Unable to bid on upgrade--looking for similar experiences

[jcathers1]

I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience:

 

Based on the roll-call thread for our upcoming cruise (Escape on 9/16) I was aware that others had received their upgrade bidding emails. I had not. I called the upsale number and inquired why. They said there was no reason that I would not have received the upgrade/upsale email, and they would put in a request to have it sent to me. Problem solved.

 

I waited about a week, and still no email, so I called back. Again, the upsale folks verified that I met the requirements to bid (booked directly through NCL, paid in full, etc.), and would send an email to the third party that generates the bid emails to have one sent to me.

 

My initial call was in early July, and I've most recently spoken with NCL on Friday. I have called them nearly 10 times. There is an issue with the third party developing the bidding link for my reservation, and no one can tell me when (or whether) it will be solved. I did learn that others in my cruise (and other cruises, I would assume) are also affected by this. In the end, I understand that having the opportunity to bid is certainly no guarantee that your bid will be accepted, but I would like to try nonetheless.

 

I've spoken to reservations supervisors, who have returned me to the upsale department (who do not have a supervisor, apparently). Guest relations will not discuss anything with a passenger before their cruise, and they send me to a reservations supervisor (see above). I finally spoke with someone in the ironically named "resolutions department", who told me to wait patiently.

 

Has anyone had a similar experience, or have any advice of how I can best proceed?

 

TIA.

[beau4]

Not everyone receives an email. I did not but was still able to bid. Check your account on NCL.com. You should see the message tab. It looks like an envelope. Click on that. You should then be able to see the Let's get you upgraded tab to click. Clicking on that should reveal what you are able to bid on.

Good luck and have a great cruise.

[jcathers1]

Not everyone receives an email. I did not but was still able to bid. Check your account on NCL.com. You should see the message tab. It looks like an envelope. Click on that. You should then be able to see the Let's get you upgraded tab to click. Clicking on that should reveal what you are able to bid on.

Good luck and have a great cruise.

 

I do not have a message in my NCL inbox, nor a banner at the top of my MyNCL page.

 

And from what I was told by the folks at the upsell desk, everyone who qualifies (paid in full, booked directly with NCL, etc.) should receive an opportunity to bid on an upgrade. I know it is accepted wisdom that "not everyone gets the opportunity to upgrade", but based on the conversations I've had, that simply is not the case.

[zqvol]

I was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience:

 

Based on the roll-call thread for our upcoming cruise (Escape on 9/16) I was aware that others had received their upgrade bidding emails. I had not. I called the upsale number and inquired why. They said there was no reason that I would not have received the upgrade/upsale email, and they would put in a request to have it sent to me. Problem solved.

 

I waited about a week, and still no email, so I called back. Again, the upsale folks verified that I met the requirements to bid (booked directly through NCL, paid in full, etc.), and would send an email to the third party that generates the bid emails to have one sent to me.

 

My initial call was in early July, and I've most recently spoken with NCL on Friday. I have called them nearly 10 times. There is an issue with the third party developing the bidding link for my reservation, and no one can tell me when (or whether) it will be solved. I did learn that others in my cruise (and other cruises, I would assume) are also affected by this. In the end, I understand that having the opportunity to bid is certainly no guarantee that your bid will be accepted, but I would like to try nonetheless.

 

I've spoken to reservations supervisors, who have returned me to the upsale department (who do not have a supervisor, apparently). Guest relations will not discuss anything with a passenger before their cruise, and they send me to a reservations supervisor (see above). I finally spoke with someone in the ironically named "resolutions department", who told me to wait patiently.

 

Has anyone had a similar experience, or have any advice of how I can best proceed?

 

TIA.

 

You don't necessarily have a right to bid on an upgrade. You can call the upgrade department and asked to bid, but they don't have to allow it. The real way to proceed is to be happy with the cabin you book when you book it.

[jcathers1]

You don't necessarily have a right to bid on an upgrade. You can call the upgrade department and asked to bid, but they don't have to allow it. The real way to proceed is to be happy with the cabin you book when you book it.

 

Please substantiate your claim that "they don't have to allow" anyone to bid on an upgrade. Do you have some in-depth knowledge of the bidding process? Or was this just a particularly unhelpful opinion.

[Enavigo]

Please substantiate your claim that "they don't have to allow" anyone to bid on an upgrade. Do you have some in-depth knowledge of the bidding process? Or was this just a particularly unhelpful opinion.

 

 

 

See "Upgrade Advantage Program Terms and Conditions." Condition 3 provides, "[f]irst, as a prerequisite to the ability to make an Offer, you must receive an invitation ("Invitation") from

Norwegian Cruise Lines. Sending an invitation to anyone at any time is entirely within Norwegian Cruise Line's sole discretion."

