NCL Upgrade Advantage - bid program

[stephuney]

Hi - wondering if anyone that has won a bid with the upgrade advantage program will share their experience.  I know the website says a bid could be approved (or denied) at anytime up until the day of debarkation.  I wonder though, for anyone that has won a bid, how close to cruise date was it before you heard?  

 

Appreciate anyone who has won a bid, sharing your experience (with regards to timing of win before sail date).

 

Thanks,

Stephanie 

[drumming cruisers]

Been upgraded twice and notified 2 days before sail date for each one. 

[smillerholmes]

1 hour ago, stephuney said:

Hi - wondering if anyone that has won a bid with the upgrade advantage program will share their experience.  I know the website says a bid could be approved (or denied) at anytime up until the day of debarkation.  I wonder though, for anyone that has won a bid, how close to cruise date was it before you heard?  

 

Appreciate anyone who has won a bid, sharing your experience (with regards to timing of win before sail date).

 

Thanks,

Stephanie 

You may want to check out this thread - lots of experiences documented here:

 

 

[G-DawgMN]

10 hours ago, stephuney said:

Hi - wondering if anyone that has won a bid with the upgrade advantage program will share their experience.  I know the website says a bid could be approved (or denied) at anytime up until the day of debarkation.  I wonder though, for anyone that has won a bid, how close to cruise date was it before you heard?  

 

Appreciate anyone who has won a bid, sharing your experience (with regards to timing of win before sail date).

 

Thanks,

Stephanie 

We were notified the day before our cruise in the evening. Someone did a last minute cancellation so we were upgraded to the Haven. 
 It was kind of funny because our butler thought the room was empty so didn’t visit us until day 2. 

[BirdTravels]

15 hours ago, stephuney said:

Hi - wondering if anyone that has won a bid with the upgrade advantage program will share their experience.  I know the website says a bid could be approved (or denied) at anytime up until the day of debarkation.  I wonder though, for anyone that has won a bid, how close to cruise date was it before you heard?  

 

Appreciate anyone who has won a bid, sharing your experience (with regards to timing of win before sail date).

 

Thanks,

Stephanie 

If you are bidding on non-suites (like a balcony) you could be awarded any time from the day you bid. So bidding early increases your chance of getting n upgrade. 
 

Suites/Haven upgrades are usually done the week of cruise. Monday/Tuesday for a weekend departure. On most cruises on big ships, the Haven is booked full. You are hoping for last minute cancellations. With over 1000 rooms with the potential to bid on 1 or 2 cancellations, the probability of winning is near 0%. 
 

Since Covid drove a lot of very late cancellations, they extended the bidding process to the moment the ship leaves the dock. (In the past, bidding ended 2 days prior to departure when all reservations are transferred from shore to the ship). On day of departure, they are only trying to fill the suites. They are not bothering with inside-to-ocean view upgrades. 

Edited December 30, 2023 by BirdTravels

[dbrown84]

I found out about 1.5 weeks before my cruise on my winning bid.  This was October of last year when capacity was still ramping back up, so things were different.  I only do minimum bids just to see, and this was my one and only win 

[stephuney]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experience and to @smillerholmes for sharing the link ... I did do a search for this topic, but didnt turn up any results (probably didnt do it right).  Thanks all!

 

[IAcruising]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

On most cruises on big ships, the Haven is booked full. You are hoping for last minute cancellations. With over 1000 rooms with the potential to bid on 1 or 2 cancellations, the probability of winning is near 0%. 

 

@BirdTravels There are 22 empty Haven rooms we have bids on, 3-months out. Chances?

 

 

[BirdTravels]

57 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

@BirdTravels There are 22 empty Haven rooms we have bids on, 3-months out. Chances?

 

 

Keep your fingers crossed. Good luck. 
 

Your chances are a lot better than a sold out Haven.
 

Earlier this year we bid on a sold out Haven. There was a cancellation of the deluxe owners suite. From what I could tell, people already in the Haven moved up and we moved in. (We knew the guy who moved into the Deluxe OS). We had a bid in the “good” Range from a club balcony. 

Edited December 31, 2023 by BirdTravels

[IAcruising]

12 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

 

Your chances are a lot better than a sold out Haven.

We had a bid in the “good” Range from a club balcony. 

 

@BirdTravels Thanks. We are in the "strong" range for 12 rooms, and "poor" for the ten 2-bedroom villas. 

 

Seems like a bunch of 2-bedrooms available. But it's not exactly a family type cruise.