How is the bidding system doing? Any comments?

[Buckeye10640]

3 hours ago, C & C Love to Cruise said:

I tried to find the answer going through the posts, but no luck or maybe I missed it.   My question is if I have on my original booking  "no upgrade"  will I have to call Princess and get it removed before I place a bid for a better upgrade?

I had no upgrade marked but was still able to bid, and in fact my offer was accepted. 

[roxievegas]

2 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

 

Yes, and they charge A LOT more onboard, bidding is the better deal in most cases.  Guest services is there to upsell, upsell and upsell more. 

sailing in 2022 we were able to upgrade once on board at guest services -  from balcony to mini suite for $280 total & on the next cruise $300 total.  This was half the price if we had called and upgraded (before bidding was started)

I am not sure that the price is more expensive, I just don't think that they will be able to upgrade you with this new system of bidding in place.

 

would be interested to see if anyone has done so

[startedwithamouse]

2 hours ago, roxievegas said:

sailing in 2022 we were able to upgrade once on board at guest services -  from balcony to mini suite for $280 total & on the next cruise $300 total.  This was half the price if we had called and upgraded (before bidding was started)

I am not sure that the price is more expensive, I just don't think that they will be able to upgrade you with this new system of bidding in place.

 

would be interested to see if anyone has done so

We were able to upgrade at $100 pp from two insides to two mini suites on a 10 day before the bidding online began. They started at $130 each, but we negotiated pretty well.  Now pricing at guest services is insanely high. 

[HiCCCs]

12 hours ago, startedwithamouse said:

We were able to upgrade at $100 pp from two insides to two mini suites on a 10 day before the bidding online began. They started at $130 each, but we negotiated pretty well.  Now pricing at guest services is insanely high. 

That sounds like a steal of a deal!!!  I'd have you negotiate on my behalf any day!!! 🤣

[startedwithamouse]

3 minutes ago, HiCCCs said:

That sounds like a steal of a deal!!!  I'd have you negotiate on my behalf any day!!! 🤣

Ship capacity was really low. We had that in our favor.

[PacnGoNow]

On 5/23/2023 at 10:22 PM, startedwithamouse said:

We were able to upgrade at $100 pp from two insides to two mini suites on a 10 day before the bidding online began. They started at $130 each, but we negotiated pretty well.  Now pricing at guest services is insanely high. 

What a deal!  Congrats!🎉 

[GonzoWCS]

Bid on the Island balcony to mini-suite $500 PP 17 day TA. Did not get it.  No worries we gave it a shot.

 

Cheers

[drega99]

Sailing on the Sky July 1st - booking was a deluxe balcony - bid $105 per pax for a mini suite and saw the change/upgrade within 48 hours - have not received any emails or confirmations from Princess. Also bid on the mini suite with perks for $250 per pax. We are content with the Mini-suite as we like the space - perks aren't as important as the space.

Edited May 30, 2023 by drega99

[sunviking90]

11 minutes ago, drega99 said:

Sailing on the Sky July 1st - booking was a deluxe balcony - bid $105 per pax for a mini suite and saw the change/upgrade within 48 hours - have not received any emails or confirmations from Princess. Also bid on the mini suite with perks for $250 per pax. We are content with the Mini-suite as we like the space - perks aren't as important as the space.

Congratulations! Nice to hear a recent success. I think we’ll see fewer and fewer of these as most of the ships start to sail full. 
We won a really cheap upgrade ($105 cad pp) to a deluxe balcony in January for our Hawaii cruise. Ship ended being only about 60% full though. 
We are booked on an 11 day Alaska and the starting bid from our obstructed outside to a balcony is $270 pp, and $340 for a premium balcony. I won’t bother as there are only a few premium balconies showing available anyway. Im happy with our deal as we have been to Alaska many times in balconies and it is just a last minute getaway for us.

First time without a balcony in 20 years! Should be interesting!

[LACruiser88]

On July 6th, we are sailing on the Emerald for a 16 day Hawaii voyage.  We are traveling with our daughter, son-in-law and 9 yr old granddaughter.  They originally booked an inside cabin on Plaza deck.  A few months ago, they received a free upgrade to an Oceanview on Plaza.  After they made final payment, they placed a bid for a balcony upgrade.   The bid was $300 pp.

 

Last night, they were informed that their bid was successful and were assigned a mid-ship Balcony cabin on Aloha deck.  This cruise has shown unavailable to book for some time now, so there were still some empty cabins floating around or they had some cancellations?  Either way, they are very happy!

[C & C Love to Cruise]

Bidding on 3 different cabins. If I get the bid on a balcony, but really wanted the mini suite, does the other bids cancel?  Can I make another bid on a mini suite hoping to get it?

[rheathslc]

4 minutes ago, C & C Love to Cruise said:

Bidding on 3 different cabins. If I get the bid on a balcony, but really wanted the mini suite, does the other bids cancel?  Can I make another bid on a mini suite hoping to get it?

If you win one bid, your other bids are essentially void. And once you get an upgrade you cannot bid again. I learned that I hard way. If you are bidding on multiple categories and have a preference for one category over another I would recommend making your preferred category bid the strongest bid. In the end it will come down to a combination of availability and Princess maximizing their $$$.

[C & C Love to Cruise]

2 minutes ago, rheathslc said:

If you win one bid, your other bids are essentially void. And once you get an upgrade you cannot bid again. I learned that I hard way. If you are bidding on multiple categories and have a preference for one category over another I would recommend making your preferred category bid the strongest bid. In the end it will come down to a combination of availability and Princess maximizing their $$$.

