Pier upgrades

[cruisnfool]

Does celebrity have pier coordinators to offer upgrades at the pier.

[Andy]

Does celebrity have pier coordinators to offer upgrades at the pier.

 

Hi Cruisnfool,

 

Yes, Celebrity has Pier Coordinators. However, as ships are generally sailing full, there's little chance of Celebrity selling upgrades at the Pier. Others have reported asking Guest Relations once onboard. Some have also reported that Celebrity is now experimenting with email offers a week or two before your sailing - all subject to availability.

 

I suspect that all of the above will have limited success at best, but I hope the information is helpful. Enjoy your cruise !

[sandancer]

They do, but in our experience they will almost always tell you to go to Guest Relations. When you do they will tell you to wait until after the ship has sailed and check back with them. I think they keep a list and will call you if anything becomes availble.

[1cruiselvr]

It has changed a lot since I first started sailing in the early 90s. Most of the time a ship sails full, there are no empty cabins available for upgrade. The one time we approached guest services about the possibility of upgrading from our balcony to a suite, there was 1 available but they wanted the FULL retail price difference between what we paid for our balcony and the cost of the suite. There was no deal to be had. The old stories of upgrading at the pier or on board for cheap is gone IMHO. Last few cruises I've sailed, the guest services desk had a sign up - NO CABINS AVAILABLE.

Edited November 8, 2013 by 1cruiselvr

[BEAV]

Every time we have upgraded at embarkation (which is several times), we've been referred to Guest Relations and it was handled there. Do yourself a favor and monitor inventory up until the last day or two when your sailing gets pulled off the website. Jot down available cabin numbers in the category or categories you'd consider upgrading to. Don't be one of the gazillions of people who all just slouch up to Guest Relations and ask "any upgrades?" !! ;) Do your home work!

 

Good luck and have a wonderful cruise.

[phoenix_dream]

Every time we have upgraded at embarkation (which is several times), we've been referred to Guest Relations and it was handled there. Do yourself a favor and monitor inventory up until the last day or two when your sailing gets pulled off the website. Jot down available cabin numbers in the category or categories you'd consider upgrading to. Don't be one of the gazillions of people who all just slouch up to Guest Relations and ask "any upgrades?" !! ;) Do your home work!

 

Good luck and have a wonderful cruise.

 

But at what cost? The current website price? A discount? Are you a 'special' traveler (meaning, lots and lots of cruises on X, or always booking expensive cabins, etc.). Just wondering.

[BEAV]

But at what cost? The current website price? A discount? Are you a 'special' traveler (meaning, lots and lots of cruises on X, or always booking expensive cabins, etc.). Just wondering.

 

No, we're not "special", just inquisitive! ;)

 

From our own past personal experience, Guest Relations always referred to a chart of upgrade fees from inside to outside, inside to suite, outside to balcony, balcony to suite, so on and so forth. I don't believe there is any set, standard fee. How =X= arrives at the fees is beyond me. But, no, they've never been at current website prices.

 

Once I was told no upgrades to suites were available (actually, I was looking to upgrade from Sky Suite to Royal). But when I gave them the specific Royal Suite cabin number that the Butler had confirmed to me was unoccupied, the story suddenly changed.

 

Just do a little homework before you depart. If two days before departure the sailing lists as sold out, then there's not much hope in snagging a paid upgrade at embarkation, wasting your valuable time in the process.

Edited November 8, 2013 by BEAV

[The Big Booper]

We've been upgraded at the Pier Coordinator's desk twice, albeit on RCI, at Bayonne and San Juan. In each case there were literally last minute cancellations because of a death in the family (11 contiguous balcony cabins opened up) and a monster snowstorm closing down Heathrow 2 days before a winter sailing out of Bayonne (250 ! cabins.)

 

Too late for new bookings so we upgraded each time for a quite reasonable fee from an inside to a large balcony. In the Explorer case, with so many cabins available, the supervisor had a printout available showing the upgrade fee to be charged, ignoring what you had paid, and C & A discounts. We went from a $2200 inside to a $6800 D balcony for $450 pp. well worth it.

 

PC upgrades are a separate revenue stream from C&A or Guest relationships.

Edited November 8, 2013 by The Big Booper

[phoenix_dream]

BEAV, Thank you for the info, although your example of upgrading from Sky Suite to Royal Suite already makes you more 'special' than many of us:D.

Edited November 8, 2013 by phoenix_dream

[travelingmom37]

I have been on 17 X cruises over 12 years. I tried repeatedly to secure an upgrade upon boarding. The folks at the pier send you to Guest Relations ( and often look at me like I'm crazy to even ask).

We start out with a Balcony or CC and have NEVER received anything more.

I have stopped asking.

[wallie5446]

I spoke to the Captians Club desk about this very thought yesterday. Said I would gladly get on the list to give up our C2 if they had someone else that wanted it, and move up a notch or two:rolleyes: With a week to sail, we are 98% sold, not much of a chance.

[1cruiselvr]

Every cruise line is different, they have different policies even if related thru business lines, for instance RCI and X. So don't count on what RCI does as the same for X or any other CL for that matter. If you've been on X and found it easy to upgrade at the pier or once on the ship RECENTLY, then those stories are worthy of mentioning. Otherwise, please don't confuse the topic or OP by telling your Carnival story from 10 yrs ago. It's not applicable.