What was your upgrade offer and what did you bid

[JamieLogical]

Just now, mwolever said:

I trust you. My last NCL was December 2017, and that was my 3rd bidding experience. I've only been following the process for about 2 months now on this thread and my roll call, and I was expecting more around the 7-10 mark this time because it is undersold. If you think this is pretty normal, I believe you! This is new to me; in the past I've been upgraded farther out if things are available, and if not it's more of a last-minute waiting game to see how things shake out. But I've had more time to prepare and know what to expect (even if that's "I'm probably not gonna get it"), this time I'm like a deer in the headlights 

 

What I've seen from tracking this thread is that on undersold sailings, a rash of upgrades will precede a price drop. Which makes sense, when you think about it. They want to "lock in" those higher bids if they can, before people adjust their bids to reflect the lower prices. Those seem to happen more in the 2-4 weeks out range?

 

It's definitely nerve-wracking having to wait until the 48 hour mark to know for sure about your bid. I personally received an upgrade right at the 48 hour mark on my Gem sailing back in June, so I encourage people not to give up hope! But I am sailing on the Bliss this Saturday and have bids in for four different categories and it is still like slow torture waiting until Thursday to no for sure!

[Bitten10]

2 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

What I've seen from tracking this thread is that on undersold sailings, a rash of upgrades will precede a price drop. Which makes sense, when you think about it. They want to "lock in" those higher bids if they can, before people adjust their bids to reflect the lower prices. Those seem to happen more in the 2-4 weeks out range?

 

It's definitely nerve-wracking having to wait until the 48 hour mark to know for sure about your bid. I personally received an upgrade right at the 48 hour mark on my Gem sailing back in June, so I encourage people not to give up hope! But I am sailing on the Bliss this Saturday and have bids in for four different categories and it is still like slow torture waiting until Thursday to no for sure!

Thanks mwolover and Jamie for keeping us updated.  I'm at the 11 day mark, and am waiting and rooting for both of you, knowing I'll follow your process maybe a week after.  The waiting has gotten so bad, that I have dreams about this upgrade process now- then wake up and check my phone to make sure that it was all a dream! 

[mwolever]

1 minute ago, Bitten10 said:

Thanks mwolover and Jamie for keeping us updated.  I'm at the 11 day mark, and am waiting and rooting for both of you, knowing I'll follow your process maybe a week after.  The waiting has gotten so bad, that I have dreams about this upgrade process now- then wake up and check my phone to make sure that it was all a dream! 

OMG me too HAHAHA my husband is scared of and for me

[TMG2014]

The torture of waiting especially for a person (me) who has little to no patience is excruciating. I now wish I had just paid for what I wanted out right. FYI I tried to do just that when they lowered the price and was told it was for new reservations only. I find it a little crazy not to have allowed a upgrade at a lower advertised price. Of course now I am bidding. I will be happy in the cabin I originally purchased but I would love to have just upgraded out right. Hopefully they will start handing out the upgrades soon we are nine days away from sailing.

[mwolever]

10 minutes ago, TMG2014 said:

The torture of waiting especially for a person (me) who has little to no patience is excruciating. I now wish I had just paid for what I wanted out right. FYI I tried to do just that when they lowered the price and was told it was for new reservations only. I find it a little crazy not to have allowed a upgrade at a lower advertised price. Of course now I am bidding. I will be happy in the cabin I originally purchased but I would love to have just upgraded out right. Hopefully they will start handing out the upgrades soon we are nine days away from sailing.

Good luck! 

[FPJC03]

Jamie has great advice - you should be happy with your original cabin choice if you bid is declined and HAPPY if it is accepted, as long as you don't believe you bid TOO MUCH. Buyers remorse is a terrible thing. Waiting 5 weeks till 3/10 Getaway, but in a mini-suite now, which would be fine for me. Bid on Courtyard and Spa Haven in low fair range.

[Cardex]

Quote

 

14 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

 

Best yet if you have Cruisedeckplans membership click on drag decks and you can move one deck over

on top another to see the effect of cabin location - hint line up the elevators and/or stairs as an aid.

 

Just an FYI you don't need a membership to use the drag decks. Here is the Bliss decks and to change to another ship, use the drop down menu on the left -  https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/dragdeck.php?ship=Norwegian-Bliss

[CRG7]

Considering bidding on an upgrade from a balcony but not looking to spend on Haven since I'm not certain what all is included other than private areas and obviously larger rooms.

 

Debating bidding low on a mini suite and a spa suite. Would any of these have the Privasea balconies? Are there concerns about any of these room types other than potential noise (I use a white noise machine so I'm not sure we would be affected by an average amount of noise)? I doubt we would get the upgrade if I do bid but would like to be aware of any cons (and pros).

