Paid4c4 Posted September 9, 2023 Report Share Posted September 9, 2023 I started cruising with RCCL on board the Song of Norway which was a great little ship. I've now been on 71 cruises and enjoyed all of them. When my first wife (who I lost to breast cancer) first starting cruising in 1976 we could only afford an inside cabin on a deck with oars! Image our glee when we got to the ship only to find we had been upgraded free of charge to a cabin with a porthole . Wow we thought we were in tall cotton, just two young kids enjoying a cruise and being able to see the ocean from our cabin. We then knew we'd never again sail without porthole. Imagine our glee when we got to the ship and discovered we'd been upgraded free of charge to a cabin with a veranda! Well you can guess we always booked veranda cabins after that. Then we got upgraded to a Grand Suite! You can guess our last 30 cruises have been on Grand Suites. I find it kind of sad that current and future cruisers won't know the joy of being upgraded as better cabins today are sold to the highest bidder. I think RCCL made more money giving out free upgrades knowing cruisers were apt to upgrade to the more costly cabins. There is something to be said for the "way it was." Bill RCIfan1912, Rene Desmarais, PPPJJ-GCVAB and 6 others 7 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ampurp85 Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 I can't see them offering upgrades now that RoyalUp is a thing. But it is a nice gesture. Also I have to say not everyone works like you. Some people get an upgrade and never spend more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattycruise Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 I agree. Though my sadness was due to finally being eligible for a free upgrade, not a random one, and I asked when the restart happened and ships were sailing at 30% capacity and was told no, the excuse being Covid. I tend to think that since the Royal up program was already in place that no free upgrades were allowed. Though I have heard of a few random upgrades on one of my sailings post Covid. Oh well, I try to pick the exact location on a sailing where I will be happy and the upgrade bids will potentially have me in a cabin location I don’t be happy with RCIfan1912, Linda R and WAAAYTOOO 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Royal Caribbean used to ask you to state your preference if you were to be upgraded? I could have sworn they used have a form on the website about preferences? Now I don't see that at all and of course you guys are all correct it's because of Royal UP. Pattycruise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 40 minutes ago, RCIfan1912 said: Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Royal Caribbean used to ask you to state your preference if you were to be upgraded? I could have sworn they used have a form on the website about preferences? Now I don't see that at all and of course you guys are all correct it's because of Royal UP. Yes. There used to be a question in the C&A perks list (I think) that asked if you wanted to be upgraded or not. That has long ago, disappeared. RCIfan1912, CruiseGus, tjcruisers and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 4 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Yes. There used to be a question in the C&A perks list (I think) that asked if you wanted to be upgraded or not. That has long ago, disappeared. Excellent, thanks. I think there was but couldn't remember where exactly it was or asked. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 11 hours ago, Ampurp85 said: Some people get an upgrade and never spend more. Not at ALL what everyone else is talking about....but on our last instant casino award (earned on Wonder in August) they upgraded Dan's room from the original category that he was awarded. I was shocked !!! I had heard of it happening to others, rarely, but honestly, I never know whether to believe people when they say they get some kind of upgrade....so I usually just ignore it when someone writes that they got this or that upgrade... His certificate was for an oceanview room. When we went to book it I asked how much it would cost to upgrade to a 2J (CP balcony....since one of the double balconies was available). She put me on hold and when she came back she said they had upgraded him to the 2J at no charge ! YIPPEE !!! Now, I realize it wasn't a huge upgrade...but it's the first no-cost upgrade I have EVER gotten on a casino comp. This is also the same sailing where they boned me for free play that I should have gotten .....so I guess it all works out in the end.... Linda R, Ampurp85, SweetPea and 1 other 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrznTxn Posted September 10, 2023 Report Share Posted September 10, 2023 1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Yes. There used to be a question in the C&A perks list (I think) that asked if you wanted to be upgraded or not. That has long ago, disappeared. I called in to the C&A hotline as we were having issues with communication and some other items and the representative (got a US based person) was very nice and she went over all the items listed on her screen. Some of these were not listed on any forms we have seen and one of the items was a check box for free upgrade if eligible or available. I was shocked and she said we did not have that checked but she would do that for us. We have had two instances since sailing after the pandemic where we were given an upgrade. One for a birthday cruise (be sure to mention a special occasion when you talk to them) and one where the Casino bookings were full but due to the wife's status there we were given the next level up balcony to get on the cruise. Not much of an upgrade but appreciated it none the less. Have not had one like @WAAAYTOOO but fingers crossed maybe someday we might get surprised. RCIfan1912, jticarruthers and WAAAYTOOO 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyfsu21 Posted September 11, 2023 Report Share Posted September 11, 2023 It’s the era of Royal Up. I would like to get something for free for once but even free costs money most of the time. WAAAYTOOO and Paid4c4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncwmark Posted September 11, 2023 Report Share Posted September 11, 2023 On 9/9/2023 at 2:32 PM, Paid4c4 said: I started cruising with RCCL on board the Song of Norway which was a great little ship. I've now been on 71 cruises and enjoyed all of them. When my first wife (who I lost to breast cancer) first starting cruising in 1976 we could only afford an inside cabin on a deck with oars! Image our glee when we got to the ship only to find we had been upgraded free of charge to a cabin with a porthole . Wow we thought we were in tall cotton, just two young kids enjoying a cruise and being able to see the ocean from our cabin. We then knew we'd never again sail without porthole. Imagine our glee when we got to the ship and discovered we'd been upgraded free of charge to a cabin with a veranda! Well you can guess we always booked veranda cabins after that. Then we got upgraded to a Grand Suite! You can guess our last 30 cruises have been on Grand Suites. I find it kind of sad that current and future cruisers won't know the joy of being upgraded as better cabins today are sold to the highest bidder. I think RCCL made more money giving out free upgrades knowing cruisers were apt to upgrade to the more costly cabins. There is something to be said for the "way it was." Bill Well, we're probably part of the "problem" here... we "won" a Royal Up from a JS to Crown Loft Suite back when Royal Up first started in 2018/2019... we enjoyed the CLS so much that we now exclusively book a Sky Class suite. We're a younger family with (hopefully) many years of travel left -- so, whether or not that played a role in us "winning" that original Royal Up bid or not, who knows... but, I do know that it's very unlikely we would be sailing in sky class if we had not won that original RU bid. RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid4c4 Posted September 11, 2023 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2023 46 minutes ago, Uncwmark said: Well, we're probably part of the "problem" here... we "won" a Royal Up from a JS to Crown Loft Suite back when Royal Up first started in 2018/2019... we enjoyed the CLS so much that we now exclusively book a Sky Class suite. We're a younger family with (hopefully) many years of travel left -- so, whether or not that played a role in us "winning" that original Royal Up bid or not, who knows... but, I do know that it's very unlikely we would be sailing in sky class if we had not won that original RU bid. Good for you! I've stayed in the Crown Loft Suites twice and loved them. I hope your many years of travel have been as enjoyable as mine. RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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