How much luck with Royal Up?

[tonyfsu21]

3 hours ago, Skip Donald said:

On Independance next month (1st cruise ever). Currently in a balcony room with key. Worth it to try to Royal Up to JS or GS? Thanks in advance.

GS yes, JS no. Either way, it’s worth it to submit a bid in the very low probability event that you win and get a great deal. Good luck.

[tonyfsu21]

Can anyone confirm a Royal Up win on a holiday sailing over the last couple of years (low capacity pandemic era cruising excluded)? I have seen a few wins posted during non holiday sailings but not much else. In the past I have won several times during our annual Labor Day, Thanksgiving and New Years 7 day voyages but my luck has apparently expired. 

[KristiZ]

1 hour ago, tonyfsu21 said:

Can anyone confirm a Royal Up win on a holiday sailing over the last couple of years (low capacity pandemic era cruising excluded)? I have seen a few wins posted during non holiday sailings but not much else. In the past I have won several times during our annual Labor Day, Thanksgiving and New Years 7 day voyages but my luck has apparently expired. 

Someone in my Christmas sailing FB group just said they got a Royal Up yesterday -- from Deck 6 to Deck 8 was the only information, so I don't know if they started in an interior or what

[tonyfsu21]

10 minutes ago, KristiZ said:

Someone in my Christmas sailing FB group just said they got a Royal Up yesterday -- from Deck 6 to Deck 8 was the only information, so I don't know if they started in an interior or what

That’s good to hear! At least someone is confirmed to be winning something. 

[Michael L]

We booked a loft suite for an upcoming cruise and they sent us a Royal Up offer for an aqua suite which we bid on and they accepted. We stayed in one before, and liked the extra large balcony at the back of the ship. After the "upgrade" notification we find out this is a recently redesignated one bedroom "aqua suite" on deck 11 with only one bathroom. This room was originally a lower classification room and not even in the same suite category that we booked. The loft suite we booked was a one bedroom, two bathroom suite. They actually charged us additional money and downgraded us, and now refuse to give us back our original booking that they already resold. I believe Royal Up is a separate company from Royal Caribbean, hired to bring in more money and fill empty suites, but apparently will also misrepresent an offer and steal your nicer existing booking to make an extra buck and leave you in an inferior room. They have no phone number that you or anyone at Royal Caribbean can reach them to talk in person. They only communicate by email, which tells you a lot about their sinister operation.

[tonyfsu21]

8 hours ago, Michael L said:

We booked a loft suite for an upcoming cruise and they sent us a Royal Up offer for an aqua suite which we bid on and they accepted. We stayed in one before, and liked the extra large balcony at the back of the ship. After the "upgrade" notification we find out this is a recently redesignated one bedroom "aqua suite" on deck 11 with only one bathroom. This room was originally a lower  classification room and not even in the same suite category that we booked. The loft suite we booked was a one bedroom, two bathroom suite. They actually charged us additional money and downgraded us, and now refuse to give us back our original booking that they already resold. Will be filing a fraud complaint if they don't give our original booking back. I believe Royal Up is a separate company from Royal Caribbean, hired to bring in more money and fill empty suites, but sometimes also steal the suite you already booked and paid for an extra buck.
 

Royal Up is in fact run by a contractor. Aquatheatre suites are star class so I don’t think that could necessarily be considered a downgrade unless you are like me and value the stateroom size over the Royal genie. Either way, I doubt you get anywhere unless you have a good travel agent to fight this battle. I have been back and forth before with RU and it’s not pleasant. 

[Neesa]

@Michael L I just wanted to express my disappointment for you and with you. We bid with this third party company in good faith of a true upgrade. This stinks, it hits home as we also tend to book 2 bathrooms.

That stings, I'm so sorry this happened to you.

[Neesa]

@tonyfsu21 I don't think the 1 bedroom aqua suites are Star, I think they are Sky class unless something has changed.  I know the last time I was looking to book one that was their designation. Begs further investigation now on my part. 

[AshleyDillo]

Just now, Neesa said:

I don't think the 1 bedroom aqua suites are Star, I think they are Sky class unless something has changed. i know the last time i was looking to book one that was their designation. Begs further investigation now on my part. 

You are correct. The 1BR is Sky class.

[tonyfsu21]

11 minutes ago, Neesa said:

@tonyfsu21 I don't think the 1 bedroom aqua suites are Star, I think they are Sky class unless something has changed. i know the last time I was looking to book one that was their designation. Begs further investigation now on my part. 

If that’s the case, I understand the frustration. CLS on deck 17 is one of the best suite options on Oasis class ships. This is certainly a downgrade. I do know from my experience, RU clearly differentiates the 1 and 2 BR aqua theatre suites so perhaps OP accidentally bid on the wrong one? I personally wouldn’t trust the cast of characters running RU to  have the ability to understand an upgrade vs lateral move. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

What has happened is most certainly a downgrade.  If you can prove that your RUB was actually for the 2 BR Star Class suite then you certainly have a case for dispute....but you need to be very sure that the RUB was for the 2 BR suite and not the 1 BR suite.  If you are certain that the bid was for the 2 BR suite I would immediately dispute the charge with your CC company.  Going through Royal and the RU folks will take waaaytooo long to be effective.

[Neesa]

I may have misunderstood, by loft I thought it was a Star Class loft suite. If it was a Crown Loft that is Sky class to Sky class so in fact the RU bid/assignment makes sense. Ugh, sometimes the names are confusing, that darn devil is in the details. Anyway, try to make the best of it moving forward, I do wish @Michael L the best outcome.

[Lovetocruise2002]

10 hours ago, Michael L said:

After the "upgrade" notification we find out this is a recently redesignated one bedroom "aqua suite" on deck 11 with only one bathroom. This room was originally a lower  classification room and not even in the same suite category that we booked.

It's not a downgrade according to Royal. It is a downgrade if you ask the general public, myself included.

According to Royal, the 1 Bedroom ATS is technically classified higher than the Crown Loft (I have never personally understood that), and that is why when you book a CL, you always have the option to bid on the 1 BDR ATS.

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/General_Info/23009973_2023_Trade_Recat_Grid_Update-2-HR.pdf

[Ampurp85]

@Michael L I am sorry this happened to you, but this is not fraud. It sounds like you assumed the Aqua suite was a two bedroom because that is what you stayed in. When you bid, they list the amenities and general info of the room. This appears to be an expensive mistake on your part. 

[Michael L]

The downgrade is in the number of bathrooms. With three adults in our suite we booked a suite with two bathrooms. The upgrade we were given only has one bathroom.