How to upgrade rooms on Celebrity Cruises after booking?

Yes, it is quite possible to upgrade your room on Celebrity Cruise after you have made your booking. If you have booked inside cabin a month ago and now to elevate your cruising experience you want to book a balcony or suite then you need not to worry. As you can simply upgrade your room by placing a bid or by directly paying the difference in fare. To get the complete walkthrough of both the options keep on reading.

Why people upgrade after booking?

Large number of travelers book their cruise vacation earlier to get the best deals or guarantee availability and then decide to upgrade their cabin near to the departure date. Perhaps it's a special occasion, perhaps your friends say it's well worth it or perhaps you have saved some extra vacation budget. Either way, Celebrity's systems are based on the premise that guests may change their minds from booking to boarding, and an upgrade is a non-issue. It's a common approach to cruise planning.

Method One: Celebrity MoveUp, the Bidding Program

One of the best known ways to get celebrity cruise room upgrade at a discounted price is with the help of MoveUp program. It's just a way to auction off those rooms of higher categories that might otherwise sail without any one to fill them and still allow guests a chance to get better rooms for less than what's normally charged for those rooms.

Typically, the process runs like this:

• Invitation: It is issued about 90 days prior to departure or closer to the sailing date to those who are candidates to receive an invite via email, including a unique link to the bidding portal.
• Category options: Click into the portal, and you will see a lineup of cabin categories above the one you are looking at-from a simple upgrade from an inside cabin to one ocean-facing right away, to the most expensive options (suites).
• Suggested ranges: For each option, they list a suggested range in which you can write the bid – you can make a bid in the range or outside it if you feel comfortable doing so.
• Per-person pricing: Per person pricing refers to the way bidding works, instead of nightly pricing an amount is quoted for the duration of the cruise.
• Multiple bids: Bids may be submitted on multiple categories with each category having rank preference in the system, if applicable.
• No upfront charge: One of the greatest advantages of this option is that your payment will not be processed until the bid is accepted.

One important note before bidding: if accepted, your card is charged up the second that you bid on it and there is no going back. You must carefully contemplate what the greatest bid you will place will be because once the upgrade has been processed you can no longer recant from the action. Make your bid as it is, rather than a thought-on-the-fly bid that you will change.

Method Two: Paying the Difference Directly

The second option is a direct upgrade, sometimes referred to as a ‘guaranteed' upgrade as you know exactly which cabin you'll be given and exactly what you'll have to pay for. In this method instead of bidding and waiting to get a reply from the cruise you simply make the request for the cabin you want. Depending on the availability you are assigned the desired cabin and you need to pay the fare difference between the original fare and the current cabin that you booked.

Here's how you can go about it:

• Check online first: Log in your 'my Celebrity Cruises' account to search for an available change-room/upgrade option related to your booking.
• Call if needed: You are advised to call cruise line’s reservation team when you face any issue while searching for your preferred cabin online. 
• Use your travel agent: If you've booked a trip through a travel agent, they'll be able to ask for the upgrade on your behalf, too.
• Get a live quote: Whichever method you choose you will able to see the price difference that you need to pay before booking the upgraded cabin. 

One of the greatest features of this type of upgrade that most of the guests do not know is that when there is availability of your desired cabin then you can arrange that even when the final payment is done by you. But, availability is the key here as especially at the height of the cruise season (summer, holiday cruises) the popular sailings may sell their upgraded sailings out before you know it.

If you have a specific room type in mind, it may be a wise idea to contact earlier rather than later as later could mean that the room type you are interested in is no longer available.

Comparing the Two Approaches

When choosing between the MoveUp bidding program vs. a direct upgrade to your Celebrity Cruises stateroom, it's crucial to consider the advantages and disadvantages of both choices.

• Choose MoveUp bidding if: You're willing to be prepared to be a possible bargain, you have some flexibility on which higher category you end up in, and you like the prospecting of knowing not until closer to your sailing. A celebrity cruises room upgrade bid with the help of MoveUp program is one of the best options to try as the amount of savings that you get from this is high in comparison to booking that room directly.
• Choose a direct upgrade if: You have already planned the cabin, deck or suite type that you want in your mind already. It is one of the most convenient options to choose when you want to improve your cruising experience. 
• Combine both if: You would like to look around for a great deal initially, but ideally have an alternative strategy. MoveUp bids are placed by some travelers over a couple of months, and if not accepted, they call directly before the cruise date to find out if they are able to upgrade directly.

In the end, regardless of the path you take (either the bidding process, or the direct upgrade) it is all about having the best cruise adventure you can.

Some Tips for Upgrading Your Stateroom on Celebrity Cruises

There are ways to make your Celebrity Cruises experience better and more enjoyable with stateroom upgrades. These are some important pieces of advice to make the process smooth.

• Stay Organized: Record booking information and emails informing you of upgrade opportunities. Don't miss out; note down the dates for invitations in your calendar for your MoveUp program.
• Set a Budget: Before going for upgrade it is very important for you to plan the amount that you are going to invest in order to upgrade your cruising experience. You can evaluate your choices easily when you have a clear budget. 
• Be Flexible: Your chances of getting an upgrade easily on the cruise are increased when you are flexible with the cabin category. Being flexible is especially helpful when you upgrade using bidding. 

Your cruising experience can be improved and be memorable when you follow the above mentioned tips properly. 

Conclusion

Upgrading your room with the Celebrity Cruises is not only possible but it is one of the easiest ways of enhancing your cruising experience. To take your cruising vacation to next level you simply need to place a bid or just pay the difference in fare for the guaranteed cabin. Are you ready to sail in great comfort? Then look at the available options and upgrade your Celebrity Cruise now!