Bid to upgrade being rolled out

[No pager thank you]

Linked to the above, we are booked on to one of the eligible cruises (Britannia, May) but have not received an email inviting us to upgrade, for a fee. 

 

For our booking, three will share a cabin, so I would have assumed that a multi occupancy cabin at the next tiers up would have been available, in principle.  Just another take as I have seen a few questions about solo occupancy.

 

I also checked with the link posted earlier in the thread but the response was that the booking was ineligible.  

 

Perhaps P&O will upgrade us for free - says chuckling!!!

[abo]

P&O have now added a section on upgrades to their web site explaining the scheme:

 

https://www.pocruises.com/upgrades

[Selbourne]

As this system is only available to those who have booked direct, I can see a lot of people who normally use a TA cutting out the middle man with the next release later this month. Discounts these days are relatively small and some may choose to forsake that in order to be able to chance their arm with this upgrade system. In our case, however, the decision whether to book direct or via a TA may vary depending on which ship we are booking. To explain;
 

We aren’t eligible for our two booked P&O cruises as we booked with a TA although, in both cases, that won’t be an issue. The only upgrade options on Iona would have been a Conservatory Mini-Suite (which we wouldn’t want even if it was a free upgrade) or a full suite, and there’s only one accessible suite and it’s at the aft, which we usually like but wouldn’t on Iona or Arvia due to the design and the outdoor bar etc underneath. On Ventura our only upgrade option would be a full suite and that would be midships underneath public decks, which can result in overhead noise that we won’t get in our booked Superior Deluxe Balcony cabin. 

[heatherb1958]

50 minutes ago, abo said:

P&O have now added a section on upgrades to their web site explaining the scheme:

 

https://www.pocruises.com/upgrades

 

 

I noticed that yesterday.  I wonder how true the  " you will be informed approximately 6 days before sailing "  is . 

On RCI and MSC you might not find out until day before sailing and on RCI people  have received the 

' sorry ' e.mails while they are on the actual cruise!!! 

We have been there when we found out onboarding  our cabin got upgraded and spent the first 24 hours chasing up stuff  we  know got delivered to the original cabin . 

By the way , I did put in our booking reference , not eligible  😂

[Interestedcruisefan]

11 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

As this system is only available to those who have booked direct, I can see a lot of people who normally use a TA cutting out the middle man with the next release later this month. Discounts these days are relatively small and some may choose to forsake that in order to be able to chance their arm with this upgrade system. In our case, however, the decision whether to book direct or via a TA may vary depending on which ship we are booking. To explain;
 

We aren’t eligible for our two booked P&O cruises as we booked with a TA although, in both cases, that won’t be an issue. The only upgrade options on Iona would have been a Conservatory Mini-Suite (which we wouldn’t want even if it was a free upgrade) or a full suite, and there’s only one accessible suite and it’s at the aft, which we usually like but wouldn’t on Iona or Arvia due to the design and the outdoor bar etc underneath. On Ventura our only upgrade option would be a full suite and that would be midships underneath public decks, which can result in overhead noise that we won’t get in our booked Superior Deluxe Balcony cabin. 

I'm not so sure. If the auction was creating incredible bargains then maybe. 

 

Let's see what happens. 

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

I'm not so sure. If the auction was creating incredible bargains then maybe. 

 

Let's see what happens. 

I would agree that, from the examples shared so far, they don’t appear to be ‘bargains’. I guess that there’s a fine line that will take P&O some time to find.
 

If they set the prices too high, very few people will use the scheme. Conversely, if they set them too low, people may start booking a lower grade than they might have usually booked, hoping that they can secure an upgrade for less overall cost than booking their desired cabin type from the outset! I should imagine that the minimum upgrade bids will start high for the initial cruises and may start to soften over time. 

[mrsgoggins]

Here’s my offer, received today.  
Ventura, 10 nights next month, currently booked in standard balcony:

 

Super deluxe balcony: £70 pp

Family suite: £200 pp

Suite: £600 pp

Midship suite: £700 pp

Penthouse suite, aft £1300 pp

 

I won’t be bidding.

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

Here’s my offer, received today.  
Ventura, 10 nights next month, currently booked in standard balcony:

 

Super deluxe balcony: £70 pp

Family suite: £200 pp

Suite: £600 pp

Midship suite: £700 pp

Penthouse suite, aft £1300 pp

 

I won’t be bidding.

Interesting. Assuming that you are in a balcony cabin, the minimum upgrade bid for a suite would be around 50% of the normal price premium that you’d expect to pay. That’s taking an assumed price of £250 per night for a balcony and £500 per night for a suite (per couple). Normal price difference £250 a night, minimum upgrade bid £120 a night. Obviously my back of a fag packet calculation is based upon approximate average prices and not the actual prices for your cruise. 

