What was your upgrade offer and what did you bid

[JandC_Cruising]

16 hours ago, 3CanadianBears said:

If your bid to upgrade to Haven is successful, am I correct that in addition to the set gratuities, you also are expected to tip the Haven staff as they don’t share in the gratuity “pool”?

If you "prepaid" your DSC on your original cabin prior to receiving your upgrade, you do not get charged the "difference" of being in the Haven ($18pp-pd vs. $15pp-pd).  If you do not prepay DSC, then your on-board account will get charged the Haven DSC rate of $18pp-pd.

As far as "expected to tip the Haven staff", well....any tips are up to you.  Saying anything more on that topic opens a Pandora's Box of commentary - I may have already said too much 🤣

[DinaS]

2 hours ago, JandC_Cruising said:

If you "prepaid" your DSC on your original cabin prior to receiving your upgrade, you do not get charged the "difference" of being in the Haven ($18pp-pd vs. $15pp-pd).  If you do not prepay DSC, then your on-board account will get charged the Haven DSC rate of $18pp-pd.

As far as "expected to tip the Haven staff", well....any tips are up to you.  Saying anything more on that topic opens a Pandora's Box of commentary - I may have already said too much 🤣

 

Since the Haven butler and concierge are NOT included in the tip pool from the DSC, you are expected to tip them - depending on how much you use them, and how good they are.  

 

No Pandora's Box - just common sense and common decency 🙂

 

 

[katiecat]

Our 11 day Epic sailing o Jan 26th is not showing up and hasn't for awhile on NCL site.

Does this mean it's sold out? 

[MaryZ]

On 1/13/2020 at 9:45 AM, dcipjr said:

I'm on a 16-day Panama Canal on the Joy in February. Right now, we've booked a Concierge Family Inside, which should be perfect for us, but I would upgrade to a H4 if the price was right.

 

The min bid for the H4 is $3000 total ($1500pp), and the outright price of the H4 is a very high $9k. Even the minimum bid is a bit pricey, probably due to the length of the cruise.

 

There are a lot of H4s still available: 19 of 24, if I'm counting correctly. I can't imagine that there will be that many children on the sailing, since Panama Canal cruises typically tend towards the older demographic.

 

I know NCL likes to sail with the Haven full, so I can't help but wonder what they'll do. Do they still ever offer upsells if rooms are empty and nobody's bidding? Do they ever lower the minimum bids?

 

I will probably not bid, since I'm happy with my room, but I might try having my TA call to ask about an upgrade the week before the cruise, if there are a lot of H4s still unsold.

 You'll pay whatever the difference is between the cost of your cabin and the current cost of the H4.  They don't discount.  Once they hired out that service, it is no longer done thru calling NCL. 
And no, they don't lower the minimum bid for whatever algorithm is set for you (although when they first started this program, there were times they did do that, so I suppose anything is possible)

On 1/13/2020 at 10:03 AM, pghflyer said:

I'm doing my first attempt at upgrade bidding from a balcony to a suite. In addition to the bid costs, I know there is the increased daily service charge of $3 per person per day, as well as new need to tip a concierge/ butler.  For those who have done it, are there any other increased costs I have overlooked so I know how much it is really worth to us?

You need to tip the haven maitre'd, the bartenders, your cabin steward, your butler and your concierge.

20 hours ago, 3CanadianBears said:

If your bid to upgrade to Haven is successful, am I correct that in addition to the set gratuities, you also are expected to tip the Haven staff as they don’t share in the gratuity “pool”?

Yes

20 hours ago, kahoosbt said:

I have been wondering whether things like latitudes level, cruise history, etc, factor in to the upgrades in any way, or if they are all random. For example, who receives offers, what the values on the sliders are, who is successful in similar competing bids, etc. Are these affected by your level or history of cruising (or other factors)?

 

Just wondering if anyone knows, or has an educated guess, based on following the subject or using spreadsheets. Thanks! ☺️

There are all different algorithms able to be set for each cruise.  Not everyone has the same algorithm.  That is what the company they hired does.  They identify people who they feel will match and take into account all inventory.  It is one of the reasons not everyone does get a email for the first round and might get one in the second or third round of emails.  
Obviously the highest revenue that can be obatained would be one of the most important.

Edited January 14, 2020 by MaryZ
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[pghflyer]

17 minutes ago, MaryZ said:

You need to tip the haven maitre'd, the bartenders, your cabin steward, your butler and your concierge.

