Has Anyone Gotten Carried Away With Bidding

[taylortime05]

Has anyone won their bid and regretted their decision to bid or felt that they bid too high?

[Mike D.]

Has anyone won their bid and regretted their decision to bid or felt that they bid too high?

 

I bid $75 each for an oceanview upgrade (from inside) on the Gem in May. I "won" the bid and got an obstructed view oceanview (#8058). In retrospect, I won't pay that much for any oceanview upgrade from inside and certainly not one that yielded a view about 80% obstructed by a lifeboat. "Winning" the bid also resulted in an insurance increase of $30 each so, in fact, we paid $105 each for a bit more space and a some outside light. I'd rather have had another shore excursion. Or 3 more specialty dinners. :) So I certainly regret my decision to big that high.

 

I also made a bid for a balcony upgrade of $150 each on that same cruise but didn't "win".

 

Thanks for the interesting question.

[casofilia]

I have never even been offered the chance to bid!!!!

[reefgirl]

I remember bidding as much as $3000 for a deluxe owners suite but I came to my senses and dialed that back quite a bit. My bid wasn't accepted and I was ok with that. I still had an aft suite and we had a great cruise.

[kevmoley]

I am sure it has been asked and answered a million times before but how does one get to bid for an upgrade?

[sanger727]

I've not had the opportunity to bid but have seen multiple posts from people that were unhappy. There seem to be two issue, one already brought up.

1. The 'upgrade' wasn't an upgrade to them - i.e., inside cabin deck 9 bidding on an ocean view and balcony - and receiving an obstructed view oceanview on deck 4.

2. Realizing after the bid was won that the price they initially paid + bid amount was more than what that room was currently selling for

 

 

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[BirdTravels]

We were in category #2 for a [short] while. We placed a bid from a spa minisuite to a Spa Havens in the poor/fair range. We realized that the bid + original roomprice was greater than the cost of the Spa Havens room.

 

We cancelled out bid and paid the difference in room cost. And got all of the free at sea perks in the process (bonus that you would not get with a bid upgrade).

[sott3]

We bid $250 to upgrade our porthole room to a balcony room. It seemed a bit high but my better half seemed to regret our decision to skip the balcony in the first place.

[CruisingUS]

I've not had the opportunity to bid but have seen multiple posts from people that were unhappy. There seem to be two issue, one already brought up.

1. The 'upgrade' wasn't an upgrade to them - i.e., inside cabin deck 9 bidding on an ocean view and balcony - and receiving an obstructed view oceanview on deck 4.

2. Realizing after the bid was won that the price they initially paid + bid amount was more than what that room was currently selling for

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

lol.

 

I have gotten offers to bid, but declined to.

[garycarla]

I am sure it has been asked and answered a million times before but how does one get to bid for an upgrade?

 

There are 2 or 3 active threads on the first page with lots of information that will help.

 

(not being mean or difficult, but there is way more information there than I can share in one post here)

[mftinvermont]

This is our first cruise with NCL and was unfamiliar with the bidding process, not to mention not knowing which room we would end up with and with the upgrade process, you can't choose your room.....we could have gone from a mid-ship balcony cabin with great views to a obstructed view (if that's possible), or in a cabin that was under a bar, nightclub, restaurant or across from the elevators.

So instead we contacted our travel agent and she was able to get us upgraded to a mini-suite for $195.00 total for 3...2 adults and one teen, and we were able to choose our own room. She indicated sometimes calling her and choosing your own room is the same price or just a few dollars more.

[kevmoley]

There are 2 or 3 active threads on the first page with lots of information that will help.

 

(not being mean or difficult, but there is way more information there than I can share in one post here)

 

Was not offended one bit, garycarla. I thought it had to be discussed quite a bit before :)

[Gampy1967]

Has anyone won their bid and regretted their decision to bid or felt that they bid too high?

 

Is bidding $5000/person to upgrade from a oceanview to a balcony on a 5 day cruise getting carried away?

[2ManyCruises]

We were offered the opportunity to upgrade and promptly deleted the email. We're not paying an extra dime for a room we will spend very little time in.

 

Everyone's view differs. I'm happy for those who are willing to bid and get what they want.

[dexddd]

Is bidding $5000/person to upgrade from a oceanview to a balcony on a 5 day cruise getting carried away?

 

Probably but we already know you are in an OS unless you are talking another trip.

[garycarla]

We were offered the opportunity to upgrade and promptly deleted the email. We're not paying an extra dime for a room we will spend very little time in.

 

Everyone's view differs. I'm happy for those who are willing to bid and get what they want.

