Upgrade Bids Causing Available Cabins to Disappear on Site?

[seagunthera]

I was just searching a few cruises I have booked looking for available suites to pop up here and there and I notice that most CC mini's and regular mini's on all decks except Deck 8 are now showing as unavailable.  I have a terrible feeling that this new bidding process is going to make it next to impossible for a person to upgrade their cabin on their own and pay the difference.  I, for one, will not be happy if this winds up being the case.  Who wants to bid on/pay extra for a cabin they don't know the exact location of (i.e. wind up in an aft suite right over the crew smoking section, etc.)?!  Would love to hear thoughts on this. 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

@seagunthera - Obviously quite a few people are willing to upgrade w/o choosing a specific room as NCL, MSC, Carnival, Royal, Celebrity and now Princess all offer a bid upgrade system. If it wasn’t producing revenue (ie lack of interest) then cruise lines would have abandoned the product offer by now. 

Edited September 28, 2022 by AtlantaCruiser72

[seagunthera]

10 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

@seagunthera - Obviously quite a few people are willing to upgrade w/o choosing a specific room as NCL, MSC, Carnival, Royal, Celebrity and now Princess all offer a bid upgrade system. If it wasn’t producing revenue (ie lack of interest) then cruise lines would have abandoned the product offer by now. 

Agreed.  That said, I've cruised with Princess three times over the past 6 months and have 4 more cruises booked over the next 6 months and I'm not sure I'll stick with Princess if they decide to only allow upgrades via bidding. Other lines like Celebrity have better perks and promotions in general and as you pointed out, they also employ bid upgrade systems. One of the reasons I choose Princess over the others is the ability to select specific CC mini's and suites I like.  

[dog]

In past month- I received a free upgrade offer from aft balcony to midship mini- April 2023 cruise.

 

I just received a bid offer for a mini suite, club mini , other suites from an aft balcony for October cruise.  All of the categories were available for new bookings. Only thing is my ship doesn’t show Vista suite, which was available to bid on.

Edited September 28, 2022 by dog

[caribill]

3 hours ago, seagunthera said:

  I have a terrible feeling that this new bidding process is going to make it next to impossible for a person to upgrade their cabin on their own and pay the difference. 

 

The ability to bid on an upgrade does not happen before final payment and the bids are not necessarily accepted/rejected soon after bidding starts.

 

So if you want to pay for an upgrade you have plenty of opportunity before final payment to do so.

[PacnGoNow]

8 hours ago, seagunthera said:

I was just searching a few cruises I have booked looking for available suites to pop up here and there and I notice that most CC mini's and regular mini's on all decks except Deck 8 are now showing as unavailable.  I have a terrible feeling that this new bidding process is going to make it next to impossible for a person to upgrade their cabin on their own and pay the difference.  I, for one, will not be happy if this winds up being the case.  Who wants to bid on/pay extra for a cabin they don't know the exact location of (i.e. wind up in an aft suite right over the crew smoking section, etc.)?!  Would love to hear thoughts on this. 

I really don’t think it is because of the bidding.  You didn’t say how far out?

 

We love CC and it’s to their advantage to sell them upfront and if they become available after final payment or up to sailing time, get that revenue back by the bidding process.

 

If you’re trying to book within 90 days of sailing, then there could be bidding going on or they may be sold out.  Seems a lot more popular during these covid times.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

9 hours ago, seagunthera said:

 I have a terrible feeling that this new bidding process is going to make it next to impossible for a person to upgrade their cabin on their own and pay the difference.

the difference in price on our Nov cruise is crazy. I paid $2,500 for the 3 of us for the inside. Right now the lowest/cheapest balcony category is $1,709 pp which makes it a total of $4,597 for 3. It would have cost me a lot less to get a balcony when I first booked the cruise.

So, I bid my $300 to upgrade, but I am not holding my breath. There weren't any standard obstructed balconies available at the time of the bid, and now there are only 2 available.

[PrincessLuver]

11 hours ago, seagunthera said:

I was just searching a few cruises I have booked looking for available suites to pop up here and there and I notice that most CC mini's and regular mini's on all decks except Deck 8 are now showing as unavailable.  I have a terrible feeling that this new bidding process is going to make it next to impossible for a person to upgrade their cabin on their own and pay the difference.  I, for one, will not be happy if this winds up being the case.  Who wants to bid on/pay extra for a cabin they don't know the exact location of (i.e. wind up in an aft suite right over the crew smoking section, etc.)?!  Would love to hear thoughts on this. 

 

I think you are right.  We noticed to different itineraries we are on in the Spring and before the bidding started there were plenty of mins and a number of suites.  Even those cruises are not being on bird yet, when the bidding process started it showed al suites and minis on the two different cruises were sold out.  It just seems too coincidental?

Edited September 28, 2022 by PrincessLuver

[seagunthera]

8 hours ago, caribill said:

 

The ability to bid on an upgrade does not happen before final payment and the bids are not necessarily accepted/rejected soon after bidding starts.

