What was your upgrade offer and what did you bid

[Melody7]

1 minute ago, JamieLogical said:

 

From a money standpoint, how much you paid for your initial booking should make no difference at all, except maybe as a tie breaker. NCL already has your initial payment. In order to maximize profits, they should take the highest bids, regardless of initial payment. If I paid $1000 for my room and bid $250 and someone else paid $1100 for their room and bids $200, my "total" would only be $1250 and their "total" would be $1300, but NCL would be stupid to turn down my $250 and take the other person's $200. They already have the initial $2200 from our original bookings in their pockets.

 

That definitely makes sense! I am not, as you can tell, mathematically minded 🙂

[Bitten10]

10 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

From a money standpoint, how much you paid for your initial booking should make no difference at all, except maybe as a tie breaker. NCL already has your initial payment. In order to maximize profits, they should take the highest bids, regardless of initial payment. If I paid $1000 for my room and bid $250 and someone else paid $1100 for their room and bids $200, my "total" would only be $1250 and their "total" would be $1300, but NCL would be stupid to turn down my $250 and take the other person's $200. They already have the initial $2200 from our original bookings in their pockets.

Fully agree- but I think the piece of the puzzle that no one is considering is Latitudes status and history of onboard spend.

 

Assume Person A bids $300 and Person B bids $100.  Person A has been on 1 cruise previously.  On this cruise, they took advantage of all included amenities and had little to no onboard spending.  Person B is booked on their 5th cruise.  On all previous cruises, they're known to take advantage of specialty restaurants, and shop alot in the boutiques onboard.  Yes- Person A has the higher bid, but Person B is a more valuable customer to NCL because they're likely to continue to cruise with them and spend onboard.  I would guess that Person B would be awarded the upgrade.

 

This is pure speculation- but we can't limit the bidding to JUST your bid because there are plenty of other factors at play.

[JamieLogical]

5 minutes ago, Bitten10 said:

Fully agree- but I think the piece of the puzzle that no one is considering is Latitudes status and history of onboard spend.

 

Assume Person A bids $300 and Person B bids $100.  Person A has been on 1 cruise previously.  On this cruise, they took advantage of all included amenities and had little to no onboard spending.  Person B is booked on their 5th cruise.  On all previous cruises, they're known to take advantage of specialty restaurants, and shop alot in the boutiques onboard.  Yes- Person A has the higher bid, but Person B is a more valuable customer to NCL because they're likely to continue to cruise with them and spend onboard.  I would guess that Person B would be awarded the upgrade.

 

This is pure speculation- but we can't limit the bidding to JUST your bid because there are plenty of other factors at play.

 

Oh, I never said bid acceptance is based solely on bid amount. I was just saying that it's likely NOT based on how much you paid for your original booking. Many have speculated in the past that on board sending and latitudes levels are considered. In the code that is sent along when you submit a bid, your Latitude level is included, however, on board spending history is not. That doesn't mean it's not used, but it's definitely not sent with your bid submission. Remember, bids are processed by a third party, Plusgrade, so what information NCL has shared with them beyond what is sent in your bid submission is unknown to us.

[kayteecat]

3 minutes ago, Bitten10 said:

Fully agree- but I think the piece of the puzzle that no one is considering is Latitudes status and history of onboard spend.

 

Assume Person A bids $300 and Person B bids $100.  Person A has been on 1 cruise previously.  On this cruise, they took advantage of all included amenities and had little to no onboard spending.  Person B is booked on their 5th cruise.  On all previous cruises, they're known to take advantage of specialty restaurants, and shop alot in the boutiques onboard.  Yes- Person A has the higher bid, but Person B is a more valuable customer to NCL because they're likely to continue to cruise with them and spend onboard.  I would guess that Person B would be awarded the upgrade.

 

This is pure speculation- but we can't limit the bidding to JUST your bid because there are plenty of other factors at play.

@JamieLogical has actually considered this in some of her previous posts - she was able to look at the code that NCL sends to the third party that processes the bids. If I recall correctly, Latitudes # is included in the data but nothing about previous cruises or previous spend. That means that in order to use that information, the third party would have to get that information from NCL in some other way and then match it up. That's not to say it's not considered at all, but she was able to tell what information NCL provides.

 

EDIT: She's already replied in the time it took me to write this but the point still stands.

[tomservo]

Question about the upgrade process in general - if trying to upgrade within the Haven, is it better to attempt it a few months or a few weeks out?

[JamieLogical]

4 minutes ago, kayteecat said:

@JamieLogical has actually considered this in some of her previous posts - she was able to look at the code that NCL sends to the third party that processes the bids. If I recall correctly, Latitudes # is included in the data but nothing about previous cruises or previous spend. That means that in order to use that information, the third party would have to get that information from NCL in some other way and then match it up. That's not to say it's not considered at all, but she was able to tell what information NCL provides.

