Bid Tips, Tricks and Hacks - Part 2
- Fleet Captain James
- 1 day ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 16 hours ago
This is the second of a three part series - The Upgrade Project, focused squarely on things that actually work.
If you've playing along at home, and you've read Part 1, you will have a broad understanding of the big picture. The history and mechanics matter.
From here on, it’s about how to game the system, not guess at it.
Executive Summary: How to Bid Smarter
I’ve reversed this section to put the conclusions up front. In this age of doom‑scrolling and limited attention, these key points act as a practical quick‑start guide if you want to skip the noise.
Before you place a bid, ask yourself:
Have I set a true walk‑away price?
If winning at that number would annoy me, it’s too high.
Does bidding even make sense here?
You can’t win if you don’t bid—but that doesn’t mean every situation deserves one.
Have I mistaken loyalty for leverage?
The algorithm doesn’t care how often you’ve sailed—only how much you bid.
Have I ignored brochure pricing?
Bids compete against other bids, not retail fares.
Am I between the minimum and the ego‑testing maximum?
Minimums entice. Maximums test ego. Winners usually sit in between.
Do I understand the category risks?
Views, noise, layout, and location matter more than the label.
Am I comfortable surrendering control?
Bidding means accepting that you may lose your current cabin without upgrading.
Is inventory tight or abundant?
If tight > bid high, if plentiful > go low.
Am I bidding with logic, not hope?
The system has no memory, sentiment, or emotion—and neither should you.
That’s it in a nutshell. This is more than enough to get you started—and you’ll already be ahead of most by replacing blind luck with a strategic game plan. Skip ahead to Part 3 to view how and what others bid.
If, however, that next upgrade really matters, don’t just learn the ropes. Master the game.
Spend a little more time with me below and you’ll learn how to expertly finesse and nudge the system—an understanding that will lead to more wins than losses.
Loyalty is nice, cash is better.
What the Cruise Upgrade Algorithms Actually Prioritise
Revenue first – the dollar value of the bid
Inventory dynamics – how unsold inventory cascades upward
Loyalty as a tie‑breaker – when bids are equal
In other words:
Cash opens the door
Loyalty decides who walks through if two punters put down the same cash.
Loyalty does not compensate for materially lower bids
Why the Old Surpise and Delight Upgrades are as dead in the water
Historically, cruise lines occasionally upgraded loyal guests for free, especially if cheaper categories were sold out, and premium suites sat empty. This released more inventory at lower price points that would attract more sales. Seems a no brainer doesn't it?
To understand what changed and why, swap places with the CEO.
If you were running a cruise line, and you had an unsold suite, would you:
Move a loyal guest into it at no charge, or
Generate incremental revenue you wouldn’t otherwise receive?
When extrapolated across hundreds of cabins and dozens of sailings, even small upgrade fees represent millions in additional profit. This directly impacts
Stock prices.
Investor confidence.
And most of all your CEO tenure.
Once the numbers became clear, (and Plusgrade made a rock solid, rock star case), loyalty‑first upgrades went the way of the Dodo.
From here on, the question isn’t why upgrades are decided this way, but how you use that knowledge to bid smarter and win.
Let’s get practical.
Optimise your bid
This section covers:
When bidding makes sense (and when it doesn’t)
Why published fares are almost irrelevant
The single most important variable in the algorithm
How to bid strategically—without overpaying
The biggest mistakes that sink otherwise good bids
If you’ve made it this far, you now understand the most important truth about cruise upgrades:
This is not a loyalty game. It’s cash and carry. Cash carries the day.
So let’s break it down—practically, unemotionally, and without fairy dust (much as I love a bit of fairy dust).
First Principles: Should You Bid at All?
Random, goodwill‑based upgrades—the kind people reminisce about at dinner parties—have largely disappeared. Automated upgrade platforms and free upgrades are mutually exclusive and simply can no longer co-exist.
Focus on what a bid will cost you—not what you might win.
How much are you prepared to risk?
What does your budget comfortatably permit?
The sleep test. Don't bid any amount you will lose sleep over.
Mistake number 1: Using Published Fares as Your Reference Point
This is where most people go wrong. They look at:
the brochure price of the higher category, and
the price they originally paid
Then try to calculate a “fair” difference.
Get with the program—upgrade algorithms don’t give a flying toss at published fares.
Your bid isn’t being measured against brochure rates.
It’s being measured against other bids.
What the Algorithm Actually Cares About
The dollar value of your bid
Your bid’s ranking relative to others in the same category
The availability of upward inventory
Now notice what’s missing:
Loyalty tiers
Number of past cruises
How “deserving” you feel
These factors may exist as minor out come modifyers, but they are clearly secondary at best.
The “Only One Cabin Left” Scenario
Let’s see how this plays out in practice. Imagine there is:
Only one balcony cabin available
Ten people bidding
Given what we've learned so far, the algorithm is extremely unlikely to:
Spread goodwill
Average bids
Reward tenure
With just one cabin available, the single highest bid will almost always win.
Low‑ball bids do occasionally succeed—but only when:
Demand is weak (not many people are bidding), and
Higher categories above have plenty of unsold inventory
I share how to access inventory data below
Bottom line:
Few cabins left → Bid higher
Lots of unsold cabins → You can bid lower
So… How Much Should You Bid?
