What was your upgrade offer and what did you bid

[garycarla]

To add to this I spoke with my TA and the customer manger late this afternoon. In a nutshell NCL is saying we saved enough money and we are not allowed to bid......end of story. If we want to pay X amount of dollars to bring our rate up to the NCL price they will let us bid:'). TA says this is not over, their is nothing written in the NCL policy. I was the second person to call today about this.

 

I could understand if they just do not want to mess with the group pricing folks for various reasons, some of which are unknown to us. In particular, it is hard to sometimes even nail down what they paid, or some other factors are tied to their actual booking record that would be difficult within the system.

 

As the end of the day, with ALL other factors equal such as cabin types, openings, etc..... If passenger A will give NCL $300 and passenger B will give NCL $350.... common financial sense says to take the $350.

 

Again, some unusual things often happen behind the scenes with group bookings.

 

As to written in the policy - NCL can do whatever they damn well want.

[MikeBTN]

To add to this I spoke with my TA and the customer manger late this afternoon. In a nutshell NCL is saying we saved enough money and we are not allowed to bid......end of story. If we want to pay X amount of dollars to bring our rate up to the NCL price they will let us bid:'). TA says this is not over, their is nothing written in the NCL policy. I was the second person to call today about this.

 

There's no policy saying that can't do this either. Ultimately NCL gets to decide who gets to bid on upgrades. Sorry to hear for you. Best of luck!

[garycarla]

....From the very first email I had asked if they are in the bidding system and they said yes. I guess I also should have asked if their were any restrictions:rolleyes:

...One way or another I'll get to the bottom of it. I'll be talking to a manager or two from the TA later today.......you might even hear me yelling at them:') Someone along the way screwed up

....TA says this is not over, their is nothing written in the NCL policy. I was the second person to call today about this.

 

 

Are we missing something here?

 

 

Even for those that get the upgrade email:

 

1 - You might not bid enough. Others can bid higher.

2 - There might only be a few rooms available, or maybe even none.

3 - Can you find anything anywhere that says you are "entitled" to bid?

4 - Most people that bid do NOT get an upgrade. (my guess, but posts here and common sense indicate that)

 

What has NCL done wrong? Did you not get what they promised you?

[MikeBTN]

I can't prove my theory, but I don't think all winning bids are based solely on the highest dollar amount. I do agree that it makes the most logical sense, however, I believe other factors are taken into consideration as well. Maybe some bids are just picked at random like the first time cruiser. The system may be computer generated but my guess is there is a human element factored into the final decision.

 

It's all about increasing revenue per sailing, so more than just bid amount will factor in - inventory, what they can sell the bidder's current stateroom for, etc. This is all managed by a third party company; without knowing what information NCL passes on to them and what parameters NCL has set, none of us will ever know what the algorithm really is. I would assume bid amount is the biggest factor, but there are definitely others at play.

[yummysbakery]

To add to this I spoke with my TA and the customer manger late this afternoon. In a nutshell NCL is saying we saved enough money and we are not allowed to bid......end of story. If we want to pay X amount of dollars to bring our rate up to the NCL price they will let us bid:'). TA says this is not over, their is nothing written in the NCL policy. I was the second person to call today about this.

I too am in the same boat on an upcoming jade cruise. My ta participates I know because I bid on another cruise I have a few weeks earlier. Ncl informed me and alas it is in their terms and conditions of the bidding program they reserve the right not to offer the availability to bid at their discretion....not happy about it but there is nothing that can be done as far as I know.

 

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[Laszlo]

Ncl informed me and alas it is in their terms and conditions of the bidding program they reserve the right not to offer the availability to bid at their discretion...

 

Interesting its in the terms and conditions. All NCL could tell me was we were paying a cheap enough price, I talked to three people at NCL and asked each one could they tell me where this info is, Not one had a clue and one person was a manager. My TA knew nothing about this at all, today they received two complaints. Its NCL rules........they will let me bid it I pay and additional $800 which would bring it up to the current NCL pricing which the TA calls BS. No thanks, I'll save my 800

[yummysbakery]

Interesting its in the terms and conditions. All NCL could tell me was we were paying a cheap enough price, I talked to three people at NCL and asked each one could they tell me where this info is, Not one had a clue and one person was a manager. My TA knew nothing about this at all, today they received two complaints. Its NCL rules........they will let me bid it I pay and additional $800 which would bring it up to the current NCL pricing which the TA calls BS. No thanks, I'll save my 800

Look at #3...

