RelaxingbytheSeas

Quick poll question, thinking about moving my Haven Spa to Courtyard Penthouse? Can someone tell me which they prefer and why?

If it cost you $400 more to buy straight after the incentives you'd have been nuts to pass that up!!!! what a deal!!

I have to agree. I did the math for over an hour and after seeing that 400.00 more on top of my regular bid and getting an OBC of $300.00 and loyalties points...along with the other promo I had already like UBP, UDP, $50.00 shore excursion credit per port, and 250 wifi mins...It became a no-brainer to just do it. At the time I booked the Spa Suite would have cost me another $1000.00 then I actually paid for it. So I felt I won on this one also, as did NCL did.

western caribbean cruise?

yes!

That's a great price, definitely worth it in my opinion! Which ship are you on and what type of room did you get?

On the GA and just did a Spa Haven. I have a chance now to bid on a Family 2-BR Haven...LOL...they are working me.

At $400 I think that was very wise if you wanted to be in Haven

I do too! Plus, just in two minutes that sent me an email to upgrade inside the Haven! I thought they would.

Good morning! I am now out of the bidding process. I canceled all of them last night and went ahead and paid outright. I didn't like my current room and wanted to experience the Haven for once. With all the predictions and possibilities, there are 22 Haven Suites left within 16 days. I figure out what I was going to pay for the upgrade and with the current promo NCL is offering, it only cost me $400.00 more to buy straight out. I received a $300 OBC and will get the extra loyalties points and can rest easy until my cruise now. NCL won on me also because, before the bidding offer, I wasn't even thinking about the Haven at all. I was just going on the cruise, get to the port early and try to get the Vibe Beach Club. With all the hype and excitement of what if, I wanted the Haven more and more each day. So, with that being said, I am in the Haven, but in a different direction. Thanks, everyone for your feedback, I may have won the bid and may of not...but when I wanted it as bad as I did...I made sure it was secured..........Now, wonder if they will send me another bid upgrade inside the Haven? LOL

Can someone tell me if the Haven Spa Suite really worth it? I am also worried about the whirlpool in the stateroom and if the room smells musty or molded from the being in the same area as the bed, etc?

Has this happened to anyone? On July 5 I received an email stating I was eligible for the upgrade advantage program. I was able to view the cabins I could bid on as late as this afternoon. This evening the message about starting the upgrade package that was displayed on my log in page is no longer there. When I opened my email it said I wasn’t eligible for an upgrade bid????? What happened????

Can you provide more information? When is your cruise?

It would be great to hear what past won bibs was? For example: What did you bib per person? Ship? From what stateroom to stateroom?

I submitted it last week and then fiddled with it nearly every day. Moved it up, then down, then back up. They probably just got sick of sending me the "You modified your offer" emails.

I have been doing the exact same thing! I was thinking they have already put me in a pest pile.

I have an awkward concern. I booked back in May for the end of July 2018 NCL sailing. I am a newbie at this bidding process. I have changed my bid so many times. I have gone up and I have gone down on the amount I was willing to pay based on the number of staterooms available and prices dropping since I booked. I wonder if I am no longer considered for a bid since I have made so many changes?

Does anyone know where you go to buy your VIBE beach passes on the Getaway? One year it was at Guest Services...another it was in the comedy/piano duel bar area?

Hi all,

Just wondering if anybody has had any experience/luck bidding from lower category haven to upper without paying full asking price. The first time I sailed on the epic in Sept 2016 I was offered the 2bdrm ph via the old upsell dept, which btw I liked a lot better than bidding. Since upgrade advantage started i took my chances bidding on every category of haven from a m/s up to asking price or just below and didn't win any of them on 2 sailings. This time I wasnt willing to miss the haven all together so bit the bullet and we are currently in a forward ph on Escape in Oct. When bidding opens ideally want to move to aft ph, 2 bdrm, spa deluxe or o/s via bidding if possible from there so long as even a small savings off published rates. Any tips? Suggestions? Encouraging success stories? Thanks in advance

First Good Morning! I am not sure if I totally understand your question. It sounds like you bid on your last two sailing the full asking price or slightly below. If you did such and really wanted the room, why didn't you just go ahead and rebook at the asking price? Just curious. Also, if you are in the Fwd PH on the Escape in October, you can't bid down to the Haven Spa suites, but the others you can. However, in ending, your bid will be based on several attributes of what profit NCL in the end. So no one really knows? I have heard low bids have won, and high bids have lost. It will also depend on if NCL needs your room? I would say if you really want a better room and willing to pay, I would book it while you can. Good luck.

There is definitely a chance that bidding on the mini-suite could hurt you in your bid for the Haven. If you bid on both and someone else only bids on Haven, even if they bid less than you, then it could work out better for NCL to put you in the mini-suite and the other people in the Haven rather than put you in the Haven and leave that mini-suite empty. Remember, it's all a game of musical chairs. Moving you to a mini-suite and the other people to Haven frees up *two* Balconies versus just one, which means they can accept more bids from inside/oceanview to those newly vacated balconies. So it's not just YOUR bid that is a factor, but what other people have bid to upgrade to your current stateroom.

Good to know. Canceling my bid for the mini-suites. Again, if I get my upgrade in one of the Haven suites. Yay...if not, I will stay in my balcony and take the extra money to shop!

