Bid to upgrade being rolled out

[Interestedcruisefan]

At the end of day people will choose to do what suits them both

[zap99]

3 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

At the end of day people will choose to do what suits them both

We cruise a bit with RC &X. Sometimes we bid, sometimes not. We have never had a bid accepted. Before the current system we had a call regarding a 14 night med cruise ' Would you like an upgrade to a mini suite for £200?'. .  ....yes please.

[Goosebear Mum]

I received this email last night, but financially I don’t think it’s worth it. It would be a minimum of £2060/cabin to go from deluxe balcony to mini suite, on Aurora.   If it had been half that I may have considered it That amount is almost half what I’ve paid for a 16 day holiday on select (obc excluded)

 

p.s. I’d have loved to have had a mini suite, but maybe better I don’t succumb… else I may never go back to a ‘balcony’!)

 

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Goosebear Mum

[Bill Y]

1 hour ago, Cathygh said:

I guess this will be the end of free upgrades.

Yes but we have never had a serious upgrade on P&O unlike Princess.

 

Have been invited to bid for an upgrade by airlines, usually via a slider to select your bid, but the minimum bid is often eye watering.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Denarius said:

Very true. I suspect that some (many?) of the unsold cabins will be in less favoured locations, and that you could well end up paying your extra money for a better cabin in a worse location. It all comes down to how important location is to you.

But it's not just about unsold cabins, it's also about maximising revenue. So, assuming that there are, say 6 minisuites available  - 6 people from deluxe balcony cabins will bid and get upgraded, meaning that 6 people from std cabins will bid and get upgraded,  and so forth. 

P&O will therefore be able to maximise revenue across all cabin grades.

[paulatsea]

3 minutes ago, wowzz said:

But it's not just about unsold cabins, it's also about maximising revenue. So, assuming that there are, say 6 minisuites available  - 6 people from deluxe balcony cabins will bid and get upgraded, meaning that 6 people from std cabins will bid and get upgraded,  and so forth. 

P&O will therefore be able to maximise revenue across all cabin grades.

Trickle down ! 

[wowzz]

Just now, paulatsea said:

Trickle down ! 

Thats the phrase - I wasn't sure if everyone would understand what I meant, if I used it.

[paulatsea]

Maybe a stupid question - but does the highest bidder always win  ? Or is it a lottery ? Can you increase bids ? 
like eBay - keep bidding if you want to win ! 
 

Edited March 29, 2023 by paulatsea

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, paulatsea said:

Maybe a stupid question - but does the highest bidder always win  ? Or is it a lottery ? Can you increase bids ? 
like eBay - keep bidding if you want to win ! 
 

If it is like the Princess system, you are told if you are not successful,  and iirc, you can then rebid. 

[Beckett]

6 minutes ago, paulatsea said:

Maybe a stupid question - but does the highest bidder always win  ? Or is it a lottery ? Can you increase bids ? 
 

Not sure how they'll do it on P&O but I tried this on a 2021 cruise on MSC. Bids were accessible on a slider. The minimum was £400 and the maximum was around £1200 per passenger from memory. You were able to increase/ decrease your bid as many times as you wanted up to the closing date. I just got a message saying my bid had been unsuccessful ( my fault for trying to bid £2.50!). I 'll be interested to see how they do it on P&O as I do have a direct booking with them. Jane x

[Yorkypete]

3 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Agreed

 

People who like to choose exact cabin and location won't like this risk

 

Those who already go for bargain deals and don't care about location will

One problem. Some who like a cheaper cruise with more to spend on activities and excursions choose an inside cabin. They will probably not want to gamble on an upgrade.

[heatherb1958]

RCI have been doing the invites to bid for upgrades for a few years now and MSC too in recent years. 

We have never done it except once with MSc and I cancelled it at the last minute . It is a good idea to check on a website that shows available cabins in the next grade to see where you are likely to end up. 