 

 

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[garycarla]

I am guessing somebody in the back office makes a decision on how many people they send an invite to? Their choice of course. And guessing they do not want to share that as some folks would raise holy hell saying it was not fair if others got a chance and they did not. Just my wild a$$ guess.

[jcathers1]

See "Upgrade Advantage Program Terms and Conditions." Condition 3 provides, "[f]irst, as a prerequisite to the ability to make an Offer, you must receive an invitation ("Invitation") from

Norwegian Cruise Lines. Sending an invitation to anyone at any time is entirely within Norwegian Cruise Line's sole discretion."

 

 

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This is prototypical indemnity language to shield NCL from a lawsuit from someone who feels wronged that they did not get a bidding opportunity. And while this may legally/technically be their position, in reality, the upsell department believes everyone who qualifies should be receiving a bid opportunity. I'm being told that there is a "glitch" that is causing me to not receive the link to bid. Ergo, my question was seeking those who may have had a similar situation and had it resolved favorably.

[deladypilot]

I do not know why some get it and some do not so I can not answer that question with any real conviction. On our up coming cruise many have not received an email including myself but found it in their MyNCL mail. You already said you did not find it there either so that is mute but a few have mentioned that the email went into their spam folder in their email. Have you looked there? Just a thought.

[jcathers1]

I do not know why some get it and some do not so I can not answer that question with any real conviction. On our up coming cruise many have not received an email including myself but found it in their MyNCL mail. You already said you did not find it there either so that is mute but a few have mentioned that the email went into their spam folder in their email. Have you looked there? Just a thought.

 

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Yes, I have been checking my spam mail folder (although I assume that the email and the banner on the MyNCL page are redundant to one another). All in all, it doesn't seem like a very robust system at this point.

 

 

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[BirdTravels]

When we sailed on the Breakaway a couple of months ago, we did NOT get an email.

 

We got a MyNCL message and a banner on MyNCL exactly 80 days prior to sailing. For unknow reasons, the banner came and went (not displayed) a few times. But eventually stayed up until week of sailing.

 

In our case, it was cheaper to just pay for the Havens room and get all of the perks than bid (i.e., the cost to pay for the higher room was cheaper than a poor-fair bid).

[jcathers1]

When we sailed on the Breakaway a couple of months ago, we did NOT get an email.

 

We got a MyNCL message and a banner on MyNCL exactly 80 days prior to sailing. For unknow reasons, the banner came and went (not displayed) a few times. But eventually stayed up until week of sailing.

 

In our case, it was cheaper to just pay for the Havens room and get all of the perks than bid (i.e., the cost to pay for the higher room was cheaper than a poor-fair bid).

 

 

 

Very strange. It doesn't seem like they have a good hold on the process thus far.

 

 

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[garycarla]

Very strange. It doesn't seem like they have a good hold on the process thus far.

 

 

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Maybe.

 

Or maybe they do have a good hold and there is some "rational" reason some people are not getting the bid option. Some random reasons I could think not everyone gets the option:

 

* only a few cabins available, so they only give a few the option

* booked under some special rate code - passenger may not even know they are under that

* TA has opted out

* Home location of passenger

* something in reservation changed around time of emails being sent out - again passenger might not even be aware of it

* passenger did not have MYNCL set up on the date they sent first bids out

* staff decided not to alert everyone to avoid too many bids

* and something we have no idea of

[jcathers1]

Maybe.

 

 

 

Or maybe they do have a good hold and there is some "rational" reason some people are not getting the bid option. Some random reasons I could think not everyone gets the option:

 

 

 

* only a few cabins available, so they only give a few the option

 

* booked under some special rate code - passenger may not even know they are under that

 

* TA has opted out

 

* Home location of passenger

 

* something in reservation changed around time of emails being sent out - again passenger might not even be aware of it

 

* passenger did not have MYNCL set up on the date they sent first bids out

 

* staff decided not to alert everyone to avoid too many bids

 

* and something we have no idea of

 

 

 

The point of this program (once would safely assume) it to maximize revenue and sail with ships as full as possible. As such, NCL would want to email every customer, even if there was only one available cabin. Since they would have no way of knowing which one may be willing to pay the most, it would be beneficial to cast the widest net. "Too many bids" is the exact opposite of what they would desire.

 

Additionally, with the possibility of late cancelations, they actually do not know which cabins will be available until the ship sets sale. If customers bid on a mini-suite, even if none is available, if one opens up through cancelation, NCL can simply slide a bidder into that cabin (and the resulting chain reaction of cabin openings).

 

Further, an email address is required to booking, so myNCL does not need to be established.

 

That said, yes, there may be some mysterious rationale for why some get bid opportunities and others do not. But if there is, this information is not even available to the representatives who handle this department within the company, which does not seem reasonable. Or, they are lying to customers, which doesn't seem reasonable either.

