1cruiselvr

On 11/26/2023 at 3:15 PM, Go-Bucks! said:

I booked my next cruise (Dec 20-30) just 11 days ago and got the very last Caribe balcony cabin. Since then I've received 3 emails from Princess about bidding on an upgrade! Seems like they really want my cabin...but their upgrade prices are too high for me.

I’m convinced that open cabins have nothing to do with the bid offers. Almost generic in nature. I’m doing a test. Booked an aft vista. Bid on an owners suite. There are only 2 and not available. I have no confidence is my bid getting accepted. But it was on the upgrade offer. 

5 hours ago, rj59 said:

If your bid isn't accepted, you can always try the front desk when you board, and then maybe after the ship leaves, in case they have a no-show or someone else moves cabins. That way you can ask to see a cabin and evaluate location. If you have some noise or other issue with a cabin, that might also be an option. The bid process will probably be more difficult now, with fuller ships, though. Last-minute bids might also be a good option, since you can see with a pretend booking which cabins have the most availability, if at all. So for Island Princess next week, balconies are sold out but there a number of obstructed Oceanview cabins that people probably don't want for a Mediterranean cruise, and the $20-80 bid range reflects it, so that's what I'm aiming for. How much you paid might also give you some preference--my sister was upgraded on our cruise from inside to the obstructed balcony for free, but she paid for Plus, whereas I'm Elite but didn't spring for Plus and wasn't upgraded. 

Plus has nothing to do with the upgrade process. It was a coincidence in your case. Also, for the past several years, every time I’ve cruised and went to guest relations to ask about the opportunity to upgrade either 1. They said they were full and no availability or they wanted full retail price difference. Certainly no deal. The bidding process is your best and only opportunity IMO and experience.

30 minutes ago, vakamalua said:

Will be on the Discovery in 5 days; first experience placing a bid.  Will be happy with the cabin we booked but very disappointed that Princess never let us know that the bid wasn't accepted.

They will let you know a week after you come home. 😆 

I wonder if they are doing these kind of offers anymore. 

30 minutes ago, jwattle said:

What I have explained once, and will again, is that I am a TA, and some TA's can, in fact, make it so that their clients, CAN  NOT bid, even in the system. The email comes from a third party, not Princess. And the TA can, through Princess and/or the third party, have their client unable to bid through the system.

Well now that I know this, I won't be using any TA that blocks me from the opportunity to bid. It's my right.  Last 2 cruises I got better pricing w/o using a TA. I really don't need a TA anymore. Since cruiselines stopped their ability to adjust pricing, its not worth the middle man. 

11 minutes ago, Bedruthen said:

Not according to Princess. I didn’t get any bid upgrade offers despite everyone else on the roll call receiving them. I have had a number of explanations from Princess, but this is the conclusion. Seems the TA is involved.

Is this TA out of the US or another country?

1 hour ago, photomikey said:

Communicating directly with the cruiser is not allowed under the travel agent contract.  The TA's whole job is to do all communications with the cruiser.  The TA has to specifically allow (opt-in) to the traveler being able to bid for upgrades and some choose not to.  The bid is not a commissionable fare and the TA is "losing money" by allowing this - if you had another $500 to spend on the cruise and you just upgraded through the TA, they'd make a cut off that.

This does not apply to the bidding program. The offer comes directly to the passenger email. The regular rules about TA  stuff you spent time explaining doesn't apply. Why is this so hard for peeps to understand. You don't make the bid through the TA, you do it directly through Princess, the email comes to you from Princess, the TA is not involved. Their commission comes from the original booking. They get no more than that if your bid is accepted. 

Just now, 1cruiselvr said:

1 hour ago, SCX22 said:

 

Unless there is a glitch with Princess, the big box TA does not participate in any bid to upgrade programs with any cruise line that they make bookings for.  It's written in black and white in the Help Center section of their website.

That’s right. They are not involved. It’s Princess communicating directly to the cruiser. Buying from a big box online company does not impact your bidding opportunities. 

1 hour ago, SCX22 said:

 

2 minutes ago, Amy G said:

Bummer.  I am fully paid, can I reach out to Princess and upgrade without losing my OBC?

I would think so. No harm in asking. Good luck!

2 hours ago, jwattle said:

Are you using a TA? Some of them, esp Big Box, do not participate...

That's not true. The upgrade offer email goes directly to the consumer. If you don't get it you can try on the Princess website. Big box TAs have nothing to do with this new bidding process. 

27 minutes ago, Amy G said:

Great idea to bring a list!

Forget that. They don't offer deals onboard. If they have cabins available they will want full market price difference. No deals. I know, We've tried. 

2 hours ago, Amy G said:

I was on chat with Princess today for way too long asking why I can't place a bid yet for our cruise in December (the cruise is 58 days away and is a 4-night cruise)).  He just said that some cruises don't offer upgrades... Super frustrating because there are a lot of cabins left in all categories, so I hope they open it up soon.

