Upgrade bid experiences

[Lady President]

4 hours ago, tgg said:

 

Do you think you could give us a few details?  

 

In what category are you booked?

What did they offer you - and at what price?

Was the second email offer for the same upgrade cabin level at the same price OR was it a different offer?

Sure!  We're going on a the 10-Night Northern Cities cruise out of Lisbon.

 

We are booked in a Club Continent Suite guarantee.

 

They offered:

Club World Owner's Suite from $2000 pp

Club Ocean Suite from $1700 pp

Club Spa Suite from $1300 pp

 

I just checked the emails and the upgrade offers were the same for both.  The starting bids are a pretty solid discount from the website prices.  After having our flights cancelled we had to book new ones at much higher price, and decided not to bid.

[Host Jazzbeau]

When we upgraded from a CC to a CW, we were surprised to discover that we still got the $300 pp OBC that comes with those upper suites.  That made a huge difference in the net cost of the upgrade!

[joyride]

Curious, how close to the cruise did you find out you got the upgrade?

[tgg]

2 hours ago, Lady President said:

Sure!  We're going on a the 10-Night Northern Cities cruise out of Lisbon.

 

We are booked in a Club Continent Suite guarantee.

 

They offered:

Club World Owner's Suite from $2000 pp

Club Ocean Suite from $1700 pp

Club Spa Suite from $1300 pp

 

I just checked the emails and the upgrade offers were the same for both.  The starting bids are a pretty solid discount from the website prices.  After having our flights cancelled we had to book new ones at much higher price, and decided not to bid.

 

Thanks for your quick response. 

 

I think I misunderstood your original post.  I thought that they offered to UPGRADE YOU at a specific price.  But it sounds like they offered you the OPPORTUNITY TO BID on an upgrade.  Maybe you can unconfuse me.🤔

[Host Jazzbeau]

19 minutes ago, joyride said:

Curious, how close to the cruise did you find out you got the upgrade?

This was in 2018 before they started the bidding.  At that time they were offering upgrades for a fixed price.  I knew you could upgrade from regular cabins to CC, but didn't realize they also allowed you to go from CC to CW – so I called them to ask about it and upgraded on the spot.  They quoted a figure which seemed high but not crazy-high, until I realized it was per cabin not per person!  And then they mentioned that it also came with $300 x 2 = $600 OBC.  So it was a terrific bargain – and a good move by Azamara because now we book CW directly (there's no going back...]

[jollyjoyce]

I recently put an offer in for upgrade from V1 to CC.... a weak bid !!    If we get the upgrade do we get the speciality dining and other things that go with a CC  ?

I read the small print & couldn't find the answer.

We have never put a bid in previously.

[laurieb]

1 hour ago, jollyjoyce said:

I recently put an offer in for upgrade from V1 to CC.... a weak bid !!    If we get the upgrade do we get the speciality dining and other things that go with a CC  ?

I read the small print & couldn't find the answer.

We have never put a bid in previously.

Yes, you do.  Good luck!

[ltcTN]

On 5/25/2022 at 7:08 AM, jollyjoyce said:

I recently put an offer in for upgrade from V1 to CC.... a weak bid !!    If we get the upgrade do we get the speciality dining and other things that go with a CC  ?

I read the small print & couldn't find the answer.

We have never put a bid in previously.

We placed a weak bid for the same on the 9/30 Pursuit Cruise. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[wjfan417]

Just received offers to bid on our 3 August cruises. Not sure whether it ‘s worth trying, because we’re in the same cabin for our first 2 cruises and then only move a few doors away. 

[Piaa]

Hi everyone - if you bid on an upgrade do your OBC move with you or do you loose them?

 

Thank you 

[les37b]

6 days to go and no acceptance or rejection of my 2 bids. No luggage tags or documents available, which suggests (to me) that it's still a possibility.

 

If the bid is rejected are you informed, or is the let down revealed by luggage tags issued with your original room choice?

 

 

[laurieb]

On 5/27/2022 at 7:05 AM, Piaa said:

Hi everyone - if you bid on an upgrade do your OBC move with you or do you loose them?

 

Thank you 

You’ll keep your obc and any packages you may have.  If you have a bid accepted for a CW, CO or spa suite, you’ll also get the additional obc offered for those categories 

[Piaa]

8 hours ago, laurieb said:

You’ll keep your obc and any packages you may have.  If you have a bid accepted for a CW, CO or spa suite, you’ll also get the additional obc offered for those categories 

 

Thank you so much 

[les37b]

On 4/3/2022 at 9:58 AM, les37b said:

7 June 10 night on Pursuit £310 bid for ocean view upgrade to Balcony. First time sailing on Azamara - hence the extra nibble offer as I'm rock bottom in pecking order. Starting was £300, which seems a standard amount from what I've seen.

 

Had the option also on a balcony plus but decided against it as already have 4 nights speciality booked which degrades the incentive. Would have done so otherwise. The bid offer for that was £230 (so £460 total)

 

At T-5 days, my balcony bid of £310 has been accepted and new room number allocated. I did also (a few days ago) decide to stick in a bid of £510 (total) for balcony  plus. I've assumed since the first has been accepted, that means the latter failed. However, despite the cabin number change in my booking has happened, I still don't have "cruise documents" or luggage labels, so maybe that bid is still active. I will update if anything changes beyond the basic balcony bud acceptance. 

 

Edit..... Clicking on the "upgrade offer" link, I can see the balcony plus bid status is showing as expired, so guess I now know the outcome  info added for the sheet for unsuccessful second bid along with successful first.

