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What was your upgrade offer and what did you bid

bklynfinest77

By bklynfinest77,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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OriginalFlamingo

OriginalFlamingo

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In expectation of the upgrade bid email coming out (we're just over 80 days out), I have been watching the availability in the categories I would be able to bid on. Most categories are showing 14 or 15 staterooms (on the Dawn) available. Does anyone know if the website limits the "recommended cabins" to 15 showing? If not, it is very coincidental that so many of the categories are showing 15 staterooms available...:confused:

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garycarla

garycarla

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So . . . here we are 1200 posts and 60 pages of bid information posted and shared.

 

Has there been any progress on figuring out the "secret" to getting that elusive upgrade yet?

 

Yep.

 

Bid $1 more than everyone else. LOL!

 

Since nobody here knows what the other people have already bid, or will bid tomorrow, there is no way to uncover the "secret". Even NCL does not know. I am sure with enough work, folks could begin to spot some trends. But even that is almost useless, since nobody knows what JohnnyNewPassenger will bid tomorrow.

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Steve007NY

Steve007NY

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Just got upgrade offers from our angle of the balcony on the Escape 9/16 sailing. It looks like most of the haven suites or not yet sold. For reef well, I had the fantasy of making $200 offers for the forward and after cabins, but it looks like there are minimum bid requirements. Did I miss a prior discussion of this part of the upgrade bid process? It would be nice to try out the Haven, but we've already got great cabins. Do they have reduced the minimum bids?

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Smacciemac

Smacciemac

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Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

We sail out on 10/5 and haven't heard anything on my bids hehe.. I booked my balcony that I wanted anyway.. was hoping for an off chance of a cheap Haven or a very cheap mini suite .. but either way I am happy with the room I booked. :)

 

 

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garycarla

garycarla

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We sail out on 10/5 and haven't heard anything on my bids hehe.. I booked my balcony that I wanted anyway.. was hoping for an off chance of a cheap Haven or a very cheap mini suite .. but either way I am happy with the room I booked. :)

 

 

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Most folks have answered that they tend to get replies within a few days of sailing. A few get an answer earlier, but would highly doubt many get it this far in advance.

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JMSPADES

JMSPADES

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Most folks have answered that they tend to get replies within a few days of sailing. A few get an answer earlier, but would highly doubt many get it this far in advance.

 

 

 

We sail this Saturday and I have not heard anything yet. Still have he upgrade banner on the website. This afternoon will be the 48 hour mark. I assume it will be a decline as that is what I have gathered from this forum. Oh well we are in a family haven so I'm sure it will be wonderful!

 

 

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vent1020

vent1020

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My dumbass just upgraded from a minisuite to a full suite. The difference in price was $1800 per person.(For my DW and I) I guess I should have just waited for the bid email and bid $500-$1000 more per person which probably would have been enough and saved some money. Oh well at least I know I am guaranteed in a suite for sure, which is what I wanted for my 50th birthday cruise. ;-)

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Steve007NY

Steve007NY

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Apologies for that last almost incomprehensible post! Should never post after the second martini! What it should have said:

 

Just got upgrade offers from our angled balcony on the Escape 9/16 sailing. It looks like most of the haven suites are not yet sold. For a brief moment , I had the fantasy of making $200 offers for the forward and aft Haven cabins, but it looks like there are minimum bid requirements. Did I miss a prior discussion of this part of the upgrade bid process? It would be nice to try out the Haven, but we've already got one of our favorite regular balcony cabins, have the dining plan and UBP.

Do they ever reduce the minimum bids closer to sailing?

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cyndepet

cyndepet

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Apologies for that last almost incomprehensible post! Should never post after the second martini! What it should have said:

 

Just got upgrade offers from our angled balcony on the Escape 9/16 sailing. It looks like most of the haven suites are not yet sold. For a brief moment , I had the fantasy of making $200 offers for the forward and aft Haven cabins, but it looks like there are minimum bid requirements. Did I miss a prior discussion of this part of the upgrade bid process? It would be nice to try out the Haven, but we've already got one of our favorite regular balcony cabins, have the dining plan and UBP.

Do they ever reduce the minimum bids closer to sailing?

