'Upgrading' - a few questions

[Muffinz]

3 hours ago, 1KBAP said:

When you make your bid, there is a minimum amount the web site will let you bid.

yes - that's true but the minimum bid comes up as 'poor' and you have to mover the slider quite a bit to get to an amount that's in the 'good' range.

 

so my question is has anyone put in a low / poor bid and still got an upgrade?

[1KBAP]

See above.  Several claim they received an upgrade with a minimum bid.

Edited 23 hours ago by 1KBAP

[Muffinz]

1 hour ago, 1KBAP said:

See above.  Several claim they received an upgrade with a minimum bid.

yes I read that but what exactly is the minimum bid?

as I said if you move the slider along it goes from poor to fair to good.... so do they mean the minimum good bid or minimum fair bid? I'm not sure what minimum they mean.

[1KBAP]

3 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

yes I read that but what exactly is the minimum bid?

as I said if you move the slider along it goes from poor to fair to good.... so do they mean the minimum good bid or minimum fair bid? I'm not sure what minimum they mean.

The furthest left (which is the poor area) is the minimum bid.

[Muffinz]

1 minute ago, 1KBAP said:

The furthest left (which is the poor area) is the minimum bid.

oh ok thanks for clarifying that 🙂 

[Treasure Hunter]

Pick an odd number like $204 not &200

[john watson]

1 minute ago, Treasure Hunter said:

Pick an odd number like $204 not &200

Isn't 204 an even number? 211 is an odd number and a good choice as it is also a prime number.

 

Regards John

[NownZen]

For an upcoming cruise I decided to learn a bit about the algorithm that they use. We are in a minisuite for a 32 day cruise. The upgrade to a club class slider had a minimum of about $100 and a maximum of $370. The upgrade is of no value to us since we do not eat in the MDRs but I wanted to watch the process. I had put in bids before but not gotten any upgrades. I bid the maximum of $370. A bit later I looked and saw that the minimum was now $305 and the maximum was something over $900. So my bid was moving its way down. After I got the "you have been outbid" emails, I went back and looked again. The maximum was now over $2000.

 

At first glance it looks like maybe the algorithm looks something like this. They could be taking the maximum bid someone enters and using that as about 2/3 of the new maximum. The minimum could be set to cover existing bids on the available inventory. I do not remember the minimum for the $2000 limit. Maybe when we move off the bottom of the slider values is when we get the you have been outbid.

 

This could mean that there is a way to see what your chances are by keeping track of the slider limit values. If the maximum gets higher, your chances are lower. If the minimum does not move, that is probably good news.

[Treasure Hunter]

I guess I meant an unusual number instead of $150, $200, $250 etc. 

[Muffinz]

23 minutes ago, NownZen said:

For an upcoming cruise I decided to learn a bit about the algorithm that they use. We are in a minisuite for a 32 day cruise. The upgrade to a club class slider had a minimum of about $100 and a maximum of $370. The upgrade is of no value to us since we do not eat in the MDRs but I wanted to watch the process. I had put in bids before but not gotten any upgrades. I bid the maximum of $370. A bit later I looked and saw that the minimum was now $305 and the maximum was something over $900. So my bid was moving its way down. After I got the "you have been outbid" emails, I went back and looked again. The maximum was now over $2000.

 

At first glance it looks like maybe the algorithm looks something like this. They could be taking the maximum bid someone enters and using that as about 2/3 of the new maximum. The minimum could be set to cover existing bids on the available inventory. I do not remember the minimum for the $2000 limit. Maybe when we move off the bottom of the slider values is when we get the you have been outbid.

 

This could mean that there is a way to see what your chances are by keeping track of the slider limit values. If the maximum gets higher, your chances are lower. If the minimum does not move, that is probably good news.

Yes - I just went into have another look and I'm sure the minimum bid for the reserve / club class mini-suite has oncreased significantly

The minimum bid is now $430NZ per person and that's the absolute lowest bid we can do

 

I'll talk to my wife about it tonight and see if she still wants to make a bid... I'm picking she will say yes!

 

on another note I went into the upgrade screen and this came up

I thought huh? the cruise we booked is leaving on Saturday 14th December not the 15th

 

then on the booking summary page it has this

 

so looke like Princess have made a boo boo with the date on the upgrade page...

