How is the bidding system doing? Any comments?

[roxievegas]

update:

Since I had booked this cruise through the casino department, I called them at 8:00a and asked if I should pay through them or call the main the number - the guy said I could pay him and I did.

 

just a side note:  This was a "free balcony" cabin offer with the princess plus included.  So we had not paid anything for the cabin or the plus package, only port taxes and the $200 per person deposit, and I always get the vacation protection plan - which is always a different amount.  When I booked the cruise, the charged me $66.40 each, then when the bid upgrade was accepted for $300 they said we owed $245.20, because they dropped the vac protection cost down to $39.00 - so they reduced my cost because they dropped the price of vac protection plan - ?????  crazy

[paradiselivin1]

On 12/9/2022 at 7:11 PM, Shelly97060 said:

I wonder if for some reason your initial bid never went through ( some sort of system glitch)? Each time I have placed a bid I have received an email confirmation within a few minutes letting me know they received it. 

I not only received e-mails for every bid placed but when I modified them and also pulled one. Also, I would get online in my cruise personalizer and would see when that they were pending until the bitter end. If you read the last sentence of my post above I state that they sent me emails for every change. 

[MamaMills]

Update: 28 days from sailing. Received email that my minimum bid was accepted. I fully expected to get an undesirable room location but it ended up being a decent move and I’m happy.

 

Just for reference - I was booked in an interior room. I was offered balcony options at a range of minimums from $35/pp to $110/pp. I bid on an obstructed deluxe balcony for the minimum of $75.

[sunviking90]

2 hours ago, MamaMills said:

Update: 28 days from sailing. Received email that my minimum bid was accepted. I fully expected to get an undesirable room location but it ended up being a decent move and I’m happy.

 

Just for reference - I was booked in an interior room. I was offered balcony options at a range of minimums from $35/pp to $110/pp. I bid on an obstructed deluxe balcony for the minimum of $75.

Thanks for the update. Congratulations and enjoy your balcony! We have a minimum bid in for mid January too, but still waiting.

[suzyed]

6 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

Thanks for the update. Congratulations and enjoy your balcony! We have a minimum bid in for mid January too, but still waiting.

We have two bids in.. above minimum bids and we sail in 13 days.  Nothing yet.

Edited December 16, 2022 by suzyed

[joe/jack]

We just got our bid accepted for a aft facing balcony on Regal deck 12

We never never had one of these before

So do these balconies have lounge chairs or just the standard 2 chairs and a table. I believe they are larger? 

I been trying to find a photo but no luck so far

Thanks 

 

[sunviking90]

18 minutes ago, joe/jack said:

We just got our bid accepted for a aft facing balcony on Regal deck 12

We never never had one of these before

So do these balconies have lounge chairs or just the standard 2 chairs and a table. I believe they are larger? 

I been trying to find a photo but no luck so far

Thanks 

 

Congrats! This is what our aft balcony on the Majestic (Marina deck) looked like. We had foot rests too.

Edited December 16, 2022 by sunviking90

[Jemnibabe]

12 hours ago, suzyed said:

We have two bids in.. above minimum bids and we sail in 13 days.  Nothing yet.

Has anyone experienced a bid being excepted 90 days out from cruise?

[joe/jack]

56 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Congrats! This is what our aft balcony on the Majestic (Marina deck) looked like. We had foot rests too.

Thank you

exactly what was searching for 

[joe/jack]

10 minutes ago, Jemnibabe said:

Has anyone experienced a bid being excepted 90 days out from cruise?

26 days before sailing 

[Itried4498]

I'm excited so many of you are getting such low bids accepted!

 

We're leaving Thursday on the Crown Princess for a 15-day voyage.  We're booked in an interior room and the lowest we can bid for a balcony is $550pp.  Surprisingly, there's ample rooms available (over 200, mostly balcony, per our TA) for this Holiday cruise so pondering why the minimum bid is so high. 

 

Regardless, congrats to everybody getting steals!

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

I'm excited so many of you are getting such low bids accepted!

 

We're leaving Thursday on the Crown Princess for a 15-day voyage.  We're booked in an interior room and the lowest we can bid for a balcony is $550pp.  Surprisingly, there's ample rooms available (over 200, mostly balcony, per our TA) for this Holiday cruise so pondering why the minimum bid is so high. 

 

Regardless, congrats to everybody getting steals!

I suspect the bid for someone is an OV cabin is much lower.  (Assuming the crown has OV cabins).

How much would it cost for you to pay (from the price you paid for your inside). for an Upgrade to an OV?  How about a Balcony?  
 

Might  give you a clue?

[suekel]

I just got off a cruise to Hawaii.  While I was onboard, I received notice that my bid upgrade on a cruise in early January was accepted.  Be warned that there is no way to pay for this while onboard and there was no option to pay on my personalizer since the cruise was booked through the casino.  If we hadn't stopped in Ensenada so I could call, I would have lost my new cabin.  If you cruise a lot and book casino comped cruises, this could be an issue.  

