Princess Introduces Bidding For Upgrades

[Steelers36]

6 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Yes, they are within categories.  The subcategories will be shown such as balcony, deluxe balcony or the various types of suites.  But you won't see M1, M2, etc., you'll just see Mini Suite, Club Class Mini Suite, or forward Mini Suite as an example.

 

I saw your edit.  They didn't say that you would get another opportunity once you've accepted a bid, it didn't come up.

I was going to ask, but you may have answered.  Suppose a guest has a BE Balcony and interested in bidding for a BB or BA to be more mid-ship.  Are these going to be offered, or the minimum is going to be to a Deluxe?  Thing is too, a guest might be in a BB or BA and might want to go for a Deluxe, but would not want a DE or DD o DW.

[azbirdmom]

14 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I was going to ask, but you may have answered.  Suppose a guest has a BE Balcony and interested in bidding for a BB or BA to be more mid-ship.  Are these going to be offered, or the minimum is going to be to a Deluxe?  Thing is too, a guest might be in a BB or BA and might want to go for a Deluxe, but would not want a DE or DD o DW.

 

It's going to be the high level categories per the presentation.  But they did break out M1 from M6 in the Club Class category so we will have to wait to see if they further break down the balcony categories if there are any less desirable cabins within that.

 

And actually I misstated the categories within mini suite.  Meant to say MA, MB, etc.  Can't edit but it was an example anyway....

Edited August 26, 2022 by azbirdmom

[Steelers36]

22 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

It's going to be the high level categories per the presentation.  But they did break out M1 from M6 in the Club Class category so we will have to wait to see if they further break down the balcony categories if there are any less desirable cabins within that.

 

And actually I misstated the categories within mini suite.  Meant to say MA, MB, etc.  Can't edit but it was an example anyway....

I would interpret the above to say that a person with a BB/BA type Balcony would not be offered, nor would end up with a DW,DE,DD Deluxe.  Interesting as they might want the DW if mid-ship.  Anyway, I appreciate it is impossible for a system to match everyone's idea of an upgrade.

[azbirdmom]

7 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

I would interpret the above to say that a person with a BB/BA type Balcony would not be offered, nor would end up with a DW,DE,DD Deluxe.  Interesting as they might want the DW if mid-ship.  Anyway, I appreciate it is impossible for a system to match everyone's idea of an upgrade.

 

They did break out Deluxe from Balcony.  I just don't know if they will separate categories within generic "Balcony" if some are deemed less desirable than others.  Edited to add screen shots with some of the balcony cabins shown in the presentation.

 

 

Edited August 26, 2022 by azbirdmom

[Steelers36]

6 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

They did break out Deluxe from Balcony.  I just don't know if they will separate categories within generic "Balcony" if some are deemed less desirable than others like they did with Club Class.

I know I used the "Thanks" icon on your posts, but want to explicitly thank you for your time and attention to providing details from the webinar.  I was unable to attend and have not replayed it and certainly appreciate the info that you and @ceilidh1 have shared with us all.

[Steelers36]

10 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

They did break out Deluxe from Balcony.  I just don't know if they will separate categories within generic "Balcony" if some are deemed less desirable than others.  Edited to add screen shots with some of the balcony cabins shown in the presentation.

 

 

The slide tells me that a guest in a BF/BE/BD isn't going to be offered a BB/BA type upgrade which is unfortunate. 

[azbirdmom]

6 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

The slide tells me that a guest in a BF/BE/BD isn't going to be offered a BB/BA type upgrade which is unfortunate. 

 

We will have to see if there are any further breakdowns within a category but based on what I saw in the presentation I think you are right.

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

The slide tells me that a guest in a BF/BE/BD isn't going to be offered a BB/BA type upgrade which is unfortunate. 

