Downgrading and Royal Up

[NeepierRoad]

I apologize if this question has been asked and answered before but here it goes... I am a solo traveler with an oceanview balcony guarantee for my 4/30 cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on the Allure of the Seas.  I saw today that prices for interior rooms were lower and wondered if I downgraded my balcony guarantee to an interior guarantee could I try and upgrade through Royal Up?  I received the Royal Up email last week and wonder if it transfers if I change my reservation?  As a solo traveler, I'm already paying the single rate (and I know I'd pay double the Royal Up rate) but is it worth the risk?  You all are fantastic and I look forward to your thoughts!

[firefly333]

I would think the royal up bids would be higher from a inside cabin than a balcony. Also what you can bid on changes.

 

Interesting question if you could downgrade and use the same royal up email. 

[NeepierRoad]

Interesting regarding the higher bids.  Food for thought.

[cruisetorelax44]

if it's within final payment, and you downgrade, they won't refund you the difference. at least that's what they told me when i wanted to change my room on odyssey in november... 

[SWACruising]

4 minutes ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

if it's within final payment, and you downgrade, they won't refund you the difference. at least that's what they told me when i wanted to change my room on odyssey in november... 

OBC or nothing?

[NeepierRoad]

Not within the the final payment.  I have until the end of March.

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, NeepierRoad said:

Not within the the final payment.  I have until the end of March.

I'd say try it. All that can happen is your bid not accepted. Its supposedly a separate company doing royal up. Go for it.

[Starry Eyes]

How much will you save by downgrading?

The RoyalUp system does communicate with the reservation system, so RiyalUp will know you downgraded; those old offers will no longer be valid.  If you downgrade you will need you wait for a new set of RoyalUp offers; they will have higher minimum bids.  Though recently some people have reported more options, often people with inside cabins can only bid up to balconies.  Depending upon how much you save by downgrading, perhaps bidding on a balcony is still an appealing idea.  You could go to the roll call for your cruise and ask if somebody in an inside would tell you their RoyalUp minimum bids.  Though you might bid on a balcony (or whatever), you might not get it, so you’d sail in the inside…would you be OK with that?

Edited March 9, 2022 by Starry Eyes

[cruisetorelax44]

21 minutes ago, SWACruising said:

OBC or nothing?

they told me nothing. that there were no price adjustments if you downgraded your room after final payment. 

[LeeW]

I don't get the "wait for new offers" comment.  Anyone can go to the RoyalUp page, enter their reservation number and name.  You don't need an invitation.  May or may not work more than 30 days before sailing (ours for Symphony opened at around 70 days).

 

That said, the cost does vary by room category.  I would expect that if you switched from Balcony Guarantee to Inside cost will be higher and any bid you had already submitted would be rejected once your cabin change got into the system.

[NeepierRoad]

I knew I could count on you all!  You gave me something to consider including a lot of things I wouldn't have thought about.

[Starry Eyes]

11 minutes ago, LeeW said:

I don't get the "wait for new offers" comment.  Anyone can go to the RoyalUp page, enter their reservation number and name.  You don't need an invitation.  May or may not work more than 30 days before sailing (ours for Symphony opened at around 70 days).

 

That said, the cost does vary by room category.  I would expect that if you switched from Balcony Guarantee to Inside cost will be higher and any bid you had already submitted would be rejected once your cabin change got into the system.

If one makes a reservation, say 25 days before a cruise, then quickly goes to the RoyalUp site, that person will not immediately have any RoyalUp offers; they will get the generic sign in error about 30 days before the cruise.  Others who have been booked on the cruise earlier can sign in and bid, but the offers are not ready for the newbie immediately.  It may take a couple days, then the newbie can sign in and bid.  I have been there, waited for that; perhaps you have not had that specific experience.

 

Similarly when somebody pays to upgrade their cabin significantly, their RoyalUp offers are expected change.  For example, if I was booked in a balcony, I had offers for  JS, GS with certain minimums.  If I pay for an upgrade to a GS, those offers no longer apply, of course, so I’ll cancel my bids.  In a few to several days, eventually when I sign into RoyalUp new offers will have populated so I can bid on OS and CL with appropriate minimums.  You might think in this day and age this would happen immediately, but from reports here on CC, it seems to take days.  We hear more about people upgrading more than about downgrading, but I believe the same process would apply.

[SRF]

22 hours ago, SWACruising said:

OBC or nothing?

 

We got nothing when upgrading to a cheaper room.

 

And the difference was several thousand dollars.  No OBC at all, not even a token $100.