Bidding on an upgrade

[NE John]

19 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

Mine was last year but it came from upgrades@cunard.com

Same email as mine: upgrades@cunard.com

 

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, MiguelST said:

It only shows this on that section...

 

That's why I wanted the email, really seems funky 😕

 

OK, something appears to be out of sync with My Cunard then. Can't say I'm all that surprised with anything I see with Cunard IT.

 

I hope you'll understand I don't want to forward an upgrade email I've received since it contains a lot of personally-identifiable details. Here are some of the details from an upgrade offer email I received within the past week which I hope will be of some help.

 

• The email came from "upgrades@cunard.com".

• It contains a lot of relevant details about my booking including the booking reference number.

• The link to "View upgrade options" in the email is to "upgrade.plusgrade.com/offer/...".

[MiguelST]

@Host Hattie @bluemarble @NE John I understand you don't want to forward the email, and I really appreciate your feedback and informations.
Thank you all

 

[DreamingOfSunnyDays]

I’d also suggest not putting your email on a public forum so may best to edit that out?

[MiguelST]

Just to clarify, I just wanted some help which I got fortunately.

who could sent me the email, of course it could delete the personal data, it wasn’t my intention at all.

 

sorry if I bothered anyone with this request

Thank you to all that helped me

 

Nice cruises to everyone 🙂

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 4/27/2024 at 8:51 AM, NE John said:

I got a call yesterday directly from Cunard offering, for a very reasonable upcharge, a move from PG to a Q6 for an upcoming Alaska trip. The only caveat is that it may be a handicap room, something I don’t need. While the bathroom is not as nice as a QG bathroom (no tub) I took up that offer because the price was very right and it gives us a discounted way to give us our first QG experience. If that room is needed for a disabled pax, we get upgraded from there. 
 

 

I got the email offer for upgrades from PG to QG on an Alaska cruise. That one handicap room is keeping me from bidding (because of the bathroom). I would LOVE to have an aft Q6 or Q5, and it would be nice to have a taste of QG. Still thinking it over. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

On 4/24/2024 at 8:18 AM, Csardas said:

What’s the minimum sum over the minimum bid that’s been successful?

 

 

Dollar amounts that people have bid won't tell you much, as prices vary with cruise length. I bid successfully on PG from Britannia balcony on QA and my bid was a bit more than halfway between minimum and the "noon" position on the dial. I did about the same on another cruise and the bid wasn't accepted--but that cruise was close to sold out, so I didn't expect anything to come of it. 

[NE John]

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I got the email offer for upgrades from PG to QG on an Alaska cruise. That one handicap room is keeping me from bidding (because of the bathroom). I would LOVE to have an aft Q6 or Q5, and it would be nice to have a taste of QG. Still thinking it over. 

For me, that call offered a very reasonable price for us to try QG for the first time. In Alaska, we’ll be off the ship for a good portion of the time so the QG dining is the difference maker for us. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 minutes ago, NE John said:

For me, that call offered a very reasonable price for us to try QG for the first time. In Alaska, we’ll be off the ship for a good portion of the time so the QG dining is the difference maker for us. 

 

The attraction for me is the aft balcony. I love those, especially for scenic cruising. Of course, I would love to get for one of the corners with the lovely wrap-around balcony.

[MattAlexisStAndrews]

We bid the very minimum and it was accepted within a few days.   P2 to a high deck Q3.    QE Alaska Itinerary.

Edited April 30 by MattAlexisStAndrews

[Selbourne]

We haven’t bid for an upgrade on our upcoming Queen Anne cruise as we are keen to try Britannia Club, and the minimum upgrade costs were way too much. Can I ask those who have bid whether or not the upgrade cost is a big saving over the usual price differential?

 

I’m not as familiar with Cunard pricing as I am sister brand P&O, but in the case of P&O I have yet to see any bargains through the upgrade programme. The price differential in almost every example I have seen has meant that the passenger ends up paying pretty much the same as if they’d booked the higher grade cabin in the first place.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

We haven’t bid for an upgrade on our upcoming Queen Anne cruise as we are keen to try Britannia Club, and the minimum upgrade costs were way too much. Can I ask those who have bid whether or not the upgrade cost is a big saving over the usual price differential?

 

I’m not as familiar with Cunard pricing as I am sister brand P&O, but in the case of P&O I have yet to see any bargains through the upgrade programme. The price differential in almost every example I have seen has meant that the passenger ends up paying pretty much the same as if they’d booked the higher grade cabin in the first place.

 

The low end of the range a good deal. I expected the high end to be closer to the difference, but still less than if you just paid for the upgrade. However, the math for my Alaska cruise doesn't bear out that assumption.

 

For my Alaska cruise, the range to bid on Q3, Q4 from PG is $715 to $2285 per person, so $1430 to $4570 per stateroom. 

 

To book that cruise now in PG, Sailing Soon is $5,118 and Cunard fare is $7,998 (per stateroom)

To book that cruise now in Q3, Q4 Sailing soon is $7,998 and Cunard fare is $10,878

 

But with the way prices change, your starting point in PG could be more or less than the fares currently available. All you can do is try some dummy bookings to see what the going rate is and decide if a bid is worth it.

