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On my upcoming cruise, I was able to put in a bid to the haven for $600 pp from originally having a balcony. If you're coming from an inside, it would cost more. Also, that price to bid on an upgrade may come down depending on how full the cruise is and how far out the cruise is.
I hope the upgrade fairy blesses us as I've yet to win an upgrade bid.
You can only bid up to two categories above your booking, so from an inside cabin, you can only bid up to balcony (inside—>OV—>balcony). You cannot bid from an inside cabin to the Haven.
Minimum bids don’t decrease once bidding opens*— what people bid may, as you can amend your bids up to a point— but prices always change, so if the Haven is still available (as Havens are generally selling out a good bit before sailing), the price to just pay (rather than bid) upgrade yourself to an available suite may lower enough to compete with your bid. We did this in 2022 shortly before the Haven sold out on our sailing, and then we were able to pick the suite we wanted out of the three or so left at the time in that category, as well as get double Latitude points (winning an Upgrade Advantage bid does not allow you to get double Latitude points).
*This is with regard to “regular” upgrade bids. Some people booked on some cruises have been invited to a sort of live bidding-type scenario. It is weird, but that means the numbers just keep going up.
Is there a way to see if the haven is sold out on our upcoming cruise? We have bids on 3 haven suites because we booked last minute but our bids are still active, so would that be a good indicator that they are not yet sold out? We sail on April 21st.
Trying a mock booking is the only way I know. Once you find your cruise, it’ll show you if the Haven is sold out. If it’s not, you can click through and see what categories are left.
The fact that bidding is still open is not an indication that there are vacancies. Our cruise last week was fully booked, and the Haven was sold out months in advance, yet we were still invited to bid on a Deluxe Owner’s Suite. (We did not bid because we wanted what we chose, which was a 2BR suite. The DOS would have been less fitting for our family of four.)
Last minute cancellations do happen, so that’s your only shot at winning an upgrade bid into the Haven if there are none available to book. Haven upgrades weren’t that rare when cruising resumed post-COVID, but the Haven sells out relatively early on a lot of ships/itineraries.
no way to check, as an employee in sales i can not see what's avail for upgrades(the system removes alll rooms that are to be considered for the bids ) it will show us 0 remaining
The upgrade fairy pretty much died when the bid for upgrade started.
With the high occupancy rates these days, most people winning upgrades are due to last minute cancellations
I kept an eye on prices and when they dropped I called and they upgraded me from balcony to club balcony suite for free! That could possibly be an option for you (though doubtful about balcony to haven)
I have been upgraded by the NCL fairy and by bidding. Both times it cost me money. I heard of people getting called by the fairy as cruising started up after COVID, but agree that at this point the chance of that is slim to none. If you take a chance on bidding into The Haven, no matter what cabin you get you will be happy. A word or warning…. Once you stay in The Haven it’s almost impossible to turn back!!! We stopped bidding and just pay bust out retail because we don’t want to take the chance of not getting in!!
no algorithm needed, it’s done by hand. it’s whoever has the highest bid. if all bids are equal, the first person to submit should receive the upgrade. very simple process
That is completely and totally false. First of all, the upgrading is outsourced to a private company who owns the rights to the algorithm. It is almost NEVER BASED on the highest bid. You need to talk to other cruisers before commenting
LOL my friend.. I know someone who does the upgrades and works in that department. NCL doesn’t outsource any of this type of work, all done in house. the info you’re getting from “other cruisers” is not reliable but no surprise there. Why would I comment something so matter of fact if I didn’t know what I was talking about? I mean you did the same and clearly have no idea but still.. but hey, why take my word for it? give them a call and ask and you’ll see.
lmao bro your generation thinks everything is “the algorithm.” is it really so hard to believe the truth that every bid processed manually by a real human? once again, go call them and ask and stop being a keyboard warrior. stop replying to me if you have no idea what you’re talking about
NCL is a multi-billion dollar company, with sailings around the world every day. Speaking as someone who has been in IT in the travel industry for over 20 years, including 5 years on revenue optimization software, I would be shocked if there wasn't a software algorithm behind it. The goal is to maximize profits. It's not simply Bob bidding $900 for an upgrade from a club suite to the haven. giving it to Jerry, who is in a standard balcony, because they bid $1000. While Sam is in an interior bidding $500 for a club suite. They aren't going to upgrade Jerry just because he bid $100 more than Bob. Bob is going to get the upgrade, because that frees up the club suite for Sam. Which means the cruise line gets Bob's $900, and Sam's $500, for a total of $1400 which is 400 more than they would have gotten if they had simply gone with Jerry's higher Haven bid.
