RoyalUp to Star Class

[LogicallyLazy]

Anyone have any experience with RoyalUp and going to Star Class? I'm currently booked for a sky class loft suite on QoTS in March and was looking if I would even try for an upgrade to a grand loft suite for Star class.

From what I found out, most people who get an upgrade receive it a few days before the cruise. As star class perks include drink packages, how will this work in regards to cruise planner purchases? Will I be able to refund the amount paid for cruise planner purchases?

Also, how will the royal genie work in that regard, considering they usually contact the passenger quite a while back in advance to confirm all their preferences.

Is it worth to upgrade to star from sky class?

[Lovetocruise2002]

Reports prior to covid was that, yes, while rare, you can get a Royal Up to Star, and it would include all the perks of Star.  Not sure when in March (2021 or 2022) your sailing is, but I don't even know if Royal Up will even be a thing in the post covid era in the near future.  Have you received an actual Royal Up offer.  If so, that is very interesting because I was under the impression they were not sending those out anymore. 

If you have things purchased in your cruise planner and you get the Royal Up at the last minute, your Genie can handle the refund for you.

As far as Genie contact, depending on how last minute your Royal Up is confirmed, you may or may not hear much from your Genie ahead of time.

IMO, is it worth it depends on the price.  The jump from Sky to Star is often debated.  If you do a quick search here, there are many threads discussing if it is worth it or not.  I am sure @WAAAYTOOO will weigh in as well, but some of the perks of Star Class cannot be quantified (mainly the Genie and what he/she can do for you.  Only you can decide if the jump in cost is "worth it" as we all put "worth" in different things.  I will tell you that I booked a sailing on Anthem recently (also Quantum class) and I had two cabins on hold, a Sky Loft and a Grand Loft.  The difference between the two was $2000 in total for 4 people.  The decision was a no brainer for us.  We ended up booking the Grand Loft.

[LogicallyLazy]

Booked on 2021 QoTS from Singapore. Based on the current cruises to nowhere that have sailed, some passengers have received a RoyalUp offer, though with the ships being max 50% I guess it may be a less likely to get a successful upgrade. Hopefully, with the sailing happening when school's in, the option to upgrade would be available.

 

From what I hear, the genies are basically a gift from god, so I wouldn't mind spending some extra if an upgrade in in the cards, especially since I'll save on some cruise planner purchases. My only worry is that, being my first cruise, getting into Star class will spoil me for any future cruise that I do not opt for Star.

 

That being said, I'm basically counting my chickens before they hatch, seeing as I don't even have an offer yet. 

[Lovetocruise2002]

6 minutes ago, LogicallyLazy said:

though with the ships being max 50% I guess it may be a less likely to get a successful upgrade.

Yes, that and the only way to get a Star Class Royal Up is really if someone cancels.  Those suites are booked solid usually so the only opportunity to squeeze in is a last minute cancellation usually.

7 minutes ago, LogicallyLazy said:

My only worry is that, being my first cruise, getting into Star class will spoil me for any future cruise that I do not opt for Star.

This is not a worry or a genuine concern.  It is fact and most definitely going to happen lol.

[Matt]

29 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

IMO, is it worth it depends on the price

I agree. Star Class is amazing, but it's not cheap and not something you can easily justify as a cost-effective upgrade.

It's a splurge, but the question is how much more will it cost to make it worthwhile for you.

[WAAAYTOOO]

@LogicallyLazy, if you do get a RoyalUp offer, or even hear from a reliable source that someone else got one, please let us know.  As @Lovetocruise2002said, I am under the impression that they aren't even offering RoyalUp at the moment....but there is a lot more going on on that side of the world that we probably aren't hearing about.  Good luck.  I hope they do offer it and I hope you get it, if you bid.

"A gift from God" may be a bit of a stretch, but the Genie is, indeed, a wonderful, incalculable benefit for SC pax.  Frankly, with 50% capacity, they may not be quite as valuable as they are with 100% capacity....on the other hand, with social distancing and downsizing/crowd management, they may prove to be even MORE valuable.  I guess we'll just have to see.  My favorite "what can a Genie do for me ?" story is when we (everyone, including staff) were forced to leave the ship during a call at Port Canaveral (I will forego the long story associated with all of this).  There was a [unhappy] sea of humanity in the terminal waiting to get back on the ship.  Tempers were beginning to flare and it was not a pleasant situation.  I called Yen Lee, our Genie, and asked for help (some crew had already been allowed back on board).  In less than 2 minutes, we saw her coming down the escalator and we hailed her.  She scooped us up, elbowed her/our way through the throng and passed back through security, safely, and happily, back onto the ship.  She said to us, "stay close to me and don't stop !".  That moment was worth every penny we paid for SC on that particular sailing.

We truly enjoy SC....Dan not quite as much as me....but it's still a wonderful treat.  If, for whatever reason, you are not able to upgrade, Sky Class is NOT a bad consolation prize !  The suites, access to the Suites Lounge and breakfast in the Coastal Kitchen and priority boarding/disembarkation are wonderful perks.

