romalley99

5 hours ago, xcell said:

I'm curious. since the min bids for Havens will depend on your starting cabins, do they upgrade higher level cabins first (i.e H8 to H4 vs minisuite to H4) or based on overall bid.

 

This bidding system is confusing.  I liked the old method of calling in and asking....lol.

 

Side question: Ronmalley99 -- are those bids in USD? The ones I posted before were in CDN.

Yes -- USD 

Norwegian Bliss 

December 28, 2019 - January 5, 2020

80 days out. Received Upgrade Advantage Email.  

My Current Cabin: Haven Connecting Stateroom (H8) Deck 11

Bidding Minimums: 

H8-H5 = $200pp - $750pp

H8-H6 = $300pp - $800pp

H8-H4 = $500pp - $1500pp

H8=H2 = $750pp - $2000pp 

Right now all is showing sold out in the Haven, and we are under final payment, so it's likely it is indeed sold out. I grabbed the last H8 a few weeks ago, and since then Sold Out has been showing. Not going to stop me from bidding to try and get on 17 or 18, though. I know there are cancellations etc. Happened to me first hand a few weeks ago when it showed sold out, then my upgrade came through. 

If anyone else is sailing, good luck! 🙂 

5 hours ago, xcell said:

 

Last I checked, there are still some Haven rooms available for a 2 person occupancy

 

H4 -- 2

H5 -- 7

H6 -- 1

H9 -- 1

 

For 4 people -- only the H4 (2) and H6 (1) are available.

 

 

For New Year's? I am on the sailing after you. Right now, it's all sold out. I grabbed the last H8 a few weeks ago. 

7 hours ago, xcell said:

Xmas Bliss Cruise -- minisuite to (min bids pp)

- H2: $2670

- H4: $1670

- H6: $1005

- H8: $535

- H7: $535

- Spa MiniSuite: $105

 

Not sure if I want to bid or not, curious if anyone in a Balcony (not minisuite) has similar options...

I am on the following cruise of the Bliss departing on 12/28 in an H8 which is the connecting Forward Facing. I expect it to be similar in terms of minimum bids. Right now, Haven is completely sold out, but I still plan to bid to possibly get into the H5. I was too late and could only get the H8 as everything else was completely gone (really shocks me). 

Rob

Hello anyone! Anyone cruising on the Escape December 14th? I just snagged an H5 from my Ocean View for $800, less than what I would bid. 

Only a couple rooms left in each category!  

On the Escape now, and have been the past few weeks. I will be here next week as well (18th), and just got an email that my bid from my current H5 to the H3 Owners Suite was accepted. Given that this sailing has been off the website for a while, everyone thought it was sold out. I was pleasantly surprised when I got this email. $810pp 

3 hours ago, Anonymoussol said:

I did book through CAS. I was comped an inside room. I have heard it is harder to get a upgrade when you book with a comp. but thats just a rumor I think. Will let you know for sure. 

I have yet to lose a bid, and I booked through CAS most of the time. That doesn't decrease your chances just like booking a sailaway category do not decrease your chances. 👍

2 hours ago, Bluehens12 said:

I am booked on the Escape for August 11th in an inside room (first cruise)! We are hoping to go from inside to a Spa Balcony.

 

Anyone been in this position and have a suggestion for how much we should bid? We paid $699/pp for our inside room and currently are bidding $200/pp but are worried that it won’t be enough. 

Being that you are coming from an Inside Cabin,I would maybe think of going just a little higher. Spa Passes alone go for around $200pp, and then the balcony room comes out to little more. But that's just my logic. Food for thought. I've seen minimums win, so keep that hope! See you onboard August 11! 

Robbie

12 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

Robbie,

we just did the same for the cruise on the 11th!   The drop this past week made it no longer worth the “gamble” of the bidding process.  We moved from our original B9 to an H5 for just a bit more than what we had been bidding.  

It’s our first NCL cruise and we can’t wait!

looking forward to meeting everyone at the Meet & Greet!

For those of you bidding on a spa balcony, cabin 15156 should be open for bidding 😀

Jon & Carolyn

 

Looking forward to meeting you next month! 

Robbie

Hi all, 

I thought I would pop in and share what I did this week, as it may benefit some folks in here. I will be on the Escape the entire month of August, so I'm very familiar with the past and most recent prices for next month on Escape.