 Thanks. I always have beverage package with includes prepaid bartenders gratuity, and I pay daily OSC which covers my cabin steward. But yes, sounds like I would have three other people to consider depending on how I use them. Thanks.

[mking8288]

9 hours ago, dexddd said:

MKing, don't we have to make it to 5,000 posts before we close this post down too?  I know this round is taking a bit longer.

 

Is that the un/official CC guideline for starting a new continuation ... with the ship officer's thread, a new one was started at the beginning of the calendar year ??  Hey, you are almost packed and ready to go, check your passports for validity and all that good stuff 👴 

 

Jade's 10 nights Asia pricing just dropped slightly again - for next month - and fairly substantial & wide range of inventory across most sub-categories within each ... very tempting and my feeling is that it should be easy to bid up to a mini or suite from an OV.  Too bad, we can't do it and I even found nice airfares ... holding our horses till April for sometime else.  

 

Probably too late to start a shared spreadsheet to post the basic numbers, bids & success, etc. for update, easier to find ... but, it seemed - fewer & fewer upgrades lately reported here - not worth undertaking a massive project to organize & get it rolling.  The "search" function at CC is not good in filtering and coming up with useful results. 

Edited January 14, 2020 by mking8288

[JennJ99738]

Is it possible to upgrade to a specific cabin?  We have an aft-facing handicap accessible cabin on the Gem.  The only upgraded handicap accessible cabins are the Penthouse Suite SF.  Is that even worth it?    

[debnjoe1438]

1 hour ago, JennJ99738 said:

Is it possible to upgrade to a specific cabin?  We have an aft-facing handicap accessible cabin on the Gem.  The only upgraded handicap accessible cabins are the Penthouse Suite SF.  Is that even worth it?    

There is no guarantee you would get upgraded to a handicap accessible cabin. I believe if you get upgraded, you get what is available. If you need the handicap accessible cabin, I would suggest you not gamble on the upgrade.

[JennJ99738]

15 minutes ago, debnjoe1438 said:

There is no guarantee you would get upgraded to a handicap accessible cabin. I believe if you get upgraded, you get what is available. If you need the handicap accessible cabin, I would suggest you not gamble on the upgrade.

Thank you!

[mking8288]

@JennJ9738 - if that SF cabin is still available (without getting into posting the details & particulars here) for booking - depending on the amount that you are willing to offer/bid for it ... might I suggest, that you call into NCL directly and ask, see if they are/can/willing to upgrade for that "nominal" difference.  You might get a "no" answer or you might get a pleasant surprise ... ignore that matrix formula for the moment. 

 

Last month on the Gem, several folks on our Roll Call called in instead & got upgraded, at no extra charge and/or paid a fraction - NOT everyone got their wish.  We asked and was given a much higher $$ sum to upgrade so we gambled with our bids, got our 2nd. choice and happy with it (just the same with our original booking).   Many (not all) consider AFT balconies and its location nicer/better & more usable on those windy sea days than the forward ones.  

 

Otherwise, you can bid for a SPECIFIC cabin into a particular sub-category and room - they are GTY assignment at their choosing.  Not going to say it is absolute as there are those occassional exceptions, just don't count on it. Happy cruising ! 

[JennJ99738]

24 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

@JennJ9738 - if that SF cabin is still available (without getting into posting the details & particulars here) for booking - depending on the amount that you are willing to offer/bid for it ... might I suggest, that you call into NCL directly and ask, see if they are/can/willing to upgrade for that "nominal" difference.  You might get a "no" answer or you might get a pleasant surprise ... ignore that matrix formula for the moment. 

 

Last month on the Gem, several folks on our Roll Call called in instead & got upgraded, at no extra charge and/or paid a fraction - NOT everyone got their wish.  We asked and was given a much higher $$ sum to upgrade so we gambled with our bids, got our 2nd. choice and happy with it (just the same with our original booking).   Many (not all) consider AFT balconies and its location nicer/better & more usable on those windy sea days than the forward ones.  

 

Otherwise, you can bid for a SPECIFIC cabin into a particular sub-category and room - they are GTY assignment at their choosing.  Not going to say it is absolute as there are those occassional exceptions, just don't count on it. Happy cruising ! 

  Are you suggesting calling NCL directly instead of my travel agent?  I just want to be clear on that point.  Thank you for the information!.  

