NCL Bidding Process Explained 

What a deal !!

Boat Lover........EXCELLENT point !!!! We should have mentioned that !!

Awesome !!! A nice upgrade !!

Congrats on going on your first NCL cruise. You dd everything right and will have a great time!!!!

this is really good to know. we just got the free at sea offer with reduced air fare, unlimited beverage and specialty dining in a spa balcony. i would have bid way more for an upgrade so i will be more conservative if i do get an offer letter . thanks

Thanks so much !!!

Glad you enjoyed it

Yes...a young 60 !!!

Awesome Venus !! Congrats on the upgrade !

Thanks so much !

Thank you for doing that. You will require the accessible cabin in the coming years but the mini suite is an awesome alternative for your family and it is so thoughtful of you to consider your fellow cruisers.

You're very welcome !!! Even if you don't do a bid...at least you now know the ins & outs.

That's right !! There are only a limited amount of handicap cabins available....which is why you have to move fast to book the cruise you want. On the NCL Jade....there are only 27 handicap cabins out of 1557 total cabins on the ship.

That's right. I was SOOO embarrassed when we were placed in an accessible cabin on Royal Caribbean last year. We communicated with our travel agent several times once we realized the cabin class (we are not regular cruisers) but she kept saying it was available to the public and no other cabins were available. As we already had our travel plans, we accepted the cabin with guilt but we didn't feel good about it :(

Sounds like a " Double Pleasure " cruise !!! 2 birthday celebrations in one !!! Hope you get the upgrade....we want to know !!

Good to know...thanks !!!

The studios are great anyway, I'm surprised that they don't offer uprades though as the studios sell out so quickly, got mine booked for November 2018!

Wowwww 😮 😮, was waiting for the guys to get to this as I'm a single traveler and was wondering if they would ever offer a bigger room upgrade...heck and darn...llol...thnx

Its whatever you feel the value is worth to YOU not us. I would say 125 - 150 is a pretty solid offer!!

Hi Guys, I put a bid in for $125 each to go from an inside to a balancy and it was accepted. $250 total for the upgrade to a better room and location on the Epic. It was so fast only about three days from when we put the offer in to when it was accepted! We were on deck 11 and now on deck 13.. Bonus play, my wife thinks we are getting an inside but when we get there it will be a surprise to her. :)

Anytime David !!!

Yes...every cabin is based on double occupancy. $100 will be $200

Yes...an upgrade might be nice.....but the cabin / location might be awful !!

Ya never know .......you could get a bid offer and end up in a oceanview or balcony......." If the price is right !! "

Awesome !!

And we are so glad you found us too. Welcome to the Cruising With Wheels Family!! We would LOVE to do a cruise from Australia. Its just not in the cards right at the moment. Absolutely on the bucket list though!!

That is awesome Daniel !!!

This was one of the most popular videos we did !!!

Usually it is between 90 - 120 days from sailing. Good luck Neil. Not all cabin types or categories get an upgrade offer.

Thanks, great to know. We have the exact room on Bliss we want, 9700, but my in laws in 11700, decided they want a balcony now.

FYI. If either of you are booked in a handicap accessible room, you will NOT be guaranteed that the upgrade will be a handicap accessible room. We always suggest for our viewers who require an accessible room that they book what they need and want from the beginning rather than to hold out for an upgrade offer.

It's true...you really just never know!! Good luck !!

Only NCL does the bidding process for upgrades, via an email. The other cruise lines just notify you with an offer of a flat $$ increase for an upgrade.

That upgrade would be awesome !!

Your free at sea perks are for the entire cruise.

Yes...some things can't be left to chance !!

Excellent !!! Don't you worry.......we'll get your husband over to the dark side yet !!!! LOL

Thanks Sally and welcome from Australia !!!

Wow !! What a great surprise THAT would be !!

Ya never know !! Fingers crossed !

@@Cruisingwithwheels So just to give your viewers an actual case study: We booked our April NCL cruise back in November, Ocean View State Room 239 sq' and within a week or two got the email invite. At first we only bid on a Balcony Mini suite and bid kinda low (like right on the line between poor and fair)....crickets for 4 months. Then decided to open ourselves up to bidding on all 4 potential upgrades with about 30 days prior to departure. As indicated above, we did a laddered approach but raised our bids into the lower portion of "good" as my kid really really just had to have a balcony. 4 days later they accepted our Spa Balcony Stateroom offer (So we jump up 2 levels, lose a little bit of square footage (20) but gain a balcony and free access to the Spa for about 1/5th of what it would have cost had we booked that type of room at the get go. As pointed out though we don't get any package upgrades. You stay at the level you were at. It is a crap shoot though as although we are not above a night club or anything like that, we are below the sun deck where you are prone to hearing the deck chairs above you. (Although we are right below a very small corner of it where there hopefully won't be too much activity). We always travel with a small fan and a noise machine for sleep so hopefully that will help. The other piece of info we learned is that regardless of how "full" the boat may seem to be when you call there, the customer service reps have no idea how many "auction" rooms have actually been slated for "auction". They keep that info confidential as it would be illegal for them to offer an auction but open up those rooms to the general public calling in. (Obviously once they accept your bid they can sell your prior room to the public but what I learned was not to keep calling NCL to find out how "full" the boat is as a means to deciding how to bid........the NCL customer service reps are not privy to the auction process at all.)

It depends on the current " Free At Sea " promotion.

No problem Minna. We have our fingers crossed for you. Sometimes with Haven upgrades, you won't hear if you won until a few days before sailing. So don't worry if you don't hear right away.

Not with Kevin's eagle on on it ! LOL

Haven't heard anyone getting one on " the cheap ". anyone out there know??????

