Couple Of Upgrade Questions

[alyssamma]

Just now, mscdivina2016 said:

Wow,

 So let me see if I understand this.

Hypothetically someone could have been in a regular inside cabin with no wifi or booze for $400 for a couple on a 7 nighter.

They get YC deluxe offer for $400-$1000 per person and could bid max. So for an extra $2000 they get deluxe, booze,wifi and all the bells and whistles for cheaper than we all paid for our YC insides?

They only look at the $1000 per person?

Steve

It is very unlikely that would happen.

 

There are also lots of threads about upgrading from non-YC to YC. Some say they have full YC privs, others said they just had the cabin...but honestly I don't understand that because once you are in the YC, you are in the YC, so I suspect they were incorrect.

 

I would be surprised if you can upgrade to a YC deluxe for 1000pp on a 7 night cruise from an inside cabin. It would be more like 2K pp.

[mscdivina2016]

14 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

It is very unlikely that would happen.

 

There are also lots of threads about upgrading from non-YC to YC. Some say they have full YC privs, others said they just had the cabin...but honestly I don't understand that because once you are in the YC, you are in the YC, so I suspect they were incorrect.

 

I would be surprised if you can upgrade to a YC deluxe for 1000pp on a 7 night cruise from an inside cabin. It would be more like 2K pp.

I just checked my offer and from YC inside, max bid is $840 per person for YC deluxe.

Steve

[alyssamma]

7 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

I just checked my offer and from YC inside, max bid is $840 per person for YC deluxe.

Steve

Exactly...so very unlikely a *non* YC inside would bid to a YC balcony for $1Kpp

[mscdivina2016]

1 minute ago, alyssamma said:

Exactly...so very unlikely a *non* YC inside would bid to a YC balcony for $1Kpp

So they must all have different amounts on a bid scale?

Steve

[alyssamma]

3 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

So they must all have different amounts on a bid scale?

Steve

Oh, absolutely. It depends on what cabin you booked initially and what cabin they offer the upgrade to.

[alyssamma]

Here is a recent thread for the Virtuosa with some people who were able to get low bids...

 

 

[Até]

34 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Wow,

 So let me see if I understand this.

Hypothetically someone could have been in a regular inside cabin with no wifi or booze for $400 for a couple on a 7 nighter.

They get YC deluxe offer for $400-$1000 per person and could bid max. So for an extra $2000 they get deluxe, booze,wifi and all the bells and whistles for cheaper than we all paid for our YC insides?

They only look at the $1000 per person?

I don't know how or if MSC/PlusGrade considers whether the person already has a drink package when evaluating YC bids.  Before the bidding system there was speculation the people getting the free YC upgrades usually already had the higher drink package.  And back years ago YC upgrades did not always come with all the YC perks.  With PlusGrade bidding YC bids come with all YC amenities, so that question has been put to rest.  But I really don't think PlusGrade's algorithm can take that type of factor into account.

 

Regarding your question.  If you eliminated all influence of all other people's bidding, final payment is done and MSC has one YC Deluxe open.  If there's a bid from an interior for $501pp and a bid from a YC interior for $500pp, which bid nets PlusGrade more money?  I agree there may be more costs associated with upgrading the interior supposing they did not have WiFi and/or a drink package but I think the PlusGrade system and MSC averages all that out and in the long run just taking the higher bid makes the most money.  You could play the scenario of a YC interior and a YC Deluxe bidding on the Royal Suite.  Or an interior and a ocean view are bidding on a balcony, the higher bid makes them the most money and their initial cost is moot after final payment has locked in MSC's profit from those passengers.

 

So the result is if you want to bid to YC for the cheapest buy the lowest cabin with no perks and make just over the minimum bid?  It may be a viable strategy but unfortunately you have to consider what other cabins are doing, and nobody is bidding on the inside cabins.  Those are only going to be re-sold if the sailing is near sold out and MSC is offering them last minute to bargain hunters.  So if you have lots of people in ocean view cabins bidding on your YC interior you can get a boost, but it's not a guarantee.  So yes, it's quite possible someone bumps up from a lower cabin to a higher cabin than yours for a total price less than what you paid.  Unfortunately the total you paid is of little concern to PlusGrade.

 

The only thing I see that offsets that possible scenario from happening is they usually do put variable minimum bid amounts based on what cabin type you are currently in.  Also there seems to be no shortage of people willing to make bids that have no idea of the historical cabin prices.  So usually the cabins end up bidding off for what MSC feels would minimally be the lowest acceptable cabin rate.  The end result is those that feel the YC is a requirement pay a premium for their choice of cabins and are forced to book very early or pay an even higher premium closer to sailing, at inflated prices.  Those willing to take a chance on not getting into YC are free to bid for an unknown cabin location and usually get in for closer to historical rates, but at least they feel they got a good deal compared to the pricing at the time of bidding.

