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My very unscientific Lazy Girl strategy after winning several Princess upgrade bids
Yesterday I got a fun little email from Princess.
My upgrade bid was accepted. 🎉
Tanner and I are sailing Crown Princess on an upcoming Southern Caribbean cruise, and we'd already scored an oceanview cabin for $556 total for the two of us.
Honestly?
We were perfectly happy with it.
But then the upgrade offer appeared.
And I thought... well, what if?
I love a balcony. Tanner and I both love sitting outside and watching the ocean, so I decided to take a chance.
I bid the minimum.
$50 per person.
Then I pretty much forgot about it.
Yesterday?
Accepted.
So our $556 oceanview just became a $656 balcony cabin for two.
Not bad for a little $100 cruise gamble. 😂
Quick answer: Yes, I think Princess upgrade bidding can be worth it, but I only bid when I'm already happy with my original cabin and the upgrade is worth the extra money to me. I've won several bids at or near the minimum, but I've lost them too. And that's perfectly okay.
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My Princess Upgrade Strategy Is Pretty Simple
I don't have a complicated formula.
I don't obsess over the little bid meter.
And I'm definitely not trying to calculate the magical amount that will make Princess say yes.
My rule is much simpler:
Book a cabin you'd be happy staying in. Then only bid what an upgrade is actually worth to you.
That's pretty much it.
For Crown Princess, we were happy with our oceanview.
Would I pay another $100 total for a balcony?
Yep.
Would I have been upset if Princess rejected my bid?
Nope.
And that's exactly why this works for me.
Wait... How Does Princess Upgrade Bidding Work?
The short version: on eligible cruises, Princess may let you submit a bid for a higher stateroom category.
You choose how much you're willing to pay. You can even bid on multiple available stateroom categories, although you'll only pay for one upgrade if you're successful.
The biggest thing to remember?
Your bid is per person.
Princess bases bids on two guests per stateroom, and the bid amount is for the entire cruise, not per day.
So my $50 Crown Princess bid was really a $100 decision.
That's the number I care about.
I've Won With Minimum Bids Before
This wasn't my first little upgrade victory.
Alaska: Inside to Obstructed Balcony
On our Alaska cruise, we'd booked an inside cabin.
I put in the minimum bid of $130 per person for an obstructed balcony.
And we got it.
That was $260 total to go from an inside to an obstructed balcony, and for Alaska, I was very happy with that deal.
Sun Princess: Oceanview to Deluxe Balcony
Brandon and I also tried our luck on Sun Princess in 2025.
That time, we went from an oceanview to a deluxe balcony with a bid that was pretty close to the minimum.
I didn't save the exact amount, and I'm not going to pretend I remember it. 😂
But it was another happy upgrade.
Now, does my success mean minimum bids always win?
Absolutely not.
Which brings us to Norway.
Exhibit A: Norway 😂
We put in an upgrade bid for our Norway cruise.
We didn't get it.
And you know what?
We LOVED our interior cabin.
It was so wonderfully dark and quiet that I slept until NOON on our first day.
Apparently the real Princess upgrade was the sleep. 😂
And that right there is why I don't book a cabin I'm secretly hoping to escape from.
If my bid doesn't win, I still want to be excited about the cabin I already have.
Sometimes I Don't Bid at All
And then there's my upcoming Star Princess cruise.
Thanks to a casino deal, I booked a mini-suite for $440 per person, and we're on the Cabana Deck.
That is exactly where I want to be.
Could Princess offer me something that's technically a higher category?
Sure.
Am I messing with this cabin?
Nope. Don't touch it. 😂
This is an important part of upgrade bidding because Princess says you can't choose the location of your upgraded stateroom. Your location and specific features depend on availability.
Sometimes a higher category isn't actually an upgrade for you.
I got the cabin I wanted, on the deck I wanted, at a price I'm very happy with.
I'm staying put.
My Lazy Girl Rules for Princess Upgrade Bidding
After doing this several times, I've developed my very sophisticated system.
Just kidding.
There are basically five rules.
1. Book a cabin you're happy keeping.
Please don't book an interior cabin you're going to hate and assume you'll bid your way into a balcony later.
I book the cruise assuming I'm sleeping in the cabin on my confirmation.
Anything else is a bonus.
2. Decide what the upgrade is worth to you.
Not what the bid meter says.
Not what somebody in a Facebook group bid.
Not what another cruiser thinks you should bid.
What would make YOU happy?
For Crown Princess, my answer was $100 total.
So that's what I tried.
3. Do the per-person math.
A $50 bid sounded great.
But Tanner and I weren't paying $50.
We were paying $100 total.
Princess confirms that bids are per person and based on two guests per stateroom.
Always ask yourself whether you'd be happy paying the total amount.
4. Don't mess with a cabin you love.
See: me + Star Princess + Cabana Deck.
Enough said. 😂
5. Bid and go live your life.
This might be the most Lazy Girl part of my entire system.
Sometimes I've heard about an upgrade pretty early.
Other times, I've been much closer to the cruise.
Princess says a bid can be accepted anytime from when it's submitted up until one day before departure.
I'm not refreshing my email for that long.
I bid.
I forget about it.
If a happy little upgrade email eventually appears?
Well, hello there. 👋
Should You Bid the Minimum on a Princess Upgrade?
Maybe.
Helpful, right? 😂
I've personally won several Princess upgrades at or close to the minimum.
I've also lost.
So no, I don't think I've uncovered a secret Princess upgrade hack.
I simply don't raise my bid because I'm determined to "win."
If the minimum is what the upgrade is worth to me, that's what I bid.
If Princess accepts it, fabulous.
If they don't?
Remember the dark little Norway cabin where I slept until noon?
I'm going to be just fine.
So, Is Princess Upgrade Bidding Worth It?
For me?
Yes, when I'm okay with either outcome.
That's really the entire secret.
I'm not asking:
How much do I need to bid to win?
I'm asking:
How much would I be happy to pay if I win?
Sometimes Princess says yes and my $556 oceanview becomes a $656 balcony.
Sometimes Princess says no, and I sleep until noon in my wonderfully dark interior cabin.
And sometimes I've already got a $440-per-person mini-suite on the Cabana Deck and I'm not playing at all.
Don't bid because you want to win. Bid an amount that will make you happy if you win.
And if Princess doesn't accept it?
You're still going on a cruise.
Sounds like a win to me. 😂
More of My Princess Cruise Adventures
I've sailed Princess enough that I have opinions. Lots of them. 😂 If you're planning your own cruise, you might also like:
Ready to Find Your Princess Cruise?
My best advice?
Start by finding a cruise and cabin you'd be perfectly happy with before you start dreaming about upgrades.
Then, if a fun little bidding opportunity appears later, you can decide whether you want to play.
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About Julie
Hi, I'm Julie, the traveler behind No Point Left Behind. I cruise frequently, especially with Princess, and I love finding smart ways to make our trips better without automatically spending more.
Sometimes that's points and miles. Sometimes it's a casino offer. Sometimes it's knowing when a little splurge is completely worth it.
My philosophy is pretty simple: save where it doesn't matter so you have room to spend where it does.
Around here, I share what I actually booked, what I actually paid, and whether I thought it was worth it.
No perfect travel required.
Apparently all I really need is a cruise, an eye mask, and occasionally a $50 upgrade bid.
