Should I bid on Club Balcony from regular balcony on Getaway?

[Dina7]

So just got upgrade advantage email. Booked in a balcony room. Should I bother bidding a low bid on club balcony on the off chance I get it? I know it comes with double sink, bigger shower/bathroom. Would it also get perks of snacks delivered to room, bottle of champagne, bag of laundry or not, since it’s an upgrade?

Just looking for opinions🙂

[JandC_Cruising]

First off, as is mentioned often, you do need to be prepared to get a cabin "anywhere" on the ship if you win a bid.  This may, or may not be an issue to you.  Only you can decide that.

If you are particular about where you are on the ship (mid-ship, particular floor or range of floors, etc.) they do not bid as you may end up with a club balcony on a floor/location you are not happy with.

 

All that said, we very much like the Club Balcony's for the larger bathroom.  We enjoyed a club balcony on the Getaway this summer.  It was a wonderful cabin.  But we picked the cabin and knew exactly what was to the left, right, above, and below....Winning a bid doesn't give you that control.

 

 

[IAcruising]

I thought you had to bid 2 levels up. Are you in obstructed view or some other lower grade balcony?

[FLAHAM]

My understanding is that you can’t bid more than two levels up.

[Dina7]

20 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

I thought you had to bid 2 levels up. Are you in obstructed view or some other lower grade balcony?

Nope. It’s listed as the lowest option to bid on

[destar]

If I want an upgrade from balcony category BA, I would bid for the haven.

Edited October 17, 2023 by destar

[complawyer]

the answer to your question is subjective. do you wish to spend the extra $$$ on the club balcony? is the larger bathroom worth the difference. you DO NOT get a bottle of champagne, just some of wine most people wont even open, much less drink. the bag of laundry comes free any way if you're platinum  or above. snacks only on 2 days, and if you read prior posts, mostly cookies, possibly chocolate covered strawberries, (and only about 4-5) and you can pick up the cookies at the buffet.

 

if its just 2 of you, the price difference my not be beneficial to you. in the alternative, just book a club balcony suite and pick where you want your cabin

[IAcruising]

5 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

My understanding is that you can’t bid more than two levels up.

 

That's right. I got the 2-level thing turned around. Thanks for the correction.

 

[gizfish]

Any upgrade will give you the amenities of the upgraded room.  So if you got upgraded to a spa room, you would get access to the thermal area.  If you upgraded to the haven you would get the haven restaurant, butler, etc.   What you don't get in an upgrade are any perks that are different than what you booked with.  For instance, if your original booking did not include an airfare perk but now the haven bookings are offering that, an upgrade to the haven will not include an airfare perk.  Only you know how much a larger bathroom and the amenities of the club balcony room is worth to you.

[vacation44]

15 hours ago, Dina7 said:

So just got upgrade advantage email. Booked in a balcony room. Should I bother bidding a low bid on club balcony on the off chance I get it? I know it comes with double sink, bigger shower/bathroom. Would it also get perks of snacks delivered to room, bottle of champagne, bag of laundry or not, since it’s an upgrade?

Just looking for opinions🙂

For us, the bigger bathroom is worth it.

[Two Wheels Only]

9 hours ago, gizfish said:

So if you got upgraded to a spa room, you would get access to the thermal area.

 

...but you have to act fast since NCL is eliminating built-in Spa access for staterooms. 🤪

[FitchburgWIFamily]

One thing to think about is:  they will only accept one offer from you.
 

If you are bidding on other cabin classes that you want more than the club balcony, you might not want to bid on the club balcony.  

 

I book insides and bid on balconies and club balconies, but never on ocean view.  Ocean view isn’t much better than inside and my bid would almost certainly be accepted: meaning I wouldn’t ever get my balcony.

[phillygwm]

I would bid but not much.  You get a few goodies, in addition to the larger bathroom:  Free load of laundry, some candies, etc.  You can place a value on that.  I'd bid $100 max.  If you're larger people, the bathroom may be worth more to you.  I'm 6'0 240 and am very cramped in a balcony toilet, to the extent I couldn't close the door while...um...sitting.  I'm in a cabin by myself so not a huge deal but the club upgrade is preferable if it isn't a lot of money.

[laudergayle]

If you decide to bid check out what the cost would be to just upgrade outright.  Sometimes it costs less to upgrade this way..and you can often pick your cabin.

 

Personally, we prefer the Club Balcony.  We like the midship location, the larger bathroom, the cookies and chocolate strawberries…even the inexpensive sparkling wine is drinkable to me.  We’ve only used the free laundry once but it was nice to have that benefit.

[cruiseny4life]

20 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

If you decide to bid check out what the cost would be to just upgrade outright.  Sometimes it costs less to upgrade this way..and you can often pick your cabin.

 

Personally, we prefer the Club Balcony.  We like the midship location, the larger bathroom, the cookies and chocolate strawberries…even the inexpensive sparkling wine is drinkable to me.  We’ve only used the free laundry once but it was nice to have that benefit.

Every cruise I bring home that bottle of sparkling wine. I swear I'm going to have to dedicate a whole cupboard to NCL wine as I never actually drink it. We don't have a fancy wine cellar, because...well we only own about ten bottles of wine (three of which are NCL wine). Every time I think about drinking wine I realize I would prefer to eat food so it just stays there. Someday NCL! Someday I'll drink that wine!