NCL Bidding Process - Bid Range & Success Discussion Only Please

[VideoTech]

What happens if two (or more) bids are the same -- how do they pick from that??? Who ever bid first???

 

You've just put your finger on one of the many reasons why there's very little purpose in speculating about how the system works. Bottom line is: NCL runs the system, and we do know what criteria and processes are used to evaluate and award upgrades from the bidding process. There are many, many variables in the equation, and we don't know how NCL weighs those variables. Because of the variables, we are not bidding on the same, identical product each time...so even knowing what NCL's range of bids is for any specific cruise doesn't help us...every cruise has a unique set of variables, and thus a unique set of bidding ranges.

 

About the only information that would be interesting to know is what was paid for completed, successful bids, and the original and final class of cabin. I believe that was the OP's original desire for this thread. But even that is just curiosity...a successful bid amount on cruise "A" may not be a successful amount on cruise "B", even on the same ship and same itinerary, but different dates, because there are still too many unknown variables.

 

As for all this talk about "revealing" your bid in advance...wow. It's not a poker game. If it were, it would be a poker game where the dealer (NCL) can, without warning and in the middle of the game, declare that the deck will now contain 80 cards, that Aces are now worthless, and 4 of a kind is no longer winning hand, and because it's Tuesday and it's raining outside, no one at seats 3 and 5 at the table will ever win anyway. And the rules will change completely for the next hand. Would you play poker under those conditions? I doubt it.

 

For heaven's sakes, people: Purchase the cabin you want. Then if you get an upgrade offer, put in a bid you can live with for whatever nicer cabin you might enjoy. If you win the bid, fantastic! Enjoy your new cabin. If you don't, you'll still enjoy your cruise, right? I hope so.

 

(note: the statements above represent my opinion on the issue. No offense to any other party on this discussion is intended. Just sayin' :D)

[Kattus]

I would think it depends on what cabin you are currently in and if they have people that are willing to pay for that cabin. If you got a great deal on your cabin they might upgrade you if they think they can get more than you paid for it. Thats what I am hoping. I got a comped balcony-so maybe its worth it to them to move me up to get full price on that balcony cabin. I think theres a lot of different things that come into play, and there's no way to figure it out from our side, as we dont have all the info they have.

My cabin category(a spa mini) is sold out, so hopefully that helps, since I'm sure there are a lot of people bidding who'd like spa access and the larger bathroom.

 

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[LadyShiva]

By the way, this is an outsourced vendor to handle the increased revenue flow for NCL. I doubt the vendor has access to frequent cruiser status.

 

(IcelandAir uses the same third party company for their upgrade bidding process.)

[Zynga]

Purchsed inside for july 18 bid 200 more per person and got balcony deck 19 forwardte=VideoTech;52835455]You've just put your finger on one of the many reasons why there's very little purpose in speculating about how the system works. Bottom line is: NCL runs the system, and we do know what criteria and processes are used to evaluate and award upgrades from the bidding process. There are many, many variables in the equation, and we don't know how NCL weighs those variables. Because of the variables, we are not bidding on the same, identical product each time...so even knowing what NCL's range of bids is for any specific cruise doesn't help us...every cruise has a unique set of variables, and thus a unique set of bidding ranges.

 

About the only information that would be interesting to know is what was paid for completed, successful bids, and the original and final class of cabin. I believe that was the OP's original desire for this thread. But even that is just curiosity...a successful bid amount on cruise "A" may not be a successful amount on cruise "B", even on the same ship and same itinerary, but different dates, because there are still too many unknown variables.

 

As for all this talk about "revealing" your bid in advance...wow. It's not a poker game. If it were, it would be a poker game where the dealer (NCL) can, without warning and in the middle of the game, declare that the deck will now contain 80 cards, that Aces are now worthless, and 4 of a kind is no longer winning hand, and because it's Tuesday and it's raining outside, no one at seats 3 and 5 at the table will ever win anyway. And the rules will change completely for the next hand. Would you play poker under those conditions? I doubt it.

