Princess Introduces Bidding For Upgrades

[Guest ldtr]

2 hours ago, DCThunder said:

I'm a solo traveler and so pay a single supplement.  I accept that.  Recently I was offered an upgrade to a mini-suite on a 15 day cruise for $499 or about $33/day.  Not bad, right?  Then I read the fine print, and it says:  for a solo, it's double, or $1,000.  I passed.

 

Will this bidding process do the same thing?  And will they have a "Buy it Now" feature, like eBay?

If done like some of the other cruise lines are doing their bidding system is is per person per day, so yes solo's would be double.  It would also be a single close bid, best and final.  They would then just take the highest bids for what ever rooms were available.

[CineGraphic]

Just now, HBCcruiser said:

It is all about making money. 

Versus a customer scoring a good deal.

What Princess also gets out of this is a much better idea of exactly just how much some people are willing to pay for a cabin. Watch for prices to go up after they've perused a few months worth of bidding data.

[HBCcruiser]

Just now, CineGraphic said:

Versus a customer scoring a good deal.

What Princess also gets out of this is a much better idea of exactly just how much some people are willing to pay for a cabin. Watch for prices to go up after they've perused a few months worth of bidding data.

Exactly! If you look at the skyrocketing costs of NCL Haven suites you will understand. 

[JimmyVWine]

1 minute ago, HBCcruiser said:

It is actually not that easy to guess who gets the upgrade and who does not. There are MULTIPLE threads on the RCI and NCL boards with respect to this. No one really knows how the algorithm/ program works, but the assumption is that it is based on who paid the most for that type of cabin then bid the most for the upgrade. It is all about making money. 

But that is my point.  If this group pools their money, they could offer up a really big number for the suite to almost guarantee getting it.  (Or as Steelers36 points out, skip the suite and "overbid" for a Mini.)  Once the bid is won on the highest level of cabin needed to set the chain in motion, the other bids can be quite low since you would be bidding on one specific cabin and odds are that others won't pick the cabin that you are targeting.  It's far from a sure thing, but target bidding in a collusive manner definitely increases your chances of success.  Remove the targeted bidding option and this all falls apart.

[DCThunder]

In a true auction, all bidders see the price that will "win" the item and can decide if they want to bid more than the current highest bidder, up to the time bidding stops and the item is called.  That was how eBay worked for a long time (maybe still does, I haven't used them in years).

 

Is this process essentially submitting a sealed envelope with the amount you want to pay for the item and the highest blind bid wins?  Or do you see the price you have to "beat" to get the upgrade?

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

But that is my point.  If this group pools their money, they could offer up a really big number for the suite to almost guarantee getting it.  (Or as Steelers36 points out, skip the suite and "overbid" for a Mini.)  Once the bid is won on the highest level of cabin needed to set the chain in motion, the other bids can be quite low since you would be bidding on one specific cabin and odds are that others won't pick the cabin that you are targeting.  It's far from a sure thing, but target bidding in a collusive manner definitely increases your chances of success.  Remove the targeted bidding option and this all falls apart.

Actually, it falls apart now.

 

Let's say the next person down the chain knows to bid on the Deluxe Balcony because DB occupant is going after a Mini.  That person is not going to be able to specify a cabin that is not available on the deck plan.

 

So, your writing suggests that next person has to wait until the first person gets their Mini.  But in the meantime, other guests have already submitted bids to get into a DB and one of them will have been accepted into the vacant DB before the person in the chain gets their bid entered for the specific cabin number.

 

[HBCcruiser]

5 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

big number for the suite to almost guarantee getting it.

Then why not just purchase the suite it in the first place? I would not pay more for the upgrade than I could book it outright for. 

[Thrak]

I don't see us participating but one never knows what the future will bring. I certainly hope Princess gets someone else to handle this. I can only imagine the horrible mess Princess IT would make of this process.

[Ombud]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

I would think that the Upsell Dept is now defunct.  It will be renamed the Bid Dept?  🤔

Yes, sounds a lot like when I request an upsell and state the price I'm willing to pay.

 

OTOH I book the room i want on the royal class ships then have it marked 'no upgrade.' Thinking there's less chance of being moved despite that notation 

[HBCcruiser]

13 minutes ago, DCThunder said:

Is this process essentially submitting a sealed envelope with the amount you want to pay for the item and the highest blind bid wins?  Or do you see the price you have to "beat" to get the upgrade?

No. On Royal and NCL you see a sliding scale from the minimum to the maximum bid you can make. Note: The min and max can be different for each bidder depending upon what type of cabin you booked originally and how much you paid for it.  See photo below for example:

Edited August 18, 2022 by HBCcruiser

[HBCcruiser]

RCI's Royal Up photo: 

[rocklinmom]

This is intriguing. Does it mean they will no longer send us those emails shortly before sailing with an upgrade offer? And if you do get the "winning" bid, do you get to select your exact cabin? 

