Asking for upgrade once onboard?

[miched]

On one cruise I had prepaid for a premium bev pack upgrade.  When I got my sailing card there was no bev pack listed on it.   
 

I had to go to GR to get it corrected.  There was a very long line.  There was a employee going thru the line trying to speed things up by trying to take care of some simple problems.  He had a paper pad and was writing down information and then those passengers left.   The couple in front of me were in line to request a upgrade if available.  The gatekeeper took their information and they left the line.  I told him my problem and he said that he really couldn’t help as all he was doing was basically helping with minor issues and mostly taking info from passenger that were in line to ask for a upgrade.  I said to him to put my name down but I still needed to see a rep.   He took my info.   I figured as long as I was in the line it didn’t hurt to ask for one.    I think all of those names made it into the circular file as soon as he got a chance.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[drakes2]

On 9/12/2022 at 9:01 AM, Gordoncruickshank said:

Fairly sure there are no suitable cabins available.

I happened to call Celebrity today regarding my captains club status. While on the call agent asked if I'd like to upgrade to a sky suite for an additional 12K.

Who in their right mind would pay that for a SS?  

[wineoclock]

12k for a SS??? That is RS territory. 

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, wineoclock said:

12k for a SS??? That is RS territory. 

The agent did say SS but I'm wondering if it is retreat as I didn't see any Sky suites left. Its still too much money. And that was an additional 12K. 

[mfs2k]

11 hours ago, miched said:

On one cruise I had prepaid for a premium bev pack upgrade.  When I got my sailing card there was no bev pack listed on it.   
 

I had to go to GR to get it corrected.  There was a very long line.  There was a employee going thru the line trying to speed things up by trying to take care of some simple problems.  He had a paper pad and was writing down information and then those passengers left.   The couple in front of me were in line to request a upgrade if available.  The gatekeeper took their information and they left the line.  I told him my problem and he said that he really couldn’t help as all he was doing was basically helping with minor issues and mostly taking info from passenger that were in line to ask for a upgrade.  I said to him to put my name down but I still needed to see a rep.   He took my info.   I figured as long as I was in the line it didn’t hurt to ask for one.    I think all of those names made it into the circular file as soon as he got a chance.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 But what happened to your beverage package? Did you get it?

[phoenix_dream]

20 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

If that happens to you again, just go to the Casino, charge slot credit to your room then print the slip and cash it at the cage. Done!

Good idea. But I advise making sure it works that way. It doesn’t on all ships I’ve found. Some require you to play out the credits and can only cash out any wins.

[Fly and Sail]

1 minute ago, phoenix_dream said:

Good idea. But I advise making sure it works that way. It doesn’t on all ships I’ve found. Some require you to play out the credits and can only cash out any wins.

 

Promotional funds have to be played through (Freeplay). Any room charges can usually be withdrawn, at least that's my experience with five different ships now. Don't prepay for slot play through the cruise planner using the OBC because those funds would then be promotional credits.

[miched]

3 hours ago, mfs2k said:

 But what happened to your beverage package? Did you get it?

i showed them my email receipt, screen shots, and the confirmation.  They said that didn’t mean anything.   They would have to confirm it with  Corporate.  They said to purchase drinks as if I had the package and if I had the package they would be  covered.    I didn’t do that as I didn’t want to be charged for drinks if they claimed that I didn’t have it.   I had my wife order drinks.   I was still in port and and could use my cell phone.  I called my TA and hopefully they were available on Sat.  I left a message and also sent a email.

 

It was finally resolved around 6 pm.  We were in our cabin getting ready for the evening and they called my cabin.  They claimed it was my TAs fault and the TA blamed the cruise line.   The confusion was caused because we changed cabins.  Not to a different category but just location.   I told them that was all BS as my wife’s card had the Premium Bev Pack.       Strange that one person would have it and the other didn’t.      
 

On our last cruise in Feb. we were in a SS.   We were in the retreat lounge and we couldn’t log onto the internet.   I went to the retreat host and was told that we didn’t have it.   I said it is included in the perks for the suite.   She said that perks aren’t always included in SS  and looked up our account.  She said that we were sail only.  I told her that we would not book  a suite as sail only.   I showed her my emails, screen shots and invoice for the cruise.   She made many calls and finally agreed that we had the perks.    She said issue was we did a lift and shift and it didn’t get transferred.   It involved $800 extra in SBC, the internet, gratuities and the premium drink pack.   A lot of money was involved.   It didn’t make sense to sail only in a SS.  The SBC and Gratuities amounted to more than the additional cost over sail only.  

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

Edited September 20, 2022 by miched

[miched]

2 hours ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

Promotional funds have to be played through (Freeplay). Any room charges can usually be withdrawn, at least that's my experience with five different ships now. Don't prepay for slot play through the cruise planner using the OBC because those funds would then be promotional credits.

