How to Get Cruise Upgrades for Less by Bidding (Plusgrade Tips)

Updated November 2026

Short answer: You can get a cruise upgrade by bidding. Many cruise lines run auction-style upgrade programs, often powered by a vendor called Plusgrade. You book a cabin you would be happy with, then bid at or above a minimum price to move up to a larger cabin or a suite. If your bid wins, your card is charged and you are upgraded. There is no guarantee you will win, so treat an upgrade as a nice surprise.

Cruise upgrade bidding	At a glance
Who runs it	The cruise line, often through the vendor Plusgrade
What you bid	An amount at or above the cruise line’s minimum, to move to a higher cabin class or suite
How to check you can bid	Look for the cruise line’s eligibility email, check your booking record, or search for the cruise line’s upgrade site; not all fares are upgradeable
Guaranteed?	No, so book a cabin you will be satisfied with
When you find out	From about a month before sailing to the morning of sailing, depending on the cruise line
When you are charged	Immediately once your upgrade is confirmed; you can’t change your mind
Do promotions stay?	Yes, promotions from when you booked still stand

Why bid for a cruise upgrade?

Have you ever dreamt of having one of those large suites on a cruise? Or even moving from an interior cabin to a balcony? How can you get cruise upgrades? There is a way to do this without breaking the bank — bidding. You could get a larger cabin, and suites often come with extra perks like free drinks, special restaurants, a dedicated concierge, and priority lines for shows.

To give a sense of what you can get by bidding, here is an illustration: you may be able to get a suite for an overall cost of $4000 (original price plus bid), which would normally sell for $8000. Results vary by sailing, cabin type and demand, but you can get good deals if you are strategic (and lucky).

Many cruise lines let customers place auction-style bids for the chance to upgrade to a higher cabin class, including suites. One thing to keep in mind: book a cabin you will be satisfied with, since there is no guarantee you’ll win. If you must have a balcony or a suite, book one. View an upgrade as a nice surprise.

How does cruise upgrade bidding work?

Knowing how the upgrade process works on one cruise line will make it easy on others, since many use the same upgrading software run by Plusgrade, a third-party vendor. When you log in to each cruise line’s upgrade website, the look and feel will be similar. You will see cabins available for bidding, although that doesn’t necessarily mean those cabins are available for upgrade (as they may be sold out). You will be given a minimum bid price, as well as a graph showing how likely you are to win the bid based on how much you enter. You may bid on more than one cabin type.

Cruise upgrade bidding, step by step:

1. Book a cabin you would be satisfied with.
2. Log in to your cruise line’s upgrade website and see which cabin types are open for bidding.
3. Enter a bid at or above the minimum for one or more cabin types, using the likelihood graph as a guide.
4. Wait for the result. Once your upgrade is confirmed, your credit card is charged immediately and you can’t change your mind.

How do I know if I can upgrade my cruise?

Not all fares are upgradeable. Usually, the cruise line will email you to say you are eligible to bid for an upgrade, with a link to the bidding website. Other times, you may find the link within your booking record on the cruise line’s website. If all else fails, you can use Google to find your cruise line’s upgrade process and bidding website.

Why do cruise lines offer upgrade bidding?

I recently spoke with Jessica Fleisher, VP – Enterprise Analytics, Insights & Revenue Management Systems at Virgin Voyages, who runs a team of 20 people handling revenue planning, analytics, and operations. She said the upgrade program aims to optimize overall revenue monetization. The goal is to fill every cabin prior to sailing, so the Level Upgrade program (as Virgin Voyages calls it) is their way of doing that. They look at each sailing individually, based on historical sailings and current sales. Her team is constantly monitoring overall demand data and price elasticity. She said it is like a puzzle: figuring out when and which bids to accept and upgrade, which I have always said is how I feel when figuring out which miles and points to use for free travel.

Cruise lines use this process because they would rather not sail away with empty cabins. They want to maximize revenue. Through this process, a ‘waterfall effect’ can occur. If someone wants to upgrade from a balcony to a suite and does, a balcony cabin becomes available. Someone who had a porthole cabin may bid to upgrade to a balcony. Now that a balcony became available, they could be upgraded, leaving a porthole cabin available. If someone had an interior cabin and wanted to upgrade to a porthole cabin, they could bid and be placed in the balcony cabin that had opened. This then opens up an interior cabin to sell outright. In each case, the cruise line is earning revenue, so the first upgrade to the suite triggered two other upgrades.

