How is the bidding system doing? Any comments?

[IndyKid]

We sail in 24 days on the Caribbean Princess for a week to the eastern Caribbean from FLL. Have an active bid in for $350/PP to go from a balcony to a CC mini-suite. I'd like to know if anyone else has successfully upgraded on a 7-day trip in this region to and from the same room types and what their bid was?

[Cruisintimer]

On 11/14/2023 at 3:48 PM, C & C Love to Cruise said:

Are you happy with the location you received?  Right now I am in E424 in the middle of everything with a large balcony and don't know if I want to bid on a mini suite in a location I might not like with a smaller balcony.  

We are on board right now, aft mini suite and very happy with the cabin.  A bit of vibration at times but nothing too annoying.  First time being in an aft cabin and we like the fact the elevators are not crowded and pool deck/market place buffet are straight up with no congestion getting there.  We have been upgraded twice now to a mini suite but in the future we plan to book them to start with as waiting to hear on bid was very last minute this time and it is definitely the room configuration we prefer.  A Princess employee told me one time that nearly all mini suites are in fairly good locations.  We have enjoyed many now and we just love the extra space and my spouse enjoys the fact it has a nice, large bathtub to soak in.

 

 

Edited November 18, 2023 by Cruisintimer

[rj59]

If your bid isn't accepted, you can always try the front desk when you board, and then maybe after the ship leaves, in case they have a no-show or someone else moves cabins. That way you can ask to see a cabin and evaluate location. If you have some noise or other issue with a cabin, that might also be an option. The bid process will probably be more difficult now, with fuller ships, though. Last-minute bids might also be a good option, since you can see with a pretend booking which cabins have the most availability, if at all. So for Island Princess next week, balconies are sold out but there a number of obstructed Oceanview cabins that people probably don't want for a Mediterranean cruise, and the $20-80 bid range reflects it, so that's what I'm aiming for. How much you paid might also give you some preference--my sister was upgraded on our cruise from inside to the obstructed balcony for free, but she paid for Plus, whereas I'm Elite but didn't spring for Plus and wasn't upgraded. 

[1cruiselvr]

5 hours ago, rj59 said:

If your bid isn't accepted, you can always try the front desk when you board, and then maybe after the ship leaves, in case they have a no-show or someone else moves cabins. That way you can ask to see a cabin and evaluate location. If you have some noise or other issue with a cabin, that might also be an option. The bid process will probably be more difficult now, with fuller ships, though. Last-minute bids might also be a good option, since you can see with a pretend booking which cabins have the most availability, if at all. So for Island Princess next week, balconies are sold out but there a number of obstructed Oceanview cabins that people probably don't want for a Mediterranean cruise, and the $20-80 bid range reflects it, so that's what I'm aiming for. How much you paid might also give you some preference--my sister was upgraded on our cruise from inside to the obstructed balcony for free, but she paid for Plus, whereas I'm Elite but didn't spring for Plus and wasn't upgraded. 

Plus has nothing to do with the upgrade process. It was a coincidence in your case. Also, for the past several years, every time I’ve cruised and went to guest relations to ask about the opportunity to upgrade either 1. They said they were full and no availability or they wanted full retail price difference. Certainly no deal. The bidding process is your best and only opportunity IMO and experience.

[PammyMouse]

Won a bid on CB from Reserve Mini to Vista for $710.   I was resigned to not getting anything  since it is mostly a sold out ship, so it seems a bit surreal. PM

[PapaGoose]

3 hours ago, PammyMouse said:

Won a bid on CB from Reserve Mini to Vista for $710.   I was resigned to not getting anything  since it is mostly a sold out ship, so it seems a bit surreal. PM

Congratulations that’s awesome!

 

Can I ask where your bid ranked on their scale from Weak to Excellent? We are thinking of putting in a bid for a Vista suite bumping up from our Premium aft facing balcony on a Feb cruise and I was curious how high we might have to place our bid. It looks like our cruise is fairly full as well. 

[PammyMouse]

50 minutes ago, PapaGoose said:

Congratulations that’s awesome!

 

Can I ask where your bid ranked on their scale from Weak to Excellent? We are thinking of putting in a bid for a Vista suite bumping up from our Premium aft facing balcony on a Feb cruise and I was curious how high we might have to place our bid. It looks like our cruise is fairly full as well. 

