NCL Upgrade Advantage upgrade- how long does it take NCL to respond? And what amount likely gets accepted?

[mscdivina2016]

On 6/13/2021 at 3:15 PM, jjkandlak said:

My wife and I are first time NCL cruisers(Athens 8/29) and got an email from NCL to make an "offer" on a Balcony Stateroom upgrade. Any idea on how long it take NCL to respond and what's a fair offer? The range or scale on the NCL chart was zero to $500 per person for an upgrade to a Balcony Stateroom. A huge "thank you" for your help and insight. 

In my opinion its based on factors of what you paid versus some one else in the mix.  I have bid max of $5000 per person for a upgrade from Balcony to Owners suite and I did not get it. There were 7 suites available and we bid really high and got none of them.  The cruise was ultimately cancelled due to covid. This was for a 30 day cruise.

 I have gotten amazing prices and have never won a bid despite bidding max always starting in a balcony for the suites.

steve

[AndyCapn]

20 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

The highest bid wins so it's all down to supply and demand and how deep your fellow passengers pockets are, there is no "fair bid" just a winning bid.

Strictly speaking it's not necessarily the highest bid. For example, if an inside cabin bid $400 for a balcony and an ocean view bid $300 for that same balcony, but there was another inside cabin bidding $200 for the ocean view... The algorithm is going to select the two bids that total $500.

 

As mentioned there are other factors that get considered, such as expected demand for each category from last-minute cruisers. All that said, the main point remains that a higher bid will certainly improve your chances of being selected. 

[Yinster]

Another factor is how much you pay your original cabin and your bid added together 

 

If I paid £500 for my inside and then bid £300 for a balcony then NCL could make £800 from me. However you paid £700 for your inside and bid only £200. NCL will have got £900 from you. So they would look to see how much more they can get from you in a bidding war.

 

Sometimes there is no logic but the numbers crunched in the algorithm.

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, Yinster said:

Another factor is how much you pay your original cabin and your bid added together 

 

If I paid £500 for my inside and then bid £300 for a balcony then NCL could make £800 from me. However you paid £700 for your inside and bid only £200. NCL will have got £900 from you. So they would look to see how much more they can get from you in a bidding war.

 

Sometimes there is no logic but the numbers crunched in the algorithm.

 

There was a LOT of discussion about this in the original threads linked further up. It makes ZERO sense for NCL to factor in what you already paid. They already have that money in hand. While we did prove that your original fare is sent over in your submission form data when bidding, it really can't matter. If I paid $1500/pp for my cabin and someone else only paid $1000/pp, NCL already has that money. So if they bid $600/pp and I only bid $500/pp, then NCL would be stupid NOT to accept the higher bid.

[Yinster]

3 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

There was a LOT of discussion about this in the original threads linked further up. It makes ZERO sense for NCL to factor in what you already paid. They already have that money in hand. While we did prove that your original fare is sent over in your submission form data when bidding, it really can't matter. If I paid $1500/pp for my cabin and someone else only paid $1000/pp, NCL already has that money. So if they bid $600/pp and I only bid $500/pp, then NCL would be stupid NOT to accept the higher bid.

I get this from a business sense and you may be totally correct but does anyone have any evidence of this? We already have people say bidding max does not guarantee a successful bid. And why ask what you paid for your cabin when they could check that in your booking unless they are inputting that information into their magic algorithm.

[B Midged]

You better pay whatever it cost in case you get quarantined. At least you can get fresh air. 

[ziggyuk]

4 minutes ago, Yinster said:

And why ask what you paid for your cabin when they could check that in your booking unless they are inputting that information into their magic algorithm.

 

It's not NCL that administer the upgrade program, it's plusgrade who only have access to data provided and their job is to maximise profits.

As has been said the money originally paid for the cabin is cash in hand for NCL, plusgrade are paid to extract maximum additional revenue for their client (NCL)

[SSFun]

I also wonder if the cabin you are originally booked in makes a difference. If you are booked in a category that is sold out because it is desirable and NCL could likely sell your current cabin easily will that be factored in as well?

[JamieLogical]

44 minutes ago, SSFun said:

I also wonder if the cabin you are originally booked in makes a difference. If you are booked in a category that is sold out because it is desirable and NCL could likely sell your current cabin easily will that be factored in as well?

 

Absolutely. I am confident they factor in the "upgrade chain", so like someone else mentioned, they are less likely to upgrade someone from an inside to a balcony than from an ocean view to a balcony, because if they upgrade an ocean view to a balcony, then they can upgrade someone else to that ocean view room. The whole chain has to be the most profitable sequence. That's what you can bid max and still lose when there are open rooms in a category you are bidding max on. If someone else, in a better room also bids max or even close to max, if the combination of upgrading them, then upgrading someone else to that cabin, then upgrading someone else to that cabin works out to be the most profitable, then that's what they will accept.

[vswan]

I would second the previous poster who said to watch what the cruise prices are currently. On my last NCL cruise - which was canceled - I had bid about $5 over low end in several categories, knowing the it was not likely that I would get the upgrade — but was not willing to spend more. About a month out the pricing on the cruise dropped considerably and I called and was moved from a  OV with no perks to a balcony cabin that I chose including perks for about $100 total. (This did not include the drinks, gratuities are more than are practical for us. Not big drinkers). This may have been a fluke since the virus was already making things a little questionable, but worth looking at.