I have a bid in for a suite, but I don't see any suites available.  So I was going to bid on a mini suite which I see there are many available. I will take your great advice and stick to my original plan in hopes of scoring a suite.  

[rheathslc]

24 minutes ago, C & C Love to Cruise said:

I have a bid in for a suite, but I don't see any suites available.  So I was going to bid on a mini suite which I see there are many available. I will take your great advice and stick to my original plan in hopes of scoring a suite.  

You can also edit your bids right up until the last day or so. So as your trip gets closer if your bid hasn't been either accepted or rejected, you can adjust the amount up or down. I did that on both of the sailings that I've submitted and won upgrade bids for so far. I was in a standard balcony and ended up getting a Reserve (Club Class) mini-suite less than a day after bumping up my mini-suite bid by $20 per person and lowering my premium balcony bid a bit. It might just have been a coincidence. But just keep in mind you CAN make those adjustments.

[killaypirate]

Difficulty in accessing upgrade page but finally managed to submit bids for mini-suite & club class  mini-suite. Didn’t bother with premium balcony as OK with current balcony. 84 days out from Sep9 on Emerald from NYC.

Edited June 17, 2023 by killaypirate

[Amy G]

Our bid was accepted today!  We originally had a balcony room on the Crown for July 25th and we placed bids for a premium balcony, mini-suite, and a mini-suite club class.  About a week or two ago I received a counteroffer for the Club Class mini-suite to bid on a penthouse suite for $650 a person.  We took the counter bid and it came through today!!!

[1cruiselvr]

30 minutes ago, Amy G said:

Our bid was accepted today!  We originally had a balcony room on the Crown for July 25th and we placed bids for a premium balcony, mini-suite, and a mini-suite club class.  About a week or two ago I received a counteroffer for the Club Class mini-suite to bid on a penthouse suite for $650 a person.  We took the counter bid and it came through today!!!

Princess sent a counter offer to your bidding?  I've never heard of them countering offers, just accepting or rejecting. This is new to me. 

[Amy G]

It was new to me too, but I did find in a search that it has happened to another person one time (not for our cruise). 

[echoshipmate]

I have been pleasantly surprised as we booked an inside on a b2b2b in Alaska on the Royal and made 3 separate bids. The first one came through to a deluxe balcony and on the second leg, our bid was also accepted to a deluxe balcony.... to the same cabin, so no move! Standing by to see if we can stay in our same cabin for cruise #3, stay tuned. Was not sure how the bid system would handle b2b's, I guess the bidding algorithm has figured it out, must admit I was surprised.

[Shippy]

We have won bids accepted on 3 different cruises.

I always did $20. over the minimum.

[KarmaCruisers]

I’ve bid on three different cruises, never been accepted..in fact, after I bid I never hear anything (accepted OR rejected..and believe me I keep checking the upgrade website)…the only reason I know they’re rejected, is when we board, we’re in the original room we booked, lolz

we sail in three days on the regal for a 10-day UK..we’ll see if we go from BB Balcony to deluxe balcony (hopefully not in a poop location)

[dave_k58]

WE are very happy with our mini on the crown - but I was thinking about bidding for a full suite - the bad thing is that my 25 year old grandson is coming, and insisted on his own room. If a bid on a full suite was accepted, could he cancel his room and join us in the suite? If he didn't, I don't think he would be allowed in the special dining area, which would be a bummer. And why I am hesitant to bid. 

[HiCCCs]

7 hours ago, dave_k58 said:

WE are very happy with our mini on the crown - but I was thinking about bidding for a full suite - the bad thing is that my 25 year old grandson is coming, and insisted on his own room. If a bid on a full suite was accepted, could he cancel his room and join us in the suite? If he didn't, I don't think he would be allowed in the special dining area, which would be a bummer. And why I am hesitant to bid. 

Look into the contract to see if he would lose the money for cancelling his room. Depending on IF you win the bid....and WHEN you win the bid there could be significant financial penalties for him canceling his room.

[dave_k58]

2 minutes ago, HiCCCs said:

Look into the contract to see if he would lose the money for cancelling his room. Depending on IF you win the bid....and WHEN you win the bid there could be significant financial penalties for him canceling his room.

Yes - we are 60 days from sailing and he would lose at least half - anyway - we're fine with our mini - and he's fine with his balcony so we will just leave it the way it is.  Thanks for the input

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by dave_k58
typo

[HiCCCs]

7 hours ago, KarmaCruisers said:

I’ve bid on three different cruises, never been accepted..in fact, after I bid I never hear anything (accepted OR rejected..and believe me I keep checking the upgrade website)…the only reason I know they’re rejected, is when we board, we’re in the original room we booked, lolz

we sail in three days on the regal for a 10-day UK..we’ll see if we go from BB Balcony to deluxe balcony (hopefully not in a poop location)

Have a wonderful sailing aboard the Regal. I wonder if you could do a favor and inquire about something I've only recently discovered myself - it's called the Tuscan Dinner....and it's in certain/select (Royal Class ships maybe??) Sabatini's specialty dining. I believe it is about $50 or $60 pp. and I am told they had a special menu and bring alternative food out if you don’t care for what they are serving.  
Each course is paired with a different wine and a talk from the Maitre D’ about the wine and region.  
Unlike the Winemakers Dinner, you are seated with your own group of friends or family rather than those selected for the occasion.

 

Has anyone heard of this or have information to share???