Will Booking Solo Affect My Upgrade Bid Chances?

[Defhermit]

Hey there all,

 

I'm booked for an inside 'sailaway' cabin and have an opportunity to bid for a possible upgrade to a window or balcony room.

I really have no interest in paying any more for a window, but a balcony could really improve my experience a lot, and I might be willing to part with some dollars to make that happen.

 

Will the fact that I'm solo hinder my chances at succeeding?

Followup: I know everyone asks this and there is probably not a great answer, but: how much should I bid for a balcony upgrade from an inside 'sailaway' booking? Is there a trick (eg: X percent of the difference between the currently-listed price of the balcony room and the price I paid for the room I already have)?

 

Thanks!

[dbrown84]

I can't imagine that it would matter since you'll be paying double your bid amount, no matter if there is one or two of you

[FLAHAM]

No because your upgrade bid will be based on two passengers regardless (i.e., if you bid $500 your actual total bid will be $1,000). 

[Defhermit]

oooh. I did NOT know that. 

[Nclgetawaymenhoney]

Yes upgrade advantage whether one or four in cabin is always at two times the bid rate

[robin13]

11 hours ago, Defhermit said:

oooh. I did NOT know that. 

 

I had a chance to upgrade and when I read the small print about having to pay for two I said forgot it.  Also, you are stuck with the cabin that they select for you so if you currently like your location I would keep it.

[shibby sails]

Doesn't hurt to try a low bid. I have tried and got rejected twice but didn't matter because I like my present room anyway.

[dbrown84]

yes, I'm cruising solo on 4/28.  I have an inside, with a low ($50) bid on a balcony.  If I get it, then great.  $100 for a balcony upgrade.  If not, I'm more than happy with my current room.

[robin13]

1 hour ago, dbrown84 said:

yes, I'm cruising solo on 4/28.  I have an inside, with a low ($50) bid on a balcony.  If I get it, then great.  $100 for a balcony upgrade.  If not, I'm more than happy with my current room.

 

Yeah $100 for a balcony upgrade would be great.  Sure hope you get it as a balcony sure beats an inside cabin any day of the week.

[Mike_DeA]

Minimum bids are not likely to win, better to step it up even if it's just $10-15.  Even then it's a longshot.  Do what you are comfortable with. 

 

I recently won an inside to balcony upgrade for $260 total( $130x2) but there were over 100 balcony cabins available 4 weeks prior to sailing. 

[Defhermit]

50 minutes ago, Mike_DeA said:

Minimum bids are not likely to win, better to step it up even if it's just $10-15.  Even then it's a longshot.  Do what you are comfortable with. 

 

I recently won an inside to balcony upgrade for $260 total( $130x2) but there were over 100 balcony cabins available 4 weeks prior to sailing. 

 

I'll probably try like $220 today. I really don't think I need a balcony but I feel like having one for 7 nights is money better spent than spending that same amount on an excursion in Ketchikan, right?

 

Thanks for the replies everyone!

[Mike_DeA]

1 hour ago, Defhermit said:

 

I'll probably try like $220 today. I really don't think I need a balcony but I feel like having one for 7 nights is money better spent than spending that same amount on an excursion in Ketchikan, right?

 

Thanks for the replies everyone!

It's really a personal choice.  I would not sail to Alaska without a balcony, but that's just me.  Since it is Alaska, I wouldn't skip an excursion that you really wanted to do if you can afford it, unless you plan to return. 

[Defhermit]

After payday hit today I decided to really try for a balcony tonight. I bid $205 for a total bid of $410 to upgrade my solo sailaway cabin to a balcony. I bid nothing for an oceanview.

 

What are my chances? When will I hear the results? I'm booked for Norwegian Joy to Alaska June 1-8th.

[Mike_DeA]

5 hours ago, Defhermit said:

After payday hit today I decided to really try for a balcony tonight. I bid $205 for a total bid of $410 to upgrade my solo sailaway cabin to a balcony. I bid nothing for an oceanview.

 

What are my chances? When will I hear the results? I'm booked for Norwegian Joy to Alaska June 1-8th.

Where does that put on the range finder (poor, fair, good, etc.)?

 

I think you have a pretty good chance at that bid level, it really depends on how many balcony cabins become available, either unsold or people moving up via their bids to mini-suite and the Haven.

 

I would also give NCL a call and find out the price to upgrade directly to a balcony, it may be in the same ballpark of your current bid, and this way you wouldn't be waiting around to find out if your bid gets accepted.

[vince_g]

Call NCL and tell them you want to upgrade your reservation.  NCL website shows 1 passenger price for sailaway inside at $1,274 and sailaway balcony price for 1 passenger at $1,499.  You should be able to upgrade without bidding for $225.

