#Igrade tips and tricks upgrade

#Igrade tips and tricks upgrade

TJTrips paid $75 per person for an upgrade from an aft inside cabin to a midship balcony on Norwegian Epic. Related: Top 8 Things You Can Do on the Cruise Critic Message Boards to Enhance Your Cruise Conversely, you may get an upgrade even with a 'poor' red zone bid. You only pay if your bid is accepted.Įven if you bid in the favorable green zone, there is no guarantee you'll get an upgrade. With Royal Caribbean, you can look at minimum bids for various stateroom categories and select the amount you are willing to spend for each. The programs differ slightly - for instance, with Norwegian you can only bid up to two categories, for example, from an inside to an ocean view or balcony. Red, for instance, is encouragement to bid higher, while green purportedly gives you a better chance of landing an upgrade.Ī few clicks and you place your bet and wait to see if your bid is accepted. There is typically a minimum bid to get the ball rolling, and the dial indicates the strength of your offer relative to other bidders. If you don't get an email and are sailing on any of the RCCL brands (Azamara, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean), you can also go online and enter your reservation number to see if you qualify to bid for an upgrade. If you make the cut, an emailed invitation will direct you to a special website where you can slide a color-coded dial to indicate your bid. Related: What to Expect on a Cruise: Booking With a Cruise Line Most importantly, you won't be asked to bid unless you have opted to receive marketing emails from the cruise line, so that's a must-do. Invites to bid for a cruise upgrade may also depend on such factors as how booked up the ship is and which category you originally booked. Azamara is the only line to say upfront that it gives priority to Le Club Voyage members based on their program level. If you booked at a deep discount, don't expect an offer. They are looking to reward both their loyal passengers and those who spend more on their cruise vacations. Like the airlines, the cruise lines are not inviting everyone to bid for upgrades. Who is invited to bid may be based primarily on how much you paid for your ticket in the first place and your participation in frequent flyer programs. Dozens of international airlines - including Icelandair, Qantas and Aer Lingus - invite select coach passengers to go online and designate how much they would pay for an upgrade to business or first class. The cruise line programs are similar to more established airline bid-for-an-upgrade auctions. If you're interested in bidding on cruise cabins to snag a deal, here's what you need to know. With his successful bid, he paid just more than $9,000 for a nine-day Baltics cruise on Norwegian Breakaway, a savings of $5,000. For examples, blogger Chris Gleason of Top Dog Trips snagged an upgrade from a mini-suite to a two-bedroom suite in The Haven for his family of four, bidding $3,500. Negotiating these silent auctions is part luck and part skill, but the results can be amazing. In 2019, Celebrity Cruises introduced MoveUp and Azamara launched Azamara Upgrade. Royal Caribbean followed in late 2018 with RoyalUp.

Norwegian introduced its Upgrade Advantage Program in 2017. Cruise lines are encouraging select cruisers to bid online for cabin upgrades, and there are deals to be had. Those who like a game of chance, however, still can name their price for better ship accommodations. Auctions for cruise vacations have all but fallen by the wayside.