What was your upgrade offer and what did you bid

[FredZiffle]

It is 24 days before my cruise -- and none of use received an email -- is it possible? or am I still too early?

 

I am doubtful I will receive the email since I booked through Costco but the other people in my group should (they did not)...

From what I had read, the email should have arrived 80 days out. Sure enough, mine came exactly 80 days before our cruise. If you didn't receive one, and there's no bidding banner when you log in to MyNCL, it's pretty clear that Costco is not a participating TA.

[garycarla]

From what I had read, the email should have arrived 80 days out. Sure enough, mine came exactly 80 days before our cruise. If you didn't receive one, and there's no bidding banner when you log in to MyNCL, it's pretty clear that Costco is not a participating TA.

 

Or they have limited to zero upgrade offers. I never got an email, but it was available at MyNCL.

[Lou33]

I spoke to my TA about the new bid for an upgrade program and he his not happy about it, for the following reasons:

 

Everybody gets the same offer to upgrade, even if the cruise is completely sold out.

 

Nobody will receive a confirmation that their bid is accepted until days before the cruise. This basically leaves people hanging in the mean time.

 

People may bid months in advance. And when they don't get a reply, they keep upping their bid with the hopes that it will be accepted. But it doesn't matter since in his experience, nobody is upgraded until the final week anyway. But I suppose it's possible if you make the maximum bid that NCL will lock you in before you can change your mind. If you bid is accepted early, you almost certainly bid too much.

 

NCL uses a computer program to work out whatever combination maximizes profits.

 

When your bid is accepted, you take the location that you are assigned, and you have no recourse.

 

Since there are many people willing to pay extra, the free upgrades will be a thing of the past.

 

He's tired of his clients calling him to ask why it's taking so long for their bid to be accepted.

Edited August 3, 2017 by Lou33

[deliver42]

If the TA is tired of clients calling him, regardless of the reason, perhaps he should rethink his line of work.

[onlineangel]

But I suppose it's possible if you make the maximum bid that NCL will lock you in before you can change your mind. If you bid is accepted early, you almost certainly bid too much.

I've seen a few people note their bids were accepted weeks before the departure date so I'm sure this happens. I'm not sure it necessarily needs to be the "maximum" bid, just some value that is likely equal to or greater than the difference between the current value of the cabin they are currently in (not necessarily what they paid) and the one they are bidding on. That's just my assumption, however.

And that makes sense since it really is just a program to maximize profit.

[zlacruising]

I'm on your same cruise and even though I have not bid on anything, the 5 bid offers are still being offered to me. I would think that they have not settled all bids yet.

 

Also, the rooms "available" keeps changing from day to day. Yesterday only guaranteed inside cabins were offered; today, balconies were offered. Two days ago, cruise was totally booked. :confused:

 

Don

I know. I was following that. At one point alk balconies were sold out...crazy!!

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Forums mobile app

[Lou33]

If the TA is tired of clients calling him, regardless of the reason, perhaps he should rethink his line of work.

 

My TA is excellent, and he continues to surprise me with how he is willing to go out of his way to help his clients. But he is tired of seeing his clients being disappointed by the new system. He would prefer to not continually take questions about things that he can't control, and instead use that time to help clients contact the cruise line and try to negotiate an upgrade on the spot, with a known price and cabin location. In the past, he has found outstanding upgrades for very minimal cost in the last weeks before our cruises. He may see the new system as another reason why TA's may not be as valuable or useful. And of course, he wouldn't be happy about that.

[Lou33]

This thread could be most helpful if people are willing to post details of their winning bids. Similar to the sites that help you with Priceline. As the title says, "What was your upgrade offer and what did you bid?" Help others get a good idea what to bid so that they don't over bid. A post that says Yippee! I got a Haven Suite! is nice but not necessarily helpful. Any posting from the community is nice, I'm just trying to encourage and thank people who post details.:cool:

Edited August 3, 2017 by Lou33

[garycarla]

Agree with this 100%. Why is this so difficult?

 

And why do people ask a question that was already answered just a few posts back?

 

 

This thread could be most helpful if people are willing to post details of their winning bids. Similar to the sites that help you with Priceline. As the title says, "What was your upgrade offer and what did you bid?" Help others get a good idea what to bid so that they don't over bid. A post that says Yippee! I got a Haven Suite! is nice but not necessarily helpful. Any posting from the community is nice, I'm just trying to encourage and thank people who post details.:cool:

[Tprime]

Well it might make sense to share bid amounts after acceptance,but why would I want to post my bid amount before it's accepted and take a chance of someone else on my sailing seeing it and simply bidding slightly higher than me?

 

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[garycarla]

Well it might make sense to share bid amounts after acceptance,but why would I want to post my bid amount before it's accepted and take a chance of someone else on my sailing seeing it and simply bidding slightly higher than me?

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

 

Valid point.

 

BUT, posting what was bid and not final is a totally worthless post. It means nothing since it may or may NOT be a winner.

 

I think a few posters were only asking folks to post their winning bids and some detail.

[QJKM]

Well it might make sense to share bid amounts after acceptance,but why would I want to post my bid amount before it's accepted and take a chance of someone else on my sailing seeing it and simply bidding slightly higher than me?

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

 

^^EXACTLY.

 

And I'm sure once a thread gets as long as this, the people who have the time to read back is a short list, so they ask repeat questions. I do read the whole thread, and yes, it's annoying to see the same questions, but I also understand why it happens.

[txclctr]

Absolutely not true - i received my upgrade confirmation 3 weeks prior to my cruise last month.

I spoke to my TA about the new bid for an upgrade program and he his not happy about it, for the following reasons:

 

Everybody gets the same offer to upgrade, even if the cruise is completely sold out.

