Upgrade

[Scotmay]

Is it easy to navigate your way around the upgrade process. I would like to give it a try, but not all that computer savvy!

[Wishing on a star]

It is very easy to bid.   Here is a quick rundown.

You just have to pull up your booking, and then at some time around final payment, there will be a Bid For An Upgrade link. Bidding eligibility should open up at about that time.   Also, you should get an email with an invitation to bid, which will show the minimum bid for each upgraded category.  You can use the slider to increase your bid amount.  

 

If you booked thru a TA, or if you are not set to accept emails (promos, PR, from Princess)  then you would want to make sure you are signed up to recieve Princess emails.  So, your TA, or you, should recieve bidding emails.  (I think there are some Big Online travel/cruise agencies that do not participate in this bidding system.)

 

Once you submit the bid, it is up to Princess to accept or not to accept.  You don't get a chance to turn it down.  You don't get to choose to decline the bid.  If you do not pay for the upgrade after Princess accepts your bid, then they will put you back in a cabin in your current original category.

 

Many people report getting their bid accepted well before sailing.

They will get an email, and usually, their new cabin assignment shows in their booking before that email comes in. 

Some do not get bids accepted until close to sailing.

 

So, that is the kicker.  You choose a category (or categories) you want to bid on, and Princess can upgrade you to a cabin in that higher category that is anywhere on the ship.   It will be the better category, but you might not think it is a better location.  Or if you decide you don't want to pay the bid for the upgrade, you might not get your current, original cabin back.

 

You can look at your cruise on Princess website, like you are booking another cabin, and you can see how many cabins are unsold.  If a lot of cabins are still available, you have a better chance of getting the upgrade at the minimum bid shown to you.

 

 

[Scotmay]

Thank you so much for your precise answer. I just booked quite recently and I just got an an email to bid on an upgrade. The prices, I believe, are per person/per cruise!  It seemed awfully cheap to me, but maybe that’s the going rate. 

[wowzz]

24 minutes ago, Scotmay said:

Thank you so much for your precise answer. I just booked quite recently and I just got an an email to bid on an upgrade. The prices, I believe, are per person/per cruise!  It seemed awfully cheap to me, but maybe that’s the going rate. 

The price shown is the minimum bid. It does not follow that you will get an upgrade at that price - it depends on what your fellow passengers bid.

[ZoeyVictoria]

57 minutes ago, Scotmay said:

Thank you so much for your precise answer. I just booked quite recently and I just got an an email to bid on an upgrade. The prices, I believe, are per person/per cruise!  It seemed awfully cheap to me, but maybe that’s the going rate. 

I booked on December 20 (for the Regal Princess on January 11) and received the email invitation to bid the next day. I bid $5 over the $35 pp minimum to go from an inside to a standard obstructed balcony. I was notified tonight that we were upgraded to a deluxe obstructed balcony. I did have to input payment info for the $80, they did not use the credit card from the original booking. 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

That is great!  We are on this cruise.  There is a small roll-call.

Is your new cabin mid-aft, mid-ship, mid-forward???

 

I have not bid, because we hate to lose our good location, even for a slightly bigger cabin.  I just looked, and the couple I would have liked are gone!

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by PRINCESS Sweet Pea

[roxievegas]

before the bidding system if cabins were available, once on board the ship you could go to guest services and ask to upgrade.  We were booked in a balcony and paid $30 a day per cabin to upgrade to mini suite, next cruise it was $40 per day.

Now the bidding system, I put in a bid of $300 total to upgrade from balcony to mini suite.  7 night cruise, bid was accepted.  

We have another cruise in April and I will bid up again if available.

[ZoeyVictoria]

19 hours ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

That is great!  We are on this cruise.  There is a small roll-call.

Is your new cabin mid-aft, mid-ship, mid-forward???

 

I have not bid, because we hate to lose our good location, even for a slightly bigger cabin.  I just looked, and the couple I would have liked are gone!

 

The cabin is mid-aft, exactly the location we prefer (right behind aft-facing balconies or forward-facing windows).  This was a bonus cruise for us - originally we had a relative flying in the day we would have been getting off the ship.  She changed her flight to the following day, so we gained an extra cruise. 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

How nice!  We are in an obstructed balcony that is mid-ship, so it isn't really obstructed and has a larger angled balcony.  I wanted to move to an obstructed deluxe balcony, but didn't want to lose my mid-ship location and bump out balcony!

 

[huttenkt]

On 1/3/2023 at 6:11 PM, Wishing on a star said:

It is very easy to bid.   Here is a quick rundown.

You just have to pull up your booking, and then at some time around final payment, there will be a Bid For An Upgrade link. Bidding eligibility should open up at about that time.   Also, you should get an email with an invitation to bid, which will show the minimum bid for each upgraded category.  You can use the slider to increase your bid amount.  

 

If you booked thru a TA, or if you are not set to accept emails (promos, PR, from Princess)  then you would want to make sure you are signed up to recieve Princess emails.  So, your TA, or you, should recieve bidding emails.  (I think there are some Big Online travel/cruise agencies that do not participate in this bidding system.)

 

Once you submit the bid, it is up to Princess to accept or not to accept.  You don't get a chance to turn it down.  You don't get to choose to decline the bid.  If you do not pay for the upgrade after Princess accepts your bid, then they will put you back in a cabin in your current original category.

 

Many people report getting their bid accepted well before sailing.

They will get an email, and usually, their new cabin assignment shows in their booking before that email comes in. 

Some do not get bids accepted until close to sailing.

 

So, that is the kicker.  You choose a category (or categories) you want to bid on, and Princess can upgrade you to a cabin in that higher category that is anywhere on the ship.   It will be the better category, but you might not think it is a better location.  Or if you decide you don't want to pay the bid for the upgrade, you might not get your current, original cabin back.

 

You can look at your cruise on Princess website, like you are booking another cabin, and you can see how many cabins are unsold.  If a lot of cabins are still available, you have a better chance of getting the upgrade at the minimum bid shown to you.

 

 

Thanks for the wonderfully detailed information @Wishing on a star.  I am booked on Discovery for March 18, 2023. I've already paid in full but can't find the "Bind for an Upgrade" link that you mention.  Can you please tell me where to find that?  Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide!

[Shelly97060]

9 hours ago, huttenkt said:

Thanks for the wonderfully detailed information @Wishing on a star.  I am booked on Discovery for March 18, 2023. I've already paid in full but can't find the "Bind for an Upgrade" link that you mention.  Can you please tell me where to find that?  Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide!

 

try this link

https://upg.plusgrade.com/marketing/partner/RNo2BO4VPCL