RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[Painter4me]

We had a bid in for a GS and I wasn’t hearing anything, so after we hadn’t heard anything in 3 weeks, we put in a bid for the owners and crown loft. We backed down the bid on the GS to the lowest  (by then it was 1/2 what we originally bid). Four days later, they accepted our crown loft and declined the owners. My husband was very happy because he wanted the loft. So, I’d bid on what you want the most at a slightly higher bid than any of the other categories .

[colesc15]

I was set with my bids until I saw the stupid 50% off thing. I want to lower my bids but will that reduce my chance of getting something in a few weeks? I assume they do they 50% off to get more bids. 

[joetop2467]

We reduced ours for the February 19 Symphony of the Seas cruise and just got confirmation of our bid acceptance from inside to Ocean View Balcony for $120 each.  We originally had bid minimum of $150 each but lowered it when we could.  So good luck. Minimum worked for us.  

[edsbeaker]

3 hours ago, joetop2467 said:

We reduced ours for the February 19 Symphony of the Seas cruise and just got confirmation of our bid acceptance from inside to Ocean View Balcony for $120 each.  We originally had bid minimum of $150 each but lowered it when we could.  So good luck. Minimum worked for us.  

We are on the same cruise and also got an accepted bid today from inside to Ocean View Balcony.  Our bid was also the minimum.  It’s a great time to cruise. 

[Longhorn Cruiser]

I'm sure its somewhere in this thread but 269 pages.....

If the Royal Up is successful and we originally booked before September 30 will we still get the double points from the offer?

[moonltnite]

2 minutes ago, Longhorn Cruiser said:

I'm sure its somewhere in this thread but 269 pages.....

If the Royal Up is successful and we originally booked before September 30 will we still get the double points from the offer?

From what I've read on this thread - no, the RoyalUp upgrades don't give you double points for suites.

[notmyrealnameoremail]

7 minutes ago, Longhorn Cruiser said:

I'm sure its somewhere in this thread but 269 pages.....

If the Royal Up is successful and we originally booked before September 30 will we still get the double points from the offer?

 

4 minutes ago, moonltnite said:

From what I've read on this thread - no, the RoyalUp upgrades don't give you double points for suites.

 

@Longhorn Cruiser, you will get the double points from the double points promotion, but as noted by @moonltnite, if you are upgraded by Royal Up to suite from a nonsuite, you will not get extra points for that.

 

Good luck.

[Jezo]

Has anyone just bid ridiculously low for the heck of it and received a nice upgrade?

[Biker19]

Just now, Jezo said:

Has anyone just bid ridiculously low for the heck of it and received a nice upgrade?

Lots of folks have won with a min bid.

[Longhorn Cruiser]

2 minutes ago, notmyrealnameoremail said:

 

 

@Longhorn Cruiser, you will get the double points from the double points promotion, but as noted by @moonltnite, if you are upgraded by Royal Up to suite from a nonsuite, you will not get extra points for that.

 

Good luck.

 

Sorry, we would be going from Suite to Suite.  I'm planning on getting 28 points on a 7 night cruise and hope this doesn't change.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Longhorn Cruiser

[Biker19]

Just now, Longhorn Cruiser said:

I'm planning on getting 28 points and hope this doesn't change.

It won't due to Royal Up.

[joetop2467]

Is Johnny Rockets still free at breakfast.

[gerig]

On 2/5/2022 at 10:58 AM, jahannah said:

Royal Up opened for bids on Tuesday, 2/1 for my cruise departing 4/3, for anyone wondering how early the bidding can open.  That's 61 days before departure.  Hoping they accept that OS bid!

What category were you in and what did you bid?

[bucfan2]

4 minutes ago, gerig said:

What category were you in and what did you bid?

Accepted bids (amount bid) for upgrade will vary ship-ship.  And if they're on the same sailing as you, it won't behoove them to disclose their personal bid amount, as they are competing vs. all other bidders (you included).