 

And that is why they offer inside cabins for folks like you that are just fine with them.

 

Yep, different strokes for different folks. I often point to posts like this when someone asks in the Haven is worth it.

[CruisingUS]

Is bidding $5000/person to upgrade from a oceanview to a balcony on a 5 day cruise getting carried away?

Naw, you were just passionate.

 

 

This is our first cruise with NCL and was unfamiliar with the bidding process, not to mention not knowing which room we would end up with and with the upgrade process, you can't choose your room.....we could have gone from a mid-ship balcony cabin with great views to a obstructed view (if that's possible), or in a cabin that was under a bar, nightclub, restaurant or across from the elevators.

So instead we contacted our travel agent and she was able to get us upgraded to a mini-suite for $195.00 total for 3...2 adults and one teen, and we were able to choose our own room. She indicated sometimes calling her and choosing your own room is the same price or just a few dollars more.

I often get good deals just asking. But part of the enjoyment is bidding for someone people; so I understand that there is that component.

[bluesea777]

I've not had the opportunity to bid but have seen multiple posts from people that were unhappy. There seem to be two issue, one already brought up.

1. The 'upgrade' wasn't an upgrade to them - i.e., inside cabin deck 9 bidding on an ocean view and balcony - and receiving an obstructed view oceanview on deck 4.

2. Realizing after the bid was won that the price they initially paid + bid amount was more than what that room was currently selling for

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

There are no obstructed oceanview cabins on low decks (i.e. 4, 5). They are on deck 8 on the Jewel class ships, Star and Dawn and on deck 7 on the Pride of America. We have stayed in some and they are fine - these are the lowest priced in the Oceanview category but they are higher in decks than the proper oceanview cabins. These obstructed oceanviews are better than insides anyway.

[bluesea777]

Before placing bids I do a mock booking on various cabin categories to see how many cabins there are left. If there are plenty left, bid low.

 

Last cruise on Breakaway there were about 15 H5 cabins left so I bid low ... and got it ... we got the "worst" H5 cabin - 15100 - the furthest one!! If you look at the deck plans you'll see what I mean. And btw, we received notification that our bid was accepted 5 days before the cruise.

 

We had a great week anyway - lots of walking involved! lol

[taylortime05]

Before placing bids I do a mock booking on various cabin categories to see how many cabins there are left. If there are plenty left, bid low.

 

Last cruise on Breakaway there were about 15 H5 cabins left so I bid low ... and got it ... we got the "worst" H5 cabin - 15100 - the furthest one!! If you look at the deck plans you'll see what I mean. And btw, we received notification that our bid was accepted 5 days before the cruise.

 

We had a great week anyway - lots of walking involved! lol

 

What was your bid?

[Coolwhip82]

We were in category #2 for a [short] while. We placed a bid from a spa minisuite to a Spa Havens in the poor/fair range. We realized that the bid + original roomprice was greater than the cost of the Spa Havens room.

 

We cancelled out bid and paid the difference in room cost. And got all of the free at sea perks in the process (bonus that you would not get with a bid upgrade).

 

Bidding starts after final payment

..so how did you do this without incurring a large fee? I have been calling almost daily (pre-hurricane) to try this and they keep telling me I will be penalized for canceling the one reservation, 25%, and booking a new one. And I am like, can't you just move my existing reservation and charge me the difference? No....

[taylortime05]

Bidding starts after final payment

..so how did you do this without incurring a large fee? I have been calling almost daily (pre-hurricane) to try this and they keep telling me I will be penalized for canceling the one reservation, 25%, and booking a new one. And I am like, can't you just move my existing reservation and charge me the difference? No....

I thought you could upgrade with no issues but I'm not positive.

[Gampy1967]

Probably but we already know you are in an OS unless you are talking another trip.

 

I get a kick out of some of the threads. It odes seem like the same questions are asked over and over again. Sometimes everything seems to get way to serious way to fast. Did you catch the thread about refilling the water bottles at the buffet. I thought someone was about to call in ICE.

[dexddd]

I get a kick out of some of the threads. It odes seem like the same questions are asked over and over again. Sometimes everything seems to get way to serious way to fast. Did you catch the thread about refilling the water bottles at the buffet. I thought someone was about to call in ICE.

 

 

Yes, it can be entertaining or at times not. The "ignore list" option will become your friend.

[purpleally]

Is bidding $5000/person to upgrade from a oceanview to a balcony on a 5 day cruise getting carried away?

Yeah, right. You can go on an all inclusive Seabourn or Regent cruise for ten days for that price