My Suite Upgrade Bid Accepted! Secrets to Success on Princess Cruises

[@LoveTheWater]

We just sailed on discovery princess from Seattle to Alaska and back. We originally booked a balcony room. When the upgrade offer first came out the minimum bids were quite high but as the cruise came closer we finally decided to bid $150 for a premium deluxe balcony. They accepted our offer and we had an aft facing premium deluxe balcony room for $300 plus tax. It was an amazing room with the aft view and I would do it again.

[@timatsea]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Sounds like you got a great deal. I'm glad to hear the room was amazing!

[@evivonsichartshofen3641]

Hi, I did the minimum bid on my recent princess cruise in the Mediterranean and was delighted to get it. I got the forward penthouse and loved it

[@donaldhuisjen5902]

You are very good at explaining to folks with exactly what the facts are.

[@robertl9863]

Great info, great video! Did not know about this. Liked and subscribed!

[@calvin110]

I always bid slightly above the minimum. I am successful about a third of the time. I scored HUGE on Celebrity when we bid the minimum and got upgraded to an Aft Facing Balcony that was designed for Special Needs. The Bathroom was almost as large as some of my rooms, and the Balcony was MASSIVE!.. Could have easily held 10-20 people.

[@robzilla69]

This is exactly what we do. We book the cheapest cabin we would be happy with and bid for upgrades. So far we have always gotten an upgrade at a wonderful value!

[@timatsea]

Yes, I've heard this too. Still doesn't hurt to try.

[@gregschulte2953]

we put a minimum bid in for the owners suite on the Diamond princess in Japan and forgot about it. We received an email telling us we won the bid. An incredible suit with a lot of perks. Needless to say, we entertained every day.

[@timatsea]

Wow, that's awesome! Congrats!

[@Charlie-zj3hw]

We learned our first cruise to pay the little bit extra and pick our room.. so many people try to pinch pennies in the wrong places..plus I think cruising is going to get so expensive most people will be passing it up

[@timatsea]

It's a fair point, and I did note in the video that if you are pretty set on what you want, it's best to just go ahead and get it from the start.

[@paulmoulton4455]

Thanks Tim, we just bid on several cabins on our upcoming 27 night cruise on Royal Princess. We hope to hear shortly.

[@timatsea]

Awesome! Best of luck! An upgrade would be awesome for such a long cruise.

[@sportsMike87]

I always bid the lowest possible amount. If I win great I got a deal for a better cabin. If I lose I still have my current cabin.

[@timatsea]

Definitely not a bad strategy, but I imagine there are quite a few people who bid the absolute minimum. If the cruise lines are inclined to accept an absolute minimum bid, I'm not sure how they decide which bid to accept if there are multiple bidders. I like to go just above the minimum to beat out all the people who bid the minimum.

[@sheilawiard2077]

I will be on the Princess Discovery in September 2025. I am excited!

[@timatsea]

Have fun!

[@honeymcdonald9120]

Very clear explanation. New subscriber and look forward to seeing the actual room you get. I'd be worried that it would be overlooked, or had lifeboats etc if I didn't know the actual room though.

[@timatsea]

Thanks so much for subscribing! I've found a video tour of the exact cabin and it looks good. I doubt there are any suites that have obstructed views, but I guess you never know.

[@Ahchooblessyou01]

Thanks for the video! I'm thinking of booking a mini suite on an upcoming cruise on the Discovery Princess. I might just bid on a full suite if I get that chance!

[@FraserAtSea]

I don't ever big to upgrade through these websites, as I usually find that they charge me double as a solo traveller - I'll submit bids when they allow solo travellers to only pay the price for one, not per person!

[@timatsea]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to post a comment. Congrats on your successful channel! I hadn't heard of it to this point but will definitely take a look. I certainly hear where you're coming from regarding the double-occupancy charges. I'm not sure why they charge the way they do, but I just try to think of it in terms of the total cost vs. how much that cabin would cost me if I just booked it outright.

[@FraserAtSea]

@@timatsea hey, thanks so much, and how funny that our names are so similar! Thanks for checking mine out too - always great to help each other out!!

[@slowmads]

Oh and do not miss the Suite breakfasts--mimosas and eggs benedict and anything else you want. The suite breakfasts are the best. Are you on Discovery to Alaska on Sept 17th? We have bid on upgrades for the cruise but nothing yet.

[@timatsea]

Yeah, I believe I'm on the last cruise to Alaska this year on the Discovery Princess. That could be why they capped off the cruise and accepted bids early. The other times I've had successful bids, I found out just a day or two before the cruise started.

[@slowmads]

I bid at the low end-only $200 pp to upgrade from a balcony to a premium balcony and scored an aft balcony on Sky for a 14 day cruise. Our neighbors said the cabin was originally their sister’s but she got sick. Looks like our bid got accepted the day after they cancelled. So, it CAN be done.

[@timatsea]

Congrats on your bid success! You never know what might come available at the last minute.

[@markcluff7104]

Ty

[@B-ch6uk]

I'm afraid they will put me in an undesirable cabin like below the buffet or something.

[@timatsea]

I certainly understand and that's definitely a risk you take with bidding!

[@michaels3003]

This is good if you don't mind to be at the front or the rear of the ship. And on a higher deck.

