NCL Upgrade Advantage upgrade- how long does it take NCL to respond? And what amount likely gets accepted?

[jjkandlak]

My wife and I are first time NCL cruisers(Athens 8/29) and got an email from NCL to make an "offer" on a Balcony Stateroom upgrade. Any idea on how long it take NCL to respond and what's a fair offer? The range or scale on the NCL chart was zero to $500 per person for an upgrade to a Balcony Stateroom. A huge "thank you" for your help and insight. 

[RocketMan275]

How much is the difference between your current booking and a balcony stateroom?  Did they specify a particular class of balcony staterooms?  I would assume it will be the cheapest available.

[qdog123]

Wow I can’t believe they’re offering upgrade bids before final payment. I haven’t gotten one yet but I’m already in a balcony so not sure if they have many openings in categories above me.

[lepidoptera]

They can upgrade you as little as 48 hours before you sail, I believe. When I have won upgrades the first time it was a week or so after bidding. The second time it was within a few days. Just so you know since you haven’t done it before-if you are selected for a bid you are stuck with what you got. If you don’t like the room you can’t change it. For me bidding can be worth it but if you are a light sleeper and want to avoid certain areas or need to be near elevators you might not be happy with your upgrade. 

[roger001]

Don't know which ship.  But if it is just a balcony stateroom to another balcony stateroom upgrade, there's not a whole lot of difference between balcony rooms.  Usually it is just a room relocation, an NCL idea that one is better than another.   If you are bidding from balcony room to suite, yea, big difference.  If you like what you have and the location was your choice, give all that consideration.  Again, I'm just guessing here.  

[JamieLogical]

Pre-COVID, typically European and Transatlantic cruises got upgrades fairly quickly after bids were placed. For US cruises, it was usually within a week of sailing, unless they were about to do a large price drop.

[jmele999]

Because those sailings have a lot of empty rooms (60% capacity), I would think that NCL will be accepting offers fairly quickly.  In the past, some people have removed their offers because they were taken too long to be approved or denied.  NCL will want to secure the extra  money as soon as possible. 
 

We received some offers to upgrade to a suite on our August 8 sailings out of Athens, but the minimum offer was high (50% of the current value of the suite) 

[jjkandlak]

We're currently on an Inside Stateroom on the Jade. Two NCL upgrade offers:

 

Balcony Stateroom

 

Oceanview Stateroom

 

Thanks

Jim

[jjkandlak]

2 hours ago, qdog123 said:

Wow I can’t believe they’re offering upgrade bids before final payment. I haven’t gotten one yet but I’m already in a balcony so not sure if they have many openings in categories above me.

We're not in a balcony yet but hope to land one. We originally booked an Inside Stateroom and received the upgrade offer for Balcony Stateroom and Ocean View Stateroom.

 

thanks

Jim 

[ziggyuk]

You will normally find out 48 hours before departure, If you put a exceptional bid in it will probably be accepted earlier, before you change your mind.

The highest bid wins so it's all down to supply and demand and how deep your fellow passengers pockets are, there is no "fair bid" just a winning bid.

[DCGuy64]

20 minutes ago, jjkandlak said:

We're not in a balcony yet but hope to land one. We originally booked an Inside Stateroom and received the upgrade offer for Balcony Stateroom and Ocean View Stateroom.

 

thanks

Jim 

Following this thread, we are booked in an ocean view Stateroom later this year because the balconies were sold out, hoping to score an upgrade possibly after final payment date.

Best of luck to OP, hope you get it! 🤞 ☘️ 

[jjkandlak]

3 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

How much is the difference between your current booking and a balcony stateroom?  Did they specify a particular class of balcony staterooms?  I would assume it will be the cheapest available.

Difference between an Inside Stateroom and a Balcony Stateroom is appx $550 per person.

[robcolem]

How do you get an email to bid for an upgrade? Be complete with check-in or something else? 

[MaryZ]

26 minutes ago, jjkandlak said:

Difference between an Inside Stateroom and a Balcony Stateroom is appx $550 per person.