 

NCL is an enormous bureaucracy. It is far easier for me to believe that they have simply not maximized the benefits that this program could provide them (read: ineptitude).

 

 

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[Smacciemac]

I booked and then a few days later I got the Email as well as when I log into my account it pops right up on my screen .. "Lets get you upgraded"

 

 

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[Enavigo]

Maybe.

 

 

 

Or maybe they do have a good hold and there is some "rational" reason some people are not getting the bid option. Some random reasons I could think not everyone gets the option:

 

 

 

* only a few cabins available, so they only give a few the option

 

* booked under some special rate code - passenger may not even know they are under that

 

* TA has opted out

 

* Home location of passenger

 

* something in reservation changed around time of emails being sent out - again passenger might not even be aware of it

 

* passenger did not have MYNCL set up on the date they sent first bids out

 

* staff decided not to alert everyone to avoid too many bids

 

* and something we have no idea of

 

 

 

I agree with your assessment. I did some digging the other night as I was curious about the operations of the program (the corporate lawyer in me is always interested in these things).

 

I was able to locate promotional material sent my NCL to its TA partners discussing the program. The program is pretty clear. First, to even be eligible for consideration by the algorithm, two things MUST be true on the date of the program launch. First, you must be paid in full. Second, at that time you must have a valid email address in your pre-registration.

 

Assuming you meet both these requirements, you are then eligible for consideration. NCL makes very clear that not everyone gets and invite and that selection is based on numerous criteria ("[g]uests are selected and sent an email to bid based on a variety of factors including but not limited to what they already paid and the type of cabins available for their sailing.").

 

Some additional digging turned up some interviews/articles that provide a bit more color. In sum, the program is more complex then it appears. In addition to the above, it also takes into account your sailing history (with the less sailing experience weighted more heavily), the cabin/location of your current cabin, the availability in higher categories, demand for your current category, and several other factors. The key factor seems to be what you paid for your original cabin (there is a revenue yield component that weighs heavily on the algorithm).

 

To OP, is it possible that you did meet the criteria on final payment date, but had not loaded a valid email address into MyNCL? If so, maybe they are trying to find a way to fix that for you, because the computer would have rejected consideration without and email address? Just guessing.

 

My point here is that people should resist the urge to oversimplify this program by assuming everyone is eligible once they pay in full. It is clear they are not. This offer is on NCL's sole discretion.

 

 

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[garycarla]

The point of this program (once would safely assume) it to maximize revenue and sail with ships as full as possible. As such, NCL would want to email every customer, even if there was only one available cabin. Since they would have no way of knowing which one may be willing to pay the most, it would be beneficial to cast the widest net. "Too many bids" is the exact opposite of what they would desire....

 

That does make sense to maximize revenue. Agree.

 

At the same time, if there staff feels they really are only going to have 2 balcony cabins available to upgrade based on their experience, it might make sense to not send out 700 emails. No idea how manual or automatic the process is from emails, to sorting out bids, replying, etc. If I was managing that staff and thought sending out 700 emails might get a slightly higher bid of $50-$100 but add 10-20 man hours of processing... I might make the decision to not email so many people.

[wdsted]

We are Platinum+ and have never received an upgrade email or seen the option to opt in/out anywhere on NCL.com. We've also booked several cruises in suites/Haven. Kind of weird.

[jcathers1]

I agree with your assessment. I did some digging the other night as I was curious about the operations of the program (the corporate lawyer in me is always interested in these things).

 

I was able to locate promotional material sent my NCL to its TA partners discussing the program. The program is pretty clear. First, to even be eligible for consideration by the algorithm, two things MUST be true on the date of the program launch. First, you must be paid in full. Second, at that time you must have a valid email address in your pre-registration.

 

Assuming you meet both these requirements, you are then eligible for consideration. NCL makes very clear that not everyone gets and invite and that selection is based on numerous criteria ("[g]uests are selected and sent an email to bid based on a variety of factors including but not limited to what they already paid and the type of cabins available for their sailing.").

 

Some additional digging turned up some interviews/articles that provide a bit more color. In sum, the program is more complex then it appears. In addition to the above, it also takes into account your sailing history (with the less sailing experience weighted more heavily), the cabin/location of your current cabin, the availability in higher categories, demand for your current category, and several other factors. The key factor seems to be what you paid for your original cabin (there is a revenue yield component that weighs heavily on the algorithm).

 

To OP, is it possible that you did meet the criteria on final payment date, but had not loaded a valid email address into MyNCL? If so, maybe they are trying to find a way to fix that for you, because the computer would have rejected consideration without and email address? Just guessing.