I have another question. If I want to be more consider for the Haven suites upgrade, would you say NOT to bid on the mini-suite at all or bid the lowest on the mini-suite? I am now hearing that people that put in for a bid on all that are available are getting for example...mini-suite over the Haven, or oceanview over a balcony. Thoughts?

Now granted, if I didn't get an upgrade for the Haven, I would love to upgrade to a mini-suite. However, I would like to be more consider for the Haven suites first.

I don't think there is a rhyme or reason you get picked. This would be our scenario for the Dawn to Bermuda in May. My friend had a mini-suite booked and I had a BD balcony booked. At the very end of the bidding there were three SJ suites available. I bid low at $370 pp and she bid higher at $550 pp. We both ended up winning our bids. We were notified on the Monday before sailing Friday. I believe we saved about $700 if we had upgraded on our own. It was fun to play the game!!

Did you book with a TA or directly with NCL?

I got me email to bid this morning. Strange.......We are in a Mini Suite and I can only bid on Haven's. They have every category listed to bid, all of them with the max bid higher than if I would have paid outright. However, every Haven cabin except for (2) are sold, so I don't really get the point. Their are 12 Spa Mini Suites available yet I can't bid on any of those Lol

Only way to know if you have a chance, is to try and bid only what you are willing to pay. If you win, yay! If not, it sounds like you have a great room anyhow. Good luck! Happy Bidding!

I would venture to say MOST people do not win the bids only a very small percentage of people playing this game win

:( Thanks! Although, your response was hard to hear, as well as it is a true analysis...it killed the dream of wishful thinking.

In ending is to bid, accept what you purchase and if anything pops up in a few weeks, great!

I also noticed that the highest range on the meter is over the actual booking price. If anyone bid for such is well over $400.00 (for a particular Haven Stateroom) then the price you could pay outright. My theory is for it to be a win on most people part, I would want to save between $500/pp to $1000.00. If I am not saving at least this much, why don't I go forward and book it outright?

Yes, people do not win their bids often. There are a very small number of suites, so not everyone bidding gets one.

 

For example, on our upcoming sailing there were 22 suites available (there are only 42 total on the ship). There are 962 balcony rooms and 246 mini suites. If everyone bid, only about 1.75% of bidders would win their bid to a suite. Even if none of the minisuites were sold, less than 1/3 of balcony bids would be accepted to move into a minisuite.

 

Your odds of getting your bid accepted are a function of how many staterooms are available, how much you bid, and how much everyone else bid. It’s really pretty simple.

Thanks for your reply. I totally get where my odds are less than some people expects. Here's to hoping the odds are in my favor :)

I am--- we were in a balcony (via CAS) and put a moderate bid in for all the "affordable" havens ie not the owners suites. Then I realized it was very inexpensive to upgrade to a mini suite with large balcony (8th floor) so we did that and lowered our bids to the minimum because I am pretty happy with our current room now, but would still be cool to get in the haven- but doubt it with the low bid.

Thank you for your feedback. Hope to see you aboard. I have moved my bids so much...they are probably getting whipflash from me adjusting them all the time. I know my daughter would love to be in the Haven, but there is a limit to what I am going to give them. I have had the bids high and now they are in the minimum range. I know my odds are slim to none, but if you don't try...you never know.

Just curious. I am sailing less than 32 days. I didn't book until 41 days out. I received by email to bid immediately the next day and this was the first time receiving it. I have sailed on NCL numerous time though.

My question is I have bid on 6 different rooms. Has anyone ever not received all 6 rooms? Just curious. One would think your chances are greater than just on one. I have bid in the fair range on all of them. From mini-suite to Aft-Penthouse, Forward-Penthouse, Courtyard Penthouse, Spa Suite, and 2-bedroom.

I would love to experience the Haven at a fraction of the cost. I know no one knows if the odds are ever in their favor, but hoping that placing a bid on all, but the DOS and I can't remember the one underneath it, will increase my chances. I am coming from a BD balcony category that is currently showing QTY, but I have a stateroom. I am hoping they will need my room.

The wait is hard, but hoping to be surprised and not be under bid or over bid. Thanks everyone for your feedback.

From many posts and recent experience, bids appear to get processed two weeks prior to sailing and Haven bids the Tuesday before sailing. So if you have a Haven bid in, you will find out on the 24th.

:cool: Thanks for the feedback. Good to know. I bid on 5 Havens and 1 mini-suite categories. First timer.

Anyone cruising on the Getaway-July 29, 2018 and has a bid in?

Just won our bid on the 7/1 Getaway. Booked an inside IF GTY through the casino about a month ago. Prices dropped on balconies, so paid another $250 pp to move to a BD GTY on 6/15 (paid $999 pp before any casino discounts). Was assigned a BA on deck 11.

 

Probably overpaid a little @ $880 pp for the H9 but had already paid for spa passes, so we effectively paid $660 pp as we were using the spa anyway. There were 13 H9s available on Monday.

 

Also bid $780 pp for an H5. There were 7 H5s available on Monday

 

 

On hold now to cancel our purchased spa passes :-)

Thanks for sharing you bid and congrats. This really helps us in the bidding process and know how we need to process.

We just got notified that we were upgraded from a spa balcony to Haven Penthouse on the Getaway on 7/1. Completely surprised we got it, considering that we bid in the poor category, but we are incredibly excited nonetheless.

Do you mind sharing what you bid pp? Thanks.