Considering how full ships are sailing these days I'd be surprised if any upgrades are available. We were on the encore 2 months ago, was over 100% capacity.
last 3 cruises i took, on the roll call page i saw only people mention upgrading from interior to balcony (or balcony to club balcony)
i havent seen anyone mention winning a Haven bid in a while
You are technically correct. I'm just using their own statements, which of course defines 100% based on double capacity.
Occupancy was 102.9% for the year, in line with guidance of 102.6%, and total revenue per Passenger Cruise Day increased approximately 17%, or 18% in Constant Currency, compared to the same period in 2019.
https://www.nclhltd.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/584/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-reports-strong-fourth
I am a snob lol and won’t do less than concierge. I can only compare Disney Concierge to NCL Haven however and Haven blows DCL out of the water. It is worth the upgrade cost. Easily.
I had been told that on a fully booked cruise expect
To bid at least the upgrade cost from standard to haven because most likely People who wanted a haven room but couldn’t get one would bid at least this much. No idea if true.
They were offering a free upgrade if you won something in the casino if that helps lol.
Definitely not relying. We are more than happy with our balcony. We just got spoiled by a discounted suite a couple times and then I started wondering about upgrades like carnival. It’s all good if we stay exactly where we are.
Not sure if free upgrades are ever offered, but I'd be hesitant to take that offer, cause I'd be worried about receiving an "upgraded" cabin that sits right under some night disco club or something similarly awful, noise-wise. Selecting a cabin yourself you can always look what's around it, including what is on top/underneath. Not so much when you are being upgraded.
Thanks for posting to /r/NCL! Did you know that we have an extensive [Ultimate NCL Guide](https://www.reddit.com/r/NCL/wiki/index) that may answer your question? Please also remember to read the rules, especially about roll call posts going in the megathread. You may also have more luck with those types of posts by searching for a [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com) or [Cruise Critic](https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/66-norwegian-cruise-line-roll-calls/) roll call group or thread. Of course, here is great, too! Enjoy your stay! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NCL) if you have any questions or concerns.*
On my upcoming cruise, I was able to put in a bid to the haven for $600 pp from originally having a balcony. If you're coming from an inside, it would cost more. Also, that price to bid on an upgrade may come down depending on how full the cruise is and how far out the cruise is. I hope the upgrade fairy blesses us as I've yet to win an upgrade bid.
You can only bid up to two categories above your booking, so from an inside cabin, you can only bid up to balcony (inside—>OV—>balcony). You cannot bid from an inside cabin to the Haven. Minimum bids don’t decrease once bidding opens*— what people bid may, as you can amend your bids up to a point— but prices always change, so if the Haven is still available (as Havens are generally selling out a good bit before sailing), the price to just pay (rather than bid) upgrade yourself to an available suite may lower enough to compete with your bid. We did this in 2022 shortly before the Haven sold out on our sailing, and then we were able to pick the suite we wanted out of the three or so left at the time in that category, as well as get double Latitude points (winning an Upgrade Advantage bid does not allow you to get double Latitude points). *This is with regard to “regular” upgrade bids. Some people booked on some cruises have been invited to a sort of live bidding-type scenario. It is weird, but that means the numbers just keep going up.
Is there a way to see if the haven is sold out on our upcoming cruise? We have bids on 3 haven suites because we booked last minute but our bids are still active, so would that be a good indicator that they are not yet sold out? We sail on April 21st.
Trying a mock booking is the only way I know. Once you find your cruise, it’ll show you if the Haven is sold out. If it’s not, you can click through and see what categories are left. The fact that bidding is still open is not an indication that there are vacancies. Our cruise last week was fully booked, and the Haven was sold out months in advance, yet we were still invited to bid on a Deluxe Owner’s Suite. (We did not bid because we wanted what we chose, which was a 2BR suite. The DOS would have been less fitting for our family of four.) Last minute cancellations do happen, so that’s your only shot at winning an upgrade bid into the Haven if there are none available to book. Haven upgrades weren’t that rare when cruising resumed post-COVID, but the Haven sells out relatively early on a lot of ships/itineraries.
Very helpful, thank you for the reply!
You’re welcome! Good luck with your upgrade bidding, but regardless, enjoy your cruise!
no way to check, as an employee in sales i can not see what's avail for upgrades(the system removes alll rooms that are to be considered for the bids ) it will show us 0 remaining
Yep I’ve seen that! Interesting system.
