To bid or not to bid

[TACoor]

We're booked for a late January cruise, balcony cabin with two specialty dinners plus two for our Latitudes perk. Have already booked Vibe. So I just received our second invitation to upgrade to Haven (not interested in Club balcony upgrade). If they're pushing the upgrade it seems like they're having trouble selling the Haven or want more balconies. In addition, the Roll Call for this cruise is really quiet. So I'm wondering if I should go for it. It would be (minimum) $400 per person to bid. Yes, I know I could bid minimum and give it a shot. How often does a minimum bid get attention? Since we already have specialty dining and Vibe, I wonder what Haven would add that would be worth $800 or more.  And probably more than $800, right?

[UKstages]

well, most people who upgrade to the vibe cancel their vibe reservations. so that would help fund part of your upgrade cost. i'd go for it, make a bid, no harm no foul... as far as "attention" goes, minimum bids get a lot of attention... on cruise critic! in the world of upgrades, not so much. very few minimum bids succeed unless the cruise really is as under-booked or sleepy as you suggest.

 

 

[Karaboudjan]

You could try a dummy booking for the Haven.  That might give you an idea of how many cabins are unsold.  I suspect that a lot of the upgrade process is automated so not sure if two invitations is significant or not.  

 

As for the value, the Haven is a whole different experience, not just a different specialty-level restaurant and a private deck area.  I got an upgrade to the Haven once for a bit more than $800 and I thought it was well worth it.

[graphicguy]

First…there’s no correlation between Haven availability and whether you’ll be more or less likely to score a Haven upgrade.  

 

NCL has offered me an upgrade to the Haven when it’s already sold out.

 

Best advice?  If you want the Haven, ask your PCC or your TA what it would cost to upgrade.  If it’s acceptable, do it!

[bonvoyagie]

while the perks of the Haven and even just the suite life are nice. You also need to figure on extra tipping for the butler and concierge in addition to the extra DSC. We usually also end up tipping the room steward too as most go out of their way to make sure you are a happy cruiser, plus the suites also get two cleanings per day. As far as the minimum bid there are many reports of those easily making the cut. I don't think anyone knows the exact formula that goes into the selection process as a third party is involved. 

[Sailing12Away]

Which ship? If it's a breakaway, breakaway plus, or newer ship - easy for me to spend your money but $800 is definitely 'worth it' to me. Most likely your cabin size alone will be significantly larger. On those larger ships you also get a private restaurant, free room service 24 hrs/day, private lounge, private bar, private pool & sundeck. Priority embarkation, debarkation, tenders, etc. Easy access to reservations for everything from go carts, specialty dining, entertainment, etc.

 

If you've never done Haven before, you also get filets and lobster tails for free in the Haven restaurant (just noticed Le Bistro is charging an upcharge for the standard filet now). As well as Starbucks coffee served in the restaurant for free. Not the fancy frappamocha whatevers, but standard coffee, cappucinos and such are free.

 

So it all depends on what is important to you and what is viewed as a perk to you. As others have said, do a mock booking for the cheapest Haven room. Whatever the price difference is, use that as your barometer for the max bid you could potentially do and still get it at a 'bargain'. 

[brookie848]

From what we got from our PCC, a lot of cruises are sailing at or over capacity.

 

We received an upgrade email this week for our February cruise. The funny thing is that I don't think there are any cabins above ours available. There is one that is showing up, but that is a "guarantee" with no ability to choose a cabin number. We are past final payment, so there likely won't be a lot of cancellations at this point.

 

Like others have mentioned, this is an automated process. If nothing else, they are gathering information about how much people are willing to bid to upgrade their cabin.

[Seas2mountains]

2 hours ago, TACoor said:

We're booked for a late January cruise, balcony cabin with two specialty dinners plus two for our Latitudes perk. Have already booked Vibe. So I just received our second invitation to upgrade to Haven (not interested in Club balcony upgrade). If they're pushing the upgrade it seems like they're having trouble selling the Haven or want more balconies. In addition, the Roll Call for this cruise is really quiet. So I'm wondering if I should go for it. It would be (minimum) $400 per person to bid. Yes, I know I could bid minimum and give it a shot. How often does a minimum bid get attention? Since we already have specialty dining and Vibe, I wonder what Haven would add that would be worth $800 or more.  And probably more than $800, right?

