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Bidding for Haven/Upgrades

leeker13

By leeker13,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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EverLovesTrips

EverLovesTrips

Posted
Posted
I called my travel agent, mytravel agent called NCL and they sent me the email directly.

 

My TA sucks and I won't be using her again. I called her and told her that and she said that she had already called NCL and they told her that I don't qualify. She did some other stuff too.. just wasn't very good.

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JanetAlice

JanetAlice

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My TA sucks and I won't be using her again. I called her and told her that and she said that she had already called NCL and they told her that I don't qualify. She did some other stuff too.. just wasn't very good.

That's too bad. The TA I used for this cruise for awful as well. I book with this particular agency because I get free transportation to the port. I don't care anymore. I will pay for the transfer next year so I can deal with my usual TA. Have you cruised with NCL before? What type of room were/are you in? We were originally in a regular aft balcony before we upgraded to the aft Haven suite.

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Nickkle

Nickkle

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I may have misled you... not $900 more total to get into the Haven but $900 more than I am currently bidding. Total would be about $3770 more!

 

So, I am currently paying X for my balcony room. I am bidding $1440 p/p for the Haven Fwd Penthouse (H7). If I paid $900 (X + 2880 + 900) it would be like booking it outright (paying the current rate).

 

Does that change things?

 

I was also told that because I booked with a TA, I would have to cancel my current booking (and pay a penalty) and rebook.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

 

I understood :). You should always work with a TA that is willing to fight on your behalf, don't necessarily always go for the low bidder. Your current bid seems quite strong and there's a decent chance in getting the upgrade. As long as you're happy with your current room if the upgrade doesn't work out, hold out and pray that it happens! You'll still have a fun cruise regardless!

 

 

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HerWorshipfullness

HerWorshipfullness

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I was also told that because I booked with a TA, I would have to cancel my current booking (and pay a penalty) and rebook.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

If you wait until it gets closer and the prices drop (depending on the category, there will be H level rooms left and they come way down in price) just call your TA and upgrade. Instead of waiting on the bids, I just called and paid the difference in the price to upgrade. I wanted a specific room and didn't want to chance waiting for a huge price drop.

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EverLovesTrips

EverLovesTrips

Posted
Posted
If you wait until it gets closer and the prices drop (depending on the category, there will be H level rooms left and they come way down in price) just call your TA and upgrade. Instead of waiting on the bids, I just called and paid the difference in the price to upgrade. I wanted a specific room and didn't want to chance waiting for a huge price drop.

 

I tried that and my TA said she called NCL and they told her I would have to cancel, pay a fee, and rebook in a different cabin class. I don't necessarily believe my TA, however.

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BabysBday

BabysBday

Posted
Posted
I may have misled you... not $900 more total to get into the Haven but $900 more than I am currently bidding. Total would be about $3770 more!

 

So, I am currently paying X for my balcony room. I am bidding $1440 p/p for the Haven Fwd Penthouse (H7). If I paid $900 (X + 2880 + 900) it would be like booking it outright (paying the current rate).

 

Does that change things?

 

I was also told that because I booked with a TA, I would have to cancel my current booking (and pay a penalty) and rebook.

 

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

Did you bid on the H7 or the H4 (2 bedroom)? Your previous post said the latter, so I'm confused.

 

And are you saying that if you tried to pay full price for the upgrade to a Haven cabin, to guarantee you'd get the cabin (versus waiting to see if your bid was accepted) you'd have to pay a penalty for doing the change? If so, is that penalty factored into the $900 price difference you've calculated above?

 

CRAustin also makes good points regarding the calculation of booking outright vs. bidding. You already have the UBP & Internet, and those will go with you if your bid is accepted, but if the free at sea promo is still available, the first two passengers would also get the UDP and the shore excursion credit with an outright Haven booking.

 

I had a similar experience with bidding on an H4 as CRAustin did... three days before sailing, I noticed Haven owner's suite and 2BRs had popped up as available despite the cruise being sold out for weeks. I put in a bid on the border of poor/fair which ended up saving us 2k off the outright fare at the time, in addition to the low ball $450 bid on an H7 I had put in weeks prior. The bid acceptance email came through just a few hours later.

 

At the end of the day, you have to be comfortable with how much you're willing to bid, weighing that with your desire to be in the Haven. My last minute bid wasn't a steal on the Haven cabin like some other posters here have gotten, but I really, really wanted it and was happy to get a discount, albeit a modest one.

