How is the bidding system doing? Any comments?

[Coral]

20 minutes ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

It’s nice to see some results here! Thank you to all who are sharing.

 

All of this has made me think of a question. How does it work if you need an accessible stateroom? Does the system detect that you are in one and that you should only be offered one in a higher category if you bid?

I don't know the answer for sure but I would not bid if you need an accessible room. Those who have an accessible room are told to mark their room "not for upgrades". Several have been moved out into a room they couldn't handle. I don't have confidence in Princess's computer system to be that smart.

[AZjohn]

50 minutes ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

It’s nice to see some results here! Thank you to all who are sharing.

 

All of this has made me think of a question. How does it work if you need an accessible stateroom? Does the system detect that you are in one and that you should only be offered one in a higher category if you bid? I hope that someone knows the answer to this or that it’s clear when you go to bid.  It would be awful if someone who is in an accessible stateroom were to bid assuming Princess knows they need one and end up in a non-accessible stateroom, losing their accessible one in the process.

 

To the person in the window suite, we had one one time and loved the suite perks of breakfast in Sabatini‘s or Crown Grill, whatever it is on your cruise, the free dinner at either of those the first night, and the extra space. Years ago, window suites were commonly talked about on here as being really enjoyed.

When they had their press release they did say only those booked in accessible cabins would only upgrade to another accessible cabin ( they would not be placed in a standard cabin).

Cheers

[Coral]

1 hour ago, AZjohn said:

When they had their press release they did say only those booked in accessible cabins would only upgrade to another accessible cabin ( they would not be placed in a standard cabin).

Cheers

That is great.

[suzyed]

3 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

It’s nice to see some results here! Thank you to all who are sharing.

 

All of this has made me think of a question. How does it work if you need an accessible stateroom? Does the system detect that you are in one and that you should only be offered one in a higher category if you bid? I hope that someone knows the answer to this or that it’s clear when you go to bid.  It would be awful if someone who is in an accessible stateroom were to bid assuming Princess knows they need one and end up in a non-accessible stateroom, losing their accessible one in the process.

 

To the person in the window suite, we had one one time and loved the suite perks of breakfast in Sabatini‘s or Crown Grill, whatever it is on your cruise, the free dinner at either of those the first night, and the extra space. Years ago, window suites were commonly talked about on here as being really enjoyed.

I did read that you would be upgraded to a high accessible stateroom.

[bjkTX]

We received a "bidding" email today for our Christmas cruise.  I am really happy with our current cabin so it would take something great to get me to change.  But out of curiosity, and seeing the prices Princess puts on each category I decided to go look at those categories of cabins on our cruise just to see what the real difference was (not that I don't trust Princess...).  I really never did find out because none of the categories they wanted me to bid on (that I was interested in) were available!  So now I'm wondering if they take everything off the availability list once they send out the bidding emails for the cruise - or if they just don't realize I'd be spinning my wheels bidding on cabins that aren't available....

[AF-1]

I've received two emails to upgrade.  I am in vista suite and have been offered penthouse suite and sky suite on Enchanted Princess.  

[Papa Yoda]

29 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

I've received two emails to upgrade.  I am in vista suite and have been offered penthouse suite and sky suite on Enchanted Princess.  

 

How much did they want for the Sky Suite?  I got a bid invite for a Grand Suite, 15 day Hawaii for $1900 pp, PH was $475

 

PS It would take a hell of a deal to get us out of Vista

Edited September 25, 2022 by Papa Yoda

[HBCcruiser]

46 minutes ago, Papa Yoda said:

How much did they want for the Sky Suite?

This is for a 4-day cruise. Starts at $1350.00 PP. I’m good!

 

[1cruiselvr]

3 hours ago, bjkTX said:

We received a "bidding" email today for our Christmas cruise.  I am really happy with our current cabin so it would take something great to get me to change.  But out of curiosity, and seeing the prices Princess puts on each category I decided to go look at those categories of cabins on our cruise just to see what the real difference was (not that I don't trust Princess...).  I really never did find out because none of the categories they wanted me to bid on (that I was interested in) were available!  So now I'm wondering if they take everything off the availability list once they send out the bidding emails for the cruise - or if they just don't realize I'd be spinning my wheels bidding on cabins that aren't available....

The bidding process doesn’t guarantee there are available cabins at the time of bidding but if they should become available. When we received our upgrade email it was for every category above our guarantee but a lot of these categories were “sold out” on their website at the time of email receipt. I believe it’s to monetize any currently open cabins plus any that become open in the future, up to 3 days prior to sail date. 
On almost sold out cruises, like ours, I doubt there will be many bids accepted. It’s nowhere near a slam dunk if you bid, more like a greedy upgrade fairy. 😀😀

Edited September 25, 2022 by 1cruiselvr

[1cruiselvr]

Well after thinking on this subject for awhile, I decided to give it a try. It’s really more of an experiment since all the categories I bid on are currently showing sold out on their website. We are booked in a D4 GTY on Discovery 11/26 sailing with no assignment yet. I bid close to minimum for CC mini suite, Vista Suite and Penthouse suite.  I don’t expect to win but will be pleasantly surprised if we do. 

