Upgrade Advantage - What's the Story?

[cruiser2015]

I've noticed some posts on the boards mentioning bidding for cabins in the Haven, but didn't pay much attention as I felt that I wouldn't be paying for those suites anytime soon. Until now.

 

I'm booked on a Panama Canal cruise this January in a Club Balcony. I just received an email from NCL asking for upgrade bids. The "from" prices look too good to be true. I assume that these are the minimum possible bids and the actual pricing could streak much higher.

To make things really crazy, the cabin codes for the bids are an "H" plus (mostly letters); per ship deck plans, it's H + a number.

The lowest price indicated (all of the lowest 4 categories out of a total of 9) is for $650 pp, with a bid range up to $2200 pp.

Kindly provide the low down on this process and any insights on likely outcomes. Thanks.

 

[RocketMan275]

49 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

I've noticed some posts on the boards mentioning bidding for cabins in the Haven, but didn't pay much attention as I felt that I wouldn't be paying for those suites anytime soon. Until now.

 

I'm booked on a Panama Canal cruise this January in a Club Balcony. I just received an email from NCL asking for upgrade bids. The "from" prices look too good to be true. I assume that these are the minimum possible bids and the actual pricing could streak much higher.

To make things really crazy, the cabin codes for the bids are an "H" plus (mostly letters); per ship deck plans, it's H + a number.

The lowest price indicated (all of the lowest 4 categories out of a total of 9) is for $650 pp, with a bid range up to $2200 pp.

Kindly provide the low down on this process and any insights on likely outcomes. Thanks.

 

Had to be a downer but the most likely outcome is this: you won't win a bid.  There are very few haven suites and a lot of passengers bidding.  

There are only two tried and true stratigies.  Bid high and hope or call NCL and ask for the price to purchase an upgrade. It maybe cheaper than bidding.  

Here's a good thread :

 

 

[cruiser2015]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Had to be a downer but the most likely outcome is this: you won't win a bid.  There are very few haven suites and a lot of passengers bidding.  

There are only two tried and true stratigies.  Bid high and hope or call NCL and ask for the price to purchase an upgrade. It maybe cheaper than bidding.  

Here's a good thread :

 

 

That's a downer that I pretty much expected to see.

I did a mock booking a little while ago. A Courtyard Balcony Suite is coming in at $18,127. That's more than $11,000 over my booking. The max bid is for $4400. Seems like a steal. Frankly, I's rather not pay that much either.

[psuboater]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Had to be a downer but the most likely outcome is this: you won't win a bid.  There are very few haven suites and a lot of passengers bidding.  

There are only two tried and true stratigies.  Bid high and hope or call NCL and ask for the price to purchase an upgrade. It maybe cheaper than bidding.  

Here's a good thread :

 

 

Even bidding the max bid doesn't guarantee you a win. I've bid max bids a couple of times on the lower Haven categories and rejected each time.

[cruiser2015]

42 minutes ago, psuboater said:

Even bidding the max bid doesn't guarantee you a win. I've bid max bids a couple of times on the lower Haven categories and rejected each time.

Makes sense if there's a lot more bidders than cabins.

I'm beginning to see a pattern here.   🤨

[BirdTravels]

50 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

That's a downer that I pretty much expected to see. I did a mock booking a little while ago. A Courtyard Balcony Suite is coming in at $18,127. That's more than $11,000 over my booking. The max bid is for $4400. Seems like a steal. Frankly, I's rather not pay that much either.

It sounds like you're on the Bliss. 

 

There are a few Haven staterooms still available for sale. 

 

On the ship, there are over 1000 staterooms that have the potential on bidding on 10ish staterooms. Each bidder is starting from a different Minimum/Maximum bid range. So your bid range will be higher than someone already in the Haven. And your bid range will be lower than someone starting with a balcony cabin. You could put in a max bid and are very likely not win.

 

For example, I am in a Haven room on an upcoming cruise. Our minimum bid on some Haven cabin classes are $400. 

 

With the number of staterooms available (often none - except for last minute cancellations) and the number of bidders, the probability of winning a Haven bid is very very very very small. 

 

No one knows how the winners are picked.  

Edited September 25, 2023 by BirdTravels

[SALAMANCA2014]

3 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

Makes sense if there's a lot more bidders than cabins.

I'm beginning to see a pattern here.   🤨

I am sailing on the NCL Sky. I received an offer to bid for an upgrade. I selected the maximum amount for each Suite. The Balcony I placed a low bid. I received notices for each Suite bid that I have been out bidded. I increased my bids on each Suite to a higher amount. I received notices that I have been out bibbed on each of my bids. I stopped bidding after my last higher offers.

[cruiser2015]

3 hours ago, SALAMANCA2014 said:

I am sailing on the NCL Sky. I received an offer to bid for an upgrade. I selected the maximum amount for each Suite. The Balcony I placed a low bid. I received notices for each Suite bid that I have been out bidded. I increased my bids on each Suite to a higher amount. I received notices that I have been out bibbed on each of my bids. I stopped bidding after my last higher offers.

