Any Upgrade Bids Accepted Recently?

[CruisingChick123]

We got the “We’re reviewing your upgrade request” email. Considering I bid the minimum for 3 different Haven 2-bedroom upgrades, that’s not shocking. We booked a room and location that we wanted, so we’re just happy to be going!

[complawyer]

i have often thought about booking the dos cabin. when we cruise, it's usually myself, my wife and a very close friend, so i book the 2 bedroom so she has her own bedroom and bathroom. this way she also gets all the perks attached to a suite.

 

while the dos is certainly bigger and much more opulent, plus it has an extra bath room, where are you all planning to sleep? master bedroom and pull out couch.  the info indicates this cabin is designed for 4 people. while i hope you all enjoy this cruise and the cabin, only having 1 bedroom has always been the deciding factor in not booking this cabin

[complawyer]

again, we're in the 2 bedroom on the back to back dawn, july 27 thru aug 6th,aug 6th thru aug 13th.

 

got an offer to upgrade, but only available is the garden villa. lowest minimum bid is 1400, or 2800 for the 2 of us, if i have to bid onthe 2nd leg of thecruise, its another 2800, and no guarantee of success on either. also, i dont want to be in a position where we're successful on one and have to change cabins on the other.

 

im happy as a pig in (whatever makes pigs happy) with the 2 bedroom. we're in the same cabin for all 19 days. 

[Grimix]

17 hours ago, amygutman said:

@mking8288 That's not just a "no" on the possibility of cancellation...that's a "hell no"! 😁

 

Be careful you don't jinx it! I said that last year before our DOS trip, and sure enough our family came down with COVID about a week and a half before we sailed! Luckily we were all negative for the embarkation tests, but I didn't recover my sense of taste until the start of the second day!

[Grimix]

14 hours ago, complawyer said:

while the dos is certainly bigger and much more opulent, plus it has an extra bath room, where are you all planning to sleep? master bedroom and pull out couch.  the info indicates this cabin is designed for 4 people. while i hope you all enjoy this cruise and the cabin, only having 1 bedroom has always been the deciding factor in not booking this cabin

You must be looking at a different ship. On the BA+ the DOS has a second bedroom with ensuite bath. The cabin is actually 2 1/2 baths (There is a vanity in the hallway.) We fit 6 VERY comfortable in the cabin. My wife and I in master, FIL in the second bedroom, and the 3 kids in the living room. (2 on the couch, and the third on a roll-away)

[complawyer]

ok, which ship are you referring to? ive been on most ncl ships, and every schematic ive seen on dos cabins there was only one bedroom

[Grimix]

8 minutes ago, complawyer said:

ok, which ship are you referring to? ive been on most ncl ships, and every schematic ive seen on dos cabins there was only one bedroom

I realized after I posted that I was making a generalization that I'm not sure is 100% true about breakaway+ ships. But we stayed on the DOS on the Bliss and that one definitely includes a second bedroom (where grandpa stayed), and while researching for our Encore cruise in June (which as I've said we rescinded the DOS because my brother backed out) that one was an identical layout to the Bliss. I haven't actually looked on the other BA+ ships, but assumed they had a very similar layout. Now I'm kind of curious.

[EODHorn]

19 hours ago, amygutman said:

@mking8288 That's not just a "no" on the possibility of cancellation...that's a "hell no"! 😁

 

I've had the countdown on my computer for almost 2 years, one friend coming from England and one from Bermuda. Neither have been on a cruise, and none of the five of us have been to Alaska. We've inhaled every YouTube video, trip report, CC Board and review. I swear, 75% of my recent Google searches have been "Cruise to Alaska", "Packing for Alaska", "DOS Encore", "Haven Encore", "Alaska Whales from a Cruise", "Northern Lights on Cruise Ship", "NCL Encore Tips", "Cruise Port Recommendations Alaska Cruise"...single-minded much?

 

All of us are flying in 2 days before, and have back-up plans for travel. Hotels and flights booked for a year. Travel insurance galore. Passports, Visas for our friends. The pre-concierge is our new best-friend and soother of all potential problems. It's ridiculously fun and slightly stressful. The one thing we did not want to worry about was "the perfect room" - and from the second I saw a video of that DOS, I knew that's the one we wanted. Good luck to all of the folks bidding for upgrades and I truly hope the fairy comes through for you but come hell or high water...WE WILL BE ON THAT BOAT IN THAT ROOM!!!!😘

 

Warmest, Amy

 

Wait which Alaska Cruise are you on?

[complawyer]

grimix, i stand corrected. while we've been on almost every ncl ship,except POA and the newer ones, i guess ncl finally woke up and added a 2nd bedroom to it's newer vessels. we havent been on the escape, encore, prima, joy, breakaway. but when i have booked on any of the others the dos only shows 1 bedroom and a smaller additional toilet. so, accept my apology for the misinformation, and have a great time.

