Princess Introduces Bidding For Upgrades

[caribill]

8 hours ago, ldtr said:

Actually they usually did not give them away, they mostly made upgrade offers where Princess set the price and if one wanted it, they could call in and pay the set amount.

 

The only free upgrades were pretty much within class, usually involving a move to mid-ship. Or when someone went for a guarantee and got moved up when the cruise line ran out of the class they were guaranteed.

 

 

 

Not my experience. I have had a number of free upgrades that were to a different type cabin including inside to ocean view to balcony (in two steps), from inside to oceanview, and from oceanview to balcony.

 

All of these were before Princess started to sell upgrades.

[wowzz]

30 minutes ago, 4cats4me said:

I’m wondering about insurance.  Since those of us who purchase insurance    do so prior to the cruise, if one bids post-final payment and wins,then the entire amount of cruise might not be covered by the insurance policy. 

 

Certainly wouldn't be the case in the UK. Your policy will give you cover up to a maximum level - say £10,000 per person - should you have to cancel your cruise for medical reasons.  The fact that you partially paid for your cruise via an upgrade bid is irrelevant.

[caribill]

5 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

True.  But the Upgrade Chain is bidding on specific cabins, and no one else knows that the cabins in their chain are going to be bid on, especially if they are showing up as occupied on the deck plan. Why would anyone else put in a bid on D203 if it looks like it is taken? 

 

Except, if Princess does it like the other cruise lines do, you do not bid on a specific cabin.

[caribill]

4 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

it's no different to playing roulette.

 

Quite different.

 

When the roulette wheel stops spinning you have either won $$$ or lost $$$.

 

When you submit a price for an upgrade, you either win and get the upgrade or lose and have not lost any $$$.

 

 

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Another big question that will probably set this thread on fire, will they give priority to bidding based on your Princess Captain Circle status???

 

Would seem odd for them to not take the highest bid regardless of captain circle status.  Why leave money on the table?   I could see them making the offer to higher status guest and suppose that already happens.  But what do I know.   

 

We did recently receive an upgrade offer, but the price was not negotiable.  

[villauk]

5 hours ago, ldtr said:

The other question would be how would someone know that a room would be available for upgrade?  After all if it was available to be booked, then someone could always book the room before the upgrades were assigned and their bid would be invalid if that was their only option.

Exactly, the cruise line can have cancellations right up to boarding too, so basically you agree to a category and if your bid wins, it could be issued at very short notice - hence, they don’t work on specific cabins but categories. You have agreed to bid on a stateroom category and if one comes up, and it fits with all the parameters, then you win, irrespective of the the actual cabin number. Remember, cabins are sold after final payment too, so saying a certain cabin/suite is available, isn’t always the case, and sometimes GTYs haven’t been assigned. They will work it to as what generates the most amount of money for the business. For example, if many balcony cabins are left and the sailing is a slow earner, offering more category bids for balconies will generate more revenue (psychological aspect may come into play here too - some people are also motivated to increase their bids as it is part of that gambling incentive of wanting to win at all costs) than flogging a dead horse in trying for new bookings at a lower rate for those said balconies. Then the insides can be virtually given away as they’ve made sufficient funds from all the successful MoveUp bids.

Edited August 19, 2022 by villauk

[DallasGuy75219]

4 hours ago, 4cats4me said:

I’m wondering about insurance.  Since those of us who purchase insurance    do so prior to the cruise, if one bids post-final payment and wins,then the entire amount of cruise might not be covered by the insurance policy. 

With travel insurance all your claimed losses don't have time be paid for at the time you take out the policy. What you do need to do though is add a cushion to the amount you insure for insurable costs you expect to incur after the date you take the policy out, e.g. cabin upgrades.

[SargassoPirate]

I wonder if this will be the end of unwanted "upgrades" that are not really an upgrade at all?  You know, the category upgrade to a crappo location such as under the Melanoma Deck or above the disco.

 

I always have my reservations marked "no upgrades" and have to watch them like a hawk and check every day since in spite of my no upgrade request I've discovered that I've been moved.  Luckily, I discovered the upgrade before my old cabin was reassigned and was able to get back to my original location.