Good luck !!  ....and you're right.  You can't go back once you have experienced the extra sweet life !

[LogicallyLazy]

@WAAAYTOOO Thanks for the insight. I will definitely update if I do receive a RoyalUp offer. 

While the cruise will not have any port stops, it seems that, at least for the current peak December cruises that are sailing, that basically everything requires a reservation and with 50% capacity in the restaurants as well as coastal kitchen, many guests were not able to get a seat. Many speculate that those in star class with genies and sky class with concierge book them up a lot earlier as compared to people hoping to pop in for a meal.  

Even windjammer is closed for dinner as they do not have enough staff to man the MDR as well as the buffet 

 

Now with that in mind, the wonder is would a genie be able to help in situations like that. Prowling the local forums don’t help much as not many people are star class lol

[WAAAYTOOO]

3 hours ago, LogicallyLazy said:

would a genie be able to help in situations like that.

Those situations are precisely when Genies are the most useful.  You would need not worry about getting a reservation anywhere.  The Suites Concierge would also be a big help but they do not have the "pull" that a Genie has.  I think the suites will be at a significant advantage in situations like these.

[Rags1]

As my more learned friends have already said, it’s a process to determine the point when paying more for Star makes sense. During the period of no cruising I have spent some time and developed an App that helps. You enter cabins, people, cost and then rate 31 categories, from 1 to 5, on how important they are to each person in your party. On the last page you hit enter and the App sends the Star request to your travel agent. Pretty easy...

[Mykl]

18 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

if you do get a RoyalUp offer, or even hear from a reliable source that someone else got one, please let us know.  As @Lovetocruise2002said, I am under the impression that they aren't even offering RoyalUp at the moment....

We are 10 days out from our sailing date and can confirm that RC is sending RoyalUp offer emails.  I booked in Star Class, but received an offer for the Royal Loft Suite.

 

16 hours ago, LogicallyLazy said:

Now with that in mind, the wonder is would a genie be able to help in situations like that. Prowling the local forums don’t help much as not many people are star class lol

I have been in contact with my genie and she has confirmed that we don't need to pre-book show reservations as she will be able to get us access.  Also, she has already made a couple dinner reservations for us but has offered to change them once we get on board.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Mykl said:

We are 10 days out from our sailing date and can confirm that RC is sending RoyalUp offer emails.  I booked in Star Class, but received an offer for the Royal Loft Suite.

 

I have been in contact with my genie and she has confirmed that we don't need to pre-book show reservations as she will be able to get us access.  Also, she has already made a couple dinner reservations for us but has offered to change them once we get on board.

Yay !

[LogicallyLazy]

2 hours ago, Mykl said:

We are 10 days out from our sailing date and can confirm that RC is sending RoyalUp offer emails.  I booked in Star Class, but received an offer for the Royal Loft Suite.

 

I have been in contact with my genie and she has confirmed that we don't need to pre-book show reservations as she will be able to get us access.  Also, she has already made a couple dinner reservations for us but has offered to change them once we get on board.

That’s good to know. Makes the option to upgrade that much more tempting if I do get offered one 

[PaulRC]

Do you have to get an invite to bid on an upgrade?  Can I just go to the web site and bid without an invite?

[Mykl]

34 minutes ago, PaulRC said:

Do you have to get an invite to bid on an upgrade?  Can I just go to the web site and bid without an invite?

You can go to the website to see if your reservation qualifies: Singapore version - https://www.royalcaribbean.com/sgp/en/booked/cruise-room-upgrade

If I recall correctly, I believe your sailing date has to be within the next 30 days.

[PaulRC]

2 hours ago, Mykl said:

If I recall correctly, I believe your sailing date has to be within the next 30 days.

Thanks and yes you are correct 30 days

[LogicallyLazy]

Just an update. I’ve received a RoyalUp offer from my March cruise. 
 

Fingers crossed I get it

[ReanC]

Hi guys, I’m new here and have a cruise to nowhere (departing from Singapore) lined up over the Chinese New Year period (11-15 Feb).  I have also received the RoyalUp email and made a bid from junior suite to the Star suites.  No news thus far, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

[WAAAYTOOO]

8 minutes ago, ReanC said:

Hi guys, I’m new here and have a cruise to nowhere (departing from Singapore) lined up over the Chinese New Year period (11-15 Feb).  I have also received the RoyalUp email and made a bid from junior suite to the Star suites.  No news thus far, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Good luck !

[LogicallyLazy]

1 hour ago, ReanC said:

Hi guys, I’m new here and have a cruise to nowhere (departing from Singapore) lined up over the Chinese New Year period (11-15 Feb).  I have also received the RoyalUp email and made a bid from junior suite to the Star suites.  No news thus far, I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Good luck. As of right now, all the suites seem to be sold out for that sailing, so it may be a little unlikely to get upgraded but considering it’s CNY, there is always a possibility of a last minute cancellation