I just received my upgrade offer by email and my cruise is 110 days away, so much earlier than the normal 8- days. Also they used to only let you bid 2 categories higher, but i am staying in an inside room and I can bid on outside room, balcony and club balcony. On the NCL site the difference on the cruise between inside and balcony is $750 per person, so I think having a bid accepted in the 200-300 range would be a big savings.