bidding for an up grade

[Robin1961]

Hello Gang,

 

With Princess Cruises, if they have cabins left over, you get a chance to bid for an upgrade

 

Looking for some input on bidding for an upgrade cabin

 

Worth it?

 

Thank you 

 

Robin & Angel "D"

Edited April 14 by Robin1961

[Treasure Hunter]

Yes. It can be a big savings but remember once you get a bid accepted you can’t back out if you don’t like the cabin.

[PacnGoNow]

8 minutes ago, Robin1961 said:

Hello Gang,

 

Looking for some input on bidding for an upgrade cabin

 

Worth it>

That is a very subjective and open ended question.

 

You would need to determine what’s best for you.  Be prepared to get a location or cabin that you may not want.  
Look to see, where the category you are bidding on, could be located.  Check the deck plans.

 

This is the most comprehensive and helpful thread I have seen on the bidding process.  Check out the most recent posts of the 87 pages.🥴

 

Best of luck, making a decision.

 

Thread doesn’t want to paste, just search

cruise critic how is the bidding system doing?

 

You’ll get the thread.

Edited April 14 by PacnGoNow
Added

[Paula_MacFan]

See this lengthy thread for more information 🙂 

 

 

 

[Robin1961]

49 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

That is a very subjective and open ended question.

 

You would need to determine what’s best for you.  Be prepared to get a location or cabin that you may not want.  
Look to see, where the category you are bidding on, could be located.  Check the deck plans.

 

This is the most comprehensive and helpful thread I have seen on the bidding process.  Check out the most recent posts of the 87 pages.🥴

 

Best of luck, making a decision.

 

Thread doesn’t want to paste, just search

cruise critic how is the bidding system doing?

 

You’ll get the thread.

Thank you for an honest answer....

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

There is some degree of risk as you may end up being in a location you don't like but if it means getting a much nicer cabin for your cruise you may decide the risk is worth it. It was for us.

 

We're about to embark on the 110 night world cruise out of Australia on Coral Princess. We had originally booked a BA balcony cabin - we usually book this category on a class of ship we've never cruised on before - and on Coral this was on the midships bump so had a very small balcony so we weren't 100% happy with the location after doing some cruises on Coral in 2022 but it would have cost more to change it. Just after Christmas we got the offer to bid for an upgrade. Since it's a very long cruise we decided to try for a mini-suite upgrade for the extra space and comfort. The minimum bid was a bit higher than we'd hoped for though. We raised it as much as we could afford but it was still a low bid. Late last month we received the dreaded "You've been out-bid" email, offering us the chance to increase our bid. No thanks, our original bid is all we could afford. Four days later we received the "Yay - you got your stateroom upgrade!" email. We now have an almost perfect starboard mid-aft mini-suite with a large (but uncovered) balcony. We've very happy with that.

[Iamcruzin]

 It also depends on what the price of the upgrade would have been at the time of your original booking. I don't have experience on Princess but on Royal Caribbean the starting bid would have cost me more than if I had booked that category to being with. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

 It also depends on what the price of the upgrade would have been at the time of your original booking. I don't have experience on Princess but on Royal Caribbean the starting bid would have cost me more than if I had booked that category to being with. 

True. Luckily I'd downloaded the release brochure for that cruise so I knew what the original base price for a mini-suite was. We got a very good deal. Plus at the time we booked a mini-suite was out of our price range but our circumstances changed so we were able to afford the bid  

[Shone216]

We bid the minimum price on an owners suite on Sun Princess and got it. Our total cost is less than half than if we’ve booked it originally so we’re pleased. If you get a successful bid you can check out location etc before accepting to see if it’s suitable for you, if not stay with your original cabin

[OzKiwiJJ]

57 minutes ago, Shone216 said:

We bid the minimum price on an owners suite on Sun Princess and got it. Our total cost is less than half than if we’ve booked it originally so we’re pleased. If you get a successful bid you can check out location etc before accepting to see if it’s suitable for you, if not stay with your original cabin

We did not get a chance to accept the successful bid, we were just advised of our new cabin. Luckily we love the location.

[happy42cruise]

1 hour ago, Shone216 said:

We bid the minimum price on an owners suite on Sun Princess and got it. Our total cost is less than half than if we’ve booked it originally so we’re pleased. If you get a successful bid you can check out location etc before accepting to see if it’s suitable for you, if not stay with your original cabin

You no longer get to refuse the upgrade if you don't care for the assigned room.  Your credit card is immediately charged & you are assigned a new cabin.  You might possibly be able to move to a different cabin if there is one in the same category available BUT you do not get to refuse.

[Shone216]

Not sure if it’s different for UK passengers but we were given 72hours to pay and could log in to Princess and see the cabin allocated 

[F355c5]

One thing to remember is that if your bid is accepted you cannot bid again.

 

[Treasure Hunter]

We were able to upgrade from a mini suite to a Reserve ( club class) mini and were thrilled as it had the club class dining. I heard that after September Princess will open one of the restaurants as a no reservation any time dining which devalues the Reserve class.

[I object 2]

8 hours ago, Shone216 said:

We bid the minimum price on an owners suite on Sun Princess and got it. Our total cost is less than half than if we’ve booked it originally so we’re pleased. If you get a successful bid you can check out location etc before accepting to see if it’s suitable for you, if not stay with your original cabin

 

Wow!   That's amazing!

 

We booked owners suite #16611 on Sun Princess in 2025.  I contacted Princess "Live Chat" this morning to ask a few questions on this cabin.  The rep said the shower was a "roll-in" shower which leads me to believe this is an accessible suite.  The website indicates a separate tub/shower.  May I ask what suite you were in?  

[Shone216]

We’re sailing in a couple of weeks will let you know how it goes

[Iamcruzin]

15 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

True. Luckily I'd downloaded the release brochure for that cruise so I knew what the original base price for a mini-suite was. We got a very good deal. Plus at the time we booked a mini-suite was out of our price range but our circumstances changed so we were able to afford the bid  

That's what I do too. It's the only way to know with the prices constantly changing especially if you book far in advance.

[I object 2]

6 hours ago, Shone216 said:

We’re sailing in a couple of weeks will let you know how it goes

 

Thanks!  I'd appreciate that.  Enjoy that new ship!

 

Jan

[OzKiwiJJ]

9 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

We were able to upgrade from a mini suite to a Reserve ( club class) mini and were thrilled as it had the club class dining. I heard that after September Princess will open one of the restaurants as a no reservation any time dining which devalues the Reserve class.

No, it doesn't. That's what the original Anytime dining was - no reservation, dine when you want but sometimes you had to wait for a table. 

 

Reserve Collection is a separate area, different tablecloths, better service and a couple of extra items on the dinner menu. 

[Treasure Hunter]

Yes you are right, and service is better, greeted by name, no wait but the food is really the same as MDR . They usually add a shrimp dish and a crepe for dessert. It’s the no wait that I like. Looking forward to true suite dining on the Sun with a separate dining room. A reason for the prices to become closer to Retreat and Haven. Right now, suites on Princess are still much less than Celebrity or NCL