upgrade lottery

[gilly88]

just received an email from p&o asking us if we wish to BID for an upgrade, on our up coming cruise. this is a new one on me. when did they introduce this?. Anyway for those of us who are just returning to cruising post covid this is how it goes: they offer several upgrades for you to bid for, at a suggested (well minimum actually), price, you then have to say whether you wish to bid on them and the computer apparently chooses the winners?. as you have to input your details for them to take the successful bid price, there is no going back and changing your mind later. so it looks like there will be no future freebies upgrades. Any one else had this experience?. any way we have decided as we are happy with the price we paid (3 years ago) and are content with the cabin, we will not be partaking of their offer. especially as the cruise is now £3000 dearer!! than what we paid for the same cabin.

[Mervyn and Trish]

We had the identical offer on our Cunard cruise in May. Looks like a thing across the Carnival UK brands. We didn't bother either. I presume the highest bid will win but I have heard of someone who made the minimum bid and got it.

[david63]

when did they introduce this?

Earlier this year. It is something that Princess have been doing for a few years.

[oldbluefox]

I've not had one but since I am on the Super Saver cheap as chips offer it wouldn't make much sense.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Skinflint. Stephen said.......

[oldbluefox]

Loadsamoney!!

Is Stephen still trying to log in? Perhaps David will show him a bit of mercy.

[Stephen]

Loadsamoney!!

Is Stephen still trying to log in? Perhaps David will show him a bit of mercy.

If I get the call I’ll go mad an offer a pound and take a chance.

Anyone got a quid they can give lend me

[Stephen]

I've not had one but since I am on the Super Saver cheap as chips offer it wouldn't make much sense.

Is that the cookie boy cabin grade.

[oldbluefox]

It's what is called the Headliner grade. Have you never seen my fandango?

[Stephen]

Not since the accident

[towny44]

Loadsamoney!!

Is Stephen still trying to log in? Perhaps David will show him a bit of mercy.

Apparently saver fares sometimes do get offers, but I guess the cost to upgrade might be higher for these.

[gilly88]

Loadsamoney!!

Is Stephen still trying to log in? Perhaps David will show him a bit of mercy.

Apparently saver fares sometimes do get offers, but I guess the cost to upgrade might be higher for these.

we are on a select fare, the cost for us to bid is not that bad, the lowest is £150 per person, but as there are three of us in the cabin it is a lot in total. the next bid up jumps to £450 per person. the highest cabin bid was £1450 per person. bear in mind these are only minimum bids so no guarantee you will be successful, and others who are only two in a cabin will pay less than us, we are happy to stay as we are. i just was not aware that this was the way they were doing things now.

[Stephen]

Not for me. I don’t like spending money at the best of times.
And who’s to say where you might end up. Could be a worse off position in the ship than your original booking.

[oldbluefox]

Not much point for me. I could pay another £300+ to end up in the same cabin I would have been given in the first place.

[david63]

It really depends, as it always has, with the grade of cabin/cabin type that you already have and what the upgrade price is compared to what it was when you booked.

If you are, say, in the top grade of an inside cabin then obviously any upgrade will be to an outside and if the "bid" price is half the original price then it may be worth considering.

[Mervyn and Trish]

If it works as it did with Cunard you can at least see the type of cabin you are bidding on, so you wouldn't end up bidding to move inside to inside for example.

[gilly88]

If it works as it did with Cunard you can at least see the type of cabin you are bidding on, so you wouldn't end up bidding to move inside to inside for example.

that's right we were shown the upgrade cabin choices , the one above although a bigger option was at the very front of the ship. the bob is unpredictable at the best of times but can be downright hairy in the winter. so that was not an option that we were willing to consider. the next one was a mini suite so tempting but too expensive for us to justify. the third was just pie in sky dreaming. unless we win the lottery. besides who needs a butler!! . so as i said, we remain where we are in a lovely deluxe balcony, with our two televisions that we don't usually watch, but love the extra floor space. i also consider myself lucky to be onboard and can't wait to set sail.

[daiki93]

Thanks for sharing this! Sounds like P\&O’s new bidding system replaces the old upgrade perks many were used to. Interesting approach, but I agree—it feels risky since you can’t change your mind after bidding. Glad you’re sticking with your original booking, especially with prices now £3,000 higher! It’s great to hear from fellow cruisers returning post-COVID.kolkata fatafat

[Meg 50]

and presumably the ones on offer are the dross they can't shift - noisy, bumpy etc.

there were several available on our last cruise, but even the lowest price was stonking. I think it increased over the days as people put in offers.

we choose our cabin carefully, so are staying put

[Stephen]

Don’t go anywhere near them, not that it matters any more as we have done with P&O.

Too pricey for what was once complimentary and you never know where you’re going to end up.

[Portsmouth]

To update this discussion,
P&O have emailed for the third time now offering an upgrade bid from ordinary balcony to mid-ship Suite for £210 pp ( total £420 )
Anyone got any thoughts as to if they think an extra £420 for a mid-ship suite really is good value ...I could afford it but just reluctant to splash out the extra cash for not that much difference. I'm already in a mid -ship balcony

[david63]

To update this discussion,
P&O have emailed for the third time now offering an upgrade bid from ordinary balcony to mid-ship Suite for £210 pp ( total £420 )
Anyone got any thoughts as to if they think an extra £420 for a mid-ship suite really is good value ...I could afford it but just reluctant to splash out the extra cash for not that much difference. I'm already in a mid -ship balcony

The one big plus for us in having a suite is being able to have breakfast in Epicurean and also more space. You also get priority boarding and welcome on board lunch - which can be either three course meal of buffet depending on ship and what else is going on that day with wine included.

[Mervyn and Trish]

I'd go for it.

[Stephen]

£420 sounds cheap to me, especially as they are specifying a mid-ship suite, although that can be dependant on what deck it is on as in regard to poolside noise.

[CaroleF]

Definitely go for it! The wonderful Epicurean breakfast is well worth it as are the rest of the things that David mentions.