This is a simplified illustration of how the process can work. Cruise lines and Plusgrade do not publish their exact selection formulas, so treat it as a guide, not a rule.

Tips for bidding on cruise upgrades

How much should I bid for a cruise upgrade?

You can get an upgrade by bidding at or slightly above the minimum, even if the graph shows ‘poor’. Bidding earlier may be the tie-breaker for similar bids.

Can a lower bid beat a higher bid?

Yes. The whole revenue-maximizing schema comes into play, as described above. Let’s say two people bid $300 and $320 for a large balcony. One person is coming from an interior cabin (the $320 bid) and one is coming from a small balcony cabin (the $300 bid). The $300 bid may win, despite being lower, because it would open up a balcony cabin for someone else to bid on, whereas opening an interior would not open up a biddable cabin.

When will I find out if I won a cruise upgrade?

Different cruise lines have different timetables for when you will hear if you ‘won’ an upgrade, ranging from a month before sailing to the morning of sailing. Occasionally, you will see a charge on your credit card from your cruise line or Plusgrade before you are notified that you got the upgrade. If you see this charge, that is a good sign that the upgrade is yours.

Which cabins are most likely to be upgraded?

Although it’s not guaranteed, you can try to guess which room types are more likely to be upgraded based on what is still available for sale closer to sailing. If a particular suite is not available for sale, it is most likely not available for upgrade. However, things change as people do cancel, and people in that cabin type could upgrade as well.

Other things to know

• Once your upgrade is confirmed, you can’t change your mind. Your credit card will be charged immediately.
• If you do get an upgrade, all promotions you received when booking will still stand.
• Keep an eye on Facebook groups for your particular sailing date. Very often people post when and if they get upgraded and, on occasion, how much they bid. This could be useful information in your bidding strategy.

With a bit of knowledge and luck, now that you know how to upgrade, you may find yourself in a huge suite on your next cruise. What is the best cruise upgrade you have ever received by bidding?

Cruise upgrade FAQs

Is every cruise fare upgradeable?

No, not all fares are upgradeable. Usually the cruise line emails you to say you are eligible to bid for an upgrade, with a link to the bidding website. Otherwise, you may find the link in your booking record on the cruise line’s website, or you can search Google for your cruise line’s upgrade process and bidding website.

Is it worth bidding for a cruise upgrade?

It can be. A winning bid can move you to a larger cabin or a suite for less than booking that cabin outright, and suites often include perks such as free drinks, special restaurants, a dedicated concierge and priority lines for shows. There is no guarantee you will win, so book a cabin you would be satisfied with and treat an upgrade as a nice surprise.

Who runs cruise upgrade bidding?

Many cruise lines run auction-style upgrade programs, and many use software from a third-party vendor called Plusgrade. Each cruise line brands its program differently; Virgin Voyages calls it Level Upgrade. The upgrade websites look and work similarly, so learning one makes the others easy.

Does the highest bid always win?

No. Cruise lines are trying to fill every cabin and maximize revenue, so they weigh each bid against what it frees up. A lower bid from a guest moving out of a cabin that can be re-sold or re-bid can beat a higher bid that opens up nothing biddable. Bidding earlier may break a tie between similar bids.

How will I know if I won a cruise upgrade?

The timing depends on the cruise line, from about a month before sailing to the morning of sailing. Occasionally a charge from your cruise line or Plusgrade appears on your credit card before you are notified, which is a good sign the upgrade is yours.

Can I cancel a cruise upgrade after I win?

No. Once your upgrade is confirmed you cannot change your mind, and your credit card is charged immediately.

Do I keep my booking promotions if I get an upgrade?

Yes. If you get an upgrade, all promotions you received when you booked still stand.

More cruise reading

• New Pricing Tiers for Virgin Voyages: What You Need to Know
• 46 Must-Know Insider Tips for Sailing on Virgin Voyages
• Earn Bonus Points on a Cruise With This Casino Cash Trick
• More posts: Virgin Voyages and Cruise

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