RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[John&LaLa]

Remember, his ship is leaving Monday

[John&LaLa]

For those that haven't noticed.  There is a poll about receiving the offer to bid.

Edited November 30, 2018 by John&LaLa

[Thorben-Hendrik]

On 11/29/2018 at 6:51 PM, molly361 said:

If they are going to put in a max bid amount that does not sound fair to me.  They will just keep upping the max amount until people stop bidding.  Doesn't sound right

It is a scam.....end of story!

[grapau27]

10 minutes ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

It is a scam.....end of story!

Supply and demand

 

[lovelife]

On 11/29/2018 at 2:36 PM, NateUpNorth said:

Sooo........ I was gonna bid some upgrades on my trip...... travelling with 4 people...... should I trust RCL I.T. department to know that they're moving 4 people even though the description is "Double Occupancy"? 

I'd love to assume it says that because they only charge for first two in a room....... but we all know what RCL I.T. is like.........

 

[lovelife]

Of my seven booked sailings through March, I received the offer on only two. Interestingly, those two are the only ones booked directly with RCI and not through a TA.

[RFerrington]

Out of the 6 I have booked through Feb 2020, I got NO notifications directly and only 1 that came through my TA (who has the booking) so there doesn't seem to be any consistency, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

[Biker19]

^ I think the farthest out booking which received a bid opportunity is about 4 months, so don't expect anything for any sailing much further out than that.

[Ourusualbeach]

13 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Out of the 6 I have booked through Feb 2020, I got NO notifications directly and only 1 that came through my TA (who has the booking) so there doesn't seem to be any consistency, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

 

Thats odd, bookings are supposed to go directly to the client with the TA being copied on it.

[louv2000]

Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

 

Thats odd, bookings are supposed to go directly to the client with the TA being copied on it.

Mine went to my TA and she forwarded to me.  

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, louv2000 said:

Mine went to my TA and she forwarded to me.  

 

Typical of Royal.  That’s not how it was presented to TA’s 

 

[dswallow]

There may be different issues affecting who gets the email, like a travel agent using their own email address on a reservation.

[cruizers]

On 11/26/2018 at 3:55 PM, Ourusualbeach said:

 

They are using the e mail that you provide when booking that is attached to your reservation, not their marketing list. E mail copies will also go to TA's 

 

If you didn't or your TA didn't enter an e mail address then you won't receive the offer. 

We did not receive the flyer nor have we ever been offered an upgrade.  This will be cruise #26.  Does anyone know how to receive a flyer?  We are on the email list.

[KelJ]

I didn’t receive the email for our 1/6/19 Liberty cruise, but I just asked DH to look in his email and, lo and behold, he received the email on November 28th. He has NEVER booked a cruise, and I receive all emails for cruise documents being ready and for invoice modifications and for cruise planner purchases, et cetera. Go figure. 

 

Anyway, we are currently booked in a grand suite. The bid for an owner’s suite ranges from $325-$700 per person. The bid on a villa suite (is this the formal royal family suite?) ranges from $350-$1000 per person. The bid on a royal suite ranges from $600-$2000 per person. Considering that there are no increased perks that we could get by being in a higher-category suite on this ship (correct me if I’m wrong), none of this is appealing to us. 

 

FYI, we booked this cruise over a year ago, and I can’t remember the last time that any suites were available. 

[Pratique]

We are booked in a CLS L2 on Symphony in January 2019. Got an email two days ago but it was hiding in my junk folder. Minimum bids were as follows:

Villa 4 bed $2100 pp

Star Loft $1300 pp

Aqua 2 bed $500 pp

Aqua 1 bed $300 pp

 

We're not bidding, so I can't report on how it turns out. Just FYI for the starting bids from an L2.

 

FWIW, I have been getting Royal and Celebrity marketing emails almost daily since we enrolled in C&A years ago.

[actuarian]

6 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

It is a scam.....end of story!

Not a scam; there is no reason why you should bid more than you wish to pay for an upgrade and there is no reason to bid at all if you do not wish to pay anything beyond the amount you already paid for your cruise.  If you do bid and your bid falls short, you pay nothing, nada.  How can that be a scam?  If you make the mistake of overbidding, then you may feel like you were scammed but that could just as well happen at the Park West art auction.

 

This is just what it looks like, a way for Royal Caribbean to make some money on the upgrades that a handful of people used to get for free.  However, it does make Guarantee Booking a lot less attractive since the upgrades that used to sometimes go to to people who booked guarantees will probably go to bidders instead.