@@Cruisingwithwheels I will know by Saturday

Thanks Sara !! We're trying to eliminate all the misinformation out there !!

Do some research from each. See what each one offers in the way of perks.

Thanks

Yes...cash is king !! We did a little video on it, while on the NCL Gem in 2017. You can't film while the casino is open, so we had to try to explain before they opened. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ug7RYX64sc0.html

No....no I.D. required. They classify " handicap " as anything from quadriplegic to asthma to a gluten allergy. You must fill out the special needs forms to let them know your issue. And yes.....I'm sure people DO book a handicap cabin, just to get the bigger cabin & bathroom. Just like people use the public handicap bathrooms "because they're bigger "..........and people like me, who NEED them....can't get in. We call them ........ASSHOLES !!!!

Cruising with wheels that is insane!! A gluten allergy counts? I am in a place where I don’t need a wheelchair a lot of times, but it is definitely a possibility for my future, since I have a degenerative nerve condition along with a host or other conditions. I can’t believe how awful that is! What could possibly bring a person to do that? I’m hesitant to use a handicap parking pass because I don’t want to take that away from another who needs it more. This just breaks my heart...

With your upgraded spa balcony...you only get access to the thermal spa, heated tile loungers, relaxation room, therapy pool. You will have to pay for any spa services (massages / facials / pedicures / etc...)

Their bidding process for cruisers is random.

Well from an inside sail away to a chance for a spa balcony.... it’s not the haven .... but it’s not bad 😉

Well, that's good. But it is disappointing that you wait and get excited for your vacation cruise, then get disappointed when they fall short of what they " promise " to provide. Sometimes, it really is a crap shoot !!! LOL

The gratuities are based on the number of days you're sailing (which you already paid for) NOT the type of cabin you're in....so you are fine. Yes, you should update your travel insurance because the price of your cabin has now increased because of your additional $$$ paid with the upgrade bid.

We got an upgrade once, and they automatically did an uncharge on the insurance to cover the difference. (I loved your video!!!)@@Cruisingwithwheels

Thanks Laura. Theres no way of saying what your chances are for getting an upgrade offer nor of saying what your chances are of winning the bid. Every cruise ship and every sailing on that cruise ship will be different and have different odds. There are so many factors that in go into it.

@@Cruisingwithwheels Gotcha! thanks for the tips. Hopefully I will get an offer. fingers crossed !

@@lmarshall7686 Good Luck

Unfortunately, it is a random process.

Glad it was perfect timing for you !!! Good luck !!!

You're welcome !

No. When you bid for an upgrade and win....., you always maintain the original amenities from your original reservation that you booked.

Cruising with wheels That sucks! You get upgraded to the haven and all the other haveners/haves/have nots enjoy their butler service while you don’t get jack...lmao

You still get the use of the butler and concierge.

What if you upgraded from a balcony to a spa balcony do you get spa access?!

@@asylumhandicrafts yes spa would be included

The larger ships have solo cabins and are very nice.

@@Cruisingwithwheels thanks for answering! I don't fly so I can only get the smaller ships that come to Peru.

So sorry

Thank you. Although we have never done a mini suite, we do know its not the same as a suite. Just wasn't sure if you get all 5 free at seas promos with a mini suite or not.

We only got two with our mini

Hi Michael !! Your NCL bidding email will give you several upgrades for you to bid on. You can bid one one or all. Each upgrade gives you a range of a possible bid. Bid $ are for each guest...not the cabin. You may go in and increase your bid, if you want....if that's what you are asking. But remember.....once your bid is accepted.....your old original cabin is gone.....immediately sold to someone else. !!!

Currently NCL is the only cruise line who does this.

Thank you!!

Glad we could help ! We'll be on the Bliss on her June 2nd inaugural Alaskan cruise.

We go at the end of June. Hope you will be able to share a video of your voyage so I know what to expect when I finally get on.

We're gonna try to get videos out ASAP, when we get home.

Thank you so much Rosemary

Awesome !!! Will you be at the cruise critic meet & greet ? If so....we will be filming a spot for an upcoming video about " Cruise Critic & their meet & greet " . Other cruisers have shown an interest in being included in the video, if you're interested as well, that would be great....just let us know. In addition, we are trying to film cabins aboard the newly renovated JADE, to help fellow cruisers.....if you are willing to have your cabin filmed, contact Kevin through any of the social media links available in the description of this video.

We will be at the meet and greet and you are more then welcomed to film our cabin but it is only an inside.

Thanks Colleen !!

Problem ?????

El Camino lol

You're welcome

Also, have you heard of any tips for bidding on The Haven?

Just go with your gut.....bid what you feel comfortable with. Obviously, the highest bid will win, but remember that you originally booked the cabin you wanted......so no harm - no foul, if you don't win the bid. Remember, the $$ you bid id per person for the 1st two guests. (if you bid $500.....your cost is $1000)

You're welcome Minna. Hugs Rigby for us!!

Thanks TD

You're welcome !!

Move along then......move along !!

Thanks Kris !!! I'll keep my fingers crossed on your upgrade bid !! Hope to see you on the high seas !!!

If you are new to NCL then you should watch our "NCL Cruising" playlist. Here is the link ..... ru-vid.com/group/PLDv1vlbpn5BVE8C-X72joA0lXjNY1_f8a

You are so right !!!

Thank you so much

That's unfortunate to hear......it's the food that makes the cruise. We sailed twice on the Gem and we thought the food was good. But we have sailed on other cruise lines , like Carnival and had a bad food experience on one ship, but did other sailings with them on their other ships and had good experiences with their food. Hopefully, it was just one bad experience for you.........I wouldn't slam an entire cruise line because of one ship. But that's just my opinion.