Has anyone called and been able to upgrade 2 days out after the online bids are done?

I have searched through the upgrade threads and can't find what I am looking for. We are booked on the Dawn that sails next Friday. We have 2 connecting cabins so I don't want to use the online upgrade system. I have contacted CAS to ask about upgrading to a aft penthouse a couple of times. The first time I was told $1150 pp to do this and the second time I was told $3200 per room. Both are way more than we want to spend. We would be perfectly happy with our connecting balconies. However, I was wondering if anyone has been able to call and upgrade 1-2 days out after the online bids are settled? I figured if NCL has inventory left after the bid process they would want to get some money for it instead of letting it sit empty. I am going to call Wednesday anyways to see but thought in the meantime I would see if anyone on here has done this. Thanks.

The online bids may not be finally settled until 24 hours before sailing, at which time the manifest is fixed. On ships with the bidding program, unless they do not get enough bids, they will not take upsells.

The online bids may not be finally settled until 24 hours before sailing, at which time the manifest is fixed. On ships with the bidding program, unless they do not get enough bids, they will not take upsells.

I am not sure what you mean by the manifest being fixed. We already have a reservation and our names are all in there. We cruised with Disney and upgraded to a suite at the pier. Our cruise is still showing a lot of unsold inventory and people are already getting notice that their upgrade bids were accepted.

It's still technically possible to upgrade the day before sailing, but I kind of doubt there will still be two aft penthouses left after they upgrade everyone else, especially if you need them to be next to each other or even just on the same deck. And the big question is whether the price would suddenly drop one or two days before sailing for you to snap them up (otherwise you would just pay to upgrade now, right?).

The whole point of the bidding program is so that they don't get stuck with high-category rooms that they have to sell off for cheap at the very last minute. I guess it's conceivable that not enough people bid for them on your sailing and there will be suites left over. Again, I doubt it, but good luck! :)

Disney is not NCL. NCL does not do at pier upgrades except in rare circumstances, and those are usually line initiated due to a problem with the cabin. Their system locks the manifest from changes without an override at around 24 hours (actual amount of time depends on departure scheduled, but generally speaking 7 PM day prior.

In short, while its technically possible, the odds are slim to none you could do it.

I am not sure what you mean by the manifest being fixed. We already have a reservation and our names are all in there. We cruised with Disney and upgraded to a suite at the pier. Our cruise is still showing a lot of unsold inventory and people are already getting notice that their upgrade bids were accepted.

Maybe I missed it... but..

Are you trying to upgrade ONE of your existing cabins, or both?

If you are trying to move from two connecting balcony to one aft suite - no way in hell would I want to do that.

The online bids may not be finally settled until 24 hours before sailing, at which time the manifest is fixed. On ships with the bidding program, unless they do not get enough bids, they will not take upsells.

Don't know what you mean about manifests being fixed. You can book the morning of the cruise if there are cabins available. It happens on a regular basis. You can always upgrade by paying the current asking price, there is no need to bid, even on a ship that takes bids.

Anyway, as the OP tried to point out above, their names are already on the manifest, so even if the manifest were fixed and unchangeable (which it is not), this would not be a valid reason for NCL to prevent them from upgrading in the last 24 hours. But they don't need a valid reason, they just have to say "no".

As they near sailing, there is possibly a "reluctance" to be making more changes. So, maybe some staff use a weak excuse that the manifest is fixed.

For those that have worked in a customer service arena in the past, you might understand....

The software is designed to close the booking engine to edits at a certain point so that load lists, info for the stewards etc, can be generated and is ready for the crew on arrival. By manifest by the way I mean the master passenger cabin matrix, which is different than the manifest for CBP, apologies if unclear.

If their are open cabins, the system requires an override to book them (which of course they will grant to fill an empty cabin, or to take a full rate upgrade), but that triggers other exceptions onboard that have to be handled, for example, ship cards are often printed the night prior and someone has to reprint, etc.. Therefore there is little incentive to do this for discounted upgrades.

Don't know what you mean about manifests being fixed. You can book the morning of the cruise if there are cabins available. It happens on a regular basis. You can always upgrade by paying the current asking price, there is no need to bid, even on a ship that takes bids.

By manifest by the way I mean the master passenger cabin matrix, which is different than the manifest for CBP, apologies if unclear.

On our Sept. 2016 Greek Island cruise, we were able to up-sell the night before (7 pm) from an inside to a mini suite. Now this was before the bidding process started.

If anyone is interested, we just got back from our 7 day Bermuda cruise on the dawn. There were a handful of suites still showing available even after the bid awards had gone out. I emailed CAS and asked about the upgrade price to a Family Suite with balcony and was told $1500 pp which I declined. Then my father received an email offering him the same thing for $2000pp. He also declined. So, I don't know if they filled those cabins through the emails they sent out or calls to upgrade or what. We kept our connecting balconies and really enjoyed these cabins. Although I will mention that NCL staff would not open the balcony divider, even in port. The supervisor told me they don't open them anymore because it is a safety issue. Not exactly sure when that changed.

If anyone is interested, we just got back from our 7 day Bermuda cruise on the dawn. There were a handful of suites still showing available even after the bid awards had gone out. I emailed CAS and asked about the upgrade price to a Family Suite with balcony and was told $1500 pp which I declined. Then my father received an email offering him the same thing for $2000pp. He also declined. So, I don't know if they filled those cabins through the emails they sent out or calls to upgrade or what. We kept our connecting balconies and really enjoyed these cabins. Although I will mention that NCL staff would not open the balcony divider, even in port. The supervisor told me they don't open them anymore because it is a safety issue. Not exactly sure when that changed.

I"d agree those upgrade prices are nothing special at all. Divider thing several years ago already.