What was your upgrade offer and what did you bid

Just curious. We prepaid gratuities. If our upgrade is accepted to Haven, have aft balcony now, do they just tack on the added gratuity for a suite to your daily charges?

Just curious. We prepaid gratuities. If our upgrade is accepted to Haven, have aft balcony now, do they just tack on the added gratuity for a suite to your daily charges?

My understanding is that if you prepay gratuities, you don't have to pay the Haven rate for gratuities if you are upgraded. However, if you don't prepay, you will be charged the Haven rate if you are upgraded.

My understanding is that if you prepay gratuities, you don't have to pay the Haven rate for gratuities if you are upgraded. However, if you don't prepay, you will be charged the Haven rate if you are upgraded.

We tipped extra to our gang in The Haven on Getaway anyway. When the entire crew up there knows you by name the first night, that's just incredible. Another thing that made us feel special was our concierge visited us at dinner every night to make sure our day and evening was going well, we dined at a different restaurant every night so finding us was a chore...:D

We just got 2 emails with invitations to bid on our Breakaway cruise in August. We currently have 2 connecting ocean view cabins. Would love to get balconies but do not want to be at opposite ends of the ship. Is there a way to ensure we wil be close together if our bids are accepted? Sorry if this is a stupid question. Just trying to figure out how it all works.

We also received 2 emails with invitations to bid. We are booked on an Escape cruise in August in 2 connecting balcony rooms on the 11th deck. We are torn if we should bid on Haven rooms and then with our luck, only have one room receive the upgrade. We are traveling with our 2 sons, 12 and 16 so it's not like the adults can take the Haven and leave the kids in the balcony room! Suggestions???

We also received 2 emails with invitations to bid. We are booked on an Escape cruise in August in 2 connecting balcony rooms on the 11th deck. We are torn if we should bid on Haven rooms and then with our luck, only have one room receive the upgrade. We are traveling with our 2 sons, 12 and 16 so it's not like the adults can take the Haven and leave the kids in the balcony room! Suggestions???

I would worry about that as well especially since it is a summer cruise. You could bid on an H4, H3, or H2 since those sleep 4 but if the other room didn't win an upgrade the other two would be limited to sleeping or eating in your Haven room but not able to use the Haven pool, bar, restaurant area.

Other option is to just pay for the upgrade and you'd have to cancel the one room prior to final payment date which could be coming up fairly soon for your current room depending when you are going in August.

Thanks for your reply, but we already submitted our final payment and can't cancel the second room :(

We also received 2 emails with invitations to bid. We are booked on an Escape cruise in August in 2 connecting balcony rooms on the 11th deck. We are torn if we should bid on Haven rooms and then with our luck, only have one room receive the upgrade. We are traveling with our 2 sons, 12 and 16 so it's not like the adults can take the Haven and leave the kids in the balcony room! Suggestions???

We were in the exact same situation for our June 3rd cruise (almost here!!!), and we opted not to bid. We didn't want to split our party up, and we felt like it would be money wasted if one cabin got the Haven & the other didn't - we want to spend time together and if half of our travelling party couldn't use the Haven amenities, then none of us would.

Unfortunately, this new automated system is not a great fit for parties spread out over more than one cabin (if staying together matters to you). Under the old system, you could call and see what was available and make an informed decision about whether the upgrade would put you where you wanted to be, but this method is a crap shoot. Not worth taking the risk, in my opinion.

We are just back from our Alaska cruise on the Jewel. As noted previously in this thread, I had originally booked an aft non-haven penthouse suite and when offered bid on a non-haven 2 bedroom penthouse suite, an owners suite and the garden villa. We won the bid for the non-haven 2 bedroom penthouse suite for $400 pp, $800 total. This was less than it would have cost when I originally bid but probably close to what I could have booked for closer to sail date. I did not try calling NCL after my final payment to see if I could upgrade for free, but maybe should have. I didn't know this was an option to tell the truth and in the last few days before the trip I didn't have the time to deal with it.

We absolutely loved our 2 bedroom and it was WELL WORTH the $800 upgrade. The only downside was the location, which was under the gym, and could be quite noisy. We noticed it, but it didn't ruin our trip by any means. I feel like some people would be very annoyed with this, and I would caution them about the automatic bid system as you don't get to choose your room. One of my concerns with moving from the aft location was the size of the balcony, but the balcony was fine for this trip to Alaska and had room for 3 chairs and a small table. We were not lounging out there as we did for our Bermuda cruise!

We also received 2 emails with invitations to bid. We are booked on an Escape cruise in August in 2 connecting balcony rooms on the 11th deck. We are torn if we should bid on Haven rooms and then with our luck, only have one room receive the upgrade. We are traveling with our 2 sons, 12 and 16 so it's not like the adults can take the Haven and leave the kids in the balcony room! Suggestions???

i would stick with what you have in this situation. UNLESS you are okay with booking everyone on the 2br Haven and just let the balcony go to waste, even though you paid for it.

How do you get an email to bid. Can you request one. I have been in the Haven on the Breakaway. My next cruise is on the Gem. They have a very small Haven area and no special restaurant although I understand you can use Cagneys for breakfast and lunch. Is it worth getting a suite penthouse, not in the Haven area. Or is the tiny Haven area worth the big bucks? I haven't made my reservation yet. The cruise is in January.

