Princess Introduces Bidding For Upgrades

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

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

More likely they would use time of the bid.  

[Guest ldtr]

16 hours ago, caribill said:

 

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.

That is exactly my point, they used to, several years ago, but not many since they started their current process of selling them.

[Lou33]

6 hours ago, caribill said:

 

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

I expect that Princess will use the same 3rd party company to run the bidding for them that RCI, Celebrity and NCL use.  They use algorithms to find the optimum bid combinations that provide the greatest revenue.   They will let you bid even if a category is sold out.  There will be last minute cancellations for COVID or whatever reason.  And some categories will open up because other passengers were upgraded "from" that category.  

 

My experience with bidding has been favorable.  Many passengers reported getting an upgrade with the minimum bid, or close to it.   Especially during COVID when there were many vacant cabins.  I also saw posts of other passengers overbidding, because they get swept into a frenzy and they don't want to "lose", and they keep increasing their bid.  In general, if your bid is quickly accepted, you bid too much and they take your money before you can change your mind.  Many of the lower bids don't get accepted until about 5 days before the cruise.  

 

My bidding strategy goes like this:  I first book a category and cabin that we're comfortable with.  I consider that if we had booked a higher category, what additional cost would have made that decision a "no brainer"?   And that's what we bid.  Either way we can't lose.  

Edited August 19, 2022 by Lou33

[luckyinpa]

i'm glad to see this started on princess but doubt we will see much of it given the low number of suites. on my 2nd princess cruise on regal i got a call to upsell 249 for a suite. grabbed it right away. deck 10 on regal forward corner. could take a world cruise and store new clothes for every day in the drawers, there were so many! but id never pay full price for a suite because the amenities just arent there compared to the suites on royal or ncl. 

 

looking forward to bidding on my enchanted cruise though

[caribill]

5 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

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.

 

Princess has a lot less real sales already, especially since the introduction of Plus package pricing.

 

For example, there used to be a spring sale with the beverage package free. You do not see that anymore. Instead you are encouraged to pay Princess more by buying the Plus or Premier package.

 

In the fall there used to be a sale with gratuities free and often a specialty restaurant meal. You do not see that anymore. Instead, your are encouraged to pay more and get the Plus package (includes gratuities) or the Premier package (includes gratuities and specialty restaurant meals).

[CU64]

On 8/18/2022 at 12:17 PM, danceswithphones said:

 

 We are in an upper level suite on the Celebrity Beyond for November. The Iconic Suite opened up at final payment date. The difference between the two suites is roughly $25k for 5 days. I can't afford that but I'll bid on it. 

Do you have several in your Suite? If not, is it really worth that extra money for the Suite life? I have always had balcony or minisuite…. When I look at these fares for Suites, I just do not get it. 

[Ron the Rev]

Tried the bidding system pre covid on NCL. Won't be doing that again, too much hastle.

[lcmortensen]

16 hours ago, caribill said:

 

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

 

The airline I normally use has an almost identical bidding system to upgrade classes. They have a multiplier for upgrades based on your frequent flyer status - elite get 50% extra, gold get 30% extra, silver get 10% extra.

[deliver42]

I don't know if Princess will be doing this in house or not. The other lines that use the bidding process go through a 3rd party, and it doesn't know or care what your status is. They also go more than a one category upgrade.

[danceswithphones]

6 hours ago, CU64 said:

Do you have several in your Suite?

Just the two of us. We usually book a PH. Iconic Suite and PH on the Beyond are both two bedroom. We are in an Edge Villa. Moving up would be a waste but I'll bid the minimum on the IC. I didn't like the location of the PH. EV has a plunge pool and a large verandah in Deck 15. 

[Roberto256]

19 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

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.

Once Princess offered "The Best Sale Ever!" more that a few times, one has to wonder if it really is the best sale ever,

or if chicken little is writing their copy.

 

I think a lot of the comments in this thread are really over thinking this.

 

In my opinion, the only thing that matters is yield management.

 

When the ship sales, how can they have extracted the most dollars from the passenger cruise fare.

 

They already have yield management algorithms to change prices a zillion times from when bookings

open until sail away.

 

Update it to price upgrade bids.

 

Here's my employee-of-the-month idea:

 

Shove push notifications to the medallion apps of everyone signed up on a particular cruise.

"Are you looking forward to your upcoming cruise on our newest ship, the beautiful Revenue Princess?

...would you like to treat yourself to a nicer cabin?  Click here!"

 

 

If princess wants to stay in business, it's probably best if the global experience innovators don't work on it.

 

 

 

[NavyVeteran]

22 hours ago, Princessfan20 said:

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.

This is a much better deal for Princess than offering a sale. With this method, they can get money for unsold cabins without losing anything. If they offer a sale, then people who have already booked will be asking to reprice - thereby costing them money. With this method, they can sell some cabins for less without repricing any already sold.

[billco]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:44 AM, fpsphil said:

Another fantastic "improvement" by Padgett🙄

Yea, he certainly has brought some new innovations to princess.  This is one several other cruise lines have been using for a long time. I like him.

