Advantage Upgrade question...sorry!

[Gasgasgas235]

Sooo...as the title reads this is an advantage upgrade question and I am sorry. I used the search function, I did research, couldn't find my answer. If this has been answered in the past- I missed it, I'm human. 

 

Moving on. I am cruising out this Saturday 9/25/21 on the Encore to Alaska. Super pumped! I have a mini-suite or club suite or whatever they are calling it these days and per chance I placed a bid on a haven suite. In fact, I placed several bids on all available excluding family suites and above. Question is, its three days before and nothing yet- no yays or nays. Is this par for the course? Should I still be hoping to sail the Uber-fancy seas or is this a dead issue and they havent told me yet. Or, is it still just a who knows situation?

 

Thanks for entertaining me if at all. Hope you all have a wonderful day. 

 

Happy to share any other information that may help you answer my question. 

[mjcatlvr]

Hi! If you try to do a "fake booking", it shows that the Haven is sold out. There is still a chance that someone cancels or doesn't make their connection, but a slim chance. I will cross my fingers that you get a nice surprise of an upgrade!

[Gasgasgas235]

Yeah I asked customer service about that. They told me a certain time before the cruise the revenue department will close those rooms. Last time I checked before everything closed sometime yesterday there were 4 open rooms. Additionally, a customer service rep told me that they dont let you bid on rooms that aren't available to bid on....though I have found in multiple instances in life that some customer service reps don't really know what they're talking about so maybe that's the case for them!

[ChiefMateJRK]

18 minutes ago, Gasgasgas235 said:

I have a mini-suite or club suite or whatever they are calling it these days and per chance I placed a bid on a haven suite.

I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time regardless of how this turns out JumpingJack.  Best wishes!  😄

[Gasgasgas235]

1 minute ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I'm sure you'll have a fantastic time regardless of how this turns out JumpingJack.  Best wishes!  😄

 

Lol yes, even if I dont win the bid, I have won. I just really want a Buttler lol. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

11 minutes ago, Gasgasgas235 said:

I just really want a Buttler lol. 

🤣  My "problem" is that it wouldn't make me happy to have some other person doing meaningless stuff for me that I could do myself.  That's just not how I'm wired....

[julig22]

47 minutes ago, Gasgasgas235 said:

Additionally, a customer service rep told me that they dont let you bid on rooms that aren't available to bid on.

I don't think that is true.  The bids come out weeks before your sail date and they have absolutely no way to predict the actual inventory that far in advance- for starters, people cancel and upgrade.  The more "unique" the room, the less likely of an upgrade but it can happen.

[tstahl]

@Gasgasgas235  any update?  I think they give you a final yay or nay 2 days prior.  Let us know how it goes!  And have a great time!!

[deek72]

I'm even sure if they will give you a 'nay'?

 

My bid email just says they will email me if my bid is successful. 

[Gasgasgas235]

2 hours ago, tstahl said:

@Gasgasgas235  any update?  I think they give you a final yay or nay 2 days prior.  Let us know how it goes!  And have a great time!!

Nothing yet! I actually called and talked to a person at Norwegian yesterday and they told me that as long as I can edit the bid they are still "considering" it- they didnt tell me exactly that it meant a room is still available to be bid on but they didnt tell me that it didnt mean that either, so we'll see. She also told me that there are always instances where people are upgraded up to 24hrs before embarkation. 

 

She also confirmed that before the cruise "they" (the they being billing or revenue or whatever department) will block off those rooms closer to the cruise for people who bid on upgrades. 

 

So again, we shall see. But here's hoping!

Edited September 23, 2021 by Gasgasgas235

[oteixeira]

I had an upgrade accepted pre-covid less then 2 days before sailing.  I can also tell you I was upgraded to a sold out category.  Keep in mind other people are upgrading too, which can open up rooms you don't see available, so always bid on what you want, and don't worry how many rooms are listed as left in a mock booking.

[julig22]

36 minutes ago, Gasgasgas235 said:

Nothing yet! I actually called and talked to a person at Norwegian yesterday and they told me that as long as I can edit the bid they are still "considering" it- they didnt tell me exactly that it meant a room is still available to be bid on but they didnt tell me that it didnt mean that either, so we'll see. She also told me that there are always instances where people are upgraded up to 24hrs before embarkation. 

 

She also confirmed that before the cruise "they" (the they being billing or revenue or whatever department) will block off those rooms closer to the cruise for people who bid on upgrades. 

 

So again, we shall see. But here's hoping!

You should understand that NCL hires a third party to process the bids, so take anything you get from a NCL rep with a grain of salt.  And nobody can tell you if there are rooms to bid on - since everytime a bid is accepted, a new room becomes available.

[Gasgasgas235]

11 minutes ago, julig22 said:

You should understand that NCL hires a third party to process the bids, so take anything you get from a NCL rep with a grain of salt.  And nobody can tell you if there are rooms to bid on - since everytime a bid is accepted, a new room becomes available.

That is a very good point, I am hoping that they are getting this information from the third party. I mean I can't be the only person with an anxiety complex that causes them to worry about this (I didn't  know it was like this when I bid I doubt I will ever bid again its been more trouble than it'll likely be worth) so I would imagine they got some info from the company to ease the annoying customers who keep calling like me (though, they could just be lying to get annoying customers like me to stop calling lol).

 

To your next point, I am bidding on haven so unless someone upgrades from one haven suite to another I doubt many haven rooms open up when a bid is accepted (though I could be very wrong on this assumption). 