Terms and Conditions") apply to all offers (each an “Offer” or a “Bid”) made by you (“Guest”, “you”, “passenger”) to NCL Corporation Ltd. (“Norwegian Cruise Line”, “we”, “us”) for an opportunity to upgrade from the class of service that was originally purchased for travel with Norwegian Cruise Line to a higher class of service (“Upgrade”). This Upgrade program gives you a chance to place an Offer on an opportunity to upgrade from the class of service already purchased. Your Offer is not final and binding unless and until Norwegian Cruise Line officially accepts it.

 

2.*You must be at least twenty one (21) years of age and able to enter into binding contracts. You shall be deemed to have the authority to act on behalf of and to bind the person or persons named or included on the Offer to these Terms and Conditions. Upgrade Offers are only valid for cabins that have already been purchased, either by you or someone on whose behalf you are bidding for the Upgrade.

 

3.*First, as a prerequisite to the ability to make an Offer, you must receive an invitation (“Invitation”) from Norwegian Cruise Line. Sending an Invitation to anyone and at any time is entirely within Norwegian Cruise Line’s sole discretion.

 

4.*Upon receipt of an Invitation, you may submit a Bid on up to two categories higher than your current class of service category for the original itinerary booked.

 

5.*Norwegian Cruise Line may accept your Bid at any time before the sail date. In the event Norwegian Cruise Line accepts your Offer, your credit card will be charged the full amount immediately upon acceptance. The total amount that you must pay to us will be disclosed to you prior to your submission of your Offer. The charge on your credit card may appear in the name of “NCL Reservations USD” / “NCL Reservations XX (currency)” / “Norwegian Cruise Line”. You agree that you cannot challenge or dispute a charge because the name appearing on the credit card statement is “NCL Reservations USD” / “NCL Reservations XX (currency)” / “Norwegian Cruise Line”.

 

6.*Once your Bid is accepted, the upgrade amount paid is final and non-refundable.

 

7.*If your Bid is not accepted, you will travel in the category you originally purchased.

 

8.*If you make a change to your itinerary after your Bid has been accepted, your Bid will be cancelled, will not be transferred to your new itinerary and the upgrade amount paid is non-refundable.

 

9.*If your reservation includes multiple passengers (between 2 and 9 passengers), the purchase price you accept will be per passenger but only for the first and second passenger on the reservation.

 

10.*If your reservation includes only one person, the guest will be charged based on double occupancy.

 

11.*Norwegian Cruise Line reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to decide whether or not to accept your Offer, and it makes no representation that any Guest will be upgraded regardless of whether or not cabins are available in the category for which an Offer is being made.

 

12.*If you purchase an Upgrade, the conditions of your original cruise reservation will remain in effect following the Upgrade. This includes conditions pertaining to cancellation, penalties, and changes.

 

13.*The Upgrade does not include any additional promotions.

 

14.*If you purchase an Upgrade, Norwegian Cruise Line cannot guarantee a specific cabin number assignment within the upgraded category. Your cabin number will depend on space availability.

 

15.*If you are currently in a ‘Spa’ cabin and submit an Offer to upgrade to a higher category, we cannot guarantee that you will be assigned to another ‘Spa’ cabin within the upgraded category. If your Offer is accepted and you do not get assigned to another ‘Spa’ cabin, you will be forfeiting the complimentary access to the Spa.

 

16.*You may revise or cancel your Offer through the hyperlink on the offer email before 48 hours of your departure, provided that your Offer has not already been accepted by Norwegian Cruise Line, and provided that your credit card has not been charged. However, if your Offer is accepted before you cancel or amend your Offer, you are legally bound to complete payment for the price stated in your original Offer.

 

17.*If you have purchased Norwegian Cruise Line’s Travel Protection on your current booking, you will be automatically charged to cover the Upgrade cost. For more information please visit*http://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/booksafe#pricing

 

18.*Depending on the product and destination being visited, a General Excise Tax may be applicable to the upgrade charges, if the upgrade is awarded. Taxes for applicable sailings will be charged automatically once the payment for the upgrade is taken.

