Upgrade email - I finally get it :)

[Newfun4me]

I'm 110 days out for our Encore cruise to Bermuda and just got the upgrade email.  I immediately started reading through the upgrade bid post (which is impossible at 180+ pages) and I've already increased my bid 3 times!  It's going to be hard to wait another 3 months (or more)!!!  🙂  I'm not sure how you all do it.  I guess I've done what I can and I'm just going to have to not think about it.  

 

What's interesting, though, is that we are in a haven 2 bedroom and the upgrade offer was for the Deluxe Owners Suite.  The DOS shows Sold Out when I pull it up on ncl.com.  Seems odd to me...  Is that typical?

[Mikiejag]

Just received mine for the Breakaway, and started going through all 183 pages, most pages are off topic and re-affirm no one wants to say what they bid to stop someone else from bidding more.

 

I am hoping to get some answers.  To answer yours, they could have had a cancellation, maybe a DOS when up or who really knows.  Wow, and I think I just summed up the 183 pages...LOL

[spanishguy1970]

we are currently on the Bliss and we received the upgrade email 115 days out, we are now going on 68 days out and have heard nothing. We have not changed our bid and we wont'. If we get the upgrade, great, if not then we have the cabin we like in the area we want.

Edited February 11, 2020 by spanishguy1970

[Newfun4me]

Right, Mikiejag?  I read through about 10 pages and decided to just bid what seemed like it might have a shot at winning.  (And then went back and upped it twice - lol).  Good luck on getting the upgrade you want!!!

 

[Newfun4me]

Just now, spanishguy1970 said:

we are currently on the Bliss and we received the upgrade email 115 days out, we are not going on 68 days and have heard nothing. We have not changed our bid and we wont'. If we get the upgrade, great, if not then we have the cabin we like in the area we want.

You're tougher than I am.  🙂  I'll be happy with the cabin I have, as well, but I don't know if I'll be able to talk myself out of increasing my bid again.  I hope you get it!  

[spanishguy1970]

1 minute ago, Newfun4me said:

You're tougher than I am.  🙂  I'll be happy with the cabin I have, as well, but I don't know if I'll be able to talk myself out of increasing my bid again.  I hope you get it!  

I hope you get it too. Someone said that getting the upgrade depends the original payment of your cabin and the difference with the category you are bidding on, some people have gotten the upgrade on poor bids others have not, some on fair etc etc. I have one on good, the other two bids on poor range...LOL ..there is still a lot of availability on my cruise 🙂

[JamieLogical]

NCL partners with a third party called PlusGrade to handle bids. They don't track whether the cabin categories you can bid on are sold out for your sailing. There are many advantages to accepting bids on sold out categories. First of all, cancellations can free up rooms. Second of all, the Upgrade process itself can free up rooms if someone in a sold out category gets moved up on a non sold out category. Finally, and most importantly for NCL and PlusGrade, they get to collect valuable data on what passengers are willing to pay for desirable categories that they can then use to set the ranges more accurately and even adjust base fare prices.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

From tracking the posts on the cruise facebook page, they didn't even start applying upgrades until about 4 weeks out.  and they started from the bottom up, then started over. 

 

Balcony/ocean-view

Balcony-mini-suite

Spa

Spa mini-suite

Haven

Then back to balcony/ocean-view for those rooms that were vacated by upgrades.

[Newfun4me]

Thank you, all. 

 

Very interesting, JamieLogical.  That makes perfect sense.  I'm guessing it actually won't matter what I bid because I think there are only two of the DOS cabins and I think they've been sold out for a while.  Maybe one of them will cancel, but I won't hold my breath.  Thank you!

 

[Liljo22]

7 minutes ago, Newfun4me said:

Thank you, all. 

 

Very interesting, JamieLogical.  That makes perfect sense.  I'm guessing it actually won't matter what I bid because I think there are only two of the DOS cabins and I think they've been sold out for a while.  Maybe one of them will cancel, but I won't hold my breath.  Thank you!

 

The DOS cabins on my cruise was sold out about 90 days out but around 45 days one popped back up and is sitting there so it could happen.  

[Newfun4me]

19 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

The DOS cabins on my cruise was sold out about 90 days out but around 45 days one popped back up and is sitting there so it could happen.  

 

Thanks!  I guess we'll see.  I'm looking at it positively - either I get the upgrade or I save the money I would have spent on the upgrade.  Winner either way...  🙂

[Petals22]

I found out 2 days before boarding that my bid had "won" an upgrade to the Haven courtyard from a mini suite.  I played around with my bids several times.  I ended up with a bid  just in the good zone.  I think every cruise is different.  I don't think there is a good way to predict what is going to work.  I was excited to win and now I am anxious to get back to the Haven!

 

[GettotheSun]

1 hour ago, Newfun4me said:

 

Thanks!  I guess we'll see.  I'm looking at it positively - either I get the upgrade or I save the money I would have spent on the upgrade.  Winner either way...  🙂

 

Wow upgrade bid to the DOS - respect! hahaha

[Waves2land]

Do many people participate in the upgrades anymore?  I feel like there are only a handful of us hopefuls left.  For our two previous cruises with RCL I've bid but never won.  Now we have a sailing on NCL escape coming up but we haven't heard anything.  There are lots of balcony rooms left (that we are in) so I can't see why they would want to move us out of that category, but I won't complain if we get our upgrade!