How long did it take to get upgrade email after initial booking?

[Cashsmoney]

     Hello,

   I just booked a cruise sailing on May 25th, (64 days out), and wanted to know how long after completing the initial booking bid NCL send out the email to bid for upgrades. 

[Cruiser_1977]

There are many threads about this. A few important points below:

• Not everyone receives an invitation to bid – How many offers go out depend entirely on how full the ship is and what stateroom categories are available. If you are traveling in a group and have several staterooms booked, it is entirely possible that you might receive an offer but others in your party – even those traveling in a similar stateroom category – will not.
• Not all bids are accepted – This means that even if your bid is accepted, the family members you booked into a connecting stateroom may not have their bid accepted… even if you place the exact same bid.
• You can bid to upgrade up to two “categories” – Typically, if you have an interior stateroom booked, you won’t be given the opportunity to bid on a suite in the Haven. Instead, you’ll be given an opportunity to bid on an oceanview or balcony stateroom. Likewise, if you are in a balcony cabin, you’ll be given the opportunity to bid on a minisuite or Haven stateroom.
• Your bid amount will be doubled – When placing a bid, the dollar amount is per person, double occupancy. Translation: Whether there are one or four people staying in the stateroom, your bid is for two people. So if your bid to move from an inside cabin to a balcony is $700, you will be charged $1400 if/when the bid is accepted. And obviously, the higher the bid, the better your chance of having it accepted. While middle-of-the-road and even low bids often wind up winning, the odds improve greatly when your bid is more generous.
• Once accepted, you are locked in… period – If your bid isn’t accepted, absolutely nothing changes. You won’t be charged for having placed a bid. And you can modify or cancel your bid at any time, assuming it has not yet been accepted. However, once your bid is accepted, your corresponding credit card will be charged immediately, in full, and it is non-refundable.
• You will NOT receive additional promotions/perks – Norwegian passengers receive “perks” based on the category of room they book. The higher the category, the better the perks. However, when bidding for an upgrade, you retain the perks which come with the stateroom you originally booked, not the one into which you are upgrading. For example, guests who have booked interior rooms generally receive one promotional perk – ranging from free WiFi minutes to the Ultimate Beverage Package – “free” (not including any associated taxes, fees, or gratuities). Those booking a balcony room generally receive two perks. However, if you booked an interior room and then upgraded to a balcony, you would not receive an extra perk.

[AlexandNessa]

To answer your question, if your reservation is eligible for bidding, it takes 24-48 hours for the bid email. 

 

We booked Gem 3 weeks out, and that's how long it took for us. Think we booked on Saturday afternoon and it came Monday morning. 

[janice2348]

Always do a mock booking before you bid.  It’s often cheaper to upgrade through NCL than the bid offer.  We did this last year.  We upgraded to an Owners Suite from an aft balcony.  We were offered five category upgrade bids.  We did get all the perks of the Owners Suite.  Had we bid instead, I don’t think we would have.  

Pour bid offer came about 80 days from the sail date. 

 

Edited March 22, 2019 by janice2348

[zactak]

28 minutes ago, AlexandNessa said:

To answer your question, if your reservation is eligible for bidding, it takes 24-48 hours for the bid email. 

 

We booked Gem 3 weeks out, and that's how long it took for us. Think we booked on Saturday afternoon and it came Monday morning. 

 

You likely got an upgrade email so quickly because you booked your cruise close to the departure date. Cruises that depart later likely won't have a bid email that quickly after someone books. In my case, I booked my cruise 10 months before, and received a bid email six months later (my cruise is on May 26). 

 

It's also important to note that if you do receive a bid email, you probably won't get an immediate response if you choose to bid. You may not be notified if your bid was accepted until it gets closer to the time you sail. 

[AlexandNessa]

2 hours ago, zactak said:

 

You likely got an upgrade email so quickly because you booked your cruise close to the departure date. Cruises that depart later likely won't have a bid email that quickly after someone books. In my case, I booked my cruise 10 months before, and received a bid email six months later (my cruise is on May 26). 

 

It's also important to note that if you do receive a bid email, you probably won't get an immediate response if you choose to bid. You may not be notified if your bid was accepted until it gets closer to the time you sail. 

Normal bid invitations come at around the 80 day pre-cruise mark. OP asked how soon the invitation comes. If you're past the 80 day window when you book (which OP is), it's 24 to 48 hours to receive the invitation to bid, if you're eligible.

[All-ready2cruise]

13 minutes ago, AlexandNessa said:

Normal bid invitations come at around the 80 day pre-cruise mark. OP asked how soon the invitation comes. If you're past the 80 day window when you book (which OP is), it's 24 to 48 hours to receive the invitation to bid, if you're eligible.

Totally agree. It was so when I booked within 70 days, I had the invitation within 24hrs.  

Good luck to all and remember, you may not get the chance to bid and your bid may not be considered, however, NCL loves the Data Mining aspect of your bids. It lets them increase the prices on the various categories. 

Cheers

[zactak]

21 minutes ago, AlexandNessa said:

Normal bid invitations come at around the 80 day pre-cruise mark. OP asked how soon the invitation comes. If you're past the 80 day window when you book (which OP is), it's 24 to 48 hours to receive the invitation to bid, if you're eligible.

 

My point is there's no hardline policy that states it is 24-48 hours. Does it happen within that time frame? Certainly. Is it guaranteed that they will receive the offer to bid, if they're chosen, within 24-48 hours after booking if they're 80 days or under? No. 

Edited March 22, 2019 by zactak

[AlexandNessa]

14 minutes ago, zactak said:

 

My point is there's no hardline policy that states it is 24-48 hours. Does it happen within that time frame? Certainly. Is it guaranteed that they will receive the offer to bid, if they're chosen, within 24-48 hours after booking if they're 80 days or under? No. 

Of course there's not a hard line. But that's my experience as well as many others from a certain bid page. If you're within the window and you're eligible, that's usually when it happens.

 

OP, let us know if and when you receive the email or the bid banner when you log in to your reservation. Good luck. 

[Cashsmoney]

8 hours ago, AlexandNessa said:

Normal bid invitations come at around the 80 day pre-cruise mark. OP asked how soon the invitation comes. If you're past the 80 day window when you book (which OP is), it's 24 to 48 hours to receive the invitation to bid, if you're eligible.

Awesome thanks, I’m hoping I will see it soon!