 

 

I was once told it was only offered on 7 day plus cruises. Don't know if that's true. 

40 minutes ago, HiCCCs said:

Don't bid $4K-that's for sure!!!  

When you see the sliding scale in the upgrade offer email, place a bid you are comfortable with and wait and see what happens. 

21 minutes ago, Amy G said:

I have been patiently waiting for my upgrade window to open and when it did open, I got the message "This reservation is not eligible for Princess Upgrade at this time."  I am bummed because on our last two cruises, I could bid, and I won both bids.  I am hoping it eventually opens up for us.

You'll get an email in a few days offering you the opportunity to bid on an upgrade. Mine came a few days after the opportunity was supposed to be open but I got that message when I tried. 

Wait for the email. Then you'll know your cruise is open. 

13 minutes ago, I object 2 said:

We board the Discovery in 3 days.  We booked an MB category mini suite and placed bid for a Reserve Class mini and penthouse suite.  When I checked the Medallion app just now, the cabin and deck are showing "Pending".   Does anyone know if this means one of our bids could be in the process of being accepted?   Our deck and cabin number have been listed before.   Crossing our fingers!   

No. Everyone's status is pending until accepted or rejected. It has nothing to do with acceptance. 

10 minutes ago, I object 2 said:

We board the Discovery in 3 days.  We booked an MB category mini suite and placed bid for a Reserve Class mini and penthouse suite.  When I checked the Medallion app just now, the cabin and deck are showing "Pending".   Does anyone know if this means one of our bids could be in the process of being accepted?   Our deck and cabin number have been listed before.   Crossing our fingers!   

No. Everyone that bids is in pending status until it's rejected or accepted 

11 hours ago, joeflow80 said:

Couple of questions here...

 

Do they ever do upgrades upon request on embarkation day? Perhaps if the ship isn't sold out? If they do, who would one ask?

 

I've been considering putting in an upgrade bid, but it feels wrong when the minimums are more than the marginal increase in fares between categories. 

 

For example, there is a $160 difference in base fares between an interior and balcony. I'm currently booked in an interior and the minimum bid on the standard balcony is $210. An obstructed view balcony's minimum is $35 more than the fare difference. Is this normal? I'd think the bidding option should be seen as a potential 'good deal'.

If you are interested in upgrading, then I suggest bidding. It's been years since upgrading onboard has been available. 

17 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Unless you have Plus or Premier fare package which would cover it 🙂

 

True

9 hours ago, wilsonhold said:

We pre-paid our daily service charge  under the old rate of 14.50 usd a day last year. If we would be upgraded to a mini-suite, does anyone know if we would need to pay an additional?  1.00 usd a day or 2.50 a day? On a 28 day cruise, 56 dollars vs 140 dollars for the both of us may start to add up.

Yes you pay whatever the new  daily service charge is associated with that cabin category. 

True but rare and always in the same category as your bid  acceptance. Glad she's happy with her new cabin. Happy sailing to you and your friend. 

3 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

I thought of that too.  I thought maybe her originally assigned cabin can accommodate 4 persons and they moved her to a cabin that can only accommodate 3 persons so they can sell that 4-person cabin.  So I checked the deck plan, and saw her original cabin can only accommodate3 persons, and her current cabin can only accommodate 4 persons.  

 

In her case, her cabin location can't get worst.  Now I am concern for my cabin.  My bid was accepted and I was assigned a mini-suite, catg MB,  in a good location on Dolphin deck.  I hope Princess will not change my cabin and give me a mini suite cabin on the Emerald deck in the aft, above Club Fusion.  

 

As I said, this is very rare. It might have been changed to keep families near each other or other reasons, there are many. I wouldn't worry about it. 

4 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

 

Thanks for sharing this.

 

I suppose technically your friend was downgraded to a worse location, not upgraded so the "No Upgrade" instruction was not violated.

This is very rare. Princess must have needed the cabin for some reason to move her again. 

11 hours ago, photomikey said:

I'm in a mini-suite.  I am 85 days out today, and the bidding can begin (and already has, for me!).

 

I am interested in a Club Class Mini Suite - Forward Facing, and a Penthouse Suite Aft Facing.  (And really nothing inbetween.)

Any logic to apply on how to bid on either?  I'd probably rather be in the Penthouse if there is any strategy to be had.

There is no strategy. Bid on both is my suggestion. It's up to the cruiseline to decide. 

55 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

My bid for balcony to mini suite was accepted about 2 weeks ago.  I have friends in different cabins who bid for mini suite and Reserve Collection mini suite, and today they got their acceptance email that Princess accepted their Reserve Collection mini suite bids.  If possible, we would like to eat together, so I am thinking of putting in a bid from my mini suite to RC mini suite.  I log in to my Princess account and went to my booking, and click on "Upgrade bid" on the screen.  And the screen returned with "Upgraded to mini suite".  Is it not possible to bid for higher category once you already received the bid acceptance for one time?

No. Once you have won an upgrade  that's it.