 

Nobody will receive a confirmation that their bid is accepted until days before the cruise. This basically leaves people hanging in the mean time.

 

People may bid months in advance. And when they don't get a reply, they keep upping their bid with the hopes that it will be accepted. But it doesn't matter since in his experience, nobody is upgraded until the final week anyway. But I suppose it's possible if you make the maximum bid that NCL will lock you in before you can change your mind. If you bid is accepted early, you almost certainly bid too much.

 

NCL uses a computer program to work out whatever combination maximizes profits.

 

When your bid is accepted, you take the location that you are assigned, and you have no recourse.

 

Since there are many people willing to pay extra, the free upgrades will be a thing of the past.

 

He's tired of his clients calling him to ask why it's taking so long for their bid to be accepted.

[Laszlo]

I spoke to my TA about the new bid for an upgrade program and he his not happy about it, for the following reasons:

 

Everybody gets the same offer to upgrade, even if the cruise is completely sold out.

 

Nobody will receive a confirmation that their bid is accepted until days before the cruise. This basically leaves people hanging in the mean time.

 

People may bid months in advance. And when they don't get a reply, they keep upping their bid with the hopes that it will be accepted. But it doesn't matter since in his experience, nobody is upgraded until the final week anyway. But I suppose it's possible if you make the maximum bid that NCL will lock you in before you can change your mind. If you bid is accepted early, you almost certainly bid too much.

 

 

How can there be bidding if the cruise is sold out? If you bid too much thats your fault, I know exactly what the cost are for my current cabin and I'll know the cost of cabins I'll be bidding on. Currently their is a $7500 price different between our current cabin and the next level up with is a Haven Spa Balcony

[Lou33]

Absolutely not true - i received my upgrade confirmation 3 weeks prior to my cruise last month.

 

Would you share the details of your offer and the amount of your winning bid? It may help others with their bids.:)

 

How can there be bidding if the cruise is sold out?

 

My TA says that the same offers are sent to everybody, even if the cruise is sold out. There is nothing in the system to stop a person from bidding if no cabins are available. But of course it would be impossible to "win" the bid. And that's one of the problems with this new upgrade system. People can get their hopes up for nothing. I suppose a few people may cancel their cruise, and that may open a few cabins.

[AndyCapn]

Would you share the details of your offer and the amount of your winning bid? It may help others with their bids.:)

 

My TA says that the same offers are sent to everybody, even if the cruise is sold out. There is nothing in the system to stop a person from bidding if no cabins are available. But of course it would be impossible to "win" the bid. And that's one of the problems with this new upgrade system. People can get their hopes up for nothing. I suppose a few people may cancel their cruise, and that may open a few cabins.

 

I imagine that happens with every cruise, and it must be easier for NCL to sell a cheap cabin at the last minute than a more expensive one. So they maximize the money by bumping up the highest bidders and freeing up cheaper rooms for those last-minute bargain hunters.

[jchristi]

So happy to report that we received confirmation that our bid was accepted today! We are on the Aug 27 Epic Med cruise. Originally booked an inside. Bid $150 pp for a balcony and $190 for a mini suite. Both were "poor" bids. We were upgraded to a family balcony room on deck 14. We are under the buffet restaurant which is a little concerning but we are usually early risers anyway. We have NEVER cruised in a balcony so we are super excited!

[shamr0ck]

We are on the Sun sailing out of Vancouver on the 14th. Have had a bid in for a penthouse (from aft balcony) since the offers came out. I suspect the cruise is sold out, since it doesn't appear in the list when I do a search for Alaska in August, so I don't expect to get upgraded. Oh, well. :D

[smm0218]

shamr0ck

 

Our cruise disappeared from list a couple days ago also but right before it was gone it still showed some open balconies, so maybe it's just a timing issue. Do you still get the upgrade banner when you log in?

[dexddd]

We are on the Sun sailing out of Vancouver on the 14th. Have had a bid in for a penthouse (from aft balcony) since the offers came out. I suspect the cruise is sold out, since it doesn't appear in the list when I do a search for Alaska in August, so I don't expect to get upgraded. Oh, well. :D

 

The aft suites on the Sun (as well as the mini suites) are quite nice so they are probably all booked up.

[garycarla]

shamr0ck

 

Our cruise disappeared from list a couple days ago also but right before it was gone it still showed some open balconies, so maybe it's just a timing issue. Do you still get the upgrade banner when you log in?

 

Some others have mentioned that a cruise often will show sold out around a week before sailing. It appears they pull all inventory so they can do some moves, adjustments, etc and then put back if they still have cabins. Guessing maybe this leads to locking up and upgrade bids as well?

[shamr0ck]

The aft suites on the Sun (as well as the mini suites) are quite nice so they are probably all booked up.

 

We are in a mini suite (aft) currently. Our bid options were for penthouse (forward and aft) and owner's suite. Leaving next week, still getting the banner ad, no acceptance or denial thus far.

[shamr0ck]

shamr0ck

 

Our cruise disappeared from list a couple days ago also but right before it was gone it still showed some open balconies, so maybe it's just a timing issue. Do you still get the upgrade banner when you log in?

 

Yes, it still prompts us to bid, even though we have bids in for all three categories we were offered.

[amygutman]

Following...

Put in a bid on behalf of my parents currently booked on the Sept 2nd Gem to Canada. Put in "poor" bid from mini-suite to suite. They are happy either way, but I thought it would be a nice perk for them.

I have to say, although the "thrill of the hunt" is ok, I prefer the older system of getting a call and being offered an upgrade bid. Take it, don't take it...and move on. Perhaps the best advice is never book a room you wouldn't be happy in and never count on an upgrade. That way if you get a higher category room - good for you! If you don't - good for you...you are still on vacation!

Amy

[smm0218]

Leaving Sunday, still nothing.