[dog]

The categories I was offered to bid on were still available to book at published fares on their website. none were sold out.

 

I did not want to lose my aft cabins  for a mini or suite. For those prices. 

Edited September 25, 2022 by dog

[lhsail]

On 9/21/2022 at 3:58 PM, kiwimum said:

Just received an invitation to bid on a cruise I put on hold yesterday.   No deposit planning on letting the hold expire tonight.   This is for the Sapphire departing December 2.

Had this happen as well. TA put a cabin on hold last night and today I got the email. MS for 12-2 Ruby. I had asked her to place the hold and asked her to release it this morning. We’re still exploring our options. 

[Coral]

7 minutes ago, lhsail said:

Had this happen as well. TA put a cabin on hold last night and today I got the email. MS for 12-2 Ruby. I had asked her to place the hold and asked her to release it this morning. We’re still exploring our options. 

Cabins are usually held for a few days. I wouldn't worry about this. She would have had to go in and manually cancel the booking.

[lhsail]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

Cabins are usually held for a few days. I wouldn't worry about this. She would have had to go in and manually cancel the booking.

Meant to say I did not ask for the hold. I’m sure she was just trying to protect the pricing, but this has caused problems for me in the past. 

[kiwimum]

I have looked in the FAQ for bidding and did not see if you have the option of declining a winning bid if you did not like the new stateroom location.  

[cruzsnooze]

1 minute ago, kiwimum said:

I have looked in the FAQ for bidding and did not see if you have the option of declining a winning bid if you did not like the new stateroom location.  

No, your method of payment is already charged when they accept your bid. This bidding system wasn't designed for the passenger it was a win win for the company. If one could decline the new assignment then the whole system wouldn't work for Princess.

[PacnGoNow]

55 minutes ago, kiwimum said:

I have looked in the FAQ for bidding and did not see if you have the option of declining a winning bid if you did not like the new stateroom location.  

You’ve already paid for it.  But, I wonder, if that category is available, why couldn’t you call and ask to switch the cabin?

I would call my TA/CVP.  Do you see another cabin open?

You can’t get a refund of course, but why not try to change your cabin…same

 category.

Let us know.

 

[hpeabody]

Are "Bid" emails only sent to passengers that booked with Princess?  Has anyone heard if it is just random who gets them.  I know Princess has my email address, but are these going to our TA and it is up to the TA to forward to us.  Anyone know?  Just trying to figure this out

[voljeep]

12 minutes ago, hpeabody said:

Are "Bid" emails only sent to passengers that booked with Princess?  Has anyone heard if it is just random who gets them.  I know Princess has my email address, but are these going to our TA and it is up to the TA to forward to us.  Anyone know?  Just trying to figure this out

Booked and Paid in Full

[1cruiselvr]

25 minutes ago, hpeabody said:

Are "Bid" emails only sent to passengers that booked with Princess?  Has anyone heard if it is just random who gets them.  I know Princess has my email address, but are these going to our TA and it is up to the TA to forward to us.  Anyone know?  Just trying to figure this out

It’s not random and you will get the email directly if you meet the qualifications. I’m not sure they are including all ships. They were rolling out the program at the beginning of September for a few select ships. 

[suzyed]

38 minutes ago, hpeabody said:

Are "Bid" emails only sent to passengers that booked with Princess?  Has anyone heard if it is just random who gets them.  I know Princess has my email address, but are these going to our TA and it is up to the TA to forward to us.  Anyone know?  Just trying to figure this out

Holly, if you "qualify", you will get one whether you book with a TA or not.  I got the email for our cruise in October and never heard a peep from my TA.  

Edited September 25, 2022 by suzyed

[PacnGoNow]

13 minutes ago, suzyed said:

Holly, if you "qualify", you will get one whether you book with a TA or not.  I got the email for our cruise in October and never heard a peep from my TA.  

Same here.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for all the input. It’s reassuring that Princess’s protocol is to only upgrade those in an accessible to a higher accessible stateroom if a bid is won. 👌

[dreaminofcruisin]

2 hours ago, hpeabody said:

Are "Bid" emails only sent to passengers that booked with Princess?  Has anyone heard if it is just random who gets them.  I know Princess has my email address, but are these going to our TA and it is up to the TA to forward to us.  Anyone know?  Just trying to figure this out

 

Also, logon to your Cruise Personalizer and be sure you have Accept Emails set to "Yes".

I was quite surprised when I logged into my account when all this started and saw that Emails were set to "No" even though they have always been set to "Yes" in the past. So, good to check. I received the bidding offer within 24 hours after I changed it to "Yes".

 

[hpeabody]

2 hours ago, hpeabody said:

Are "Bid" emails only sent to passengers that booked with Princess?  Has anyone heard if it is just random who gets them.  I know Princess has my email address, but are these going to our TA and it is up to the TA to forward to us.  Anyone know?  Just trying to figure this out

Thank you all for the replies. I have a better understanding now.   I am curious because it seems emails are being sent for both my upcoming cruises in Oct and Nov and I heard nothing from Princess and I do get emails from Princess not always via my TA.