 

Part of my current interest is whether this strategy is going to hold up for MSC, I've never seen this many unsold YC cabins and I have a feeling they are going to be forced into offering/accepting some bids that get people in for a, comparative to those that paid for YC outright, low total amount.  Just one more way to alienate the loyal YC customer like NCL did to me with the Haven.

 

 

[dexddd]

3 hours ago, Até said:

Only crew can get on that "balcony", they usually wait until turnover day and go there to clean the windows.

 

MSC is having a hard time selling those Fall cruises.  How many night sailing is the $270pp for?  I just looked at Meraviglia for all of September the Yacht Club is barely sold.  The two seven night sailings at the end of the month have perhaps 25% of the YC Deluxe booked but the shorter cruises earlier in the month have several sailings less than 10% booked.

 

I'm a bit surprised MSC is still showing this vast availability, they used to try to hide large amounts of unsold YC cabins close to sailing.  I really don't like this sales model, almost identical to NCL with the Haven.  Even with all the hype about Yacht Club it just doesn't seem to be working for MSC as well and YC sales are way down. 

 

Lots of opportunity for the bidders as long as MSC makes the minimum bids match reality.  In the past MSC typically made the minimum bids so high you were almost paying the same rate as when the sailing was first announced.  With these new Fall sailings MSC started the YC extremely high and has kept them there, hence the poor sales.  I'd be interested in hearing if as the sail date gets closer the minimum bids start to drop.  YC will sail full.

Thanks for the info.  We sail 9/18 and curious about YC and overall ship capacity.  When I try to book the 9/18 the YINS are sold as are the two RS (we have one) and only duplex and balcony YC are open but it appears there are a lot of balconies open.  

[mscdivina2016]

1 hour ago, Até said:

 

 

The only thing I see that offsets that possible scenario from happening is they usually do put variable minimum bid amounts based on what cabin type you are currently in.  Also there seems to be no shortage of people willing to make bids that have no idea of the historical cabin prices.  So usually the cabins end up bidding off for what MSC feels would minimally be the lowest acceptable cabin rate.  The end result is those that feel the YC is a requirement pay a premium for their choice of cabins and are forced to book very early or pay an even higher premium closer to sailing, at inflated prices.  Those willing to take a chance on not getting into YC are free to bid for an unknown cabin location and usually get in for closer to historical rates, but at least they feel they got a good deal compared to the pricing at the time of bidding.

 

I still wonder.  A few years back I was with NCL in an aft balcony.  Was given the chance to bid on several Haven categories for almost 2 dozen rooms.   Since I was in at a ridiculous price we decided to bid max on everything including the owners suite. We got no bids accepted.

Steve

[Até]

2 hours ago, mscdivina2016 said:

I still wonder.  A few years back I was with NCL in an aft balcony.  Was given the chance to bid on several Haven categories for almost 2 dozen rooms.   Since I was in at a ridiculous price we decided to bid max on everything including the owners suite. We got no bids accepted.

I think in some cases, such as near/sold out sailings, the PlusGrade system is used solely for data collection.  Are you sure those Haven cabins were available?  Sometimes NCL bidders really get caught up and make crazy bids, so it's really hard to tell what's happening.  Some cruise lines really can orchestrate bidding frenzy by manipulating asking prices.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Até

[mscdivina2016]

8 minutes ago, Até said:

I think in some cases, such as near/sold out sailings, the PlusGrade system is used solely for data collection.  Are you sure those Haven cabins were available?  Sometimes NCL bidders really get caught up and make crazy bids, so it's really hard to tell what's happening.  Some cruise lines really can orchestrate bidding frenzy by manipulating asking prices.

Yes I am sure. I knew the people who got 6  of them. They were from CC.

 They did not bid as much as me.

Appears it was based on cabin cost. I used points to go inside to balcony. Paid a little out of pocket to go BA to Aft.

Steve

[Até]

1 hour ago, mscdivina2016 said:

Yes I am sure. I knew the people who got 6  of them. They were from CC.

 They did not bid as much as me.

Appears it was based on cabin cost. I used points to go inside to balcony. Paid a little out of pocket to go BA to Aft.

Perhaps it had to do with what other's had bid on the cabins.  Say, if there were not many bids on your aft balcony but there were bids on your friends cabin types?  That can influence the awards.

[kidless]

13 hours ago, KennyFla said:

We received the upgrade email last night for our Oct 17 cruise.  We are in balcony yacht club room, and were offered chance to upgrade to Royal Suite (way out of our budget) or Executive Family Suite(better).

 

1) Looking at the Family suite, the description says sealed panoramic windows.  Does this mean you do not have access to a balcony?  There is clearly a balcony visible in the pictures.

