Suite Guarantee (W) Question

[PugLover712]

I think I know the answer to this, but I figured I would ask on here anyway. We are considering upgrading to a Suite on our upcoming cruise. The Sky Suites are $1249 and the Suite Guarantee is $1399. This seems odd since the most likely category is the Sky Suite. We would be happy with a Sky Suite, but would Celebrity be more inclined to issue a better suite because the guarantee is more expensive? I'd hate to get the Guarantee to only get the same sky suite that we could have gotten for $300 less.

[Iamthesea]

I'd book a specific Sky Suite. You don't want to be assigned one that might not be in a great area. If the GTY was much less, I'd probably go for it, though. ;)

[Lsimon]

The answer is that while you can always be hopeful you have to be prepared for the least desirable cabin in the guaranteed category.

 

I'd guess that your upside down pricing example was being caused by a computer glitch rather than someone at Celebrity deciding that they'd give upgrades to those paying the higher price. Upgrades are possible but I don't think the odds are in your favor for it.

Edited November 4, 2014 by Lsimon

[Iamthesea]

The answer is that while you can always be hopeful you have to be prepared for the least desirable cabin in the guaranteed category.

 

I'd guess that your upside down pricing example was being caused by a computer glitch rather than someone at Celebrity deciding that they'd give upgrades to those paying the higher price. Upgrades are possible but I don't think the odds are in your favor for it.

 

I've seen the GTY at higher rates many times. I think it's a gimmick, rather than a glitch. ;)

[JaneStarr]

I think I know the answer to this, but I figured I would ask on here anyway. We are considering upgrading to a Suite on our upcoming cruise. The Sky Suites are $1249 and the Suite Guarantee is $1399. This seems odd since the most likely category is the Sky Suite. We would be happy with a Sky Suite, but would Celebrity be more inclined to issue a better suite because the guarantee is more expensive? I'd hate to get the Guarantee to only get the same sky suite that we could have gotten for $300 less.

I can't think of a situation where I would pay more for a Suite guarantee than the price listed for available Sky Suites. To me, there needs to be a financial incentive for rolling the dice on cabin assignment.

 

Jane

PS I booked an odd "Celebrity Suite Guaranty" rate in September when there were no CSs available to book. There were 2 Royal Suites available at the time. Price for CS guaranty was $1K less than the RS price.

Not sure if this was a system "glitch" or some sort of unusual pricing model. The cruise isn't until next Aug, so I was really surprised to find any guaranty rates offered so early.

Anyway, I immediately put down my deposit and was rewarded with a Royal Suite assignment a couple of days later.

 

PPS The rate is still pretty high, but the included Suite Class perks + September Sail-away + 123 Go made it worthwhile to us for our 35th anniv

Edited November 4, 2014 by JaneStarr

[need2bespoiled]

I can't think of a situation where I would pay more for a Suite guarantee than the price listed for available Sky Suites. To me, there needs to be a financial incentive for rolling the dice on cabin assignment.

 

Jane

PS I booked an odd "Celebrity Suite Guaranty" rate in September when there were no CSs available to book. There were 2 Royal Suites available at the time. Price for CS guaranty was $1K less than the RS price.

Not sure if this was a system "glitch" or some sort of unusual pricing model. The cruise isn't until next Aug, so I was really surprised to find any guaranty rates offered so early.

Anyway, I immediately put down my deposit and was rewarded with a Royal Suite assignment a couple of days later.

 

PPS The rate is still pretty high, but the included Suite Class perks + September Sail-away + 123 Go made it worthwhile to us for our 35th anniv

 

I hope you chose OBC or better yet gratuities for your 1,2,3 as the drink package won't mayter. Maybe you can get someone to switch if not.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[Wickets]

Might be worth a call to Celebrity to see if they want to deal. People have been playing musical chairs with the cabins, heard that people called and moved from Royal to Penthouse for less than listed upgrade cost. Seems they would rather have the high end suites filed and take their chances rebooking lower cost cabins. This way the do not have to show lower cost for the high end suites.

 

 

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[JaneStarr]

I hope you chose OBC or better yet gratuities for your 1,2,3 as the drink package won't mayter. Maybe you can get someone to switch if not.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Yup; that's the first thing my cruise agent & I took care of when the RS assignment came through.

We "just" needed to jump through small hoops to get the right Celebrity rep to help "fix" the perk on our 2 to 3 day old reservation.

 

I'm sure they would've made us work harder to correct the perk if we had crossed into a different offer time period.

 

As it was, both Sept Sail-Away and PYP were both still in effect. I really had nothing to lose, since I would've canceled the reservation if Celebrity hadn't let me switch to the much less valuable (currently $15.50 PP/ Night) included gratuities option.

 

Lisa, Future Cruise Consultant on Summit, actually told me that Celebrity would not allow us to change our onboard (Evergreen) 123 Go booking choice from Classic Bev package for the Sky Suite we booked onboard, if a higher suite becomes available before January 2016 NZ/Oz cruise. This makes no sense, since we booked the highest cabin available to us >15 months before the cruise.

 

Celebrity is obviously struggling to figure out how to coordinate promos with their new Suite Class inclusions. Even though this is really annoying, I know Celebrity well enough to realize that they will eventually do right by an insistent, reasonable customer. It's just unfortunate that they don't take advantage of the goodwill that would come from handling these things more proactively. I really don't like needing to be the squeaky wheel.