You can still get the upgrade bid e.mail  even when there aren't any available cabins in the grade you are bidding for  !!!  We have a friend who put in for an upgrade , had the " congratulations " e.mail only to find out it never happened and the  money was still taken from her account , this was with MSC. She fought hard and fast to get what was promised in the e.mail once onboard the ship with no luck plus had to get the  money back. 

There is a company called  Plusgrade.com who the cruiselines employ to deal with these upgrade bids, loyalty  level has zero influence on the bid . 

Good luck to those who give it a try. 

[Britboys]

5 hours ago, molecrochip said:

This was announced yesterday.

 

It will be on cruises with available cabin space.

 

It’s being rolled out ship by ship across 2023.

 

You choose your bid price - per person, first two in cabin.

 

You’ll get notification to bid anytime from 12 weeks out, with winning bids announced anytime from 4 weeks out.

 

Had been really popular on other brands.

And what about those travelling solo? Do we get an option? But then again if we do it will no doubt be double the per person upgrade price...🙄

[TigerB]

3 hours ago, CruiseMark said:

Is this available only if you book direct with P&O or will it be available to those who use a TA as well

 

See post #16

[Interestedcruisefan]

1 hour ago, Yorkypete said:

One problem. Some who like a cheaper cruise with more to spend on activities and excursions choose an inside cabin. They will probably not want to gamble on an upgrade.

I'm that guy but if there's a bargain to be had I'm prepared to pay

 

At normal prices I can't justify balconies, suites or first class flights

 

A few years back we won 4 upgrades for me, my wife and two kids to first class to New York for 201 pounds each on an airline auction

 

Normal upgrade price was 1k plus each which I would never contemplate

 

I bid 1 pound over the minimum they would let you bid and won!

 

 

[wowzz]

The discussion about bidding will soon take over this entire forum. On the Princess forum, the bidding thread is now over 50 pages long !

[Interestedcruisefan]

They should start auctioning off prime position sunbeds!

 

They would make a fortune.

 

Share price would start increasing again!

Edited March 29, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Windsurfboy]

As suites tend to get fully booked quickly,  would be rare to get availability, especially rear suites with huge balcony.

 

But on Arvia and Iona, book an inside and bid for balcony could be a good tactic 

 

[Eglesbrech]

5 hours ago, molecrochip said:

Shall we do away with the ABTA/ATOL wrap around protections too, as the Americans don’t have these or similar.

Genuine question, how can Celebrity do it then for non Americans?

 

We have used their bid up and it was open to those in the U.K.

[terrierjohn]

21 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

Genuine question, how can Celebrity do it then for non Americans?

 

We have used their bid up and it was open to those in the U.K.

Wrong post.

Edited March 29, 2023 by terrierjohn

[Goosebear Mum]

3 hours ago, Britboys said:

And what about those travelling solo? Do we get an option? But then again if we do it will no doubt be double the per person upgrade price...🙄

Yes, it says solos have to pay double

[Britboys]

7 minutes ago, Goosebear Mum said:

Yes, it says solos have to pay double

Well, I can forget about trying it then, especially as I will be on Aurora or Arcadia...

[tring]

6 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

They should start auctioning off prime position sunbeds!

 

 

I thought they already did.  Isn't it called The Retreat?  Charging for them is effectively the same as bidding since you still part with cash.

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 minutes ago, tring said:

 

I thought they already did.  Isn't it called The Retreat?  Charging for them is effectively the same as bidding since you still part with cash.

 

They aren't prime position. Most in the Retreat are shaded by glass and half of them are in the shade at start or end of day.

 

All the Retreat gives is some nicer quality sunbeds with more space around them.

 

The prime position ones in the Retreat they could actually auction off as well as the refined people who go in the Retreat will get there as soon as it opens to get the best ones. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 29, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Britboys]

35 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

They aren't prime position. Most in the Retreat are shaded by glass and half of them are in the shade at start or end of day.

 

All the Retreat gives is some nicer quality sunbeds with more space around them.

 

The prime position ones in the Retreat they could actually auction off as well as the refined people who go in the Retreat will get there as soon as it opens to get the best ones. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Will you stop giving them ideas for extra charges...🤣