Question Upgrade to Suite

[taylortime05]

Hi - I am on 14 night cruise in Dec on Reflection in Aqua class cabin 1605.  I got the email to upgrade to suites.  I think it's pretty unlikely to win a bid because the ship is sold out.

So the low bid amounts are 600 pp for Sky Suite, 700 pp for Celebrity Suite, 900 pp for Signature Suite, 1000 pp for Royal Suite.

 

I do not think I am going to bid because I was already hoping the price of my Aqua Cabin would of went lower so not sure I want to spend any more money on this vacation.

 

Do you think it's worth upgrading if you could win it at minimum bids per person? We would lose access to the Persian Gulf.  We would be able to eat in Luminae instead of the Blu.  We would be able to go to Michael's club but we have the premium beverage package. I'm trying to rationalize if it's worth the extra money.  Appreciate your feedback.

[Ma Bell]

Only you can answer the question. It's your personal opinion of what's important to you.

[taylortime05]

3 minutes ago, Ma Bell said:

Only you can answer the question. It's your personal opinion of what's important to you.

I have never stayed in the Suites on Celebrity so I'm not sure.  I think it would be worth more on the Edge where you have a private pool area.  I was hoping to get more feedback from those that have stayed in both Aqua and Suite and why a Suite would be worth at least 1200 extra for a Sky Suite.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I would upgrade because I value Luminae that much.  The Sky Suite cabin is also larger than the AQ. For only $100 more the Celebrity Suite would be an even better bargain.

[jelayne]

We have stayed in AQ and Suites.  Luminae is very nice  quieter and smaller than Blu but we like the Blu menu better.  If we are on a repo with no perks then Michaels Club is a big plus with the included drinks.  

 

I would bid on a Sky Suite or the Signature or Royal Suites.  Personally we find the Celebrity Suites too feel rather cramped.  

[catugirl]

IMHO, it wouldn’t be worth $600 to upgrade.  You already have the Premium Drink Package, so Michael’s Club gains you nothing except a quiet place to have a drink.  DH and I prefer Blu to Luminae.  They both have a nice ambiance and great service, but we like Blu’s menu more.  There’s obviously more room in a suite, but how much time will you actually spend in your cabin?  Whichever you choose, you will have a fantastic time!

[CEOofVacation]

It is all personal. 

 

We recently paid an additional $1000 pp on 14-night cruise in Dec to move from Aqua to a Sky Suite, after final payment but not through MoveUp.  We have stayed in both Aqua and Sky Suite and  to us it is not worth the extra $1000 per person but we want the extra points to get to Elite after this cruise as we have the next 3 cruises booked on Royal Caribbean and the Diamond perks itself over the 3 cruises will be worth more than the $1000 pp that we are paying to go from Aqua to a Sky Suite.  Aqua has everything that we already want, Blu which is fabulous, Persian Garden which we enjoy, and a beverage package + prepaid gratuities.  

 

If we don't need the extra loyalty points, we would have stayed at Aqua and possibly bid $300 pp more for a sky suite from Aqua through MoveUp if it allowed for that low number as the minimum bid.  That is probably all that it is worth for us.  That $300 pp value would have come from enjoyment of lunch at Luminae.

Edited November 12, 2018 by CEOofVacation

[b.allen]

Also received this offer to bid on upgrades. We sail out of Buenos Aries on December 23d. We upgraded to get a starboard cabin and do not want to risk losing this location - even for a larger cabin or a bigger balcony. So tempting as it is to "try", we decided against it. 

[crazyman3]

We've always had a CS or SS with Celebrity and believe that the SS on Reflection is our favourite.

 

Just wish they were on the Silhouette!

 

Go for it! Live life!

[cmhdoogalsatsea]

As others have said, this one is entirely dependent on what you value and how much you want to spend.

I did Aqua class once and don't plan to go back to it--I really didn't care for Blu, a pass to the Persian Garden isn't that pricey, and with the exception of the Aqua afts on Millennium ships I don't really like Aqua Cabin locations.  I decided that the next time I'm not in a suite, I'll do an aft C1 and book most meals in Murano. The balance of my experience has been in suites.  On a Solstice class ship such as Reflection  the Aft sky suites are, for me, the best things going.(the handful of aft ss2's look to be potentially good deals but I've only tried the ss1 corners which i really love.

