How is the bidding system doing? Any comments?

[Bwana Tom]

2 hours ago, dog said:

Got my second bid offer for Oct 29/22 Enchanted. Still too high. Like my cabin too much to bid on any. All categories appear to be available.

Was that your second bid offer for the same cruise? And if so how long apart we’re the offers?

Thanks

[dog]

26 minutes ago, Bwana Tom said:

Was that your second bid offer for the same cruise? And if so how long apart we’re the offers?

Thanks

Yes, a couple of weeks apart.

[LACruiser88]

Just received the below offer for our Dec 28th New Year's cruise on the Discovery.  We are currently in a Deck 10 mid-ship balcony.  I think we will stay put, as we really like our current location and it is only a 10 day cruise.   For cruises 15 days or longer, we prefer mini-suites.

 

 

 

 

UPGRADE OPTIONS

Club Class Mini Suite A premium stateroom category featuring our best located Mini-Suite staterooms and Club Class benefits From $510 USD pp Get Upgraded     Club Class Mini Suite - Forward Facing A premium stateroom category featuring our forward facing Mini-Suite staterooms and Club Class benefits From $470 USD pp Get Upgraded     Mini Suite Choose a luxurious Mini-Suite with balcony which is substantially larger than a Balcony stateroom. From $315 USD pp Get Upgraded     Premium Deluxe Balcony This larger balcony stateroom provides outstanding views. From $115 USD pp Get Upgraded     Deluxe Balcony This impressive larger balcony stateroom gives you more space than a standard stateroom. From $65 USD pp

 

[RKSue]

4 hours ago, dog said:

Got my second bid offer for Oct 29/22 Enchanted. Still too high. Like my cabin too much to bid on any. All categories appear to be available.

So did they change the min bid price? Or give you the exact same deal?

[RKSue]

On 9/22/2022 at 8:39 PM, lodinayr said:

I bid for an upgrade on my Enchanted Princess October 1 sailing.  I got upgraded!  Bid $210/pp for upgrade from balcony to mini-suite.  Paid for upgrade as directed.  Was pretty seamless.

Finally we have a winner. Thanks for posting. Did you bid the min allowed or go higher?

[RKSue]

On 9/23/2022 at 12:43 PM, CalTexCruiser said:

So we submitted bids on 7 upgrades on our Oct 8 cruise:  club class mini all the way up to owner's suite.

 

We just received 6 separate messages indicating we did not win our bid.  None of the 6 messages indicate which bids were rejected, so I don't know which of the 7 has not yet been rejected.

 

 

So they actually said your bid was not accepted?  Ive got 2 bids in and no rejection letter on either one. 

[1cruiselvr]

5 minutes ago, RKSue said:

So they actually said your bid was not accepted?  Ive got 2 bids in and no rejection letter on either one. 

When is your cruise?  Seems they don’t start accepting or rejecting until close to the sail date. 

[RKSue]

On 9/23/2022 at 6:42 PM, CalTexCruiser said:

 

Actually looks great (aside from no balcony).  Nice and big--can't beat that.  $ 605 pp to upgrade from the lowest mini-suite to the Window suite seems like a great deal.

 

Also like how it's so close to the Retreat Pool.

So I’ve been in window suites before. You don’t have a balcony but you have huge bank of windows. You get club class dining which is awesome. You don’t schedule a time. You can just show up. Also the dining room is on the same floor. Same side of ship. Private walkway from atrium to theatre. That’s a huge plus. I don’t mind if I don’t have a balcony. 

[CalTexCruiser]

14 minutes ago, RKSue said:

So they actually said your bid was not accepted?  Ive got 2 bids in and no rejection letter on either one. 

 

so two weeks before our sail date we received 6 rejection emails and 1 acceptance email.

 

it appears everyone else who got upgraded had the same experience...rejection emails sent on all bids except the one that was accepted.

[RKSue]

On 9/24/2022 at 3:27 PM, 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.

Due to HIPPA laws Princess cannot access to see if you’re handicapped. Only if you book an accessible cabin and you’re not in need they can actually move you. 
 

if you have an accessible cabin be aware when you bid you will have no gaurentee to get a better one. Actually you most likely will loose your accessible room. However suites to my understanding are not given accessible tags. They will get you what you need. 

[shellbeachjim]

2 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

Just received the below offer for our Dec 28th New Year's cruise on the Discovery.  We are currently in a Deck 10 mid-ship balcony.  I think we will stay put, as we really like our current location and it is only a 10 day cruise.   For cruises 15 days or longer, we prefer mini-suites.

We're in a Club Class mini-suite, so our offers were for suites. They're a bit pricey for my taste...

[dog]

1 hour ago, RKSue said:

So did they change the min bid price? Or give you the exact same deal?

Suites were same & minisuite was $100 pp less then first offer.

[jennaja]

We bought a CAT DD Deluxe Balcony.  We bid on upgrades for a Premium Balcony which was declined, and a Mini-Suite, which was accepted.  We got a cat MA mini-suite for an additional $90 pp.

We only booked the cruise last week, and it sails in less than 2 weeks!

[Doug R.]

Just got upgraded to a MB mini suite from a BB balcony, Marina deck on Enchanted Princess for the October 29th NE/Canada cruise! 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

On 10/2/2022 at 12:34 AM, trbarton said:

My understanding is that you have to except wherever they put you. I wouldn’t considering bidding unless you are willing to except where your upgrade is located.

