MSC Upgrade program

[rattla]

Just a heads up for anyone upgrade to a “Suite”. Waiting to hear back from someone, but despite the pictures and descriptions on the upgrade email talking about whirlpool bath on balcony, it seems (as I feared) that someone has just been upgraded to a Fantastica suite with no whirlpool, not to a whirlpool suite!

[stuart2468]

27 minutes ago, kernow said:

You can bid on as many as you want but once one has been accepted that's it.

Thanks for this. Appreciate the fast reply.

 

That was my suspicion. So ultimately we have to decide which room category we go with before bidding.

[pmd98052]

For the min bids where do you do that? The email links I received to bid for upgrade only allowed their recommended min bid which was silly high.

[kernow]

18 minutes ago, pmd98052 said:

For the min bids where do you do that? The email links I received to bid for upgrade only allowed their recommended min bid which was silly high.

You have to 'slide' the bar to the left which is the lowest amount.

[rattla]

Just confirming above point re “Suite” upgrades.  Despite it picturing a whirlpool and saying in the description, and people bidding expecting a whirlpool suite, people (3 I know of now) are being given Aft Fantastica suites.

so don’t assume it’s a whirlpool if you are bidding for the “Suite” category.

[Huntingdon1701]

19 minutes ago, kernow said:

You have to 'slide' the bar to the left which is the lowest amount.

 

You can't go below what they define as the minimum amount though. So if the email says 'from £105' you can't put in a bid of £10, but only £105 upwards. 

[annarack]

9 minutes ago, rattla said:

Just confirming above point re “Suite” upgrades.  Despite it picturing a whirlpool and saying in the description, and people bidding expecting a whirlpool suite, people (3 I know of now) are being given Aft Fantastica suites.

so don’t assume it’s a whirlpool if you are bidding for the “Suite” category.

Hi, out of interest do you know what the minimum bid required is to move from balcony to suite please?  Thank you.

[rattla]

7 minutes ago, annarack said:

Hi, out of interest do you know what the minimum bid required is to move from balcony to suite please?  Thank you.

for me from Fantastica balcony to Suite it was £175pp, but this is a 4 day cruise.  Obviously will be different depending on your cabin/experience and your cruise length.

[CaroleC]

3 hours ago, ItalianScottishCruises said:

Bid £35 for Oceanview and been given a balcony on deck 12 for 20/05!

Congratulations, great result!

[annarack]

1 hour ago, rattla said:

for me from Fantastica balcony to Suite it was £175pp, but this is a 4 day cruise.  Obviously will be different depending on your cabin/experience and your cruise length.

Thanks, that's really useful information for us.  Understand we may get no offer or a totally different one.  Just trying to work out if better to change to a suite now (from our booked balcony), or wait to see if prices drop further and try to negotiate something with MSC to change cabin then, or perhaps we will receive an offer to bid on an upgrade.  We sail end of August.

[rattla]

27 minutes ago, annarack said:

Thanks, that's really useful information for us.  Understand we may get no offer or a totally different one.  Just trying to work out if better to change to a suite now (from our booked balcony), or wait to see if prices drop further and try to negotiate something with MSC to change cabin then, or perhaps we will receive an offer to bid on an upgrade.  We sail end of August.

was it just a “normal” suite or a whirlpool one you wanted?

[annarack]

13 minutes ago, rattla said:

was it just a “normal” suite or a whirlpool one you wanted?

Just a normal fantastica one.  We are in an aft balcony at the moment, so a move next door to an aft suite is what we are weighing up.  Although a whirlpool would be a bonus, ha ha!

[rattla]

4 minutes ago, annarack said:

Just a normal fantastica one.  We are in an aft balcony at the moment, so a move next door to an aft suite is what we are weighing up.  Although a whirlpool would be a bonus, ha ha!

interestingly, for me to upgrade from Fantastica Balcony to Fantastica Suite would have only been around £130pp when I booked, compared to “from” £175 on the upgrade.  
I didn’t want the suite anyway TBh as didn’t need the extra space and prefer a shower to shower over bath.

[voyagerL]

We bid for 20 May, £120 pp to go YC from a Balcony Fantastica and it was accepted this morning 🙂 

[Até]

The upgrade to a generic "suite" problem has existed since MSC started the bidding program in 2019 in the US, and is complicated by ship class.  It sounds like Plusgrade may again be having trouble and mixing the generic "Suite" with the "Suite with Private Whirlpool" categories.  Unless you specifically see the "whirlpool tub" printed in the category description plan on getting a Fantastica Suite.

 

On Virtuosa MSC calls one half of a Super Family Plus cabin(s) a Fantastica Suite.  Often you can't book a Fantastica Suite until closer to sail date because MSC holds them for large families.  Each Fantastica suite is 269 sqft compared to a Fantastica Balcony which is 204 sqft.  Balconies are claimed to be 86 sqft vs. 43 sqft, but I seriously question that number because Fantastica Suites are not twice as wide as a Fantastica Balcony.  I believe they are typically about 64 sqft but that does vary a bit by deck number.

