Norwegian Upgrade question

[rontron]

Does Norwegian lower the prices on their upgrade site as we get closer to sailing or does the minimum bid pretty much stay the  same?

 

Thanks

 

Ron

 

[JamieLogical]

In my experience, it has always stayed the same, so it is worth watching your sailing for price drops, as you might be better off just paying the difference on the actual price to upgrade.

[julig22]

33 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

In my experience, it has always stayed the same, so it is worth watching your sailing for price drops, as you might be better off just paying the difference on the actual price to upgrade.

NCL policy on upgrades changed recently, so not currently possible unless current promos match promos when you booked.  So if you had an airfare promo, no upgrade unless you get it through a bid.  Don't know if you can do a paid upgrade however if you didn't take the airfare, haven't read about any successful attempts.

[saltsandknit]

On my Gem cruise the haven 2 bedroom suites dropped and was flagged as a huge sale the minimum bid was 550$. I have never seen that before

[scotlandyard1985]

it will the first time i will place a bid.

I am in final payment. Now price for a balcony is cheaper than my inside cabin. 😕

The min. bid is 120 USD max 450USD

 

The bid is the price per person?

 

Can i always but an higher bid afterwards?

 

 

 

[kitty-sail]

You can revise you bid up or down until your bid is selected. Remember the bid prices are per person so figure double bid price.

Bids are not always the cheapest. Also remember NCL does not have to accept any bids. If bids are too low, they will hold out to just before sailing - 2-3 days out.

Bidding can also be a way to work your way up to a higher cabin class.

[JamieLogical]

53 minutes ago, scotlandyard1985 said:

it will the first time i will place a bid.

I am in final payment. Now price for a balcony is cheaper than my inside cabin. 😕

The min. bid is 120 USD max 450USD

 

The bid is the price per person?

 

Can i always but an higher bid afterwards?

 

 

 

 

Have you called NCL to ask for a direct upgrade since balconies are now cheaper than what you paid or are you outside of the US?

[scotlandyard1985]

i am outside the usa and was told that it 's a new policy to do now upgrades after final payment

 

[JamieLogical]

3 minutes ago, scotlandyard1985 said:

i am outside the usa and was told that it 's a new policy to do now upgrades after final payment

 

 

Yeah, outside the US, I don't think it is possible to get a direct upgrade after final payment.

[JamieLogical]

For clarification, bids are NOT per person. They are always based on double occupancy. So if you win your bid, you will pay 2x your bid amount, no matter how many people are in your cabin. Doesn't matter if you are solo or traveling with your spouse and two kids.

[julig22]

49 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Have you called NCL to ask for a direct upgrade since balconies are now cheaper than what you paid or are you outside of the US?

NCL is not doing direct upgrades after final payment anymore in the US either, at least not if you booked during a free air promo if I understand correctly.  I just tried, got the same request denied as everyone else. So if my bid isn't accepted, I'll be content with what I booked.  But I'll have to rethink my strategy for future cruises.

[saltsandknit]

29 minutes ago, julig22 said:

NCL is not doing direct upgrades after final payment anymore in the US either, at least not if you booked during a free air promo if I understand correctly.  I just tried, got the same request denied as everyone else. So if my bid isn't accepted, I'll be content with what I booked.  But I'll have to rethink my strategy for future cruises.

I have upgraded past final payment for my next cruise with no penalty. From an inside to a club balcony. This was at about 50 days.

[julig22]

3 minutes ago, saltsandknit said:

I have upgraded past final payment for my next cruise with no penalty. From an inside to a club balcony. This was at about 50 days.

Did you have an airfare promo?  My understanding is that you can't upgrade if the promos don't match (and airfare promos aren't available within 60 days).  Aldo, when did you upgrade?  Apparently this is a new policy in the past few weeks.

[saltsandknit]

36 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Did you have an airfare promo?  My understanding is that you can't upgrade if the promos don't match (and airfare promos aren't available within 60 days).  Aldo, when did you upgrade?  Apparently this is a new policy in the past few weeks.

yes I was able to even with the the 2nd guest flies free. I don't know if this was because the Gem had plenty of rooms open or something else but we upgraded with no penalties or loss of all the perks including the air. I can't say it will happen again but it did this time.

Adding this we were at about 50 days to sail we are on the Sept 19th Gem sailing flights had not been assigned to us we got those at about 40 days

Edited August 26, 2021 by saltsandknit

[scotlandyard1985]

I dont have an airfare ( booked outside eu). I really hope that my bid will be accepted 😕 

It looks like the ship is not even half full... 