The emails encouraging upgrades bids automatically get sent even if the Haven is sold out.  
 

If you can provide the ship name and sailing date, myself or others can look to see if there is any availability for the Haven. If it’s not full now, it may be sold out before they award upgrade bids. 
 

I’m not sure why, people believe a cabin category listed for an upgrade bid means there is availability for that category when the ship may be sold out except for oceanview and inside  cabins.  All cabins seem to be listed for upgrade bids even if they are sold out. 

[richmke]

I bid the minimum for upgrade to Haven. Later, when I was discussing something else with my PCC, I asked the cost to upgrade to Haven. It was less than the minimum bid, so I took it.

[TACoor]

Ship is Encore, 7 days starting January 28. Thanks for all the feedback.

[www3traveler]

My standard rule of thumb for booking any cruise is to book the cabin type and location I want and not worry about Upgrade bids.  What you think is an Upgrade and what Norwegian may think is an upgrade could easily be two very different things.

 

The point to any of my cruises is to relax and not have to stress about anything.

 

I book what I need and/or want at the time of booking and leave it alone. 

[schmoopie17]

2 hours ago, www3traveler said:

My standard rule of thumb for booking any cruise is to book the cabin type and location I want and not worry about Upgrade bids.  What you think is an Upgrade and what Norwegian may think is an upgrade could easily be two very different things.

 

The point to any of my cruises is to relax and not have to stress about anything.

 

I book what I need and/or want at the time of booking and leave it alone. 

Exactly.

 

We book early to get the cabin and the location we want...as close to midship as humanly possible, due to inner ear issues. I'm not giving up our freedom of choice to have NCL assign us a worse location (and at a higher price).

[ChiefMateJRK]

15 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

If it's a breakaway, breakaway plus, or newer ship - easy for me to spend your money but $800 is definitely 'worth it' to me.

Yep.  I agree.  Unfortunately/fortunately, we generally book insides and, as the saying goes, "you can't get there from here."

[BDL]

I'll be sailing solo on the Joy TA Feb 13-24 from Southampton.  I booked a Haven Penthouse Suite on Deck 14 outside the haven courtyard.  It's close to the elevator or stairs to get up to the courtyard.  I got a bid email today and am considering a low end bid on the 2 bedroom with large balcony on deck 17.  I see that one has a walk in shower in the master.  My current cabin apparently has a tub/shower combo that would be tricky for me but not impossible.  The minimum bid is $500 (x2) and the current price to upgrade is over $3,000 more.  This is a bucket list cruise for me and I wanted to do it before I got too old or fragile. My husband (who cannot go) tells me to 'go for it'.  

We were in a 2-bedroom on the Getaway a few years ago.  The living room and dining table was really nice.  I'm torn on whether to bid or not.  Is it worth it for one person?

 

[Russiamomm]

5 minutes ago, BDL said:

I'll be sailing solo on the Joy TA Feb 13-24 from Southampton.  I booked a Haven Penthouse Suite on Deck 14 outside the haven courtyard.  It's close to the elevator or stairs to get up to the courtyard.  I got a bid email today and am considering a low end bid on the 2 bedroom with large balcony on deck 17.  I see that one has a walk in shower in the master.  My current cabin apparently has a tub/shower combo that would be tricky for me but not impossible.  The minimum bid is $500 (x2) and the current price to upgrade is over $3,000 more.  This is a bucket list cruise for me and I wanted to do it before I got too old or fragile. My husband (who cannot go) tells me to 'go for it'.  

We were in a 2-bedroom on the Getaway a few years ago.  The living room and dining table was really nice.  I'm torn on whether to bid or not.  Is it worth it for one person?

 

Only you can make that decision.  We were in a 2BR with large balcony on the Joy last year.  It’s a lovely cabin.  The best I’ve ever been in.  But that’s a lot of money, and a lot space, for one person.  But the tub vs. shower might be the determining factor for you.  Are there smaller Haven cabins with a walk in shower?  If so, that might be a better and cheaper option.  

