Bidding for Upgrades

[TonicTraveler]

Both Oceania and Regent are implementing a new program beginning today that will roll out with Vista only.  For Oceania guests, who are paid in full, they will be able to bid for upgrades beginning 110 days prior and closing one day before sailing.  Guests will receive an email offer when applicable and will receive an email if their bid has been accepted.

 

 

[Redtravel]

It sounds like Oceania wants to be like Royal Caribbean. Royal Caribbean,Celebrity, and Silver Seas bid for upgrades.

when Oceania went to Simply More, people said that they were trying to be like Viking. 

With Simply More gone and upgrade bidding in, is Oceania trying to compete with Royal Caribbean?  

[GlitterFemme]

The announcement I saw said that the program would begin with Vista's October 30th sailing and roll out to future sailing from there, not that the program would be Vista-only.

[durberville]

Oh yuck! I hate the whole bidding for upgrade system. Have tried several times on Celebrity without success. The minimum bids are frequently out of my price range. Thankfully it’s only an option. 

[mauibabes]

I guess if I wanted an Upgrade, I better pay for it up front, hate bidding.

 

Mauibabes

[topcat76]

Not a fan of bidding at all! Won’t be doing any bidding. 

[cruiserchuck]

I received a fixed price upgrade offer from Oceania on a cruise last November.  I passed.  

 

Out of curiosity, I looked at the Vista October 30 sailing, and there are 11 OC and 3 VS suites available. 

[TonicTraveler]

9 hours ago, GlitterFemme said:

The announcement I saw said that the program would begin with Vista's October 30th sailing and roll out to future sailing from there, not that the program would be Vista-only.

What I said was that the  program will roll out with Vista only.  Meaning, it will begin with Vista.

[Yesimapirate]

I'm assuming (and I realize it's a big assumption not based in fact) that it will be the same outsourced company running the bidding that NCL uses and will work similarly. 

 

In my experience with NCL bidding,  it was often cheaper to just booked the cabin you were bidding on outright than to bid for it.  Not to mention if you win the bid, you have no control of the cabin location. 

[MEFIowa]

And anyone is surprised by these developments?

 

When NCL (and therefore also O) has a giant bond-monkey (debt) on their back that has to be paid down, you'll continue to see:

 

1. Cost-cutting measures.

2. Revenue enhancements.

 

Bidding is a #2.

[julius64]

Can you bid to book a cabin in the first place?

 

If people are getting upgrades then maybe I can get a hand me down for less than the web site fare.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I guess enough people have said "yes" to those calls Oceania makes a few weeks pre-embarkation to make bidding worthwhile for them to try.  But I'll just stick to booking the (usually) modest room category I want.  So far, I've had a great cruise no matter what room I chose.  .  

 

 

[njhorseman]

21 minutes ago, julius64 said:

Can you bid to book a cabin in the first place?

 

If people are getting upgrades then maybe I can get a hand me down for less than the web site fare.

No, you can't bid to book a cabin in the first place. 

[durberville]

17 minutes ago, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

I guess enough people have said "yes" to those calls Oceania makes a few weeks pre-embarkation to make bidding worthwhile for them to try.  But I'll just stick to booking the (usually) modest room category I want.  So far, I've had a great cruise no matter what room I chose.  .  

 

 

Difference being the upgrade offers one receives pre-embarkation are for assigned cabins. Any bidding I’ve engaged in (other lines) is only for a certain class of cabin and might not be worth the risk IMHO. Perhaps Oceania’s system will be different. 

[basor]

4 hours ago, MEFIowa said:

And anyone is surprised by these developments?

 

When NCL (and therefore also O) has a giant bond-monkey (debt) on their back that has to be paid down, you'll continue to see:

 

1. Cost-cutting measures.

2. Revenue enhancements.

 

Bidding is a #2.

Since this is an option - no one is forced to participate not sure how this can be a cost cutting/revenue enhancements.  It is a an option - use it or not!

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, basor said:

Since this is an option - no one is forced to participate not sure how this can be a cost cutting/revenue enhancements.  It is a an option - use it or not!

It enhances revenue by filling higher priced staterooms that might otherwise sail empty. It's not that big a deal overall on Oceania with its small number of small ships, but on NCL's numerous large mass market ships it is a useful revenue enhancer.

[FolsomMike]

Am I the only one here who is happy to hear this?  🙂

I did a bid upgrade for the first time last Spring on Celebrity and was able to snag a suite for substantially less than the regular price. Hoping I’m offered one for my upcoming Vista cruise.  

Edited 17 hours ago by FolsomMike

[Tr1v1alCru1ser]

For us it would depend on the location of the cabin as to whether we’d be interested in bidding.

[Redtravel]

8 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

I'm assuming (and I realize it's a big assumption not based in fact) that it will be the same outsourced company running the bidding that NCL uses and will work similarly. 

 

In my experience with NCL bidding,  it was often cheaper to just booked the cabin you were bidding on outright than to bid for it.  Not to mention if you win the bid, you have no control of the cabin location. 

It’s a gamble.  If you don’t care about location, book a gty.  Never book below your least acceptable cabin category.  You may get lucky.  Bidding for an upgrade is not attractive.

[cruisingxpert]

19 hours ago, TonicTraveler said:

Both Oceania and Regent are implementing a new program beginning today that will roll out with Vista only.  For Oceania guests, who are paid in full, they will be able to bid for upgrades beginning 110 days prior and closing one day before sailing.  Guests will receive an email offer when applicable and will receive an email if their bid has been accepted.

Where is the link to this program?  I see Regent has info on it but can't find where Oceania has reported anything.