Royal Up Bid to Grand Suite or Higher

[Coda_Sarah]

I am currently in a junior suite and I am thinking about bidding for a grand suite for my cruise on Allure later this year.  For folks who were upgraded to a grand suite after being in a lower category, when you are notified of a winning bid, does a concierge reach out to you?  There are perks using a concierge before booking so I was curious how that works?  I'm sort of laughing at myself because I should probably wait to ask this IF I win, but it just popped into my head LOL.  Maybe it will help someone else too

[Big Red]

Yes, I have won a few RoyalUp Bids.  They will contact you about a week before the cruise if you win before the cruise, or you could be notified after you have boarded the boat as well( I have heard).  

 

[Neesa]

Notification can occur at any time after you bid. I found out 48 hours before sailing. I was already speaking with the concierge about something else ( owners suite upgraded to 2 bedroom owners) and the concierge advised me of the following;

He couldn't confirm my upgrade or cabin change ( I told him I had received notification) until boarding day. He explained that the ships manifest was received the morning of embarkation.

The Royal Up game is a totally different company then Royal two separate moving parts, I found out due to my credit card alerts saying I had a charge and my card wasn't present.

Good Luck!

Also you could be awarded after you board, I never unpack right away just in case. They will send you an email saying you are not upgraded yet, but you are still under consideration. You may cancel your bid at that time or board and see if you win at the very last minute. I have received my unsuccessful notifications at 1900hrs on the first evening.

[Coda_Sarah]

Thank you!  

[Marc]

Our last two sailings got the "So sorry!" after we were already in our booked cabin. I guess RCI wants to get those extra dollars all the way until the last minute. Upgrade JS -> GS then frees up a JS to upgrade a prior balcony into (cha-ching!), an oceanview into a balcony ($ Ding! $), etc.

 

 

[ScooterScott22]

Guessing that the timing on when the secondary company notifies Royal about wining bids can vary.  This spring we won a RoyalUp from a balcony to a CLS so we for sure had no access to the concierge prior to the upgrade.  Our notice was a few weeks before the cruise and I was in contact with the Concierge to make dining reservations and everything was set before boarding.

Likely there is some algorithm that is followed agreed on by the two companies.  Not based on facts, just what we have experienced.  I would guess that the first batch of upgrades happens far enough that the open cabins can be put "back into stock" and sold to the general public for a short time.  That may help get heads in beds as late bookings may grab those rooms.  Probably a second batch of upgrades is done pretty close to sailing.  Then finally the last group of upgrades is probably late cancellations and no shows.  Those last two groups are more of what we consider upgrades, moving customers up categories for their benefit and to create customer loyalty whereas the first wave incorporates that but is also really to maximize occupancy.  There is probably some variation built into the timelines for the waves related to the cruise date (demand), ship type, and actual occupancy rates.  Again just speculation but likely this impacts when Royal knows and therefore when/if the concierge can reach out or not.  I thought I heard that the passenger manifest needed to be submitted 24 hours before sailing, even though there might be modifications right up to sail away.