 

For heaven's sakes, people: Purchase the cabin you want. Then if you get an upgrade offer, put in a bid you can live with for whatever nicer cabin you might enjoy. If you win the bid, fantastic! Enjoy your new cabin. If you don't, you'll still enjoy your cruise, right? I hope so.

 

(note: the statements above represent my opinion on the issue. No offense to any other party on this discussion is intended. Just sayin' :D)

[Zynga]

Purchased inside for 1250 Canadian , July 18th baltic cruise received email and bid 200 p.p. for balcony and have been accepted.

[Brat81978]

We had a midship balcony and won the 2 br on BA with a bid of $1420 ($2840 total). We paid slightly more than half of what it would cost to pay the full price upgrade.

[timkatmom]

I just would like to know..has anyone been successful putting in a low to good bid. (meter center or to the left)

[Zynga]

Hello,

Booked inside cabin in March for July Baltic cruise on Getaway.Paid 1400 Cdn.Made final payment in April

received bid offer in May. Bid 200 US pp and got balcony on 10 forward..

Very pleased.

Zynga

[tgloersen]

Just got off of Escape, we had a mini-suite. We placed a bid on all the Havens except for cats H2 and H3.

 

Our bid range was anywhere from middle fair to lower Good. Offer not accepted.

 

However we loved the mini-suite and kinda glad i was able to save the money.

[jcathers1]

Can we call the old upsell number to request an upgrade email if we haven't received one yet? If so, what is that number? We are about 70 days out, and others in my roll call report receiving the email. I'm not sure why I wouldn't have (or frankly, why they wouldn't send it to everyone). Thanks.

 

 

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[cyndepet]

Can we call the old upsell number to request an upgrade email if we haven't received one yet? If so, what is that number? We are about 70 days out, and others in my roll call report receiving the email. I'm not sure why I wouldn't have (or frankly, why they wouldn't send it to everyone). Thanks.

 

 

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Have you tried logging into your NCL account to see if a "Let's Get You Upgraded" window appears? That's how I knew I could bid on an upgrade. I don't recall getting an email. I've also read that some TA's don't participate in the upgrade program. If that's the case and you booked with one of those TA's, then you wouldn't be eligible to bid.

[jinteso]

Well, I don't portend to know everything, but then I don't comment on everything either. FWIW...care to explain and show examples of how knowing one person's bid can help another person...especially given that the cabin availability, pricing, etc varies so greatly from one sailing to the next?? Or better yet, please go back to Post #33 and explain just how knowing the bid ranges for Haven cabins in April can be helpful to emtthomas in bidding on an Oceanview or Balcony cabin in August.

 

 

BTW...Nobody was insulted (nice snark and lame attempt with the insult on my feelings, btw...I see your playbook is fairly thin), as a matter of fact nobody was even having this discussion. This thread stopped dead for nearly two weeks until someone dug it out (see post #25) and revived it by quoting someone in a provocative manner just to make an incorrect point. Had that post not been made, then NONE of the posts following would have been made either.

 

Not that I want him commenting more on this thread, but he is clearly wrong! Yes, over the LONG run, the information could be useful.

 

The information that would be needed are original stateroom type, upgraded room type, successful bid, ship and itinerary.

 

From that information, a statistical analysis could be done. Many of us would be able to determine if there was actually any pattern. The only other piece of information that could be helpful would be the month of the cruise.

 

This is coming from someone who has advanced degrees in math and engineering.

[tonit964]

We are sailing 8/5 on Escape and are in a B1 deck 9, however, wee decided not to bid because we can't choose the location of the ones we would want to bid on. We would get whatever they choose for us.

Here is the minimum bids for my sailing.

 

H2 $1500.00

H3 $1500.00

H4 $1000.00

H5 $400

H6 $750

H7 $400

Mini Suite $25.00 ETA: We are booked on a CAS offer and we paid $100 PP to upgrade to the B1 from a regular balcony. So with the Admin fee, we paid $300 each. Not bad!!