[mpk]

8 hours ago, oteixeira said:

It warms my heart to see a thread about upgrades in this forum.  Ah, the good old days, where people would try to collect every bit of info to try to bid just enough but not too much.  LOL

 

It would be nice if the price slider had a mark for "minimum successful offer"  😀      Not going to happen, but I can dream.

[Mike C]

21 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

They used to go out 80 days prior to sailing. Not sure if that is still the case post-COVID.

I booked a Sept cruise from NYC this morning. The CAS rep told me the invitations to bid will be going out 55 days prior to sailing.

 

Mike

[JamieLogical]

58 minutes ago, Mike C said:

I booked a Sept cruise from NYC this morning. The CAS rep told me the invitations to bid will be going out 55 days prior to sailing.

 

Mike

 

That would make sense, since final payment isn't until 60 days out now.

[TerryNJon]

Had an upgrade offer in the app earlier today for our 8/14 Encore to Alaska. Went back tonight to look at it more closely and now it’s gone! 🤷‍♀️

[jjkandlak]

I chatted with a NCL rep and asked how much would it cost for me to upgrade from inside cabin to a balcony and the cost was approximately $550 per person. 

[aubreyc1988]

51 minutes ago, CaptainWoody said:

We generally spend very little time in our cabin, so a balcony would only be worth it for us if a) the ship didn't have a good observation lounge and/or rear facing outdoor cafe and b) the weather outside would be nice.  We're going to Alaska in October and the Encore has a great observation lounge and I doubt the weather on a balcony would be "nice."  Best wishes with your decision.

a little off topic, but I am going back and forth on getting a balcony booked on Encore to Alaska.  I've done Bliss to Alaska in an inside which was FINE, but I am a tad bit worried about possibility of being quarantined in room...if someone tests positive and I'm a close contact and forced to quarantine while waiting for a test result...I mean, unlikely but it happened on a celebrity ship sooo....idk. Thoughts? I'd only book the balcony as a security blanket, costs about 400.00 more per person to do a balcony vs inside. 

[aubreyc1988]

1 hour ago, CaptainWoody said:

I've had the same thought process.

 

aww I needed someone to help sway me one way or the other lol 

[JamieLogical]

6 hours ago, CaptainWoody said:

Yeah, I wish I knew the answer.  If I upgrade to a balcony, it will be smooth sailing.  If I don't, I'll be quarantined for days.  🤣

 

If that's the case, then definitely go with the balcony! If your "bad" outcome is being stuck with a balcony cabin while sailing through some glaciers, I would say that's not too bad!

[GonzoWCS]

On 6/14/2021 at 8:52 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

This is the previously mentioned "HUGE thread". Note that it is a continuation of a previous thread that is linked in the first post if you want to go WAY back to the beginning:

 

 

Thanks for digging this up!

[Trimone]

Desirability is the answer, if you already have a desirable cabin it’s easier to sell on for top $, having anything with Spa will almost guarantee a minimum bid upgrade.

[SSFun]

12 minutes ago, Trimone said:

Desirability is the answer, if you already have a desirable cabin it’s easier to sell on for top $, having anything with Spa will almost guarantee a minimum bid upgrade.

Not in our experience. We have had a spa cabin several times, placed well over the minimum bid and didn't get an upgrade.

[Trimone]

18 minutes ago, SSFun said:

Not in our experience. We have had a spa cabin several times, placed well over the minimum bid and didn't get an upgrade.

Did you do the research on what was available above you?

Before we booked the Haven directly we never failed from Spa Balconies for upgrades to The Haven on minimum bids, however it’s pointless bidding on a full category…

[SSFun]

1 minute ago, Trimone said:

Did you do the research on what was available above you?

Before we booked the Haven directly we never failed from Spa Balconies for upgrades to The Haven on minimum bids, however it’s pointless bidding on a full category…

Yes, we watched every category of Haven room available on several different sites. Placed bids on categories that had the most rooms available. Never got an upgrade. I am not sure what their algorithm is but it doesn't seem to be consistent. I have heard people say they bid minimum and got the upgrade and others that have said they bid more and didn't get the upgrade. We will keep trying and see. Not sure what we'd do if we actually got the upgrade - we'd be in shock  I am sure! 🤣

[Trimone]

2 minutes ago, SSFun said:

Yes, we watched every category of Haven room available on several different sites. Placed bids on categories that had the most rooms available. Never got an upgrade. I am not sure what their algorithm is but it doesn't seem to be consistent. I have heard people say they bid minimum and got the upgrade and others that have said they bid more and didn't get the upgrade. We will keep trying and see. Not sure what we'd do if we actually got the upgrade - we'd be in shock  I am sure! 🤣

We always chose a room we’re happy with, then I just slap minimum bids on everything, and we have never failed 😨 

[SSFun]

9 minutes ago, Trimone said:

We always chose a room we’re happy with, then I just slap minimum bids on everything, and we have never failed 😨 

Wow! I am so happy for you! Could you send us some of your luck! We've done the same but bid more than the minimum and never gotten the upgrade. (Maybe we should bid the minimum.) We've always been very happy in the cabin we booked because we book the cabin we want, and had terrific cruises! Would be nice to try the Haven on an upgrade though. We were actually booked in a Haven cabin on the Joy out of Jamaica before they cancelled those cruises. 😏