New way to Bid for an upgrade

[ajs922]

Think it's time to end this .

[cruiser2015]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

You used to make a bid and then wait for an indeterminate time to learn if you'd won.  Sometimes you didn't know until you did check in at the terminal.  The only way the process has changed is this: now you know instantly if your bid was accepted, no waiting.  Some find that preferable to waiting for days sitting at their computer to see if they won.  Even in the old system you  had no idea who you were bidding against or even if you were outbid.

The best thing about  this new system is this: you no longer have to wait to know if you won.  You know immediately.

We have no idea if this new process produces more revenue for NCL.  It might start a bidding war, other times not.

How is it that you now know "immediately"?

I thought that it was totally up to NCL to decide when to notify bidders; and, that if the bids did not hit the max amounts designated, bidding could remain open in the manner you mentioned for the old system.

For example, I put in a bid a couple of weeks ago - no notice as of yet - not that I was expecting it this soon.

[RocketMan275]

4 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

How is it that you now know "immediately"?

I thought that it was totally up to NCL to decide when to notify bidders; and, that if the bids did not hit the max amounts designated, bidding could remain open in the manner you mentioned for the old system.

For example, I put in a bid a couple of weeks ago - no notice as of yet - not that I was expecting it this soon.

 

I relied upon this description from ajs922 who seemed to claim that as soon as he bid he was informed that he had been outbid.

ajs922 I did Bid, as I have in the past, but do not like how they changed the process. It used to be you made your best offer and waited to see if you got it. Now you make what you feel is a "Just" bid and they come back with the "E-Bay" -you were outbid and bid more, and bid more and bid more. At least on E-bay you know what the higher Bid is and can decide how much more you need to bid to win it.

 

[cruiser2015]

2 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

 

I relied upon this description from ajs922 who seemed to claim that as soon as he bid he was informed that he had been outbid.

ajs922 I did Bid, as I have in the past, but do not like how they changed the process. It used to be you made your best offer and waited to see if you got it. Now you make what you feel is a "Just" bid and they come back with the "E-Bay" -you were outbid and bid more, and bid more and bid more. At least on E-bay you know what the higher Bid is and can decide how much more you need to bid to win it.

 

I suppose in some circumstances they react quickly.

Obviously, not in all.

And, as I recall, the notices that came with the bid offer specified the open-ended timeline. NCL can do whatever pleases them, especially if they smell the opportunity to jack up their take.

[ChiefMateJRK]

Yeah, why support any business that only does things to make (more) money?

[cruiser2015]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Yeah, why support any business that only does things to make (more) money?

Unlike like some others on here, I did not viciously attack NCL for their bidding methods.

I was just stating the facts as they are.

 

[RD64]

As others have stated - NCL is a business - not a charitable institution. Just like every other cruise line and business, their goal is to maximize profits. You always have the option to patronize other cruise lines which you may find operate on a more charitable basis.

[TrumpyNor]

I believe that the "live ugrade bidding" is only for Haven suites and that bidding from eg. inside to oceanview, balcony or club balcony is still "the old way" with the "old" upgrade advantage program.....?

[david_sobe]

This is a fairly common ploy on all auctions to keep people bidding and increasing the price.  I wonder if some of these suites actually will sell for more than the original price 9 months or so out.  We will never know but there are many wealthy people that book late and want the Haven and have no problem bidding high or keep bidding.

[insidecabin]

Not transparent.

 

Too easy to rig or be misleading.

 

Lowered bids wining suggests it's not clear that by getting the out bid message you really have been outbid.

 

They could for example have 5 cabins and 4 bids but your is the lowest so you have been outbid but not a loser.

 

Other obvious reasons having been told you have been outbid you could still be successful.

 

 

[BoundForSea]

Just FYI, the bidding system is a contracted vendor they use for the service. They purchase the use of this system from that vendor. That same vendor provides this product to other lines like MSC etc. So as the owner of that IT company that provides this product, if I can offer a product that increases the revenue of the cruise line then I can charge more for my product and everyone (but us) wins. 
 

I just have to share that in 2014 before bidding started, I used to get a call asking me if we wanted to upgrade and that cost usually was in the hundreds of dollars. lol. There was a phone number you could call and ask for it as well. I used to tell people on here to stop talking about it or it will go away…. And here we are. I think the message here as consumers and players in this program is not to increase your bids. I personally, don’t bother with the bid system anymore. I usually will seek out affordable sailings for Haven and book them directly if we want that experience.  

[sansroof]

I mean.... they aren't obligated to sell those cabins to anyone for anything other than the currently published price.  They can choose to let the cabins go empty if they don't get what they think is a fair return.  So, yes, they can do anything they like in terms of a bidding process and it's truly bizarre to think anyone would expect otherwise.