Move Up or ask for upgrade on board?

[cgolf1]

So what would be the better deal especially that what is happening in the world right now may be causing more cancellations instead of people booking last minute. This week my wife went trhough and determined how many rooms are open as of now and the number is quite large. With the latest Covid surge and the potential of a mask mandate in the future I could see even more rooms opening up.

 

Currently we have a sideways inside room on deck 2, which got us on the boat very cheap and on other lines we sought out the sideways inside rooms because somehow they were always way more spaciuos than a standard inside due to the layout. We are more than ok with the room we have.

 

My thought is if there are very few people on the cruise when we get onboard, I would hope that they might give better deals to get in a better quality room at a better price than what a move up bid would be. Is my thinking off on this? Something like a baseball game with low attendance where the ushers let people move to the better seats that nobody is using. Honestly not sure what level I would go for as we have sailed in insides all the way up to  what on Celebrity would be the lowest class Retreat state room. Just looking for a good deal so that maybe we can try level 2 some other year.

[CruiserFromSC]

I’ve never known Celebrity to give upgrades once on board...usually just bid up opportunities.  But who knows.  With everything that is going on, I guess anything is possible.  Good luck!!

Edited December 30, 2021 by CruiserFromSC

[wrk2cruise]

Generally they don't entertain upgrades onboard.  Just think if 1000 people were trying to upgrade.  Yes you hear of a few cases.   I would think a MoveUp from an inside to a balcony room could be accomplished for very low bid (like $10 over min) if you are sailing in the next couple of months.

[RichYak]

Unlikely you would be upgraded on board unless they needed your particular cabin for some reason.

[Chrissit]

We stopped by Guest Relations on our November cruise on the Equniox. We specifically asked about upgrading from our Aqua class cabin to a Sky Suite. And it was available for less than the move up would have been. 
 

We decided not to take the offer because we were happy with where we were on the ship, but when we asked, it was possible. 

[cgolf1]

2 hours ago, CruiserFromSC said:

I’ve never known Celebrity to give upgrades once on board...usually just bid up opportunities.  But who knows.  With everything that is going on, I guess anything is possible.  Good luck!!

 

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

Generally they don't entertain upgrades onboard.  Just think if 1000 people were trying to upgrade.  Yes you hear of a few cases.   I would think a MoveUp from an inside to a balcony room could be accomplished for very low bid (like $10 over min) if you are sailing in the next couple of months.

When we sailed on the Edge we asked about upgrading our room once onboard and unfortunately the only option was an aqua with the infinite veranda thing. We had the inside in the sky suite hallway and it was an amazing room so we didn’t upgrade.

[cgolf1]

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

Unlikely you would be upgraded on board unless they needed your particular cabin for some reason.

Not looking for a free upgrade, just know as of now there are a ton of rooms open, and thinking about seeing what are options are and what it would cost. Part of me would want to see the room we booked and location. Like on the Edge even a good deal might not move us out. 

Edited December 31, 2021 by cgolf1

[D C]

With lots of open rooms, it's quite possible. 

DS and DDIL were upgraded on their honeymoon after checking with the Concierge desk.  

[t18c97]

So if you wanted to try for an upgrade at the port, where is the best place to ask? Is there a place in the cruise terminal (like Disney has), guest relations or The Retreat staff if in a suite?

[wrk2cruise]

If you are in a suite I would say to mention it to the suite manager as soon as you board.  They have been filling suites with MoveUp's but especially the next few sailings there will probably be no-shows at the last minute.

[t18c97]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

If you are in a suite I would say to mention it to the suite manager as soon as you board.  They have been filling suites with MoveUp's but especially the next few sailings there will probably be no-shows at the last minute.

Thanks, where is the suite manager located?

[wrk2cruise]

36 minutes ago, t18c97 said:

Thanks, where is the suite manager located?

 

They should be around in the Retreat Lounge.

[Jim_Iain]

It may depend on the Revenue Manager.   We were on Millennium and didn't win an upgrade with a pretty healthy bid for a RS.    Once on board I asked about upgrading and the price he gave me was higher than if I had booked it for full price 2 days prior to sailing.  

