RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[actuarian]

28 minutes ago, fscool said:

I know there is a zillion page thread on the Royal Up program.  But I cannot find a clear answer and I gave up looking.  Here's my question:

 

In general, if you place a minimum bid on an upgrade to a "better" cabin, are you actually saving money vs what it would have cost to book that "better" cabin in the first place?  

With a few uncommon exceptions, a minimum bid is less that the current cost to upgrade.  Moreover, by the time you are invited to bid on a Move Up, other upgrades are often no longer available.  However, if you are comparing the amount you originally paid plus the minimum bid with the amount you would have paid for the "better" cabin when you first made the reservation, that is a different case.  If you made the original reservation far in advance (i.e. more than a year in advance) then you might very well have gotten the better cabin at a lower price than it would have cost through Royal Up.  I have seen this case several times.  However, that is water under the bridge; you cannot change what happened a year ago.

[MadamG2U]

Hello, I've been reading all of the Royal Up threads but could not find the answer to my question.  If RCCL sends out the email to a ton of people and lets say 3 people bid the same exact thing for the same room.  This room becomes available, how does RCCL chose which of the three wins the bid?

 

MadamG2U

[blackshirt]

Eeny, meeny, miny, mo? I’m not sure anyone knows for sure.

[TampaGambler]

They don't choose the highest bidder, they most likely use an algorithm to select the best scenario to maximize revenue. 

 

[actuarian]

23 minutes ago, TampaGambler said:

They don't choose the highest bidder, they most likely use an algorithm to select the best scenario to maximize revenue. 

 

The above in another way of saying that you have a better chance of winning an upgrade if someone else is bidding for the room category that you are already confirmed in and your chance of winning may depend on how much that other person bid.   Otherwise, the winner seems to be the person who is currently confirmed in the higher category room.  For example, if two people bid the same amount for a GS and one is already confirmed in a J3 while the other is already confirmed in a J4, the person who is already confirmed in a J3 will usually win.  However, if both bidders who bid the same amount are also already confirmed in the exact same room category, then the selection is most likely either random, based on C&A status, or based on the amount that the bidders have already paid. Royal Caribbean seems to consider that selection to be a trade secret.

Edited April 4, 2019 by actuarian

[twangster]

Maximum revenue, not just from the one cabin you might be thinking about, but the whole line of succession upgrades that follow.

 

Let's say you are in balcony and bid $700.  Someone in an interior bids $1,000.   On the surface $1,000 looks better, but consider if they take your $700 they can then sell your balcony to someone willing to pay $500 to move from interior to balcony.  The total $1,200 combined revenue makes that better than the $1,000 bid from the interior guy.  

Edited April 4, 2019 by twangster

[fscool]

It sounds like with the prices always creeping upward by the time the Royal Up bid options come up, you would be paying a premium for the room compared to if you booked 9 months to a year or more ahead.  I hadn't thought of that.

[molly361]

I was offered to bid $150 pp for a JS and the price dropped so I upgraded myself for $180 total  got the double points AND picked my cabin.  You have to do your homework  The prices to bid were lower than the JS had been since the cruise went on sale

Edited April 4, 2019 by molly361

[subaru94]

I understand that the new Royal up offer is that you bid for an upgrade.  We are going on the Radiance in May which is showing full on all sites, yet we received an email tonight offering us to bid for an upgrade. That does not make sense to me.  Can anyone elaborate why they would do this when ship is showing full.

[Biker19]

Free survey. 

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, subaru94 said:

I understand that the new Royal up offer is that you bid for an upgrade.  We are going on the Radiance in May which is showing full on all sites, yet we received an email tonight offering us to bid for an upgrade. That does not make sense to me.  Can anyone elaborate why they would do this when ship is showing full.

 

Sometimes the websites do not show the true picture of stateroom availability.

[fsjosh]

Also, if they have cancellations, it allows them to have willing buyers in place. 

[LBumb]

Sail in a week still waiting to hear

[Jaco5NC]

Sailing tomorrow and still waiting to hear...