[gerig]

Just now, bucfan2 said:

Accepted bids (amount bid) for upgrade will vary ship-ship.  And if they're on the same sailing as you, it won't behoove them to disclose their personal bid amount, as they are competing vs. all other bidders (you included).

I know this question was asked many times in this thread and it was a matter of information gathering.  There are many variables in this process such as the number of passengers on each cruise, the number of the days the cruise is as is the original cabin booked.

[bucfan2]

1 minute ago, gerig said:

I know this question was asked many times in this thread and it was a matter of information gathering.  There are many variables in this process such as the number of passengers on each cruise, the number of the days the cruise is as is the original cabin booked.

Understand.  Just my opinion of how a 'silent auction' plays out.  It's one thing to mention amount bid after acceptance; totally another w/ a current auction taking place.

[moonltnite]

1 minute ago, gerig said:

I know this question was asked many times in this thread and it was a matter of information gathering.  There are many variables in this process such as the number of passengers on each cruise, the number of the days the cruise is as is the original cabin booked.

Yes - I doubt many would give details as to what their bid price was - prior to their sailing.  After a sailing - it's not as big a deal to give those details.  And you're right about variables - I started looking at the bids people have been winning on the ship we're going on - and there's no pattern I've seen, except that more people have won bids on January/February sailings due to lower numbers of bookings.

 

[AstoriaPreppy]

16 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

Understand.  Just my opinion of how a 'silent auction' plays out.  It's one thing to mention amount bid after acceptance; totally another w/ a current auction taking place.

 

14 minutes ago, moonltnite said:

Yes - I doubt many would give details as to what their bid price was - prior to their sailing.  After a sailing - it's not as big a deal to give those details.  And you're right about variables - I started looking at the bids people have been winning on the ship we're going on - and there's no pattern I've seen, except that more people have won bids on January/February sailings due to lower numbers of bookings.

 

 

The Plusgrade company Royal uses is very secretive, but it's almost certainly not an auction in the traditional sense. That's why sharing how much you bid doesn't matter... unless you know the original price someone paid for their stateroom.

In other words, if you got a great deal on your stateroom initially, the algorithm is probably less likely to accept a lowball bid, compared to someone who paid more for the same stateroom and then bids less. It's all about revenue maximization, not what comparable bids are. 

 

We've been upgraded multiple times on different lines using Plusgrade, always with awful bids. For our Royal sailing later this week, we made better bids compared to other passengers on our roll call and f b group... and didn't get the upgrade. I'm chalking it up to the pretty cheap rate we paid for our inside cabin, which we were successively able to bump up to an obstructed balcony by tracking prices. 

[bucfan2]

6 minutes ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

 

The Plusgrade company Royal uses is very secretive, but it's almost certainly not an auction in the traditional sense. That's why sharing how much you bid doesn't matter... unless you know the original price someone paid for their stateroom.

In other words, if you got a great deal on your stateroom initially, the algorithm is probably less likely to accept a lowball bid, compared to someone who paid more for the same stateroom and then bids less. It's all about revenue maximization, not what comparable bids are. 

 

We've been upgraded multiple times on different lines using Plusgrade, always with awful bids. For our Royal sailing later this week, we made better bids compared to other passengers on our roll call and f b group... and didn't get the upgrade. I'm chalking it up to the pretty cheap rate we paid for our inside cabin, which we were successively able to bump up to an obstructed balcony by tracking prices. 

Didn’t apply  for our last AK cruise….port fees only, and a min bid score to a 2br GS.  But overall, you may be correct.

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, joetop2467 said:

Is Johnny Rockets still free at breakfast.

Breakfast is only served at all (free) on the Oasis & Quantum class ships.

 

[terpshockey77]

We finally received the Royalup email for a March cruise on Explorer.  Friends of ours are going.  They have a spacious ocean view balcony and we have a regular balcony.  We are able to bid on the 2 bedroom suite.  Is that large enough for 2 couples?  Could they cancel their room if we won?  The largest suite we have stayed in is the Junior Suite on the Freedom.