This week, the prices dropped to record lows, for Haven to Bermuda, at least. This has been the lowest I've ever seen retail Haven Prices in MANY years. Anyway..... 

For those sailing next month on the Escape, CHECK the prices. You may have a bid in higher than what it is retail for the upgrade. 

I paid under $1000 total per week, all from MA to H5. (Example, August 11th cruise I paid $275pp (first and second only).... CRAZY low for MA to H5)! And my bids were $900-$1000 x 2 PER week. So by going outright, I saved a HUGE amount (and got the additional perks 😉  and OBC)! 

Hope some will find this helpful! 

Robbie 

On 7/19/2019 at 4:07 PM, drvmywifecrzy said:

Any August Escape sailors get their Haven bid accepted this week?

I'm on for the entire month and just upgraded to the same room for all legs. I'd look at the website and check prices, as many have come down to less than bids. I upgraded to the H5 for $275pp for Aug 11 leg from an MA MiniSuite. 

Robbie

6 hours ago, GMS1987 said:

How can you tell that the balcony's are full? I haven't been able to figure out how to see what rooms are still available etc.

If you search your sailing on the NCL, it will show you whats still available. 

Robbie

Norwegian Dawn 

July 13th, 2019 

7-Day Bahamas and Florida from New York 

Original Cabin: IA - Interior 

Minimum Bid to an Ocean View: $25pp

Minimum Bid  to a Balcony: $50pp

I bid $50pp to Ocean View and $145pp to Balcony. 

Got notified today I won the Ocean View, $100 total. Assigned a OB category on deck 5. Overall, I am happy, BUT, I was hoping for the Balcony. I had only a balcony bid up until last week when I noticed the Balconies were sold out, then I put in the OV bid just to get out of the interior. Glad it worked out in some form. Even though it was 48 hours before. 

Robbie

Anyone cruising on the Norwegian Dawn this weekend, 7/13, hear anything on bids yet? 

Anyone cruising on Norwegian Dawn 7/13? Have you heard anything on your bis if so? 

Robbie

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

The Dawn is a small ship and Boston is a popular port to sail out of. I would keep a close eye on inventory and pricing. I sailed on the Gem our of NYC and ended up bidding $350 pp to go from an inside to a balcony last June. May have overpaid a bit, but the day we won our bid (exactly two days before sailing) the ship was down to only 10 balconies across all balcony categories, so I knew we had to bid high. Also, it was still about $250 per person cheaper than if we had booked a balcony outright.

My cruise is from NYC. To Bahamas and Florida, so I'm thinking it's less popular. Last July I bid $1450 pp for Mini Suite to Owners Suite, which i thought was cheap, so I figured I could do the same from Interior to Balcony. What do you think? On the other hand, thank you very much for your input! 

Hey all! 

I have two things I'd like to say. 

First being, I am currently booked in an H5 on the Joy for June 1st. I'm just over 30 days at the moment. I put a bid in for the H2 Deluxe Owners Suite, $800 pp. I'm super happy with my room now, so I lowballed it. IF I win, it's an added bonus i would be through the roof about! I will keep everyone posted... Now, onto the other thing... 

Secondly, I have the Norwegian Dawn booked for July 13th, Interior room. I REALLY want a Balcony, but don't want to overpay. I need some help. i have a current bid of $100 pp in for the Balcony from the Interior. Can everyone who has won a balcony before tell me what they bid around? Yes, I know it varies, and yes I know it's never the same, and yes, I know it can be random, but i'd like just a ballpark area from those who have bid on balconies and won. 

Thanks so much! 

Robbie 

On 3/5/2019 at 7:29 PM, Budget Queen said:

You are missing a very vital point. You do NOT know,  how much this poster paid.   Bids acceptance,  is going to based on the Total,   cruise price.     It's brilliant marketing,   because,  people focus on the bid amount.   Completely forgetting to add what they already paid.  

She did mention what she paid, yes. My comment was based off of that. To get into the amount already paid, technically, the cabin I originally had was a higher category therefore I'm positive I paid more to begin with. Not at all complaining, and I'm currently enjoying my cruise as I type this, but thought I'd give my two cents. 

9 minutes ago, Bkhans said:

Success with 3-3-19 Escape bid.  We (shockingly) went from a Haven Spa Suite to a Deluxe Owners Suite.  Bid was $760/person and the edocs I just downloaded confirm the new cabin.  Two strange things about this: 

 

1.  The category was sold out when I booked the trip last December and still showed up as sold out when I placed my bid last week.

