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Beware of the MSC Upgrade bid program

Valkyrie

By Valkyrie,
in MSC Cruises

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vdh77

vdh77

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, joebehr2011 said:

I had the exact same experience. We had a Bella Balcony and upgraded to the Yacht Club. We went right to the Yacht club tent and out butler and he had Yacht club luggage tags. He then escorted us pass security and all.tyebothers waiting, straight to the Yacht club lounge, and got us a drink. This is where we checked in and received our wrist bands and Yacht club cards. The only thing we did not get was drinks outside if the Yacht club. Inside the Yacht club it was anything we asked for. Outside the Yacht club we had to pay for our drinks, so we just got our drinks inside the Yacht club and walked out. The quote "experience" on our cruise card was Bella, seeing that is what we originally booked.

Thank you for the super fast response!

 

Since you said that the only thing you didn't get was drinks outside of Yacht Club, I am assuming you were able to eat at the Yacht Club restaurant?

Did they let you use the other Yacht club amenities, like the thermal spa?

 

Thanks!

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vdh77

vdh77

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, Cruisergal1208 said:

I’ve not done the bid thing  But I do know from others that when you are upgraded you get the full benefits of the YC. Yes, go to the white YC tent to check in. You will be dining in the YC and will have the drinks package that comes with the YC booking.  Congratulations on your bid.  Enjoy the YC. It’s an awesome experience.  

Thanks for the info @cruisegal1208 !

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joebehr2011

joebehr2011

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, vdh77 said:

Thank you for the super fast response!

 

Since you said that the only thing you didn't get was drinks outside of Yacht Club, I am assuming you were able to eat at the Yacht Club restaurant?

Did they let you use the other Yacht club amenities, like the thermal spa?

 

Thanks!

Yes and yes!!

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Bluewake

Bluewake

Posted
Posted

In August, we bid on an upgrade from a Bella balcony to the YC on Seaside. It was accepted.   Once aboard, we received a YC card and all of the YC benefits including drinks in bars throughout the ship, all the gelato we could eat, etc.

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  • 1 year later...
Reds4life

Reds4life

Posted
Posted

So, I received an email for the chance to bid on an upgrade on our cruise in December. We are booked in Bella Balcony. I am looking at bidding to a whirlpool Aurea suite. But, just to clarify, do you get just the room or the Aurea experience with the easy package and spa access? It says "Aurea experience" available on the bid page

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Towelman

Towelman

Posted
Posted
On 6/26/2019 at 4:59 PM, Valkyrie said:

I originally booked a Fantastica Balcony room on the Seaside in August. I then got an email later about a MSC Upgrade program. So I bid on a Yacht Club inside room assuming it came with the Yacht Club experience.  Well, I got an email saying the offer was accepted. I called to verify that it came with the Yacht Club experience and was told it didn't come with anything. So for others looking at this program beware, we "upgraded" from a balcony room to an inside cabin for more money. They did say I could go back to my original cabin but would lose the upgrade money.

I bid $810 a person for the upgrade to Yacht Club suite and it is supposed to include Butler service a suite and private pool and dining room preference to shows etc.I will be very upset if it isnt what my boarding pass says it is

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MonsterJoe

MonsterJoe

Posted
Posted (edited)
27 minutes ago, Towelman said:

I bid $810 a person for the upgrade to Yacht Club suite and it is supposed to include Butler service a suite and private pool and dining room preference to shows etc.I will be very upset if it isnt what my boarding pass says it is

 

I can't speak for Aurea, but a successful Yacht Club bid get's you all the amenities of the Yacht Club. 


Your boarding pass and luggage tags, however, will show your original room category.  

Your cruise card will say Yacht Club.

 

I just got back on Saturday so I am speaking from recent experience. 
 

Edited by MonsterJoe
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OneParticularHarbour 71

OneParticularHarbour 71

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, MonsterJoe said:

 

I can't speak for Aurea, but a successful Yacht Club bid get's you all the amenities of the Yacht Club. 


Your boarding pass and luggage tags, however, will show your original room category.  

Your cruise card will say Yacht Club.

 

I just got back on Saturday so I am speaking from recent experience. 
 

Were you able to check in at the Yacht Club tent at the port? 

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Interestedcruisefan "Live from...." Rare

Interestedcruisefan

Posted
Posted (edited)
On 6/27/2019 at 6:47 PM, sverigecruiser said:

 

That's correct from what I have heared earlier on this forum.

 

They said that when they went to the Top Sail Lounge they were asked for their card and when they showed them they were told that they were not allowed to use the TSL because they had been upgraded only to the cabin, not the experience. I don't remember if they tried to use the YC sundeck.

 

It was probably at least two years ägo I read that thread but maybe I can try to find it again.