[mrsgoggins]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

Interesting. Assuming that you are in a balcony cabin, the minimum upgrade bid for a suite would be around 50% of the normal price premium that you’d expect to pay. That’s taking an assumed price of £250 per night for a balcony and £500 per night for a suite (per couple). Normal price difference £250 a night, minimum upgrade bid £120 a night. Obviously my back of a fag packet calculation is based upon approximate average prices and not the actual prices for your cruise. 

Yes, we are booked in a standard balcony (as I did say 😉), midship.

 

Up to now we have only ever had superior deluxe with P&O and although £70 pp does not seem outrageous, I won’t be bidding for 2 reasons:

 

1) Midship is important to me as I’m not a good sailor.

 

2) We are booked on a 35 night cruise on Ventura next year and at the time of booking, the only midship I could get was a standard balcony and so I want to ‘test the water’ to see if I will be happy with a standard for next year’s long cruise.

[zap99]

12 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Interesting. Assuming that you are in a balcony cabin, the minimum upgrade bid for a suite would be around 50% of the normal price premium that you’d expect to pay. That’s taking an assumed price of £250 per night for a balcony and £500 per night for a suite (per couple). Normal price difference £250 a night, minimum upgrade bid £120 a night. Obviously my back of a fag packet calculation is based upon approximate average prices and not the actual prices for your cruise. 

Is the price quoted per person per night, or per person per cruise ?. £70 for an upgrade to an SD balcony doesn't seen too bad if it's pp per cruise.

[Interestedcruisefan]

17 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Is the price quoted per person per night, or per person per cruise ?. £70 for an upgrade to an SD balcony doesn't seen too bad if it's pp per cruise

It's for 10 nights. I've just seen must be for the whole cruise ie 140 cost in  total

 

That doesn't seem bad if position on ship didn't matter 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[jaydee6969]

21 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Is the price quoted per person per night, or per person per cruise ?. £70 for an upgrade to an SD balcony doesn't seen too bad if it's pp per cruise.

 

You could end up with the stern SD cabin over Havana/Manhattan, would not be worth the risk for us.

Edited April 3, 2023 by jaydee6969
typo

[Selbourne]

36 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

Yes, we are booked in a standard balcony (as I did say 😉), midship.

 

Up to now we have only ever had superior deluxe with P&O and although £70 pp does not seem outrageous, I won’t be bidding for 2 reasons:

 

1) Midship is important to me as I’m not a good sailor.

 

2) We are booked on a 35 night cruise on Ventura next year and at the time of booking, the only midship I could get was a standard balcony and so I want to ‘test the water’ to see if I will be happy with a standard for next year’s long cruise.

Ah yes, you had said. Apologies 😂 

 

Personally I don’t think the minimum prices are too bad, but I understand your reasons. Poor location can spoil a cruise. 
 

[Selbourne]

33 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Is the price quoted per person per night, or per person per cruise ?. £70 for an upgrade to an SD balcony doesn't seen too bad if it's pp per cruise.

Per cruise so, yes, very good value, as long as you don’t get a naff location. Also most of the Superior Deluxe balconies are unshaded, which doesn’t suit everyone. 

[el barco]

we've booked two weeks on Azura from the 27th April 2023, saver fare. We've not received an email so just checked on the link, got this response:

This booking is not eligible for P&O Cruise Upgrade.

---

Unfortunately, your booking is not eligible for P&O Cruises Upgrade. If you become eligible for this booking, or any other, you will receive an invitation email.

 

Does anyone know why, is it because booked for two weeks or because a saver fare. As anyone else on this cruise received an upgrade offer?

 

[Harry Peterson]

4 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

Here’s my offer, received today.  
Ventura, 10 nights next month, currently booked in standard balcony:

 

Super deluxe balcony: £70 pp

Family suite: £200 pp

Suite: £600 pp

Midship suite: £700 pp

Penthouse suite, aft £1300 pp

 

I won’t be bidding.

That’s a pretty staggering price for one of the two aft penthouse suites (which cleverly makes them sound rather grander than they are!).  11 years ago, admittedly, but a 14 day Western Med cruise in one in 2012 cost us £1899 pp. And that was the full price - not the upgrade. 

[Selbourne]

23 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

That’s a pretty staggering price for one of the two aft penthouse suites (which cleverly makes them sound rather grander than they are!).  11 years ago, admittedly, but a 14 day Western Med cruise in one in 2012 cost us £1899 pp. And that was the full price - not the upgrade. 

Blimey. That’s £135 per person per night. That was an incredible bargain even back then and many cruises are that sort of price or more now just for a standard balcony cabin. I think you’d be looking at more than double that price nowadays. We used Suites between 2015 and 2018 and never got one for less than £250 per person per night (admittedly most were in school holidays).
 

Given that suites are usually around double the price of a balcony cabin, I don’t think that the minimum bid price is too bad. I agree, however, that the Penthouse premium isn’t worth it. We used one on Ventura once for a short cruise to try it out and all you gain over a regular suite is a large dining area and table that we never used!