 

A good portion of the "suite's" extra cabin space is taken by the permanent fixed bunk beds but in the living area the cabin is 50% wider.  They do have more closet space and a slightly larger bathroom due to the tub.  All Fantastica Suites have adjoining doors but on the plus side they are aft facing.

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by Até

[kernow]

9 minutes ago, Até said:

The upgrade to a generic "suite" problem has existed since MSC started the bidding program in 2019 in the US, and is complicated by ship class.  It sounds like Plusgrade may again be having trouble and mixing the generic "Suite" with the "Suite with Private Whirlpool" categories.  Unless you specifically see the "whirlpool tub" printed in the category description plan on getting a Fantastica Suite.

 

 

 

Looks like they have changed the wording. This is what it now says on the link from my email

 

'Suite

 

• Queen bed (or two singles on request), large wardrobe and a sitting area
• May include private balcony with whirlpool tub
• Bathroom with bathtub
• Surface approximately 419 sq. ft., plus a large angle balcony with whirlpool
• Accommodates up to 4 guests'

The word 'may' has been added, when we put in the bid last week the word 'may' was not there. We did take a screenshot of the original with the bid just in case we get it.

[rattla]

12 minutes ago, kernow said:

Looks like they have changed the wording. This is what it now says on the link from my email

 

'Suite

 

• Queen bed (or two singles on request), large wardrobe and a sitting area
• May include private balcony with whirlpool tub
• Bathroom with bathtub
• Surface approximately 419 sq. ft., plus a large angle balcony with whirlpool
• Accommodates up to 4 guests'

The word 'may' has been added, when we put in the bid last week the word 'may' was not there. We did take a screenshot of the original with the bid just in case we get it.

Yup, this was before and after:

 

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by rattla

[rattla]

33 minutes ago, lsmall said:

We bid for 20 May, £120 pp to go YC from a Balcony Fantastica and it was accepted this morning 🙂 

That for a YC Inside I guess?  Must admit I thought that was a very good deal to get YC 😊

[voyagerL]

Just now, rattla said:

That for a YC Inside I guess?  Must admit I thought that was a very good deal to get YC 😊

Yes indeed, used a voucher from our last cruise for this one so it’s an incredible deal already - don’t think I’d get very far asking for a YC Balcony 🤣

[rattla]

Just now, lsmall said:

Yes indeed, used a voucher from our last cruise for this one so it’s an incredible deal already - don’t think I’d get very far asking for a YC Balcony 🤣

the crazy thing was duplex were upgrade for £625, while YC Balcony were from £820.  Yet all the Duplex are now YCD - Yacht Club Duplex.  But yes £130 to £820 was a big jump from Inside to Balcony YC for 4 days!

Enjoy your time!

[kernow]

12 minutes ago, rattla said:

Yup, this was before and after:

 

 

They've still left the surface area and large angle balcony bit though, think they will have to change it again.

[Wedgeh]

15 minutes ago, rattla said:

Yet all the Duplex are now YCD - Yacht Club Duplex.  But yes £130 to £820 was a big jump from Inside to Balcony YC for 4 days!

Enjoy your time!

Is this definitely the case? I was considering a bid for those, but definitely looked on the deck plan like there were duplexes below the YC area.

[Até]

2 hours ago, rattla said:

the crazy thing was duplex were upgrade for £625, while YC Balcony were from £820.  Yet all the Duplex are now YCD - Yacht Club Duplex.

Did the bid site specifically say the Duplex cabin was Yacht Club?  If not MSC may be bidding them off without the YC experience.

[rattla]

1 hour ago, Wedgeh said:

Is this definitely the case? I was considering a bid for those, but definitely looked on the deck plan like there were duplexes below the YC area.

the cabin grade given is YCD, but it’s not clear yet if they’ll be given YC perks.  Considering the cabins are not in the YC section it’s possible they may not get those benefits.

I’ll guess we’ll find out after Thursday.

[Até]

3 hours ago, rattla said:

Yup, this was before and after:

Another inconsistency is that the Aurea corner Suite with Private Whirlpool doesn't have a bathroom with a bathtub, only the Fantastica suites have that.  Eventually the US version corrected this mess and separated the Whirlpool suites from the other suites, it's strange that the UK PlusGrade is still having this problem.  But those errors also let things like $115 YC interior upgrades from passengers with no drink package happen, at least for a short time.

 

The MSC UpGrade Terms & Conditions seem to say two different things regarding these inaccuracies.

 

22. MSC Cruises SA reserves the right to cancel the Offer at any time, correct any errors, inaccuracies and omissions, and change or update then fares, fees and surcharges and time without prior notice.

23. MSC Cruises SA reserves the right to cancel the Offer, before or after acceptance, in the event of any error on its side in processing bid acceptances or in the case an offered upgraded cabin is unavailable for any reason. In such case, the Bid amount will be refunded to the credit card of the Guest and MSC Cruises S.A. shall have no further liability relating to the Bid or Offer.