 

2) Has anyone underbid the minimum and still received the upgrade?  We are extremely happy with our room, but I may throw out a low bid.  

 

TIA

We are the same cruise also in YC balcony. We received same upgrade offer when I looked those cabins were all booked so passed on the bidding. 
 

 They only had a couple balconies left in YC so seems amazing that someone could up grade from Bella for $270. 

[richs52]

Question about an upgrade. My mother and I are booked in separate balcony cabins on the Divina in October. I got an upgrade offer, but she did not.  If I were to upgrade to Yacht Club and she did not, would I be able to bring her in to the area to spend time in my suite? Thank you!

[alyssamma]

8 minutes ago, richs52 said:

Question about an upgrade. My mother and I are booked in separate balcony cabins on the Divina in October. I got an upgrade offer, but she did not.  If I were to upgrade to Yacht Club and she did not, would I be able to bring her in to the area to spend time in my suite? Thank you!

I do not believe non-YC members can enter the YC. This is because there is no "signing" for anything there....you are just served...think like an All Inclusive resort.

 

So once there, there would be no way to restrict her from using YC facilities and from getting YC perks.

[phissy]

10 minutes ago, richs52 said:

Question about an upgrade. My mother and I are booked in separate balcony cabins on the Divina in October. I got an upgrade offer, but she did not.  If I were to upgrade to Yacht Club and she did not, would I be able to bring her in to the area to spend time in my suite? Thank you!

Probably not. This has been asked before and the answer has always been a resounding “Not allowed”.

[KennyFla]

10 hours ago, kidless said:

We are the same cruise also in YC balcony. We received same upgrade offer when I looked those cabins were all booked so passed on the bidding. 
 

 They only had a couple balconies left in YC so seems amazing that someone could up grade from Bella for $270. 

We are going to pass also.  We don't really want the family suite as they are on deck 12 and no balcony.

 

See you at the bar!

Edited August 5, 2021 by KennyFla

[Até]

11 hours ago, richs52 said:

If I were to upgrade to Yacht Club and she did not, would I be able to bring her in to the area to spend time in my suite?

While you can have visitors inside your cabin this scenario raises a red flag for the YC concierge & manager and you really wouldn't want to have them watching you in that way.  In addition you would be assigned different dining rooms.  Since the ship will not be full you could be re-assigned to the MDR, but not the other way around.

[alyssamma]

Interesting situation. I'm on the 20th Mera sailing in a YIN cabin. Got offered an upgrade to balcony for $165. However, I'm sailing solo and the upgrade is actually charging me for 2 people.

 

Anyone run into this before?

[mscdivina2016]

10 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Interesting situation. I'm on the 20th Mera sailing in a YIN cabin. Got offered an upgrade to balcony for $165. However, I'm sailing solo and the upgrade is actually charging me for 2 people.

 

Anyone run into this before?

 

11 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Interesting situation. I'm on the 20th Mera sailing in a YIN cabin. Got offered an upgrade to balcony for $165. However, I'm sailing solo and the upgrade is actually charging me for 2 people.

 

Anyone run into this before?

Your in a Yacht club interior cabin and they offered an upgrade or an opportunity to bid with $165 as the starting bid?

Steve

[alyssamma]

9 minutes ago, mscdivina2016 said:

 

Your in a Yacht club interior cabin and they offered an upgrade or an opportunity to bid with $165 as the starting bid?

Steve

Opportunity to bid...but even tho I'm solo, they are charging as if 2 people are in the cabin. So $165 becomes $330.

[Tapi]

Well, I put a bid in. I was given the choice of either YC deluxe suite for $270pp or Aurea S3 suite (corner suite with wraparound balcony, hot tub, and separate bedroom) for $215pp. I placed a bid for the S3 suite simply because we are a family of 4 and extra space is more important to us than YC benefits. Last time we were on the Meraviglia we upgraded to a Duplex Suite (back when they were still considered Aurea Suites) and it was the best decision for us. Let’s see what happens this time. 

[mscdivina2016]

12 minutes ago, Tapi said:

Well, I put a bid in. I was given the choice of either YC deluxe suite for $270pp or Aurea S3 suite (corner suite with wraparound balcony, hot tub, and separate bedroom) for $215pp. I placed a bid for the S3 suite simply because we are a family of 4 and extra space is more important to us than YC benefits. Last time we were on the Meraviglia we upgraded to a Duplex Suite (back when they were still considered Aurea Suites) and it was the best decision for us. Let’s see what happens this time. 

What was maximum amount to bid?

Steve

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, mscdivina2016 said:

What was maximum amount to bid?

Steve

For the Aurea Suite, max bid is $360pp. For the YC Deluxe Suite max bid us $590pp.

[nkociub]

Does MSC send the bid email more than once before sailing? We just booked a few days ago, so missed this chance...