[@timatsea]

It's a good point. I've sailed in most locations on ships and haven't experienced issues with it personally, but it's definitely something to consider if there are locations on the ship you don't want to be.

[@michaels3003]

@@timatsea , it's a little bit complicated when you sail with other people (friends or family). Unless they are all seasoned cruisers.

[@peterlongo3343]

Are all mini suites on princess have great views?

[@savannahortega7797]

What are some of the lower priced bids accepted

[@jimerin3533]

I tried this. I bid 50% or halfway from Min to the max suggested. A poster on fakebook said they got the mini suite w a 10% bid and mine was not accepted. Cant trust what the poster said, but I have lost respect for Princess since they demanded I spend more for things that were included, killed the coffee card, and have just plain degraded in value. I’m at 11 with #12 booked and I’ll use it. It’s the last one to use my Covid era credits. Princess has lost me. Already have celebrity booked for the next.

[@timatsea]

Thanks for sharing your feedback. It's inexplicable to me why a minimum bid would be accepted over a larger bid, but maybe there are reasons. As for Princess degrading in value, I've seen similar from other lines. Seems like cutbacks are common in the industry now, but despite losing things like free room service and turndown service, I've still found the staff and service on all my cruises to be exceptional.

[@michaels3003]

FYI only. On the next two NEW Princess ships, there will not be any cabins with obstructed views.

[@timatsea]

Thank you for this information!

[@michaels3003]

@@timatsea , you are welcome. New Sun Princess (Feb. 2024), Star Princess (2025).

[@robzilla69]

Correct. We did ocean view for our future sun princess cruise. I will bid for balcony.

[@joeh3495]

We have a 14 day cruise booked for June 2024 and after we didn't partake in the optional bid upgrade on our last cruise, I was seriously thinking of trying for this one. Like you mentioned, if we get it great, if not we still have our booked mini-suite in the middle of the ship. Another question I have would be do the gratuities and costs associated with Plus and Premier go up with the upgrade? Thank you for the information and look forward to content posted post cruise.

[@timatsea]

Thanks for your kind words! With my bid, I was charged a little extra besides the bid amount. It didn't really specify what it was for, but I assumed it was for either a higher level of travel insurance for a suite vs. a mini suite, higher gratuities, or both. So yes, I do believe they add some extra to your final bid to cover these things. Best of luck if you decide to bid!

[@savannahortega7797]

I just read that the bid is per cabin, not PP

[@timatsea]

The bids are based on double-occupancy, so you pay twice the price of the bid. If you have four people in the cabin, you still will only pay twice the price, so it's not per person in that sense. I hope that helps!

[@Francine-gc2re]

I recently submitted a minimum amount bid for an upgrade for a cruise in two weeks on Princess. This is my first time trying this, and I was wondering is it totally based on who bid a higher amount or does sometimes your status come into play? Thank you.

[@timatsea]

Best of luck with your bid! I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your question, but since the bidding is run through a third-party company, I doubt your status plays into the decision. I'm pretty sure it's all based on the bid amounts.

[@danadanes02]

Hi Tim! I just found your channel. We’ve said with Princess several times but have never tried to bid for a different room. We booked through Costco. Do you know if can bid if you booked your voyage through them?

[@omynameistaken]

You probebly allready know the answer which is no, Costco does not support the bidding process

[@danadanes02]

@@omynameistaken Thank you for replying. Yes, I found this out. Good to know for future bookings.

[@omynameistaken]

@@danadanes02 It is unfortunate because I like to book insurance through Costco also and who doesn't love that sweet costco cash card back.

[@danadanes02]

@@omynameistaken our first trip book through Costco we got their insurance and it was good. But then we found Allianz and switched to an annual policy for just about the same price as one trip. And agreed, that Costco shop card is a bonus. :)

[@omynameistaken]

@danadanes02 Good to know, I'll check it out 👍🏼

[@MikeMiasuki-vy3xx]

I was told by Princess that I could not bid for an upgrade if I secured a cabin on a promotion deal where the price was already reduced substantially. Is this true?

[@timatsea]

I'm afraid I don't have the answer for you. I usually book cruises via casino offers and I've been able to bid on upgrades.

[@josephscott5949]

False. We got a deal on a cabin and then was offered an upgrade opportunity

[@marcyanderson9603]

We received our upgrade on Discovery last week. We are sailing October 1st. I will be interested on the follow up video. Although we might be getting on as you are getting off. Have they contacted you about the 360 dinner yet?

[@timatsea]

I've gotten an email about the dinner, but no phone call if that's what you mean. I think the email provided a number I can call to make a reservation. I'll probably call this week. I hope you have a great time on your cruise!

[@ljacobs357]

It’s usually in a cabin no one else wants.

[@timatsea]

That's a good point. I suppose that could be the case if you were upgrading from, say, an ocean view to a balcony cabin. Maybe they put you in an obstructed view or something. I've had some friends win bids in these situations and no one has said they were dissatisfied with the upgrade they got, but I'm sure it happens.

[@sportsMike87]

never had an issue with the new cabin that I got upgraded to

[@robzilla69]

That has not been my experience.

[@rj-zn3cw]

You should make a collab with @cruisinwithmark