 

19.*By submitting an offer to Upgrade, the passenger accepts all terms and conditions of the Upgrade Program.

 

20.*Norwegian Cruise Line reserves the right to modify and otherwise change these Terms and Conditions at its own discretion. Except as provided for in the immediately preceding sentence, no amendment, modification or waiver to these Terms and Conditions shall be binding on Norwegian Cruise Line unless made in writing and signed by an authorized officer of Norwegian Cruise Line.

 

 

*

 

 

 

 

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[peg013]

To add to this I spoke with my TA and the customer manger late this afternoon. In a nutshell NCL is saying we saved enough money and we are not allowed to bid......end of story. If we want to pay X amount of dollars to bring our rate up to the NCL price they will let us bid:'). TA says this is not over, their is nothing written in the NCL policy. I was the second person to call today about this.

I could very well be the first one that called then. I am beyond upset both that NCL said we are excluded from even being considered to receive an Upgrade Advantage Program email and my TA for not knowing why after I asked him back on August 22, 2017 to make sure we would be eligible to at least be considered when we got passed over for our other two cruises this year. He says he doesn't know why and actually offered to cancel my cruises rather than find out what is going on. One is fully paid and we leave in a little over 60 days!!!!I He better not cancel it! I have booked at least 21 or more cruises with this same TA and am not happy. It will be interesting to see what he comes back with for an excuse this time. First cruise the TA said it was a NCL glitch. The second time they said NCL said there was no where for me to upgrade to even though there were several H4/Haven 2 bedrooms and a GV available above our 2 bedroom suite. I know there is no guarantee we will even get the upgrade if we bid but it burns me up to be told we are not eligible without a reasonable answer why.

[MikeBTN]

I could very well be the first one that called then. I am beyond upset both that NCL said we are excluded from even being considered to receive an Upgrade Advantage Program email and my TA for not knowing why after I asked him back on August 22, 2017 to make sure we would be eligible to at least be considered when we got passed over for our other two cruises this year. He says he doesn't know why and actually offered to cancel my cruises rather than find out what is going on. One is fully paid and we leave in a little over 60 days!!!!I He better not cancel it! I have booked at least 21 or more cruises with this same TA and am not happy. It will be interesting to see what he comes back with for an excuse this time. First cruise the TA said it was a NCL glitch. The second time they said NCL said there was no where for me to upgrade to even though there were several H4/Haven 2 bedrooms and a GV available above our 2 bedroom suite. I know there is no guarantee we will even get the upgrade if we bid but it burns me up to be told we are not eligible without a reasonable answer why.

 

I think what you're missing is that not everyone receives an offer to bid. Unless your TA's firm has opted out (and it sounds like they have not), then it is completely up to NCL as to whether or not you receive the opportunity to bid. You can be mad all you want, but it's NCL's call and no-one else's. You're not due any answer as to why, its just what they decided. I know you want the opportunity to bid, bit its out of your TA's control.

 

From the Terms & Conditions:

 

"3.First, as a prerequisite to the ability to make an Offer, you must receive an invitation (“Invitation”) from Norwegian Cruise Line. Sending an Invitation to anyone and at any time is entirely within Norwegian Cruise Line’s sole discretion."

[peg013]

I think what you're missing is that not everyone receives an offer to bid. Unless your TA's firm has opted out (and it sounds like they have not), then it is completely up to NCL as to whether or not you receive the opportunity to bid. You can be mad all you want, but it's NCL's call and no-one else's.

What you are missing is that while not everyone gets the email to bid or even wins their bid when they do bid.....we should be told if we will not be eligible from the very beginning. And NCL should not be saying that the TA has to tell me why we are not eligible if it was NCL's choice. It's obvious NCL can see on our reservation what the reason is but the TA has to actually figure it out so he can tell us how they booked us to disqualify us.

[rochelle_s]

To add to this I spoke with my TA and the customer manger late this afternoon. In a nutshell NCL is saying we saved enough money and we are not allowed to bid......end of story. If we want to pay X amount of dollars to bring our rate up to the NCL price they will let us bid:'). TA says this is not over, their is nothing written in the NCL policy. I was the second person to call today about this.