[amygutman]

20 hours ago, complawyer said:

i have often thought about booking the dos cabin. when we cruise, it's usually myself, my wife and a very close friend, so i book the 2 bedroom so she has her own bedroom and bathroom. this way she also gets all the perks attached to a suite.

 

while the dos is certainly bigger and much more opulent, plus it has an extra bath room, where are you all planning to sleep? master bedroom and pull out couch.  the info indicates this cabin is designed for 4 people. while i hope you all enjoy this cruise and the cabin, only having 1 bedroom has always been the deciding factor in not booking this cabin

@complawyer Not sure if the question is directed at us, but my two friends are sharing the 2nd bedroom / attached bathroom, my 14 yo son taking the living room / hallway half-bath (and sharing our full bathroom), and my husband and I taking the master suite. We are treating our friends to the trip so we don't feel bad about snagging the master + amazing en-suite. 

 

The 2 bedroom would have been fine as well with the same sleeping arrangements, just one less 1/2 bath, less space, smaller balcony but this is definitely a "once-in-a-lifetime" (of course, until we win powerball tonight)😄

 

Warmest, Amy

[amygutman]

5 hours ago, Grimix said:

Be careful you don't jinx it! I said that last year before our DOS trip, and sure enough our family came down with COVID about a week and a half before we sailed! Luckily we were all negative for the embarkation tests, but I didn't recover my sense of taste until the start of the second day!

@Grimix you are SO correct. Let's just say, there will be at least one of us enjoying the trip - travelling from three different countries, three planes, three different jobs, travel insurance, and wrapping ourselves in bubble-wrap (and...PPE for the 2 A&E docs / nurses in our party) should ensure happiness for us all. 

Plus...crossing fingers, salt over shoulders, no hats on beds, (+) wishing on stars, praying and doing happy dances to ward off evil travel spirits. Whatever works!!!!

[amygutman]

4 hours ago, EODHorn said:

Wait which Alaska Cruise are you on?

@EODHorn Encore Sept 24th Seattle-Glacier Bay 7 Night. 

71 days, 3 hours from now (and yes...I most certainly am counting down!)!!!

[smillerholmes]

24 minutes ago, amygutman said:

@EODHorn Encore Sept 24th Seattle-Glacier Bay 7 Night. 

71 days, 3 hours from now (and yes...I most certainly am counting down!)!!!

You are cracking me up with the countdown! - I have multiple countdown timers going on my desktop.

-Next Cruise

-Football Season

-Retirement

[MrsTabs]

Received notification today of our upgrade!!

 

On the Dawn 14th Sept British Isles - from inside to balcony - £160 each - 58 days out

 

First time I ever won my upgrade bid - very happy

[vacation44]

1 minute ago, MrsTabs said:

Received notification today of our upgrade!!

 

On the Dawn 14th Sept British Isles - from inside to balcony - £160 each - 58 days out

 

First time I ever won my upgrade bid - very happy

Congratulations!

 

Anyone been upgraded on the Jewel lately?

[Aaronscat]

We received an upgrade today for our sailing 47 days away on the Dawn. We went from an obstructed oceanview to a balcony. 😁

[mking8288]

@MrsTabs and @Aaronscat  Congrats on getting a balcony at  7 to 8 weeks out, that's pretty early unlike ... anyway, each sailing / ship / itinerary do vary and sometimes with the available upgrade cabin categories.  Were yours in the fair (or higher) zones or poor, barely moving the needle ?? (my feeling is that it's over in "fair" and/or just beyond "poor".  I hope that that NCL assigned each of the winning bidders this early on, a decent cabin in terms of deck and location, etc.   In years past, balcony upgrades were held & not done until a lot closer ... nowadays, it seemed like once they are done with taking most of the Haven bidders and the spa/club suites, the balconies joined the musical chairs in getting shuffled around next.  Toward the end (closer to sail date) extra revenues collected and NCL still get a good # of Insides for last minute fire sale, including last minute "solo" specials ... sometimes but not always.  

[vacation44]

25 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

@MrsTabs and @Aaronscat  Congrats on getting a balcony at  7 to 8 weeks out, that's pretty early unlike ... anyway, each sailing / ship / itinerary do vary and sometimes with the available upgrade cabin categories.  Were yours in the fair (or higher) zones or poor, barely moving the needle ?? (my feeling is that it's over in "fair" and/or just beyond "poor".  I hope that that NCL assigned each of the winning bidders this early on, a decent cabin in terms of deck and location, etc.   In years past, balcony upgrades were held & not done until a lot closer ... nowadays, it seemed like once they are done with taking most of the Haven bidders and the spa/club suites, the balconies joined the musical chairs in getting shuffled around next.  Toward the end (closer to sail date) extra revenues collected and NCL still get a good # of Insides for last minute fire sale, including last minute "solo" specials ... sometimes but not always.  