[Harry Peterson]

28 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Blimey. That’s £135 per person per night. That was an incredible bargain even back then and many cruises are that sort of price or more now just for a standard balcony cabin. I think you’d be looking at more than double that price nowadays. We used Suites between 2015 and 2018 and never got one for less than £250 per person per night (admittedly most were in school holidays).
 

Given that suites are usually around double the price of a balcony cabin, I don’t think that the minimum bid price is too bad. I agree, however, that the Penthouse premium isn’t worth it. We used one on Ventura once for a short cruise to try it out and all you gain over a regular suite is a large dining area and table that we never used!

It was a good price, and not even last minute either. Booked some months in advance, but after the Costa Concordia tragedy, which was I suspect the real reason for the price being so low. The two penthouse suites are very good, but as you say, the two inner suites are better value. They’re all very much in need of refurbishment now though.

[zap99]

4 hours ago, jaydee6969 said:

 

You could end up with the stern SD cabin over Havana/Manhattan, would not be worth the risk for us.

We wouldn't be too bothered. By the time we turn in, it may be near to closing time

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by zap99

[Interestedcruisefan]

You see on the other end of the scale I would be interested in auctions for outside cabins from inside cabins if the price is right.

 

Doesn't matter to me where they are on their boat either

 

I will even take a deck 8 promenade balcony if the price is right!

 

When you spend your life cruising in inside savers then anything/anywhere with a view is ok if the money's right!!!

 

Lol

 

(I feel like Hannibal Lechter in Silence of the Lambs)

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Windsurfboy]

The interesting thing is a upgrade is  equivalent to a saver fare , ie no choice in cabin. 

 

So yes the minimum bid of 50% of difference looks good. However  thats difference between two select fares. You could have bought the higher grade cabin as a saver fare, so the difference between lower grade cabin as select and higher grade as Saver will be less. The upgrade might not be the bargain they might want you to think.

[Goosebear Mum]

1 hour ago, Windsurfboy said:

The interesting thing is a upgrade is  equivalent to a saver fare , ie no choice in cabin. 

 

So yes the minimum bid of 50% of difference looks good. However  thats difference between two select fares. You could have bought the higher grade cabin as a saver fare, so the difference between lower grade cabin as select and higher grade as Saver will be less. The upgrade might not be the bargain they might want you to think.

exactly, that’s why I didn’t accept the ‘offer’ of an upgrade from select fair deluxe balcony on Aurora to mini suite for a minimum of £2060 extra (16 nights) as I could have paid that as saver fare originally

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, Windsurfboy said:

The interesting thing is a upgrade is  equivalent to a saver fare , ie no choice in cabin. 

 

So yes the minimum bid of 50% of difference looks good. However  thats difference between two select fares. You could have bought the higher grade cabin as a saver fare, so the difference between lower grade cabin as select and higher grade as Saver will be less. The upgrade might not be the bargain they might want you to think.

Good point, although you presumably keep all the other Select fare benefits (additional OBC / Parking / Dining choice / shuttle buses etc) which you wouldn’t have if you’d booked a Saver at the outset?

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Good point, although you presumably keep all the other Select fare benefits (additional OBC / Parking / Dining choice / shuttle buses etc) which you wouldn’t have if you’d booked a Saver at the outset?

Reading all these posts and seeing the prices makes me grateful that we wont need to bother bidding for an upgrade. A standard accessible cabin, even the Excel class ones which are smaller than most of the rest of the fleet, are roomy enough for us,  so we are more than happy to stay put.

[No pager thank you]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Good point, although you presumably keep all the other Select fare benefits (additional OBC / Parking / Dining choice / shuttle buses etc) which you wouldn’t have if you’d booked a Saver at the outset?

I think that the other relevant point about the difference between booking the preferred cabin type at initial booking with P&O and "banking on the bid" is as follows:

 

-- Any extra OBC which could have been achieved at the point of initial booking, is not made available to successful bidders.  This can be quite lucrative, particularly if P&O has an offer on to encourage bookings of outsides and balconies.

 

This "loss," plus the 5% discount (sometimes) available by using a TA, unless one chooses the "price match" available from P&O, both have to be added together, and then contrasted with the lowest available price for the cabin at the point of initial booking.  This is because the new cabin will most likely be in the lowest grade type.

 

Together these factors together make it not look such a great deal always, particularly if the trend if giving out free upgrades, which will possibly happen by default of changing more cabins closer to departure, is seen in practice by passengers I.e., why risk paying extra when I may have a better chance of paying nothing and receiving the same, or I could even get the same for free by visiting reception?

 

Perhaps the savvy thing to do in future will be to take note of all the price options when booking the cruise.  Then use this to compare both if it makes sense to "ditch and switch," if the price comes down a lot (and therefore it makes sense to either forgoe or move your deposit), and how good a deal of "bidding up" really is, when the opportunity arises.  It also has the possibly interesting, but unintended, consequence of dissuading some people from booking the select, rather than the saver fare.

 

Have to say though, this is quite a clever money making scheme by P&O, and will wind most people up less than increasing drinks prices, for example.