Bidding on upgrade available but cruise is “sold out”?

[gottagocit]

We just noticed bidding is available for an upcoming voyage in multiple categories but at the same time the voyage is shown as “sold out” on Princess.com.  Is there any point in still bidding? 

[voljeep]

of course if you want ... 'sold out' doesn't necessarily mean all the cabins are sold.

 

and cancellations (CFAR) can happen at any time causing a ripple effect of cabins available.

[BlerkOne]

Sure. It's all marketing.

[Rick&Jeannie]

Bidding is "available" on *every* cruise.  They are hedging their bets in case someone has to cancel.

[voljeep]

8 minutes ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Bidding is "available" on *every* cruise.  They are hedging their bets in case someone has to cancel.

 

 

Edited August 7 by voljeep

[walkingsoon]

Yes, bid for what you feel is a good deal. I got a bid accepted in May that was followed just a few minutes later by a moveover offer, with 100% payback applied to the new higher price.

 

Silly marketing games. I'll play.

 

Walkingsoon

[Cruisemeister2002]

A cruise we go on is all labelled "Sold Out" we were on two occasions offered the option of bidding but declined due to what I felt was an extortionate difference between inside and a balcony cabin of £1,300 or $1,600 pp more and that bid was deemed as poor.Even inside to sea view was £700 pp. I do have reservations as to whether it is right that a passenger or passenger are unable to cruise that the cruise line gets all of that money and can then offer others to bid silly prices for that cabin when if the cruise wasn't sold out the price would probably be cheaper or many would get an upgrade without having to bid. I know it's supply and demand, but is it right ?

[paddingtonbear]

2 hours ago, Cruisemeister2002 said:

A cruise we go on is all labelled "Sold Out" we were on two occasions offered the option of bidding but declined due to what I felt was an extortionate difference between inside and a balcony cabin of £1,300 or $1,600 pp more and that bid was deemed as poor.Even inside to sea view was £700 pp. I do have reservations as to whether it is right that a passenger or passenger are unable to cruise that the cruise line gets all of that money and can then offer others to bid silly prices for that cabin when if the cruise wasn't sold out the price would probably be cheaper or many would get an upgrade without having to bid. I know it's supply and demand, but is it right ?

Airlines do the same. While you are on leg 1 they will offer upgrades for leg 2. You are on the plane with no access to “usual” rates luckily I’d looked before the flight what an upgrade was really worth and didn’t get stung. But how many unwary passengers fall for it? Obviously they only need enough to fill the seats. 
 

But, if you know what you are doing you can sometimes get a good deal. It’s like ship’s excursions I guess. 
 

Edited August 7 by paddingtonbear

[sandyoftheseas]

In July 2023 we were went on a Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean Princess that was "sold out" We paid for an interior cabin and bid for an oceanview and a balcony we didn't think we would get an upgrade but we got the upgrade to the oceanview cabin and was very surprised and happy the cabin was very large. 

[PMGS247]

Pretty sure sold out means at maximum passenger capacity, which depending on the mix of solo's/duo's/3+, will likely be hit before exactly every cabin is sold. Leaves unoccupied rooms and the ability for Princess to shift people around via selling upgrades.  Also cancellations will trigger a domino effect of room openings which they will backfill from their inventory of upgrade bids.

[trbarton]

I’m in a similar situation as I’ve made a bid for a balcony on the Crown Princess knowing that the balconies are showing sold out. As someone previously posted the wed site may show sold out but that doesn’t mean that all of the staterooms in that category are actually sold. 
 

I’ll post what happens with my bid. If it’s excepted I saved $$$ from what it would have cost when I made my booking. I’ve made the minimum bid. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

i booked an Ocean View as the balconies were about $2,000 more than an Ocean View. I made a bid for a regular balcolny & made my bid end in an odd number & a low bid. Princess tried to tell that my bid was to low to get an upgrade. I was also told that I would pick my Medallion up at the pier.

 

On Monday I was very surprised, as I’m on the September 2, 2024, Alaska cruise on the Crown Princess when I received a notice that they had accepted my bid & I was moved from Deck 5 Ocean View to a forward balcony on deck 14. To add to my enjoyment my Medallion arrived in my mailbox the same day. I saved around $1,000 with my upgrade. Of course I had to print out new luggage tags as I assumed my bid wouldn’t be excepted. 
 

Two very special moments on the same day. How special can that be!

 

Tom😀👍👏

Edited August 22 by trbarton

[Cruisemeister2002]

Just today had an email from Princess with an offer to bid on our "Sold Out" cruise. Grades available include Obstructed view balcony cabins Balcony and Deluxe Balcony both the unobstructed and obstructed type and Ocean view. When I last saw cabins available there were only mini suites and suites. Just wondering if the offers available depend on the grade you currently have and those perhaps in deluxe balconies already will be offered the mini suites and suites therefore freeing up these other grades. Also I suppose there may be a few who due to various reasons have pulled out of the cruise and from the company's point of view it's easier to offer an upgrade so the passengers upgrading don't have such an outlay as someone having to pay the full fare so close to the cruise and if it's for balconies and above the outlay is high.

[peety3]

I've read that Princess's digital systems are...shall we say...antiquated, and I'm sure that's not a surprise to most of you. One byproduct is that if a particular sailing could be sold in different ways (examples: 7-day Alaska northbound Vancouver to Anchorage OR 14-day Alaska round-trip Vancouver OR >7-day Alaska cruisetour), Princess has to allocate room inventory individually to each of those variants. They can certainly move inventory between those variants, but there could be unsold capacity in another variant for various reasons (they may want to protect some cruisetour inventory so they can maximize hotel utilitization). Hence there is room for upgrade you.