If it means anything to you the  play with promotional funds doesn’t count towards casino points.   The play with the winnings does because the winnings is considered your money.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[mfs2k]

43 minutes ago, miched said:

i showed them my email receipt, screen shots, and the confirmation.  They said that didn’t mean anything.   They would have to confirm it with  Corporate.  They said to purchase drinks as if I had t

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

What a mess.  Glad it got sorted. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

Always wondered why any sane person would stand in a line for a couple hours to correct a beverage package or similar issue when they boarded.

Would it not be easier and faster to visit customer relations later that evening or the next day when there was no line to sort it out?  They can quickly reverse any incorrect charges or add OBC on the spot.

[Fly and Sail]

2 hours ago, miched said:

If it means anything to you the  play with promotional funds doesn’t count towards casino points.   The play with the winnings does because the winnings is considered your money.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

Correct and it's good that you mention that bit as well. Although I did watch my points balance and for whatever reason my last pre-purchased slotplay did count for points (balance went up during play) but the usual Amethyst freeplay I get as a voucher did not result in any points. Go figure.

[letsgogogo]

11 hours ago, miched said:

She said that perks aren’t always included in SS  and looked up our account.  She said that we were sail only.

And why would a retreat host be quibbling with a suite guest about this. That’s a “great question. Let me escalate this to my manager to look into for you”

[wineoclock]

Miched Clearly the retreat host didn’t get the memo that the customer is always right. Glad you got that sorted. Even if you were wrong there are ways of wording things. 

[miched]

11 hours ago, letsgogogo said:

And why would a retreat host be quibbling with a suite guest about this. That’s a “great question. Let me escalate this to my manager to look into for you”

 
She was explaining to me that not all suite guests have all of the perks as many are  sail only and that is what showed on my account.  Passengers get confused between amenities and perks included in suites.   After I showed her my invoices she made made a few phone calls and was put on hold a long time.     She was very helpful.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅
 

 

[Gordoncruickshank]

2 minutes ago, miched said:

 
She was explaining to me that not all suite guests have all of the perks as many are  sail only and that is what showed on my account.  Passengers get confused between amenities and perks included in suites.   After I showed her my invoices she made made a few phone calls and was put on hold a long time.     She was very helpful.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅
 

 

That is why I always travel with a copy of my Celebrity invoice for the cruise. It details everything you should get on the cruise if you can decipher all the codes they use. It also gives your Ship obc. 

[wineoclock]

48 minutes ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

That is why I always travel with a copy of my Celebrity invoice for the cruise. It details everything you should get on the cruise if you can decipher all the codes they use. It also gives your Ship obc. 

And it means you are well organised. Any problems you have the evidence in your hands. A computer isn’t always right. 

[letsgogogo]

1 hour ago, wineoclock said:

That is why I always travel with a copy of my Celebrity invoice for the cruise

Ooohhh love this. I’m preparing mine now. 

[drakes2]

36 minutes ago, letsgogogo said:

Ooohhh love this. I’m preparing mine now. 

I don't print anymore. Invoice is on my phone. 

[letsgogogo]

1 minute ago, drakes2 said:

I don't print anymore. Invoice is on my phone. 

For sure. Me neither. I create a special email folder and pull all relevant confirmations and communications into that one space. It also helps me go back to it years later if friends ask me “do you recall that tour guide you liked in Lisbon?.” 

[drakes2]

22 minutes ago, letsgogogo said:

For sure. Me neither. I create a special email folder and pull all relevant confirmations and communications into that one space. It also helps me go back to it years later if friends ask me “do you recall that tour guide you liked in Lisbon?.” 

What a great idea. 

[Lastdance]

I keep everything on my phone in folders too, but also carry hard copies.  Just me, I guess.

 

I had a pron at Guest Services argue with me about OBC not being posted; said it could take up to 5 days, but go ahead and use it.  This was many years ago.

Edited September 21, 2022 by Lastdance

[Gordoncruickshank]

3 hours ago, drakes2 said:

I don't print anymore. Invoice is on my phone. 

As is mine. I had to get a copy of it from our TA this week.

[Arizona Wildcat]

3 hours ago, Lastdance said:

I keep everything on my phone in folders too, but also carry hard copies.  Just me, I guess.

 

I had a pron at Guest Services argue with me about OBC not being posted; said it could take up to 5 days, but go ahead and use it.  This was many years ago.

OBC from a TA is usually posted on the first business day after you board.

Again do not understand why many do not have a copy of their invoices from Celebrity  AND their TA.  Sorting things the next day is then easy.

[Guindalf]

On 9/11/2022 at 9:13 PM, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Did you talk to guest relations and ask if it could be fixed?  Many have reported that using the app as a key randomly stops working until they go to guest relations to get it fixed.

 

We were told it was a glitch in the software and couldn't be changed. I'm sure if we were having issues with the original room, it could be taken care of, but changing rooms wouldn't work. We had to use our key card and the controls in the room, but the app couldn't be updated.