Cabin availability using Move Up

[dad son team]

So, I have a basic Veranda, obstructed view, on the Solstice next week.  Not thrilled with the location, but I got a good deal and the cost to change to another Veranda is outrageous.  I did put in some bids using the Move Up option to go to a Sunset veranda, Family Veranda, Concierge, or Aqua.  First 3 were min $50pp and the Aqua is $100pp and I bid a bit over the minimum.  Honestly, I don't expect to get it with the low bids, but who knows.  Ya gotta be in it to win it!  My question is, if there are cabins available in the category, do they usually accept your bid or will they pass on the bid if it isn't high enough?  I ask because with 1 week to go, half of the Concierge and 2/3 or the Aqua are still empty and I'm guessing most of the guarantees have been assigned by now.

[omeinv]

There is a lot of speculation, and precious little concrete information regarding how the move-up bids are handled. 

 

There are some obvious factors that would make sense to apply:

 

1, The amount bid

2, The value of the room that you would be leaving.  e.g. If I bid to move from an inside, and you bid to move from a veranda, your vacated room is much more likely to re-sell than mine. 

3, They have announced a multiplier, based on Captain's Club level.  The maximum is a 5% increase for someone who is zenith, so in effect I would say it serves as a "tie-breaker.  If you and I bis the same amount, and your Captain's Club level is higher than mine, your bid will win. 

4, Presumably, if they have the vacant room that someone bid for, even the minimum bid amount, they would award it.  The $50.00 minimum you bid is money in the bank for Celebrity, and they're overhead is exactly what it was, even if they can't then fill your former room.  Add to that the fact that a certain percentage will enjoy the level of service in an upgraded category, and never go back on future bookings. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Arizona Wildcat]

You also have no idea of the current staffing levels.  They are not fully booking on some ships because of not enough staff on board

[CU64]

3 hours ago, dad son team said:

So, I have a basic Veranda, obstructed view, on the Solstice next week.  Not thrilled with the location, but I got a good deal and the cost to change to another Veranda is outrageous.  I did put in some bids using the Move Up option to go to a Sunset veranda, Family Veranda, Concierge, or Aqua.  First 3 were min $50pp and the Aqua is $100pp and I bid a bit over the minimum.  Honestly, I don't expect to get it with the low bids, but who knows.  Ya gotta be in it to win it!  My question is, if there are cabins available in the category, do they usually accept your bid or will they pass on the bid if it isn't high enough?  I ask because with 1 week to go, half of the Concierge and 2/3 or the Aqua are still empty and I'm guessing most of the guarantees have been assigned by now.

Just off solstice Oct 8. Ship 1650. About 60%. You should get your bid.

[dad son team]

33 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

You also have no idea of the current staffing levels.  They are not fully booking on some ships because of not enough staff on board

I agree, but I'm not looking to increase the cabin number, I just moving cabins.  No extra work for me to go from a side veranda to a sunset veranda 

[dad son team]

23 minutes ago, CU64 said:

Just off solstice Oct 8. Ship 1650. About 60%. You should get your bid.

That seems to be the trend, although I think ours will probably be a bit higher.  We have a group of about 150

[canderson]

41 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

You also have no idea of the current staffing levels.  They are not fully booking on some ships because of not enough staff on board

Haven't seen that happening yet.  Was there some posting I missed?  All I've seen is that specialty restaurants have been good enough not to fill the tables if they are understaffed - at least on two ships where we've heard that recently reported.

 

If anything, the two current Beyond threads seems to indicate that they'll fill a ship regardless of staffing levels.  Granted, it seems to be an extreme example of this, but ...

[prmssk]

@dad son teamIf there truly are that many rooms open, I think your odds are great!  Good luck!

[dad son team]

Just got my email that my bid was accepted.  Moving from an obstructed veranda on deck 6 to Aqua class for $200 total.

 

Now, also got an email saying I owe $50 for my drink package upgrade from classic to premium.  I had originally used onboard credit for that $50.  I guess I lost the credit I got when I booked? 

[actuarian]

5 minutes ago, dad son team said:

Just got my email that my bid was accepted.  Moving from an obstructed veranda on deck 6 to Aqua class for $200 total.

 

Now, also got an email saying I owe $50 for my drink package upgrade from classic to premium.  I had originally used onboard credit for that $50.  I guess I lost the credit I got when I booked? 

That sounds like a mistake that you should try to have corrected.  When you win a Move-Up bid, you do not get any additional perks (other than ones like dining in Blu that are attached to the room) but you are not supposed to lose the perks that you had with the original booking, as sometimes happens when you upgrade or reprice a room the old fashioned way.

[Arizona Wildcat]

22 hours ago, canderson said:

Haven't seen that happening yet.  Was there some posting I missed?  All I've seen is that specialty restaurants have been good enough not to fill the tables if they are understaffed - at least on two ships where we've heard that recently reported.

