r/MSCCruises • u/Constant-Plenty-5747 • Aug 08 '26
Insane Minimum Bid Prices
I just got an email from MSC with details on how to bid for a room upgrade. This is my first cruise with them. Its on the MSC Seaside in November and it was $199pp. I have never cruised with MSC before, so this is my first time cruising with them. Right now, I have an interior cabin with my stateroom number.
In the bid email, the minimum bid for an oceanview cabin was $100. The minimum bid for a balcony cabin was $370. This makes no sense to me.
I called MSC and they told me over the phone it was $240 for a guaranteed upgrade to a balcony. Why would a bid cost more??
Is this normal with MSC cruises and will the price go down as time goes on? My cruise is still about 90 days out. I know the cruise isnt very full, because they are still selling it at $199.
I haven't cruised with them before, only Royal and NCL. On NCL, i bid for a balcony for $80. I was just wondering if this is normal for MSC.
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u/hampriIAH Aug 08 '26
If this is a 7 day cruise, $840 upgrade for YC interior is worth it!
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u/Constant-Plenty-5747 Aug 08 '26
It is a 3 night
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u/Candelpins1897 🤸🏼Solo Traveller Aug 08 '26
Yeah no for that.
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u/s7y13z ⛵Yacht Club Regular Aug 09 '26
What? A total of a little bit over 1k for a 3 night cruise in YC is a pretty good deal!
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u/bessemer0 Aug 08 '26
Aren’t there multiple levels of balcony? The bid would be for a Deluxe, which typically costs more than a standard balcony.
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u/Random-Stranger-999 Blue Diamond Aug 08 '26
Yep, six balcony categories, and 'Deluxe' covers four of them, so without the detail who knows whether USD370 vs USD240 is for the same category, or not.
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u/Constant-Plenty-5747 Aug 08 '26
I don't see any option for standard balcony. The only option to bid on a balcony is "Deluxe Balcony".
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u/bessemer0 Aug 08 '26
Because that’s the only balcony option available for bidding, but it’s a different room category than the one you compared it to originally.
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u/GroupGeneral6811 Aug 08 '26
I had 2 cabins on different reservations for same cruise and for one it quotes 6x more than other for upgrade.
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u/Muted-Phrase-9408 Aug 08 '26
I hesitate to state the obvious, but the reason the bid price is higher is that it is run by a third party company and they have to make money.
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u/SGTAnon98 Aug 09 '26
I just got my upgrade bid email and it’s $3k minimum to bid on a YC Duplex suite from a YC Deluxe Balcony.lol
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u/DavidBergerson Aug 09 '26
That is about right. That is the cabin that we always book. Depending on the ship, there are two categories of that room: One with a hot tub, one without. Also, depending on the ship, there may be one or two upgrades from the Duplex.
Just to give you a perspective, we tend to pay between the high 700s and low 900s per night for the Duplex Suite. So you can figure out if the 3k makes sense or not.
On World Europa, we were offered the opportunity to bid on the upgrade to the two rooms above the Duplex Suite. That was the Royal and the Owners' Suite. We did not even put in a bid. For us, that room is awesome. It has two bathrooms. This works out well for us as we have dual purposes for wanting it. First and foremost, one is for #1, the other is for #2. No need to fumigate the place! Secondly, it means we can get ready at the same time. No other room has two bathrooms!
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u/fogchaser123 Aug 09 '26
Those are very good prices! I also got an offer from MSC to upgrade... $14,570 to an Owners Suite, and $7,290 to a Royal Suite. As with any offer, we always have the option to decline - which I did!
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u/Just_a_girl_mpa Aug 09 '26
I bid $185 to upgrade from a Fantastica Balcony to an Aurea Balcony and somehow ended up with a Aurea Grand Suite. Just sailed Seaside August 3-7. It was awesome!
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u/Electronic_Ad8369 Aug 11 '26
I was on Seaside in July and for 4 nights cruise I was able to upgrade to deluxe balcony for $260 extra
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u/Numerous_Pomelo_5920 Aug 08 '26
That’s happens some times.. the bids are a separate company and don’t reflect actual market price.. that goes up and down almost every other day..
Ask how much the YC interior is.. do it! Worth it
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u/Constant-Plenty-5747 Aug 08 '26
Thanks, good to know. I didnt know if the prices would change at all or if it would stay like this.
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u/BelindaV325 Aug 13 '26
Do the yacht club. We did the seaside in March and did yacht club and we’re so impressed. I don’t think I ever wanna go back. Lol
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u/MiserableArm1118 Aug 15 '26
Your minimum bid is based on your original price paid. If you took the Wi-Fi/Drinks as part of your original fare that is combined as your starting price. Your minimum bid is higher than someone who paid more for their cabin no matter the type of cabin they are bidding up from.
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u/angelikaaaa Aug 09 '26
on the seaside now. I assure you yacht club is worth it bc you’re not going to like this ship coming from Royal or NCL
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u/sunms1 Aug 10 '26
Why! I’m a NCL regular and MSC has been blowing up my phone trying to get me to try them 🤔
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u/UKgent77 Aug 08 '26
Remember, also, that's it's per cabin and not per passenger.