Royal Up offers

[Kent]

Sailing Allure late Oct and we have a room we can live with, but that does not mean we're not interested in entertaining the offer for an upgrade.  I have received 3 emails from Royal up in the past week, but its the same offer.  Do they change at all or get any more reasonable as the sail date nears?  The minimum bids are too high for us to be interested currently.

[KLA]

I can't speak for anything post-Covid and I've never won a bid, but I have seen bid prices decrease in the past as the cruise gets closer. 

I have two bids out right now for a Grand Suite and a Junior Suite and I've been checking the status on them excessively. The GS bid was minimum and the JS bid was "fair" - but both are a steep discount under what suites are being sold for right now. These are both for our early October cruise. 

[RBo]

Sailed Allure Aug 29 and won a JS bid with a very modest bid. Ship was only at 30% occupancy with <1800 passengers and <1100 crew, so not surprising we won it. We've made bids in the past but have never seen them solicit a second offer.

[KLA]

9 hours ago, RBo said:

Sailed Allure Aug 29 and won a JS bid with a very modest bid. Ship was only at 30% occupancy with <1800 passengers and <1100 crew, so not surprising we won it. We've made bids in the past but have never seen them solicit a second offer.

Out of curiosity - how long after you placed the bid / how long before sailing did you find out you won?

[Wilson]

We were not going to bid, but the minimum dropped last week for our 10/01 Indy sailing. 
JS went from $150 to $50 and GS dropped from $250 to $150. 

[KLA]

32 minutes ago, Wilson said:

We were not going to bid, but the minimum dropped last week for our 10/01 Indy sailing. 
JS went from $150 to $50 and GS dropped from $250 to $150. 

Prices are similar for my 10/3 Odyssey sailing. JS min is like $50 and GS is like $100 and a little higher for GS w/ Large Balcony. We went a over minimum for all 3 (but nothing higher than “weak” or “fair” on the JS) since we realized we probably wouldn’t have a shot at these rooms for that cheap again on a ship that has royal suite class and this would be the perfect chance for us to try one. Though I guess that might also be a downside of getting one of those rooms. 

[JustMeJoe]

 

1 hour ago, KLA said:

Prices are similar for my 10/3 Odyssey sailing. JS min is like $50 and GS is like $100 and a little higher for GS w/ Large Balcony. We went a over minimum for all 3 (but nothing higher than “weak” or “fair” on the JS) since we realized we probably wouldn’t have a shot at these rooms for that cheap again on a ship that has royal suite class and this would be the perfect chance for us to try one. Though I guess that might also be a downside of getting one of those rooms. 

I'm all for the chance at a RoyalUp.  YOLO; go for it.  The part I don't like is the "small print" in the terms.

The terms and conditions of your original cruise booking will remain in effect following the acceptance of an Offer or if an Offer is not accepted. This includes terms and conditions pertaining to cancellation, penalties, changes, the Crown & Anchor® Society.  Accepted offers will earn Crown & Anchor points at the original stateroom category purchased, and not the category of the upgraded stateroom. Upgrade does not include any additional promotions. If you purchase an Upgrade RCI cannot guarantee a specific cabin number assignment within the upgraded category. Your cabin number will depend on space availability.

Underlined the unappealing parts for me.  (Probably some more).

 

[tonyfsu21]

11 hours ago, KLA said:

Out of curiosity - how long after you placed the bid / how long before sailing did you find out you won?

I have won quite a few times and it’s been pretty consistent 2-3 days before sail date when your card is charged. 

[KLA]

20 minutes ago, JustMeJoe said:

 

I'm all for the chance at a RoyalUp.  YOLO; go for it.  The part I don't like is the "small print" in the terms.

The terms and conditions of your original cruise booking will remain in effect following the acceptance of an Offer or if an Offer is not accepted. This includes terms and conditions pertaining to cancellation, penalties, changes, the Crown & Anchor® Society.  Accepted offers will earn Crown & Anchor points at the original stateroom category purchased, and not the category of the upgraded stateroom. Upgrade does not include any additional promotions. If you purchase an Upgrade RCI cannot guarantee a specific cabin number assignment within the upgraded category. Your cabin number will depend on space availability.

Underlined the unappealing parts for me.  (Probably some more).

 

I’ve more or less accepted that - plus with the current promotion it’s still at least double points, isn’t it?

[teddy]

Our recent junior suite cost us $500 total through Royal Up. 
 

Before I submitted the bid, I did a mock booking and it was $1700 more than we paid for our balcony guarantee, so we paid $1200 less than if we booked it. 
 

We personally have no problems with not getting the extra suite C&A points for this cruise 

[Wilson]

Agree with teddy. 
C&A points are irrelevant once we made D+. We will never make Pinnacle. 

[Pattycruise]

11 minutes ago, Wilson said:

Agree with teddy. 
C&A points are irrelevant once we made D+. We will never make Pinnacle. 

I presented a spreadsheet to hubby. If I do 21 cruises at double points/solo sailers I can make pinnacle by December  ‘22.  I’m not too sure he’s bought into that idea

[mathbees]

9 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

I presented a spreadsheet to hubby

9 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

I’m not too sure he’s bought into that idea

Did you include a chart? I'm sure he'll say yes... 