 

If anything, the two current Beyond threads seems to indicate that they'll fill a ship regardless of staffing levels.  Granted, it seems to be an extreme example of this, but ...

Was told they stopped/slowed booking on Summit in August and September.   Ship was over 90% booked.  Were short some 250 crew.  Not sure it did much good as TAs were slow to pull availability .

They managed to add staff as the weeks went on.  No idea if new hires or returning crew.  

[CHEZMARYLOU]

15 hours ago, dad son team said:

Just got my email that my bid was accepted.  Moving from an obstructed veranda on deck 6 to Aqua class for $200 total.

 

Now, also got an email saying I owe $50 for my drink package upgrade from classic to premium.  I had originally used onboard credit for that $50.  I guess I lost the credit I got when I booked? 

This could be for the additional gratuities for Aqua class.

[Jim_Iain]

On 10/20/2022 at 3:37 PM, CU64 said:

Just off solstice Oct 8. Ship 1650. About 60%. You should get your bid.

I think that is pretty much the passenger load of most of the Solstice cruises.   I was just checking the room availability of the Dec3 and Dec 11 cruises and similar passenger loads. 

 

Suites on both have been sold out for about a month.    I would think that low bids would be successful.

[dad son team]

6 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

This could be for the additional gratuities for Aqua class.

No, it specifically references my onboard credit and the purchase I made with it, so it's for the drink package upgrade. Plus, the tip difference is only .50 a day higher

[Astro Flyer]

Being our first Celebrity cruise their Moveup FAQs seems to indicate that OBC should not be lost? Isn’t OBC considered a promotion which is not lost with a Moveup?
 

Trying to understand all of this because soon we’ll be within 30 days & Celebrity states that’s when Moveup offers begin.
 

Does the upgrade include any additional promotions?

The upgrade does not include any additional promotions. However, you get to keep whichever promotions you already have.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

3 hours ago, dad son team said:

No, it specifically references my onboard credit and the purchase I made with it, so it's for the drink package upgrade. Plus, the tip difference is only .50 a day higher

Yes, but they went up $2.00 per classification effective October 17 so could be $2.50 per day. If your cruise is 10 days that would be $50  for 2 people.  Only way to know for sure is to call. Hope you get it straightened out.

[Arizona Wildcat]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

Being our first Celebrity cruise their Moveup FAQs seems to indicate that OBC should not be lost? Isn’t OBC considered a promotion which is not lost with a Moveup?
 

Trying to understand all of this because soon we’ll be within 30 days & Celebrity states that’s when Moveup offers begin.
 

Does the upgrade include any additional promotions?

The upgrade does not include any additional promotions. However, you get to keep whichever promotions you already have.

You understand it just fine.  The bill for $50 is strange the the OP on that has no idea either.  For $50 I personally would wait till on board.

The tip charge did change so that might be it.

Edited October 22, 2022 by Arizona Wildcat

[Astro Flyer]

22 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

You understand it just fine.  The bill for $50 is strange the the OP on that has no idea either.  For $50 I personally would wait till on board.

The tip charge did change so that might be it.

Thanks…we have a combined total of $450 of OBC & wouldn’t want to lose it.
 

We hope to use part of it to pay tips but are getting conflicting info. Our TA has been told it cannot be used for tips but real life experiences I’ve read on this board state tips are deducted from OBC. On Princess some types of OBC state they’re not usable for tips however they are paid using all types of OBC. It is a simple credit from which all types of debits are deducted.
 

In about 6 weeks will learn whether tips can be paid using OBC or not.

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by Astro Flyer

[dad son team]

2 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Being our first Celebrity cruise their Moveup FAQs seems to indicate that OBC should not be lost? Isn’t OBC considered a promotion which is not lost with a Moveup?
 

Trying to understand all of this because soon we’ll be within 30 days & Celebrity states that’s when Moveup offers begin.
 

Does the upgrade include any additional promotions?

The upgrade does not include any additional promotions. However, you get to keep whichever promotions you already have.

Thank you!  I will question this when I call tomorrow 

[dad son team]

1 hour ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Yes, but they went up $2.00 per classification effective October 17 so could be $2.50 per day. If your cruise is 10 days that would be $50  for 2 people.  Only way to know for sure is to call. Hope you get it straightened out.

Thanks.  The costs that came with my new docs are 17.50 for verandah and 18 for aqua.  Either way it's not that, but thank you for your attention 

[dad son team]

1 hour ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks…we have a combined total of $450 of OBC & wouldn’t want to lose it.
 

We hope to use part of it to pay tips but are getting conflicting info. Our TA has been told it cannot be used for tips but real life experiences I’ve read on this board state tips are deducted from OBC. On Princess some types of OBC state they’re not usable for tips however they are paid using all types of OBC. It is a simple credit from which all types of debits are deducted.
 

In about 6 weeks will learn whether tips can be paid using OBC or not.

 

The original fare I purchased included bacic drink package and gratuity