 

2.  The minimum bid dropped from an original $1,500 (back in December) to $750 (last week).  We weren't considering upgrading, but figured for a total of $1,520, we would love spending the week in the large cabin.  With the Deluxe Owners being sold out anyway, it felt like a trivial, time-waster exercise to even place a bid.  

 

One question: Will we loose our thermal suite access due to the switch?  I thought you kept all the benefits of your original booking, however,  we're no longer in a spa suite.  I assume access doesn't transition over to the upgraded, non-spa cabin. 

So happy for you! I am on the same sailing, so look forward to seeing you onboard!

I went from the Haven Courtyard Penthouse to Haven 2 bedroom Family Villa, still happy, although, I bid $1000 p/p for Deluxe Owners Suite even though it said sold out! I'm surprised a lower bid won!! 

This just goes to show how random it is! CONGRATULATIONS! VERY happy for you! Enjoy that stunning room, I LOVE it!  

Sailing on Escape this Sunday, March 3. Was notified my bid was successful. 

Original Cabin: H5 Haven Courtyard Penthouse

Upgraded to: H4 Haven 2 Bedroom Family Villa

Cost pp: $750pp (Minimum $500pp)

3 hours ago, rabidstoat said:

Summary: Bid $1250x2 moving from a balcony to an H7 forward-facing penthouse on a 7-day cruise on NCL Breakaway out of New Orleans and won.

 

NCL Breakaway 7 days out of New Orleans. I was in a very cheap sailaway balcony ($900 solo rate, usually we get charged double for anything but studios). Really wanted Haven to splurge but they were sold out. Then four days before the cruise I checked prices on the site and saw there was a forward-facing penthouse (H7) available for about $6000 for the cabin. I really wanted it so I bid $2500 ($1250 x 2) and got it within a few hours of bidding! 

 

I suspect I could've gotten it cheaper but I'll never know. So I paid $3400 instead of $6000, and missed out on the perks (like drink package and excursion credit, I still get the butler and haven access and other stuff). But I always decline the drink package as I don't drink and the mandatory gratuities are like $150, and I don't do NCL shore excursions so I wouldn't use that. So I missed out on $150 of internet and $100 of dining.

 

Probably the cheapest I'll ever see a Haven!

Wow, within a few hours of bidding? When is your sailing? 

Congrats! 

7 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

If your bid is declined do they still give you time to bid on a lower category if you had not yet? Let’s say you bid from inside to balcony and it gets declined. Is there still time to bid from inside to ocean view? 

No, they ONLY decline 2 days out. You will never get a denial letter before 48 hours. By that point, the bidding game is over. 

2 hours ago, ggooglyboogly said:

I just found out this morning that I won my bid!  

 

Final bid was $1300pp for an H4!

 

Good thing I hadn't printed my cruise docs / luggage tags yet!  

Nice! Congrats! Which ship and date?

I am sailing on the Escape March 3. I just sailed on the Escape December 28th. I have a pretty good track record with the bidding system. I've won many many times, but I have also had my share of losses. I've gone from Balcony to H5, Balcony to Owners Suite H3, Balcony to 2 Bedroom H4 and Balcony to Deluxe Owners Suite H2. All for mostly minimum bids, or close to it, and a party of 3. 

My most recent cruise, December 28th 2018 on Escape, I was in an H5. I bid minimal (or close to it) on H4 and got it, but lost my Maximum H3 an H2 Bid, which I thought was crazy as there was 2 H3's left and 3 H2's left. 

Anyway, I am currently in an H5 for my cruise on March 3rd in 2 weeks, and was not going to bid. Instead, I wanted to have some fun so I put 3 minimum bids on for the H4, H3 and H2. Minimum for H4 was $500pp, Minimum for H3 and H2 is $750pp. There are 11 H4's left, and 1 H3 left... according to the website, no More H2's. 

I will keep everyone updated regarding this. I mostly did it for statistical purposes. If I win, awesome, but if not, that's ok as I wasn't going to bid at all. We shall see! 

Robbie 

7 minutes ago, xcell said:

I f all the rooms are sold out (more or less) why is the upgrade banner still up?

Nobody gets declined until 48 hours prior to sail.