I was willing to take the risk that it was all done in time because the dates conflict with a work convention my husband attends every year. I guess my common sense told me that booking the last cruise before a dry dock wasn't a good idea but thought maybe I was just being paranoid. Your comments confirmed that it's too much of a risk considering how much $ we would be spending.

I am thinking about booking a Caribbean cruise on the Infinity Oct-5th 2015 sailing. From what I've been reading, it sounds like the ship will be going into dry dock right after this cruise. Are there any negatives to being on the last cruise before a dry dock is scheduled? Like are the crew just ready to get off and service suffers? Or are supplies limited because they want to get rid of everything before the dry dock refresh starts? I will be saving for over a year to go on this cruise so it's important that it is memorable. I don't expect everything to be perfect on a cruise, but I also don't want to get a substandard cruise because the focus is on the forthcoming dry dock. Your thoughts are appreciated.

We sailed on the Century in February and we had a couple of same issues as you. First, we tried to resolve a cabin situation at guest relations desk, multiple times throughout the week, always told someone would contact us, but no one did and finally we gave up. Worst guest relations services I've ever had on any cruise line. I've always gotten a phone call back, sooner or later.

Second issue was the dining table situation. Ours was also a table for 8, but only 1 couple sat with us. I saw another couple sitting alone at a 4 top. The cruise was almost over before we realized they had nobody sitting with them. We should have asked them to join our table. We also like to dine with others and share thoughts, ideas and cruise experiences. Other than that, I have no complaints about our first X experience on the Century. I was on vacation, I wanted to enjoy myself and I found ways to do it.

Well, if you go back and read the thread, I was referring to one of the posters who said they couldn't get in touch with their TA because it was a weekend, and couldn't reserve the GTY. That's my point. If Celebrity offers a GTY on Friday evening, and you can't get in touch with your TA until Monday morning, they may all be gone -- all the GTY's taken by folks who have a TA that works on weekends. Finding out what cabin you have been assigned was just an FYI for those folks who may not be aware of it.

 

That's my point, and I'm sticking to it. :rolleyes:

Point understood.:) And it's why I only use a TA that works weekends.

That's the main reason I will never again use a TA who takes weekends off or doesn't have a rep on the weekends to attend to issues like this.

 

We took a Suite GTY once, and the only way we found out that we got a room assigned was to keep checking "My Celebrity" every day. TA never called me.

I don't get your point. Celebrity isn't going to call you either when your cabin is assigned. I've never been informed by any TA or cruiseline when the cabin has been assigned after a gty booking. I have to check my booking on their website to find out. I don't see the connection to booking with or without a TA.

When we booked our next sailing on the Equinox, the 1A was priced lower than the 1B, why? They did not have a clue.

 

If all things were as one would think they should be, we were told we would have been given the 1A at the 1B cost.

 

This is correct;

"One thread said that you can book a c2 but pay for a C3

Can any one enlighten me please? "

Usually it's an inventory issue - more 1A's available to sell than 1Bs...easiest way to do it is offer a reduced price.;)

I don't know if this is still true or not as my knowledge is old (2005), but at that time, NCL had an upsell phone number where you could call and ask for any deals they were offering for your sailing even if you booked thru a TA. We got a nice upgrade for reasonable $$ to a suite. I think all the cruise lines should offer this. Easy way to get extra money for open cabins. ;)

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I would not be concerned. Since you are in AQ you are automatically assigned to Blu - the restaurant for AQ only - where you can chose to dine any time of your choosing. Often when you book through a TA, not everything is shown on the My Celebrity. If you have prepaid gratuities, that should definitely show up on the Celebrity Booking Confirmation - Guest Copy - which you should have received from your TA. If you did not have this emailed to you I would strongly recommend you call the TA and ask for it.

 

The "DH" you frequently see refers to "Dear Husband". :)

Oh that's funny, I always thought it meant Darling Husband. :D