Does NCL hold staterooms for the bidding program?

[jplovestocruise]

Hi there!

 

I'm in a Haven 2-bedroom suite on the Escape and I received an e-mail to upgrade to the Deluxe Owner's Suite. However when I try to book the Deluxe Owners Suite through the website it says it's sold out.

 

 

So, why are they asking me to bid if the room is already sold out? Either the program doesn't consider booked rooms or the rooms are reserved to bid on?

 

 

Thanks in advance!

[SeaShark]

Hi there!

 

I'm in a Haven 2-bedroom suite on the Escape and I received an e-mail to upgrade to the Deluxe Owner's Suite. However when I try to book the Deluxe Owners Suite through the website it says it's sold out.

 

 

So, why are they asking me to bid if the room is already sold out? Either the program doesn't consider booked rooms or the rooms are reserved to bid on?

 

 

Thanks in advance!

Because the room COULD become available as the result of that person being upgraded or if they would happen to cancel.

[jplovestocruise]

Because the room COULD become available as the result of that person being upgraded or if they would happen to cancel.

 

Very true.

[vince_g]

Because the room COULD become available as the result of that person being upgraded or if they would happen to cancel.

 

Interesting... they are taking contingency bids.

[SeaShark]

Interesting... they are taking contingency bids.

 

Of course...they have to. Consider this: If your bid is successful, they upgrade you, and now YOUR room is available. If they weren't taking contingency bids, they'd have no one to step up and take your now empty room.

 

So all the while you are bidding for an upgrade, there is someone else bidding on the room you are currently in in the hope that you move out and make it available for them.

[AlexandNessa]

Same thing happened to us. We were in an OS but offered to upgrade to DOS which was sold out. Guess they were hoping for a cancellation because there is nothing to upgrade to when you're in the DOS.

 

We didn't bother bidding.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using Forums mobile app

[vince_g]

Of course...they have to. Consider this: If your bid is successful, they upgrade you, and now YOUR room is available. If they weren't taking contingency bids, they'd have no one to step up and take your now empty room.

 

So all the while you are bidding for an upgrade, there is someone else bidding on the room you are currently in in the hope that you move out and make it available for them.

 

Absolutely, thank You. Never gave the bidding program logistics much thought. I book the cabin that makes me happy, and stick with that.

[biker@sea]

NCL could be Data Mining.:evilsmile:

[BirdTravels]

Interesting... they are taking contingency bids.

Everyone moves up.

 

There is absolutely no reason to hold rooms for cheap upgrades if they can sell them at full price.

[Sand and Seas]

NCL could be Data Mining.:evilsmile:

 

Interesting idea. Perhaps they are just checking to see how much you would bid....and how they could make you want to bid MORE on a future cruise:confused:

[nednrom]

Interesting idea. Perhaps they are just checking to see how much you would bid....and how they could make you want to bid MORE on a future cruise:confused:

 

 

I think they do both for the bidding data mining and to ensure that they have the expensive cabins occupied at time sailing. In addition to that, the bidding may determine how much they can set the initial fare to make the most profit. I don't like the bidding system and pick the cabin I want at the outset.

[drvmywifecrzy]

NCL could be Data Mining.:evilsmile:

 

Thats why you should change your bid everyday. They need to collect lots of data

[spanishguy1970]

We put our bid back in August, My cruise is on Nov 5th and NCL has not let us know whether we got the upgrade or not. We have not changed the bid and offered the lowest bid for a Haven spa Suite on the Epic. I dislike the bidding system i think is cold all about money not focused on keeping customers happy. The day of free upgrades are long gone unfortunately. We are happy with the mid ship Balcony we chose, so whether we get the suite or not we are happy with what we have. :D We play the game our way...:cool:

[MikeBTN]

We put our bid back in August, My cruise is on Nov 5th and NCL has not let us know whether we got the upgrade or not. We have not changed the bid and offered the lowest bid for a Haven spa Suite on the Epic. I dislike the bidding system i think is cold all about money not focused on keeping customers happy. The day of free upgrades are long gone unfortunately. We are happy with the mid ship Balcony we chose, so whether we get the suite or not we are happy with what we have. :D We play the game our way...:cool:

 

Of course it is all about money. If it weren't then they'd just upgrade everyone for free.

 

It also keeps customers happy - although I preferred the old way (just calling in to the Upsell Department) we love being able to bid on a room for MUCH less than the retail cost to upgrade. Maybe we'll win, maybe we won't, but at least we have the shot.

 

Long gone are the days when cruise ships sailed 50% full and you got upgraded for free or could get upgrades at the port on embarkation day.

[sailandcruise]

I just received an offer to bid on upgrades to the Haven when ALL Haven categories are sold out. So this can't be a situation where the higher Haven categories are available and might be used for an upgrade for someone in a lower Haven category, thereby freeing up the lower Haven category cabin for someone else's bid to be accepted. Perhaps they are taking contingent bids just in case of a cancellation?