And I would be interested to know if there were a lot of balcony cabins available.   For our upcoming August cruise on the Jewel, there are 53 balcony cabins left which I think is a lot in hope of securing an upgrade bid.

[MrsTabs]

my bid was just into the fair category and yes very happy with the location, from my understanding there are quite a few empty cabins still so maybe that is why we got the upgrade early ( suites are practically sold out but everything else is up for grabs) my reasoning was because there were so many available most people would stick with minimum bid or just above, so I went to fair straight away, and it seems to have worked! More than happy with the price we paid ( original fare plus upgrade), still under what they are asking for a balcony now, even with a price drop.

[Aaronscat]

4 hours ago, mking8288 said:

@MrsTabs and @Aaronscat  Congrats on getting a balcony at  7 to 8 weeks out, that's pretty early unlike ... anyway, each sailing / ship / itinerary do vary and sometimes with the available upgrade cabin categories.  Were yours in the fair (or higher) zones or poor, barely moving the needle ?? (my feeling is that it's over in "fair" and/or just beyond "poor".  I hope that that NCL assigned each of the winning bidders this early on, a decent cabin in terms of deck and location, etc.   In years past, balcony upgrades were held & not done until a lot closer ... nowadays, it seemed like once they are done with taking most of the Haven bidders and the spa/club suites, the balconies joined the musical chairs in getting shuffled around next.  Toward the end (closer to sail date) extra revenues collected and NCL still get a good # of Insides for last minute fire sale, including last minute "solo" specials ... sometimes but not always.  

My bid was fair. Looking on the website I can currently secure an Oceanview cabin that would cost me more then I paid for my original fair, upgrade, free at sea grats, prepaid service charges and 3 booked  excursions all together. The cabin we have been assigned is mid ship deck 9, cabins above and below and pretty much exactly where we would have selected on our own.

[mking8288]

@Aaronscat and @MrsTabs  Again, thanks for sharing for others to see, know & appreciate with your details.  Congrats & well done.  Bidding isn't for everyone but for the odds & chances that we sometimes are willing to risk and take, the "payoff" can be rather rewarding.  We ended up recently (2022) when ships weren't sailing full, with a very nice "BA" category, balcony on Deck 15 Mid/Fwd for a very reasonable, low bid with a port intensive itinerary, perfectly okay if we didn't win & happy with our chosen OV for 2, one without the extra pullman/upper bed.  We're "disappointed, not ... in "failing" to get a larger club balcony (mini) suite, LOL.  It's often very difficult to generalize but within the past year, including some of the 2023 sailings, NCL apparently started processing and accepting bids to upgrade early.  Have a balcony booked ahead at our preferred & chosen deck/location ... probably not going to be "bidding" up since this (among the newest) ship has more spacious cabins as a whole, including the "larger" balcony ... but, we might put in a very low bid for the fun of it & see what happen.  

 

Happy cruising and cheers ! 

[Ladyshopper23]

My first experience of bidding for an upgrade.

Booked inside cabin on Norwegian Dawn on 23rd June for sailing on 23rd August.

 

26th June received upgrade email, and bid minimum bid for an oceanview and a balcony.

 

7th July received notification that we'd been upgraded to an oceanview at £40pp

 

Very pleased with the result, as if I'd booked oceanview to start with, it was an extra £200pp on top of the inside cabin rate.

[putums]

Hi All,

I received an email to bid on my October sailing on the Escape.  Use to be that once you submitted the bid you could see it on your online account, that is no longer the case for me. I also looked on the NCL app they can't find my reservation, the only way I can look at it is through the original email. Is this the case for everyone or am I experiencing a computer problem?

[bomabound]

1 hour ago, putums said:

Hi All,

I received an email to bid on my October sailing on the Escape.  Use to be that once you submitted the bid you could see it on your online account, that is no longer the case for me. I also looked on the NCL app they can't find my reservation, the only way I can look at it is through the original email. Is this the case for everyone or am I experiencing a computer problem?

That’s how it is for me too.  I have to find the email and use the link.  I’m nervous about deleting my upgrade emails and then not being able to get back in.  I sure wish it was available through my reservation.

[Canadian1]

8 minutes ago, bomabound said:

That’s how it is for me too.  I have to find the email and use the link.  I’m nervous about deleting my upgrade emails and then not being able to get back in.  I sure wish it was available through my reservation.

You can find it in the app for sure.