 

So if you want to pay for an upgrade you have plenty of opportunity before final payment to do so.

I beg to differ: I have received two upgrade/bid emails on cruises where final payment is not yet due.  Oof!

[seagunthera]

3 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

I really don’t think it is because of the bidding.  You didn’t say how far out?

 

We love CC and it’s to their advantage to sell them upfront and if they become available after final payment or up to sailing time, get that revenue back by the bidding process.

 

If you’re trying to book within 90 days of sailing, then there could be bidding going on or they may be sold out.  Seems a lot more popular during these covid times.

Two of the cruises I've received bid/upgrade emails for are more than 90 days out. 

[PacnGoNow]

5 minutes ago, seagunthera said:

I beg to differ: I have received two upgrade/bid emails on cruises where final payment is not yet due.  Oof!

Are you traveling with others whom have made final payment?  How far are you from final payment?

 

Princess rules states bidding to start anytime 5 days after final payment and onwards.

I’ve seen it before final payment when other members of the party had paid for their cruise ahead of final payment.

So, yours may be totally different.

[PacnGoNow]

4 minutes ago, seagunthera said:

Two of the cruises I've received bid/upgrade emails for are more than 90 days out. 

How far out?

[PacnGoNow]

6 minutes ago, seagunthera said:

I beg to differ: I have received two upgrade/bid emails on cruises where final payment is not yet due.  Oof!

Are you on a casino rate?

Interesting.

[dog]

7 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

Are you on a casino rate?

Interesting.

Some cruises require final payment more then 90 days out.

[PacnGoNow]

1 hour ago, dog said:

Some cruises require final payment more then 90 days out.

True. Ours (longer ones) was 120 days out. Thank you.

[Ombud]

So from a shareholder perspective (enjoying that shareholder OBC) GREAT!! More income for CC. From the perspective of someone who usually picks & room and marks it 'no upgrade,' relieved that unwanted upgrades in the future as less of a risk. From a cruiser who's trying to book a drop & go cruise, not so great. Might have to pick a BA - BB - BC guarantee room. Really hate guarantees as I want midship / low deck

 

It's complicated 

 

 

Edited September 28, 2022 by Ombud

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

I noticed this too last weekend and thought it was odd. An entire block of rooms in the forward section on Deck 15 was unavailable for our March 2nd 2023 cruise. They were available on Saturday but gone on Monday. Our CVP said they were "reserved".

[NownZen]

4 minutes ago, ATL_Miami_Cruiser said:

I noticed this too last weekend and thought it was odd. An entire block of rooms in the forward section on Deck 15 was unavailable for our March 2nd 2023 cruise. They were available on Saturday but gone on Monday. Our CVP said they were "reserved".

Quarantine rooms?

[ATL_Miami_Cruiser]

4 minutes ago, NownZen said:

Quarantine rooms?

I don't think so since the cabins are on Lido. I just checked again and 5 cabins are now available again in the forward section.

[voljeep]

deleted

[PacnGoNow]

41 minutes ago, ATL_Miami_Cruiser said:

I don't think so since the cabins are on Lido. I just checked again and 5 cabins are now available again in the forward section.

Could also be a block of rooms for a large party or group.  Agency may have a hold on them.

[dog]

48 minutes ago, voljeep said:

deleted

Stay safe in Florida. Watching coverage.

[voljeep]

15 minutes ago, dog said:

Stay safe in Florida. Watching coverage.

all good so far, thanks

still have power, but our worst is expected between 8-12 tonight

we're ready as can be - not our first - same house as in 2004 - Charley, etc then Irma in 2017

[jagoffee]

I serious doubt that Princess would hold back unsold cabins to use it the bidding process.  They would probably just increase the prices in line.  I suspect that selling cabins at a higher price than what is being offered on line is not an objective  of this new process.

 

With a bidding process, Princess does not need to lower/discount their cabins.  (And adjust the price for current bookings).  
 

I am making my assumptions based on my experience with the current similar Celebrity “move up” bidding process.   Based on the tracking thread, (where people share their details of winning and losing bids)  most cabins are sold at significantly reduced prices from what you can book direct.  
 

In the case of Celebrity it is a win win.  No reason that it cannot be the same for Princess customers.  
 

it is not an auction, but a blind bid.  Those that are not be happy with  any cabin within the bidding category should not bid.  

 

 

[cruisedoctor]

Princess is doing their UPGRADE BIDDING a little differently than the other cruise lines.  For some stateroom classifications, they are subdividing them into sub-classifications, where a stateroom type may have staterooms in "less than optimal" locations.  This is to prevent someone from being unhappy if their upgrade bid wins, and their new room is in a poor location.  For example, you might have an opportunity to either bid on a mid-ship Club Class Minisuite or a front-facing Club Class Minisuite, with the starting bid being lower on the front-facing type.  Also, bidding on a "window" suite is seperated from a suite with a balcony.  When they presented this to the travel agent community, they stressed this was being done to reduce complaints that other cruise lines are running into.