 

It sounds like there have always been minimum bids, but they can vary from person to person. Your bid range for a suite category could be different than mine based upon your original booked cabin. I sail in 2 days, and the bid ranges haven't changed at all from when I first got them 80 or so days ago!

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garycarla

garycarla

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My dumbass just upgraded from a minisuite to a full suite. The difference in price was $1800 per person.(For my DW and I) I guess I should have just waited for the bid email and bid $500-$1000 more per person which probably would have been enough and saved some money....

 

Might now be dumb at all. If there are only 6 suites for example and 50 people bid, then 44 people do not get the upgrade. And, you of course do not know what others bid.

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garycarla

garycarla

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Apologies for that last almost incomprehensible post! Should never post after the second martini! What it should have said:

 

Just got upgrade offers ....For a brief moment , I had the fantasy of making $200 offers for the forward and aft Haven cabins, .....

Do they ever reduce the minimum bids closer to sailing?

 

Please think through this (with or without the martini). A minimum bid is only a bid. If the minimum bid is $300 and other people bid $1,000 - then guess who gets the upgrade?

 

Even if they reduced the minimum bid to $1, and someone bid $1,000, guess who gets the upgrade?

 

The minimum is there (my guess) is so that people do not waste time (passenger or NCL) with bids that are surely going nowhere. Remember, there is cost to them to process all those bids and customers with hopes of getting an upgrade.

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garycarla

garycarla

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It sounds like there have always been minimum bids, but they can vary from person to person. Your bid range for a suite category could be different than mine based upon your original booked cabin. I sail in 2 days, and the bid ranges haven't changed at all from when I first got them 80 or so days ago!

 

They change for other reasons. When I first did by bid it had a minimum at one level. When I looked to change my bid later, the minimum was higher. They probably realized the first offer was too low, or so many were already bidding, the lower number was stupid.

 

I really do not think they care what you already paid at all. Remember what their goal is here. Get the most money for each cabin they can get. Simple business.

 

See these two examples - assume all booked balcony and want to bid on MiniSuite.

 

Customer A: Paid $3,000 for their balcony and bid $300

 

Customer B: Paid $2,800 for their balcony and bid $250

 

Customer C: Paid $3,200 for the balcony and bid $280

 

Which one will get the most money to NCL? If it was your business,which would work best for your bank account? Keep in mind, what people already paid is a done deal. It is not changing no matter what happens. (hint: $300 is the higher number)

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Enavigo

Enavigo

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They change for other reasons. When I first did by bid it had a minimum at one level. When I looked to change my bid later, the minimum was higher. They probably realized the first offer was too low, or so many were already bidding, the lower number was stupid.

 

 

 

I really do not think they care what you already paid at all. Remember what their goal is here. Get the most money for each cabin they can get. Simple business.

 

 

 

See these two examples - assume all booked balcony and want to bid on MiniSuite.

 

 

 

Customer A: Paid $3,000 for their balcony and bid $300

 

 

 

Customer B: Paid $2,800 for their balcony and bid $250

 

 

 

Customer C: Paid $3,200 for the balcony and bid $280

 

 

 

Which one will get the most money to NCL? If it was your business,which would work best for your bank account? Keep in mind, what people already paid is a done deal. It is not changing no matter what happens. (hint: $300 is the higher number)

 

 

 

I did some research on this for another thread the other day and what I found was that it is not nearly as simple as your are making it seem. It is actually a very complex algorithm that calculates who gets the offer to bid and what their unique bid range is. I was able review the terms and condition of the program, some promotional materials sent by NCL to TAs as well as several interviews/articles directly from NCL personnel.

 

It is pretty clear that the 2 items weighed most heavily by the algorithm are: demand in your current category (measured by direct cabin sales and GTY sales) and the price you have already paid for your cabin. You may think that makes no sense, but it makes 100% sense if you consider the only number that really matters here .... revenue yield. NCL has a target revenue point for each cabin category that they are trying to hit. When the demand to replace your existing cabin is there (such that they will NOT lose the yield on that cabin) and your bid, taken together with your existing expenditure, fits within their revenue yield for the upgraded cabin they will accept your bid.

 

So, assuming all other factors are equal in the above hypo, it is more likely that customer C would have their bid accepted as the total revenue yield on that passenger is higher.

 

 

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