[vacation44]

19 hours ago, TACoor said:

We're booked for a late January cruise, balcony cabin with two specialty dinners plus two for our Latitudes perk. Have already booked Vibe. So I just received our second invitation to upgrade to Haven (not interested in Club balcony upgrade). If they're pushing the upgrade it seems like they're having trouble selling the Haven or want more balconies. In addition, the Roll Call for this cruise is really quiet. So I'm wondering if I should go for it. It would be (minimum) $400 per person to bid. Yes, I know I could bid minimum and give it a shot. How often does a minimum bid get attention? Since we already have specialty dining and Vibe, I wonder what Haven would add that would be worth $800 or more.  And probably more than $800, right?

We are in the same position for our upcoming February cruise except we are in an angled club suite.  For us, the best part of the Haven is the restaurant for dinner.   With four specialty dinners, we would only be eating at the Haven Restaurant twice (eating poolside during the Superbowl) so we are passing on the upgrade chance for minimum $400 a person.

 

It would end up costing over $1000 with the additional tips and we will not give up our Vibe cabana as the Vibe is, in our opinion, a better overall experience.   Also, in the past our Butlers have not been that impressive so we will not miss that experience. 

[BDL]

4 minutes ago, Russiamomm said:

Only you can make that decision.  We were in a 2BR with large balcony on the Joy last year.  It’s a lovely cabin.  The best I’ve ever been in.  But that’s a lot of money, and a lot space, for one person.  But the tub vs. shower might be the determining factor for you.  Are there smaller Haven cabins with a walk in shower?  If so, that might be a better and cheaper option.  

There is a handicapped cabin available but I'd hate to take that from someone who may need it more than I do.  I get around fine but have minor balance issues with a big step in like a tub after chemotherapy a couple of years ago.  I'll have a cane with me for any rocky days at sea

[Sand and Seas]

1 hour ago, BDL said:

There is a handicapped cabin available but I'd hate to take that from someone who may need it more than I do.  I get around fine but have minor balance issues with a big step in like a tub after chemotherapy a couple of years ago.  I'll have a cane with me for any rocky days at sea

If you don't mind a walk to the elevators, we loved our Forward Facing Haven.  It has two rooms and an awesome bathroom with a separate walk-in shower plus an oval tub.  

[BirdTravels]

21 hours ago, TACoor said:

We're booked for a late January cruise, balcony cabin with two specialty dinners plus two for our Latitudes perk. Have already booked Vibe. So I just received our second invitation to upgrade to Haven (not interested in Club balcony upgrade). If they're pushing the upgrade it seems like they're having trouble selling the Haven or want more balconies. In addition, the Roll Call for this cruise is really quiet. So I'm wondering if I should go for it. It would be (minimum) $400 per person to bid. Yes, I know I could bid minimum and give it a shot. How often does a minimum bid get attention? Since we already have specialty dining and Vibe, I wonder what Haven would add that would be worth $800 or more.  And probably more than $800, right?

There is near zero probability of winning a Haven bid, but it is always fun to try. With over 1000 staterooms eligible to bid on the 1 or 2 available Haven rooms, the magic of the upgrade system will pick someone. Go for it. 

[cruiser2015]

3 hours ago, BDL said:

There is a handicapped cabin available but I'd hate to take that from someone who may need it more than I do.  I get around fine but have minor balance issues with a big step in like a tub after chemotherapy a couple of years ago.  I'll have a cane with me for any rocky days at sea

If you are willing to give up some of that luxury treatment, Club Balconies have a walk in shower.

[Seas2mountains]

9 hours ago, TACoor said:

Ship is Encore, 7 days starting January 28. Thanks for all the feedback.

There are the following Haven suites still available for that sailing:

H6 - 1

HC - 1

HE - 9

HG - 3

 

 

[TACoor]

15 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

There are the following Haven suites still available for that sailing:

H6 - 1

HC - 1

HE - 9

HG - 3

 

 

Thanks for the info!