[STANMELB]

On ‎3‎/‎27‎/‎2019 at 7:43 PM, forgotmyCCname said:

We are 74 days out on Allure in a GS. No offers to bid yet but there are 39 suites available above the GS . If we do get an offer to bid  ( i feel left out!) , specifically for CL  does the offer indicate if the loft is L1 or L2? I would hate to pay extra only to get a loft that is not directly overlooking the ocean.

 

Thank you!

Just booked an Owners Suite on the Allure sailing in July. Total price of $5041 was cheaper then the Grand Suites and Crown Lofts.

[greenj888]

I am on my last day of the Symphony. I bid a weak bid for a grand suite and about 4 days before I left we found out we got it. I was surprised because ship seemed to be sold out. I have never been in a suite before and now it will be hard to go back! We loved it! Giant room and bathroom, Coastal kitchen, suite lounge, concierges etc were amazing!! 

[msjazzymiss]

I made a bid via the Royal up program.  After several days of checking prices on my upcoming I noticed the prices had dropped on the balcony cabins (I originally booked a  inside Promenade cabin).  I cancelled my bids then called Royal’s C/S and was able to get a balcony at the same price as the inside.  If my bids had been accepted I would have paid way more than my original cruise fare.

[John&LaLa]

We booked two cabins 12 months ago for our upcoming TA on Serenade. One balcony, one inside. Recently bid and won an upgrade to balcony the second cabin. The totsl price was a few dollars less than the original balcony cost, but the original balcony was a very nice aft cabin. 

[Issyalex]

On 4/6/2019 at 2:57 AM, greenj888 said:

I am on my last day of the Symphony. I bid a weak bid for a grand suite and about 4 days before I left we found out we got it. I was surprised because ship seemed to be sold out. I have never been in a suite before and now it will be hard to go back! We loved it! Giant room and bathroom, Coastal kitchen, suite lounge, concierges etc were amazing!! 

Congratulations on your low bid being accepted on the grand suite. 

[Issyalex]

We are booked on Independence 1st June 2019 but when I tried the Royal up link it wouldn’t let me on as it states I’m not within the 30 days prior to sailing category!  However I’ve noticed people on this thread have been notified more than 60 days before they cruise, but have noticed they are all US residents. Does this mean us UK cruisers have to wait to see what, if any, is left? 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

 

I think a wee phone call to my TA is the order of the day. 

 

Congratulations to everyone whos had an upgrade at the price they wanted. 🥂🍾

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Issyalex said:

We are booked on Independence 1st June 2019 but when I tried the Royal up link it wouldn’t let me on as it states I’m not within the 30 days prior to sailing category!  However I’ve noticed people on this thread have been notified more than 60 days before they cruise, but have noticed they are all US residents. Does this mean us UK cruisers have to wait to see what, if any, is left? 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

 

I think a wee phone call to my TA is the order of the day. 

 

Congratulations to everyone whos had an upgrade at the price they wanted. 🥂🍾

 

Not following you on the link. I am under the impression you have to be invited. That link takes you directly to the site. I got my invite at least 60 days out. I doubt TA can help you

Edited April 7, 2019 by John&LaLa

[Danitroline]

18 hours ago, gatordad said:

 

On 3/28/2019 at 1:04 PM, rockmom said:

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2019 by Danitroline
mistake

[Danitroline]

There is a link on the RCCL website

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

 

Enter name and reservation number to see if you are eligible for an upgrade. It is under "What is the Royal Up Program"

45 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Not following you on the link. I am under the impression you have to be invited. That link takes you directly to the site. I got my invite at least 60 days out. I doubt TA can help you

 

[John&LaLa]

5 minutes ago, Danitroline said:

There is a link on the RCCL website

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

 

Enter name and reservation number to see if you are eligible for an upgrade. It is under "What is the Royal Up Program"

 

 

That seems new, I must have missed it.

[Clarea]

12 minutes ago, Danitroline said:

There is a link on the RCCL website

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

 

Enter name and reservation number to see if you are eligible for an upgrade. It is under "What is the Royal Up Program"

 

 

Thanks for this, I had not seen it before.