How is the bidding system doing? Any comments?

[jwattle]

11 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Let me preface this by saying this is not about a casino cruise

 

I just went online to see what it would cost to switch to a mini-suite.  Don't really need it as I've got a great Caribe balcony but it might be nice. Put in my name & booking number. States I'm not eligible to bid. Why? Cruise isn't for 32 days and there's a boatload of empty mini-suites & premium balconies. Any idea??

Which ship / itinerary? That might affect it.

[Ombud]

10 minutes ago, iamaqt2 said:

That happened to me because I mixed up a letter and number from my booking number.  Maybe try again?

Name & # correct

8 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Which ship / itinerary? That might affect it.

Caribbean Princess 12/8/22-12/18/22. Partial Panama Canal 

 

Waiting in queue for chat. They're busy

 

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Ombud

[WmFCoyote]

We are booked on the 14 November cruise from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale (28 days) on Island Princess. We waited for an upgrade offer and none came. We mentioned this to friends who are also on this cruise (same cabin type and deck) and they forwarded an e-mail from Princess which offered them an upgrade, at a price of course. I have spoken to an PCL agent who went over our information (Booking number, Name, agreement to accept offers etc. and was unable to find the reason we were skipped. Sent e-mail to customer service and have had no reply. We are disappointed that we did not receive a answer or the offer.

[shipshapertoo]

I had the same situation when I tried to bid on an upgrade last night. Used correct booking number. 

Message said I wasn't eligible to bid for an upgrade and to try again. Cruise is paid in full, sailing Dec. 21, 2022, 7 night. When I called last week to purchase an upgrade, princess rep told me there were lots of cabins. So I got on princess chat and they said because I have already paid in full, not eligible. Doesn't make sense, that is not what is posted by princess on rules to be eligible

May be a glitch in system?

[amet beach]

I too am no longer eligible although earlier on Thursday options were available for bidding. Cruise Enchanted Dec.19th.

must be a glitch or hopefully they are lowering amounts due to high number of empty cabins on my cruise

[Shelly97060]

2 hours ago, shipshapertoo said:

. So I got on princess chat and they said because I have already paid in full, not eligible. Doesn't make sense, that is not what is posted by princess on rules to be eligible

 This for sure is bad information.  Try contacting Princes again. 

[Coral]

3 hours ago, WmFCoyote said:

We are booked on the 14 November cruise from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale (28 days) on Island Princess. We waited for an upgrade offer and none came. We mentioned this to friends who are also on this cruise (same cabin type and deck) and they forwarded an e-mail from Princess which offered them an upgrade, at a price of course. I have spoken to an PCL agent who went over our information (Booking number, Name, agreement to accept offers etc. and was unable to find the reason we were skipped. Sent e-mail to customer service and have had no reply. We are disappointed that we did not receive a answer or the offer.

The November 7th Emerald TA did not offer the bidding option. Not all ships were eligible to begin with.

 

Maybe they were using the old system on your sailing and only certain people were targeted for upgrades.

Edited November 7, 2022 by Coral

[minabruuke]

13 hours ago, shipshapertoo said:

I had the same situation when I tried to bid on an upgrade last night. Used correct booking number. 

Message said I wasn't eligible to bid for an upgrade and to try again. Cruise is paid in full, sailing Dec. 21, 2022, 7 night. When I called last week to purchase an upgrade, princess rep told me there were lots of cabins. So I got on princess chat and they said because I have already paid in full, not eligible. Doesn't make sense, that is not what is posted by princess on rules to be eligible

May be a glitch in system?

 

13 hours ago, amet beach said:

I too am no longer eligible although earlier on Thursday options were available for bidding. Cruise Enchanted Dec.19th.

must be a glitch or hopefully they are lowering amounts due to high number of empty cabins on my cruise

 

I, too, can no longer access the bidding system through the website/personalizer (get the not eligible message). I was able to access through the original email though. 

 

I am hoping they are making some changes. The minimum bids really and truly are ridiculously high for our cruise; much higher than any upsell offer I ever received under the old system (about triple). Currently, it would cost less to have my CVP re-fare us into a mini-suite from a balcony than to bid the minimum to try and get one.  There appear to be a crazy high number of minis available so the low pricing outright makes sense, the bidding system (or people behind the scenes) doesn't seem to take any of that in account🤷

 

If they lower the minimum to somewhere closer to previous upsell offers I received then I will likely place a bid. If not, I am happy with what we currently have!

 

 

 

[Cruising MimiKy]

Wanted to share my upgrade process. We are booked on the 10 day Panama Canal Caribbean Princess Dec 8.  I was originally booked in an oceanview category.   My upgrade bid was accepted today (30 days prior to sailing)and I had bid on a Regular Balcony and also a Premium Balcony and my bid was accepted for the Premium Balcony on the Caribe deck. I bid around 50 more per person more than the starting bid on both categories. I also had an offer to bid on a window suite and it was around two grand more than I had paid already so I declined and just bid on the two balconies.  After receiving an email today saying that my bid wasn’t accepted I looked on my upgrade page and it showed that my regular balcony bid of $255.00 pp had expired and my premium balcony of 350.00 pp  was pending. This has been the case I had read on other post also. I then got an email around an hour later saying yay you have been upgraded. I paid through the personalizer and got my new documents. I have been reading the other posts on this thread and this has been typically how the process has been done. I am quite satisfied with my bid upgrade as I have saved over $1000.00.  I always book a balcony but the price for one on this cruise seemed high so I went with the oceanview this time.  When I saw Princess was doing the bid upgrade I was thrilled and thought I would give it a try. I am glad it was successful and a price I wanted to spend. 

