Upgrading “Always Included” Question

[Seville2Cabo]

We just booked our first Celebrity cruise again - (we were at the dock in Chile in March 2022 when our Eclipse cruise was canceled).  We have the Infinity booked for next October.  We have the “always included” in our fare, and although i am not sure we will upgrade, I went on line to see how much and what was included,  and there was no way i could see to upgrade.  In fact, I could buy the beverage package.

 

How do you upgrade, or at least look at the pricing.

 

Also, coming from Royal, so we will be elite.  Since we have drinks, is there any benefit to being elite with the “always included” ?

 

thank you

 

 

[Jeremiah1212]

Are you talking about upgrading from Classic to Premium? Here is the breakdown:

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/05_07_SP_Beverage-Package-Flyer_051721.pdf

 

The upgrade is usually $11-12 a day per person but you can't upgrade online until you are within final payment. Having Elite status and your drink package really have no connection on Celebrity. 

[bama4cruisin]

First, the cost to upgrade is $10 pp per day + 20%, so $12 per day.  If you have provided your C&A # to Captains Club and have your CC#, as elite you should be eligible for a 10% discount.  I believe you may need to call in order to have the discount applied if upgrading before boarding, but I am not certain.

 

Second, you cannot upgrade (or even see the option) until after final payment.  That’s why you’re not seeing it.

 

As elite, you will have access to a limited menu of drinks for a couple of hours in the evening.  Currently, there is no Elite Happy Hour, but drinks are loaded on your sea pass card.  There is no dedicated area on Celebrity that would compare to the Diamond Lounge on RC.

 

Whether or not to upgrade is a very individual decision.  Since you are undecided, you may choose to wait until on board.  Try the Classic for a day or two to determine if you’re satisfied.  If you order something over the $9 limit, you’ll only be charged the difference plus 20%.  If you upgrade a day or two into the cruise, you’ll be charged only for the remaining days.

 

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by bama4cruisin

[Seville2Cabo]

Thank you 

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, Seville2Cabo said:

We just booked our first Celebrity cruise again - (we were at the dock in Chile in March 2022 when our Eclipse cruise was canceled).  We have the Infinity booked for next October.  We have the “always included” in our fare, and although i am not sure we will upgrade, I went on line to see how much and what was included,  and there was no way i could see to upgrade.  In fact, I could buy the beverage package.

 

How do you upgrade, or at least look at the pricing.

 

Also, coming from Royal, so we will be elite.  Since we have drinks, is there any benefit to being elite with the “always included” ?

 

thank you

 

 

Just to name a couple, you each receive a wash n fold perk. Priority tendering. For breakfast there isn't a separate area in the MDR for elites and above like on the RC ships for diamond and above. But CC has the Tuscan Grille for a light breakfast and bloody marys, mimosas and bellinis for elite and above.  Like with RC CAS you will receive a welcome aboard detailed letter listing all perks/benefits and gatherings for elite. CC link...

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/tiers-and-benefits

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by davekathy

[jg51]

3 hours ago, bama4cruisin said:

First, the cost to upgrade is $10 pp per day + 20%, so $12 per day.  If you have provided your C&A # to Captains Club and have your CC#, as elite you should be eligible for a 10% discount.  ... If you upgrade a day or two into the cruise, you’ll be charged only for the remaining days.

.

One comment and three questions (for anyone):

 

COMMENT:  The 10% discount applies also to Elite-Plus members of the Club who upgrade from Classic to Premium prior to the cruise.  [We know this from the "X" internet site, even though we have never upgraded (yet).]

 

QUESTION #1:   For the purpose of convenience, can the upgrade be requested (and the 10% discount applied) right on "final-payment day," or only after that day [online or by a separate phone call]?

 

QUESTION #2:   We vaguely recall reading that "X" sometimes offers a temporary 10% discount on the upgrade (even to non-Captain's-Club members).  [We don't know if such an offer is being made now.]  If that is true, would an Elite or Elite-Plus member receive a 20% discount in that situation?

 

QUESTION #3:  If an upgrade from Classic to Premium is delayed until day #2 of the cruise [i.e., full day #1], will the bartender apply the 10% Elite/E+ discount -- or is that discount available only prior to the cruise?

 

Thanks, in advance.

.

[HskrCrsr]

Regarding Question #3, from the Captain's Club Terms & Conditions:

Discount on beverage package upgrade
Members may purchase a beverage upgrade from the Classic Package to the Premium Package with their discount pre-cruise, by calling Captain's Club at 1-800-760-0654. Discount does not apply to upgrades purchased once onboard. 

 

The FAQ suggests is should be done online:

How can a guest upgrade from classic beverage package to premium beverage package when they book the Always Included package?

If a guest books their cruise with Always Included package pricing and would like to upgrade their Classic Beverage Package to the Premium Beverage Package, they may do so via our Cruise Planner platform once their booking is within final payment.  The upgrade charge will be $12 per person per day which includes the beverage gratuity.  Guests may not purchase a beverage upgrade before final payment when they book Always Included. Alternatively, guests may also upgrade their beverage package from Classic to Premium once onboard the ship.