 

[Jolly Ogre]

heh!! With the current flash sale went from a guarantee inside to a ocean balcony for $200 total on Symphony with 82 days and counting until sail day, and I did not have to wait on a Royal Up bid and twiddle and wait and hope it was accepted.

[Pattycruise]

 

Did you include a chart? I'm sure he'll say yes... 

 

I most certainly did! Lol

he’s reluctantly agreed. Now I need to decide if I’ll go for it

[wozswoman]

Well shoot.  Since it will not get quad points I see no point in paying extra for the Jr Suite Royal Up from the Spacious Balcony Cabin my mom and I are sharing. It pays to read the fine print.

[Pattycruise]

 

Well shoot.  Since it will not get quad points I see no point in paying extra for the Jr Suite Royal Up from the Spacious Balcony Cabin my mom and I are sharing. It pays to read the fine print.

Unless it’s affordable to book 2 separate cabins, as a solo sailer  I believe you’ll get 4 Pts a night

[BrianB]

 

Unless it’s affordable to book 2 separate cabins, as a solo sailer  I believe you’ll get 4 Pts a night

Some couples are doing that. Booking connecting balconies. More room…two bathrooms, lots of storage space…no arguing over the TV. Plus being solo in a balcony will get you four points per night. 

[Ampurp85]

I received a Royal Up on my first RCG sailing, I didn't understand so I opted out. Right now the offers seem to be too good to be true. However, it is important to consider all factors. Unless your already in a suite, you won't get the suite double points. Then it becomes about space, with reduced capacity on ships you have more freedom to explore. That might mean less time in the room. Lastly, could you spend that money on experiences? Lots of times we can barely scratch the surface on shows and entertainment. With limited show times and option, you have more time to do everything. Or more time to avoid chair hogs and hang out on deck drinking. 

@Pattycruise

I am doing a couple of solo sailings in jr. suites to reach diamond. I would love to book more but I don't live near a port. I am work from home with my bookkeeping job and would literally do a month or two worth of Mon-Fri sailings if I lived close to a port. Not just to reach a certain status but because I love cruising. 

[barjpoe]

We just got accepted , from a balcony to a JS Yeah!

[Marlena]

23 minutes ago, barjpoe said:

We just got accepted , from a balcony to a JS Yeah!

When are you sailing?

[barjpoe]

9If we get a correct answer from out C19 test. we sail on Sunday(9/19), but will fly down on Sat.

[Sushitex]

On the Independence out of Galveston?  We are scheduled on the September 19th sailing on her. 2 out of our 3 bids already were "expired" (rejected) but the other said "pending" a little while ago. 

We are more anxious about our Covid-19 test tomorrow, but thinking about the possibility of upgrading is keeping me distracted, a little. 

[KLA]

2 minutes ago, Sushitex said:

On the Independence out of Galveston?  We are scheduled on the September 19th sailing on her. 2 out of our 3 bids already were "expired" (rejected) but the other said "pending" a little while ago. 

We are more anxious about our Covid-19 test tomorrow, but thinking about the possibility of upgrading is keeping me distracted, a little. 

That's typically a good sign. 

[Sushitex]

I hope so, keeping my fingers crossed! 

[KevinJ]

I had placed a couple bids for our Oasis Oct 17 sailing. We just booked Wonder for March 25th 2022, so I decided to cancel the bids. I can no longer access my bids, get a message that it's not  eligible for upgrade? I'm hoping that means my bids are gone, we're already in a JS and was just low balling a GS bid.

[BrianB]

5 minutes ago, KevinJ said:

I had placed a couple bids for our Oasis Oct 17 sailing. We just booked Wonder for March 25th 2022, so I decided to cancel the bids. I can no longer access my bids, get a message that it's not  eligible for upgrade? I'm hoping that means my bids are gone, we're already in a JS and was just low balling a GS bid.

Can you access it by opening the email that was sent to confirm your bids were received? Modify/Cancel button?

[KevinJ]

@BrianB No, that was how I got the not eligible message. If I try the Cruise Room Upgrade page, I get the please ensure your cruise is within the next thirty days. I'll wait a few days and try again, then I'll be inside the 30 day window. 

[AlohaLivin]

On 9/12/2021 at 7:05 PM, JustMeJoe said:

Upgrade does not include any additional promotions

I have never been certain of the true meaning of this (operationally that is) caveat. We have only bid for royal suites from sky level suites and haven’t bid anything much beyond the minimum (not willing to bid thousands more than we were already paying). But I can’t imagine paying out that much cash and them holding some benefit back (whatever benefit that might be - free drinks, full access to all restaurants, etc).

[barbeyg]

16 minutes ago, AlohaLivin said:

I have never been certain of the true meaning of this (operationally that is) caveat. We have only bid for royal suites from sky level suites and haven’t bid anything much beyond the minimum (not willing to bid thousands more than we were already paying). But I can’t imagine paying out that much cash and them holding some benefit back (whatever benefit that might be - free drinks, full access to all restaurants, etc).