 

EDIT: She's already replied in the time it took me to write this but the point still stands.

 

 

Ha! I'm quick like a ninja! I was just looking at the Plusgrade code again. Here is the meaningful information that is sent along with your bid submission:

 

• Reservation Number
• First Name
• Last Name
• Email Address
• Country
• Number of Passengers
• Original Fare Paid
• Currency of Original Fare
• Latitudes Level
• Latitudes Number
• Current Room Category
• Whether or not you got insurance through NCL
• How much your insurance cost through NCL if purchased
• Whether or not you are booked in a wheelchair accessible cabin
• Travel Agency info if booked through a travel agent (Agency Number, Agent Number, Agent Name, Agent Email, Agent Commission)
• Device you are using (desktop, mobile, etc.)
• Departure Date
• Port of Origin

Before we all start assuming that booking insurance through NCL might increase our chances of bids being accepted, I suspect that information is just pertinent because, as outlined in the Upgrade Advantage FAQ, if you use NCL's insurance, the price of that will go up if you win an upgrade.

 

14. What happens if I purchased travel protection?
If you have Norwegian's Travel Protection on your current booking, you will be automatically charged to cover the upgrade cost. If you have travel protection via your travel professional, please contact them to add your upgrade to your coverage.

[Bitten10]

2 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

 

Ha! I'm quick like a ninja! I was just looking at the Plusgrade code again. Here is the meaningful information that is sent along with your bid submission:

 

• Reservation Number
• First Name
• Last Name
• Email Address
• Country
• Number of Passengers
• Original Fare Paid
• Currency of Original Fare
• Latitudes Level
• Latitudes Number
• Current Room Category
• Whether or not you got insurance through NCL
• How much your insurance cost through NCL if purchased
• Whether or not you are booked in a wheelchair accessible cabin
• Travel Agency info if booked through a travel agent (Agency Number, Agent Number, Agent Name, Agent Email, Agent Commission)
• Device you are using (desktop, mobile, etc.)
• Departure Date
• Port of Origin

Before we all start assuming that booking insurance through NCL might increase our chances of bids being accepted, I suspect that information is just pertinent because, as outlined in the Upgrade Advantage FAQ, if you use NCL's insurance, the price of that will go up if you win an upgrade.

 

14. What happens if I purchased travel protection?
If you have Norwegian's Travel Protection on your current booking, you will be automatically charged to cover the upgrade cost. If you have travel protection via your travel professional, please contact them to add your upgrade to your coverage.

I LOVE how savvy you are- seriously impressive! 

 

I actually didn't fully realize it was managed by a third party.  I would guess that NCL uses Plusgrade's system to process and organize the bidding, but they make the decisions internally?  Or is it fully managed by Plusgrade?

 

I'm 17 days out from my cruise and anxiously watching inventory and trying to strategize this process.  So its definitely on my mind 🙂

[JamieLogical]

11 minutes ago, Bitten10 said:

I LOVE how savvy you are- seriously impressive! 

 

I actually didn't fully realize it was managed by a third party.  I would guess that NCL uses Plusgrade's system to process and organize the bidding, but they make the decisions internally?  Or is it fully managed by Plusgrade?

 

I'm 17 days out from my cruise and anxiously watching inventory and trying to strategize this process.  So its definitely on my mind 🙂

 

I suspect the upgrades are awarded by PlusGrade's algorithms based on criteria specified by NCL. I don't imagine they hand all the data back to NCL for processing, as that would be inefficient and would also not fully leverage the services that PlusGrade provides. They manage upgrades for all sorts of travel-related clientele, mostly airlines (but also Royal Caribbean).

Edited January 23, 2019 by JamieLogical

[tallnthensome]

I wonder if I included a nude photo of myself along with my bid for my upcoming cruise if that would help...... or get my bid declined in .02 seconds ....... hmmmm........

[Jasonmom]

31 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

I wonder if I included a nude photo of myself along with my bid for my upcoming cruise if that would help...... or get my bid declined in .02 seconds ....... hmmmm........

     

   😛   😜     😝

 

[Bulldogsoc]

I don’t need my MBA to tell me that these cruise companies could teach graduate level class in finance and marketing.  As Jamie points out, the amount of data they are sitting on for their algorithms is mind boggling.   Other industries would kill for this kind of data and depth of data on every person on every trip and every purchase and every year.   Incredible. 

 

Cool thread. 

 

Four more sleeps!

[Roadsofa]

3 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

I wonder if I included a nude photo of myself along with my bid for my upcoming cruise if that would help...... or get my bid declined in .02 seconds ....... hmmmm........

I guess it would all depend on which one of you in the avatar is talking about being naked... just saying. 

[Kingstonmom111]

Hello. First time cruiser on NCL. Sailing March 9 out of Miami on Bliss. 