 

 

 

[saltsandknit]

Just now, scotlandyard1985 said:

I dont have an airfare ( booked outside eu). I really hope that my bid will be accepted 😕 

It looks like the ship is not even half full... 

 

 

 

most of the ships are sailing at around 60% as far as I can tell, most of the suites and Haven suites are open on my sailing, there are still a fair amount of Club balconies as well. I noticed that there were more cabins available this week so I am assuming there were a fair amount of cancellations this past week. I like to watch cabin availability on my cruises.

[CruizinKittie40]

45 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Did you have an airfare promo?  My understanding is that you can't upgrade if the promos don't match (and airfare promos aren't available within 60 days).  Aldo, when did you upgrade?  Apparently this is a new policy in the past few weeks.

I have the airfare promo and was offered the option to bid on an upgrade

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, CruizinKittie40 said:

I have the airfare promo and was offered the option to bid on an upgrade

 

We aren't talking about bidding. We are talking about calling NCL directly and paying the difference to upgrade. Apparently it's questionable whether this is doable if you booked the airfare promo. Upgrade Advantage (bidding to upgrade) has always had no impact on your booking perks. You keep the booking perks you had with your original booking and do not receive any new ones if you win the bid.

[CruizinKittie40]

2 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

We aren't talking about bidding. We are talking about calling NCL directly and paying the difference to upgrade. Apparently it's questionable whether this is doable if you booked the airfare promo. Upgrade Advantage (bidding to upgrade) has always had no impact on your booking perks. You keep the booking perks you had with your original booking and do not receive any new ones if you win the bid.

gotcha, thanks!

[julig22]

This is what I got from my PCC when I originally asked, after reading a post by someone who had been denied a paid upgrade:

Yes, we have changed our procedure with upgrades or price drops within final payment. Promotions on the booked reservation must match what is presently available for the newly shopped reservation (on the same ship and sail date), and the voyage fare must have reduced. In this scenario, the guest may be eligible for an FCC equal to 25% of the difference in voyage fare from their currently booked reservation and the newly shopped reservation. Please remember that price drops are done as a courtesy for our guests, and that this is not an official policy.

Now that my next cruise has lower fares, I asked for verification and was told I needed to bid.  I'm guessing these changes started about the beginning of August, so August/September cruises may not have been affected.

[snorklinbarb]

Well, here's a new twist --

Yesterday got an email with upgrade offer.  MyNCL also had the "Let's Get You Upgraded" offer and minimums matched.

 

Today's email has higher minimums than the original email!  The one from yesterday still has the lower minimums but when one clicks on it the "new" thresholds come up.

 

Over the years, have never seen that before (nor have I seen the minimums decline).  Anyone else experience them being raised?

[Gatordad1967]

Is the only way to get an upgrade, to wait for the email?

 

[coastcat]

On 8/26/2021 at 11:21 AM, julig22 said:

This is what I got from my PCC when I originally asked, after reading a post by someone who had been denied a paid upgrade:

Yes, we have changed our procedure with upgrades or price drops within final payment. Promotions on the booked reservation must match what is presently available for the newly shopped reservation (on the same ship and sail date), and the voyage fare must have reduced. In this scenario, the guest may be eligible for an FCC equal to 25% of the difference in voyage fare from their currently booked reservation and the newly shopped reservation. Please remember that price drops are done as a courtesy for our guests, and that this is not an official policy.

Now that my next cruise has lower fares, I asked for verification and was told I needed to bid.  I'm guessing these changes started about the beginning of August, so August/September cruises may not have been affected.

Does this apply only if your booked cabin has dropped in price and you do not want to change, or does it also apply if you want to pay NCL to move to a higher category which is priced higher than your current one?

 

For example, I'm booked in a balcony cabin and now that the final payment date is past, the price of a club balcony cabin is just a little over what I paid for the regular balcony. In the Before Times I could just call NCL and pay the difference in order to upgrade from balcony to club balcony. Is that no longer allowed?

[JamieLogical]

25 minutes ago, Gatordad1967 said:

Is the only way to get an upgrade, to wait for the email?

 

If you log into My NCL, you should see the "Let's Get You Upgraded" screen, if you are eligible to upgrade.

[MsTabbyKats]

I wonder about "sail away rate" upgrades, since there are no promotions.  I had some really great last minute deals.  Oh well...I won't be getting my hopes up.