Forget the “Upgrade Fairy” – Princess Will Now Let Cruisers Take Charge Of Upgrade Chances

Forget the Upgrade Fairy - Princess Will Now Let Cruisers Take Charge Of Upgrade Chances

Ever get stateroom envy? You know, the feeling that bubbles up inside you when you see photos of amazing cabins with staircases, grand pianos and more. If only, you think, you could afford those ridiculous suites. Heck, if only you could afford a balcony stateroom on the newer, more expensive ships.

Well, maybe now you can. Princess announced yesterday they are implementing a bid-based system for upgrades that goes into effect Sept. 6. In partnership with PlusGrade, Princess will allow U.S. guests to bid on upgrades to oceanview and balcony staterooms as well as suites.

Amazingly, only the first two passengers in a cabin will have to be upgraded. Third and fourth passengers, if applicable, will be upgraded at no cost.

The process will be simple. Once the final payment has been received, passengers will receive an invitation to submit a bid. You’ll be able to bid on any category above the one in which you are booked. Princess has stated that bidding on multiple categories will increase your chances of winning a bid.

You can change or cancel your bid at any time before Princess accepts it. Princess did not specify this, but it can be assumed, they will simply not accept bids if they are deemed to low instead of declining them. This will give passengers the opportunity to keep adding to their bid if they don’t see any activity.

To bid, guests must be 21 years or older, the booking must be paid in full and it must be at least five days within the final payment date. For example, cruises of 5 days or less have their final payment date 75 days prior to the cruise. Bidding will not open for those cruises until 70 days prior to the cruising date. For cruises 6-14 days, final payment is due 90 days prior to the cruise so bidding won’t open until 85 days prior to the sailing date. For cruises that are 25+ days, final payment is due 120 days prior to the cruise, so bidding will open 120 prior to the sailing date.

Initially, only five ships will be available: Caribbean Princess, Discovery Princess, Enchanted Princess, Regal Princess and Ruby Princess.

The rest of the ships in the fleet should be rolled out by the end of October.

After Sept.6 2022, if you have made your final payment on Princess and didn’t receive an invite, you can submit your bid here.

Good luck! Those Sky Suites really do bring out the FOMO in me.

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