Bid to upgrade being rolled out

[Selbourne]

27 minutes ago, TMSA said:

Thank you. That is really helpful. I did wonder if you could just upgrade normally but this bid system has thrown me. Thanks for the advice with the bid system too. I've looked a lot at the conservatories on YouTube and they look big enough to get the cot in. My son's bed would be the actual sofa in the room but just having any extra space would be a massive plus. Also it means that we could sit on the balcony in the evening rather than laying in bed wondering what we did wrong in a previous life 🙃.

 

Also i know we sound like the neighbours from hell but can promise you we weren't. Our bedtime shenanigans were so early that most people hadn't even had dinner yet and once the kids were asleep they were quiet. Well my daughter was awake most of the night but she was with me so wasn't crying. Holidays will be fun again one day right!???

You are welcome. We had an experience a bit like the one you described once when our young daughters had to share a bed in a hotel. Never again 😂 

 

Yes it does get better, especially when they are old enough to use Pullman (drop down) beds, as that’s a bit of an adventure for them!

 

Good luck with your call to P&O. Let us know how you get on. 

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

It’s worth knowing that if you were to consider upgrading to a larger cabin now (rather than leaving it to chance with the bid system), the price difference that you pay is the price that applied at the time that you made the original booking and not the price that applies at the time that you make the change. Depending on when you booked, this might work in your favour. Most of the minimum bid prices quoted by people on this forum so far have seemed quite high and, in some cases, no cheaper than it would have been to have booked the higher grade cabin in the first place!

 

Given your situation, I would call P&O (if you booked direct - which I assume that you did to be offered the bid system) and ask how much it would be to upgrade. That way you can decide whether to do it now and have peace of mind. You can also choose a cabin in a good location that won’t be affected by noise etc. I’ve no idea whether the conservatory part of the mini suite can be used for sleeping. I presume that it can, it would be daft if it couldn’t, but best to check!
 

Finally, if the price difference is too great and you decide to bid, I would strongly advise you to bid £530 per person and not the minimum £520 (as far as I know, you pay double the bid price regardless of number of cabin occupants). As the minimum bids aren’t particular bargains, everyone seems to bid the minimum and not a penny more. If you bid more than the minimum (even if just a tenner - assuming that it allows you to) then I think you’d be almost certain to be successful. 

On the 3 September cruise, I notice a couple (no child places available but as the poster has 2 places anyway not a problem) can actually currently book a full suite which is in fact cabin 8109.  This is a family suite, no balcony.  Could be a big disappointment to whoever gets that one - we saw that on Iona last month - if they want a balcony and don't realise.  It would seem an ideal cabin for the family in view of the not desperate for a balcony.  If there's an upgrade on that one might be worth a try if it's not too out of their range.

 

To TMSA, your child place should be £149 the same as it currently is as that was the offer.  I can confirm that price is quoted on the cruise after yours which does have child places and the fare is £149 for everything from an inside to a suite.  

 

If you call P&O tomorrow perhaps mention the family suite and see if there's anything can be done.  Currently as a couple it's the only"proper" suite empty for that cruise so P&O might be able to help. Good luck, hope it gets sorted for you.

[TMSA]

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

On the 3 September cruise, I notice a couple (no child places available but as the poster has 2 places anyway not a problem) can actually currently book a full suite which is in fact cabin 8109.  This is a family suite, no balcony.  Could be a big disappointment to whoever gets that one - we saw that on Iona last month - if they want a balcony and don't realise.  It would seem an ideal cabin for the family in view of the not desperate for a balcony.  If there's an upgrade on that one might be worth a try if it's not too out of their range.

 

To TMSA, your child place should be £149 the same as it currently is as that was the offer.  I can confirm that price is quoted on the cruise after yours which does have child places and the fare is £149 for everything from an inside to a suite.  

 

If you call P&O tomorrow perhaps mention the family suite and see if there's anything can be done.  Currently as a couple it's the only"proper" suite empty for that cruise so P&O might be able to help. Good luck, hope it gets sorted for you.

