MoveUp - Is how much I paid for my current suite factored in?

[FloroidaCruise]

If I paid $20k for a Celebrity suite, and someone else paid $3k for cheapest inside stateroom available, and we are both bidding on the Iconic Suite, does MoveUp only look exclusively at which of us has the highest bid amount or do they take into account that I also have paid for a more expensive stateroom?  So if the inside stateroom person bids $10,000 and I bid $7,000 will they win based solely off of the bid amount or is the fact that I already spent $20k vs the other bidders $3k stateroom taken into account?  Basically wondering if Iconic suite is available if I buy the cheapest stateroom available so can go larger on the bids.  Thank you!!!!!!

 

[prmssk]

Last time I booked an inside cabin, I was only offered move up offers up to a certain level (I think balcony).  I couldn't bid on suites.  So I don't think someone in a Celebrity Suiting is competing with inside cabin passengers for the Iconic.

 

But to answer your question, no one actually knows the algorithm.  I suspect a major part of it relates to how easily your original cabin is to resell or move someone else into and make the most money both with your bid and with what they can get for your original cabin.

[jelayne]

As @prmssksaid no one knows for certain but I think how much you originally paid may well figure into it.

We recently bid to Move Up from a SV to a Magic Carpet SS.  We were booked with a cruise only fare and bid $1800 pp.  Another person on the Roll Call also in a SV bid $1100pp and won the upgrade. They were booked with a AI fare so there original cost was about $6900 vs ours at $4400.  The lower bid ultimately got X more revenue $6900 +$2200

=$9100 compared to us $4400  $3600 = $8000.

[FloroidaCruise]

Thank you prmssk that is extremely helpful info!!

[Mark_K]

1 hour ago, FloroidaCruise said:

If I paid $20k for a Celebrity suite, and someone else paid $3k for cheapest inside stateroom available, and we are both bidding on the Iconic Suite, does MoveUp only look exclusively at which of us has the highest bid amount or do they take into account that I also have paid for a more expensive stateroom?  So if the inside stateroom person bids $10,000 and I bid $7,000 will they win based solely off of the bid amount or is the fact that I already spent $20k vs the other bidders $3k stateroom taken into account?  Basically wondering if Iconic suite is available if I buy the cheapest stateroom available so can go larger on the bids.  Thank you!!!!!!

 

I’m not at all sure they let inside cabins bid for Iconic suites.  In any case, the inside only gets them $10,000, while you get them $7,000, potentially plus, what a person in a SS bids to MoveUp to a CS, plus what a person in a SV bids to MoveUp to a SS, etc.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I think one of the big factors is what cabin are you booked in, what are you bidding up to, how many are bidding on your current cabin and how much revenue will 3 move ups generate, vs one. (I know, more than one factor but you get the idea.)

[Peteymil]

21 hours ago, FloroidaCruise said:

If I paid $20k for a Celebrity suite, and someone else paid $3k for cheapest inside stateroom available, and we are both bidding on the Iconic Suite, does MoveUp only look exclusively at which of us has the highest bid amount or do they take into account that I also have paid for a more expensive stateroom?  So if the inside stateroom person bids $10,000 and I bid $7,000 will they win based solely off of the bid amount or is the fact that I already spent $20k vs the other bidders $3k stateroom taken into account?  Basically wondering if Iconic suite is available if I buy the cheapest stateroom available so can go larger on the bids.  Thank you!!!!!!

 

I understand your question, I wish I knew the answer.  But I wouldn't book any stateroom unless I would be happy staying in it.  You cannot count on a move-up because there may be no cabins available to move up too.  So buy the cheapest stateroom only if you would be happy in it for the cruise.

[leaveitallbehind]

Since you enter you booking number to get into the MoveUp website, all of your booking information is visible to the process.  I'm certain what your current stateroom could resell for in consideration of what you paid, or be released to a bid from a lower category, is taken into consideration with the bid amount you offer to the upgrade categories you select.  My understanding is bids are awarded based on highest per category, but that is likely only one factor as moving your current stateroom as mentioned will factor in as well.

 

The MoveUP program is managed by a third party and I am certain pricing algorithms play a large roll in the process with little direct human involvement, other than perhaps confirming any award.