[roxievegas]

48 minutes ago, suekel said:

I just got off a cruise to Hawaii.  While I was onboard, I received notice that my bid upgrade on a cruise in early January was accepted.  Be warned that there is no way to pay for this while onboard and there was no option to pay on my personalizer since the cruise was booked through the casino.  If we hadn't stopped in Ensenada so I could call, I would have lost my new cabin.  If you cruise a lot and book casino comped cruises, this could be an issue.  

Because I book our cruises through the casino department - I go through them for any changes to our cruise.  

That said - I would think that princess would give you an option to click on "pay" for accepting the upgrade cost and they would charge your credit card - easy for you and them.  We may have to offer the suggestion - 

[Steelers36]

Some periodic perusing and quick reading is telling me this upgrade process is working out for a lot of folks who are happy with results and amount paid.

 

Makes me wonder if the Princess drug dealer is getting guests hooked on the process with some easy candy and some day it will be more difficult and cost more once the customer base is high on the process.  

[shiner6]

23 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

I'm excited so many of you are getting such low bids accepted!

 

We're leaving Thursday on the Crown Princess for a 15-day voyage.  We're booked in an interior room and the lowest we can bid for a balcony is $550pp.  Surprisingly, there's ample rooms available (over 200, mostly balcony, per our TA) for this Holiday cruise so pondering why the minimum bid is so high. 

 

Regardless, congrats to everybody getting steals!

We have the same situation. Doesn't interest me at $550 pp minimum bid for a balcony. I'm fine where I am, but would consider a less expensive upgrade.

[Musky Ike]

Just got our bid accepted 13 days out. B2 to MB. 😁

[racj846]

Care to let us know what ship, length of cruise and how much pp?

[Musky Ike]

3 hours ago, racj846 said:

Care to let us know what ship, length of cruise and how much pp?

Emerald, 15 days, $320pp plus added insurance cost, so about $46 per day total. It was the lowest bid at the time.

[azbirdmom]

On 12/10/2022 at 9:22 AM, roxievegas said:

update:

Since I had booked this cruise through the casino department, I called them at 8:00a and asked if I should pay through them or call the main the number - the guy said I could pay him and I did.

 

just a side note:  This was a "free balcony" cabin offer with the princess plus included.  So we had not paid anything for the cabin or the plus package, only port taxes and the $200 per person deposit, and I always get the vacation protection plan - which is always a different amount.  When I booked the cruise, the charged me $66.40 each, then when the bid upgrade was accepted for $300 they said we owed $245.20, because they dropped the vac protection cost down to $39.00 - so they reduced my cost because they dropped the price of vac protection plan - ?????  crazy

 

A similar thing happened to me except that I got a refund to my credit card as a result of the lowered vacation protection plan costs after our bid was accepted.  This was a free inside that we had paid to upgrade to a mini suite.  Then we were successful in bidding for a full suite about a week before the cruise.  I thought it was odd that the new booking confirmation indicated that we had paid a lower amount than the earlier invoices did.  When I did the math I found that the refund I received was equal to 8% of the casino's share of the fare.  In other words I believe they were previously charging insurance premium on what you paid plus the casino amount, now it's just on what you paid.  Check it and see if that explains what you're seeing (taking into account the minimum $39 charge of course).  Of course it could change tomorrow but that's what seems to be happening now.

[Sailaweigh]

If Princess accepts your bid and you don't like the location. Can you decline it?

[roxievegas]

1 hour ago, Sailaweigh said:

If Princess accepts your bid and you don't like the location. Can you decline it?

from what everyone has said, you can call and ask for another location, or do not pay for the bid.  You have only 48 hours and if you have not paid, you will keep your original room

[Itried4498]

3 hours ago, roxievegas said:

from what everyone has said, you can call and ask for another location, or do not pay for the bid.  You have only 48 hours and if you have not paid, you will keep your original room

 

Earlier in the week, we gave in and bid $1100 for a balcony room (Crown Princess 16-day Hawaii, departing today).  It was accepted within an hour and our interior stateroom immediately went up for sale and was sold within a few hours (rooms than can accommodate four have been sold out for months).  We didn't pay for our upgrade until 24 hours later, long after our original room had been sold.  

 

Not sure if this is normal, or because we bid at the last minute.  Would be interesting to see what Princess would've done had we changed our minds...

[CalTexCruiser]

2 hours ago, Itried4498 said:

 

Earlier in the week, we gave in and bid $1100 for a balcony room (Crown Princess 16-day Hawaii, departing today).  It was accepted within an hour and our interior stateroom immediately went up for sale and was sold within a few hours (rooms than can accommodate four have been sold out for months).  We didn't pay for our upgrade until 24 hours later, long after our original room had been sold.  

 

Not sure if this is normal, or because we bid at the last minute.  Would be interesting to see what Princess would've done had we changed our minds...

I believe you would have been processed using code SOL should you have changed your mind

[cmaygar]

It worked well for me. I initially booked for a Deluxe Balcony on the Enchanted Princess for our upcoming New Year’s cruise. I placed my bid in a few days after I booked and a few weeks ago I received an e-mail that the bid was accepted and I had 12 hours or so to remit the payment for the upgrade. I don’t use a TA so the e-mail came directly to me and for about $300 for the both of us received a larger room with a balcony about twice the size of our initial room. It’s a 10-day cruise so the extra elbow-room will be appreciated.