NCL Encore Live Upgrade Bidding

[Blondsrule1976]

Blondsrule1976

Posted 6 minutes ago

So I'm about to set sail on a 7 day cruise to Alaska on July 7th, 2024. Live upgrade bidding for a 2 bedroom Have family villa with large balcony has been going on for the past week or so, but wondering when does NCL usually close the live bidding and award the upgrade to the winner.  Not sure how much of I should stay in since I Karl getting outbidded. Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 

 

[European_CruiseGirl]

I have read several times here on cc of people getting upset of the live bidding and lowering their offer when they were outbidded…and then in just a few days they got their low bid accepted. So if I’d ever come across live bidding I’d bid once and if outbidded would just lower my bid and wait. If I’d really want the cabin I’d just call and pay for it. 

[Blondsrule1976]

CruiseGirl, I tried to call and just pay for it outright, unfortunately they didn't have one for purchase,  just for live bidding.  Didn't make much sense since I was willing to pay full price,  but I guess maybe they think they will be able to get even more money for the villa through live bidding. My question was,  when do they finally close live bidding? 

[davencl]

2 hours ago, Blondsrule1976 said:

CruiseGirl, I tried to call and just pay for it outright, unfortunately they didn't have one for purchase,  just for live bidding.  Didn't make much sense since I was willing to pay full price,  but I guess maybe they think they will be able to get even more money for the villa through live bidding. My question was,  when do they finally close live bidding? 

Generally bidding is open for all cabins whether available or not.  Your experience would indicate that cabin category is sold out.  So even if you were high bidder you wouldn't get the cabin. Occasionally someone cancels the last minute and one becomes available but very rare.

Edited June 29 by davencl

[debenson0723]

3 hours ago, Blondsrule1976 said:

CruiseGirl, I tried to call and just pay for it outright, unfortunately they didn't have one for purchase,  just for live bidding.  Didn't make much sense since I was willing to pay full price,  but I guess maybe they think they will be able to get even more money for the villa through live bidding. My question was,  when do they finally close live bidding? 

Usually a week before sailing so my guess would be either Monday or Tuesday. But ships are sailing at capacity so an upgrade is rare. Though I did see one and hear another one done at the port in NYC 2 weeks ago so anything is possible. 

[Blondsrule1976]

Thanks everyone, yeah the bid is now 7250 pp, I really think this is a scam on Norwegian's part to get more money out of cruisers. Live and learn, I should of bought a Haven suite when I had the chance. I already have a Club Balcony with larger balcony suite, so I'll be happy with that and spend the $14000 in the Alaska port towns. Bummer but oh well.

[meglet]

That's a huge amount. Surprisingly, someone currently on the Gem seems to have scored a forward suite. While I'm really happy for him, he originally said he had an inside and I don't think you can bid for a jump that many categories. 

[Blondsrule1976]

That's very true, at the most he would have only been able to upgrade to a balcony, so good for him. This is the first time I've ever cruised with Norwegian,  I usually cruise Princess but we're going with a group of friends and unfortunately they were not able to afford Princess. I'll be going back to Princess after this as I have cruised 4 times with them and have been upgraded each time for not alot of money.  Norwegian upgrades are a scam,  IMHO. It's ridiculous!

[BunnyHutt]

51 minutes ago, Blondsrule1976 said:

Thanks everyone, yeah the bid is now 7250 pp, I really think this is a scam on Norwegian's part to get more money out of cruisers. Live and learn, I should have bought a Haven suite when I had the chance. I already have a Club Balcony with larger balcony suite, so I'll be happy with that and spend the $14000 in the Alaska port towns. Bummer but oh well.

My best friend and I sailed Alaska last year on Encore and had the exact category of cabin you are booked in now. We were very pleased with it. 🙂

 

Happy Sailing!

[Blondsrule1976]

Thank you so much and for the info on your room, I know we will have a good time, no matter what. Is just my husband's first time ever cruising, I was trying to surprise him with the upgrade.

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, Blondsrule1976 said:

Blondsrule1976

Posted 6 minutes ago

So I'm about to set sail on a 7 day cruise to Alaska on July 7th, 2024. Live upgrade bidding for a 2 bedroom Have family villa with large balcony has been going on for the past week or so, but wondering when does NCL usually close the live bidding and award the upgrade to the winner.  Not sure how much of I should stay in since I Karl getting outbidded. Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. 

 

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

First, your cruise is sold out, so there are no Haven rooms currently available (or any other room for that matter). They are not going to "close bidding and award the upgrade to the winner". 

 

The bidding system accepts bids in the event that there are any last minute cancellations/no-shows.

 

Haven upgrades are usually done on Monday/Tuesday of the week you depart. Around Friday 7/5, you will get an email stating that your bid is being transferred to the ship for action (essentially, you bid was rejected). About 7 pm on 7/7, you will get an email saying your bid was not successful. 

 

Also consider that people have different minimum/maximum bids. If you are currently in a club balcony, your starting bid may be $1400 with a max of $3200. If you are in a Balcony, your starting bid may be $1600 with a max of $3800. If you are already in the Haven, your starting bid may be $250 with a max of $1500. How the bidding system reconciles this is all magic. 

