Royal up

[Radzagarwal]

Hi ,

 

Just got an invite to bid on a room upgrade via Royal up. We currently have an oceanview room and was thinking of upgrading to balcony or junior suite. Could anyone guide me how high from the suggested number should I go? Any past experiences? If I bid the exact amount suggested is there a chance to get an upgrade? Or that's too low? 

 

Any other tips for royal up will be much appreciated. 

 

Thanks,

Radhika 

[OCSC Mike]

Just about any responses/advice you get will be purely anecdotal. Bid what you feel is worth it to you.

[Carpe Diem]

FYI:  You will not get double cruise points for staying in a Junior Suite or above if you get it through the Royal Up program.  You only get double points for staying in a suite if you booked/paid for a Junior Suite or above at the time of the original booking. I agree with the advice to "bid what you think it is worth".  That's good advice.  Good luck!

[Lovetocruise2002]

4 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

Just about any responses/advice you get will be purely anecdotal. Bid what you feel is worth it to you.

^This^ 

No one really knows what algorithm Royal uses to determine who gets awarded the Royal Up. I have put down max bids and lost and minimum bids and won. There are many stories like this. So exactly what @OCSC Mike said, bud what you are comfortable with. 

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

No one really knows what algorithm Royal uses

One that likes you apparently.

[WAYNO]

I have bid many times, both high and low, and the only  bid I've won, was a Balcony to a Spacious Balcony.

 

But I'm sure I'll keep trying.

[smokeybandit]

There's no real answer to give since every cruise even ever room category on every cruise is different. What wins one room on one cruise may be a lot different than even that same room on the next week's cruise

[Simon84]

I’ve bid on a number of upgrades recently. Went high (almost max bid) on the one I wanted the most, medium on a few that appealed to me slightly less and then low on one I was least bothered about. 

[wordell1]

A lot more bids were won when Covid was high and occupancies were much lower.  The truth is that there will most likely not be any available rooms to upgrade to.  I would place a bid for what you think it is worth, and then forget about it - you probably will end up in the cabin you booked.  If you do win, it will be a nice surprise at the last minute.

[Smokey79]

I never get Royal Up emails…..

[PPPJJ-GCVAB]

15 hours ago, Simon84 said:

I’ve bid on a number of upgrades recently. Went high (almost max bid) on the one I wanted the most, medium on a few that appealed to me slightly less and then low on one I was least bothered about. 

Curious minds (mine ) want to know…were any bids successful?  Or is it still too soon to find out?

[Lovetocruise2002]

41 minutes ago, Smokey79 said:

I never get Royal Up emails…..

Not everyone is eligible for Royal Up. First, you have to be signed up to receive marketing emails from Royal. Second, if you have 4+ plus on the reservation (in a single cabin), that can take you out of the running as well. Also, depending on who you booked through, it is well known that big box agency bookings also do not participate in the RU program. There's probably other conditions too, but those are the ones I know of.

[Smokey79]

Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Not everyone is eligible for Royal Up. First, you have to be signed up to receive marketing emails from Royal. Second, if you have 4+ plus on the reservation (in a single cabin), that can take you out of the running as well. Also, depending on who you booked through, it is well known that big box agency bookings also do not participate in the RU program. There's probably other conditions too, but those are the ones I know of.

Four+ in a cabin knocks me out for a few sailings and a couple were through a TA when it was just me and the Mrs. There have been some that I booked through RC directly that I would have thought would be eligible though. Thanks for the info. 
 

I thought they were just mad at me because I caught them with a pricing error and scored the RLS on Utopia for just under 3,000 per person.

[OCSC Mike]

1 hour ago, Smokey79 said:

I never get Royal Up emails

You still may not be eligible but, FYI, you don’t necessarily need the email. You can go straight to the RoyalUp site & enter your booking info & you can also check your account online…

[Riley]

I believe Royal Up is *technically* run by a third-party vendor... saw that somewhere. As for best way to secure an upgrade, to me it's like the slot machines. There's a rhythm to it but darned if I know. Put in what you're willing to pay and go from there.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Dif you have 4+ plus on the reservation (in a single cabin), that can take you out of the running

This I did not know !  …but it makes sense.

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, Smokey79 said:

scored the RLS on Utopia for just under 3,000 per person.

Jealous!!!! 

[WAAAYTOOO]

23 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Jealous!!!! 

That makes 2 of us !

[OCSC Mike]

8 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

That makes 2 of us !

That makes... oh wait, I've never even spent 3K total for 2 people on a 7N cruise, lol.

I'll assume from context that's a really good deal.