We won an auction to upgrade to first class seats on flights from London to New York once 

 

Similar smallprint meant we got the seats but could not use the first class lounge at London pre flight

 

We still tried but were refused 

 

I suspect the info is correct and you just get the room but not the perks. But no harm in trying to get the perks and seeing what happens

 

I suspect the rule applies here and was there for good reason but by the looks of it isn't being enforced

 

 

Edited by Interestedcruisefan
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riredsox

riredsox

Posted
Posted

We upgraded from a Bela balcony to YC deluxe suite and all the amenities came with it.   We were also able to upgrade out YC premium liquor package to premium plus.  It was good all over the ship.  This was on Divina. 

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bob brown

bob brown

Posted
Posted

I received an email invitation to bid for an upgrade, on my 23 October cruise on the Meraviglia, and I put in just a bit over the minimum, not really expecting to 'win', but hey, you never know...

Anyway, today I received another invitation, with no mention of my first bid, or even asking me if I wanted to increase my first bid...

So kind of confusing...makes me wonder if they even got my first bid, although they took my payment info, and said they received the bid...😕

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GA Dave

GA Dave

Posted
Posted (edited)

I just won a bid from a Fantastica balcony to a YC Deluxe Suite (15009) in August on Meraviglia.  I was sailing solo.  I received all of the YC benefits.  Butler, Concierge desk, restaurant, lounge, sundeck, escorted off the ship, YC beach and lunch at Ocean House on Ocean Cay, etc.  As a matter of fact, at OC, I was literally the first passenger off the ship and had a private cart ride to a completely empty YC beach (see photo).  I checked my bill multiple times throughout the cruise and was never charged anything extra for drinks, meals, etc. that I got outside of the YC either.  I had multiple drinks at the Horizon Pool Bar on the aft end of the ship and was not charged for any of them.

IMG_4243.JPG

Edited by GA Dave
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Morgsmom Great Review Rare

Morgsmom

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, GA Dave said:

I just won a bid from a Fantastica balcony to a YC Deluxe Suite (15009) in August on Meraviglia.  I was sailing solo. 

Can I just clarify that you had to pay for 2 passengers with the upgrade bid even though you were solo?

thanks!

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GA Dave

GA Dave

Posted
Posted
Just now, Morgsmom said:

Can I just clarify that you had to pay for 2 passengers with the upgrade bid even though you were solo?

thanks!

Yes, the amount I bid (per person) was doubled.  No single supplement on bids.  However, my winning bid was substantially less than doing a direct upgrade to the same cabin.

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awhcruiser

awhcruiser

Posted
Posted
On 6/26/2019 at 4:59 PM, Valkyrie said:

I originally booked a Fantastica Balcony room on the Seaside in August. I then got an email later about a MSC Upgrade program. So I bid on a Yacht Club inside room assuming it came with the Yacht Club experience.  Well, I got an email saying the offer was accepted. I called to verify that it came with the Yacht Club experience and was told it didn't come with anything. So for others looking at this program beware, we "upgraded" from a balcony room to an inside cabin for more money. They did say I could go back to my original cabin but would lose the upgrade money.

 

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awhcruiser

awhcruiser

Posted
Posted

Too all the naysayers on this post, I am new to MSC and wonder why anyone would bid on just a higher room and not get the experience?  Does not make sense to me.  I agree with the posters who stated they got the experience as well as the upgraded cabin.

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Cruiser21

Cruiser21

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, bob brown said:

I received an email invitation to bid for an upgrade, on my 23 October cruise on the Meraviglia, and I put in just a bit over the minimum, not really expecting to 'win', but hey, you never know...

Anyway, today I received another invitation, with no mention of my first bid, or even asking me if I wanted to increase my first bid...

So kind of confusing...makes me wonder if they even got my first bid, although they took my payment info, and said they received the bid...😕

What cabin type did you upgrade to? Could you tell us what was the minimum bid? Thank you

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bob brown

bob brown

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Cruiser21 said:

What cabin type did you upgrade to? Could you tell us what was the minimum bid? Thank you

We had a standard balcony, and bid on a suite with private whirlpool.  We did not (yet) get the upgrade. The minimum in our case was $495. per person (times 2 people).  We just bid a few dollars over that amount.  They also offered a deluxe Yacht Club at a minimum of $945. per person.  I did not bid on that.   

I would be very surprised if we got upgraded, but didn't want to spend much more than we did already for this cruise.

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Janet&Carl

Janet&Carl

Posted
Posted
On 6/27/2019 at 8:04 AM, Até said:

Thank you very much for this information.

 

Here's the Plusgrade MSC FAQ for anyone interested:

 

https://upg.stage.plusgrade.com/faq/partner/9Ck2Ks4MSC

 

 

So it says nothing about upgrade of "experience" only mentions promotions - I would assume it included YC experience if you bit for a YC cabin.

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