Bidding for a Cruise Upgrade: Scam or Success?

With many cruise lines, like MSC, Royal Caribbean and Cunard, you can bid for an upgrade to your cruise cabin.

The idea is that you offer to pay more to upgrade your cabin category, but not the full amount the upgrade would usually cost if it had been chosen when you first booked.

The cruise line can decide whether or not to accept your bid.

Many cruisers assume it’s either a scam or some kind of trick, especially if they’ve bid before and never “won”.

In this article, we look at bidding to upgrade and whether you can get something worthwhile… or whether the cruiseline are simply getting your hopes up, ready to be dashed at the last minute!

How Cruise Upgrade Bidding Actually Works

Upgrading systems are automated, rather than manually reviewed by cruise line staff.

Bids are processed by a computer system that looks at availability and price, and generally accepts the highest viable bid when cabins are released close to the sailing date.

There are no secret strategies, loyalty tricks, or human decision-making involved!

Why Most Bids Are Never Accepted

The majority of bids fail because ships often sail at full capacity, especially in popular cabin categories.

Cruise lines will only accept bids if higher-category cabins are still unsold close to the sailing, and if selling them via bids makes financial sense.

You might not find out whether your bid has been accepted until a couple of days before the cruise. You might get your hopes up, only to have them dashed at the last minute!

My parents recently submitted an upgrade bid on Cunard’s Queen Anne, but it was unsuccessful. They were notified around a week before the ship sailed that their offer hadn’t been accepted.

It didn’t matter to them though, they were very happy with the bargain inside cabin they were given on this relatively new cruise ship.

We will automatically allocate you an upgraded stateroom if your upgrade offer is accepted.
If you have already selected or have been allocated a stateroom number there is no guarantee this stateroom will be available once your upgrade offer is accepted. If this is the case you will be allocated an alternative stateroom in the original grade booked.
Cunard Upgrade may not be suitable for you if you have selected a particular stateroom because it has certain features or is in a particular location on board.

Cunard

A Real Example: When a Bid “Wins”

I recently had a bid accepted when I was sailing on Ambassador Ambience.

Although I felt like I had “won”, the reality was that the price of the suite had dropped since I originally booked.

My bid effectively allowed me to pay a last-minute price for a higher-category cabin – without having to book the cruise last-minute.

I paid £330 for an upgrade from oceanview to a suite, which seemed like good value to me. This was a one-off payment, not per person.

Find out whether the suite was worth the money here:

Why This Can Still Be a Good Outcome

Bidding can be a useful tool for travellers who want the chance of a better cabin without committing the money up front.

It allows cruisers to keep their original booking while potentially accessing cabins that would normally be out of their budget when they first booked.

What Bidding Is Not

Bidding for an upgrade is not a scam – but it’s also not a guaranteed deal.

It doesn’t always beat last-minute pricing, and it doesn’t involve any hidden hacks or tricks.

Bidding is simply a way for cruise lines to sell leftover cabins efficiently.

When Bidding Makes Sense

Bidding works best for cruisers who are:

• Flexible.
• Happy with their original cabin.
• Comfortable with uncertainty and last-minute changes.

Bidding for an upgrade is especially useful for people who don’t want to risk waiting for last-minute fares, but would still like a chance at an upgrade closer to the sail date.

When Bidding Probably Isn’t Worth It

Bidding probably isn’t worth thinking about if you:

• Need to have a specific cabin type.
• Like certainty.
• Are travelling at peak times when availability is limited.

The Bottom Line: Scam or Success?

Bidding for an upgrade is neither a scam nor a guaranteed bargain.

It’s a straightforward system that sometimes works in the traveller’s favour, especially when prices drop close to sailing.

Understanding how the system actually works helps you set realistic expectations.

I have bid for an upgrade on many different cruises without success; only on my Ambassador cruise did I get the upgrade I wanted.

When I sailed on Norwegian Star, I was unexpectedly upgraded to a suite mid-cruise! That is something that has never happened to me before – and I don’t expect it to happen to me again!

Find out all about why I was moved in the video below:

Before You Go:

Have a look at oceanview cabins, and the very different experiences portholes and picture windows offer here:

Porthole vs Picture Window: The Big Difference Between Two “Oceanview” Cabins

Find out what first-time cruisers get tricked into paying for here ( including cabin upgrades – you don’t really need them if money is tight!)

6 Things First-Time Cruisers Get Tricked Into Paying For (That You Don’t Actually Need)