[Blondsrule1976]

Thanks for the welcome BirdTravels and the info, question though, just curious how do you know my cruise is completely sold out, I'd like to know how to see that crucial information, or are you just guessing?

[Blondsrule1976]

Thanks for the welcome BirdTravels and the info, question though, just curious how do you know my cruise is completely sold out, I'd like to know how to see that crucial information, or are you just guessing?

[IAcruising]

1 hour ago, Blondsrule1976 said:

 just curious how do you know my cruise is completely sold out, I'd like to know how to see that crucial information, or are you just guessing?

 

Try doing a mock booking. This is what you end up with:

 

The date you selected is currently sold out. Please select a different sailing.

 

[Blondsrule1976]

Oh, thank you, when I tried to do that earlier this week I wasn't even able to find my cruise date. I figured it was too late to try and do a mock booking, I guess I still have a lot to learn.

1 hour ago, IAcruising said:

 

Try doing a mock booking. This is what you end up with:

 

The date you selected is currently sold out. Please select a different sailing.

 

Oh, thank you, when I tried to do that earlier this week I wasn't even able to find my cruise date. I figured it was too late to try and do a mock booking, I guess I still have a lot to learn.

[Blondsrule1976]

So I ended up getting upgraded to the Haven after facing penthouse with large balcony, this morning outta no where, super excited especially since I didn't have to pay as much as I was bidding for the 2 bedroom family villa. Instead of paying $14800 for the villa I only paid $2500 pp for the upgraded penthouse. Super stoked! 

[The Traveling Man]

5 minutes ago, Blondsrule1976 said:

So I ended up getting upgraded to the Haven after facing penthouse with large balcony, this morning outta no where, super excited especially since I didn't have to pay as much as I was bidding for the 2 bedroom family villa. Instead of paying $14800 for the villa I only paid $2500 pp for the upgraded penthouse. Super stoked! 

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  So glad to hear that you are happy with the outcome of your efforts to snag an upgraded stateroom.  After your cruise, please come back on CC and let us know how things went for you.  There have been some reports that the aft staterooms on Breakaway class and BA+ class ships have experienced some vibration issues, particularly when the ship was sailing at higher than normal speeds.  Let's hope you don't run into that, but please let us know after you've been on board.

[Blondsrule1976]

10 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic.  So glad to hear that you are happy with the outcome of your efforts to snag an upgraded stateroom.  After your cruise, please come back on CC and let us know how things went for you.  There have been some reports that the aft staterooms on Breakaway class and BA+ class ships have experienced some vibration issues, particularly when the ship was sailing at higher than normal speeds.  Let's hope you don't run into that, but please let us know after you've been on board.

I hope we don't run into that issue myself, but if we do, I guess it's a free vibration massage for us, lol. Looking forward to reporting how great our cruise was!

[graphicguy]

Just got a chuckle....just an observation!

 

Went from this...

 

"I'll be going back to Princess after this as I have cruised 4 times with them and have been upgraded each time for not alot of money.  Norwegian upgrades are a scam,  IMHO. It's ridiculous!"

 

To this....about 48 hours later.

 

"So I ended up getting upgraded to the Haven after facing penthouse with large balcony, this morning outta no where, super excited.....Super stoked!"

 

 

[RocketMan275]

19 minutes ago, Blondsrule1976 said:

I hope we don't run into that issue myself, but if we do, I guess it's a free vibration massage for us, lol. Looking forward to reporting how great our cruise was!

We were in an aft penthouse with large balcony on Breakaway Feb 2023 and did not experience any vibration issues.  Our only issue was the walk to the Haven Proper.

[Blondsrule1976]

4 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Just got a chuckle....just an observation!

 

Went from this...

 

"I'll be going back to Princess after this as I have cruised 4 times with them and have been upgraded each time for not alot of money.  Norwegian upgrades are a scam,  IMHO. It's ridiculous!"

 

To this....about 48 hours later.

 

"So I ended up getting upgraded to the Haven after facing penthouse with large balcony, this morning outta no where, super excited.....Super stoked!"

 

 

Lol, I agree, I really couldn't believe my eyes when I got the e-mail this morning when I woke up. Was a complete surprise, maybe putting my thoughts out there brought me luck, who knows. I still do stick by my previous comments but maybe my opinion will change after the cruise.

[Blondsrule1976]

4 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Just got a chuckle....just an observation!

 

Went from this...

 

"I'll be going back to Princess after this as I have cruised 4 times with them and have been upgraded each time for not alot of money.  Norwegian upgrades are a scam,  IMHO. It's ridiculous!"

 

To this....about 48 hours later.

 

"So I ended up getting upgraded to the Haven after facing penthouse with large balcony, this morning outta no where, super excited.....Super stoked!"

 

 

I agree, what a turn of events, lol, I was totally thinking that today as well!

[cruiseny4life]

That's amazing! I've stayed in 13902 on Getaway twice and my upcoming cruise have an aft-facing suite booked, on Getaway again. I know you're not on Getaway, but you'll absolutely love your room! You might have some vibration (we did) and you might have some soot (we did) and you might have some funnel exhaust (we did), but we absolutely adore these suites! The tiny nuisances described are more than made up by the fact you have stunning views, a large balcony, and a room that is just beautiful!! 

 

Have a really great and wonderful cruise!! I know we're going to in February!