 

 

 

I can understand your frustration with being denied the opportunity to bid on a potential upgrade. But I don't understand the 'reasoning' you are being given as to why you are not offered the chance.

 

Not to rub salt into a wound but the excuse given to you that you have already saved enough just does not make sense. I received a complimentary cabin through CAS for the the November 25th sailing of the Escape. As early as possible I was given the opportunity to bid for an upgrade. We did not bid for an ocean view cabin but had our bid for a balcony cabin accepted yesterday.

 

One would think that if they allow CAS fully comped passengers the opportunity to bid they should also allow those who book through a TA the same, regardless of how good a deal they might have received.

 

Will be interested in hearing how this works out for you if you pursue the matter further.

 

Regardless of outcome, wishing you a wonderful cruise in whichever cabin you are ultimately in.

 

 

Rochelle

 

 

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[MikeBTN]

What you are missing is that while not everyone gets the email to bid or even wins their bid when they do bid.....we should be told if we will not be eligible from the very beginning. And NCL should not be saying that the TA has to tell me why we are not eligible if it was NCL's choice. It's obvious NCL can see on our reservation what the reason is but the TA has to actually figure it out so he can tell us how they booked us to disqualify us.

 

No, they don't. As much as you seem to believe you are, you're not entitled an opportunity to bid. I can tell you from personal experience agencies under the World Travel Holdings umbrella (cruises dot com, cruisesonly, cheapcruises, dream vacations, etc), who have all chosen to completely opt out of the Upgrade Advantage program, are not telling people they won't be eligible to bid when they book. Nor are they required to. NCL generally won't communicate with you because you booked with a TA, and the agreement they have with their partner agencies is that all communication has to go through the TA. It seems to me that your agent had no idea you would not be eligible to bid. In the future, if you want to ensure you have the best chance to be able to bid, book direct.

 

P.S. World Travel Holdings isn't the only group/agency to opt out, just the biggest one that I know of.

[Jshanleypt]

No, they don't. As much as you seem to believe you are, you're not entitled an opportunity to bid. I can tell you from personal experience agencies under the World Travel Holdings umbrella (cruises dot com, cruisesonly, cheapcruises, dream vacations, etc), who have all chosen to completely opt out of the Upgrade Advantage program, are not telling people they won't be eligible to bid when they book. Nor are they required to. NCL generally won't communicate with you because you booked with a TA, and the agreement they have with their partner agencies is that all communication has to go through the TA. It seems to me that your agent had no idea you would not be eligible to bid. In the future, if you want to ensure you have the best chance to be able to bid, book direct.

 

P.S. World Travel Holdings isn't the only group/agency to opt out, just the biggest one that I know of.

We booked through CruisesOnly and bid on an upgrade. Are you saying that our bid will not be accepted regardless of the amount?

 

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[Laszlo]

I can understand your frustration with being denied the opportunity to bid on a potential upgrade. But I don't understand the 'reasoning' you are being given as to why you are not offered the chance.

 

Not to rub salt into a wound but the excuse given to you that you have already saved enough just does not make sense.

 

Exactly

But that is what NCL kept on insisting, you already saved enough money. I posted this more of a heads up for everyone else. I did not know about any restrictions on bidding. What my TA doesn't get is their were 3 other couples with the exact same booking, same cabin, same perks and same total price. They did get the bidding email. As I said before this was the first time the TA has heard of this, two people with the same issue yesterday. I get it, don't really like it but thats life. The TA wants a better answer from NCL so they can give their customers a heads up to the possibility of not getting a bid. They have been in the bidding process from day one and never had a pax not receive an invite to bid until yesterday.

 

Like I said before getting a chance to bid is not a do or die situation. Great if we can, no big deal if we can't. What really pissed me off is NCL coming back and saying if we pay another $800 on our already paid for in full cruise they will open up the bidding to us. To me thats just blackmail.

 

.

Edited November 15, 2017 by Laszlo

[Marine Mom]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I could not find an answer. If your bid won and you were upgraded early on in the process, does anyone know if you get an offer to upgrade again?

