How does Bidding Work?

[LewiLewi]

We will be sailing in about 2 months. We booked with a TA. Reading CC I see that upgrades are offered through bidding. Does NCL contact you once you are paid in full for your cruise? Do you then offer a bid to upgrade from Club Balcony to the Haven? Does NCL tell you what the minimum bid should be? I have never done this before.

Thanks for any advice.

[Nclgetawaymenhoney]

First, booking thru a TA often the TA do not participate in the bidding program including almost all of the big box TA do not participate. Second, if you are eligible you will either get an email from NCL like 2 to 3 days after making your final payment since you are with 110

dsys of sailing, or you can also check your banner when you sign on to NCL and on that first page scroll they the banners and see if you have the keys get you upgraded banner.   So then if you have the option if your in a balcony you can bid on upgrading from club balcony to haven and their will be a slider showing the minimum to maximum bid options.  If you are in inside you can bid on only ocean view and balconies.  Then and this is important be patient check inventory by doing mock bookings and realize that 95 percent or more of bids are not upgraded until 3 to 5 days before sailing.  Also, continue to check pricing if price goes down sometimes it’s just cheaper to upgrade directly.  Happy sailing!

[BirdTravels]

Since you have not got an invitation to bid, you are probably ineligible. 

 

If you were eligible, you would have already received an email invitation to bid (below). And when you log on to your MyNCL account, the logon splash screen will say "Let's Get You Upgraded". Both will take you an online system to place a upgrade bid. On our last cruise, we got our invitations 110 days prior to departure.

 

To be clear, you bid on an upgrade and the system automatically selects people for upgrades. Haven upgrades are usually done on the Monday prior to departure. And as late as departure time if there are no shows. 

 

And the probability of winning a Haven bid on the Bliss is very, very small. There are 1474 staterooms on the Bliss that can bid on Haven staterooms. And there are only 80 Haven rooms, many booked by passengers willing to pay for them (only a few rooms actually available for upgrade on the week of cruise). 

 

NOTE: Some of the bigger travel agents do not participate in the NCL Upgrade Advantage program and you will not be offered the chance to upgrade. 

 

Email: 

Information About Your Cruise + A Chance To Upgrade!

We're pleased to confirm your upcoming cruise on the Norwegian Bliss and look forward to welcoming you on board. You are invited to participate in our Upgrade Advantage program, which gives you the opportunity to submit offers to upgrade your existing stateroom. This exclusive offer is tied to inventory availability, which is subject to change at any time.