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

And if you do get the "winning" bid, do you get to select your exact cabin? 

I think that it has been established that you merely get a cabin grade, not an exact location.

[rbtan]

3 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

The upgrade fairy as we know it, is no more.

She's been captured, mounted, framed, and is hanging in John Padgett's office.

 

May She Rest in Peace.

 

 

Not sure that's a fairy I'd like to have visit!

[vjmatty]

2 hours ago, Bgwest said:

Respectfully, disagree. At auction, everyone has an equal opportunity to decide what a given commodity is worth to them. Beyond the point where one is no longer interested in pursuing said commodity, then just walk away. What could be easier. 

 

Everyone has an equal opportunity to email for an upsell too…..the only improvement here is for Princess.

[muffin]

See  # 13 for info on exact cabin. I read it that you bid on any cabin individually if you like it’s layout, location, etc etc,. You do not bid on a certain  group of cabins with the same  BA, BW etc designation  awarded by the cruiseline as it’s category. I may be wrong! 

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, vjmatty said:

Everyone has an equal opportunity to email for an upsell too…..the only improvement here is for Princess.

As I see it, when you are bidding at an auction, you know exactly what item you are bidding for. 

With the Princess auction, you are bidding just for a cabin grade, with no idea where the cabin will be located. 

It gives Princess an ideal opportunity to get rid of those cabins in undesirable locations that no one wants.

[DallasGuy75219]

4 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

Upgrades: We used to give them away, but now they'll go to the highest bidder.

Practically every cruise line does this now,  either by bidding or offering guaranteed paid upgrades to targeted booked cruisers. The upgrade fairy is now the upsell fairy.

 

If you owned a business with a limited amount of inventory, (i.e., desirable unsold cabins), would you give it away for free or sell it to customers willing to pay for it.

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

If you owned a business with a limited amount of inventory, (i.e., desirable unsold cabins), would you give it away for free or sell it to customers willing to pay for it.

Fair point, but will the available cabins actually be desirable? 

[CineGraphic]

2 minutes ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Practically every cruise line does this now,  either by bidding or offering guaranteed paid upgrades to targeted booked cruisers. The upgrade fairy is now the upsell fairy.

 

If you owned a business with a limited amount of inventory, (i.e., desirable unsold cabins), would you give it away for free or sell it to customers willing to pay for it.

 

I would offer it at a set price, versus forcing my customers to bid against each other, so remember, when they say they value their customers, they value profit even more.

[villauk]

11 minutes ago, muffin said:

See  # 13 for info on exact cabin. I read it that you bid on any cabin individually if you like it’s layout, location, etc etc,. You do not bid on a certain  group of cabins with the same  BA, BW etc designation  awarded by the cruiseline as it’s category. I may be wrong! 

 

Not according to #1 and the link:

 

‘The Princess Upgrade process is simple. Once a guest’s sailing is within the final payment period and fully payment has been received, they will receive an invitation to take part in the program and submit a bid. They can bid on any stateroom category that is above the one they are currently booked in, and they may change or cancel their bid any time before it is (or is not) accepted.’

 

It’s not the norm either as cabins can become available at any time up to boarding, so you bid on the category and they take the money as soon as you win the bid - no changing your mind when you find out which cabin it is.

Edited August 18, 2022 by villauk

[vjmatty]

2 minutes ago, wowzz said:

As I see it, when you are bidding at an auction, you know exactly what item you are bidding for. 

With the Princess auction, you are bidding just for a cabin grade, with no idea where the cabin will be located. 

It gives Princess an ideal opportunity to get rid of those cabins in undesirable locations that no one wants.

And like a couple other posters said, it’s useful information for Princess to know what people are willing to pay for each category.

 

I’ve done Celebrity’s Move Up program, but it was simple, just bidding from OV to balcony. Location wasn’t important, we just wanted a balcony because we hadn’t sailed without one since the QE2… and also never sailed Celebrity before so didn’t know much about location.  

[Thrak]

1 minute ago, CineGraphic said:

 

I would offer it at a set price, versus forcing my customers to bid against each other, so remember, when they say they value their customers, they value profit even more.

 

Several times in the past my TA has called and said Princess was offering an upsell, told me the type of cabin and the price, and asked if I wanted to take the offer. Mostly I turned the offers down but did accept one. I was quite happy with the price and the cabin but it wasn't a "pig in a poke" situation.

[CineGraphic]

32 minutes ago, rbtan said:

Not sure that's a fairy I'd like to have visit!

 

Well, she looked like THIS before ol' J.P. got his hands on her.

 

[rbtan]

1 minute ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Well, she looked like THIS before ol' J.P. got his hands on her.

 

Now she looks more like a Tonker Bell!