MSC Upgrade Program Bidding Question

[HappynessIs]

Hi All!

I received an upgrade program email with 3 options, any of which I would take as an improvement on our current room. 

1. YC Deluxe Suite $$$$

2. Aurea Suite with Terrace and Whirlpool $$$

3. Premium Aurea Suite $

 

I bid the max on the YC (which is the experience we would really like to have), and got a confirmation of the bid, but no acceptance.

 

My response was a full 72hrs after the email went out, and the cruise appears to be fully sold out, so I am a little concerned that I was beaten to the punch by an earlier max bid, and MSC is just leaving me hanging because they could get a cancellation and then I am an easy sale. 

 

Incase that fear proves true - should I also bid on the other rooms to best ensure my chances of ending up with some sort of upgrade - or will that impact my chances of getting the YC bid? 

Would really appreciate anyone's knowledge, experience or guidance with the MSC Upgrade program and multiple bids.  

The Canadian MSC travel agent did not have the answers, none of the upgrades on offer were available in the system for her to simply sell at any price, and the Upgrade FAQ doesn't cover stack ranked bidding. 

[Morgsmom]

What's the ship & sailing so that we can check availabilty...

 

Now for some unsolicited advice. First, check the price to UPGRADE directly to Yacht Club.  (You say there are none, but there might be)  OFTEN that price is cheaper than the max bid.  Makes sense?  Nope, but also very often the case.

 

Sometimes there are no cabins in those categories to be had - this is an outside company that sends out the offers and they are data mining. Also, they like to keep bids in reserve in case someone upgrades, cancels or changes.

 

You might not find out until a day before your sailing if your bid was accepted - best way is to check your credit card to see if the amount is shown as a pending charge.  

[HappynessIs]

Hiya Morgsmom - thanks for responding. 

 

We are booked on the MSC Euriba, Jul 16th 2023, 7 days, sailing from Copenhagen.

Unfortunately this booking experience has been a bit traumatic right from the get go. Our original early YC reservation was accidentally cancelled by the agent, and by the time the error was identified there were no YC rooms available, but our travel plans to Denmark were already locked in, so we simply took what was available and crossed our fingers something would come up after full payment due date. Ended up with rm 12155 for our traveling group 4 (wife and 2 disabled sons) 
 

Would be great if I could improve on things in a firm way even if it wasn't the cheapest, not finding out until the last minute sounds like a real challenge of managing expectations. 

[mmbcater]

The bidding process is done by an independent company (RCL uses them as well), you may not find out until two days before your cruise if you won the bid. MSC will not have any winning bid information until the bid was accepted and then it takes a few days for MSC to get it..... I just looked at the back office of MSC's travel agent site and there are no YC available.

 

Good luck on the bid!

[B_A_H]

There's also not a lot of logic behind what's offered and how the bids are processed.  Just because an offer got e-mailed doesn't mean there's any inventory to back it up. I think it's just boiler plate and not tied to actual ship inventory. 

 

I just got upgraded at the 14 day mark to a YC1 on a nearly sold out Europa 5/12 sailing with a bid that was comically low and rated "weak" on the upgrade site. From a financial perspective, I'm sure there were many other bidders that would have netted MSC a lot more revenue. 

 

The whole process just feels really random vs. scientific.  

[HappynessIs]

3 hours ago, mmbcater said:

... I just looked at the back office of MSC's travel agent site and there are no YC available.

 

Good luck on the bid!

Thanks for the input, confirmation, and luck - seems like I am gonna need it!