[Smokey79]

3 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

That makes... oh wait, I've never even spent 3K total for 2 people on a 7N cruise, lol.

I'll assume from context that's a really good deal.

Good deal is relative but it was a bucket list box checked. I did have my agent re-price it when the sale changed and they had bumped the total fare up 11k more than what I paid. For context, it was about the same cost to move from a 2brAQS to the RLS as it was to book an over water cabana which didn’t make much sense but I jumped on it. I doubt I’ll ever see that pricing again. 

[OCSC Mike]

Just now, Smokey79 said:

an over water cabana

Ironically, I HAVE been in one of those, lol (as a freeloader). It was also booked during Covid when prices were less crazy and we had 8 people.

[Lovetocruise2002]

54 minutes ago, Smokey79 said:

Good deal is relative but it was a bucket list box checked.

I get that 100%!

[Simon84]

4 hours ago, PPPJJ-GCVAB said:

Curious minds (mine ) want to know…were any bids successful?  Or is it still too soon to find out?

Don’t know yet. We cruise 4 weeks tomorrow so I don’t think I’ll know for a few weeks yet. 
 

Interestingly we found out today what cabin we’ve been given on the initial booking. In my mind, if they’ve got as far as sorting that, then we’re presumably a step closer to the bids being decided on. 

[Simon84]

We didn’t actually get an email for the opportunity to bid. I just logged in to the account about a week ago and it was there as an option. That’s as a party of 4

[jbrinkm]

9 hours ago, Smokey79 said:

I never get Royal Up emails…..

 

8 hours ago, OCSC Mike said:

You still may not be eligible but, FYI, you don’t necessarily need the email. You can go straight to the RoyalUp site & enter your booking info & you can also check your account online…

Here's the link:

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade 

[Simon84]

If a bid is not successful do you usually find out, or is it simply no news is bad news?

[F1guynz]

1 hour ago, Simon84 said:

If a bid is not successful do you usually find out

You will receive an email, in our case, on the day the cruise started just in case there are no-shows.

 

[b_resh_uh]

Bid on an upgrade for our last sailing and we weren't notified of it being unsuccessful until about 12 hours before sailing. Was holding out hope...

[Jamesszy94]

When I got my RoyalUp bid accepted last month for an upgrade from an Interior to an Oceanview, I bid the absolute minimum on the 2nd bar of the wheel. 

Like Mike said, it's purely anecdotal, you could bid the absolute minimum and win, or you could be 10,000 (just as a hypothetical number) over the minimum and still win, my guess is it's about demand and what other people are willing to pay.

[barbeyg]

From what I’ve seen here and the other site, the opportunity to win on the low end is greater, partly because there are so many cabins, moving up from inside or OV. I also think RCI (and the other cruise lines) want you to book a better cabin, so they make those easier to “win”. JMO 

We typically bid on the lower spectrum unless we are really interested in moving up.  Then we bid what we are willing to pay for a Royal Up, not close to what the cabin costs.  We usually bid from a JS we have booked, for suites, and have won twice so far.  One was a lower bid (but not rock bottom), one was more aggressive.  

We usually cancel a week ahead, if we haven’t won.  I don’t want last minute changes. Too many moving pieces with the water we have ordered for the cabin, etc.  Just my preference. 

Good luck!

[Gasman62]

Hi all, got the Royal up email for our upcoming sailing, put in 2 minimum bids and within the week got notified that we were upgraded to a balcony. Wasn’t expecting this. Feel very lucky it happened.

[Luv2Travel]

On 3/7/2024 at 7:47 PM, Gasman62 said:

Hi all, got the Royal up email for our upcoming sailing, put in 2 minimum bids and within the week got notified that we were upgraded to a balcony. Wasn’t expecting this. Feel very lucky it happened.

That is awesome Gasman62 - Congratulations!! Do you mind giving us more details, please? How soon are you cruising? 

[Gasman62]

Thanks Luv2Travel! Sailing Adventure OTS in April. 

[TXCoastPatriot]

On 2/22/2024 at 8:26 AM, Smokey79 said:

I thought they were just mad at me because I caught them with a pricing error and scored the RLS on Utopia for just under 3,000 per person. 

Next month’s Harmony minimum bid for a Royal Loft Suite is $6,160 per person.  $3k is an incredible steal.  Congrats!!!

[Smokey79]

10 hours ago, TXCoastPatriot said:

Next month’s Harmony minimum bid for a Royal Loft Suite is $6,160 per person.  $3k is an incredible steal.  Congrats!!!

Thank you. I owe it to the people on here and the knowledge they share.