1cruiselvr

24 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

Are you booked with the “Big Box” 

TY. Our cruise is 53 days out. There many mini suites available but I didn’t bid on that category. The categories I did bid on are not available as of now. Since I have a D4 GTY, either I will be assigned a D4, upgraded to one of the open mini suites, or by a miracle get one of my bids on a sold out category accepted. I am happy with whatever happens. Time will tell. 

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

So I got an email from Princess stating that my bid was not accepted.  Which bid?  I bid on two cabins and this didn't give any indication of which of the two bids was not accepted?
So I went back to my bid emails and looked at my bids...one said "expired" next to the bid.  The other bid email said "pending" next to the bid.  So I was able to eliminate the "expired" one and wait on the other.
A few hours later I got an email from my TA with an updated invoice and then an email from Princess saying my bid was accepted with the cabin number listed!!
I was able to go on my Personalizer and pay the extra amount and was done!  YAY!  

Would you mind telling which cruise and what cabin category your bid was accepted?  I’m trying to learn how far out they are accepting bids from cruise date. TY

I could be wrong, but with the new bidding process, I don’t think this way of getting upgraded is as available, as in the past. They have filled all the higher categories through the bidding process and I would guess only much lower categories might be open, such as inside.  The old days of grabbing a great upgrade deal onboard is gone IMHO. 

25 minutes ago, hpeabody said:

Are "Bid" emails only sent to passengers that booked with Princess?  Has anyone heard if it is just random who gets them.  I know Princess has my email address, but are these going to our TA and it is up to the TA to forward to us.  Anyone know?  Just trying to figure this out

It’s not random and you will get the email directly if you meet the qualifications. I’m not sure they are including all ships. They were rolling out the program at the beginning of September for a few select ships. 

Well after thinking on this subject for awhile, I decided to give it a try. It’s really more of an experiment since all the categories I bid on are currently showing sold out on their website. We are booked in a D4 GTY on Discovery 11/26 sailing with no assignment yet. I bid close to minimum for CC mini suite, Vista Suite and Penthouse suite.  I don’t expect to win but will be pleasantly surprised if we do. 

3 hours ago, bjkTX said:

We received a "bidding" email today for our Christmas cruise.  I am really happy with our current cabin so it would take something great to get me to change.  But out of curiosity, and seeing the prices Princess puts on each category I decided to go look at those categories of cabins on our cruise just to see what the real difference was (not that I don't trust Princess...).  I really never did find out because none of the categories they wanted me to bid on (that I was interested in) were available!  So now I'm wondering if they take everything off the availability list once they send out the bidding emails for the cruise - or if they just don't realize I'd be spinning my wheels bidding on cabins that aren't available....

The bidding process doesn’t guarantee there are available cabins at the time of bidding but if they should become available. When we received our upgrade email it was for every category above our guarantee but a lot of these categories were “sold out” on their website at the time of email receipt. I believe it’s to monetize any currently open cabins plus any that become open in the future, up to 3 days prior to sail date. 
On almost sold out cruises, like ours, I doubt there will be many bids accepted. It’s nowhere near a slam dunk if you bid, more like a greedy upgrade fairy. 😀😀

7 hours ago, Therese S. said:

So after accepting our bid, I got to wonder why would anyone ever book a balcony (unless of course they have a particular cabin in mind) if you can place bids in the future?

 

In our case, the new bid system really worked out, but feel for those that paid much more. 

 

We always try to cruise as cheap as possible and save our money for other things.  We also dont book the Princess Plus fares.  Ive already ordered our wi-fi, water, sodas and bottles of vodka and whiskey.  On board credit will be used to pay tips.  I love a good deal 🙂

Just because you can place a bid, it doesn’t guarantee it will be accepted. Someone that wants to ensure they are sailing in a balcony cabin would want to book one. 

4 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

After you make a bid, you get a confirmation email and within that email there is an option to cancel. Very easy.

Thank you. 

How do you cancel a bid?  Princess says you can but doesn't tell you how.

10 minutes ago, suzyed said:

One poster got the offer after putting a cruise on Hold....

Straight from their website regarding bidding:

Bidding Eligibility

To be eligible to submit a bid you need to meet the following requirements:

• Must be 21 years or older.
• The booking must be paid in full.
• The voyage must be at least five days within final payment.

 I'm curious by what they meant by getting the offer.  Email?  Weird per Princess eligibility guidelines.

Found this statement regarding upgrade bidding interesting:

Bid Acceptance Process: Throughout and after the conclusion of the Bidding Period, PCL will compile all then-existing Bids for the various stateroom categories for the Cruise and may accept a Bid from a Guest for each available upgrade room (the "successful Bidder"), taking into consideration multiple factors and items. PCL will review Bids based on highest positive revenue impact, but reserve the right to consider and review other and different factors. All Bids will be converted to USD at the time they are considered. All determinations as to which Bid (if any) is accepted, who the Successful Bidder is (if any), and what is considered in accepting a Bid shall all be determined by PCL in its sole and absolute discretion. Successful Bidders are subject to verification. The highest Bid may not be accepted and Guest that places the highest Bid for a stateroom category is not guaranteed to be the Successful Bidder.

