Celebrity Moveup

[stevenr597]

My wife and I are booked, AquaClass,  on the Celebrity Equinox, January, 2019, Eastern Caribbean.   We recently received notice tht we have the option to bid up for a suite type cabin.  To be frank we usually select a room with great care, and although the deal does seem interesting, we do question whether we may exchange our Aquaclass Cabin, which we consider to be in a great location on the ship, for a Suite, such as a Skysuite which while being a suite, may be in a less optimal location on the ship, for example Deck 12 which is located under the swimming pool. 

For this reason, we have usually not taken upgrades or upsells (we were almost burned on an upgrade on Carnival many years ago).

What is everybody's opinion on the Move up program. 

[Lastdance]

9 minutes ago, stevenr597 said:

My wife and I are booked, AquaClass,  on the Celebrity Equinox, January, 2019, Eastern Caribbean.   We recently received notice tht we have the option to bid up for a suite type cabin.  To be frank we usually select a room with great care, and although the deal does seem interesting, we do question whether we may exchange our Aquaclass Cabin, which we consider to be in a great location on the ship, for a Suite, such as a Skysuite which while being a suite, may be in a less optimal location on the ship, for example Deck 12 which is located under the swimming pool. 

For this reason, we have usually not taken upgrades or upsells (we were almost burned on an upgrade on Carnival many years ago).

What is everybody's opinion on the Move up program. 

 

I actually think it depends on your original cabin, if you have sailed that class before, and if the bid price is something you can easily go with if selected.  Are you a risk- taker?  It sounds like you still have thoughts about the first time, along with wha almost happened...this is one way to try a suite if you are new to that class...perks can also be different!

Edited December 30, 2018 by Lastdance

[GoSpurs]

What factor(s) make someone more or less likely to receive an invitation to move up? 

[jelayne]

46 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

 

....this is one way to try a suite if you are new to that class...perks can also be different!

 

If you are successful with a Move Up bid you retain the perks from your original booking.  So if you had 1 perk originally and successfully bid on a Suite you retain your 1 perk but do not get the Go Best perks often included with booking a Suite. 

[phoenix_dream]

We have gotten several move up offers and for us the determent is the cost - in all cases we could have gotten the suite at original booking for less $$ than the move-up offer and at that time it would have included all 4 perks.  Got an offer for a five night recently that was $700 pp (or was it $800 don't recall).  I think that's very expensive.  If you are going to pay that much (and who says we would have even gotten it at that price), why not book it earlier and get all four perks and be able to pick your own cabin.  There may be cases where it is a good deal, but for the several we have gotten it certainly hasn't been for us.

[Georgia_Peaches]

I think I would be inclined to stay with the stateroom I booked.  You've picked your location based on things that are important to you and you give up that luxury with the bidding program.  As you say, you may end up with a nicer room but in a less desirable location.  We chose AQ a few years ago because of the Persian Gardens access that came with the category.  I believe you'd lose that if you were upgraded to the SS.  That's something to check on.  Good luck!

[jagoffee]

Stevenr597,

I think the Move Up bid program is a great enhancement to the Celebrity offering.

As other have mentioned, you need to understand the costs to see if it is worth bidding.  It would be embarrassing to bid an amount that is the same or more than you could get by just booking the higher level cabin. (Especially since you do not get the usually included Best bundle with a suite)

From a cabin perspective it is probably worse than GTY, because they are not likely be any options to move locations.  If you would be unhappy on Deck 12, a Sky Suite bid would not be worth the risk.  Perhaps a RS or PH suite would be less of a risk?

The  bottom line is given your dislike of deck 12 cabins you should probably skip it.  By the way my DW and I love Deck 12 because of the shaded overhang.  Aft corner S1 is our favorite, but we have stayed in the S2’s.

[jagoffee]

22 hours ago, GoSpurs said:

What factor(s) make someone more or less likely to receive an invitation to move up? 

You can go on line and use the Move Up link to see if anything is available for bidding.  You will not necessarily receive an “offer” to bid.  What I do not know is if “anyone” can bid.  The rollcall is a good place to monitor.

Do not bother to check until 30 days prior to your cruise departure.

Edited December 31, 2018 by jagoffee

[Nymich]

4 hours ago, jagoffee said:

You can go on line and use the Move Up link to see if anything is available for bidding.  You will not necessarily receive an “offer” to bid.  What I do not know is if “anyone” can bid.  The rollcall is a good place to monitor.

Do not bother to check until 30 days prior to your cruise departure.

Good information Thank You!

[Im A Happy Cruiser]

Stevenr597  My husband and I are also booked in Aqua (with all 4 perks) on Equinox, but in February 2019.  We usually stay in a Sky Suite (S1) but didn't feel we could justify the difference in cost of a S1 vs Aqua this year because of another trip we made this fall.  We still would love to be in a suite so we checked with our TA a few weeks ago to see how much it would cost to pay for an upgrade.  It would have cost us $1100 per person for the upgrade.   We have never checked into making a Move Up bit in the past so I'm curious to learn more about it.  Did you book your cruise with Celebrity directly or through a TA?  Do you feel comfortable stating what the minimum bid requirement was for you particular cruise (either in $ amount or % of actual cost listed for a suite if you were to pay to upgrade)?  Were various specific amounts listed for making a minimum bid on different suite levels or was there only one specific amount listed for making a minimum bid on a suite level without knowing which kind of suite you were bidding on?  Did your notification verify that should your Move Up bid be accepted, that you would keep the same perks from your original booking (as jelayne stated)?  Do you know if you would receive the additional loyalty points per night that come with a suite (I think you get 8 points per night in a SS and only 5 per night in Aqua)?  Also please share any other info you learned from your Move Up notification.  Thank you!

[coldcanadians]

I received email for our Feb cruise. You keep your original perks and don't get the additional points for higher class. There is a min bid amount and for suites it has each type you can bid on separately 

[Davidc5412]

We had a similar offer for a 13 night cruise last november

various categories and price brackets most from $2000 (AUD]

each suite had different inclusions. Cheapest was penthouse suite with max bid $700 including all normal suite extras. Bid immediately but of course didn’t get it , very much doubt it was actually available at that price all other suite categories had max bids over $5000

this booking was direct. Have another booked for March via travel agent , will be interested to see if we get a similar offer

Edited January 1, 2019 by Davidc5412

[hvbaskey]

FYI:  MoveUp Program notification post:
For those interested, a “Celebrity MoveUp Tracker” spreadsheet has now been set up on the thread posted below (OP - CruisingChick - April 23, 2018).  
Go to the “last page” of that message thread to find the link and the “questionnaire” if you wish to participate by submitting your information.  

Information being compiled is for both those that do bid and those who decided not to bid.  IF bidding, further information gathered whether the bid was successful, or not.  

Tracker will run for ~ 6 months and after that, will decide if it is worth pursuing for a longer period of time.