 

My point here is that people should resist the urge to oversimplify this program by assuming everyone is eligible once they pay in full. It is clear they are not. This offer is on NCL's sole discretion.

 

 

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Thanks for the research. Very interesting, indeed.

 

That said, it seems like NCL's standard line to customers should be "not every customer is eligible for an upgrade", rather than "you qualify and you should have gotten an email, and we will try to fix the issue". Had I gotten the former response, that would have been the end of the conversation.

 

 

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[garycarla]

I agree with your assessment. I did some digging the other night as I was curious about the operations of the program (the corporate lawyer in me is always interested in these things).

 

I was able to locate promotional material sent my NCL to its TA partners discussing the program. The program is pretty clear. First, to even be eligible for consideration by the algorithm, two things MUST be true on the date of the program launch. First, you must be paid in full. Second, at that time you must have a valid email address in your pre-registration.

 

Assuming you meet both these requirements, you are then eligible for consideration. NCL makes very clear that not everyone gets and invite and that selection is based on numerous criteria ("[g]uests are selected and sent an email to bid based on a variety of factors including but not limited to what they already paid and the type of cabins available for their sailing.").

 

Some additional digging turned up some interviews/articles that provide a bit more color. In sum, the program is more complex then it appears. In addition to the above, it also takes into account your sailing history (with the less sailing experience weighted more heavily), the cabin/location of your current cabin, the availability in higher categories, demand for your current category, and several other factors. The key factor seems to be what you paid for your original cabin (there is a revenue yield component that weighs heavily on the algorithm).

 

To OP, is it possible that you did meet the criteria on final payment date, but had not loaded a valid email address into MyNCL? If so, maybe they are trying to find a way to fix that for you, because the computer would have rejected consideration without and email address? Just guessing.

 

My point here is that people should resist the urge to oversimplify this program by assuming everyone is eligible once they pay in full. It is clear they are not. This offer is on NCL's sole discretion.

 

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Some very good information here. Thanks for digging. I will share our situation for grins.

 

* We are Plat with NCL.

* Paid a very low amount for 2BR penthouse(CAS).

* Rec'd bid offer online, but no regular email.

* We made a min bid for 2BR Haven.

* There are no haven cabins open, there is one OS and one GV. We would never take an OS over the 2BR and the minimum bid for GV was well over $1,000 each.

 

So, unless one of the Haven folks move up to GV, and nobody else bids, I doubt we will get an upgrade.

[Two Wheels Only]

Had I gotten the former response, that would have been the end of the conversation.

Or better yet, just book the stateroom that you really want and there would be no conversation....

[Enavigo]

Thanks for the research. Very interesting, indeed.

 

That said, it seems like NCL's standard line to customers should be "not every customer is eligible for an upgrade", rather than "you qualify and you should have gotten an email, and we will try to fix the issue". Had I gotten the former response, that would have been the end of the conversation.

 

 

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OP, I'm not entirely convinced that they are not telling you the truth. You have spoken to them a few times and escalated to someone that would have told you otherwise. You have always received the same response. My guess is that they can see that you are eligible but there is some issue with your pre registration (or there was) and they are looking for a work around.

 

Overall, the more I look into this program the more ingenious it looks. The program guarantees a revenue yield increase while at the same time protects NCL from free market downside risk. What it really does is shift the supply curve favorably while distorting the demand curve (by setting a price floor bid thy is unique to each bidder). Nothing illegal, obviously, but clearly sets up a "heads I win, tails you lose" situation for them. Again, not entirely true, as I am sure people who have had their bids accepted certainly feel like they have won.

 

What I think would be really interesting to track would be the bid success rate relative to category and guarantee sales rate. My guess is people who are bidding from categories that are sold out (or near sold out) in categories where GTY are also near sold out are many multiples times more likely to have their bid accepted. I mean, at that point, if you're NCL, you might as well take the incremental revenue yield (however small) then risk having to give that higher cabin to a GTY passenger for free.

 

 

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[jcathers1]

Or better yet, just book the stateroom that you really want and there would be no conversation....

 

 

 

Excellent point. In fact, I got exactly the stateroom I really wanted based on extant prices at the time of booking.

 

However, if other rooms were available at a price-point below what is listed on the website (perhaps even for a price I get to choose myself), I might be interested in those options.

 

Hey, wouldn't it be nice if a system like this existed?

 

 

 

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[garycarla]

Or better yet, just book the stateroom that you really want and there would be no conversation....

 

Not really.

 

I am thinking most people already book the cabin they want (or least are financially okay with booking).

 

BUT - a high number of people would like to upgrade if they could get a nice discount. We are very happy with the cabin we booked, but would love to get a discount to move up. I realize the odds are totally against us, but why not check it out?

 

At the same time, there is no way I would bother to call and ask where by option email is. Or demand as some people do.