Others have reported Royal Ups to a star suite, and all the star suite perks came with the Royal Up. Right now, the biggest Issue I see with that is for planning. There has only been a very short lead time with Royal Up ‘win’ notifications, so getting restaurant reservations, etc. may differ from someone that was able to converse with the Genie before 2-3 days out. I’m sure they will do what they can, but your mileage may vary.

[BrianB]

I just received an email from RoyalUp titled…Reservation Modification.

It says ‘this email is to let you know that we’ve cancelled your requested RoyalUp upgrade due to a change in your reservation.’

The bid was for a cruise on Sept 26, which is the second half of a b2b. Nothing has been changed on my reservation…as far as I know.

Anyone get a similar cancellation email…or know why?

[AlohaLivin]

23 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

Others have reported Royal Ups to a star suite, and all the star suite perks came with the Royal Up. Right now, the biggest Issue I see with that is for planning. There has only been a very short lead time with Royal Up ‘win’ notifications, so getting restaurant reservations, etc. may differ from someone that was able to converse with the Genie before 2-3 days out. I’m sure they will do what they can, but your mileage may vary.

True, it doesn’t give much time. But we would have contact the concierge the week prior regarding most reservations - in our case not a lot would change I guess. But it does Leave at one to wonder what “promotions” would not be applied (and the CNA points would be a moot point for Sky to Royal suite move).  We like the cabins we have, so if we usually think if get moved that’s cool and if we don’t that’s cool. It’s usually a matter of bidding on one or two Royal suites, most of which are too big for the needs of just the two of us (especially  considering another 6000 or so to the total it would add).

[AlohaLivin]

5 minutes ago, BrianB said:

I just received an email from RoyalUp titled…Reservation Modification.

It says ‘this email is to let you know that we’ve cancelled your requested RoyalUp upgrade due to a change in your reservation.’

The bid was for a cruise on Sept 26, which is the second half of a b2b. Nothing has been changed on my reservation…as far as I know.

Anyone get a similar cancellation email…or know why?

Did you get a price adjustment by chance?

[KevinJ]

And now I got another e-mail offering royal up for this Oct 17th cruise, I'm just going to skip it. Our accessible JS is actually larger than the GS 1 bedroom, and I think my wife would have trouble with the bath/shower.

[barbeyg]

4 hours ago, BrianB said:

I just received an email from RoyalUp titled…Reservation Modification.

It says ‘this email is to let you know that we’ve cancelled your requested RoyalUp upgrade due to a change in your reservation.’

The bid was for a cruise on Sept 26, which is the second half of a b2b. Nothing has been changed on my reservation…as far as I know.

Anyone get a similar cancellation email…or know why?

Could they have upgraded you without you doing a Royal Up? People on other websites have said they were told their cabin was being changed (without their request). For those few passengers, it has meant an upgrade so far.

[BrianB]

18 hours ago, AlohaLivin said:

Did you get a price adjustment by chance?

I did re-price the room…but that was weeks before I put in the RoyalUp bid.

[BrianB]

14 hours ago, barbeyg said:

Could they have upgraded you without you doing a Royal Up? People on other websites have said they were told their cabin was being changed (without their request). For those few passengers, it has meant an upgrade so far.

No. I’m still in the crown loft suite. Any upgrade would be to a significantly more expensive suite.

[CruisingfromClayton]

4 hours ago, BrianB said:

No. I’m still in the crown loft suite. Any upgrade would be to a significantly more expensive suite.

BrianB, we had 2 bids for our sailing on Oasis (10/17) - one for the 2 br Aqua and one for the Panoramic. I just checked and both bids are gone. I attempted to access the link through the email and it pops an error. I didn't receive the 'reservation modification' email but DID receive another email suggesting we consider bidding via RoyalUp. Guess we're back to square one

[Salty Law Dog]

I had both my Royal Up bids on a B2B starting Oct 3 cancelled this morning through the same email as you received BrianB. I just talked to Royal and they didn’t have a clue, the agent said nothing had changed in the reservation despite what the email said. She suggested I email the RoyalUp people (no phone number apparently.) In going into the RoyalUp system, they are all still listed as pending…. System glitch? No idea…will just have to redo I suppose. 

[BrianB]

4 minutes ago, Salty Law Dog said:

I had both my Royal Up bids on a B2B starting Oct 3 cancelled this morning through the same email as you received BrianB. I just talked to Royal and they didn’t have a clue, the agent said nothing had changed in the reservation despite what the email said. She suggested I email the RoyalUp people (no phone number apparently.) In going into the RoyalUp system, they are all still listed as pending…. System glitch? No idea…will just have to redo I suppose. 

RC has been having issues with their systems lately. I received the email today telling me to complete the health questionnaire for tomorrow’s cruise. Every time I answer all the questions and press submit…the response is ‘We’ll get you there. Try submitting again’. I’ve done it about a dozen times already with the same result. I keep waiting a longer time in between tries hoping it corrects itself. Sort of reminds me of Albert Einstein’s quote…Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Oh, well…they’ll get me there.

But I believe RoyalUp is separate from RC and operates on their own. Maybe similar systems?