[joyful1nh]

I received an offer on my 1/6/19 Oasis sailing.  We are booked in a GS, but I did bid (the minimum or slightly more) on some of the higher categories - Crown Loft, Owners, 2 bedroom Aquatheater, Star Loft.  Right now only the 1 bedroom Aquatheatre is showing available, and it is actually smaller than my GS so I didn't bid on it - why pay to upgrade to a smaller room just because it has the Aquatheatre view, plus I'm 6' tall and I've heard the ceilings are low in some of those rooms.   

 

I will report back if any of my bids end up being accepted.  I'm not counting on it, but I'd consider it a bargain price if they did.  To check fair pricing - I went out a year, compared the GS price against the others, and figured that was a good ballpark figure.  In every case if my bid is accepted I'll have saved at least a little money over what I estimate it would have cost me to book those categories originally.  

Edited December 1, 2018 by joyful1nh

[The_Big_M]

[already covered]

 

Edited December 1, 2018 by The_Big_M

[The_Big_M]

13 hours ago, Thorben-Hendrik said:

It is a scam.....end of story!

 

Doesn't fulfil any of the characteristics of a scam, so survey says no.

 

Seems some are just jealous that others may pay for something meaning those wanting freebies miss out.

[A&L_Ont]

16 hours ago, lovelife said:

Of my seven booked sailings through March, I received the offer on only two. Interestingly, those two are the only ones booked directly with RCI and not through a TA.

 

We got 2 cruises offered, both booked through a TA. As someone else stated perhaps your TA has their email on the confirmation.

 

16 hours ago, Biker19 said:

^ I think the farthest out booking which received a bid opportunity is about 4 months, so don't expect anything for any sailing much further out than that.

 

The two we were offered were past final payment. The later one is March, which is 4 months. 

 

3 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Doesn't fulfil any of the characteristics of a scam...

 

 

I might be more abt to call it fishing.  Royal is taking bids on cabins that are sold out. I know someone who is in a RS on Brilliance in January.  Their cabin was offered to a friend of theirs who is on the same sailing.  

 

RC wants a line of folks to pay the highest value in case someone backs out, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, Royal should be a bit more forthcoming with its true availability of cabins.  IMO if the cabin was truly available they should have an eBay style auction, with a “buy it now” button.  If someone wants to pay a higher price for the “guarantee” let them. If the cabin might be available, it should be advertised that way and let people bid in this Royal Up format. 

[Ourusualbeach]

On our upcoming Allure Christ,as cruise offers did go out to people.  

 

Today a JS appeared for sale on the website.  This category has been sold out for months.  

 

Looks like Royal will still try to sell any cabins that become available and then if they don’t sell switch to the bids to fill the cabin.

[twangster]

It's not an auction.  Unlike eBay where there is an actual item or service that is on hand and available, Royal has never claimed that someone is guaranteed to win anything.  

 

Like the hospitality industry in general, from hotels, airline and cruise lines, inventory is carefully planned and made available to maximize revenue.  They have revenue management departments whose sole function is to maximize revenue for any given sailing.  Can't say I blame them.  It's extremely competitive and they can't let their competitors know the ingredients of their secret sauce.

[A&L_Ont]

25 minutes ago, twangster said:

It's not an auction.  Unlike eBay where there is an actual item or service that is on hand and available, Royal has never claimed that someone is guaranteed to win anything.  

 

Like the hospitality industry in general, from hotels, airline and cruise lines, inventory is carefully planned and made available to maximize revenue.  They have revenue management departments whose sole function is to maximize revenue for any given sailing.  Can't say I blame them.  It's extremely competitive and they can't let their competitors know the ingredients of their secret sauce.

 

And that’s why I call it fishing VS a scam... RC is looking with no real promise of anything. 

Edited December 1, 2018 by A&L_Ont

[molly361]

28 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

And that’s why I call it fishing VS a scam... RC is looking with no real promise of anything. 

Getting people's hopes up for nothing- There are some bummed people on FB sailing this weekend who put in bids with hopes of upgrading themselves.

[sdear]

37 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Getting people's hopes up for nothing- There are some bummed people on FB sailing this weekend who put in bids with hopes of upgrading themselves.

I am one of those.   We leave tomorrow.  An email that says " you lose" or something would be nice lol.  At least I can say I tried it,  wont do it again unless the ship is half empty.