Thank you. Just had a nosey at the room and have been reading about the family suites. It is strange that they market them for families yet made the decision not to have a bath. I would be really annoyed if I booked a suite without a balcony so let's hope people do their homework! I will call them tomorrow although last time i phoned on a Monday i was on hold over an hour. Other half doesn't want to spend more money, I don't either but I would like to stand some chance of enjoying ourselves.

[TMSA]

On 6/25/2023 at 1:13 PM, Selbourne said:

You are welcome. We had an experience a bit like the one you described once when our young daughters had to share a bed in a hotel. Never again 😂 

 

Yes it does get better, especially when they are old enough to use Pullman (drop down) beds, as that’s a bit of an adventure for them!

 

Good luck with your call to P&O. Let us know how you get on. 

Spoke to P&O on Monday who told me i couldn't upgrade as they were sold out and it was waitlist only. I asked how i was able to bid for a mini suite and how 4 berth cabins were still showing as available. She tried it as a new booking and didnt understand what was happening and the technical team finished at 4pm so had gone, promised she would call back. Didn't hear anything so rang again today. Was told my only option is to bid to upgrade. I don't mind that but she didn't really grasp what I was getting at. She just said the system wouldn't let an upgrade happen whereas at least the first lady was trying to investigate and see if there was a way to change that. Nevermind. Now to decide if bidding is worth it. @Megabear2 the option to upgrade to the family suite was in the upgrade email too, that's minimum £800pp and it shows as the only suite available so that system knows which rooms they still have.

[Selbourne]

7 minutes ago, TMSA said:

Spoke to P&O on Monday who told me i couldn't upgrade as they were sold out and it was waitlist only. I asked how i was able to bid for a mini suite and how 4 berth cabins were still showing as available. She tried it as a new booking and didnt understand what was happening and the technical team finished at 4pm so had gone, promised she would call back. Didn't hear anything so rang again today. Was told my only option is to bid to upgrade. I don't mind that but she didn't really grasp what I was getting at. She just said the system wouldn't let an upgrade happen whereas at least the first lady was trying to investigate and see if there was a way to change that. Nevermind. Now to decide if bidding is worth it. @Megabear2 the option to upgrade to the family suite was in the upgrade email too, that's minimum £800pp and it shows as the only suite available so that system knows which rooms they still have.

That’s a shame, but at least you tried. Unfortunately P&Os IT system is useless (as you are discovering). It sounds as though you are at the mercy of the bid to upgrade system, should you choose to use it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. 

[Megabear2]

All sounds crazy, how can something be on sale but waitlisted when bookings can still be made?  I think they must mean the children's places are waitlisted not the cruise which is most definitely still on sale and not full.

 

I can see 13 deck 8 conservatory suites and 1 deck 9 showing available to book on the 3 September cruise and it is allowing me to book for a couple. Deck 9 cabin 9712 is £5458 for two.  Surely the waitlist would only refer to children's places which you already have.

 

I had an extremely long conversation today with P&O about something else when they called me following a complaint.  One of the things we touched on was this upgrade bidding system and I get the view they aren't very competent with it at the booking centre.  It sounded very much like the staff are overriding new late select bookings with their enthusiasm to push through these bids.

 

I personally would go back again, stating the rooms are clearly on sale at the moment as a select or saver booking can be made for two.  Emphasise that although you have children you already have the two child spaces so don't need to waitlist just to upgrade without bidding.  Tell them you are very unhappy at a promised call back not materialising and need an urgent answer.  It may well be that bidding is the only option but I'd suggest you firmly tell them that you are disappointed the promised call of explanation did not come.

 

From what I heard today the bidding is managed by a computer set to maximise income but staff should ge able to override if there is genuine availability.  Any upgrade you can purchase will most likely be at a higher price than the bid anyway as presumably the prices are now lower.  The question I'd ask is if a bid is being given preference over you.

 

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by Megabear2

[TMSA]

21 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

All sounds crazy, how can something be on sale but waitlisted when bookings can still be made?  I think they must mean the children's places are waitlisted not the cruise which is most definitely still on sale and not full.

