How is the bidding system doing? Any comments?

[racj846]

1 hour ago, HiCCCs said:

Hold the phone.....are you saying you can bid on EZ Air fares????? Or what exactly are you saying here???? I have never heard about bidding to upgrade on airfare through Princess.

No, the poster clearly states they can bid to upgrade on the Air New Zealand website.  Experience with other airlines may differ.

Edited April 20, 2023 by racj846

[cr8tiv1]

IF...you book directly with an airline, you "may" be able to bid up for a better category.

 

You can do this with Hawaiian Airlines.  They even send you emails letting you know that you have this option.  

[jwattle]

We booked with EZ Air; once the flight was in Air New Zealand's system, I was able to go into Air New Zealand and bid for an upgrade.

[KLM3164]

10 hours ago, jwattle said:

We booked with EZ Air; once the flight was in Air New Zealand's system, I was able to go into Air New Zealand and bid for an upgrade.

Sure hope you get it! I think premium economy would be difficult to do for such a long flight but Business class (especially if they have lay flight seats) would be ideal. Enjoy your cruise! DH and I hope to do Australia someday soon.

[azbirdmom]

On 4/19/2023 at 8:29 AM, jwattle said:

So...semi on topic....we have EZ Air on Air New Zealand from San Francisco to Sydney and on their site ( ANZ) we can bid to upgrade. It would COST about $5,000 more pp roundtrip to bump from premium economy to Business Premier but minimum bid is $1,100. See how we "fare". 😂🍻💕

 

Good luck with that!  Hope you have purchased NZ visas.  Our friends were only connecting in NZ last December enroute to Sydney but learned when checking in at the ANZ counter that they needed visas.  Fortunately they were able to get it quickly by electronic means.  The visas are fairly new for NZ and started just before Covid hit.  I never would have thought that you would need a visa to simply connect through an airport!

[Shippy]

 Won our bid on the cruise we took 2 months ago, 33 days before we sailed. Got an email saying the bid was successful.

Yesterday, we learned that our bid for our next cruise...33 days from now... was successful. No email saying so just a new sailing contract with the new cabin number.

   Once I book a cruise, I continue to look at the availability of different cabin categories. Just a habit. Wondering about how full the ship is. Sometimes changing location.of my cabin.

   About 2 weeks ago, there were 7  S4 penthouses available & over a dozen balconies. It had showed that for quite awhile.

All of a sudden, the next day, they were all gone. Obviously, no one booked them all. Only inside & outside cabins have remained.

I mentioned that to my husband. He said that there was probably a closing date where Princess turns them over to the 3rd party company that assigns the winning bids.....So, it looks like all those cabins were gone but they were not.

   Makes sense, since yesterday we got the S4 Penthouse I bid on a month ago.

We bid in the minimum amount area.

[jwattle]

14 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Good luck with that!  Hope you have purchased NZ visas.  Our friends were only connecting in NZ last December enroute to Sydney but learned when checking in at the ANZ counter that they needed visas.  Fortunately they were able to get it quickly by electronic means.  The visas are fairly new for NZ and started just before Covid hit.  I never would have thought that you would need a visa to simply connect through an airport!

Thank you, yes. In all of our traveling, it's become second nature to check for that sort of thing as soon as I book air (not to mention it has shown up on "To Catch a Smuggler, South Pacific" 😂😂😂). ❤

Edited April 21, 2023 by jwattle

[jwattle]

14 hours ago, KLM3164 said:

Sure hope you get it! I think premium economy would be difficult to do for such a long flight but Business class (especially if they have lay flight seats) would be ideal. Enjoy your cruise! DH and I hope to do Australia someday soon.

Luckily, Premium Economy on Air New Zealand for long haul is pretty amazing, but the Premium Business would be SO nice! 💕

[ehogan]

We are new to the bidding process, so are looking for some expertise.

 

We made a bid a while ago (our cruise leaves mid May) and now see that the category we have bid on (deluxe obstructed balcony) is sold out.  Is there any point in keeping the bid in or should we just cancel?  (We are not interested in bidding on another category).

Thanks.

[Shippy]

1 hour ago, ehogan said:

We are new to the bidding process, so are looking for some expertise.

 

We made a bid a while ago (our cruise leaves mid May) and now see that the category we have bid on (deluxe obstructed balcony) is sold out.  Is there any point in keeping the bid in or should we just cancel?  (We are not interested in bidding on another category).