[Starry Eyes]

51 minutes ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

 

 

The Plusgrade company Royal uses is very secretive, but it's almost certainly not an auction in the traditional sense. That's why sharing how much you bid doesn't matter... unless you know the original price someone paid for their stateroom.

In other words, if you got a great deal on your stateroom initially, the algorithm is probably less likely to accept a lowball bid, compared to someone who paid more for the same stateroom and then bids less. It's all about revenue maximization, not what comparable bids are. 

 

We've been upgraded multiple times on different lines using Plusgrade, always with awful bids. For our Royal sailing later this week, we made better bids compared to other passengers on our roll call and f b group... and didn't get the upgrade. I'm chalking it up to the pretty cheap rate we paid for our inside cabin, which we were successively able to bump up to an obstructed balcony by tracking prices. 

I agree with you that the algorithm is likely about maximizing revenue, but Royal Caribbean has already collected the base fare (be it relatively high or relatively low) from each bidder.  So, I suspect the RoyalUp algorithm concentrates on the fare gained from the upgrades (including the amount they will gain by upgrading somebody into your old cabin).  So, if people in lower categories do not particularly want to risk getting an obstructed cabin, they might be bidding low on your category, making it harder for you to win an upgrade out if that cabin.  Perhaps similar for me….I’m in a neighborhood balcony for my upcoming cruise; if hypothetically those below me bid on OV balcony but not on neighborhood balconies, I might not move up unless my bid is as high as theirs (even though I’m starting from a better cabin).

Plus there is the problem with people sometimes fibbing on social media (or to people they meet on the cruise for that matter).  You have no way of knowing if they really bid as much or as little as they say.  Some people seem to have a need to claim to have gotten a better bargain than others.  Some are hiding costs from loved ones.  Some are pathological liars.  For example, on a recent cruise we met a man who said he only booked a JS a month before sailing because no higher suites were available and thus was thrilled to get a RoyalUp win to a full suite.  I’d been watching suite prices on that cruise; at least 20 full suites were available when he booked s month out; they only filled at typical RoyalUp time. While he could just be grievously mistaken, I think he was telling a tall tale for his own odd reasons.

[Starry Eyes]

23 minutes ago, terpshockey77 said:

We finally received the Royalup email for a March cruise on Explorer.  Friends of ours are going.  They have a spacious ocean view balcony and we have a regular balcony.  We are able to bid on the 2 bedroom suite.  Is that large enough for 2 couples?  Could they cancel their room if we won?  The largest suite we have stayed in is the Junior Suite on the Freedom.

No, if you get the 2 br suite, the only the people booked in your cabin will be upgraded to the suite and thus have suite privileges.  They can visit your suite, of course.  You could even let your friends sleep in your spare Br, but they won’t get the perks… and their own cabin is probably the nicer place to sleep than the second bedroom.

If you tried to officially move them into your cabin after you won a RoyalUp upgrade, you’d trigger a repricing…suddenly your great deal would vanish.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Starry Eyes

[Emilie]

Cruising on 2/27 Anthem, got upgraded today from interior to balcony for 125 Canadian dollars (minimum bid).

Edited February 9, 2022 by Emilie

[terpshockey77]

1 hour ago, Starry Eyes said:

No, if you get the 2 br suite, the only the people booked in your cabin will be upgraded to the suite and thus have suite privileges.  They can visit your suite, of course.  You could even let your friends sleep in your spare Br, but they won’t get the perks… and their own cabin is probably the nicer place to sleep than the second bedroom.

If you tried to officially move them into your cabin after you won a RoyalUp upgrade, you’d trigger a repricing…suddenly your great deal would vanish.

Thanks, Starry Eyes, for the info.  With that info the Junior Suite or One Bedroom Suite makes more sense to bid on.