 

I can see 13 deck 8 conservatory suites and 1 deck 9 showing available to book on the 3 September cruise and it is allowing me to book for a couple. Deck 9 cabin 9712 is £5458 for two.  Surely the waitlist would only refer to children's places which you already have.

 

I had an extremely long conversation today with P&O about something else when they called me following a complaint.  One of the things we touched on was this upgrade bidding system and I get the view they aren't very competent with it at the booking centre.  It sounded very much like the staff are overriding new late select bookings with their enthusiasm to push through these bids.

 

I personally would go back again, stating the rooms are clearly on sale at the moment as a select or saver booking can be made for two.  Emphasise that although you have children you already have the two child spaces so don't need to waitlist just to upgrade without bidding.  Tell them you are very unhappy at a promised call back not materialising and need an urgent answer.  It may well be that bidding is the only option but I'd suggest you firmly tell them that you are disappointed the promised call of explanation did not come.

 

From what I heard today the bidding is managed by a computer set to maximise income but staff should ge able to override if there is genuine availability.  Any upgrade you can purchase will most likely be at a higher price than the bid anyway as presumably the prices are now lower.  The question I'd ask is if a bid is being given preference over you.

 

 

Yes all very strange. At least the first lady understood that cabins were available and wanted to get to the bottom of it. Second lady was very computer says no. She spent a lot of time telling me how amazing Arvia is and how good the whirlpools on the promenade deck are. She suggested once the kids were in bed that we go in one. I mean she didnt refer to the night nursery but let's hope she didn't actually expect me to leave my kids in bed on deck 4!

 

I don't really get it, i made it very clear that i was considering just paying for the upgrade so that i could pick the room. You would think that would be more revenue or do they genuinely expect people to put in higher bids than point of sale? I wonder how likely it is that these rooms will sell now, especially given lack of kids spaces and the fact most are on deck 8. I want to bid out of curiosity more than anything now to see if it is accepted.

 

Other half was in complete shock when i told him the minimum bid price and doesnt want to do it. I think i can convince him with the balcony space and fact that if it all goes wrong the kids are contained and we at least have some air 😁

 

Thank you for the help and advice

[Megabear2]

21 minutes ago, TMSA said:

genuinely expect people to put in higher bids than point of sale

That is apparently the idea.  The bidding system on P&O has very high starting levels compared with other lines.  Apparently they are encouraging those with lower grade inside cabins in particular to take the chance and bid.

 

Incidentally my complaint was about serious noise issues.  If you are taking the chance on a bid be careful as with the children I'm sure you need a good night's sleep.  I have had it confirmed by executive office today that there are 106 known cabins with various noise issues.

 

Good luck whatever you decide and enjoy the cruise. Arvia is a nice ship for families I'm sure you'll have a lovely time once you get onboard.

[TMSA]

5 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

That is apparently the idea.  The bidding system on P&O has very high starting levels compared with other lines.  Apparently they are encouraging those with lower grade inside cabins in particular to take the chance and bid.

 

Incidentally my complaint was about serious noise issues.  If you are taking the chance on a bid be careful as with the children I'm sure you need a good night's sleep.  I have had it confirmed by executive office today that there are 106 known cabins with various noise issues.

 

Good luck whatever you decide and enjoy the cruise. Arvia is a nice ship for families I'm sure you'll have a lovely time once you get onboard.

Thank you. I was reading your live thread from Arvia so know how bad the noise was for you. Now i need to research the bad cabins!

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, TMSA said:

Thank you. I was reading your live thread from Arvia so know how bad the noise was for you. Now i need to research the bad cabins!

I had no problems forward on deck 4 or deck 15 and talked to a lot who had decks 11, 12 and 14 without problems.  Met several people who were unhappy with noise from decks 5 and 9 (i was aft 9) and also deck 15 mid due to the dome noise - we were all in a room together airing our complaints! 

