Offered to upgrade to YC interior

[Saab4444]

14 hours ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

We got an offer to upgrade and we do not have the drink package. 

Everyone gets the offers to bid, the issue is to get the bid accepted.

[alyssamma]

5 hours ago, Saab4444 said:

Everyone gets the offers to bid, the issue is to get the bid accepted.

Not 100% correct...first, you have to set your privacy settings to be able to receive them. Then you have to be on a sailing where there is an opening.

 

But in general, yes, many do receive them...

[Hutcha]

On 3/28/2023 at 5:06 AM, AtSeaWithChris said:

If we accept would we get all YC benefits like drink and wifi if moving from a TA free cabin?

Were you offered an upgrade or offered to bid on an upgrade. "a TA free cabin"? Transatlantic or travel agent? Do you currently have a gratis cabin and they are offering to move you into a YC interior?

[AtSeaWithChris]

1 minute ago, Hutcha said:

Were you offered an upgrade or offered to bid on an upgrade. "a TA free cabin"? Transatlantic or travel agent? Do you currently have a gratis cabin and they are offering to move you into a YC interior?

Offered to bid on an upgrade. It’s a Travel agent free cabin. 

[Hutcha]

1 minute ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

Offered to bid on an upgrade. It’s a Travel agent free cabin. 

Thanks for clarifying. Yes, you get all the benefits of YC if your upgrade bid wins. Good luck!

[Stockjock]

On 3/28/2023 at 8:18 AM, alyssamma said:

It depends...with MSC, all things are simultaneously possible and impossible. It you know physics, it's like a quantum wave state. Until you ask the question (measure it), you won't know the actual answer.

 

If you win the bid, ask the concierge nicely and they may give you OBC.

 

Or, call and speak to a rep (or three) and see if they will refund you.

 

It *never* hurts to ask...

Let me touch upon "simultaneously possible and impossible".

We had a couple of MSC cruises under our belts.  Booked a 3rd and MSC changed it from 4 nights to 20 nights, different date, and even different continent (Brazil vs Europe) without telling us.

In order to keep Voyager's Club points active, one must sail within 3 years.  This cruise would have kept our points alive, but because of MSC's unannounced change, this cruise became impossible.  We booked a new cruise, but it would have been just outside of that 3 year deadline.

Several MSC agents told me that they wouldn't take my VC points and history away, as the reason we couldn't cruise was MSC's "fault" and not ours.

So then, they eliminated all of our status and took our VC points to zero.

I tried and tried to get those points reinstated for several years, but was told it was "impossible".

Then, one day, I communicated with a different agent on a different issue and without even asking or discussing, they reinstated all of our prior points and history.

The impossible became the possible.  Common, with MSC.

[FLCruZar]

I have had YC bid accepted on a prior sailing. 
I cancelled both drink package, and Wi-Fi. 

Each was booked as an add-on not part of the rate.  Refund took maybe 30 days to come through.  Cancelation was made prior to sailing date.  
 

Good luck on your bid!

[Gatordad1967]

6 hours ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

Offered to bid on an upgrade. It’s a Travel agent free cabin. 

 

6 hours ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

Offered to bid on an upgrade. It’s a Travel agent free cabin. 

why are you asking here, and not your BDM?

[AtSeaWithChris]

2 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

 

why are you asking here, and not your BDM?

Because I thought I might find an answer here from experience ??? I don’t always go straight to BDM unless I really need help. 

Edited March 30, 2023 by AtSeaWithChris

[Joiseymom]

On 3/28/2023 at 5:06 AM, AtSeaWithChris said:

If we accept would we get all YC benefits like drink and wifi if moving from a TA free cabin?

Did you read the terms and conditions for the TA free cabin? It clearly states NO UPGRADES. 

[alyssamma]

31 minutes ago, Joiseymom said:

Did you read the terms and conditions for the TA free cabin? It clearly states NO UPGRADES. 

Do you have a link for this?

 

And obviously this isn't correct as the OP received an offer to upgrade. And once you are in a YC cabin, you have all YC benefits. Period.

[AtSeaWithChris]

1 hour ago, Joiseymom said:

Did you read the terms and conditions for the TA free cabin? It clearly states NO UPGRADES. 

I did read the terms and I don’t see that statement. Can you show me where it says that?

 

https://upg.plusgrade.com/terms/partner/9Ck2Ks4MSC?lang=en

Edited March 30, 2023 by AtSeaWithChris

[Gatordad1967]

9 hours ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

Because I thought I might find an answer here from experience ??? I don’t always go straight to BDM unless I really need help. 

so instead of asking someone who knows their job, you are soliciting the advice of random strangers on the internet.  Makes sense.

 

[Morgsmom]

9 hours ago, Joiseymom said:

Did you read the terms and conditions for the TA free cabin? It clearly states NO UPGRADES. 

Ok, reading through this again because I didn't get the Travel Agent part before.  (TA can also be TransAtlantic). 

You have a free cabin (score!) to, presumably, get to experience the cruise line and sell it to the masses.  And then the 3rd party company sent you an upgrade offer. 

 

So you, as a travel agent whose job it is to know the rules, wants to know if they can circumvent the "no upgrade" on your free cabin policy because they are offered the opportunity to bid.  And instead of asking the BDM the OP solicits advice on the boards as to how to sail in YC for about 75% off the current prices (based on free cabin + 2 upgrade bids). I just want to make sure that we have the facts.

But what's odd is that the bidding algorithm is supposed to take into account the original price paid.  In that case the starting bid for Guest A might be $450, while for Guest B it is $750.  Since this is a comped room the system seems to be flawed... Oh, right, it's MSC 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

[Até]

19 minutes ago, Morgsmom said:

But what's odd is that the bidding algorithm is supposed to take into account the original price paid.  In that case the starting bid for Guest A might be $450, while for Guest B it is $750.