Edited July 5, 2017 by tonit964

[roddy good boy]

We are sailing 8/5 on Escape and are in a B1 deck 9, however, wee decided not to bid because we can't choose the location of the ones we would want to bid on. We would get whatever they choose for us.

Here is the minimum bids for my sailing.

 

H2 $1500.00

H3 $1500.00

H4 $1000.00

H5 $400

H6 $750

H7 $400

Mini Suite $25.00

Interesting: Since I am already in an H4, my minimum bid for the H2 or H3 is $750. I decided to stay put. I've given enough!

[SeaShark]

Not that I want him commenting more on this thread, but he is clearly wrong! Yes, over the LONG run, the information could be useful.

 

The information that would be needed are original stateroom type, upgraded room type, successful bid, ship and itinerary.

 

From that information, a statistical analysis could be done. Many of us would be able to determine if there was actually any pattern. The only other piece of information that could be helpful would be the month of the cruise.

 

This is coming from someone who has advanced degrees in math and engineering.

 

 

Having a shared background, I can appreciate the point you are making.

 

However, I stand by my original comments based on the one very important piece of information that this thread will NEVER provide...the number of available cabins.

 

THAT is what determines whether or not a bid is successful...nothing else.

 

For example, Sailing A could have 3 empty balcony cabins. The winning bidders will simply be the three people who bid the highest amounts. They could be $250, $275, and $300 in this case.

 

If on the very next sailing, which we will call Sailing B, there were also 3 empty balcony cabins, if the highest three bidders were to bid $100, $125, and $150, then those would be the winning bidders.

 

Winning amount for Sailing A is $250 and the winning amount for Sailing B is $100.

 

IOW...a bid of $200 would have been an easy winner for Sailing B, but a losing bid for Sailing A.

 

Doesn't matter which ship, doesn't matter which itinerary, doesn't matter which starting cabin...it is simply the number of available upgrades that determines the cutoff that will become the winning bid.

[jcathers1]

Have you tried logging into your NCL account to see if a "Let's Get You Upgraded" window appears? That's how I knew I could bid on an upgrade. I don't recall getting an email. I've also read that some TA's don't participate in the upgrade program. If that's the case and you booked with one of those TA's, then you wouldn't be eligible to bid.

 

 

 

I have logged into the account, but it doesn't say anything about upgrading. We are booked directly through NCL, so no TA issues.

 

I just wondered if anyone had the old upsell number so I could call and inquire about getting the opportunity to bid on an upgrade.

 

 

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[Sand and Seas]

I have logged into the account, but it doesn't say anything about upgrading. We are booked directly through NCL, so no TA issues.

 

I just wondered if anyone had the old upsell number so I could call and inquire about getting the opportunity to bid on an upgrade.

 

 

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I have the old Upsell number as 1-800-625-4309. Good luck and let us know if it works!

[garycarla]

...However, I stand by my original comments based on the one very important piece of information that this thread will NEVER provide...the number of available cabins.

 

THAT is what determines whether or not a bid is successful...nothing else....

 

the number of cabins is of course an important factor and a number nobody will know. Heck, even the folks at NCL might not know because cabins come open as those folks move up.

 

BUT - the #1 factor is actually how much you bid. You have to bid MORE than the next person. Does not matter how many cabins are available, you have to be among the top 1 if one cabin. Among the top 2 if two cabins. Among the top 3 if three cabins, etc.

 

You always have to bid more than somebody else.

[SeaShark]

the number of cabins is of course an important factor and a number nobody will know. Heck, even the folks at NCL might not know because cabins come open as those folks move up.

 

BUT - the #1 factor is actually how much you bid. You have to bid MORE than the next person. Does not matter how many cabins are available, you have to be among the top 1 if one cabin. Among the top 2 if two cabins. Among the top 3 if three cabins, etc.

 

You always have to bid more than somebody else.

How is that different than what I said?