[dcs1989]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I could not find an answer. If your bid won and you were upgraded early on in the process, does anyone know if you get an offer to upgrade again?

 

You do not get to upgrade again just once.

 

YOu can change your available rooms to bid. On my current cruise I was on an Interior cabin and had offers to bid for a balcony. I wanted to stay close to family so I called and ended up just paying outright for a balcony. My categories to bid on then changed to the Haven suites

[MikeBTN]

I'm sure this has been asked before but I could not find an answer. If your bid won and you were upgraded early on in the process, does anyone know if you get an offer to upgrade again?

 

This question was literally asked 2-3 days ago on this very thread - I feel like you didn't search all that hard :-)

[garycarla]

...TA ... actually offered to cancel my cruises rather than find out what is going on. ... He better not cancel it! ....

 

Of course he is not going to cancel it. He only OFFERED you the chance to cancel.

 

As to this whole thing, there is are a few great solutions:

 

A) Book the cabin you want and move on.

or

B) Book with another cruiseline that does not do this option.

or

C) Fine someone to point out to you that the chances of even winning a bid are slim to start with.

 

This whole thing is pathetic worry for no gain.

[Marine Mom]

This question was literally asked 2-3 days ago on this very thread - I feel like you didn't search all that hard :-)

 

 

 

Gee sorry I did search and that did not pop up!

 

 

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[symone_chitown]

Just upgraded from inside to Mid-Ship Balcony (BA) with $90 bid on Dawn Nov 26th Carribbean cruise out of San Juan. I am also booked through CAS.

[MikeyB]

World Travel Holdings is participating in the upgrade program. I successfully bid a Haven suite from a balcony and I booked thru CruisesOnly.

[MikeBTN]

World Travel Holdings is participating in the upgrade program. I successfully bid a Haven suite from a balcony and I booked thru CruisesOnly.

 

Nice.....that's a recent change then.

[garycarla]

Gee sorry I did search and that did not pop up!

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RE: Search about doing second bid. Yea, that question is hard to find in a search. Then again, a quick scan through a few days posts on this thread and that question would be answered and others that you may not have even thought of.

 

I will add, that not only do the rules not allow it, but by time you get your cabin that you won via a bid, they may well be done doing all the upgrades anyways.

[JerseyMom]

I could very well be the first one that called then. I am beyond upset both that NCL said we are excluded from even being considered to receive an Upgrade Advantage Program email and my TA for not knowing why after I asked him back on August 22, 2017 to make sure we would be eligible to at least be considered when we got passed over for our other two cruises this year. He says he doesn't know why and actually offered to cancel my cruises rather than find out what is going on. One is fully paid and we leave in a little over 60 days!!!!I He better not cancel it! I have booked at least 21 or more cruises with this same TA and am not happy. It will be interesting to see what he comes back with for an excuse this time. First cruise the TA said it was a NCL glitch. The second time they said NCL said there was no where for me to upgrade to even though there were several H4/Haven 2 bedrooms and a GV available above our 2 bedroom suite. I know there is no guarantee we will even get the upgrade if we bid but it burns me up to be told we are not eligible without a reasonable answer why.

 

You truly are not missing anything by not having the chance to bid. We are in a non-Haven 2-bd room suite (Jewel Class) and the minimum bid for us for the 2-bd room Haven suite is $1,200 ($600 per person). It would cost me $1,100 total to just upgrade to that same suite. So I would have to pay an extra $100 just for the privilege of "bidding" and I wouldn't even get to choose which cabin I get.

[MikeBTN]

You truly are not missing anything by not having the chance to bid. We are in a non-Haven 2-bd room suite (Jewel Class) and the minimum bid for us for the 2-bd room Haven suite is $1,200 ($600 per person). It would cost me $1,100 total to just upgrade to that same suite. So I would have to pay an extra $100 just for the privilege of "bidding" and I wouldn't even get to choose which cabin I get.

 

Same thing happened to me for our upcoming Sky 3-night sailing the day after Thanksgiving. Minimum $50 per person to upgrade from OV to balcony, was able to pay to upgrade for $52 TOTAL for a mid-ship BA on deck 9. Needless to say we jumped on it. Not bidding for the one remaining suite at an additional $300 minimum PP (which is basically what we paid for the balcony).