Thanks.

 keep your bid....read my story 3 up from your original post

[RiPPn]

Browsed through the last 10 or so pages and couldn't find the answer. Does having a higher cabin effect anything in the bidding process, such as minimum bid or odds of getting the upgrade? What I mean by this, if I have an inside cabin and bid for a balcony and someone has an ocean view cabin and bids for the same balcony, does the inside cabin still win if their bid is higher? 

[HiCCCs]

3 hours ago, RiPPn said:

Browsed through the last 10 or so pages and couldn't find the answer. Does having a higher cabin effect anything in the bidding process, such as minimum bid or odds of getting the upgrade? What I mean by this, if I have an inside cabin and bid for a balcony and someone has an ocean view cabin and bids for the same balcony, does the inside cabin still win if their bid is higher? 

If that were the only balcony available, the highest bidder will win. It is not based on the original booking of a higher cabin....it's all about the highest bid. Keep in mind, however, if they have lots of staterooms in the category on which you are bidding, it's possible that even the lowest bid will be a winner if they have the availability.

[Shippy]

4 hours ago, RiPPn said:

Browsed through the last 10 or so pages and couldn't find the answer. Does having a higher cabin effect anything in the bidding process, such as minimum bid or odds of getting the upgrade? What I mean by this, if I have an inside cabin and bid for a balcony and someone has an ocean view cabin and bids for the same balcony, does the inside cabin still win if their bid is higher? 

   from my bidding experience...

they only offer you to bid on 3 cabin categories above you, so...

an inside cabin might only get a chance to bid on an ocean view cabin, a mid ship ocean view, & an obstructed view balcony.The ocean view per might get...an obstructed view balcony, midship balcony, & mini suite. So they might have a chance to bid on a better balcony category.

ALL DEPENDING ON WHAT IS AVAILABLE.

Remember, you CANNOT see all that is available. That seems to be part of the game !

[Mary Ann 2]

2 hours ago, Shippy said:

   from my bidding experience...

they only offer you to bid on 3 cabin categories above you, so...

an inside cabin might only get a chance to bid on an ocean view cabin, a mid ship ocean view, & an obstructed view balcony.The ocean view per might get...an obstructed view balcony, midship balcony, & mini suite. So they might have a chance to bid on a better balcony category.

ALL DEPENDING ON WHAT IS AVAILABLE.

Remember, you CANNOT see all that is available. That seems to be part of the game !

Some exceptions to the number/types of cabins you can bid on perhaps.  We are booked in a mini suite and can bid on a Reserve (Club Class) mini suite, and 4 different types of suites.

[Eglesbrech]

7 hours ago, RiPPn said:

Browsed through the last 10 or so pages and couldn't find the answer. Does having a higher cabin effect anything in the bidding process, such as minimum bid or odds of getting the upgrade? What I mean by this, if I have an inside cabin and bid for a balcony and someone has an ocean view cabin and bids for the same balcony, does the inside cabin still win if their bid is higher? 

I don’t know about Princess in particular but from what I understand the bidding algorithm seems to look for the most money. While a bid may be higher it may not represent the most profit.

 

There may be more money in moving an inside to an outside, the outside to a balcony etc. 

[RiPPn]

16 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

I don’t know about Princess in particular but from what I understand the bidding algorithm seems to look for the most money. While a bid may be higher it may not represent the most profit.

 

There may be more money in moving an inside to an outside, the outside to a balcony etc. 

This was my thinking also, why would the cruise line move an inside all the way up when they can get a cascading effect by moving an ocean view to a balcony, an inside to an ocean view, etc. Plus, it would seem you are incentivizing people to purchase the cheapest cabin, then have them try to get a higher cabin on the cheap.

 

The reason for my question is that I booked an ocean view as it was the cheapest available however it is $1500 more than an inside. So if an inside becomes available before final payment, I thought about moving down, then using the $1500 difference in price between the 2 to bid up to a balcony. However, it looks like from what is said, doing that could limit my bidding options, so I may not take the risk.

 

By the way, thanks for all the responses, much appreciated.

Edited April 23, 2023 by RiPPn

[jehender]

7 hours ago, Shippy said:

   from my bidding experience...

they only offer you to bid on 3 cabin categories above you, so...

an inside cabin might only get a chance to bid on an ocean view cabin, a mid ship ocean view, & an obstructed view balcony.The ocean view per might get...an obstructed view balcony, midship balcony, & mini suite. So they might have a chance to bid on a better balcony category.