 

The winning amount is determined by the number of cabins available for upgrade....none of the other figures matter one bit. Only the top x bidders will be successful and x is determined by the number of upgrades available.

[Chatabox]

I bid minimally for our upcoming cruise on the Gem. We have OV and I bid $65pp for balcony. Listed as "poor" on the range finder thing. Not expecting much but I am not gonna be one of the idiots.

 

 

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So?????

Was your bid successful?

[pinbot_67]

the number of cabins is of course an important factor and a number nobody will know. Heck, even the folks at NCL might not know because cabins come open as those folks move up.

 

BUT - the #1 factor is actually how much you bid. You have to bid MORE than the next person. Does not matter how many cabins are available, you have to be among the top 1 if one cabin. Among the top 2 if two cabins. Among the top 3 if three cabins, etc.

 

You always have to bid more than somebody else.

 

This is not true and Ill try to explain why:

 

I don't know how NCL determines who gets upgrades other than I can guarantee their goal is to maximize revenue. Now, how can a lower bid bring in more revenue than a higher bid? Because whoever gets upgrades then releases their cabin for other bidders in lower categories. It cascades down the line, and if lower stateroom categories bid more on cabins that themselves have offered a lower bid on higher categories than the max bid then it is entirely possible that they might win because overall, it would generate more revenue. I say possible because there are certainly other factors NCL uses as well that we have no idea what they are.

 

The faulty assumption is that this process is "fair" in the mathematical sense. The reality is that it is not fair at all; NCL manipulates the system to maximize its revenue. So a lower bid may win over a high bid because somewhere else in the calculation there is some unknown factor that maximizes revenue.

 

Like a previous poster said, just bid what you are willing to spend and you win either way.

And like the previous poster who has an advanced degree, he is right that with enough winning information data, it is possible to formulate a probability of scoring a certain upgrade under certain conditions.

[garycarla]

This is not true and Ill try to explain why:

 

I don't know how NCL determines who gets upgrades other than I can guarantee their goal is to maximize revenue. Now, how can a lower bid bring in more revenue than a higher bid?....

 

Yes, I would agree. In general, they want to get the highest big to fill a cabin. But, there are complexities as you mentioned. If your particular category is in demand, they are incented to get you moved up so they can sell your category to someone else.

 

But, if there are TWO people each bidding to move from level C to level D, then it is still going to be he person with the highest bid. But, as you mentioned, there might be a bit more than that as some folks will be moving two levels.

 

But - with all other things equal, the higher bid wins.

[liquipure]

So now it's September. Any new information on Upsell? I have an opportunity to bid $50USD for a mini suite but a passing. Not enough good reviews for mini suites. Might go to a full suite if the bidding was in my price range.

[kitty-sail]

The bidding amount or winning bid doesn't mean anything except for your particular cruise.

 

I read in another thread that the lowest bid for a Haven was $1000 pp. But for a cruise I'm on the lowest bid for Haven is $400 pp. So what one person would bid on one cruise won't apply to any other cruise.

I believe that NCL takes into account the total amount which means if you paid $1,000. for your room and bid $500. for the upgrade. If someone else paid $1500. for the room and bid $500., I think the second example would be a winning bid. This is just a guess.

[garycarla]

I believe that NCL takes into account the total amount which means if you paid $1,000. for your room and bid $500. for the upgrade. If someone else paid $1500. for the room and bid $500., I think the second example would be a winning bid. This is just a guess.

 

This particular thread seems to have slipped down the line. There are a few others.

 

As to your guess, here is mine.

 

They could care less what you paid to begin with. See the following scenario (and put on your businessman's hat)

 

Passenger A ) Paid $1,000 for a room, and bid $500 to upgrade

Passenger B) Paid $1,500 for room and bid $600 to upgrade

Passenger C) Paid $1,000 for room and bid $700 to upgrade

 

If you were a businessman, and the GOAL is to get as much cash into your bank account, which one would make the most financial sense?

 

Hint : If you take B, you only increase your revenue by $600. C will increase your revenue by $700.