On 9/19/2022 at 5:53 PM, mina said:

Okay. So I bid on a few suite categories and the club class mini for Nov 6 California coastal.  I have been watching the open cabins, a ton of them in all bid categories as of yesterday.  Today, nothing open, all showing sold out.  So they must be processing the bids.  I guess my minimum’s for all the categories did not work as I did not get any type of notice😀. That is fine, happy with our current mini!  

Can receive upgrade notice up to 3 days prior to sailing so you never know.

10 minutes ago, suzyed said:

Hmmm?  I thought they had said the offer would only come to cruises that were paid in full?

True.  One of the conditions to receive the upgrade email is after final payment.

1 hour ago, PrincessLuver said:

I have noticed recently on a couple of the cruises we have for next Spring and finally payment is not due until the end of the year that the suites and mini-suites disappeared from the inventory when the bidding system began.  Is Princess just holding cabins now on many cruises and hoping to have people start bidding more because of scarcity?

No. Bid offering doesn't event start yet for Spring cruises. 

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

Come to think of it, I have a cruise booked and was not sent an email.  Maybe "they" know that I don't want an upgrade (as marked).  But I've heard others say they have received email even if marked no upgrade.   Hmmmmm curious.

Be sure your profile in Princess is set to receive promotional emails. Otherwise you won’t get the upgrade email. 

48 minutes ago, RKSue said:

Yes. And no. So when I go to the link it shows the upgrades they will allow me to bid on. None of the upgrades had the slide at the lowest price. Most were midpoint however you could slide it back as far as Princess would allow. For me to go to a Vista suite the starting point was around $680 pp.more. However the slide was at $1100 pp more. I just would have had to move it back to the lowest fair pp Princess would have accepted. On an interesting note I saw another Penthouse rear suite which originally had a lower price slide locked at a much higher price saying something about price accepted. The next day that category was back with a slide you could move lower. I’m guessing that Princess took that offer because it met their criteria for price increase. While it might seem high to some it was still below market value. 

Good description of the process thx. 

1 hour ago, PacnGoNow said:

So, you don’t see the minimum amounts to bid for the categories?

Not on the actual upgrade page if I remember correctly. $$ go up as you move the bidding slider.  

On 9/11/2022 at 7:05 AM, cruzsnooze said:

Has anyone gotten an offer to bid if they have a GTY ? 

Yes,  we have a gty. Booking on Discovery and still got the upgrade email. I’m confused by people saying they got an offer to upgrade for xx dollars. I hope they are not referring to the upgrade email with prices on it. Because those amounts are examples. When you click on the link you get the cabin categories bidding is being accepted and a meter rating your bid. 

11 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

 

There is always a chance of a cancellation or a no show, so they could be holding some approvals off until day of or perhaps even sail away.

 

We got my folks upgraded from a Club Mini to a Penthouse Suite for much less than we paid for the same thing, just had to check post-sailing (they really wanted to join us in the Concierge Lounge for drinks and snacks)

What do you mean by post sailing?

6 minutes ago, scooter6139 said:

 

There is always a chance of a cancellation or a no show, so they could be holding some approvals off until day of or perhaps even sail away.

 

We got my folks upgraded from a Club Mini to a Penthouse Suite for much less than we paid for the same thing, just had to check post-sailing (they really wanted to join us in the Concierge Lounge for drinks and snacks)

I was responding to the person who commented that Princess was just interested in how guests would bid, not a serious process. You have a valid point. 

22 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Maybe they are just throwing everything out there - even if really sold out - to see how guests react.  Just because bids are submitted doesn't mean Princess has to accept them and provide the upgrade.

I don’t know why Princess would waste their time like that. 

2 minutes ago, HBCcruiser said:

The only deal would be getting an upgraded cabin for less than it would cost to purchase outright. 

Very true. But some must have jumped on the upgrade offer on my cruise bc suites were available this morning and are shown sold out now. I hope those folks got a deal. 

2 minutes ago, Italy52 said:

I am wondering about this as well.  I always mark our cabin as "do not upgrade."  However, with this new process, I might be willing to change my mind. 

If you are willing to take a chance on cabin location as you do not get to choose a specific cabin. It’s like a gty. Personally, I don’t think any deals are happening. 

In their FAQ it. Doesn’t mention anything about bookings with do not upgrade set on them. It only says this:

1. How do I check whether my cruise is eligible for Princess Upgrade?
   You should receive an email invitation after all eligibility requirements are met and have opted-in to receive marketing emails from Princess. If you meet all the eligibility requirements but still cannot access the bidding site, please check with your travel advisor as a small number of travel agencies have elected to limit access partially or fully to this program.