 

There's a reason some cabins are unsold and available for upgrades - location, location, location. 

[blizzard44ca]

I think what some are missing about the program, is that it is not an auction.  They ask you to “bid”, but there appear to be many other factors at play.  They say you might be upgraded immediately, or you may have to wait.  Factors such as prior spending, prior cruise history, original price paid, etc. could all play a huge factor in whether your bid is accepted or not.  It is more similar to putting conditions on purchasing a house.  The highest “bidder” may not get the house if the conditions are unsuitable.  We just can’t see what the “conditions” are on our bid for a better cabin.

I’ll try it, but won’t bid much on it (maybe $100 total for a one category upgrade, $200 for two) The reason I select the category I do, is because the price intersects with what I want from the cruise.

[Level six]

6 hours ago, 4cats4me said:

I’m wondering about insurance.  Since those of us who purchase insurance    do so prior to the cruise, if one bids post-final payment and wins,then the entire amount of cruise might not be covered by the insurance policy. 

 

We just got an upgrade and Princess increased the price of the insurance.  I don't know how it would work for insurance purchased outside Princess. 

[Lady Arwen]

With Celebrity the bidding process is quite simple.  You are given a range of “additional” fare from low level acceptance to high level acceptance.  It’s a sliding scale and you choose what level you’re comfortable paying and what category upgrade you want. You may choose to bid in every category, except the one you are currently booked with. You provide your credit card details and if your bid is accepted your card is charged and there is no going back or changing minds…..it’s a done deal.  
If not accepted, no charge on your credit card.  You may be notified very quickly or you may not.  Some people find out when they board.  If you are not comfortable with getting a cabin that Celebrity chooses, then the bidding process is not for you.  I think that the system that Princess will offer us would be similar.  Personally, I’m willing to give it a try.

[NavyVeteran]

7 hours ago, 4cats4me said:

I’m wondering about insurance.  Since those of us who purchase insurance    do so prior to the cruise, if one bids post-final payment and wins,then the entire amount of cruise might not be covered by the insurance policy. 

 

2 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

With travel insurance all your claimed losses don't have time be paid for at the time you take out the policy. What you do need to do though is add a cushion to the amount you insure for insurable costs you expect to incur after the date you take the policy out, e.g. cabin upgrades.

 

20 minutes ago, Level six said:

We just got an upgrade and Princess increased the price of the insurance.  I don't know how it would work for insurance purchased outside Princess. 

I can only speak about one third-party insurance company that I have used several times. I cover the entire nonrefundable cost when I purchase the insurance (within the limited time frame after deposit to get the pre-existing conditions waiver). If and when the nonrefundable cost increases, I notify the insurance company to increase the coverage and pay the addition. In the paid upsell case, I would just need to notify the insurance company of the increased nonrefundable cost and pay the difference then for the increase in coverage.

[CineGraphic]

3 hours ago, johnnylikely said:

Virgin do lack in many areas esp compared to more established lines like Princess, but tbf their food really is exquisite! They've clearly spent a lot of time and money in it- they just need to improve in other areas lol

 

Until our last cruise on the Ruby, Pam and I could easily be labeled Princess loyalists.

There were so many problems on that cruise, and the response from corporate was so totally underwhelming, that we felt we had no choice but to look elsewhere for a quality cruise experience.

Paying full price for a clearly sub-par experience isn't something anyone I know looks forward to.

 

After watching all of the reviews on Youtube for Virgin, Pam and I can't wait to get on board and try something new.

[ceilidh1]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Quite different.

 

When the roulette wheel stops spinning you have either won $$$ or lost $$$.

 

When you submit a price for an upgrade, you either win and get the upgrade or lose and have not lost any $$$.

 

 

Agree - I was referring more to knowing what your limit is in terms of $$$ and not to keep upping the bid to the point where you end up losing even if you win (sometimes just calling to pay an upgrade isn't even that much when there are price drops...)

[nbsjcruiser]

Meh. We always book inside cabins. I suppose I might throw out a hail Mary bid but understand that I'll never get it. Guess I'm ok with this. We book early (already booked through to the Fall of 2023) so we can usually get a price we're quite happy with. If this program means they'll be able to keep prices down, I'm fine with it. 