[mking8288]

30 minutes ago, JennJ99738 said:

  Are you suggesting calling NCL directly instead of my travel agent?  I just want to be clear on that point.  Thank you for the information!.  

 

If your booking was done via T/A, then - yes, ask your T/A to call NCL on your behalf ... and be clear on your offered amount / maximum in finding out, if a direct upgrade is possible.  NCL might say flat out say no.  If you/TA  don't ask, well ... definitely, no deals. 

Edited January 15, 2020 by mking8288

[dexddd]

21 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

Is that the un/official CC guideline for starting a new continuation ... with the ship officer's thread, a new one was started at the beginning of the calendar year ??  Hey, you are almost packed and ready to go, check your passports for validity and all that good stuff 👴 

 

Jade's 10 nights Asia pricing just dropped slightly again - for next month - and fairly substantial & wide range of inventory across most sub-categories within each ... very tempting and my feeling is that it should be easy to bid up to a mini or suite from an OV.  Too bad, we can't do it and I even found nice airfares ... holding our horses till April for sometime else.  

 

Probably too late to start a shared spreadsheet to post the basic numbers, bids & success, etc. for update, easier to find ... but, it seemed - fewer & fewer upgrades lately reported here - not worth undertaking a massive project to organize & get it rolling.  The "search" function at CC is not good in filtering and coming up with useful results. 

 

We are not packed (other than snorkel stuff) but are ready to go.  66 days more.  DW sent in passport for renewal couple weeks back, all else current.  

That's too bad about Jade not working out for you.

 

MSC has jumped into the bidding process, apparently with the same company as NCL.  Not much discussion there though about the process and winning bids so it would seem rolled out on a much smaller scale and/or allocation of rooms.

[debshomespun]

23 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

If your booking was done via T/A, then - yes, ask your T/A to call NCL on your behalf ... and be clear on your offered amount / maximum in finding out, if a direct upgrade is possible.  NCL might say flat out say no.  If you/TA  don't ask, well ... definitely, no deals. 

I called NCL (I'm my own TA) to negotiate an upgrade. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and they told me they do not negotiate prices. Either I pay for an upgrade, or make a bid...

 

Will call again tomorrow to see if I can get a different supervisor with maybe a different answer.

[laurawho2]

36 minutes ago, debshomespun said:

I called NCL (I'm my own TA) to negotiate an upgrade. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and they told me they do not negotiate prices. Either I pay for an upgrade, or make a bid...

 

Will call again tomorrow to see if I can get a different supervisor with maybe a different answer.

Let me know what happens. I called my TA to ask her to negotiate an upgrade and she laughed but did it. She told me the exact same thing when she called back. They don't negotiate prices. I pay for or upgrade or hope for a bid to be accepted.

[lixogab]

I booked an OX several month ago. Around 80-90 days before the sail date got the upgrade invitation mail. Placed a “comfortable” bid for a balcony and little bit more for MC. Couple of days ago ( and still 20+ days to the cruise)realized that my bid was pretty close to the difference between the current BX price and the amount I paid. Wasn’t monitoring the prices every day, but today realized that the BX prices went down further and now the difference is half of my bid amount.

Called NCL, paid the difference and got a BX. The NCL page reflected the change immediately.

After that went to the upgrade bid  page and was still showing that my current room is still OX! Cancelled the bids to avoid being charged twice in case their system has some glitch. 
So, 2 observations:

- There is some gap in communication between NCL and plusgrade 

- The system doesn’t trigger an autoupgrade if the bid is higher than the price difference.

(For me it’s a bug or a missed opportunity by NCL)

[julig22]

12 minutes ago, lixogab said:

I booked an OX several month ago. Around 80-90 days before the sail date got the upgrade invitation mail. Placed a “comfortable” bid for a balcony and little bit more for MC. Couple of days ago ( and still 20+ days to the cruise)realized that my bid was pretty close to the difference between the current BX price and the amount I paid. Wasn’t monitoring the prices every day, but today realized that the BX prices went down further and now the difference is half of my bid amount.

Called NCL, paid the difference and got a BX. The NCL page reflected the change immediately.

After that went to the upgrade bid  page and was still showing that my current room is still OX! Cancelled the bids to avoid being charged twice in case their system has some glitch. 
So, 2 observations:

- There is some gap in communication between NCL and plusgrade 

- The system doesn’t trigger an autoupgrade if the bid is higher than the price difference.