[robncruise]

I am on the cruise before you and somewhere on the website or app it said departs 4th December and it's the 3rd Dec   ! think it something to do with the time US/ Australasia time difference 

[Muffinz]

17 minutes ago, robncruise said:

I am on the cruise before you and somewhere on the website or app it said departs 4th December and it's the 3rd Dec   ! think it something to do with the time US/ Australasia time difference 

yes you're probably right... however there may be some people who see the wrong date and book flights...etc... based on that date?

[TAW1963]

9 hours ago, NownZen said:

For an upcoming cruise I decided to learn a bit about the algorithm that they use. We are in a minisuite for a 32 day cruise. The upgrade to a club class slider had a minimum of about $100 and a maximum of $370. The upgrade is of no value to us since we do not eat in the MDRs but I wanted to watch the process. I had put in bids before but not gotten any upgrades. I bid the maximum of $370. A bit later I looked and saw that the minimum was now $305 and the maximum was something over $900. So my bid was moving its way down. After I got the "you have been outbid" emails, I went back and looked again. The maximum was now over $2000.

 

At first glance it looks like maybe the algorithm looks something like this. They could be taking the maximum bid someone enters and using that as about 2/3 of the new maximum. The minimum could be set to cover existing bids on the available inventory. I do not remember the minimum for the $2000 limit. Maybe when we move off the bottom of the slider values is when we get the you have been outbid.

 

This could mean that there is a way to see what your chances are by keeping track of the slider limit values. If the maximum gets higher, your chances are lower. If the minimum does not move, that is probably good news.

What you describe here is much different than the experience I have had with the bidding process.  I don't always bid, but I follow the bidding values, for my particular imminent cruise, very closely.  I have never seen the minimum and maximum allowable bid values on the slider scales ever change.  They have stayed exactly the same for the entire (usual) 85 days of bidding. 

[john watson]

14 hours ago, Treasure Hunter said:

I guess I meant an unusual number instead of $150, $200, $250 etc. 

Sorry, Hunter I was winding you up there. When auction bidding on line avoid using a round number as many others might do. Just a dollar or so above sets you slightly ahead. I think this is what you were saying.

 

Regards John

[Treasure Hunter]

Yes,  it has worked for me.

[NownZen]

6 hours ago, TAW1963 said:

What you describe here is much different than the experience I have had with the bidding process.  I don't always bid, but I follow the bidding values, for my particular imminent cruise, very closely.  I have never seen the minimum and maximum allowable bid values on the slider scales ever change.  They have stayed exactly the same for the entire (usual) 85 days of bidding. 

I would guess that it depends on the inventory level. If there are lots of rooms and little interest, they will not benefit by raising the maximum. On our ship at final payment there was only one reserve minisuite and the cruise is now listed as sold out. Short supply means higher prices.

When I started, the minimum bid was around $100 and the max was $370. As of this morning, the minimum is 330 and the maximum is $900. I also bid on a suite at $760 which was on the lower end. Now the minimum bid is $1460, almost twice what I bid. So YMMV as is usual with Princess.

If your values have not changed that may mean you have a better chance. Good luck.

[TAW1963]

1 minute ago, NownZen said:

I would guess that it depends on the inventory level. If there are lots of rooms and little interest, they will not benefit by raising the maximum. On our ship at final payment there was only one reserve minisuite and the cruise is now listed as sold out. Short supply means higher prices.

When I started, the minimum bid was around $100 and the max was $370. As of this morning, the minimum is 330 and the maximum is $900. I also bid on a suite at $760 which was on the lower end. Now the minimum bid is $1460, almost twice what I bid. So YMMV as is usual with Princess.

If your values have not changed that may mean you have a better chance. Good luck.

Thanks for the info. Wow, those changes were not nominal; they essentially doubled or more!  I have followed the bidding on about 6 different cruises (4 past, and 2 presently in the bidding process) and each with what appears as differing levels of inventory, but have not seen any changes at all in the max and mins.   Strange indeed!  Good luck to you too!  

[Abercrombie2019]

7 hours ago, TAW1963 said:

What you describe here is much different than the experience I have had with the bidding process.  I don't always bid, but I follow the bidding values, for my particular imminent cruise, very closely.  I have never seen the minimum and maximum allowable bid values on the slider scales ever change.  They have stayed exactly the same for the entire (usual) 85 days of bidding. 

For our Enchanted Princess cruise (February 2024) the minimum bid dropped by $5 increments twice (7 days apart).  The issue that we had, is that the minimum bid was very close to what we would have paid if we had just booked that type of stateroom in the first place.