In the webinar, they mentioned that there isn't really any efficiency to bidding within a cabin type, (ME to MB as an example.)  What they said is that if you are in a lower category of a particular cabin type and want to move to a better location, you should just pick up the phone and call your TA or Vacation Planner and if there is a cabin available in that higher category, you can pay to move into it without the uncertainty of bidding, and that the cost to move within categories is so small that it is not worth tying up the bidding process to include this option.  For example, if an MD is $1,600 per person and an MB is $1,710, they want you to pick up the phone and pay the $110 per person to get that cabin instead of going through the process of bidding.  After all, with a $110 price difference, what would your bid look like? $80?  $95?  For that delta, just pay the $110 and get what you want instead of playing games.  

[Steelers36]

9 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

In the webinar, they mentioned that there isn't really any efficiency to bidding within a cabin type, (ME to MB as an example.)  What they said is that if you are in a lower category of a particular cabin type and want to move to a better location, you should just pick up the phone and call your TA or Vacation Planner and if there is a cabin available in that higher category, you can pay to move into it without the uncertainty of bidding, and that the cost to move within categories is so small that it is not worth tying up the bidding process to include this option.  For example, if an MD is $1,600 per person and an MB is $1,710, they want you to pick up the phone and pay the $110 per person to get that cabin instead of going through the process of bidding.  After all, with a $110 price difference, what would your bid look like? $80?  $95?  For that delta, just pay the $110 and get what you want instead of playing games.  

LOL... sure it will work.  Not laughing at you, BTW. 

 

So, I manage to nab a cabin and re-fare it some X times and today's fare is much higher.  Agree it isn't that much more to go from an xE to and xB originally.  We regularly book IB or IA. 

 

Had an IB booked for long time.  Had a chance to get a BE for great pricing compared to what we had in place for a IB.  Was okay with the location, so no harm, no foul.  But, I could see this coming as it was not long before FP Date, and next thing you know more Balconies opened up, including BA's, BB's.  But the pricing had also jumped back up as I had caught a low point.  Sure, I could/can call up, but we are no longer talking an extra $100 for the two weeks.  I'd have gladly booked a BB at the low price mark, but none were available - even as a GTY.  I was thinking a bid of current price difference might yield something, but I not interested in upgrading to a BB at today's pricing.  So, it's kind of an odd situation, I know since the price difference at a point in time between an "E" cabin and a "B" cabin is not all that much.  But at two different points in time, it can be quite dramatic.

 

[JimmyVWine]

5 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

So, it's kind of an odd situation, I know since the price difference at a point in time between an "E" cabin and a "B" cabin is not all that much.  But at two different points in time, it can be quite dramatic.

While they didn't address this specifically, we do know that PCL has partnered with a third-party vendor to run this program.  No idea what the fee agreement is, but if is at all based on volume of bids, then PCL will not want to pay the vendor for running the administration of literally hundreds of thousands of people who are trying to move from a BD to a BA.  I also think that they have run some modeling to see if people can game the system to always book the lowest levels within a category and try to bid their way in to the higher categories for less money than it would cost to simply book the higher category.  The business model here works for people wanting to pay $400 per person to move their chess piece around the board, not for people who want to pay $70 (or even $150) to move 47 feet closer to the mid-ship elevators.  Just my thoughts.  No real insight here.

[Steelers36]

16 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

While they didn't address this specifically, we do know that PCL has partnered with a third-party vendor to run this program.  No idea what the fee agreement is, but if is at all based on volume of bids, then PCL will not want to pay the vendor for running the administration of literally hundreds of thousands of people who are trying to move from a BD to a BA.  I also think that they have run some modeling to see if people can game the system to always book the lowest levels within a category and try to bid their way in to the higher categories for less money than it would cost to simply book the higher category.  The business model here works for people wanting to pay $400 per person to move their chess piece around the board, not for people who want to pay $70 (or even $150) to move 47 feet closer to the mid-ship elevators.  Just my thoughts.  No real insight here.

Oh I think you are bang on.

[HBCcruiser]

On 8/25/2022 at 11:21 AM, ceilidh1 said:

 

This looks familiar...same meter as NCL

Yup and RoyalUp! Now we get to enjoy ALLLLL those UPGRADE threads. 😂😂😂

[ceilidh1]

10 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Yes, they are within categories.  The subcategories will be shown such as balcony, deluxe balcony or the various types of suites.  But you won't see M1, M2, etc., you'll just see Mini Suite, Club Class Mini Suite, or forward Mini Suite as an example.