Hi PapaGoose,   I think I was weak to fair.  Minimum was $600.  I just upped it to what I thought it was worth. They actually sent a message that I was outbid, but I guess something opened up.  PM

[PapaGoose]

22 minutes ago, PammyMouse said:

Hi PapaGoose,   I think I was weak to fair.  Minimum was $600.  I just upped it to what I thought it was worth. They actually sent a message that I was outbid, but I guess something opened up.  PM

Hi PammyMouse, Thanks for the quick reply. Glad your bid ended up coming through for you! I’m assuming that $710 bid was for 2 people?

 

Our cruise is a 14 day South America itinerary and the minimum bid to upgrade from a Premium balcony to a Vista suite is $450 USD (we lose $$ converting our sad Canadian dollars to US greenbacks) per person so our weakest bid would be $900. Im assuming that is because we are making a bigger jump from our Premium balcony to the Vista suite than your jump from a Reserve Mini to the Vista. Worse case is we don’t get the upgrade and my DW has less room to avoid me. I guess that’s what the balcony is for. Pretty nice doghouse!

[PammyMouse]

51 minutes ago, PapaGoose said:

Hi PammyMouse, Thanks for the quick reply. Glad your bid ended up coming through for you! I’m assuming that $710 bid was for 2 people?

 

Our cruise is a 14 day South America itinerary and the minimum bid to upgrade from a Premium balcony to a Vista suite is $450 USD (we lose $$ converting our sad Canadian dollars to US greenbacks) per person so our weakest bid would be $900. Im assuming that is because we are making a bigger jump from our Premium balcony to the Vista suite than your jump from a Reserve Mini to the Vista. Worse case is we don’t get the upgrade and my DW has less room to avoid me. I guess that’s what the balcony is for. Pretty nice doghouse!

Hi PapaGoose,

 

That is correct, it is for two people.  The prices usually scale with what you are bidding up from, at least that is my experience with NCL.  You also have a longer cruise,  so $450 pp really doesn’t sound bad to me.  
 

I would love to do a 14-day like yours!  South America is on my cruise bucket list, and a balcony sounds sweet.  😀
 

PM

[jc811]

Emerald Princess - 14 day Dec 9 Cruise...Bid $210 per person to upgrade from Inside to Balcony, which the bid was rated "fair". Today, 18 days before sailing, the offer was declined and was given a counter offer of $65 per person for Obstructed OV. I declined that OV offer.

Still deciding if I should increase the bid for balcony or just stick with the inside.

[candy4040]

I would go ahead and do the OV if it was only 65 per person. 

 

[jagoffee]

2 hours ago, jc811 said:

Emerald Princess - 14 day Dec 9 Cruise...Bid $210 per person to upgrade from Inside to Balcony, which the bid was rated "fair". Today, 18 days before sailing, the offer was declined and was given a counter offer of $65 per person for Obstructed OV. I declined that OV offer.

Still deciding if I should increase the bid for balcony or just stick with the inside.

You do realize that the $65 is the total per person for the whole cruise?  Less than $5 a day per person?

[Noble724]

4 hours ago, candy4040 said:

I would go ahead and do the OV if it was only 65 per person. 

 

Hi candy4040,

You have a valid recommendation based on the $65 bid; however, obstructed OV would give me pause as well.

[C & C Love to Cruise]

On 11/18/2023 at 8:10 AM, rj59 said:

If your bid isn't accepted, you can always try the front desk when you board, and then maybe after the ship leaves, in case they have a no-show or someone else moves cabins. That way you can ask to see a cabin and evaluate location. If you have some noise or other issue with a cabin, that might also be an option. The bid process will probably be more difficult now, with fuller ships, though. Last-minute bids might also be a good option, since you can see with a pretend booking which cabins have the most availability, if at all. So for Island Princess next week, balconies are sold out but there a number of obstructed Oceanview cabins that people probably don't want for a Mediterranean cruise, and the $20-80 bid range reflects it, so that's what I'm aiming for. How much you paid might also give you some preference--my sister was upgraded on our cruise from inside to the obstructed balcony for free, but she paid for Plus, whereas I'm Elite but didn't spring for Plus and wasn't upgraded. 

When you say check with the front desk.  Is that when you first check in or after you are on the ship.