 

Sailing on the Escape next month

Edited January 29, 2019 by CRG7

[mwolever]

2 minutes ago, CRG7 said:

Considering bidding on an upgrade from a balcony but not looking to spend on Haven since I'm not certain what all is included other than private areas and obviously larger rooms.

 

Debating bidding low on a mini suite and a spa suite. Would any of these have the Privasea balconies? Are there concerns about any of these room types other than potential noise (I use a white noise machine so I'm not sure we would be affected by an average amount of noise)? I doubt we would get the upgrade if I do bid but would like to be aware of any cons (and pros).

There are other benefits that may be of value to you in Haven. Private pool, bar, restaurant, etc. and that of course means less crowding. Also, I believe there is personal butler service in some or all? Also priority boarding and waiting area. I've never thought it worth the ticket price, but understand it is very luxurious.

 

THE mini suite has been worth bidding on for me in the past. I like the bigger bathroom and shower. I REALLY like the bigger bathroom and shower! I've never done the spa, and so wonder how much I would use it, but have been tempted to bid on that also!

[JamieLogical]

20 minutes ago, CRG7 said:

Considering bidding on an upgrade from a balcony but not looking to spend on Haven since I'm not certain what all is included other than private areas and obviously larger rooms.

 

Debating bidding low on a mini suite and a spa suite. Would any of these have the Privasea balconies? Are there concerns about any of these room types other than potential noise (I use a white noise machine so I'm not sure we would be affected by an average amount of noise)? I doubt we would get the upgrade if I do bid but would like to be aware of any cons (and pros).

 

Sailing on the Escape next month

 

The Escape doesn't have any "Priva-sea" balconies, so no worries there.

[Newleno]

6 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

What I've seen from tracking this thread is that on undersold sailings, a rash of upgrades will precede a price drop. Which makes sense, when you think about it. They want to "lock in" those higher bids if they can, before people adjust their bids to reflect the lower prices. Those seem to happen more in the 2-4 weeks out range?

 

It's definitely nerve-wracking having to wait until the 48 hour mark to know for sure about your bid. I personally received an upgrade right at the 48 hour mark on my Gem sailing back in June, so I encourage people not to give up hope! But I am sailing on the Bliss this Saturday and have bids in for four different categories and it is still like slow torture waiting until Thursday to no for sure!

Have not posted for awhile, cant believe this thread is still alive and very active, Have fun on your BLISS, we just got off the Dawn on jan 27

[EllieinNJ]

Just got my bid accepted from an inside to a balcony for this Saturday Feb 2.  We are on the NCL Sun out of Buenos Aires.  The balconies have been sold out for months so we are ecstatic.  Only trouble is we are already here and have no place to re print e docs and luggage tags.  We also bid the maximum amount and it still came out $2000 cheaper than if we got a balcony in the first place.

[don't-use-real-name]

5 hours ago, EllieinNJ said:

Just got my bid accepted from an inside to a balcony for this Saturday Feb 2.  We are on the NCL Sun out of Buenos Aires.  The balconies have been sold out for months so we are ecstatic.  Only trouble is we are already here and have no place to re print e docs and luggage tags.  We also bid the maximum amount and it still came out $2000 cheaper than if we got a balcony in the first place.

 

Good ! Congrats - don't worry about the edocs - use the old ones - NCL can update them ---

THE BIG CONCERN would be getting your checked luggage to the right stateroom. If the porters at the pier

do not have blank tags find a way to change the cabin numbers pasting gluing stapling. Are you in a hotel the

night before ? Should be able to get something together - better hotels have internet and printers to solve this.

It will all work out glad you got the bid - enjoy the SUN and your cruise - one of my bucket list cruises.

 

[BIG POOCH]

We are going on the EPIC on April 13th.  We received the upgrade bid offer the other day, so we put in bids for a Deluxe owners suite in the Haven, and a 2bdrm Haven.  We really want the two bedroom, as we have had this one back before this bidding crap came into existence.  Now, fastforward to today, and I look online and the Havens are listed as sold out?  But my bids are still showing.  Does this mean they sell them out according to our bids, but don't tell us till 2 days before sailing?  Or does this mean they have since sold out, and they are just going to wait to deny the bids until just before sailing?  I like the old way better, call, make offer, they accept offer, and you are in!  

[timf2001]

6 minutes ago, BIG POOCH said:

We are going on the EPIC on April 13th.  We received the upgrade bid offer the other day, so we put in bids for a Deluxe owners suite in the Haven, and a 2bdrm Haven.  We really want the two bedroom, as we have had this one back before this bidding crap came into existence.  Now, fastforward to today, and I look online and the Havens are listed as sold out?  But my bids are still showing.  Does this mean they sell them out according to our bids, but don't tell us till 2 days before sailing?  Or does this mean they have since sold out, and they are just going to wait to deny the bids until just before sailing?  I like the old way better, call, make offer, they accept offer, and you are in!  