 

I saw your edit.  They didn't say that you would get another opportunity once you've accepted a bid, it didn't come up.

 

10 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I was going to ask, but you may have answered.  Suppose a guest has a BE Balcony and interested in bidding for a BB or BA to be more mid-ship.  Are these going to be offered, or the minimum is going to be to a Deluxe?  Thing is too, a guest might be in a BB or BA and might want to go for a Deluxe, but would not want a DE or DD o DW.

I may have misunderstood but I THOUGHT the question of upgrading within your same category came up and they said that you weren't able to do so. I took that to mean that if you were in a balcony, you could only upgrade to minisuite/suite category. From what I understood, the various types within each category would be broken down for anyone eligible to bid on that category - so the screenshots showing balcony/deluxe balcony/etc would only be available to those booked in an inside/oceanview NOT anyone currently booked in a balcony. Did I misunderstand this piece?

[vikidon]

12 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Okay, I'll bite.  I am just now making post #241 and I am not sure.  I recall the announcement indicating selected ship(s) at first in order to shakedown the process.  So, I am not sure who the test guests will be.

My agent told me tonight that the  ships they are starting with are Caribbean Princess, Discovery, Enchantment ,Royal and Ruby. 

[Steelers36]

19 minutes ago, vikidon said:

My agent told me tonight that the  ships they are starting with are Caribbean Princess, Discovery, Enchantment ,Royal and Ruby. 

See Post #247 with a slide set from the Princess webinar.  It's Regal, not Royal, but otherwise your list matches.

[AZjohn]

1 hour ago, ceilidh1 said:

 

I may have misunderstood but I THOUGHT the question of upgrading within your same category came up and they said that you weren't able to do so. I took that to mean that if you were in a balcony, you could only upgrade to minisuite/suite category. From what I understood, the various types within each category would be broken down for anyone eligible to bid on that category - so the screenshots showing balcony/deluxe balcony/etc would only be available to those booked in an inside/oceanview NOT anyone currently booked in a balcony. Did I misunderstand this piece?

No, you did not misunderstand. That exactly what I heard 👍

[PescadoAmarillo]

1 hour ago, ceilidh1 said:

 

I may have misunderstood but I THOUGHT the question of upgrading within your same category came up and they said that you weren't able to do so. I took that to mean that if you were in a balcony, you could only upgrade to minisuite/suite category. From what I understood, the various types within each category would be broken down for anyone eligible to bid on that category - so the screenshots showing balcony/deluxe balcony/etc would only be available to those booked in an inside/oceanview NOT anyone currently booked in a balcony. Did I misunderstand this piece?

I understood it to mean the same thing. The part that left me doing a bit of eye rolling is when he said that if the upgrade would move a guest to a different part of the ship (ie back to the very front) or a “less desirable part if the ship”, Princess would call to notify the guest and try to find a way around that. Did I understand that correctly?  Because I cannot imagine they have the resources to be spending time in that kind of communication. 

Edited August 27, 2022 by PescadoAmarillo

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I understood it to mean the same thing. The part that left me doing a bit of eye rolling is when he said that if the upgrade would move a guest to a different part of the ship (ie back to the very front) or a “less desirable part if the ship”, Princess would call to notify the guest and try to find a way around that. Did I understand that correctly?  Because I cannot imagine they have the resources to be spending time in that kind of communication. 

I highly doubt that would happen, too...

I think I also heard that if you were in an ADA cabin and bid for an upgrade into a category that they didn't have available for ADA but they had a lower ADA category available, they would call to offer that? Once again, seems a little unlikely, but who knows....

[caribill]

There is a big difference from what we thought pre-webinar (if your bid is accepted, your card will be charged immediately and there is no backing out) and what the webinar said (you must call in to make the payment).

 

What happens if you do not call in to authorize the payment?

