Got my RoyalUp Bid accepted. I wonder if I made a strategic error?

[Stockjock]

Let me start off with the most important point.  I am not complaining.  Often, when you see a post about an upgrade assignment, someone or other comes on to say that you knew what you were bidding on and shouldn't complain.  All of that is true and this is not a complaint.  Just kicking around the strategy involved in a RoyalUp bid.

We're doing longer cruises later this year, but at the last minute, GF wanted to do a quickie weekend cruise for a few days.  We found an oceanview GUAR at a reasonable price and in 2 days got an assignment on the 2nd deck of a pretty standard oceanview room.  I would have been satisfied with that room, although it was nothing special.

RoyalUp bids opened up a few days ago.  I was mostly interested in a balcony cabin.

Looking at their inventory, I could see...

They had about 9 spacious veranda cabins.

1-2 connecting veranda cabins.

2 Spacious Panoramic View Oceanview cabins.

At first, I put bids on the veranda cabins.

Then, I put in a bid of $40 per person for the Spacious Panoramic Cabins, even though they weren't my first choice because:

1. Much more glass, ceiling to floor.

2. I think a better deck (deck 12 versus deck 2).

3. A bit bigger (I think 191 sq. ft. versus 160).

4. (Importantly) I think they're new and more updated, since they used to be a part of the gym on Deck 12.  So they recently built these from scratch.

10 days out, they accepted my bid on the Spacious Panoramic Ocean View cabin (again, $40 per person).

I noticed that all of the veranda cabins are still available, so maybe they wait until the last moment on those?  OV cabins now fully sold out, so they assigned all RoyalUp OV that were available.

I wonder if I would have been better off just bidding on a veranda?  I'm just kicking things around.  Not complaining at all, as I got what I bid on and it does seem like a nicer and more updated room with a lot more glass.

Edited May 17, 2022 by Stockjock

[cruisegirl1]

Since you say  is a  weekend cruise, i wouldn't worry.  Just go and have a great time. 

 

Or you can go back to the Royal Up page and bid for a balcony cabin

m 

[barb in ga]

We like the spacious panoramic OV since DH will not use the balcony at all, and I don't use it much. (he has a problem with acrophobia). We really like the large windows instead of a balcony for us; love the daylight, so much better than a traditional OV. Sounds like you scored with this cabin, enjoy!

Barb

[Stockjock]

14 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Since you say  is a  weekend cruise, i wouldn't worry.  Just go and have a great time. 

 

Or you can go back to the Royal Up page and bid for a balcony cabin

m 

I did go to the RoyalUp page and it now shows as "Not eligible for upgrade".  So apparently, once they accept your bid, that's it.

[orville99]

3 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

I did go to the RoyalUp page and it now shows as "Not eligible for upgrade".  So apparently, once they accept your bid, that's it.

That is true. It is one and done. However, I think you will really like the cabin you received.

[Tiggerontheseas]

56 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

Let me start off with the most important point.  I am not complaining.  Often, when you see a post about an upgrade assignment, someone or other comes on to say that you knew what you were bidding on and shouldn't complain.  All of that is true and this is not a complaint.  Just kicking around the strategy involved in a RoyalUp bid.

We're doing longer cruises later this year, but at the last minute, GF wanted to do a quickie weekend cruise for a few days.  We found an oceanview GUAR at a reasonable price and in 2 days got an assignment on the 2nd deck of a pretty standard oceanview room.  I would have been satisfied with that room, although it was nothing special.

RoyalUp bids opened up a few days ago.  I was mostly interested in a balcony cabin.

Looking at their inventory, I could see...

They had about 9 spacious veranda cabins.

1-2 connecting veranda cabins.

2 Spacious Panoramic View Oceanview cabins.

At first, I put bids on the veranda cabins.

Then, I put in a bid of $40 per person for the Spacious Panoramic Cabins, even though they weren't my first choice because:

1. Much more glass, ceiling to floor.

2. I think a better deck (deck 12 versus deck 2).

3. A bit bigger (I think 191 sq. ft. versus 160).

4. (Importantly) I think they're new and more updated, since they used to be a part of the gym on Deck 12.  So they recently built these from scratch.

10 days out, they accepted my bid on the Spacious Panoramic Ocean View cabin (again, $40 per person).

I noticed that all of the veranda cabins are still available, so maybe they wait until the last moment on those?  OV cabins now fully sold out, so they assigned all RoyalUp OV that were available.

I wonder if I would have been better off just bidding on a veranda?  I'm just kicking things around.  Not complaining at all, as I got what I bid on and it does seem like a nicer and more updated room with a lot more glass.

 

I think that you're going to love the cabin.  We stayed in one for the second week of a back-to-back (had a balcony for the first week) and the open feeling of the room and all the glass was amazing.   I love my balconies but didn't miss it a bit during the week. 🙂

 

  

[mek]

5 minutes ago, Tiggerontheseas said:

 

I think that you're going to love the cabin.  We stayed in one for the second week of a back-to-back (had a balcony for the first week) and the open feeling of the room and all the glass was amazing.   I love my balconies but didn't miss it a bit during the week. 🙂

 

  

We stayed on a similar type cabin on a Princess cruise to Alaska and absolutely loved it.