(For me it’s a bug or a missed opportunity by NCL)

Did something similar in my first cruise.  Upgrade was cheaper than my bid and I cancelled the bid.  But since they are different entities I wouldn't expect an autoupgrade, especially since NCL stands to possibly make more on the bid.  No way of knowing if your bid would have been accepted.

[lixogab]

On 1/14/2020 at 6:10 PM, mking8288 said:

 

 

Last month on the Gem, several folks on our Roll Call called in instead & got upgraded, at no extra charge and/or paid a fraction - NOT everyone got their wish.  We asked and was given a much higher $$ sum to upgrade 

Do you mean that they asked more than (current price - what you originally paid)?
 

[dexddd]

6 hours ago, lixogab said:

I booked an OX several month ago. Around 80-90 days before the sail date got the upgrade invitation mail. Placed a “comfortable” bid for a balcony and little bit more for MC. Couple of days ago ( and still 20+ days to the cruise)realized that my bid was pretty close to the difference between the current BX price and the amount I paid. Wasn’t monitoring the prices every day, but today realized that the BX prices went down further and now the difference is half of my bid amount.

Called NCL, paid the difference and got a BX. The NCL page reflected the change immediately.

After that went to the upgrade bid  page and was still showing that my current room is still OX! Cancelled the bids to avoid being charged twice in case their system has some glitch. 
So, 2 observations:

- There is some gap in communication between NCL and plusgrade 

- The system doesn’t trigger an autoupgrade if the bid is higher than the price difference.

(For me it’s a bug or a missed opportunity by NCL)

Don't think it is a gap.  As sailing nears, they have to move rooms.  Upgrading someone now leaves a less desirable room to sell at lower price.  They can hope people miss this gap between bid and lowering straight upgrade.  That way they can hook the bidders at the larger gap now.

[rachiem]

We have 70 days until our cruise...we haven't had an upgrade email to bid up. Is it unlikely that we'll receive the opportunity now?

I rang to see how much they would charge for a mini suite to a forward facing mini suite and it was nearly £800pp upgrade cost 😞

 

[All-ready2cruise]

7 minutes ago, rachiem said:

We have 70 days until our cruise...we haven't had an upgrade email to bid up. Is it unlikely that we'll receive the opportunity now?

I rang to see how much they would charge for a mini suite to a forward facing mini suite and it was nearly £800pp upgrade cost 😞

 

What ship are you cruising on? Not sure which ship has fwd facing Minisuites, most would be real suites which are a lot more expensive than balconies or minisuites (minisuites are just glorified balconies). 

 

[All-ready2cruise]

7 hours ago, lixogab said:

<snipped>

So, 2 observations:

- There is some gap in communication between NCL and plusgrade 

- The system doesn’t trigger an autoupgrade if the bid is higher than the price difference.

(For me it’s a bug or a missed opportunity by NCL)

 

This is no bug! NCL is out to make as much money as possible with this bidding program; there is absolutely no incentive for them to have a bid trigger when they drop prices to sell more cabins.  If someone doesn't check the prices between their current cabin and the cabin cat. they are bidding on, well, that's up to them. I check the prices frequently and there's also an app (I think CC offers 1) that will identify price drops for you.  

 

It's like most things in life, you're responsible for taking care of your own things.

Bid at your own risk. 

 

[rachiem]

15 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

What ship are you cruising on? Not sure which ship has fwd facing Minisuites, most would be real suites which are a lot more expensive than balconies or minisuites (minisuites are just glorified balconies). 

 

Sorry yes, have just checked and they are forward facing suite (non Haven) On the Gem. 
still not worth the £1600 extra though, to us. When we booked they were only £300 more pp but I couldn’t change without incurring an admin charge 

 

[All-ready2cruise]

Just now, rachiem said:

Sorry yes, have just checked and they are forward facing suite (non Haven) On the Gem. 
still not worth the £1600 extra though, to us. When we booked they were only £300 more pp but I couldn’t change without incurring an admin charge 

 

Ah, okay, thanks, totally understand that the price they're asking is a little hefty.  Not worth it to me either but I guess for some it would be.  

Hope you enjoy your cruise. 

Cheers

[GINNY L]

How many people who booked through a travel agent got their bid accepted?  I have bid on Norwegian five times and never had my bid accepted.  I booked through a travel agent.