Upsell Protocol?

[JennAngel9]

I was hoping somebody here could tell me what the best way to effectuate an upsell when one is booked through a TA. There is about 9 days until my sail date, I am currently booked in CC and there are about 10 suites available on the ship.

 

Can I call Celebrity directly and inquire about the upsell? Does my TA need to do it? There is no "upgrade" button on my online account. I understand there's a slim chance we can pay to upgrade at the pier-- does anyone know if this is a better value than doing so 1 week before the cruise?

 

Thanks in advance!

[BEAV]

If you're only 9 days from sailing and there are currently 10 suites available, I think there's a fairly good chance something will still be available at check in.

 

From past experience, I think your best bet is to just inquire on embarkation day. We've upgraded at embarkation three times, the most recent on the Summit Transatlantic just four weeks ago. I don't believe you're going to be successfull trying to "arrange" some sort of "deal" before you leave, either through your TA or Celebrity. I don't think that's the way they work, unlike NCL's "upsells". Also, Celebrity won't allow you to work directly with them, bypassing your TA in the process.

 

I would jot down the numbers of any suites still showing available on Celebrity's website right up until the time they pull down the sailing. This is very important IMO.

 

When we boarded Summit about a month ago, there was a fairly long list of people wishing to upgrade. We didn't get on the list, but instead I phoned Guest Relations and specifically asked them if suite number 6142 was available. They called about 30 minutes later, said it was available, quoted us an upgrade price (which was far below the regular retail price) which we accepted.

 

Good luck to you and have a great cruise!

[JennAngel9]

Thank you, that's great information! I was thinking I might be able to call Celebrity and just get a feel for whether or not they were willing to make some sort of pre-cruise discounted offer before I bothered my TA with it (we actually booked 4 cruises and had to move them around b/c of work dates before settling on this one).

 

I will be sure to note the specific staterooms we'd like. Can you answer two other questions: first, should I make a request upon check-in or not bother at all and secnod, what is the easiest way to contact guest relations (is that different than pursers desk?)?

 

Thanks again!

[Andy]

I was hoping somebody here could tell me what the best way to effectuate an upsell when one is booked through a TA. There is about 9 days until my sail date, I am currently booked in CC and there are about 10 suites available on the ship.

 

Can I call Celebrity directly and inquire about the upsell? Does my TA need to do it? There is no "upgrade" button on my online account. I understand there's a slim chance we can pay to upgrade at the pier-- does anyone know if this is a better value than doing so 1 week before the cruise?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Hi Jenn !

 

You wont have any luck arranging an upsell in advance. That I know of, Celebrity does not do this, unless you are willing to pay full price to move up to a better cabin.

 

Your only option, is on Embarcation day. When you get to the Pier, ask the person who checks you in, or the Pier Coordinator if there are any deals where you can pay for an upgrade. If there are any available, it will be a better price than what you would pay today, but I wouldnt get my hopes up on it happening.

 

I wish I had better news for you. Enjoy your Cruise !

[Andy]

I will be sure to note the specific staterooms we'd like. Can you answer two other questions: first, should I make a request upon check-in or not bother at all and secnod, what is the easiest way to contact guest relations (is that different than pursers desk?)?

 

Thanks again!

 

You can also contact Guest Relations when you board (it's called the Guest Relations Desk on Celebrity ships), so they can take your cabin #, and let you know if they have any cabin upgrades to sell. However, I do not recommend this option. We stopped doing this a long time ago, as they may contact you 1-2 days into your Cruise. At that point, I have no interest in changing my cabin once I am settled in.

[BEAV]

Thank you, that's great information! I was thinking I might be able to call Celebrity and just get a feel for whether or not they were willing to make some sort of pre-cruise discounted offer before I bothered my TA with it (we actually booked 4 cruises and had to move them around b/c of work dates before settling on this one).

 

I will be sure to note the specific staterooms we'd like. Can you answer two other questions: first, should I make a request upon check-in or not bother at all and secnod, what is the easiest way to contact guest relations (is that different than pursers desk?)?

 

Thanks again!

 

As far as I'm concerned, it's pointless to call Celebrity as all they're going to do is pull up your reservation, see that it's booked with a travel agent, and refer you to your TA. Also, I don't believe a general sales agent at a call center would be able to offer any insight as to the cost of discounted upgrades aboard ship. I have a feeling this is handled by a department outside reservations (like yield/revenue management, etc).

 

When you board the ship, either go to Guest Relations (I believe the purser's office is one in the same) or call from your cabin and inquire specifically about upgrading to any/all of the suites on your list that you hope/believe to be still available. Also, since you'll have a list of suites believed to be open, you might go to that area of the ship and hunt down the butler (usually easily found out in the corridor). Tell him you're interested in upgrading to suite number such-and-such and ask if he knows if it's available. He will have a manifest of who is in which suite.

 

This reminds me of a situation a few years ago on Royal Caribbean. I made the mistake of asking Guest Relations if there were any open suites to upgrade to. Without even looking, they said "no". As it was, a suite a few doors down from us appeared vacant. Our traveling companions, who were more travel savvy than us at the time, inquired from their cabin steward if suite such-and-such was available. The answer was "yes" that it was vacant. So our friends marched down to Guest Relations and asked how much to upgrade to suite such-and-such. They were given a price, accepted it, and issued new keys on the spot.

 

So from my experience, you're way ahead of the game to inquire about a specific suite number(s) you believe may be available.

[BEAV]

You can also contact Guest Relations when you board (it's called the Guest Relations Desk on Celebrity ships), so they can take your cabin #, and let you know if they have any cabin upgrades to sell. However, I do not recommend this option. We stopped doing this a long time ago, as they may contact you 1-2 days into your Cruise. At that point, I have no interest in changing my cabin once I am settled in.

 

Since we've had the opposite experience from Host Andy (that being able to upgrade immediately upon boarding as opposed to 1-2 days into the cruise), I would incorporate both suggestions (inquiring from the check in personnel and pier coordinator) as well as aboard ship with Guest Relations.

 

From my experience, it's not a set-in-stone policy that upgrades are handled inside the terminal via the pier coordinator. I believe this changes based on what city you're sailing from. In the past we've inquired inside the terminal only to be told it's being handled aboard the ship via Guest Relations.

 

So combine both Host Andy and my advice and hit them from all corners!

[JennAngel9]

Thanks so much Andy & Beav!! I will definitely inquire with the Pier Coordinator and will contact Guest Relations with some idea of stateroom numbers, and then if that fails, I will see if I can track down a butler with inside information. DH and I would probably be fine switching a few days into the cruise... as long as it's a sea day. :) Might be worth it to have a bathtub to relax in at the end of the trip.