[Tonopah]

You got a bargain and you are going to be so happy. Don’t even give it another thought. 

[Jimbo]

10 minutes ago, Tiggerontheseas said:

 

I think that you're going to love the cabin.  We stayed in one for the second week of a back-to-back (had a balcony for the first week) and the open feeling of the room and all the glass was amazing.   I love my balconies but didn't miss it a bit during the week. 🙂

 

  

Any pictures of the cabin?

[pretzlaff]

How much did you bid for the veranda cabins??  If you bid $240 but got the big ocean view for $40, then maybe it was a deal.

 

Having said that, I too have messed up and bid on things that probably kept me from getting what I really wanted.  For example, I bid a few dollars to get a better balcony but then missed out on the suite that I really wanted having bid a many hundred on it.  Going forward, I will not bid on things that do not really significantly improve my cruise like....it better be a suite.

[orville99]

5 minutes ago, pretzlaff said:

Going forward, I will not bid on things that do not really significantly improve my cruise like....it better be a suite.

We only bid on one cabin category up (i.e. JS to CLS suite), only bid the minimum, and if we win we win and if we don't so be it. BTW, we win more than we lose.

[Stockjock]

12 minutes ago, pretzlaff said:

How much did you bid for the veranda cabins??  If you bid $240 but got the big ocean view for $40, then maybe it was a deal.

 

Having said that, I too have messed up and bid on things that probably kept me from getting what I really wanted.  For example, I bid a few dollars to get a better balcony but then missed out on the suite that I really wanted having bid a many hundred on it.  Going forward, I will not bid on things that do not really significantly improve my cruise like....it better be a suite.

I bid $40 per person.  I think the minimum was $30 per person.  So it's a pretty cheap upgrade for a very short cruise.

[Stockjock]

26 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Any pictures of the cabin?

Here's a YouTube video of a similar cabin a few doors down.  This is a different ship, but should be nearly identical, as it's a sister ship that underwent the same cabin additions and updates.

 

Edited May 17, 2022 by Stockjock

[Tiggerontheseas]

25 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Any pictures of the cabin?

 

No, I'm afraid not.  It was Freedom of the Seas - cabin 1810, if that helps.

[ladysail2]

I’m so pleased to see this thread. I had booked a Panorama cabin on Rhapsody (I believe) in 2020,  and we know what happened to those cruises….and haven’t booked another one yet.  It looks a nice cabin.  Thank you for the discussion and video! 😊

[sandy toes]

1 hour ago, barb in ga said:

We like the spacious panoramic OV since DH will not use the balcony at all, and I don't use it much. (he has a problem with acrophobia). We really like the large windows instead of a balcony for us; love the daylight, so much better than a traditional OV. Sounds like you scored with this cabin, enjoy!

Barb

Oh I agree. The panoramics are really nice and for just $40/ea it is a steal. Enjoy the cruise. 

[PTC DAWG]

If you don’t like it, jump ship. 🙂

[Stockjock]

7 minutes ago, ladysail2 said:

I’m so pleased to see this thread. I had booked a Panorama cabin on Rhapsody (I believe) in 2020,  and we know what happened to those cruises….and haven’t booked another one yet.  It looks a nice cabin.  Thank you for the discussion and video! 😊

My pleasure.  Here's another video on a sister ship, but same basic cabin and configuration.  

 

[Stockjock]

7 minutes ago, sandy toes said:

Oh I agree. The panoramics are really nice and for just $40/ea it is a steal. Enjoy the cruise. 

It's actually cheaper than our 4 hour tequila tasting tour, lol.

[Tiggerontheseas]

1 hour ago, mek said:

We stayed on a similar type cabin on a Princess cruise to Alaska and absolutely loved it.

 

Oh, yes!   They would be a lovely room for Alaska. 

[ladysail2]

50 minutes ago, Stockjock said:

My pleasure.  Here's another video on a sister ship, but same basic cabin and configuration.  

Thank you again!

 

[OCVTSGIRL]

I've never done the Royal Up.  Was that $40 pp or $40 pp per day?

[Stockjock]

20 minutes ago, OCVTSGIRL said:

I've never done the Royal Up.  Was that $40 pp or $40 pp per day?

$40 per person, although remember it's a short weekend cruise.  They also offered 25% off the minimum bids for veranda rooms, although as noted, it was my panoramic ocean view bid that was accepted.

[orville99]

1 hour ago, ladysail2 said:

I’m so pleased to see this thread. I had booked a Panorama cabin on Rhapsody (I believe) in 2020,  and we know what happened to those cruises….and haven’t booked another one yet.  It looks a nice cabin.  Thank you for the discussion and video! 😊

The panoramic cabins on rhapsody are a bit different, but still nice.

[ladysail2]

19 minutes ago, orville99 said:

The panoramic cabins on rhapsody are a bit different, but still nice.

Okay, I believe you….haven’t been in one ..yet…I think there are only 5 on Rhapsody…and I got one…then Covid took it away…☹️….I try one out at some point.