[graphicguy]

I've heard Haven suites sell out first.  Not sure about that, though

Edited September 23, 2021 by graphicguy

[graphicguy]

I think upgrade timing has been all over the map.  I've heard some get upgraded immediately after they placed a bid.  Others, never heard anything, at all.....and they just kept their original cabin.

 

So, two certainties....if there are cabins that are available, they'll try to fill them.  2nd, even if there are cabins available, unless you're the top bidder for that cabin via upgrade, you won't get it.

 

I don't know this to be fact, I do not believe your Latitudes status plays a roll in bidding for upgrades.  Again, don't know that for sure, though.  Maybe if two identical bids come in for the same upgrade, it might.  But, I don't even know if that's true, either.

[julig22]

4 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I think upgrade timing has been all over the map.  I've heard some get upgraded immediately after they placed a bid.  Others, never heard anything, at all.....and they just kept their original cabin.

Very true.  I got an upgrade at over 90 days out once- assuming because the category I'd booked was  sold out.  But unless they want your specific cabin, you probably won't see anything until they have exhausted all hope of selling cabins outright. That can work both for and against you - if they think that last minute cruisers will pay for balconies, they will keep an open inventory.  On the other hand, if they think they can entice last-minute cruisers by offering super cheap prices, they will take both the bid money for the upgrades and the new money offered by those last-minute cruisers.

 

How the bid process works is pure speculation - random draw, bid price, current location....

It is entirely possible that the 3rd party that handles the bids is completely unaware of the specifics, such as price paid or latitude levels.

[Gasgasgas235]

Ok so update: 

 

I went in to modify a bid and it wouldn't allow me to. Given that you should be able to modify accounts until up to 24hrs before you sail it means 1 of 3 things: 

1. I got the upgrade (though my stateroom has not changed and I didnt get the upgrade email)

2. There is a glitch

3. (most likely) I didnt get the upgrade. 

 

So unless there is a huge lag between when they accept the bid and when they notify you...its very likely I did NOT get the upgrade. 

 

Bummer! But im still super pumped! Thanks for the replies all!

[julig22]

27 minutes ago, Gasgasgas235 said:

Ok so update: 

 

I went in to modify a bid and it wouldn't allow me to. Given that you should be able to modify accounts until up to 24hrs before you sail it means 1 of 3 things: 

1. I got the upgrade (though my stateroom has not changed and I didnt get the upgrade email)

2. There is a glitch

3. (most likely) I didnt get the upgrade. 

 

So unless there is a huge lag between when they accept the bid and when they notify you...its very likely I did NOT get the upgrade. 

 

Bummer! But im still super pumped! Thanks for the replies all!

Check your credit card.  That's probably the first step, long before they update your account.  But since you sail in less than 48 hrs, my guess is that they are doing their final processing and should have an answer shortly.  I believe I've gotten "your bid is cancelled" emails in the past - either for everything or for the ones they cancelled because I got one.  Good luck, enjoy your cruise from wherever you end up.

[Gasgasgas235]

42 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Check your credit card.  That's probably the first step, long before they update your account.  But since you sail in less than 48 hrs, my guess is that they are doing their final processing and should have an answer shortly.  I believe I've gotten "your bid is cancelled" emails in the past - either for everything or for the ones they cancelled because I got one.  Good luck, enjoy your cruise from wherever you end up.

Hasn't been billed yet...another strike against me. But yeah, I called to make arrangements for onboard dining and the lady told me that they still have up to the day of your cruise so you never know. I also never got any emails saying "your bid is cancelled" either though so maybe there is hope. 

[aero777]

2 hours ago, Gasgasgas235 said:

Ok so update: 

 

I went in to modify a bid and it wouldn't allow me to. Given that you should be able to modify accounts until up to 24hrs before you sail it means 1 of 3 things: 

1. I got the upgrade (though my stateroom has not changed and I didnt get the upgrade email)

2. There is a glitch

3. (most likely) I didnt get the upgrade. 

 

So unless there is a huge lag between when they accept the bid and when they notify you...its very likely I did NOT get the upgrade. 

 

Bummer! But im still super pumped! Thanks for the replies all!

Celebrity also uses Plusgrade for their upgrades. A few weeks ago I noticed my bid for an Edge Villa couldn’t be modified or canceled, but still showed “pending”. The next day I received the email notification my stateroom had been upgraded. Didn’t show up on my credit card until a couple of hours later. There’s still hope until the status shows expired.

[Gasgasgas235]

25 minutes ago, aero777 said:

Celebrity also uses Plusgrade for their upgrades. A few weeks ago I noticed my bid for an Edge Villa couldn’t be modified or canceled, but still showed “pending”. The next day I received the email notification my stateroom had been upgraded. Didn’t show up on my credit card until a couple of hours later. There’s still hope until the status shows expired.

Well that certainly is encouraging!

[aero777]

1 hour ago, Gasgasgas235 said:

Well that certainly is encouraging!

Last time we sailed Encore Nov 2019 we were successful going from a mini suite to a forward facing Haven. 
Hoping for your success!

[Gasgasgas235]

17 hours ago, aero777 said:

Last time we sailed Encore Nov 2019 we were successful going from a mini suite to a forward facing Haven. 
Hoping for your success!

Thanks man, sail tomorrow and my thing still says pending! Really don't think I got it lol. I am curious what the closest up to the cruise someone has found out they got upgraded was. 

[cruzsnooze]

I just booked a club balcony suite and don't know what the amenities are. I would bid on the next category but need your advise as to what is a reasonable bid. It is only a 5 night cruise on the Bliss.