 

I declined and they sailed with it empty.

[weacat]

We were just on the Millennium with a last minute inside room booked (3 people).  We asked for an upgrade to a balcony at guest relations.  By 8pm, they had a balcony available for us and we moved.  

[D C]

1 hour ago, weacat said:

We were just on the Millennium with a last minute inside room booked (3 people).  We asked for an upgrade to a balcony at guest relations.  By 8pm, they had a balcony available for us and we moved.  

Did they charge for the upgrade? 

[Pinboy]

On 12/30/2021 at 6:32 PM, cgolf1 said:

Currently we have a sideways inside room on deck 2, which got us on the boat very cheap

We are more than ok with the room we have.

We have always booked a cabin which we were comfortable staying in and never tried for an upgrade.

Just thinking--- I would wait until you are on board and ask to speak to the Hotel Manager or Guest Relations Manager rather than a Guest Relations counter person. Most likely the GR counter person will tell you " Sorry, XX is in a meeting --- can I be of assistance " ?  ( That's their " standard answer " anytime you want to speak to one of them ).

When you get to chat with either one , ask him/her if there are any better rooms available and say - 

  " My ( whomever you are travelling with ) is really not very happy with our room .( Don't blame it on yourself ). If there is any possibility that you can help us with this ----- I know how to say Thank You ".

He/she will know exactly what the " Thank You " means ( $$$ ). Hey, it might work ???

 

 

[weacat]

6 hours ago, D C said:

Did they charge for the upgrade? 

No.  I think there quite a few last minute cancellations on our sailing.

[copi2boys]

The worst that can happen is they say no - you are still on a cruise LOL

[cgolf1]

5 minutes ago, copi2boys said:

The worst that can happen is they say no - you are still on a cruise LOL

 

This is why we always book a room we would be happy with.

[cgolf1]

One note that could be a huge bonus asking onboard from past experience. I have heard many people complain that the location of the Move up bid room and how they were less then happy about it, because you have no choice in the selection. When on the Edge and we stopped at guest services and they called later that day with an offer on an Aqua stateroom which we declined because it would have taken a sweet deal to get us out of our inside once we saw the room, even with all the throw pillows;). 

 

The bonus piece was they were going to show us the room first before we decided and if we had wnated to upgrade but hated the location we had the choice. This could be a pretty big consideration for some that have been burned on a move up bid.

[Redtravel]

We have upgraded onboard.  If there are open cabins, you may be able to pay for an upgrade.  It may be less expensive than booking an upgrade before boarding.  

[taylortime05]

14 hours ago, cgolf1 said:

One note that could be a huge bonus asking onboard from past experience. I have heard many people complain that the location of the Move up bid room and how they were less then happy about it, because you have no choice in the selection. When on the Edge and we stopped at guest services and they called later that day with an offer on an Aqua stateroom which we declined because it would have taken a sweet deal to get us out of our inside once we saw the room, even with all the throw pillows;). 

 

The bonus piece was they were going to show us the room first before we decided and if we had wnated to upgrade but hated the location we had the choice. This could be a pretty big consideration for some that have been burned on a move up bid.

 

What did you like about the inside cabin?  

[verizon]

Upgrade cabins on board usually from No Show.

[as3369]

The cabin inventory on our Edge is crazy, unless Celebrity is blocking off the suite sections.  There are TONS of infinite balcony and inside cabins available.  However, there are only 3 Sky suites showing up (out of 176), all four Royal Suites occupied, and 3 Edge Villas available.  

 

If this is the case, the Retreat is going to be crowded while the rest of the ship will not.

[cgolf1]

3 hours ago, taylortime05 said:

 

What did you like about the inside cabin?  

The layout was nice and the space in the room while not a ton was purposeful even with the king bed. Being that it was in the sky suite hallway where you used your keycard to enter the hallway and then your card to enter your room it was very private and quite. The bathroom was amazing as well and honestly was the best we’ve had including concierge class on DCL. Storage was crazy in this room, honestly I don’t know how someone could fill it up. Sounded like this room had more storage than the infinite verandas. Also insides are awesome for sleeping because of how dark they are.