I've seen this debated a lot and I think it's basically not true, or at least it's not a major factor in who would win a bid with all other factors being the same.  

 

One common theory is that once the cruise line has locked people into whatever price they booked, that profit has been locked in.  After that it's more in the cruise line's, and PlusGrade's, interest to take whatever bid is the highest - regardless of what people have already paid.  The biggest factor that can affect your chances becomes whether other people are bidding on your cabin type.

 

Some propose the possibly if you booked with an all inclusive rate, i.e. drinks package, and are bidding on a YC cabin you might get a boost.

[Joiseymom]

10 hours ago, alyssamma said:

Do you have a link for this?

 

And obviously this isn't correct as the OP received an offer to upgrade. And once you are in a YC cabin, you have all YC benefits. Period.

Really? Are you a TA? This specific offer from MSC clearly states in the offer, I am not posting from the TA portal here, as I do not think its appropriate. Here is a cut and past from the terms and conditions from the TA offer, Bookings are not eligible for upgrades/Bid UP. Just because MSC systems automatically sends you a bid offer,d doesn't mean you  are eligible. It means MSC has crappy IT.

 

Edited March 30, 2023 by Joiseymom

[Joiseymom]

9 hours ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

I did read the terms and I don’t see that statement. Can you show me where it says that?

 

https://upg.plusgrade.com/terms/partner/9Ck2Ks4MSC?lang=en

Wow, I am not talking about the upgrade bid offer. I am referring to the terms and conditions of the TA offer. DId you booked this, “TA GFT ONLY” promotion for the NY sailings?  Read those terms and conditions. If you didn't read those, then I have to ask, how long have you been a TA??  

[Joiseymom]

2 hours ago, Gatordad1967 said:

so instead of asking someone who knows their job, you are soliciting the advice of random strangers on the internet.  Makes sense.

 

Absolutely. It's a TA question, not a question for here. 

[Joiseymom]

1 hour ago, Morgsmom said:

Ok, reading through this again because I didn't get the Travel Agent part before.  (TA can also be TransAtlantic). 

You have a free cabin (score!) to, presumably, get to experience the cruise line and sell it to the masses.  And then the 3rd party company sent you an upgrade offer. 

 

So you, as a travel agent whose job it is to know the rules, wants to know if they can circumvent the "no upgrade" on your free cabin policy because they are offered the opportunity to bid.  And instead of asking the BDM the OP solicits advice on the boards as to how to sail in YC for about 75% off the current prices (based on free cabin + 2 upgrade bids). I just want to make sure that we have the facts.

But what's odd is that the bidding algorithm is supposed to take into account the original price paid.  In that case the starting bid for Guest A might be $450, while for Guest B it is $750.  Since this is a comped room the system seems to be flawed... Oh, right, it's MSC 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

This is a 100% question they should have gone to their BDM for, not a publlc forum.

[Gatordad1967]

44 minutes ago, Joiseymom said:

Absolutely. It's a TA question, not a question for here. 

I mean the folks on CC are helpful and nice, but aren't an authority in this area.

 

 

[bvhboat]

We are sailing on MSC for the first time on June 4.

I submitted a interior YC bid last week.

How long does it typically take to get an answer & will they let us know regardless if we won or lost?

Thanks

[Gatordad1967]

1 hour ago, bvhboat said:

We are sailing on MSC for the first time on June 4.

I submitted a interior YC bid last week.

How long does it typically take to get an answer & will they let us know regardless if we won or lost?

Thanks

It varies, but probably not until you get close to sailing..... They aren't going to sell to you at a discount if someone wants to pay full price.

 

[alyssamma]

10 hours ago, Joiseymom said:

Really? Are you a TA? This specific offer from MSC clearly states in the offer, I am not posting from the TA portal here, as I do not think its appropriate. Here is a cut and past from the terms and conditions from the TA offer, Bookings are not eligible for upgrades/Bid UP. Just because MSC systems automatically sends you a bid offer,d doesn't mean you  are eligible. It means MSC has crappy IT.

 

I'm not saying you're wrong about the T&C, I just asked for a link. Didn't realize it would trigger you.

 

That being said, again, MSC doesn't control the bidding for upgrade process - it isn't their systems sending anything. I agree with you that their IT department sucks, but it seems just as crappy as the other cruise lines.

 

But, the OP got the offer, so someone thought they were eligible regardless of what the T&C says. 

[gkbiiii]

On 3/28/2023 at 1:58 PM, AtSeaWithChris said:

After I posed the question I found the terms and conditions. See below. 
 

21. If the Guest wins an Upgrade to an "Aurea" or "Yacht Club" experience cabin, the original booked experience "Bella" or "Fantastica" will be changed with the new experience "Aurea" or "Yacht Club". The new experience will guarantee to Guests all the benefits related to the "Aurea" or "Yacht Club" experience. 

 

https://upg.plusgrade.com/terms/partner/9Ck2Ks4MSC?lang=en

This is new, being before you could upgrade rooms, but only got "The Experience," that you booked.

[KennyFla]

On 3/30/2023 at 10:35 AM, Até said:

 

 

One common theory is that once the cruise line has locked people into whatever price they booked, that profit has been locked in.  After that it's more in the cruise line's, and PlusGrade's, interest to take whatever bid is the highest - regardless of what people have already paid.  The biggest factor that can affect your chances becomes whether other people are bidding on your cabin type.

 

 

This is the most logical explanation I have heard about the bidding process.  From a business standpoint trying to maximize profit, it makes sense.

There is still a question about WHO gets an offer.  Is it random?