Gotta read the fine print

[BigMac3001]

I really have no sympathy for this person. 

"Royal Caribbean accepted my $4,200 upgrade bid for a downgraded cabin" 

https://www.elliott.org/cruises/royal-caribbean-new-what-if-royalup-cabin-downgrade/

[gatorskin76]

I don't know what your issue with the person is, or why you would call them a fool.  Seems like a convoluted situation that was resolved amicably. 

[smokeybandit]

I just want to know why they bid a whopping $4200 to go from a grand suite to a royal suite, yet the upgrade cost to the villa was also $4200.

 

But yes, RC/RoyalUp screwed up and once it was made clear, RC fixed the situation.

[BigMac3001]

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I just want to know why they bid a whopping $4200 to go from a grand suite to a royal suite, yet the upgrade cost to the villa was also $4200.

 

But yes, RC/RoyalUp screwed up and once it was made clear, RC fixed the situation.

That was kinda my point. 

[BigMac3001]

20 minutes ago, gatorskin76 said:

I don't know what your issue with the person is, or why you would call them a fool.  Seems like a convoluted situation that was resolved amicably. 

You're right, my use of the old adage was not very tactful, but I still don't feel overly bad for this person. 

[Carlos A.]

It's simple, Royal dropped the ball here. They should have cancelled his RoyalUp bids at the moment they changed his reservation. Everything that followed was Royal fault.

[Ditchdoc]

The fine print will most always be biased toward the seller. The fine print will not always seem fair.  I cannot say for sure but my guess is RCCL probably had the legal right to keep the $4,200. Would it have been fiscally responsible to go to court over it? Nope. Would it have been fair? Nope. In my experience, RCCL generally does right for its customers. At the same time, all cruise ships basically hold you hostage in the middle of the ocean and are only obligated to give you a bathroom, a bed and meal. Everything else is extra.

[CrimsonCruiser]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

I just want to know why they bid a whopping $4200 to go from a grand suite to a royal suite, yet the upgrade cost to the villa was also $4200.

 

But yes, RC/RoyalUp screwed up and once it was made clear, RC fixed the situation.

I would imagine it was more or less a matter of timing.

They booked the original fare and RoyalUp months before the sail date but then changed to this much higher priced room within weeks. At that point, I'm sure Royal was dropping the price of the Villa in order to tempt people into upgrades or last minute bookings so they were able to snag a great deal.

[Atlantix2000]

Considering Royal Up is managed by a third party, I would never modify a reservation once I've placed a Royal Up bid.  It's pretty clear that Royal Up is non-refundable if accepted.  I'm surprised there isn't language in the Royal Up agreement that says don't do what this person did.  Or maybe it is there and Royal decided a refund was better than bad publicity.

[Lexster]

The frustrating thing here is the fact they had to get an advocacy website involved to get this resolved. Companies are so quick to just assume the customer is lying that they never listen. They were fixated on this idea that the customer was trying to get a RoyalUp refund, but it was because they shouldn't have been charged for the bid in the first place. It even took multiple emails from that website for them to even grasp the issue. Just ridiculous. If a company overpays you, you can guarantee they'll get that money back by any means necessary, but when it's a customer who overpays, companies drag their feet.