[Stosh68]

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

When you say check with the front desk.  Is that when you first check in or after you are on the ship.

 

When you are on the ship.  However, as has been pointed out in a previous post, the last few times I have cruised post Covid, there's been a digital sign near the desk that said something to the effect of "Sorry, we are sailing at capacity, and there are no cabins available for upgrades."

[C & C Love to Cruise]

45 minutes ago, Stosh68 said:

 

When you are on the ship.  However, as has been pointed out in a previous post, the last few times I have cruised post Covid, there's been a digital sign near the desk that said something to the effect of "Sorry, we are sailing at capacity, and there are no cabins available for upgrades."

good to know.  Thank you

[tntornadox]

Bid the minimum $90 per person for an obstructed deluxe balcony on our upcoming Sky cruise this weekend and got it! We were in an interior so this is a good upgrade. We were assigned one of the forward ones on Emerald deck whose only obstruction is a metal railing but has a lot more balcony space!

 

Random side question for anyone who may know- we already received our medallions before the upgrade happened. Will they still work? I know the app has updated but do the medallions themselves need to be swapped out?

[IndyKid]

7 minutes ago, tntornadox said:

Random side question for anyone who may know- we already received our medallions before the upgrade happened. Will they still work? I know the app has updated but do the medallions themselves need to be swapped out?

That's a good question, but I believe you'll be good with the medallions you received. They are essentially RFID tags loaded with a specific, unique ID number (possibly your 10-digit member number) that identifies you. I'm guessing that just prior to the embarkation day that all the reservation data for all the guests are uploaded to the ship's computer server. When you go near a reader on the ship it will use your number to access your file, which will have all your info including your cabin assignment. 

[Go-Bucks!]

I haven't cruised since this upgrade bidding system started so I have a question. I booked a Caribe balcony (larger balcony) in the aft area where I like to stay. I got an upgrade offer for 3 categories but I'm wondering if they would tell me where the cabin is located before I would accept their approved bid? Or does it work like a guarantee cabin and they just place you where they want? I'd rather just stay in my current cabin if the bidding is a pig-in-a-poke. 😄

[IndyKid]

They won't tell you until after you've received the upgrade and paid for it.

[Shelly97060]

23 hours ago, tntornadox said:

 

 

Random side question for anyone who may know- we already received our medallions before the upgrade happened. Will they still work? I know the app has updated but do the medallions themselves need to be swapped out?

Yes, your current medallions will work.

[Cruisintimer]

On 11/21/2023 at 12:34 PM, jc811 said:

Emerald Princess - 14 day Dec 9 Cruise...Bid $210 per person to upgrade from Inside to Balcony, which the bid was rated "fair". Today, 18 days before sailing, the offer was declined and was given a counter offer of $65 per person for Obstructed OV. I declined that OV offer.

Still deciding if I should increase the bid for balcony or just stick with the inside.

14 days at sea...balcony would be so worth it for us.  Inside would drive me nuts for even one day much less 14.   Hope you have a great cruise.

Edited November 25, 2023 by Cruisintimer

[Cruisintimer]

On 11/22/2023 at 4:46 PM, tntornadox said:

Bid the minimum $90 per person for an obstructed deluxe balcony on our upcoming Sky cruise this weekend and got it! We were in an interior so this is a good upgrade. We were assigned one of the forward ones on Emerald deck whose only obstruction is a metal railing but has a lot more balcony space!

 

Random side question for anyone who may know- we already received our medallions before the upgrade happened. Will they still work? I know the app has updated but do the medallions themselves need to be swapped out?

We won a bid upgrade to a mini suite two days before sailing this month and yes our medallions were upgraded by boarding date.

[Musky Ike]

On our upcoming Caribbean Princess cruise we can place a bid on a premium balcony or a window suite. I wonder why they don't allow a bid for a mini suite?  Even if full all now, one might become available if someone is upgraded to a full suite.

[kluv2cruz]

6 hours ago, Musky Ike said:

On our upcoming Caribbean Princess cruise we can place a bid on a premium balcony or a window suite. I wonder why they don't allow a bid for a mini suite?  Even if full all now, one might become available if someone is upgraded to a full suite.

Someone posted that they believe we are offered 4 categories above our current category, unless there are forward facing reserve class then it’s 5 categories.