Edited April 23 by leaveitallbehind

[JamieLogical]

How much you paid for your original stateroom is completely irrelevant. They already have that money. This seems to shock people, but businesses are usually in the business of making money. They already have your money so if someone is willing to give them more NEW money than you are, they are going to award the upgrade to the person who is giving them more new money.

 

The best way to think about the MoveUp program is that upgrades are not one single room to another single room, they are an entire chain. You upgrade to an Iconic, someone else upgrades to your old suite, someone else upgrades to that person's balcony, someone else upgrades to that person's OV... What any business that is in the business of making money (hint: that's all of them) will do is complete the chain of upgrades that is going to net them the most money.

[billc23]

15 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

How much you paid for your original stateroom is completely irrelevant. They already have that money. This seems to shock people, but businesses are usually in the business of making money. They already have your money so if someone is willing to give them more NEW money than you are, they are going to award the upgrade to the person who is giving them more new money.

 

The best way to think about the MoveUp program is that upgrades are not one single room to another single room, they are an entire chain. You upgrade to an Iconic, someone else upgrades to your old suite, someone else upgrades to that person's balcony, someone else upgrades to that person's OV... What any business that is in the business of making money (hint: that's all of them) will do is complete the chain of upgrades that is going to net them the most money.

Totally agree. The math below is not correct because - as you said - they already have that money. The complete chain of upgrades is what matters.

 

They were booked with a AI fare so there original cost was about $6900 vs ours at $4400.  The lower bid ultimately got X more revenue $6900 +$2200 = $9100 compared to us $4400  $3600 = $8000.

[LB_NJ]

39 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

How much you paid for your original stateroom is completely irrelevant. They already have that money. This seems to shock people, but businesses are usually in the business of making money. They already have your money so if someone is willing to give them more NEW money than you are, they are going to award the upgrade to the person who is giving them more new money.

 

The best way to think about the MoveUp program is that upgrades are not one single room to another single room, they are an entire chain. You upgrade to an Iconic, someone else upgrades to your old suite, someone else upgrades to that person's balcony, someone else upgrades to that person's OV... What any business that is in the business of making money (hint: that's all of them) will do is complete the chain of upgrades that is going to net them the most money.

I agree that this makes the most sense.

 

What you originally paid shouldn’t figure in except perhaps at the margins.  What I mean is that if there are 2 sets of bids that result in approximately the same total additional revenue to Celebrity they might give the bid to the person with a higher Captains Club level or originally paid more for their cabin. However, this probably only applies when differences are small.

 

Also, as previously said, I have never been offered a suite when inside was booked.

[jelayne]

39 minutes ago, billc23 said:

Totally agree. The math below is not correct because - as you said - they already have that money. The complete chain of upgrades is what matters.

 

 

They were booked with a AI fare so there original cost was about $6900 vs ours at $4400.  The lower bid ultimately got X more revenue $6900 +$2200 = $9100 compared to us $4400  $3600 = $8000.

If it was based on new revenue then you would think our$3600 bid would have won, but it didn’t.  Both of us bidders were in SVs cabins to start so the chain of upgrades would have been the same.  

[billc23]

11 minutes ago, jelayne said:

If it was based on new revenue then you would think our$3600 bid would have won, but it didn’t.  Both of us bidders were in SVs cabins to start so the chain of upgrades would have been the same.  

In this isolated transaction X got less additional revenue because no-one is giving back what they already paid and for some reason their algorithm  did not give the cabin to the highest bidder who may have been someone other than you. I would think they are going to try to maximize long term profit and any single transaction is not telling the whole story. I also think that the algorithm is very complex and uses AI to maximize revenue overall.

[paulh84]

The whole crux of the MoveUp system is to maximize revenue so it would be incorrect to definitively say what you initially paid flatly has no bearing on your likelihood of winning a bid. It would make no sense to base it solely on new revenue which is exemplified by lower cabins not being able to bid on upper suites.

 

[jagoffee]

On 4/23/2024 at 3:29 PM, jelayne said:

If it was based on new revenue then you would think our$3600 bid would have won, but it didn’t.  Both of us bidders were in SVs cabins to start so the chain of upgrades would have been the same.  

