Upgrade bidding ? and when to purchase drink package?

[hmwende]

I sail out on Nov 20th (4 days away) and submitted a bid to upgrade to YC yesterday. I plan to purchase a drink and spa package if I do not win the bid.  
1. Does anyone know when (or if) the website will stop selling packages in advance of the cruise?  
2. Will the cost of drink and spa packages increase if purchasing on the ship?
3. Also, what is the latest date we could be notified of an upgrade?
4. I only bid $5 over the lowest possible bid, should I bid higher?

 

Edited November 16, 2022 by hmwende

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

17 minutes ago, hmwende said:

I sail out on Nov 20th (4 days away) and submitted a bid to upgrade to YC yesterday. I plan to purchase a drink and spa package if I do not win the bid.  
1. Does anyone know when (or if) the website will stop selling packages in advance of the cruise?  
2. Will the cost of drink and spa packages increase if purchasing on the ship?
3. Also, what is the latest date we could be notified of an upgrade?
4. I only bid $5 over the lowest possible bid, should I bid higher?

 

It will tell you the strength of your bid but yeah lowest bid probably won't get it. Did you do a dummy booking to see if any of those cabins are available? Sometimes they let you bid on sold our cabins in case someone cancels last min, in which case you probably won't get it regardless.

[Tierun]

Pre cruise purchasing ends 2 days prior to sailing.

[hmwende]

53 minutes ago, Tierun said:

Pre cruise purchasing ends 2 days prior to sailing.

I hate to be so specific, but do you know if that two business days were to calendar days?

[hmwende]

58 minutes ago, AerynSun_JohnCrighton said:

It will tell you the strength of your bid but yeah lowest bid probably won't get it. Did you do a dummy booking to see if any of those cabins are available? Sometimes they let you bid on sold our cabins in case someone cancels last min, in which case you probably won't get it regardless.

As of this morning, I saw two Fantastica  balcony cabins and eight yacht club balcony cabin.

[BertieRulesOK]

1 hour ago, hmwende said:

Will the cost of drink and spa packages increase if purchasing on the ship?

Yes.  Pre-purchasing is much cheaper than on ship.  Only wait to by on board if you (1) have on board ship credit, or (2) if you don't want the packages for the entire length of the cruise - MSC Virtuosa was offering ppl to buy them midway through the cruise, although obv can't guarantee this.

[hmwende]

3 minutes ago, BertieRulesOK said:

Yes.  Pre-purchasing is much cheaper than on ship.  Only wait to by on board if you (1) have on board ship credit, or (2) if you don't want the packages for the entire length of the cruise - MSC Virtuosa was offering ppl to buy them midway through the cruise, although obv can't guarantee this.

Thank you, this is helpful. We have $200 of onboard credit. I just don’t know the difference in the pre-purchase versus onboard price to determine if it would be worthwhile.

[Tierun]

21 minutes ago, hmwende said:

Thank you, this is helpful. We have $200 of onboard credit. I just don’t know the difference in the pre-purchase versus onboard price to determine if it would be worthwhile.

You have 2 calendar days before your cruise to purchase and in doing so you will save on the added 15% service charge that you will pay onboard.

[BertieRulesOK]

4 minutes ago, Tierun said:

you will save on the added 15% service charge that you will pay onboard

Not for UK cruises.  Gratuities are thankfully included in the cost of the cruise. 

 

I'm sorry but I didn't look to see what the price of the drinks package was on board.  It was unlikely to be £200 more expensive though...

[mawvkysc]

I always bid just a little over minimum and never win. I bid 10 over this last cruise. There were still 30+ of those cabins online yesterday . I lost

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

2 hours ago, mawvkysc said:

I always bid just a little over minimum and never win. I bid 10 over this last cruise. There were still 30+ of those cabins online yesterday . I lost

Yeah thats what others have said. They go for the Max mids ppl.

[AerynSun_JohnCrighton]

Bid stupid autocorrect