RoyalUp? I'm thinking not...

[Bruin Steve]

I got the RCCL email today inviting me to bid on a "RoyalUp" for our upcoming April 30 Symphony of the Seas Med cruise.

Last time I "won" (not really won but upgraded via successful offer) was on Vision of the Seas in the Med back in August...My relatively reasonable bid (like $150 total) moved us from an OV to a midship Spacious Balcony...

But, this time, we are booked in a very nice midship ocean view balcony...

The MINIMUM bid for a 1 bedroom Grand Suite would nearly double my cruise fare...for any larger suite, the minimum bid would more than double it!  For a Junior Suite, the MINIMUM would be an extra $700!  And I am not sure I see even close to $700 value in an "upgrade" to a Junior Suite.  More to the point, it's only a 7 night cruise and it is port intensive...only ONE at sea day.  And, with those Med ports, we will likely be off the ship, in port, for long hours every port day.  When we are on the ship, we'll be spending most of our time eating, drinking and being entertained.  Being Diamond Plus, we get 5 free drinks a night each...and we'll get 4 free days of Wifi between us (So, even the top suite perkss give us little value).  We'll likely use the cabins mostly to sleep and change clothes.  I'm not sure we'll even get that much use from the balcony we already have.

Anyone see any great value to even making a bid?

[smokeybandit]

I think you've already justified why you shouldn't do it.

[Psycho and Barb]

Royal needs to change the minimum bid...Allow any bid to be considered.

[BMW Hoosier]

2 hours ago, Psycho and Barb said:

Royal needs to change the minimum bid...Allow any bid to be considered.

Why should they do that, especially if it is never going to honored? False hope?

[Wheeler825]

1 hour ago, BMW Hoosier said:

Why should they do that, especially if it is never going to honored? False hope?

To be fair, nobody has any idea what factors besides $$$ go into the bids and wins anyhow..

[FireFishII]

Question: I have read that the minimum bid can go up.  But does the minimum bid ever go down in price?

[Linda R]

 If it were $700 more for the room, not per person, I may consider it.  I have sailed in Jr Suites a lot.  Larger bathroom with tub, coffee maker in room, larger room and balcony, some ships a walk-in closet, and Coastal Kitchen for dinner.   I really enjoy Coastal Kitchen.  I am not sure if Jr suites qualify for priority seating in shows, as I am Diamond+ and already get priority seating with that status.

But it is entirely up to the individuals as to what they value and what price is worth something. 

[Ampurp85]

Bids can go down. It was like $300+ for a balcony on my Jan 15th Oasis cruise. When I went to cancel the bids, the price was "80%" off and $70pp. 

[smokeybandit]

I've seen bids go down due to a promo, but I don't think the promos are that common.

[jeffmw]

The program has to be great revenue driver for RC. The perceived allure of the program is that it provides the opportunity to get a discounted upgrade to a better, unsold room. And sometimes that's what it is (and when that happens, it's a good deal for both passenger and RC, as it's still incremental revenue for them). But for popular cruises the recommended bids are often more than the difference would've been had the customer originally booked the room. So rather than a chance for a customer to snag a good deal on an unsold room, it becomes an auction for an upgrade. They're basically taking advantage of people excited for their upcoming cruise suddenly deciding they want to splurge. I don't blame them for doing it, but the perception that it's a chance at a last-minute bargain is often not the case.