Edited June 2, 2022 by les37b

[excitedofharpenden]

On 6/2/2022 at 2:00 AM, les37b said:

 

At T-5 days, my balcony bid of £310 has been accepted and new room number allocated. I did also (a few days ago) decide to stick in a bid of £510 (total) for balcony  plus. I've assumed since the first has been accepted, that means the latter failed. However, despite the cabin number change in my booking has happened, I still don't have "cruise documents" or luggage labels, so maybe that bid is still active. I will update if anything changes beyond the basic balcony bud acceptance. 

 

Edit..... Clicking on the "upgrade offer" link, I can see the balcony plus bid status is showing as expired, so guess I now know the outcome  info added for the sheet for unsuccessful second bid along with successful first.

For me at least it's definitely not worth a £500+ bid in for a balcony plus cabin.  Most likely an allocation of a P2 or P3 directly below the public deck.  You might strike lucky with a P1, but they can keep the standard size balcony stateroom with extra amenities that take up valuable space in the cabin and a potentially noisy location.

 

Phil    

[Beamafar]

31 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

For me at least it's definitely not worth a £500+ bid in for a balcony plus cabin.  

How much would it be worth to bid for a CC from a P1?   Apart from a butler and larger cabin, the only other benefit would be speciality dining.  

[mdpa]

1 hour ago, excitedofharpenden said:

For me at least it's definitely not worth a £500+ bid in for a balcony plus cabin.  Most likely an allocation of a P2 or P3 directly below the public deck.  You might strike lucky with a P1, but they can keep the standard size balcony stateroom with extra amenities that take up valuable space in the cabin and a potentially noisy location.

 

Phil    

I’m not sure you are looking at this correctly. The 500+ bid was from a non balcony room. The spread between his two choices was only 200. If you don’t have much status, the free specialty dinner, free bag of laundry, and 25% off internet make this justifiable IMHO.

[Beamafar]

I’ve just received an email from Azamara advising me that my bid has been cancelled due to a change in my reservation.   I haven’t made any changes to my reservation. 

[mdpa]

1 minute ago, Beamafar said:

I’ve just received an email from Azamara advising me that my bid has been cancelled due to a change in my reservation.   I haven’t made any changes to my reservation. 

That’s weird, which cruise are you on?

[Beamafar]

1 minute ago, mdpa said:

That’s weird, which cruise are you on?

Journey,  August 6th.  They say the following:

 

Due to a change in your reservation, we have cancelled your existing Azamara Upgrade offer(s).

 

If you are still eligible to bid for any upgrades, you'll receive a new invitation email within the next 24 hours.

[mdpa]

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

How much would it be worth to bid for a CC from a P1?   Apart from a butler and larger cabin, the only other benefit would be speciality dining.  

I think you need to access personal value, plus contrast how much it would normally cost locking it in by paying the difference.

 

For us the difference at purchase for an 8-day trip was $2,000. Not worth it.

 

I’m not sure it is worth much for just 2 people…however, we have a 17 year old daughter with us and it can make a big difference. I chose an Ocean View room on a previous cruise which was technically the same size as a Veranda when we did a trip with Oceania and it felt crowded. I realized that I needed to have some breathing room when both my wife and daughter are getting ready for dinner. We are currently booked on a Veranda and have a bid for CC. If we don’t get it I’ll be OK.

 

I keep waffling back and forth, but I believe $1,000 - $1,400 is a good deal, when I factor in the larger room, better service, specialty dining, and internet discount for 3 people.

 

My wife and I by ourselves? $800 - $1,000?

[Beamafar]

24 minutes ago, mdpa said:

I think you need to access personal value, plus contrast how much it would normally cost locking it in by paying the difference.

 

For us the difference at purchase for an 8-day trip was $2,000. Not worth it.

 

I’m not sure it is worth much for just 2 people…however, we have a 17 year old daughter with us and it can make a big difference. I chose an Ocean View room on a previous cruise which was technically the same size as a Veranda when we did a trip with Oceania and it felt crowded. I realized that I needed to have some breathing room when both my wife and daughter are getting ready for dinner. We are currently booked on a Veranda and have a bid for CC. If we don’t get it I’ll be OK.

 

I keep waffling back and forth, but I believe $1,000 - $1,400 is a good deal, when I factor in the larger room, better service, specialty dining, and internet discount for 3 people.

 

My wife and I by ourselves? $800 - $1,000?

Thank you - much appreciated!

 

I’d put in quite a low bid and had considered upping it to around $1000 (I was bidding in Euros) as I’ll be celebrating a milestone birthday and thought of splurging. However, I received the email from Az  cancelling the offer shortly after posting.  We could dine every night in the SRs and it would still be cheaper than the $1000 I was considering.  We have most of the other perks (apart from the butler and more space). 

[Beamafar]

Update:

 

Just received an email informing us of a change in our embarkation port which explains why our bid offer was cancelled.   Hopefully we’ll be given another opportunity to bid on a CC. 

[tgg]

16 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

Update:

 

Just received an email informing us of a change in our embarkation port which explains why our bid offer was cancelled.   Hopefully we’ll be given another opportunity to bid on a CC. 

 

Did the change in the embarkation port change the length of the cruise?  I'm having trouble understanding why a change on their part would cancel your bid.

[uktog]

6 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

For me at least it's definitely not worth a £500+ bid in for a balcony plus cabin.  Most likely an allocation of a P2 or P3 directly below the public deck.  You might strike lucky with a P1, but they can keep the standard size balcony stateroom with extra amenities that take up valuable space in the cabin and a potentially noisy location.

 

Phil    

Agree. The upgrade system is a way to offload the less desired rooms savvy cruisers avoid. It’s not something I indulge in as a result.