Should I bid on an upgrade on the Regal 12-day cruise?

[Derbie]

I have never placed a bid on a room on Princess before.  This is a 12-day British Isle cruise.  We are traveling with another family, and they have their own cabin.  We have an interior room, as we looking to save a little cash this time around.  Normally, we get a balcony or at least an ocean view.  Anyway, I received an email to bid towards ocean view and balcony (regular and obstructed).  So, if I decide to bid, what is the normal amount to bid?  I literally have no clue.  Not sure if the other group got the same email, but I don't think they would care if we went to another deck/room.  Ok, let the suggestions begin, and thanks in advance.

 

 

[ricka47]

We are on the July 19 sailing for this cruise and made a couple of bids just out of the lowest range. But, from the Princess website, it looks like the ship may be full, so there may not be much availability.

[Clampram]

When you arrive at the bidding page, the "meter" that is displayed is set at the lowest possible bid. When I bid for an upgrade, I went over by $500 but that was for a suite for 2 weeks. We did get the upgrade about 2 weeks prior to sailing.

Family member just bid $40.00 on an Alaska cruise for next week and his bid was accepted quickly...I believe the same day. He went from an inside to an oceanview

[happy2bee]

When you place a bid, is it per person, per day, or a one time charge?

 

[roxievegas]

3 minutes ago, happy2bee said:

When you place a bid, is it per person, per day, or a one time charge?

 

the bid is per person for the cost of the cabin for the whole cruise

 

ie:  if the bid is at the low end of $80, your final cost if accepted is $160.

 

we are currently in a balcony and have a bid of $150 pp for a mini suite.  If accepted we will be charged $300 to our credit card and assigned a new cabin.

[donaldsc]

The obvious answer in any bidding situation is to bid what the item you are bidding for is worth to you.  Then stop looking so you will not be tempted to end up bidding too high.

 

DON

[cruzsnooze]

How does anyone know your budget or tolerance for expenses. You said you booked an interior to save money so what changed?

[roxievegas]

6 hours ago, cruzsnooze said:

How does anyone know your budget or tolerance for expenses. You said you booked an interior to save money so what changed?

the cost of booking an interior and bidding for a balcony is way less than booking balcony in the first place.

We are bidding $300 total to upgrade to mini suite, but if we had booked the mini suite in the first place it would have cost us $700-800 more.

We did not have the option of bidding on a suite, would love to see what they would want for that.  But normally our bid options are Deluxe Balcony, Premium Balcony or Mini Suite.

 

[DallasGuy75219]

10 hours ago, happy2bee said:

When you place a bid, is it per person, per day, or a one time charge?

 

 

10 hours ago, roxievegas said:

the bid is per person for the cost of the cabin for the whole cruise

Not exactly.  The bid is per person at double occupancy for the whole cruise, regardless of the number actually booked.

Edited June 11, 2023 by DallasGuy75219

[cr8tiv1]

I placed a bid the day after final payment to go from an inside to a balcony.  Bid the minimum and watched.

 

Bid was rejected the night before the cruise.  Ship was full.  I was. happy with the interior room I booked so was not "too" disappointed". Glad I didn't bid on an Oceanview.  A friend who booked very late was assigned a guarantee...that ended being one cabin away from the bow.  That would have been horrible for me.  

[trvlwrld]

Can you bid on a specific location or deck or is it just to a higher category…often what Princess calls an upgrade would be a downgrade to me

[DallasGuy75219]

1 minute ago, trvlwrld said:

Can you bid on a specific location or deck or is it just to a higher category…often what Princess calls an upgrade would be a downgrade to me

Just to a higher category. You could wind up in a location that you consider worse than your current cabin.  So if you're picky about location you should look at the deck plans and make sure you'd be happy with any cabin location with the category you're bidding for.

[Catchum]

We are on this itinerary and also have an inside marked no upgrade. I'm not giving up my mid ship deck 8 for a balcony by the anchor. Honestly this is quite port intensive and I wouldn't worry about not having a window. If there is a wonderful view from the ship snap a picture from the promenade deck and enjoy the savings you have made.