 

Chances are good that we will end up canceling that onboard booking or transferring the $200 deposit to something else, if we decide to keep the onboard booking future OBC and Evergreen 123 Go Perks.

 

Note: we had to specifically ask to get future OBC, rather than on current cruise, otherwise our deposit would've been non-refundable.

 

They seem to be trying to figure out how to compete for Suite business, but they still need to work out details. An example is the new "free companion Choice Air" extra perk. The FCC basically had no details on it, other to say that she didn't think you could pay to upgrade flights to business. If this is true, then Celebrity hasn't clearly defined its market demographic.

[need2bespoiled]

Yup; that's the first thing my cruise agent & I took care of when the RS assignment came through.

We "just" needed to jump through small hoops to get the right Celebrity rep to help "fix" the perk on our 2 to 3 day old reservation.

 

I'm sure they would've made us work harder to correct the perk if we had crossed into a different offer time period.

 

As it was, both Sept Sail-Away and PYP were both still in effect. I really had nothing to lose, since I would've canceled the reservation if Celebrity hadn't let me switch to the much less valuable (currently $15.50 PP/ Night) included gratuities option.

 

Lisa, Future Cruise Consultant on Summit, actually told me that Celebrity would not allow us to change our onboard (Evergreen) 123 Go booking choice from Classic Bev package for the Sky Suite we booked onboard, if a higher suite becomes available before January 2016 NZ/Oz cruise. This makes no sense, since we booked the highest cabin available to us >15 months before the cruise.

 

Celebrity is obviously struggling to figure out how to coordinate promos with their new Suite Class inclusions. Even though this is really annoying, I know Celebrity well enough to realize that they will eventually do right by an insistent, reasonable customer. It's just unfortunate that they don't take advantage of the goodwill that would come from handling these things more proactively. I really don't like needing to be the squeaky wheel.

 

Chances are good that we will end up canceling that onboard booking or transferring the $200 deposit to something else, if we decide to keep the onboard booking future OBC and Evergreen 123 Go Perks.

 

Note: we had to specifically ask to get future OBC, rather than on current cruise, otherwise our deposit would've been non-refundable.

 

They seem to be trying to figure out how to compete for Suite business, but they still need to work out details. An example is the new "free companion Choice Air" extra perk. The FCC basically had no details on it, other to say that she didn't think you could pay to upgrade flights to business. If this is true, then Celebrity hasn't clearly defined its market demographic.

 

I agree with you except for the FCC. With the OBC going to the current cruise, it is essentially being refunded automatically and immediately. You get the money right away if you spend onboard, or if not, it is automatically refunded to your seapass card. In my book it is essentially a free refund.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[JaneStarr]

I agree with you except for the FCC. With the OBC going to the current cruise, it is essentially being refunded automatically and immediately. You get the money right away if you spend onboard, or if not, it is automatically refunded to your seapass card. In my book it is essentially a free refund.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Jenna,

I totally "get" what you're saying, but there was some reason it didn't seem like that would've worked for us this time.

Can't remember what it was in the fine print that made me think that. It was at least partially because the deposit would've been higher and more than our remaining on-board Summit charges -- Maybe $450?? The terms are really confusing with "Cruise Now" passage bookings these days...and the fine print was teeeny tiny and in very light print. My 50+ yr old eyes couldn't easily read it :D

Jane

[Bellfree Bat]

We just booked a Suite Guarantee on the Summit for the Dec 6th sailing. There is only one Handicapped Sky Suite in inventory available to be booked. Anxiously awaiting our cabin assignment! :o

[Bellfree Bat]

It looks like we have been assigned the handicapped accessible S2 Sky Suite. I know we can be moved if someone else needs an accessible room, and I am okay with that, but it is a sweet location right at mid-ship on deck 9.

[cle-guy]

I'm following fares on a crusie, and the Suite GTY is $1399, S1 $1799, S2 $1149 (LESS than the GTY), and CS are still open for $2229.

 

It's a crap shoot how it will go down...

Edited November 10, 2014 by cle-guy

[Bellfree Bat]

If there were other S2s in the inventory, I would have booked a particular cabin as it was not much more than the accessible one that was in inventory. I was hoping for an upgrade to a S1 or even Celebrity Suite as I really did not want the accessible cabin. No big deal as I know you get what you get when booking a guarantee fare. Still 26 days for Celebrity to change us! :rolleyes:

[jagoffee]

I'm following fares on a crusie, and the Suite GTY is $1399, S1 $1799, S2 $1149 (LESS than the GTY), and CS are still open for $2229.

 

It's a crap shoot how it will go down...

 

 

I know this has been reported previously. It seems really strange unless the GTY is S1 or above. I guess if it before final payment one could book a GTY and cancel/reprocessing if assigned a S2. I wonder if it is an error of some sort. Which cruise?

 

Are you considering booking?

 

Good luck if you book it.

[The_Big_M]

If there were other S2s in the inventory, I would have booked a particular cabin as it was not much more than the accessible one that was in inventory. I was hoping for an upgrade to a S1 or even Celebrity Suite as I really did not want the accessible cabin. No big deal as I know you get what you get when booking a guarantee fare. Still 26 days for Celebrity to change us! :rolleyes:

 

Not likely that you'll be changed at this point.