[Selbourne]

8 hours ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

The low end of the range a good deal. I expected the high end to be closer to the difference, but still less than if you just paid for the upgrade. However, the math for my Alaska cruise doesn't bear out that assumption.

 

For my Alaska cruise, the range to bid on Q3, Q4 from PG is $715 to $2285 per person, so $1430 to $4570 per stateroom. 

 

To book that cruise now in PG, Sailing Soon is $5,118 and Cunard fare is $7,998 (per stateroom)

To book that cruise now in Q3, Q4 Sailing soon is $7,998 and Cunard fare is $10,878

 

But with the way prices change, your starting point in PG could be more or less than the fares currently available. All you can do is try some dummy bookings to see what the going rate is and decide if a bid is worth it.

I appreciate that upgrades may be cheaper than the price differential at the time they are offered (when prices are probably very high) but, in the case of P&O U.K., if you’d booked at launch (or during a period when prices were low, given that fluid pricing means that cruise prices between launch and departure vary massively - up and down), you could have booked the higher grade cabin to start with for no more than the upgrade price, and you would have had the benefit of choosing your cabin. I was wondering if it was the same with Cunard. Of course, it could be different between US and U.K.  

 

We aren’t interested in bidding for P.G. We enjoyed our PG experience on QM2 but were disappointed with our accessible balcony cabin. It was no bigger than a standard PG cabin but configured differently. With Britannia Club, the two accessible balcony cabins are significantly bigger than the standard ones, so it feels like much better value. As I said, we are also keen to try Club as the concept very much appeals and it’s a lot more affordable. 

Edited May 1 by Selbourne

[Solent Richard]

11 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I appreciate that upgrades may be cheaper than the price differential at the time they are offered (when prices are probably very high) but, in the case of P&O U.K., if you’d booked at launch (or during a period when prices were low, given that fluid pricing means that cruise prices between launch and departure vary massively - up and down), you could have booked the higher grade cabin to start with for no more than the upgrade price, and you would have had the benefit of choosing your cabin. I was wondering if it was the same with Cunard. Of course, it could be different between US and U.K.  

 

We aren’t interested in bidding for P.G. We enjoyed our PG experience on QM2 but were disappointed with our accessible balcony cabin. It was no bigger than a standard PG cabin but configured differently. With Britannia Club, the two accessible balcony cabins are significantly bigger than the standard ones, so it feels like much better value. As I said, we are also keen to try Club as the concept very much appeals and it’s a lot more affordable. 

 

I would fully concur with your observation @Selbourne .

 

And add that similar experiences are not just confined to P&O.

[Se1lad]

I’m booked on a 3 night mini cruise on QM2 end of May and was offered a potential upgrade from Q6 to Q4 with minimum bid of £180pp

[BigMac1953]

20 minutes ago, Se1lad said:

I’m booked on a 3 night mini cruise on QM2 end of May and was offered a potential upgrade from Q6 to Q4 with minimum bid of £180pp

 

Not much difference between the two. Just different location.

[exlondoner]

9 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

 

Not much difference between the two. Just different location.

On QM2, Q4s are half as big again and have a dining room.

[Se1lad]

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

On QM2, Q4s are half as big again and have a dining room.

Agreed - the Q4s are much bigger than the Q5 and Q6 on QM2

[buchanan101]

Just now, exlondoner said:

On QM2, Q4s are half as big again and have a dining room.

QM2 is quite easy to work out sizes as cabins (apart from the very top ones) are measured in whole or half width units.

 

Britannia - 1 unit, PG - 1.5 units, QG5/6 - 2 units, QG4 - 3 units...

[BigMac1953]

9 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

On QM2, Q4s are half as big again and have a dining room.

Apologies, I was referring to the Vistas.

 

I should know better, we have a QM2 Q4 booked for April.

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

QM2 is quite easy to work out sizes as cabins (apart from the very top ones) are measured in whole or half width units.

 

Britannia - 1 unit, PG - 1.5 units, QG5/6 - 2 units, QG4 - 3 units...

And in the PGs, the extra half is added on sideways, so they are a nice square shape, unlike the Vistas.

[buchanan101]

15 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

And in the PGs, the extra half is added on sideways, so they are a nice square shape, unlike the Vistas.

Indeed, all cabins down the sides are the same depth (ok, ones in the hull may be marginally different from ones on the super structure). Shame Vistas and QA add on depth - in a QA PG in 53 days... (not counting)

[exlondoner]

8 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

Indeed, all cabins down the sides are the same depth (ok, ones in the hull may be marginally different from ones on the super structure). Shame Vistas and QA add on depth - in a QA PG in 53 days... (not counting)

We are on next week, and I am counting. And having just seen a picture of the library (I think), I am enchanted.

[buchanan101]

10 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

We are on next week, and I am counting. And having just seen a picture of the library (I think), I am enchanted.

Liking this drone footage...

 

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, exlondoner said:

And in the PGs, the extra half is added on sideways, so they are a nice square shape, unlike the Vistas.

 

The PGs on QM2 feel much more spacious than those on the vistas because of the shape. They also have larger balconies, which I like.