[Guest ldtr]

10 hours ago, lcmortensen said:

 

The airline I normally use has an almost identical bidding system to upgrade classes. They have a multiplier for upgrades based on your frequent flyer status - elite get 50% extra, gold get 30% extra, silver get 10% extra.

Of course with airline frequent flyer programs upgrades are a major part of the program.  So it makes sense that they also take those into account.

[njkate]

On 8/18/2022 at 5:26 PM, HBCcruiser said:

Exactly! If you look at the skyrocketing costs of NCL Haven suites you will understand. 

Amen!!! My last Haven cruise was back in 2018 and at the current insane pricing I won’t be booking a Haven again. Last month the bid email I received the minimum bid was insane, I was in a club balcony so could only bid on Havens

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, njkate said:

minimum bid

is this something that Princess also includes?

[njkate]

13 minutes ago, voljeep said:

is this something that Princess also includes?

We won't know until it's launched but if they use the same outside company I'm sure there will be a minimum bid

[Steelers36]

The talk of an outside company makes me think whatever system changes they are doing to support the bidding process is what is responsible for all of the data corruption issues of late.  Even if handling in-house, there would have to be system changes. 

[Cruise Raider]

On 8/18/2022 at 10:56 PM, caribill said:

 

Based on posts on Cruise Critic:

With the upsell, if you responded that you were interested you would be called by Princess and could discuss what cabins would be available and sometimes even ask for an even higher category cabin at the original upsell price. When the call ended, you either had a specific cabin you were happy to get or had turned down the offer.

 

But with the bidding, you bid on a category and if the bid is accepted, you are charged for the amount of your bid and then find out what cabin you have "won" in the auction. Don't like the result? Well you already paid for it.

 

I do not know if you will be bidding on a type of cabin (example: Deluxe Balcony) or a category within the  type (example: DB, which has cabins both mid-ship and far forward). Either way, you are bidding on an unknown location.

 

The only saving grace that I can see is that if you hate the room that was assigned to you and there is something available in that same category that is more suitable for your wishes, you may be able to switch cabins.  I was recently given a free upgrade from a midship obstructed balcony and was assigned to a non obstructed balcony room right under the aft pool deck.  Ugh!  My CVP changed it back for me pronto and marked my booking with no upgrade but not before she said I could switch to any cabin within that new ‘upgraded’ category.  She was in a hurry or I would have requested a meta upgrade only.  So, I still think there may be a little wiggle room in there.  

Edited August 21, 2022 by Cruise Raider

[Cruise Raider]

22 hours ago, NavyVeteran said:

This is a much better deal for Princess than offering a sale. With this method, they can get money for unsold cabins without losing anything. If they offer a sale, then people who have already booked will be asking to reprice - thereby costing them money. With this method, they can sell some cabins for less without repricing any already sold.

You nailed it!  

[Cruise Raider]

2 hours ago, njkate said:

We won't know until it's launched but if they use the same outside company I'm sure there will be a minimum bid

On AirCanada, they sent out an offer to be upgraded to business class and there was a minimum bid.  It was low (like $50 pp) but we went for it and got it.  Turns out nobody else w eat for the offer so we were up in business class all by ourselves.  

[LACruiser88]

I found a reference that Princess will be partnered with PlusGrade for the bidding program.  It is the same company that is handling the other cruise lines programs along with many airlines.  Check the bottom link for a list of all their current partners.

 

"Princess cruisers experiencing stateroom envy, wishing they had booked more elevated accommodations, can soon bid up as part of the cruise line’s new 'Princess Upgrade' program.

 

This bid-based system, in partnership with PlusGrade, gives passengers the opportunity to secure an upgrade to ocean-view, balcony, deluxe balcony, mini-suite and suite."

 

 

https://www.plusgrade.com/partners/

 

 

Edited August 21, 2022 by LACruiser88

[Steelers36]

26 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

On AirCanada, they sent out an offer to be upgraded to business class and there was a minimum bid.  It was low (like $50 pp) but we went for it and got it.  Turns out nobody else w eat for the offer so we were up in business class all by ourselves.  

That's rare with them.  Or at least it used to be.

Edited August 21, 2022 by Steelers36

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

You nailed it!  

Actually, lines that have bidding do offer sales.

[c-boy]

56 minutes ago, LACruiser88 said:

I found a reference that Princess will be partnered with PlusGrade for the bidding program.  It is the same company that is handling the other cruise lines programs along with many airlines.  Check the bottom link for a list of all their current partners.

 

"Princess cruisers experiencing stateroom envy, wishing they had booked more elevated accommodations, can soon bid up as part of the cruise line’s new 'Princess Upgrade' program.

 

This bid-based system, in partnership with PlusGrade, gives passengers the opportunity to secure an upgrade to ocean-view, balcony, deluxe balcony, mini-suite and suite."

 

 

https://www.plusgrade.com/partners/

 

 

  👍  I like it,  in that we have interest in their parent company and they haven't let us down yet.