Interesting.

I wasn't aware that there were notices of escalation.

The one-time bids for the cabins offered seemed too low. Now I see how they ratchet up the pricing.

[goldmom]

Also, don't forget the bid is times 2.  So, if your bid of $700 is accepted you are charged $1400 for the upgrade.

[cruiser2015]

3 hours ago, goldmom said:

Also, don't forget the bid is times 2.  So, if your bid of $700 is accepted you are charged $1400 for the upgrade.

I didn't forget. The figures I used in post #3 above includes the full 2 person cabin fare.

 

I also have gotten quite an education over the past 20 hours since I got the NCL message, thanks to CC posts. I've also noticed that as the sailing date approaches, if there's lively bidding, they go to a live bidding process. Seems like if it goes that far, there won't be much of a bargain to be had.

 

I've decided to not even bother with this process.

[Liljo22]

11 hours ago, cruiser2015 said:

Interesting.

I wasn't aware that there were notices of escalation.

The one-time bids for the cabins offered seemed too low. Now I see how they ratchet up the pricing.

The Upgrade Advantage and the live bidding are two separate things.  There is no escalation for the Upgrade Advantage.  You put your bid and an algorithm determines which bid is the most advantageous for NCL. 

 

The live bidding is a recent addition.  The belief is that the Upgrade Advantage bids didn't meet what NCL was looking for so they are allowing for last minute live bidding on some rooms.   

[cruiser2015]

16 hours ago, SALAMANCA2014 said:

I am sailing on the NCL Sky. I received an offer to bid for an upgrade. I selected the maximum amount for each Suite. The Balcony I placed a low bid. I received notices for each Suite bid that I have been out bidded. I increased my bids on each Suite to a higher amount. I received notices that I have been out bibbed on each of my bids. I stopped bidding after my last higher offers.

 

1 hour ago, Liljo22 said:

The Upgrade Advantage and the live bidding are two separate things.  There is no escalation for the Upgrade Advantage.  You put your bid and an algorithm determines which bid is the most advantageous for NCL. 

 

The live bidding is a recent addition.  The belief is that the Upgrade Advantage bids didn't meet what NCL was looking for so they are allowing for last minute live bidding on some rooms.   

We seem to have conflicting opinions here. Salamanca says he bid the max, was outbid and then raised his bid. Liljo says there are no escalations. Are there different types of requests for bids other then the Upgrade Advantage?

[cruiser2015]

19 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

It sounds like you're on the Bliss. 

 

There are a few Haven staterooms still available for sale. 

 

On the ship, there are over 1000 staterooms that have the potential on bidding on 10ish staterooms. Each bidder is starting from a different Minimum/Maximum bid range. So your bid range will be higher than someone already in the Haven. And your bid range will be lower than someone starting with a balcony cabin. You could put in a max bid and are very likely not win.

 

For example, I am in a Haven room on an upcoming cruise. Our minimum bid on some Haven cabin classes are $400. 

 

With the number of staterooms available (often none - except for last minute cancellations) and the number of bidders, the probability of winning a Haven bid is very very very very small. 

 

No one knows how the winners are picked.  

Thanks for your usual thorough descriptions.

What is your take on the subsequent comments?

What is the process after you submit a bid under this Upgrade Advantage program? Are there escalations and/or eventual live bids?

[Liljo22]

35 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

 

We seem to have conflicting opinions here. Salamanca says he bid the max, was outbid and then raised his bid. Liljo says there are no escalations. Are there different types of requests for bids other then the Upgrade Advantage?

Different types of upgrades.  The Upgrade Advantage with the bid meter is a one time bid.  You can change or delete your bid at any point until they accept or deny your bid.  You don't know where you stand along the way.  In the last week or so before the cruise, if they don't have the bids they want for a cabin, they might open up live bidding at which point you can find out if you lead or not.  I don't think this happens with every sailing though.  

[SALAMANCA2014]

8 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

Different types of upgrades.  The Upgrade Advantage with the bid meter is a one time bid.  You can change or delete your bid at any point until they accept or deny your bid.  You don't know where you stand along the way.  In the last week or so before the cruise, if they don't have the bids they want for a cabin, they might open up live bidding at which point you can find out if you lead or not.  I don't think this happens with every sailing though.  

The bid meter goes from poor to excellent. All my bids for the suites were excellent. I received notices on all the suite bids that I have been out bidded. I think there were 14 other bidders a reference on the top of the page. I increased my bids on each suite and received the same message that I have been out bidded on each offer.

 

July 2023 we sailed on the Diamond Princess Yokohama to Yokohama 10 days. I bidded for all the suites at the excellent bid. I received an email from Princess offering one of the suites for an additional $1,250 per person. I accepted the offer.