How much is the difference between what ~you~ paid for your inside and what a balcony is selling for now?
That's necessary knowledge. 
Also more necessary knowledge:

1.  what's your budget  (personally I'd just tell you now...if you seriously want a balcony just pay the difference and get on with it)
2.  How many balconies are open to book
3.  what categories have the most available balconies
4.  What's open above a balcony


 

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, jjkandlak said:

We're not in a balcony yet but hope to land one. We originally booked an Inside Stateroom and received the upgrade offer for Balcony Stateroom and Ocean View Stateroom.

 

thanks

Jim 

Jim

 

If there is inventory, it will be granted in a few weeks. If the bid is too low (e.g., $0), you will not get a reject letter until 48 hours of departure. 

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, robcolem said:

How do you get an email to bid for an upgrade? Be complete with check-in or something else? 

 

They used to go out 80 days prior to sailing. Not sure if that is still the case post-COVID.

[zerooveride]

Nothing for my August 21st Encore Alaskan cruise yet. we are 69 days out. It will be interesting to see what/if they offer. 

[jjkandlak]

12 hours ago, robcolem said:

How do you get an email to bid for an upgrade? Be complete with check-in or something else? 

I just randomly received it from NCL. 

[SliderNc]

As another poster has stated, knowing the current difference in price will help to determine what to bid.  I went from a balcony to Haven Foward Facing room on Escape a few years ago.  We had paid $2200/total for our balcony all in (taxes, etc.).  I bid $850/pp and go the upgrade.  It was the first and only time we did the upgrade advantage and won.  At the time, the price difference when I placed my bid about 22 days out from sailing was about $2000/pp. 

 

The other thing to take into account is what the capacity of the ship will be when sailing.  If they are sailing below capacity because of COVID, then there might be a good chance that a lower than normal bid might score you a win.  There is a site that you can check (can't post it) that many have used to check what cabins are available for your cruise and gauge chances of winning.

 

Good luck.  I will say that over the years of cruising, as you move from inside to oceanview to balcony, you end up never going back.  I've already been warned that when we plan our 2022 cruise, I better be booking Haven...

[roger001]

I gotta tell ya, get that balcony.  It will improve the cruise experience in every way at least twice the cost of the balcony upgrade.  My opinion.  Can't sail without one.  

[oteixeira]

It warms my heart to see a thread about upgrades in this forum.  Ah, the good old days, where people would try to collect every bit of info to try to bid just enough but not too much.  LOL

BTW, @jjkandlak there is a HUGE thread on this that is probably about one year back in the board.  Lots of great info.  What you need to understand is, like everyone said here, there is no default for what will or wont get accepted.  It has to do with availability of rooms, other people bidding against you, and a bunch of other small factors I would guess I am forgetting.

Last but not least.  If you absolutely have to be in a balcony (say for your better half to not want to kill you), you should just outright pay for the upgrade by calling NCL and asking to move to a balcony.

[JamieLogical]

12 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

BTW, @jjkandlak there is a HUGE thread on this that is probably about one year back in the board.  Lots of great info.  What you need to understand is, like everyone said here, there is no default for what will or wont get accepted.  It has to do with availability of rooms, other people bidding against you, and a bunch of other small factors I would guess I am forgetting.

 

This is the previously mentioned "HUGE thread". Note that it is a continuation of a previous thread that is linked in the first post if you want to go WAY back to the beginning:

 

 

[oteixeira]

Just now, JamieLogical said:

 

This is the previously mentioned "HUGE thread". Note that it is a continuation of a previous thread that is linked in the first post if you want to go WAY back to the beginning:

 

 

Thanks for digging it up for me @JamieLogical!!

[julig22]

Just a reminder that NCL will usually allow a one-time adjustment after final payment.  That can sometimes be better than waiting for the bid process, if prices are going down.  If they are higher, then bid what you are willing to pay.

[Cruzinnana47]

We had booked an oceanview for a May, 2019 sailing on the Sun (Key West/Havana).   Several weeks out we received an upgrade offer to either a balcony or mini-suite.  We bid for a balcony and didn't find out our bid was accepted until we were already in a pre-cruise hotel in FL (2 days before sailing).   We lucked out with an aft balcony, which was what I was hoping for, as a long shot.