How do you get an email to bid. Can you request one. I have been in the Haven on the Breakaway. My next cruise is on the Gem. They have a very small Haven area and no special restaurant although I understand you can use Cagneys for breakfast and lunch. Is it worth getting a suite penthouse, not in the Haven area. Or is the tiny Haven area worth the big bucks? I haven't made my reservation yet. The cruise is in January.

I did get an email but also checked my NCL account every day and finally saw the "Let's get you upgraded" notice. I am very glad we didn't end up with a Haven Suite for our Alaska cruise on the Jewel as you note with the Gem it is a very small courtyard area and no dedicated restaurant. The courtyard has no view in the enclosed area, and the top area would have been pretty chilly to sit out on. All Suites (haven or non-haven) can have breakfast and lunch in Moderno and this was very nice, although the food menu stays the same throughout the cruise.

Haven on Jewel Class (Gem, Pearl, Jade) comments.

True, the courtyard is interior - like many of the restaurants, bars and lounges. Except it is quiet, calm and somewhat private. It is worth a little extra for us, even for Alaska. But - not much. Less than other trips due to the almost constant viewing in Alaska. By constant viewing, I mean land/mountains, etc.

The Cagneys or Moderno for lunch and breakfast is nice.

The 2 br suite is really nice for us. We love the living room, great MBR and the little extra bedroom for 3rd or 4th guest. One trip it was just the two of us. If one woke up at 4am, just went to the little room and watched tv.

Thanks for that info. The Gem Haven Penthouses or other Haven suites don't have balconys?

Thanks for that info. The Gem Haven Penthouses or other Haven suites don't have balconys?

Oh sorry, I didn't mean that... I've not been in the Haven other than the courtyard and viewing deck but I know the rooms have balconies. It's the haven courtyard area that is all interior.

i would stick with what you have in this situation. UNLESS you are okay with booking everyone on the 2br Haven and just let the balcony go to waste, even though you paid for it.

With the automated system, you cannot move people around on a booking. If the PP did get the Haven 2 bedroom upgrade, then all the family members booked in the other room could not use the Haven amenities - priority embark/disembark, the pool, the restaurant, etc. They could sleep & hang out in the Haven room, but they would not be allowed to do any other Haven thing.

Has anyone ever been able to be upgraded with a minimum bid? I just got an offer of $1000 pp for the 3 bedroom garden villa total of $2000 for the two of us minimum bid. We have family traveling with us but it is past final payment so they would still have their room and it would just be the 2 of us in the villa. Don't know if it is worth it or if it is even worth making a minimum bid. Anyone have experience? Thanks.

Has anyone ever been able to be upgraded with a minimum bid? I just got an offer of $1000 pp for the 3 bedroom garden villa total of $2000 for the two of us minimum bid. We have family traveling with us but it is past final payment so they would still have their room and it would just be the 2 of us in the villa. Don't know if it is worth it or if it is even worth making a minimum bid. Anyone have experience? Thanks.

If you read the thread about upgrades, you will see that lots of folks go the upgrade with the minimum bid. And lots of folks that did not.

As to your question about the others. You could of course CANCEL the other room and eat the cancel fee, then add the other two to your new booking. They of course could "live" in the garden villa with you, but unless they cancel the other room and then REBOOK at #3 and #4 with you, they do not get the suite perks

Unless of course you can talk NCL into a deal.

Thanks. I read the first few pages of posts but then ran out of time so I appreciate your answer.

How do you get an email to bid. Can you request one. I have been in the Haven on the Breakaway. My next cruise is on the Gem. They have a very small Haven area and no special restaurant although I understand you can use Cagneys for breakfast and lunch. Is it worth getting a suite penthouse, not in the Haven area. Or is the tiny Haven area worth the big bucks? I haven't made my reservation yet. The cruise is in January.

Unless the difference between the "S" and "H" category is small on Gem, probably not worth it. The area is small although very quiet. There is a private sundeck upstairs that is also very quiet.

How do you get registered with the upgrade bid system? Is this something that only operates in the US ? I've cruised with NCL 5 times and never had an bid email ? We live in the U.K.

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I'm leaving on the Dawn next Friday, June 2, and my minimum bid ($800 × 2) for a family suite with balcony was accepted today. I originally booked a mini-suite.

 

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You paid $1600 total for this upgrade? We are booked in a balcony for the same cruise and our minimum bid was $400pp.

You paid $1600 total for this upgrade? We are booked in a balcony for the same cruise and our minimum bid was $400pp.

Are you sure it was for the family suite with the balcony? There is a family suite without a balcony also.

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Are you sure it was for the family suite with the balcony? There is a family suite without a balcony also.

 

 

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Room 12020...See for yourself :)

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Is the offer per person for the first two in the cabin or for all four in the cabin? Just tried to bid and it said only the first two people will be charged. Sorry, should have tried before I asked.

Are you sure it was for the family suite with the balcony? There is a family suite without a balcony also.

 

 

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If you are asking me, I am sure. It shows $400pp for family suite with balcony.