[Learningtocruise1]

A couple of questions:

(1)  Has anyone had a bid accepted less than 3 weeks prior to sailing?

(2)  Has anyone had a bid that was neither accepted nor formally denied?  Mine is still Pending after several weeks.

 

I sail on Sky Nov. 26 and just learned yesterday that the Mini I booked is directly over a smoking area.  I stumbled upon a review of this cabin area yesterday and am now concerned about the location for a variety of reasons, but mainly due to the smoke.  I called Princess this morning and am unable to move.  So, I went back to the bidding system and upped my bid for Club Class to the maximum simply to get away from the location.

 

I am hopeful to win the bid to move, but this close to sailing I don't know if they are still making changes (I know they say up to 3 days prior to sailing, but am wondering if anyone really was changed that close to departure?).  I am currently in E709.

[Matco]

We sail Monday 11/14 and have yet to hear anything back on our bids, they still show as pending... 

[GonzoWCS]

Just put a bid in on a Mini-Suite for Regal 16 December (16 dayer).  We shall see.

 

Cheers

[VibeGuy]

Has anyone been able to put in a bid for any portion of a B2B(2B)(2B) sailing?  I suspect that’s why we are unable to bid. 

[JJBhouston]

Our bid for the 12/2 Ruby Princess sailing just accepted last evening. 🛳️

Edited November 8, 2022 by JJBhouston
date error

[symui]

2 hours ago, VibeGuy said:

Has anyone been able to put in a bid for any portion of a B2B(2B)(2B) sailing?  I suspect that’s why we are unable to bid.

 

I'm on a regular B2B on the Ruby in December, not a B2B(2B)(2B).

 

The second leg is near capacity so I was interested in bidding on a CC.  I was offered a bid opportunity for both legs and bid on the second leg only.  That bid is currently "pending" but doesn't sail until 12/18 so I might not received a decline or accept email for a while. 

 

HTH,

Rick 

Edited November 9, 2022 by symui
typo

[Ombud]

On 11/7/2022 at 4:18 PM, Cruising MimiKy said:

Wanted to share my upgrade process. We are booked on the 10 day Panama Canal Caribbean Princess Dec 8.  I was originally booked in an oceanview category.   My upgrade bid was accepted today (30 days prior to sailing)and I had bid on a Regular Balcony and also a Premium Balcony and my bid was accepted for the Premium Balcony on the Caribe deck. I bid around 50 more per person more than the starting bid on both categories. I also had an offer to bid on a window suite and it was around two grand more than I had paid already so I declined and just bid on the two balconies.  After receiving an email today saying that my bid wasn’t accepted I looked on my upgrade page and it showed that my regular balcony bid of $255.00 pp had expired and my premium balcony of 350.00 pp  was pending. This has been the case I had read on other post also. I then got an email around an hour later saying yay you have been upgraded. I paid through the personalizer and got my new documents. I have been reading the other posts on this thread and this has been typically how the process has been done. I am quite satisfied with my bid upgrade as I have saved over $1000.00.  I always book a balcony but the price for one on this cruise seemed high so I went with the oceanview this time.  When I saw Princess was doing the bid upgrade I was thrilled and thought I would give it a try. I am glad it was successful and a price I wanted to spend. 

That's the one I tried to bid on (fwiw see you onboard or on roll call??) Anyway it was released overnight, can now bid, and got my boarding QR Code. Just can't access DMW or buy MedallionNet. Had another fix it ticket written. Have time to buy wifi. Cruise isn't for another 29 days. 

 

 

[caribill]

On 11/7/2022 at 8:34 AM, minabruuke said:

The minimum bids really and truly are ridiculously high for our cruise; much higher than any upsell offer I ever received under the old system (about triple). Currently, it would cost less to have my CVP re-fare us into a mini-suite from a balcony than to bid the minimum to try and get one.  There appear to be a crazy high number of minis available so the low pricing outright makes sense, the bidding system (or people behind the scenes) doesn't seem to take any of that in account🤷

 

 

Like any auction, the goal of the auction house is to have a bidding frenzy in which people bid more than an item is worth.

 

I have seen auctions where the winning bid on a $100 gift certificate was $115.

[cruiser113]

We  have  bid the lowest bid possible . 

 

1.  bid  accepted for club class  mini that  we sailed  on in  October (standard balcony orginal  cabin) 

 

2. bid  for December cruise  accepted for upgrade  from  standard balcony to deluxe balcony ( wanted  the couch) $35 p/p = $70. 