 

Good luck with the bidding and I would just confirm with NCL directly if you really would have to incur a penalty fee for changing your booking because you used a TA.

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CRAustin

CRAustin

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Posted
We set sail April 1st. There are 2 cabins left in the category I want and only 3 total in Haven. How many were left in the category that you wanted when you bid on yours? I already have the beverage and internet minutes with my current package and I understand that those would follow me if I won the bid.

 

Those are all really good thoughts! So it really isn't apples to apples when comparing! How much do you think those items are worth, if you were to take a guess?

 

Thanks so much for your help!

 

If you did a straight upgrade you would get your 200 gratuities back on your drink package and get all 5 perks. I watched the H6 Aft 2 room 2 bathroom Penthouse for 4 weeks it went from 9 available down to 3 right before sailing. Upsell/bid was not accepted until Tues before sailing. We had 3 groups bidding and we all got in for different Haven suites our bids were high poor for a H5 low fair for H6 and H4 2 bedroom. You should hear next week and in my opinion you should be accepted. What are you currently in? I was in a spa minisuite on Escape and my Accepted bid to H6 was 900 ea.

 

 

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EverLovesTrips

EverLovesTrips

Posted
Posted
Did you bid on the H7 or the H4 (2 bedroom)? Your previous post said the latter, so I'm confused.

 

And are you saying that if you tried to pay full price for the upgrade to a Haven cabin, to guarantee you'd get the cabin (versus waiting to see if your bid was accepted) you'd have to pay a penalty for doing the change? If so, is that penalty factored into the $900 price difference you've calculated above.

 

Sorry, I bid on the H7 -- 2 rooms, not 2 bedrooms! And yes, I tried to pay full price for the upgrade instead of bidding, but was told I would have to cancel my current booking, pay a penalty (which would now be a huge penalty I am sure!), and then rebook. I had not factored that penalty into the price difference.

 

I am planning to call NCL to confirm that I cannot just pay outright for an upgrade rather than having to cancel and rebook. That honestly seems ridiculous!

 

Thank you all for your thoughts and advice! So very helpful! I moved my bid just slightly down; it is just a hair in the good section. I check the availability daily (sometimes several times daily!) and will continue to do so. If more become available, I may move my bid down a bit. If less are available, I may move it up a bit.

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EverLovesTrips

EverLovesTrips

Posted
Posted
If you did a straight upgrade you would get your 200 gratuities back on your drink package and get all 5 perks. I watched the H6 Aft 2 room 2 bathroom Penthouse for 4 weeks it went from 9 available down to 3 right before sailing. Upsell/bid was not accepted until Tues before sailing. We had 3 groups bidding and we all got in for different Haven suites our bids were high poor for a H5 low fair for H6 and H4 2 bedroom. You should hear next week and in my opinion you should be accepted. What are you currently in? I was in a spa minisuite on Escape and my Accepted bid to H6 was 900 ea.

 

I am currently in a Balcony B2 cabin on Escape and my current bid to H7 is 1180 ea. I have become obsessed with this bidding nonsense! It's terrible when you lay in bed at night imagining yourself in the cabin your bidding on!

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CRAustin

CRAustin

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I am currently in a Balcony B2 cabin on Escape and my current bid to H7 is 1180 ea. I have become obsessed with this bidding nonsense! It's terrible when you lay in bed at night imagining yourself in the cabin your bidding on!

 

 

I too was obsessed and was thrilled I got in

 

 

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EverLovesTrips

EverLovesTrips

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Oh no! I just checked for like the 3rd time today and all of Haven is now sold out! I haven't gotten that precious email saying that my bid has been accepted. I bumped up my bid so that it is a little more in the "good" section just in case. The cabin I am currently in (B2) has several openings however. It is not looking good for me...

 

This is sooooo stressful..

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jannyflo2

jannyflo2

Posted
Posted
Oh no! I just checked for like the 3rd time today and all of Haven is now sold out! I haven't gotten that precious email saying that my bid has been accepted. I bumped up my bid so that it is a little more in the "good" section just in case. The cabin I am currently in (B2) has several openings however. It is not looking good for me...

 

This is sooooo stressful..

 

 

When are you sailing?

 

 

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Tiggertastic

Tiggertastic

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I contacted my PCC today to ask about these bids, we have 4 ncl cruises and one coming up and he said, they're not offered to UK guests, even if booked direct with NCL. My answer, well I'll stop booking through you at ncl uk then and book though Miami in future.

 

 

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