 

My conversation with the executive office today indicates they may be considering marking these noise cabins with some sort of warning as they do with obstructions, no doubt we will see if it occurs.

 

They were very accommodating on my problems and admitted they need to organise themselves a bit better.  

[TMSA]

16 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I had no problems forward on deck 4 or deck 15 and talked to a lot who had decks 11, 12 and 14 without problems.  Met several people who were unhappy with noise from decks 5 and 9 (i was aft 9) and also deck 15 mid due to the dome noise - we were all in a room together airing our complaints! 

 

My conversation with the executive office today indicates they may be considering marking these noise cabins with some sort of warning as they do with obstructions, no doubt we will see if it occurs.

 

They were very accommodating on my problems and admitted they need to organise themselves a bit better.  

That's good. It would make a lot of sense to do that. I've looked and most of the available mini suites are on the cabins you might want to avoid list due to noise or the hot tub obstruction. Think I will save the money and put it towards another holiday one day when we might be able to treat ourselves to some more space. At least the outside cabins are the same size as a deluxe balcony

[Selbourne]

There is an article in a regional newspaper today about a very unhappy couple who have recently returned from a P&O cruise (doesn’t say which ship). I won’t post a link to it as some of their complaints seemed a bit daft, but their problems started with the bid to upgrade system.

 

Basically they paid to upgrade, but ended up in a cabin where the balcony was above a smoking area and they had noise disturbance from the Live Lounge. I guess this is a warning that this upgrade system comes with the same risks as booking a Saver fare i.e. you might be lucky but you might end up with a problematic cabin. I guess this would be particularly annoying if your original booking had been a Select fare, where you had specifically chosen a cabin that wouldn’t be susceptible to such issues!

[terrierjohn]

4 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

There is an article in a regional newspaper today about a very unhappy couple who have recently returned from a P&O cruise (doesn’t say which ship). I won’t post a link to it as some of their complaints seemed a bit daft, but their problems started with the bid to upgrade system.

 

Basically they paid to upgrade, but ended up in a cabin where the balcony was above a smoking area and they had noise disturbance from the Live Lounge. I guess this is a warning that this upgrade system comes with the same risks as booking a Saver fare i.e. you might be lucky but you might end up with a problematic cabin. I guess this would be particularly annoying if your original booking had been a Select fare, where you had specifically chosen a cabin that wouldn’t be susceptible to such issues!

TBH that's not really surprising, any experienced cruiser, or CC poster, will always select their cabin with the knowledge they have gained from early mistakes and the wealth of information garnered from more experienced CC posters. Thus the best cabins will sell out first, leaving the dodgy ones to be allocated to saver fares, or upgrade seakers.

[Megabear2]

9 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

TBH that's not really surprising, any experienced cruiser, or CC poster, will always select their cabin with the knowledge they have gained from early mistakes and the wealth of information garnered from more experienced CC posters. Thus the best cabins will sell out first, leaving the dodgy ones to be allocated to saver fares, or upgrade seakers.

That's how it used to be... but over an hour discussing dodgy cabins on Arvia led to a general discussion on how this upgrade thing is going to work and who's getting preference. Remember I had booked a select fare and asked for no upgrade, not asked if I wanted it but got upgraded anyway?  Well that's apparently the computer looking to source upgrades for those who've bid to move and trying to free up any popular cabins in the lower grades.  I asked why saver passengers got preference over my select fare and was informed no one actually did get preference apart from the computer looking at grades.  

 

The very nice lady told me there's very little human control.over these allocations and it's computer driven.  Therefore if your cruise and cabin type is particularly sought after the computer may select you to be offered a move no matter what fare type.  I queried this for a better explanation and was told basically the computer looks at monetary offerings on bids and tries to satisfy them.

 

Having listened to this I recalled the thread currently running where certain people in select fare aft cabins have been asked to move when they had no upgrade ticked and were offered no explanation as to why.  Upon mentioning this the lady went very quiet and informed me It was business sensitive and she couldn't discuss other individuals' cases. Make of that what you will but all sounds very odd to me.