I travel alone and, while they're lovely, am not in a position to pay the prices for RS or PS. As for Celebrity suites, it depends on the ship class-- i tried one once on a solstice class ship and wouldn't take one again, but enjoy the layout on Millennium ships.

Because of the increased number of suites on Reflection  service in Luminae can be rough;however the option is always there to go off menu with a day or two's warning and I appreciate having that freedom.

Beyond the cabin specs and Luminae the other benefits to a suite are less tangible but make things more pleasant--the butler keeping the minifridge filled, breakfast arriving at the exact time one has requested, Michaels Club, never having to visit Guest Relations when there's a snag, front of line perks when in port--all combine to smooth off potential rough edges but only you can decide how valuable any of that is. Regardless of cabin, very few folks report really bad experiences on Celebrity so it seems to be more a question of what flavor and how much icing you want to pay to have on your cake.

Whatever you choose, enjoy!

Edited November 12, 2018 by cmhdoogalsatsea

[actuarian]

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I would upgrade because I value Luminae that much.  The Sky Suite cabin is also larger than the AQ. For only $100 more the Celebrity Suite would be an even better bargain.

Remember that those amounts are only minimum acceptable move-up bids.  The majority of move-up bids are unsuccessful but the chance of success is greater for bids that exceed the minimum.  The odds are that any move-up bids that are actually successful for Celebrity Suites will exceed the amounts of any successful Sky Suite bids by more than $100.

[Mynki]

I'd say try it. You can only appreciate suite life once you have first hand experience of it after all. 

Remember that if you prefer the Blu menu to Luminae you can eat there too, just have the concierge or butler arrange that for you. 

You'll then have an idea of how much suites are worth to you personally for any future cruises you choose to take on X. 

[duck65]

It also depends on how you value the actual cost. My wife and I upgraded in May to a S1 suite for $85/day more. That included the tips, valued at $18/day, upgrade to premium package, $12/day, and $250 more OBC from my TA.It was nice to try the suite life and if I can get the right "value" I would do it again. Hope you enjoy your 14 days!!

[luv2cruisemore]

I just put minimum bids on Sky and Celebrity Suites for our December 21 Silhouette cruise. The big benefit will be the extra Captain’s Club points putting us into Elite Plus at the end of this cruise. Big deal!

[kathynorth]

To those of you who had a successful “move-up” bid to a sky suite, did you get the 4 suite perks as part of the move up or does the move up just give you the larger room and access to Luminae + Michaels? Also I think I read previously that you don’t get additional CC points, just the points you had for the original level of room you booked. Is this correct?

 

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, luv2cruisemore said:

I just put minimum bids on Sky and Celebrity Suites for our December 21 Silhouette cruise. The big benefit will be the extra Captain’s Club points putting us into Elite Plus at the end of this cruise. Big deal!

If you win a Move Up bid you only receive the points for your original cabin.

23 minutes ago, kathynorth said:

To those of you who had a successful “move-up” bid to a sky suite, did you get the 4 suite perks as part of the move up or does the move up just give you the larger room and access to Luminae + Michaels? Also I think I read previously that you don’t get additional CC points, just the points you had for the original level of room you booked. Is this correct?

 

You only get the BBB “perks” associated your original booking.  Like the Best Perks.

 

However you do receive  any benefits associated with the Suite category.  The Michael Club and Luminae are the most significant two IMO.  If you win a bid for a Royal Suite and above, you can some nice additional benefits.

[Naughty&Nautical]

4 hours ago, luv2cruisemore said:

I just put minimum bids on Sky and Celebrity Suites for our December 21 Silhouette cruise. The big benefit will be the extra Captain’s Club points putting us into Elite Plus at the end of this cruise. Big deal!

Apparently you didn’t read the fine print. You only will receive club points for the original cabin you booked. Good luck & happy sailing 🚢

[Host Jazzbeau]

10 hours ago, actuarian said:

Remember that those amounts are only minimum acceptable move-up bids.  The majority of move-up bids are unsuccessful but the chance of success is greater for bids that exceed the minimum.  The odds are that any move-up bids that are actually successful for Celebrity Suites will exceed the amounts of any successful Sky Suite bids by more than $100.