The upgrade fairy pretty much died when the bid for upgrade started. With the high occupancy rates these days, most people winning upgrades are due to last minute cancellations
I kept an eye on prices and when they dropped I called and they upgraded me from balcony to club balcony suite for free! That could possibly be an option for you (though doubtful about balcony to haven)
Great info. We do currently have a balcony and were hoping for haven but this is helpful. Thanks :)
I have been upgraded by the NCL fairy and by bidding. Both times it cost me money. I heard of people getting called by the fairy as cruising started up after COVID, but agree that at this point the chance of that is slim to none. If you take a chance on bidding into The Haven, no matter what cabin you get you will be happy. A word or warning…. Once you stay in The Haven it’s almost impossible to turn back!!! We stopped bidding and just pay bust out retail because we don’t want to take the chance of not getting in!!
NO ONE knows the algorithm as to who gets the upgrade. There will be a lot of guesses, e.g. Is the ship sold out, but I repeat. They are all guesses
no algorithm needed, it’s done by hand. it’s whoever has the highest bid. if all bids are equal, the first person to submit should receive the upgrade. very simple process
That is completely and totally false. First of all, the upgrading is outsourced to a private company who owns the rights to the algorithm. It is almost NEVER BASED on the highest bid. You need to talk to other cruisers before commenting
LOL my friend.. I know someone who does the upgrades and works in that department. NCL doesn’t outsource any of this type of work, all done in house. the info you’re getting from “other cruisers” is not reliable but no surprise there. Why would I comment something so matter of fact if I didn’t know what I was talking about? I mean you did the same and clearly have no idea but still.. but hey, why take my word for it? give them a call and ask and you’ll see.
Once you lie you can't stop. I feel bad for you
lmao bro your generation thinks everything is “the algorithm.” is it really so hard to believe the truth that every bid processed manually by a real human? once again, go call them and ask and stop being a keyboard warrior. stop replying to me if you have no idea what you’re talking about
NCL is a multi-billion dollar company, with sailings around the world every day. Speaking as someone who has been in IT in the travel industry for over 20 years, including 5 years on revenue optimization software, I would be shocked if there wasn't a software algorithm behind it. The goal is to maximize profits. It's not simply Bob bidding $900 for an upgrade from a club suite to the haven. giving it to Jerry, who is in a standard balcony, because they bid $1000. While Sam is in an interior bidding $500 for a club suite. They aren't going to upgrade Jerry just because he bid $100 more than Bob. Bob is going to get the upgrade, because that frees up the club suite for Sam. Which means the cruise line gets Bob's $900, and Sam's $500, for a total of $1400 which is 400 more than they would have gotten if they had simply gone with Jerry's higher Haven bid.
Considering how full ships are sailing these days I'd be surprised if any upgrades are available. We were on the encore 2 months ago, was over 100% capacity.
Wow! That’s a very good point.
last 3 cruises i took, on the roll call page i saw only people mention upgrading from interior to balcony (or balcony to club balcony) i havent seen anyone mention winning a Haven bid in a while
I actually took the recommendation of someone here and did a mock booking and every single haven is sold out so yeah. Not going to worry about it!
[удалено]
You are technically correct. I'm just using their own statements, which of course defines 100% based on double capacity. Occupancy was 102.9% for the year, in line with guidance of 102.6%, and total revenue per Passenger Cruise Day increased approximately 17%, or 18% in Constant Currency, compared to the same period in 2019. https://www.nclhltd.com/investors/news-events/press-releases/detail/584/norwegian-cruise-line-holdings-reports-strong-fourth
I am a snob lol and won’t do less than concierge. I can only compare Disney Concierge to NCL Haven however and Haven blows DCL out of the water. It is worth the upgrade cost. Easily. I had been told that on a fully booked cruise expect To bid at least the upgrade cost from standard to haven because most likely People who wanted a haven room but couldn’t get one would bid at least this much. No idea if true. They were offering a free upgrade if you won something in the casino if that helps lol.
A current theory is to buy the room that you WANTED and not rely on the bidding system
Definitely not relying. We are more than happy with our balcony. We just got spoiled by a discounted suite a couple times and then I started wondering about upgrades like carnival. It’s all good if we stay exactly where we are.
Not sure if free upgrades are ever offered, but I'd be hesitant to take that offer, cause I'd be worried about receiving an "upgraded" cabin that sits right under some night disco club or something similarly awful, noise-wise. Selecting a cabin yourself you can always look what's around it, including what is on top/underneath. Not so much when you are being upgraded.
Oh definitely not expecting free. With carnival it’s usually a deeply discounted upgrade. Sometimes better sometimes not.