[BirdTravels]

I just received an offer to bid on upgrades to the Haven when ALL Haven categories are sold out. So this can't be a situation where the higher Haven categories are available and might be used for an upgrade for someone in a lower Haven category, thereby freeing up the lower Haven category cabin for someone else's bid to be accepted. Perhaps they are taking contingent bids just in case of a cancellation?

The bids are for when rooms open up. Rooms being held. Rooms being cancelled. We have cancelled on week of cruise twice.

[BirdTravels]

We put our bid back in August, My cruise is on Nov 5th and NCL has not let us know whether we got the upgrade or not. We have not changed the bid and offered the lowest bid for a Haven spa Suite on the Epic. I dislike the bidding system i think is cold all about money not focused on keeping customers happy. The day of free upgrades are long gone unfortunately. We are happy with the mid ship Balcony we chose, so whether we get the suite or not we are happy with what we have. :D We play the game our way...:cool:

Prior to the automated system, the NCL upsell desk use to sell discounted upgrades. Unfortunately, the telephone upsell desk did not scale to support the one or more mega ships entering the market each year.

[SeaShark]

I just received an offer to bid on upgrades to the Haven when ALL Haven categories are sold out. So this can't be a situation where the higher Haven categories are available and might be used for an upgrade for someone in a lower Haven category, thereby freeing up the lower Haven category cabin for someone else's bid to be accepted. Perhaps they are taking contingent bids just in case of a cancellation?

 

When a cabin category shows as "sold out" that just means that you aren't able to book them at that particular time. It does not mean that the cabins are all reserved by other guests. As the OP in this thread has learned: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2683662

[need2cruisesoon]

I have a bid on our upcoming 11/3 cruise (Bliss) for forward Haven cabin, all of this info is great.

Such smart and well informed NCL cruisers here.

[Maniacal Cruiser]

Hi there!

 

I'm in a Haven 2-bedroom suite on the Escape and I received an e-mail to upgrade to the Deluxe Owner's Suite. However when I try to book the Deluxe Owners Suite through the website it says it's sold out.

 

 

So, why are they asking me to bid if the room is already sold out? Either the program doesn't consider booked rooms or the rooms are reserved to bid on?

 

 

Thanks!

 

Or you don't understand the bidding process and what can impact available cabins.

 

1) People cancel cruises.

2) People other than you bid and win upgrades.

3) People change cabins by paying for upgrades, etc.

4) TA's return unsold cabins they had on hold.

 

Is that enough?

[Maniacal Cruiser]

NCL could be Data Mining.:evilsmile:

 

Tin Foils Hats - Aisle Three.

[JamieLogical]

Tin Foils Hats - Aisle Three.

 

I don't think this is tin-foil-hat speculation. It would be stupid for NCL to *not* use this data for future pricing considerations. Any company that is not fully using the data willingly supplied to them by customers is not going to last long in the modern world.

 

It costs NCL nothing to take bids on sold out categories. But they get an idea of what customers are willing to pay by doing so. And they cover their bases in case of last minute cancellations.

[Maniacal Cruiser]

I don't think this is tin-foil-hat speculation. It would be stupid for NCL to *not* use this data for future pricing considerations. Any company that is not fully using the data willingly supplied to them by customers is not going to last long in the modern world.

 

It costs NCL nothing to take bids on sold out categories. But they get an idea of what customers are willing to pay by doing so. And they cover their bases in case of last minute cancellations.

 

Except the "they" you refer to is PlusGrade not NCL. Besides it DOES cost to take upgrades. NCL does not have the data, PlusGrade does. They run upgrade bidding for several companies. Visit http://www.plusgrade.com and you will see a list of their major clients. There is a big difference between what someone will bid for an upgrade and what they will spend to book that same cabin outright. NCL, like any other company that ever existed, will observe the sales volume at various price points to determine maximum revenue. That is common business 101. Not exactly what one would call data mining though.

[JamieLogical]

Except the "they" you refer to is PlusGrade not NCL. Besides it DOES cost to take upgrades. NCL does not have the data, PlusGrade does. They run upgrade bidding for several companies. Visit http://www.plusgrade.com and you will see a list of their major clients. There is a big difference between what someone will bid for an upgrade and what they will spend to book that same cabin outright. NCL, like any other company that ever existed, will observe the sales volume at various price points to determine maximum revenue. That is common business 101. Not exactly what one would call data mining though.

 

I would be very shocked if NCL's contract with PlusGrade didn't include sharing the data with NCL. I would think that would be a big selling feature of that type of service.

[chloemonkey]

Because the room COULD become available as the result of that person being upgraded or if they would happen to cancel.

 

I don't think that it is possible on THIS ship as the deluxe Owner's Suite is the highest level cabin....so no upgrades available...it would have to be a cancellation. Not that this does not stop NCL from contacting people who are BOOKED in the DOS! As it happens to us all of the time! At first, I was thinking that they had my reservation wrong and had to double check that we were indeed booked in the DOS.

 

Cancellations YES! We have had to cancel a DOS two days before sailing....and are in the process of having to consider it again this week as I managed to come down with pneumonia a week or so ago......so these things DO happen. My advice is if you want the room, place a bid and just be happy whether or not it pans out.