 

Tom😀

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2885416-upgrade-bid-accepted-is-this-a-good-cabin/

Poster jennaja (see above) was able to switch cabins after the upgrade was approved/assigned. She got upgraded to R407 and switched it to C409.

 

Edited October 5, 2022 by Itchy&Scratchy

[azbirdmom]

2 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2885416-upgrade-bid-accepted-is-this-a-good-cabin/

Poster jennaja (see above) was able to switch cabins after the upgrade was approved/assigned. She got upgraded to R407 and switched it to C409.

 

 

Yes, if there are other cabins available in your assigned category or below that are more appealing, you can ask to move to it. That has always been the case.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

11 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Yes, if there are other cabins available in your assigned category or below that are more appealing, you can ask to move to it. That has always been the case.

well, it's not what Princess says on their bid page. It specifically says that we cannot change cabins after an upgrade has been assigned to us.

[cruisequeen4ever]

When they were doing upsells, the offers were much more reasonable than what I am seeing for bid opps. Didn’t someone say they hired a third party to handle this? 

[azbirdmom]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

well, it's not what Princess says on their bid page. It specifically says that we cannot change cabins after an upgrade has been assigned to us.

 

I couldn't find any language about that, maybe I missed it.  I did find the language pasted below which I interpret to mean that you can't choose a location at the point of assignment of the upgraded cabin.  But I don't see anything about changes to location after the upgrade is processed.

 

1. Can I choose the location or specific features of the upgraded stateroom?
   No, stateroom location and amenities will depend on availability. We can’t guarantee a specific stateroom location within the upgraded category.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

But I don't see anything about changes to location after the upgrade is processed.

 

"Submitting an upgrade offer does not guarantee an upgrade nor does this program guarantee availability in any particular stateroom category. PCL reserves the right to not accept any offer regardless of offer amount or stateroom availability. Availability of upgrades is limited and is made at the sole discretion of PCL. PCL reserves the right to accept any offer from the time it is submitted to the departure date and time. Offers are priced per person at double occupancy for the stateroom. Stateroom upgrades are only valid on the cruise portion of a booking and are not applicable to any land portion hotel stays. Once your offer is accepted, the upgrade amount paid is final and non-refundable. The upgrade does not include any additional promotions. Current promotions on the reservation will not be altered. PCL cannot guarantee a specific stateroom number assignment within the upgraded category. Your stateroom number will depend on space availability and cannot be changed."

 

 

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

my heart has just almost leaped out of my chest - I opened my email and saw an email from Princess with my booking number in the heading... For a second I thought - oh, my upgrade is here!

Turns out, it's just an invite to a Love Boat Piazza Party...

[azbirdmom]

15 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

 

"Submitting an upgrade offer does not guarantee an upgrade nor does this program guarantee availability in any particular stateroom category. PCL reserves the right to not accept any offer regardless of offer amount or stateroom availability. Availability of upgrades is limited and is made at the sole discretion of PCL. PCL reserves the right to accept any offer from the time it is submitted to the departure date and time. Offers are priced per person at double occupancy for the stateroom. Stateroom upgrades are only valid on the cruise portion of a booking and are not applicable to any land portion hotel stays. Once your offer is accepted, the upgrade amount paid is final and non-refundable. The upgrade does not include any additional promotions. Current promotions on the reservation will not be altered. PCL cannot guarantee a specific stateroom number assignment within the upgraded category. Your stateroom number will depend on space availability and cannot be changed."

 

 

 

 

I've gone back to the email confirmation that I received after submitting the bid and I do see this text.  But I do not see this language on the upgrade page nor in the terms and conditions that are here: https://www.princess.com/plan/princess-cruise-room-upgrade/ and here: https://www.princess.com/plan/princess-cruise-room-upgrade/terms-and-conditions/  .  It wouldn't be the first time that there is conflicting information from Princess.  I know there were other items that were cleaned up in the upgrade T&C language such as the reference to not getting "perks" associated with the new language.  But unless Princess figured out a way to lock down cabin numbers after they assigned (which the frequent posts about people being moved when their booking is marked "do not upgrade" shows doesn't work), then there should be nothing preventing one from changing to another available cabin in or below their assigned category.

[azbirdmom]

21 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

my heart has just almost leaped out of my chest - I opened my email and saw an email from Princess with my booking number in the heading... For a second I thought - oh, my upgrade is here!

Turns out, it's just an invite to a Love Boat Piazza Party...

 

LOL, I got that too.  At least they are letting people know in advance about that.  I've read posts from people on the Discovery who only found out about it onboard.

[JF - retired RRT]

23 hours ago, RKSue said:

So I’ve been in window suites before. You don’t have a balcony but you have huge bank of windows. You get club class dining which is awesome. You don’t schedule a time. You can just show up. Also the dining room is on the same floor. Same side of ship. Private walkway from atrium to theatre. That’s a huge plus. I don’t mind if I don’t have a balcony. 

"Also like how it's so close to the Retreat Pool."

Different ship. Grand Class do have MDR on same deck, same side, etc. No Retreat Pool.

Royal Class ships have a Retreat Pool, but minis are on different decks. No guest cabins at all on the decks with the MDRs.

[dog]

Third bidding offer- mini suite- club class $320 CAD pp.

suites still over $1 k pp

 

not for me