On Upgrade Bidding...
OK, someone explain this to me as if I am 5 yrs old.
We paid in full for a sheltered balcony a while ago, QM2 Singapore-Southampton. Let's say the price for that was "x".
We received an email offering the opportunity to bid to upgrade...excellent!
Minimum bids to upgrade are (in AUD):
Britannia Club: $3385 per guest (so $6770/suite)
Princess suite: $7905 pg (so $15810/suite)
Queens Suite: $7100 pg ($14200/suite)
Condition is that we have no say in the suite we are offered in the upgrade. Fair enough. Nor can we change back to our original suite.
Here's what I don't understand.
If I book and pay for a cruise today, so Late Saver Fare, the prices quoted with same condition ie no suite selection:
Britannia Club: "x" +$200/suite
Princess Suite: "x" + $6950/suite
Queens Suite: "x" + $13350/suite
You see where I am going with this...there is no benefit whatsoever in considering an upgrade. Why the hell would I pony up an additional $6770 (minimum) for an upgrade to Britannia Club when I can book a Late Saver for just $200 more than what was the original cost of my cruise? Even Princess Suite seems to be good value as a Late Saver fare.
The ONLY advantage I can see to booking & paying way in advance is that you can choose your stateroom, however the Britannia Club suites seem to be in their own section of the ship, Decks 12 & 13, forward & mid forward so you're going to have a good idea of where you are going to be.
The smart play, going forward, is to snap up late fares from now on as they present much better value that choosing to upgrade later. As established Cunard cruisers I would have thought the better option for Cunard would be to offer really decent upgrade options to existing guests and open up the lower priced cabins as much as possible.