Obviously non of knows for sure.  Do you think you roll call member may have given you what they bid for just on person and forgot to double it?

 

In your example the third party/Celebrity did not maximize their upside.  They would  have made more money to take your bid and just reject the other bid as they already had the money from the other person’s original person.

[Mark_K]

According to Celebrity there are two purposes to the MoveUp program.  
 

One is to increase revenue, which is fairly straightforward.

 

The other is to allow people to experience a higher level cabin than they normally book.  They’ve found that after experiencing the higher level cabin 20% of the people start booking that level.
 

Not knowing how this is factored in makes the whole process less straightforward for those of us trying to figure out how it works.

 

 

 

[ggo85]

One thing that would be interesting is whether two similarly situation people are offered the same Move Up options. Meaning, if I paid $5000 for my Sky Suite and someone else paid $3500 for their Aqua Veranda, and we both went to the Move Up calculator for a Royal Suite, would it show the same bid range and the same indicator of a strong or weak bid? 

 

Move Up can be a great deal but, as others have said, is never guaranteed even to be offered.  As with most things cruising, if you're super-flexible about timing and itinerary, you can score a great suite for a fraction of the price.  Alternatively, the entire ship may sell out and you're out of luck completely.

 

As someone who often books suites (and has never been offered Move Up), I must confess it's a bit annoying / frustrating to learn that someone scored a similar suite for 1/2 to 2/3 of the price.  I fully understand that's how the system works, it's all about maximizing revenue, and that my cabin is guaranteed (see paragraph above) whereas others are taking a chance.  But I sometimes wonder why I book early . . . 

 

In my experience, this doesn't happen on luxury lines.  First, they mostly sell out completely.  Second, their upper level suites almost always sell out completely.  Third, if the upper level suites are still available, I don't know how they fill them -- no evidence of any Move Up process.   My sense is that they feel it cheapens the brand.  T hough maybe it's coming. 🙄 

 

 

[sixpackeddie]

7 minutes ago, ggo85 said:

One thing that would be interesting is whether two similarly situation people are offered the same Move Up options. Meaning, if I paid $5000 for my Sky Suite and someone else paid $3500 for their Aqua Veranda, and we both went to the Move Up calculator for a Royal Suite, would it show the same bid range and the same indicator of a strong or weak bid? 

 

Move Up can be a great deal but, as others have said, is never guaranteed even to be offered.  As with most things cruising, if you're super-flexible about timing and itinerary, you can score a great suite for a fraction of the price.  Alternatively, the entire ship may sell out and you're out of luck completely.

 

As someone who often books suites (and has never been offered Move Up), I must confess it's a bit annoying / frustrating to learn that someone scored a similar suite for 1/2 to 2/3 of the price.  I fully understand that's how the system works, it's all about maximizing revenue, and that my cabin is guaranteed (see paragraph above) whereas others are taking a chance.  But I sometimes wonder why I book early . . . 

 

In my experience, this doesn't happen on luxury lines.  First, they mostly sell out completely.  Second, their upper level suites almost always sell out completely.  Third, if the upper level suites are still available, I don't know how they fill them -- no evidence of any Move Up process.   My sense is that they feel it cheapens the brand.  T hough maybe it's coming. 🙄 

 

 

Please also remember if a iconic suite is awarded from a sky suite reservation vs from a Edge Villa reservation the potential for Celebrity to earn more will be on the Edge Villa vs Sky Suite once the cabin becomes available. So they would be able to maximize revenue by awarding the iconic suite to the Edge Villa vs the Sky Suite.

[jelayne]

15 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Obviously non of knows for sure.  Do you think you roll call member may have given you what they bid for just on person and forgot to double it?

 

In your example the third party/Celebrity did not maximize their upside.  They would  have made more money to take your bid and just reject the other bid as they already had the money from the other person’s original person.

The other person was clear their bid was $1100 pp. 

 

If the objective is to maximize total revenue then taking the $1100 pp upgrade got more total revenue.  $6900 +$2200.

 

If the objective is to get new revenue, which some feel it is, then our bid of $1800 pp- $3600 would have done that.  
 

Doubt we will  ever know how MU actually works.