 

3. bid  still pending on 2nd  cruise  in  December.

[Rudy888]

Received pur Email for upgrade on a late January sailing. We are in a balcony below the entrance to the pool deck. Bidding on Delux balcony could put us right below pool deck in a location worse than what we have. Premium delux are aft cabins, not many of them so chances are not that great.

No choice of location in bidding.

 

[minabruuke]

11 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Like any auction, the goal of the auction house is to have a bidding frenzy in which people bid more than an item is worth.

 

I have seen auctions where the winning bid on a $100 gift certificate was $115.

Absolutely!

 

But reserves are utilized in some auctions because the seller isn't willing to sell under a certain price point but starting the bidding lower can garner more interest (Princess has no obligation to accept any of the minimum bids they receive).  It is possible to start the bidding too high and have too little interest as a result. That is particularly true when you are bidding on something that has substantial inventory available compared to the number of people bidding. 

 

On our upcoming sailing there are over 130 mini suites left in inventory and available to be sold (I spoke with a Princess employee yesterday) and even more balcony rooms but less than 40 days left until the cruise.  That is a ton of inventory available to bid on when you consider the number of people eligible to bid on this very (currently) undersold cruise. 

 

Can Princess make more money setting the minimum bids at 2-3 times higher than they used to offer upsells, with the risk being that they do not attract enough interest to be able to upsell every cabin that inventory would allow them to sell? Or can they make more money by setting the minimum bids at a more attractive price point, thus possibly garnering more interest and allowing them to upsell more cabins? Time will tell and I imagine it will depend on the cruise. I would like to think that they will look at data from cruises where they set lower minimums and compare it to cruises where they set higher minimums and try to determine an ideal balance.

 

[bbfbgurl]

We won our one (min)  bid at 30 days out, so did my parents(they had 3 bids in and "won" the highest upgrade they could get). That being said, just a weird heads up. Screenshot your min bids which we did (I think about a week after we got an email). Because around 35 days out from cruise we checked our bids and found out min bid dropped by like $5pp so we rebid at the lower price. Not a lot, but that means $5 I can go spend elsewhere!

[1cruiselvr]

10 hours ago, bbfbgurl said:

We won our one (min)  bid at 30 days out, so did my parents(they had 3 bids in and "won" the highest upgrade they could get). That being said, just a weird heads up. Screenshot your min bids which we did (I think about a week after we got an email). Because around 35 days out from cruise we checked our bids and found out min bid dropped by like $5pp so we rebid at the lower price. Not a lot, but that means $5 I can go spend elsewhere!

You get an email after bidding so you know how much so I don’t see the need for a screenshot unless you are afraid you will delete the email by mistake. I’m 14 days out and all mine are still pending but they were categories that were not available to book (sold out) so I don’t expect to win any. I’m thinking they just stay pending until they expire. No upgrade for us. Oh well. If I had been willing to give up my premium balcony for a mini suite I’m sure I would have scored one bc there were a lot unsold at the time. 

[Bwana Tom]

8 hours ago, 1cruiselvr said:

You get an email after bidding so you know how much so I don’t see the need for a screenshot unless you are afraid you will delete the email by mistake. I’m 14 days out and all mine are still pending but they were categories that were not available to book (sold out) so I don’t expect to win any. I’m thinking they just stay pending until they expire. No upgrade for us. Oh well. If I had been willing to give up my premium balcony for a mini suite I’m sure I would have scored one bc there were a lot unsold at the time. 

The idea was a good one for a screen shot because it provides the person with an easy record of what the minimum bid was at the time. That was the reason for doing so. I suppose you could write it all down instead, but taking a screen shot was a good idea in the event Princess drops that minimum offer as was in the case discussed. 

[4x4bob]

We have been with Princess long enough years to go through the Upgrade Fairy, and Up Sells, so we were curious just how the new bidding process was going to work.

 

When we reserved our Aft Mini Suite we wrote down the prices of the full suites that we might be interested in.

 

Shortly there after Princess blocked out the Suites on our cruise with the message currently not available contact Princess to reserve.

 

Then we finally received the E-Mail stating that we could now bid on our cruise.

 

When we looked at the suite prices being offered at min to max bid we both agreed that if we had wanted to pay full price for a suite we would have done so months ago when we reserved the mini. 

 

At this point there are numerous empty cabins on our ship so we are waiting to see if Princess will adjust their min/max levels later on. 

Bob

[devonuk]

On 11/7/2022 at 12:40 AM, shipshapertoo said:

I had the same situation when I tried to bid on an upgrade last night. Used correct booking number. 

Message said I wasn't eligible to bid for an upgrade and to try again. Cruise is paid in full, sailing Dec. 21, 2022, 7 night. When I called last week to purchase an upgrade, princess rep told me there were lots of cabins. So I got on princess chat and they said because I have already paid in full, not eligible. Doesn't make sense, that is not what is posted by princess on rules to be eligible

May be a glitch in system?

I did a Sky Princess upgrade 3 days prior to sailing recently so it can be done. I used a UK not US customer service rep.