Got email upgrade just this week. On NCL

shows no Haven availability. I’m booked in Mini suite at present, and email offer was for a number of Haven cabins. Lowest amount to bid is for spa Haven at about 550 Canadian PP and it escalated from there for different Haven cabin categories. 

1) is there any point in bidding where all Haven categories show sold out?

2) where should I gauge the bid? 

3) I’m really only interested in the spa Haven cabin. Should I only bid on that category, or more than one? 

 

Thank you for the advice. 

[Pappion]

11 hours ago, Kingstonmom111 said:

Hello. First time cruiser on NCL. Sailing March 9 out of Miami on Bliss. 

Got email upgrade just this week. On NCL

shows no Haven availability. I’m booked in Mini suite at present, and email offer was for a number of Haven cabins. Lowest amount to bid is for spa Haven at about 550 Canadian PP and it escalated from there for different Haven cabin categories. 

1) is there any point in bidding where all Haven categories show sold out?

2) where should I gauge the bid? 

3) I’m really only interested in the spa Haven cabin. Should I only bid on that category, or more than one? 

 

Thank you for the advice. 

It can’t hurt to bid. There are sometimes cancellations and spa haven rooms may have bid to move up to other rooms. Depending what opens up you may have a chance. If not, you aren’t charged and don’t lose anything for trying.  

[Kim L]

I just got my upgrade, went from spa mini suite to spa haven suite. Bid 750.00 per person. So happy, it is a surprise to my husband.

[Bitten10]

1 minute ago, Kim L said:

I just got my upgrade, went from spa mini suite to spa haven suite. Bid 750.00 per person. So happy, it is a surprise to my husband.

Congrats!  When is your cruise and on what ship?

[Kim L]

1 minute ago, Bitten10 said:

Congrats!  When is your cruise and on what ship?

Jan 27th and the getaway.

[mwolever]

27 minutes ago, Kim L said:

Jan 27th and the getaway.

Have a great time! I will be on the sailing right behind you! Don't drink all of the champagne 🙂

[melehundele]

I had a thought that bidding on multiple categories (and what you bid for each) might affect your success. For example, say A and B have inside gty cabins and are otherwise equivalent. They get to bid on OV and balcony. A bids $100 on OV and $125 on balcony. B only bids $120 on balcony and doesnt bid on OV. If the other bids out for OV are averaging less than A's $100 bid, maybe A gets OV and B gets balcony, even though B bid less than A. I think it has to be optimized so that NCL gets the most profit overall, which in this case would mean cashing in on 2 passenger upgrades instead of maximizing 1.

[mander3117]

Just wanted to close the loop...Bid $500pp for H5 (Haven Courtyard) and $760 for H9 (Haven Spa) for 1/26/19 on the Bliss to upgrade from M9 (Spa Mini Suite). All expired today, no upgrade. I think the ship is going out very close to, if not full. Haven had shown as Sold Out for quite some time...glimmer of hope the other day when an H5 popped up as available, but no go. It's all good, love my M9 cabins!

[JamieLogical]

15 minutes ago, melehundele said:

I had a thought that bidding on multiple categories (and what you bid for each) might affect your success. For example, say A and B have inside gty cabins and are otherwise equivalent. They get to bid on OV and balcony. A bids $100 on OV and $125 on balcony. B only bids $120 on balcony and doesnt bid on OV. If the other bids out for OV are averaging less than A's $100 bid, maybe A gets OV and B gets balcony, even though B bid less than A. I think it has to be optimized so that NCL gets the most profit overall, which in this case would mean cashing in on 2 passenger upgrades instead of maximizing 1.

 

Yes, this has been discussed before and I absolutely expect for it to be the case. I wrote a hugely long post about it at one point with examples, but yours is nice and succinct! People should definitely factor this in when thinking about bidding on categories they would be less than thrilled with.

[melehundele]

18 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Yes, this has been discussed before and I absolutely expect for it to be the case. I wrote a hugely long post about it at one point with examples, but yours is nice and succinct! People should definitely factor this in when thinking about bidding on categories they would be less than thrilled with.

I'm sorry, I hadn't read all of this.

[tallnthensome]

I'm not even bidding on OV cabins from an inside. I'm afraid I'd get that instead of the balcony I really we really want. 

[JamieLogical]

37 minutes ago, melehundele said:

I'm sorry, I hadn't read all of this.

 

Definitely no need to apologize. This thread is a million pages long and it's actually the second thread on the topic! Plus, your post really summed up the crux of the issue in a way that I think will be easy for people to understand.

[gmbhardy]

My son was notified at 1:39 that he got the upgrade from balcony to spa balcony on the Jan.27 sailing of the Getaway.  He bid $210.00 Canadian. Price for the spa pass was $266.00 so he saved a little over $100.00. His first cruise, he’s excited but also disappointed with the liquor up charge situation as I told him before he booked, that he would be able to get an assortment of semi premium drinks.