[kywildcatfanone]

We are taking our first Celebrity cruise soon just to see how different it is from Princess, and they offer this option.

 

I wouldn't do it myself because you don't get location choice for your upgrade, so you might get upgraded, but if you like a certain area of the ship, you might not get it.

[jwattle]

The other advantage to this program versus current upsells is that right now they send out x amount of emails and people decide if they like the offering; first come, first serve, and they email out until they fill them. They have no way of knowing how much or how little interest there will be and what price point people will be interested in. This way they KNOW that the responders want the room, no guesswork.

[jwattle]

3 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Until our last cruise on the Ruby, Pam and I could easily be labeled Princess loyalists.

There were so many problems on that cruise, and the response from corporate was so totally underwhelming, that we felt we had no choice but to look elsewhere for a quality cruise experience.

Paying full price for a clearly sub-par experience isn't something anyone I know looks forward to.

 

After watching all of the reviews on Youtube for Virgin, Pam and I can't wait to get on board and try something new.

I think I heard that Virgin is opening a bid program 😂 (Just kidding, I couldn't resist)🥂

[jp2746]

So has this started already?  If so, has anyone bid and won that can share their experience?

 

Nevermind... I just reread and see it starts September 6.

Edited August 19, 2022 by jp2746

[caribill]

2 hours ago, nbsjcruiser said:

Meh. We always book inside cabins. I suppose I might throw out a hail Mary bid but understand that I'll never get it. Guess I'm ok with this.

 

That may work.

 

The way it used to work if they offered you the chance to pay for an upgrade, if you did not respond you obviously did not get it and that was the end of it.

 

With the bidding method, your bid can be accepted anytime from when you made the bid until near embarkation time.

 

So if there are any higher category cabins available near embarkation time, your hail Mary bid may be accepted as it does represent additional revenue to Princess, even if not much $$ additional.

 

Making hail Mary bids in several categories could increase your chance of a significant upgrade at minimum cost.  Worst that could happen is that you stay in the cabin you already know you would be happy in.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

Would seem odd for them to not take the highest bid regardless of captain circle status.  Why leave money on the table?  

 

If they do take CC status into account, it could make the difference if the highest bid amount was the same from multiple passengers.

[cr8tiv1]

4 hours ago, Level six said:

We just got an upgrade and Princess increased the price of the insurance.  I don't know how it would work for insurance purchased outside Princess. 

 

There will probably be some fine print that says your bid + additional insurance will be charged to your card.  Or...if you need to claim insurance, they will only return the amount you paid for.  

 

 

2 hours ago, nbsjcruiser said:

Meh. We always book inside cabins. I suppose I might throw out a hail Mary bid but understand that I'll never get it. Guess I'm ok with this. We book early (already booked through to the Fall of 2023) so we can usually get a price we're quite happy with. If this program means they'll be able to keep prices down, I'm fine with it. 

 

I am a skeptic.  I do not believe this bidding process will keep the prices down.  I see it as a marketing poll to see how much passengers are willing to shell out for a balcony, mini, suite, etc.

[vjmatty]

Another thing to consider, at least on RC and Celebrity programs your travel agency has to participate in order for you to be given the chance to bid.  Apparently some of the big box agencies like the one starting with C and ending with O do not participate.  I am not sure if this will happen with Princess but it is something to look into.

[Princessfan20]

Sounds like this could potentially mean that Princess will have to offer a lot less sales because the perpetual bidding is like an ongoing sale for them.  Clever.

[Guest ldtr]

10 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I wonder if this will be the end of unwanted "upgrades" that are not really an upgrade at all?  You know, the category upgrade to a crappo location such as under the Melanoma Deck or above the disco.

 

I always have my reservations marked "no upgrades" and have to watch them like a hawk and check every day since in spite of my no upgrade request I've discovered that I've been moved.  Luckily, I discovered the upgrade before my old cabin was reassigned and was able to get back to my original location.

 

There's a reason some cabins are unsold and available for upgrades - location, location, location. 

Probably not because many of those occur for other reasons.