ALL DEPENDING ON WHAT IS AVAILABLE.

Remember, you CANNOT see all that is available. That seems to be part of the game !

Can anyone comment on what options they had to upgrade to from an inside guarantee?  I would like to bid on a balcony but not interested in an obstructed.  We are still choosing our cruise so nothing to look at yet.  

[jwattle]

3 hours ago, RiPPn said:

This was my thinking also, why would the cruise line move an inside all the way up when they can get a cascading effect by moving an ocean view to a balcony, an inside to an ocean view, etc. Plus, it would seem you are incentivizing people to purchase the cheapest cabin, then have them try to get a higher cabin on the cheap.

 

The reason for my question is that I booked an ocean view as it was the cheapest available however it is $1500 more than an inside. So if an inside becomes available before final payment, I thought about moving down, then using the $1500 difference in price between the 2 to bid up to a balcony. However, it looks like from what is said, doing that could limit my bidding options, so I may not take the risk.

 

By the way, thanks for all the responses, much appreciated.

You would also be taking the risk of no availability after you move down...

[tutumomickey]

30 minutes ago, jehender said:

Can anyone comment on what options they had to upgrade to from an inside guarantee?  I would like to bid on a balcony but not interested in an obstructed.  We are still choosing our cruise so nothing to look at yet.  

Options were obstructed balcony, deluxe obstructed balcony and standard balcony.

[Dlynna]

2 hours ago, jehender said:

Can anyone comment on what options they had to upgrade to from an inside guarantee?  I would like to bid on a balcony but not interested in an obstructed.  We are still choosing our cruise so nothing to look at yet.  

I had an inside guaranteed and was given the choice of standard obstructed balcony, standard balcony, ocean view, and deluxe obstructed balcony. 31 days out I was upgraded to deluxe obstructed. I bid a bit over minimum.

[roxievegas]

Just got off the Discovery.  We had booked a Balcony, given the opportunity to upgrade to Deluxe, Premuim or Mini Suite.  I did a minimum bid on all three and we got a Deluxe for $40pp.  We wanted to try a Deluxe or Premium because you get a "sofa" (actually a love seat) and my husband wanted something better to sit on than the chair or just the bed.  

 

After a week in the room - he hardly used the sofa and said that it was not worth upgrading.  He did not find it comfortable.  We will now only go for a mini suite or keep what we have.

 

We have a cruise end of July and I will be bidding for a mini suite - will come back and report what they are asking for next week.

[HiCCCs]

14 hours ago, jehender said:

Can anyone comment on what options they had to upgrade to from an inside guarantee?  I would like to bid on a balcony but not interested in an obstructed.  We are still choosing our cruise so nothing to look at yet.  

When you go to bid, the balcony "obstructed" would be one choice among the other balcony's for which you can bid. Just don't place a bid on an obstructed balcony.

[rheathslc]

I'm leaving on May 3rd on a little 3-day cruise on the Royal. I booked a standard Balcony cabin and checked over the weekend and there seemed to be quite a few mini-suite and Reserve/Club Class minis still available so I submitted a minimum bit for a Club Class mini-suite and the bid was accepted this morning. I'm super excited! I LOVE the Club Class perks and got assigned one of the cabins on the hump of the ship with a larger than normal balcony as well. Yay!

[HiCCCs]

6 hours ago, rheathslc said:

I'm leaving on May 3rd on a little 3-day cruise on the Royal. I booked a standard Balcony cabin and checked over the weekend and there seemed to be quite a few mini-suite and Reserve/Club Class minis still available so I submitted a minimum bit for a Club Class mini-suite and the bid was accepted this morning. I'm super excited! I LOVE the Club Class perks and got assigned one of the cabins on the hump of the ship with a larger than normal balcony as well. Yay!

ENJOY!!! Those are the best kinds of stories to hear where you're getting something extra without having to break the bank. You'll love the royal treatment of Club Class dining!!! ENJOY!!!

[cr8tiv1]

Just an rhetorical thought since I have not been on a Royal Class ship.  Why did Princess do away with Ocean View rooms?  Are obstructed balcony cabins more expensive than what an Ocean View would have cost?

 

And here I sit with envy as everyone seems to be getting their bid accepted (at minimum).  Mine is still "pending" with less than a month away.  Inside to Balcony bid.