 

OP's question was: is it worth it "if you could win it at minimum bids per person?"  So my answer was: yes, at those prices it would absolutely be worth it.

[Luvcrusn]

We received the move up offer to bid. DH and I are already in an Aqua class A1 on the hump. The minimum bid to move up was $600 per person. After calling Captains club with questions, we found out that if we were to bid and win we would only get the 5 pts. per night for Aqua Class. We would keep the current perks we have and not get the suite perks of upgraded premium beverage package (currently have classic), unlimited WIFI (currently have free minutes or discount from Captains Club level), pre-paid gratuities (already have these) and $300 OBC (currently have more than we need and will be doing some serious shopping). Considering this, the only thing we'd gain for a minimum of $1200 is a cabin with more space, Michaels club access, Luminae instead of Blu, and some front of the line benefits. We decided that for us it wasn't worth the additional cost. Others may decide a different course. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

We did an upgrade like this on Azamara earlier this year.  Did not get the extra points, but were pleasantly surprised at the extra amenities that came with that suite.  We had felt it was going to be worth it just for the extra room, so everything else was gravy.  To me the combination of extra room, Luminae and Michael's Club on Celebrity are worth far more than the minimum bid – but obviously others feel differently – for us, the only downside was that it has reset our minimum expectations for a cruise!

[Luvcrusn]

20 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

OP's question was: is it worth it "if you could win it at minimum bids per person?"  So my answer was: yes, at those prices it would absolutely be worth it.

I'd have to say that I respectfully disagree. If I were going to be a minimum of $600 per person more, that takes the price I'd be paying to the price I could have booked that suite originally with all four perks and with the normal number of per night suite points rather than keeping only the 5 points per night of Aqua and the perks I got at booking. That would be a win for X and a loss for us.

[Host Jazzbeau]

5 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

I'd have to say that I respectfully disagree. If I were going to be a minimum of $600 per person more, that takes the price I'd be paying to the price I could have booked that suite originally with all four perks and with the normal number of per night suite points rather than keeping only the 5 points per night of Aqua and the perks I got at booking. That would be a win for X and a loss for us.

You can disagree.  And we can still both be right.  

[Luvcrusn]

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

You can disagree.  And we can still both be right.  

Yes. It's about personal choice and what we value.

[jagoffee]

24 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

I'd have to say that I respectfully disagree. If I were going to be a minimum of $600 per person more, that takes the price I'd be paying to the price I could have booked that suite originally with all four perks and with the normal number of per night suite points rather than keeping only the 5 points per night of Aqua and the perks I got at booking. That would be a win for X and a loss for us.

Perhaps you might have been able to get a Sky Suite on  14 day cruise for only $600 pp additional at one time, but  l think those days are gone.  A $600 premium over Aqua Class would be a great bargain, unless you paid a very high price for your Aqua Class cabin.  

 

Are you sure about your statement.  How much a day pp,  do you typically pay for an AC cabin?

[Luvcrusn]

6 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Perhaps you might have been able to get a Sky Suite on  14 day cruise for only $600 pp additional at one time, but  l think those days are gone.  A $600 premium over Aqua Class would be a great bargain, unless you paid a very high price for your Aqua Class cabin.  

 

Are you sure about your statement.  How much a day pp,  do you typically pay for an AC cabin?

I  am absolutely positive about my statement. We typically book Concierge or Aqua class cabins depending on the price differential between them and a regular verandah. Our last cruise had a price drop before final payment that allowed us to upgrade from Concierge to Aqua for no additional cost. That was a no brainer. The current cruise noted in my signature had the differential between Concierge and Aqua at booking as an additional $29 per person. Again, a no brainer. At that time (over a year and a half ago) the cost of a sky suite was a total of $1200 more (not per person). We discussed it at the time and decided to stay with Aqua, but could have done the booking. I know it makes sense to look at the per person, per night cost, but we generally don't. We look at the overall cost of the cruise, the itinerary, and the time of year and make our decisions accordingly. We always use a TA with whom we've been pleased over the years. I don't know if that's making a difference. We generally price out cruises we're interested in several different places and select what fits best. In this case, bidding on the upgrade, even at the minimum accepted bid made no sense for us. Others may value things differently than we do and are certainly entitled to do so.