 

As an aside she did tell me they know they have some pretty major issues to rectify on Arvia both organisationally and with physical aspects that are proving "stubborn" to iron out.  App, shuttles and big queues were mentioned under the first of these and restaurants, swimming pools and noise under the second. 

 

All in all I got the impression there's just a hint of things aren't quite how they should be yet.

[Selbourne]

14 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

That's how it used to be... but over an hour discussing dodgy cabins on Arvia led to a general discussion on how this upgrade thing is going to work and who's getting preference. Remember I had booked a select fare and asked for no upgrade, not asked if I wanted it but got upgraded anyway?  Well that's apparently the computer looking to source upgrades for those who've bid to move and trying to free up any popular cabins in the lower grades.  I asked why saver passengers got preference over my select fare and was informed no one actually did get preference apart from the computer looking at grades.  

 

The very nice lady told me there's very little human control.over these allocations and it's computer driven.  Therefore if your cruise and cabin type is particularly sought after the computer may select you to be offered a move no matter what fare type.  I queried this for a better explanation and was told basically the computer looks at monetary offerings on bids and tries to satisfy them.

 

Having listened to this I recalled the thread currently running where certain people in select fare aft cabins have been asked to move when they had no upgrade ticked and were offered no explanation as to why.  Upon mentioning this the lady went very quiet and informed me It was business sensitive and she couldn't discuss other individuals' cases. Make of that what you will but all sounds very odd to me.

 

As an aside she did tell me they know they have some pretty major issues to rectify on Arvia both organisationally and with physical aspects that are proving "stubborn" to iron out.  App, shuttles and big queues were mentioned under the first of these and restaurants, swimming pools and noise under the second. 

 

All in all I got the impression there's just a hint of things aren't quite how they should be yet.

If someone books a Select fare (where a premium is paid in order to select a specific cabin) and specifies that they do not wish to be considered for an upgrade, wouldn’t it constitute a breach of contract if they have their booked cabin changed? I know that P&O continually hide behind the ‘operational reasons’ excuse, but I’d be very tempted to test that legally if that happened to us. 

[Megabear2]

25 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

If someone books a Select fare (where a premium is paid in order to select a specific cabin) and specifies that they do not wish to be considered for an upgrade, wouldn’t it constitute a breach of contract if they have their booked cabin changed? I know that P&O continually hide behind the ‘operational reasons’ excuse, but I’d be very tempted to test that legally if that happened to us. 

I'd guess they're banking on that not happening.  I notice that those on here who have argued their case have in fact in a lot of cases kept their cabins which were actually supposed to be unavailable.  Trouble is a lot of newbies will believe they've no choice.

 

Incidentally (big smile!) I got my money back!!!

[Selbourne]

15 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Incidentally (big smile!) I got my money back!!!

What, for the whole cruise? If so, good for you! 👍

[Megabear2]

5 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

What, for the whole cruise? If so, good for you! 👍

Yes.

[Selbourne]

26 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes.

Well done! Are they still persevering with the (incorrectly worded) NDAs, as has been their modus operandi in the past? Mind you, as your problems were well documented on this forum, an NDA would seem a bit ‘after the event’ 😂 

[Bazrat]

4 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes.

Was that the p&o cruise or the princess one

[Harry Peterson]

6 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Yes.

Good. It’s their new AI system being put to practical use: your name appears on the system and the P&O algorithm is temporarily reprogrammed to say yes! And quite right too! 

[Minnie29]

Where can you see on your booking that you have requested no upgrade? 

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Minnie29 said:

Where can you see on your booking that you have requested no upgrade? 

You can’t. You just have to request it through whoever you booked with (P&O or travel agent). Obviously it’s only possible if you book a Select fare. 

[Minnie29]

I’ve booked a mid ship mini conservatory suite on Deck 9 so I’m thinking it’s the top category mini suite so they are unlikely to give me a free upgrade to a full suite? 

[Minnie29]

I wouldn’t want to bid on move up as I’d be concerned to get a forward suite. Would be delighted with an aft one though.