 

If you are booked with a TA, can you still call Princess to make the payment or must you go through the TA?

[jagoffee]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

There is a big difference from what we thought pre-webinar (if your bid is accepted, your card will be charged immediately and there is no backing out) and what the webinar said (you must call in to make the payment).

 

What happens if you do not call in to authorize the payment?

 

If you are booked with a TA, can you still call Princess to make the payment or must you go through the TA?

Good point.  In this regard Princess terms and conditions are better than Celebrity’s version.  If Princess is allowing a customer to use FCC to pay the winning bid, it is a nice difference.

It does leave me wondering if Princess will allow a customer to just not  pay and cancel the bid if they do not like the cabin location and no other locations are available.  I doubt it.

 

 

[ceilidh1]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

There is a big difference from what we thought pre-webinar (if your bid is accepted, your card will be charged immediately and there is no backing out) and what the webinar said (you must call in to make the payment).

 

What happens if you do not call in to authorize the payment?

 

If you are booked with a TA, can you still call Princess to make the payment or must you go through the TA?

I thought that was only if a TA places the bid through Polar? Again, I may have misunderstood - the sound was so bad at times that I just tuned out. However, I took from it that if a passenger places the bid it required their CC number and it was charged when the bid was accepted. If the TA places the bid on behalf of passenger and the bod is accepted, the passenger may either make payment through personaliser, have the TA make payment with CC or call Princess. Apologies if this is completely wrong - it's great to have all you folks to learn from....

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, jagoffee said:

Good point.  In this regard Princess terms and conditions are better than Celebrity’s version.  If Princess is allowing a customer to use FCC to pay the winning bid, it is a nice difference.

It does leave me wondering if Princess will allow a customer to just not  pay and cancel the bid if they do not like the cabin location and no other locations are available.  I doubt it.

 

 

If their original room is freed up and goes back into inventory once their bid is accepted (which they would need to do if they use the process to maximize revenue) passengers option would be pay what they bid or not go with all of its issues.

[azbirdmom]

14 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

 

I may have misunderstood but I THOUGHT the question of upgrading within your same category came up and they said that you weren't able to do so. I took that to mean that if you were in a balcony, you could only upgrade to minisuite/suite category. From what I understood, the various types within each category would be broken down for anyone eligible to bid on that category - so the screenshots showing balcony/deluxe balcony/etc would only be available to those booked in an inside/oceanview NOT anyone currently booked in a balcony. Did I misunderstand this piece?

The screenshot during the demo clearly showed that the current cabin was Standard Balcony and the offers were for Deluxe Balcony and Premium Deluxe Balcony in addition to Mini.  Still this is Princess and there were some other things that seemed to conflict during the discussion so we will have to see what kind of offers folks start getting within the next two weeks - because you know it will hit CC soon after the first one goes out!  🙂

 

 

[ceilidh1]

15 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

The screenshot during the demo clearly showed that the current cabin was Standard Balcony and the offers were for Deluxe Balcony and Premium Deluxe Balcony in addition to Mini.  Still this is Princess and there were some other things that seemed to conflict during the discussion so we will have to see what kind of offers folks start getting within the next two weeks - because you know it will hit CC soon after the first one goes out!  🙂

 

 

Thanks for clarifying - I really didn't look too closely to their screen shots. Looking at this, the highest option for a balcony is a mini? Not a full suite? Yes, lots of conflicting info...

[azbirdmom]

20 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Thanks for clarifying - I really didn't look too closely to their screen shots. Looking at this, the highest option for a balcony is a mini? Not a full suite? Yes, lots of conflicting info...

 I don't recall seeing the starting category for the demo booking but if it was standard balcony then yes, full suite is offered.  But they didn't say that (at least from what I heard and I agree that the sound was painful at times) so we will have to wait to see what actually transpires, especially since the offer email only included up to mini suite.  ETA:  As someone who has done training in the past, I would always use the same test data throughout the presentation and also use criteria that could happen in real life. But again relying on realistic / consistent examples when it comes to Princess might be a stretch.

Edited August 27, 2022 by azbirdmom