 

Bids are always accepted, even if the category is sold out.  There could be last minute cancellations or upgrades that create availability.

[JamieLogical]

10 hours ago, BIG POOCH said:

We are going on the EPIC on April 13th.  We received the upgrade bid offer the other day, so we put in bids for a Deluxe owners suite in the Haven, and a 2bdrm Haven.  We really want the two bedroom, as we have had this one back before this bidding crap came into existence.  Now, fastforward to today, and I look online and the Havens are listed as sold out?  But my bids are still showing.  Does this mean they sell them out according to our bids, but don't tell us till 2 days before sailing?  Or does this mean they have since sold out, and they are just going to wait to deny the bids until just before sailing?  I like the old way better, call, make offer, they accept offer, and you are in!  

 

They always take bis on sold out categories. There could be last-minute cancellations. Someone could get moved up to a higher category, freeing up their old cabin. And, of course, NCL just likes to collect data on how much people are willing to bid in order to make future pricing decisions.

Edited January 30, 2019 by JamieLogical

[muratki99]

We have an Oceanview cabin on Escape April 14th sailing. It's one of the cabins in the front under the bridge.  Bidding offer came in on exactly 80 days out. Trying to figure out the numbers I'd like to bid. 4 options given are balcony and mini-suite with/without spa. I would be happy with the balcony only. There is availability so far, but it is still early. The price of OV recently increased from $749 to $849, we got lucky booking with the lower price. sailaway balcony price is same as before at $949. So now it's only $100 difference. 

If I wanted to upgrade directly, I'm assuming they will ask for the difference between current price and what I paid, not the current OV price. Is that correct? If so, I would try my chances on bidding.  I know it depends on a lot of variables, but what should I try to bid , trying to maximize my chances but not paying too much? Would offering the current difference of $100 make sense?

Any advice is appreciated!

[Bitten10]

Jamie?  Mwolever? Have you guys heard back yet?  I'm at the edge of my seat here!

[jessykaw]

February 3 Getaway - still waiting to see if my bids from inside to balcony/spa balcony get accepted. The silver lining if we don't win our bid is that we get to keep our money in our pockets and our location is already good.

 

Has anyone else heard anything from this cruise? I went to a few booking sites and this cruise will only book GTY now. No room selection. I think that is a good sign.

[Mjdj1220]

Greetings everyone.  New to the boards. Just booked my 2nd NCL cruise,first on Escspe Feb. 24th.Currently in a Family balcony,but looking to upgrade to a Haven. I put 2 bids in today 1 for an H6 and 1 for an H7. H6 I bid 10 over the minimum and H7 I bid $200 over the minimum.  Hope to get a nice email soon 🤞

 

MJ

[JamieLogical]

34 minutes ago, muratki99 said:

We have an Oceanview cabin on Escape April 14th sailing. It's one of the cabins in the front under the bridge.  Bidding offer came in on exactly 80 days out. Trying to figure out the numbers I'd like to bid. 4 options given are balcony and mini-suite with/without spa. I would be happy with the balcony only. There is availability so far, but it is still early. The price of OV recently increased from $749 to $849, we got lucky booking with the lower price. sailaway balcony price is same as before at $949. So now it's only $100 difference. 

If I wanted to upgrade directly, I'm assuming they will ask for the difference between current price and what I paid, not the current OV price. Is that correct? If so, I would try my chances on bidding.  I know it depends on a lot of variables, but what should I try to bid , trying to maximize my chances but not paying too much? Would offering the current difference of $100 make sense?

Any advice is appreciated!

 

 

If you pay for the direct upgrade, yes, you will pay the difference between what you paid and the current price for the category you are upgrading to. Also, note that if you booked a non sail-away OV and upgraded to a sail-away balcony directly, you would lose any Free at Sea perks or onboard spending from your original booking. If you upgrade through the bidding system, you get to keep your perks.

[JamieLogical]

35 minutes ago, Bitten10 said:

Jamie?  Mwolever? Have you guys heard back yet?  I'm at the edge of my seat here!

 

Nothing here yet. I am 99.9% sure I'm getting a bunch of rejection emails tomorrow. All four of the categories I bid on have been sold out for a while.

[mwolever]

37 minutes ago, Bitten10 said:

Jamie?  Mwolever? Have you guys heard back yet?  I'm at the edge of my seat here!

Nothing yet 🙁🙁🙁🙁🙁

[TMG2014]

I know we are still 8 days out, but anyone heard anything for Feb 7th Breakaway?

[Nclgetawaymenhoney]

1 hour ago, TMG2014 said:

I know we are still 8 days out, but anyone heard anything for Feb 7th Breakaway?

Patience, that is the name of this game, it's prime season, ships are pretty full, if upgraded you should hear 3 - 5 days before sailing