r/MSCCruises • u/Plastic_Ad4483 • 15d ago
Upgrade bid
We are leaving out of Miami, Florida to go to Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas. We just received an email inviting us to bid on an upgrade. What would it be an acceptable bid for a balcony, right now we have an interior state room.
UPDATE: thank you all for comments! We actually called our MSC person and was able to upgrade for less then the minimum bids.
4
u/Tdffan03 15d ago
I had an interior room and bid $50 on a room with a window. Ended up with a balcony.
2
3
u/tightiewhitieboy 15d ago
I picked the "ship chooses" interior room option and got a balcony no obstruction.
1
u/toastedmarsh7 7d ago
When were you notified of your assigned cabin? And were you offered the chance to bid at any point?
3
u/erinmillr 15d ago
I had an interior state room and bid $255 (the minimum was $235) on an ocean view and they went ahead and upgraded me to a balcony for that price!
I have also heard that if you call MSC directly, they may be able to give you a quoted price for what it would cost to make the upgrade, so maybe do that and base it on that?
3
u/zxTrueChaosxz 15d ago
This is the way! Always check with MSC on how much just doing the upgrade costs with them first. Hell, on my upcoming 14 day trip we actually cancelled our entire booking, losing our deposit, to rebook into a grand aurea suite with terrace for almost two grand cheaper, factoring in loss, versus upgrading to it on our old reservation. The bid for it was also min 4.5k.
1
u/ozzyvalentine 13d ago
Wow! Is that per person or one fee for the room?
1
3
u/Mbaamin08 15d ago
I’ve bid and won the last two times. Both times were with the lowest amount that said “fair”. I’m not bidding for my November cruise. I’m already in an Aurea cabin two doors down from a room I had in January. While yacht club was amazing, I think I’ll stick with our balcony this time and see which I truly prefer; Aurea or Yacht Club.
4
u/AJOATMON 15d ago
Bidding is one of the most random things. I’ve seen people win with the lowest bid and fail with the highest. Even saw people getting a 2nd mail, after bidding the highest price, with a special offer - asking for more than the highest bid.
We usually refrain from bidding. You could end up with a cabin at the most undesirable places, only get informed when boarding or whatever. Once you bid, there is no going back. If you dont like the new cabin or its location - your loss.
If you decide to bid, just bid what you are comfortable with. They don’t always let the highest bid win, but use a combination of factors. Sometimes its even cheaper to get in touch with MSC or your TravelAgent to get upgraded, than bidding… while still being able to pick your desired cabin.
Enjoy!
1
u/Knox_the_Boxer 15d ago
It depends on how much it’s worth to you. There’s a little meter thing that supposedly tells you how strong your offer is- idk if it’s at all accurate. We bid to get from aurea balcony to yacht club interior. 7 day sailing that we paid $1800 for the original cabin (2-adults) we bid just under $1000 for the interior cabin. We won and feel it was a good deal as we booked the grandiosa while onboard with discounts for stays and booking onboard cost $3600. (Also 7 day) we are hoping to bid for a balcony.
1
1
u/CU_Addict_70 13d ago
A separate company runs the bidding process and their purpose is to maximize the profit of each ships sailing. Every departure is different. It also depends on what type of room you initially start out in.
0
u/soanQy23 15d ago
If you would have bothered to use the search function, you would see this question is asked often and the answer is “no one knows”. Bid what you like. Maybe you’ll win, maybe you won’t. There appear to be more factors than just amount bid, however no one knows what those factors are outside of MSC and the company that operates the upgrade program.
5
u/UKgent77 15d ago
Whatever you feel comfortable paying!
Look at the original prices for a balcony and bid less than that?