Edited April 17, 2019 by vince_g

[Defhermit]

weird I didn't even know a straight pay-for-it upgrade was possible. 

[vince_g]

3 hours ago, Defhermit said:

weird I didn't even know a straight pay-for-it upgrade was possible. 

I just did this yesterday.  For our upcoming last minute cruise to Bermuda, we paid $599 for a sail-away inside.  We then bid $100 per person.  Yesterday I noticed the price for a sail-away balcony had dropped to $699.  I immediately called them and upgraded to a sail-away balcony for $200 more.  Originally the spread between sail-away inside and sail-away balcony was $400 per person.  That was only on April 9th.

 

We even had our balcony assigned by the end of the day.  It ended up being a very good cabin.

[sanger727]

3 hours ago, vince_g said:

Call NCL and tell them you want to upgrade your reservation.  NCL website shows 1 passenger price for sailaway inside at $1,274 and sailaway balcony price for 1 passenger at $1,499.  You should be able to upgrade without bidding for $225.

Right, but when I’ve done this in the past it’s never mattered what my cabin was currently worth. Just what I paid. So if OP got his cabin for under $1089, the bid is still lower.

[Defhermit]

The bid I put in was JUST into the 'fair' category.

I paid ~1100 for my sailaway inside cabin, so we're basically breaking even in terms of the difference between my bid and the gap between what I paid and what a balcony is going for now.

 

I don't really feel motivated to call NCL up and try to negotiate this. Someone please call me a lazy idiot for not doing this? Is this a no-brainer?

[Cruiser_1977]

@Defhermit If I'm reading correctly and you can call today and guarantee a balcony for the same price or less than your bid ==> you are a lazy idiot 🙂

[vince_g]

4 hours ago, sanger727 said:

Right, but when I’ve done this in the past it’s never mattered what my cabin was currently worth. Just what I paid. So if OP got his cabin for under $1089, the bid is still lower.

Yes, the only thing that matters is what they paid, which the OP did not say previously.

[Mike_DeA]

19 hours ago, Defhermit said:

The bid I put in was JUST into the 'fair' category.

I paid ~1100 for my sailaway inside cabin, so we're basically breaking even in terms of the difference between my bid and the gap between what I paid and what a balcony is going for now.

 

I don't really feel motivated to call NCL up and try to negotiate this. Someone please call me a lazy idiot for not doing this? Is this a no-brainer?

Since you asked.. you are for sure lazy for not calling

[Defhermit]

So I took the polite chiding that was offered in this thread and I called up about just paying for an upgrade. At that point a few weeks ago the cost of a straight upgrade was a bit more than the $410 upgrade big I still have pending so I held off. The woman I spoke to on the phone at NCL actually suggested that I keep checking the prices on the balcony, so I've been doing so!

 

Yesterday I saw that the price for balcony has actually dropped for the first time since I've been tracking it, down to 1574 from the ~1650 its been for a few weeks. The difference between what I paid (~1100 plus fees/etc) and this new price is verrrry close to the pending upgrade big I still have.

 

So here's my questions: if I call them up and pay the difference between the 1100 I paid and the 1574 the balcony is currently listed at, are there any other fees that I'll get dinged with? The cruise is currently 1 month out (yesterday was actually the exact '1 month out' date, maybe that's why the price went down?)

 

Is this price likely to drop any lower? Any other tips? I sort of have gotten my hopes up to have a balcony but I don't want to pay more than I have to!

 

Thanks a lot.

 

[Defhermit]

bump!

[cruiser1955a]

18 hours ago, Defhermit said:

So I took the polite chiding that was offered in this thread and I called up about just paying for an upgrade. At that point a few weeks ago the cost of a straight upgrade was a bit more than the $410 upgrade big I still have pending so I held off. The woman I spoke to on the phone at NCL actually suggested that I keep checking the prices on the balcony, so I've been doing so!

 

Yesterday I saw that the price for balcony has actually dropped for the first time since I've been tracking it, down to 1574 from the ~1650 its been for a few weeks. The difference between what I paid (~1100 plus fees/etc) and this new price is verrrry close to the pending upgrade big I still have.

 

So here's my questions: if I call them up and pay the difference between the 1100 I paid and the 1574 the balcony is currently listed at, are there any other fees that I'll get dinged with? The cruise is currently 1 month out (yesterday was actually the exact '1 month out' date, maybe that's why the price went down?)

 

Is this price likely to drop any lower? Any other tips? I sort of have gotten my hopes up to have a balcony but I don't want to pay more than I have to!

 

Thanks a lot.

 

The upgrade notifications are still being made up to 48 hours before sailing. There may/will be several more price changes in the final month. The suites are probably notified last. It only takes one upgrade from a balcony to suite, to free up a balcony for you. Keep your fingers crossed.