Upgrade bid experiences

[dabear]

We bid about 80 days before departure $50/a day (or $700) for our 15 day Vietnam & Thailand Intensive cruise of 10/13/19. We were in vx veranda bidding for a cc suite. We received a negative answer 3 days before departure. 

[Grandma Cruising]

13 minutes ago, dabear said:

We bid about 80 days before departure $50/a day (or $700) for our 15 day Vietnam & Thailand Intensive cruise of 10/13/19. We were in vx veranda bidding for a cc suite. We received a negative answer 3 days before departure. 

Thanks for the information dabear. I’ve added it to the spreadsheet. Please could you tell me what your LCV level is and can you remember what the minimum bid was and whether your bid Apia’s considered to me ‘weak’, ‘strong’ etc.

[dabear]

On 11/8/2019 at 2:04 PM, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Thanks for the information dabear. I’ve added it to the spreadsheet. Please could you tell me what your LCV level is and can you remember what the minimum bid was and whether your bid Apia’s considered to me ‘weak’, ‘strong’ etc.

We are discoverer (elite on Celebrity), Minimum bid was $200pp . Our offer was considered weak.

[Grandma Cruising]

2 minutes ago, dabear said:

We are discoverer (elite on Celebrity), Minimum bid was $200pp . Our offer was considered weak.

Thanks, I’ve added that too.

[kate61880]

Our bid of $450 per person was accepted today 18 days before cruise for continent suite upgrade from verandah and I’m an Explorer on 11 night cruise 11/29/19. 

[Grandma Cruising]

7 hours ago, kate61880 said:

Our bid of $450 per person was accepted today 18 days before cruise for continent suite upgrade from verandah and I’m an Explorer on 11 night cruise 11/29/19. 

Thanks kate61880 - I’ve added that to the spreadsheet. Can you tell me when you made the bid, what the minimum bid was and whether your bid was considered weak, strong etc.

[sueu]

Offer to bid 21st September 

29th November Emirates 11 nights

Booked V2 veranda, bid for CC Suite

Min bid £160pp

Bid £200pp - weak

Informed yesterday, 18 days out Successful. 

Discovery level. 

[Grandma Cruising]

Thanks sueu, all added to the spreadsheet.

[LuAnn]

Has anyone yet been able to figure out ...so far...any pattern to those accepted verses rejected bids? LuAnn

[BBMacLaird]

2 hours ago, LuAnn said:

Has anyone yet been able to figure out ...so far...any pattern to those accepted verses rejected bids? LuAnn

I will be surprised if there is a macro-pattern. Every voyage will be unique. Inventory (supply) will sell at a different pace. And then there is group space to consider...big operators put dibs on suites/staterooms far in advance and then proceed to sell into their allocated space. As time ticks away travel sellers release space if demand isn’t as expected. As upper category space is released then inventory control may fill some of it with upgrades, and keep some for much closer-in bookings. 

Overlay all this with the number of booked guests willing to upgrade, and the bids they’ve submitted. 

The snapshot of supply, demand (both normal expected demand + upgrade demand), and days out from sailing would give you the “pattern” but really these three variables differ at any point of time. Other variables, if you were building an algorithm, would be the season, the destination of voyage and the length of voyage, because these affect how demand flows in, eg different historical booking patterns.

Sorry to ramble on...maybe too much coffee this morning! 

I guess I’d say an upgrade is like playing the lottery, it’s a game of chance but you can’t win if you don’t play.

[Lookyboy]

30 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said:

I will be surprised if there is a macro-pattern. Every voyage will be unique. Inventory (supply) will sell at a different pace. And then there is group space to consider...big operators put dibs on suites/staterooms far in advance and then proceed to sell into their allocated space. As time ticks away travel sellers release space if demand isn’t as expected. As upper category space is released then inventory control may fill some of it with upgrades, and keep some for much closer-in bookings. 

Overlay all this with the number of booked guests willing to upgrade, and the bids they’ve submitted. 

The snapshot of supply, demand (both normal expected demand + upgrade demand), and days out from sailing would give you the “pattern” but really these three variables differ at any point of time. Other variables, if you were building an algorithm, would be the season, the destination of voyage and the length of voyage, because these affect how demand flows in, eg different historical booking patterns.

Sorry to ramble on...maybe too much coffee this morning! 

I guess I’d say an upgrade is like playing the lottery, it’s a game of chance but you can’t win if you don’t play.