 

And the CC Benefits matrix shows

So it does not look like the discount is available onboard.

 

[jg51]

5 hours ago, HskrCrsr said:

Regarding Question #3, from the Captain's Club Terms & Conditions:

Discount on beverage package upgrade
Members may purchase a beverage upgrade from the Classic Package to the Premium Package with their discount pre-cruise, by calling Captain's Club at 1-800-760-0654. Discount does not apply to upgrades purchased once onboard. 

 

The FAQ suggests is should be done online:

How can a guest upgrade from classic beverage package to premium beverage package when they book the Always Included package?

If a guest books their cruise with Always Included package pricing and would like to upgrade their Classic Beverage Package to the Premium Beverage Package, they may do so via our Cruise Planner platform once their booking is within final payment.  The upgrade charge will be $12 per person per day which includes the beverage gratuity.  Guests may not purchase a beverage upgrade before final payment when they book Always Included. Alternatively, guests may also upgrade their beverage package from Classic to Premium once onboard the ship.

 

And the CC Benefits matrix shows

So it does not look like the discount is available onboard.

 

.

Thanks, "HskrCrsr," for your reply.

 

You took care of our Question #3 very well -- showing that there would be no Captain's Club discount if the upgrade takes place aboard the ship.

 

We assume that you didn't know the answer to Question #2 (about the possibility of combining two 10% discounts), because you didn't mention that one.

 

Based on the Captain's Club info and the separate FAQ (both of which you kindly quoted), there is an apparent conflict (probably a harmless one), but neither quotation really answers our Question #1.  You see, we want to make just one phone call and have just one all-embracing charge to our credit card -- paying for the whole cruise (plus added "frills," all at once).  In fifteen years of cruising, we have never done things in a piecemeal fashion -- and we try to avoid placing charges against our credit cards online, preferring to use only the phone for that purpose (even though we are aware of supposedly secure [https] sites).

 

Therefore, we intend to call the Captain's Club on (or just before) final-payment day and try to get the "whole schmear" taken care of in "one fell swoop" -- if you will forgive us for mixing two funny-sounding idioms.  We'll try to remember to ask about #2 [double discounts], but the person who helps us would almost certainly apply the lower amount automatically, if there is one.

 

Thanks again.

.

[HskrCrsr]

Yeah, I don't know enough to answer #1, but my guess would be that it takes time to process and get inside final payment before the discount would apply. However, I think I have read posts where some have called and been able to upgrade early. I may be wrong. And even if that can happen, I'm not sure you make final payment at the same time.

 

If you do wait and upgrade onboard, you may lose the discount (which is tiny - 10% of $12 per day, so only $1.20 per day), you could save more by getting the prorated amount over fewer days. Some have suggested that doing this with a bartender might get you a grateful bartender for the rest of the cruise as they get the upgrade gratuity, as I understand it. And this could probably be charged to your stateroom and then show up as a charge with everything else at the end.

 

For #2, I would think they would not combine the discounts, but I don't have enough experience to say this with any certainty. There are occasions where Celebrity does indicate one discount is in addition to others, so it is possible.

 

Cheers!

[jg51]

On 8/19/2021 at 3:32 AM, HskrCrsr said:

Yeah, I don't know enough to answer #1, but my guess would be that it takes time to process and get inside final payment before the discount would apply. However, I think I have read posts where some have called and been able to upgrade early. I may be wrong. And even if that can happen, I'm not sure you make final payment at the same time. ... Cheers!

.

Hello again, "HskrCrsr."

 

The other day, one of our questions was this:
"For the purpose of convenience, can [a beverage-package] upgrade be requested (and the [Elite] 10% discount applied) right on 'final-payment day,' or only after that day [online or by a separate phone call]?" 

 

We later explained why we were asking the question: "We want to make just one phone call and have just one all-embracing charge to our credit card -- paying for the whole cruise (plus added "frills," all at once).  In fifteen years of cruising, we have never done things in a piecemeal fashion".

 

Well, we now have the definitive answer, from someone who attempted to make the final payment in conjunction with a beverage-package upgrade:  Celebrity will allow everything to be done on the same day, during the same phone call -- not as one "blanket" transaction, but as [at least] two separate transactions ([at least] two credit-card charges). 

 

In the first transaction, they will include all of the following: (1) the cruise fare(s) [more than one, if back-to-back], (2) the taxes and fees, (3) the air fare [if booked with Flights By Celebrity], (4) the airport transfers [if chosen], and (5) the insurance [if chosen].

 

In the second [and possibly subsequent] transaction, they will include a beverage-package upgrade.  (The possibility of a third separate transaction enters the picture if the guest has booked back-to-back cruises, each of which involves a separate credit-card charge.)

 

It is possible (although we don't really know) that all the frills that one may pre-order for a given cruise -- shore excursions, a beverage package upgrade, specialty dining, "spa treatments," a photo package, and/or a "gift beverage package" -- may be lumped together in a single charge (which is separate from the big cruise-fare charge.  On the other hand, it is instead possible that each and every one of the above frills may have to be transacted/charged separately, so that any one of them can be easily refunded, if the need may arise.

.

Edited August 20, 2021 by jg51