There is no universal answer—but there is a rational three‑step framework.
Step 1: Decide Your Walk‑Away Price
Be analytical, not emotive.
Pro tip: Before you even open the bid screen, ask yourself:
“If I won this upgrade at $X, would I be genuinely happy—or quietly resentful?”
If resentment is even a possibility, that number is too high.
Step 2: Ignore the Minimum (and Be Wary of the Maximum)
Minimum bids are a tease.They exist to entice you into the game—not to help you win it.
Maximum bids, on the other hand, are for people with money to burn. They’re less about strategy and more about testing how far you’re willing to go.
Winning bids typically sit:
Above the minimum
Well below the maximum
In other words, they live somewhere in the middle—competitive, considered, and intentional.
Pro tip: Always bid a few dollars above round numbers.
There might be twelve bids at $200—but only one at $201.
Step 3: Balance Your Bid Against a Category’s Negative Traits
Not all upgrades are created equal.
This is a classic trap for young players.
Know what you’ve got—and know what you might get.
Old sea dogs understand that sometimes an “upgrade” can actually be a backward step.
Before bidding, ask yourself:
Are there obstructed cabins in the upgrade category?
Are sizes and layouts truly identical?
Could I end up worse off than I am now—under a noisy deck, for example?
If risk exists—and you won’t know this unless you research the different categories—
Bid lower, or don’t bid at all.
If the category is consistent in nature and relatively safe:
Go for it. Bid more aggressively.
When Is an Upgrade Not an Upgrade?
Most cruise lines have several lead‑in categories that jump in price as you move from forward and aft on lower decks to more central locations on higher decks. This is how onboard real estate is valued.
For example, Azamara uses V3, V2, and V1, while Seabourn uses V1 through V4. The price to move up at the time of booking can be several hundred dollars—or $1,000 or more—all for exactly the same cabin size and appointments. The premium you’re paying is for a better position, higher deck, more midship. Nothing more.
Here’s the rub.
All brands, without exception, break up identical but differently priced categories in an extremely arbitrary way.
Beware the type of trouble this can get you into.
Let’s say you have a V3 cabin (615) and bid $1,000 to upgrade to a V4 cabin. You’re thoroughly chuffed to learn that the Upgrade Fairy—Gradeplus—has chosen you as a “winner” (yay!) and promptly charges your card $1,000.
It’s only when you get onboard that you realise you’ve paid $1,000 to move from cabin 615 (V3) to the cabin right next door—617 (V4). Same size. Same layout. Same appointments.
Don’t be that person.
The Silent Killer: Losing Your Chosen Cabin
This is the clause almost everyone scrolls past—and it can cause tears before bedtime.
When you submit a bid, you agree to the rules of the game, which include:
You may lose the cabin you carefully selected
Even if you don’t win an upgrade — read that again
You cannot revert if you’re unhappy
You’re bidding on a category, not a specific location
Know what you’re surrendering before you bid.
Sometimes, the best‑value bid is not the smallest step up.
Why? Because:
More people bid on incremental upgrades
Fewer people bid on big jumps
Competition thins as the price rises
This is how people occasionally leapfrog from inside cabins straight into suites—while ocean‑view bidders miss out entirely.
It’s not a quirk. It’s not a mistake.
It simply confirms that the inside‑cabin bidder understood how to play the game.
Why Upgrade Offers Appear on “Sold‑Out” Ships
It is confusing for many to receive an upgrade invitation when:
the ship is nearly full, or
the category being offered shows no availability
This isn’t a mistake.
Upgrade emails are typically triggered automatically at fixed intervals—not dynamically connected to current inventory.
The system assumes (often correctly) that movement in higher categories will free up space below. It’s probability, not certainty.
When offers are sent out on completely sold‑out voyages, it simply reinforces the view that these are pro forma offers—generated regardless of actual unsold inventory.
What are your chances?
The Best Way to Assess Your Chances—and Adjust Your Bid
One of the most useful data points for informing your bid—and improving your odds—is unsold inventory, ideally broken down by category.
Plenty of empty cabins in your target category
> there’s no need for a knockout bid. Go low.
Only a few cabins left
> the more skin you have in the game, the better your chances. Go higher.
So how do you check unsold inventory?
We’ve got you covered. Our search engine provides real‑time visibility into inventory across most cruise lines and all cabin categories, 24/7.
All with no obligation.
How to view unsold inventory
Watch this short video to see how to check unsold cabins:
First, note the ship and departure date
Change filters to find your cruise
Click through each category to see exactly how many cabins remain
Better data = smarter bids.
Go futher - Get an unfair advantage?
Part Three moves beyond theory into evidence.
View real world examples, from fellow punters, by cruise line and category:
which bids win,
which don’t,
and the patterns now emerging across the industry.
Insight beats instinct—every time.
End of Part 2 - Useful general information follows for those who are new to 6 Star 4 Less.
Our Preferred Brands - all you need to know
Click each brand to see our FAQs for brand comparisons and all included features.
Actual End Cost vs the Value of Inclusions across brands
Note: Silversea now offers two fare types—fully inclusive fares that include shore excursions, and lower‑priced fares that do not.
To ensure a fair comparison across high‑end brands, these tables use Silversea’s fully inclusive fares, allowing us to compare apples with apples.
Website: www.6star4less.com
Contact Fleet Captain James +61 430 200 535
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