Is this in code? (Just joking, as only got every 5th or 6th word......maybe not very technical.) As we don't get any e-mails, we won't be invited to bid for any upgrades anyway. Just jealous of those who can at least  try. 😁

[grayjay]

1 hour ago, Lookyboy said:

Is this in code? (Just joking, as only got every 5th or 6th word......maybe not very technical.) As we don't get any e-mails, we won't be invited to bid for any upgrades anyway. Just jealous of those who can at least  try. 😁

Same thing we us - I'd love to play the lottery but wasn't invited. Even after we had booked too early and thus paid 40 % more than the luckier ones who booked the following 6-8  months, we still were deemed "ineligible" after we tried the link at full payment day. At that time about 15 suites were still available but Azamara blandly told us when we contacted them quite a bit miffed: Sorry, ship is sold out, no availability and therefore no chances.... Two suites are still available for booking, by the way...

[BBMacLaird]

2 hours ago, Lookyboy said:

As we don't get any e-mails, we won't be invited to bid for any upgrades anyway. Just jealous of those who can at least  try.

 

We WANT you to get our emails! Please write to azadatabase@azamara.com and ask them to look into why you don’t get our mail.

[Grandma Cruising]

10 hours ago, Lookyboy said:

Is this in code? (Just joking, as only got every 5th or 6th word......maybe not very technical.) As we don't get any e-mails, we won't be invited to bid for any upgrades anyway. Just jealous of those who can at least  try. 😁

You can try by going to the relevant page on the Azamara website and entering your cruise details. https://www.azamara.com/azamara-upgrade-program

[Lookyboy]

9 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

You can try by going to the relevant page on the Azamara website and entering your cruise details. https://www.azamara.com/azamara-upgrade-program

Yes....done that on two previous cruises now. No luck. Sorry...old news, I know. I just find it upsetting when we have been so loyal over so many years to our favourite cruise line.

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, Lookyboy said:

Yes....done that on two previous cruises now. No luck. Sorry...old news, I know. I just find it upsetting when we have been so loyal over so many years to our favourite cruise line.

Did it tell you that you were ineligible?

[Lookyboy]

46 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Did it tell you that you were ineligible?

Yes.

 

[Werangels]

26 minutes ago, Lookyboy said:

Yes.

 

It let me bid about 8 weeks before I think, having told me I was ineligible many times over the last few weeks or so.

[Lookyboy]

Just now, Werangels said:

It let me bid about 8 weeks before I think, having told me I was ineligible many times over the last few weeks or so.

That's good to know, thank you. Our 90 day mark for our next one is coming soon, so I will be keen to see what happens this time after payment.

[aussie travel bird]

10 minutes ago, Lookyboy said:

That's good to know, thank you. Our 90 day mark for our next one is coming soon, so I will be keen to see what happens this time after payment.

Audrey, we're the opposite, we get an email offer to bid, offer a bid and get a confirmation we've placed a bid and then nothing more.  Others seem to get an email at least saying they've been successful or not prior to cruising, we get nothing and usually no upgrade... can't figure the system out, disappointed and ......

[Grandma Cruising]

12 hours ago, Lookyboy said:

Yes.

 

It’s worth keeping trying that link. The time at which bidding starts seems to vary from cruise to cruise and until it starts it says ‘ineligible’.The only other reason for being ineligible is if your travel agent has opted out.

[Werangels]

1 hour ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

It’s worth keeping trying that link. The time at which bidding starts seems to vary from cruise to cruise and until it starts it says ‘ineligible’.The only other reason for being ineligible is if your travel agent has opted out.

I was told my travel agent had opted out.  She rang to check and was told the same.  I didn’t get an email but by clicng on the link on the website it eventually let me in.

[Lookyboy]

Azamara is always our travel agent.

[Grandma Cruising]

2 hours ago, Lookyboy said:

Azamara is always our travel agent.

Then I think you should keep on trying the eligibility page.

[grayjay]

9 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

It’s worth keeping trying that link. The time at which bidding starts seems to vary from cruise to cruise and until it starts it says ‘ineligible’.The only other reason for being ineligible is if your travel agent has opted out.

The system is somewhat "murky" to say the least. We were deemed ineligible even when our travel agency has not opted out of the programme and we paid the full price for the cruise. At the time when I tried to bid, there were still at least 15 suites available.

We're happy enough with our chosen balcony but still it's a disappointment because you can't figure out the rules. And loyalty counts nothing, obviously.