UPGRADE

[dada2199cc]

Also note that some travel agents don’t participate in the bid upgrade option.

 

We book with C——O and they don’t let you win bids per their contract.

[Ourusualbeach]

2 hours ago, drsel said:

Thanks. I bid on spacious Ocean view, ultra spacious Ocean view and balcony, all at the minimum bid price.

if all three categories become available due to last minute drop outs then I suppose they will accept my highest bid, which is for the balcony cabin; and charge my credit card only for that one bid.

what will happen to the cabin which I vacate?

Unfortunately an incorrect assumption.  There voukd skso be another 500 people on your cruise who also bid on those.  You may not have yhf winning bid. 

[drsel]

I think this Royal Up is a very good system that Royal Caribbean has got and I am sure that other cruise lines will also be following a similar system

[Hammer61]

Would imagine not just for unsold staterooms but in these times especially if someone goes down last minute with COVID, they have a list of those who are willing to pay to upgrade to the vacant stateroom.

[mom2miracles]

8 hours ago, drsel said:

Thanks. I bid on spacious Ocean view, ultra spacious Ocean view and balcony, all at the minimum bid price.

if all three categories become available due to last minute drop outs then I suppose they will accept my highest bid, which is for the balcony cabin; and charge my credit card only for that one bid.

what will happen to the cabin which I vacate?

 

You weren't given or offered an upgrade, you were given an opportunity to possibly upgrade. Bidding offers zero guarantee you will get it. Even if someone cancels last minute or is a no show, there are still zero guarantees that you will get the room. They offer them as a backup for last minute cancellations, no show or rooms that were never booked to begin with. So it's very possible every balcony (as an example) is already completely sold out, it just means they are compiling a waiting list of sorts for that class of room as a "just in case" scenario.

 

Like someone else mentioned, when one person gets the upgrade, everyone below them upgrades too. An example: An interior room could get a balcony; balcony room could get a jr suite; jr suite could get a full suite; so on an so forth. The dollar amount of your bid does matter. Some people have upgraded with the bare minimum and some have upgraded with the highest possible bid. You just never know what will or won't be accepted. 

 

Also, once you bid, you cannot reject/refuse the offer. So you have to be prepared to be in a room that you may not be happy with - floor/location you don't like/want, obstructed balcony room, ec etc... As soon as a bid is accepted your credit card is charged, your original room is released and you are put into your new room. There is no going back. So make your bids with the notion that you will be happy with wherever you could end up.

 

If you are currently 100% happy with where you are, maybe bidding isn't the right choice. Many people don't bid for that reason alone. Or that they don't see the value in bidding. 

 

Lastly, bids being accepted can happen through embarkation day. So you could be on board, in your original room and get notice that your bid has been accepted. Again, you cannot decline the change and will have X amount of time to move rooms. Some people chose to cancel their bids a few days prior to sailing so they don't have to deal with that. Just keep that in mind too. 

[drsel]

8 hours ago, mom2miracles said:

 

You weren't given or offered an upgrade, you were given an opportunity to possibly upgrade. Bidding offers zero guarantee you will get it. Even if someone cancels last minute or is a no show, there are still zero guarantees that you will get the room. They offer them as a backup for last minute cancellations, no show or rooms that were never booked to begin with. So it's very possible every balcony (as an example) is already completely sold out, it just means they are compiling a waiting list of sorts for that class of room as a "just in case" scenario.

 

Like someone else mentioned, when one person gets the upgrade, everyone below them upgrades too. An example: An interior room could get a balcony; balcony room could get a jr suite; jr suite could get a full suite; so on an so forth. The dollar amount of your bid does matter. Some people have upgraded with the bare minimum and some have upgraded with the highest possible bid. You just never know what will or won't be accepted. 

 

Also, once you bid, you cannot reject/refuse the offer. So you have to be prepared to be in a room that you may not be happy with - floor/location you don't like/want, obstructed balcony room, ec etc... As soon as a bid is accepted your credit card is charged, your original room is released and you are put into your new room. There is no going back. So make your bids with the notion that you will be happy with wherever you could end up.

 

If you are currently 100% happy with where you are, maybe bidding isn't the right choice. Many people don't bid for that reason alone. Or that they don't see the value in bidding. 

 

Lastly, bids being accepted can happen through embarkation day. So you could be on board, in your original room and get notice that your bid has been accepted. Again, you cannot decline the change and will have X amount of time to move rooms. Some people chose to cancel their bids a few days prior to sailing so they don't have to deal with that. Just keep that in mind too. 

Wow, that's an encyclopedia of information.

I got an interior in the best location, but still I would be happy to accept any of the three categories --spacious Ocean view, ultra spacious Ocean view or balcony, even last minute.

I don't even mind an obstructed balcony (There is no mention of obstructed balcony)

 

But then again, I bid the minimum amount on all three categories.

Edited September 4, 2022 by drsel

[drsel]

14 hours ago, dada2199cc said:

Also note that some travel agents don’t participate in the bid upgrade option.

 

We book with C——O and they don’t let you win bids per their contract.

I think you are referring to a discount travel agent.

Why would your travel agent prevent you from bidding or winning bids?

How would they benefit?

Can a travel agent really control the customer like that and prevent him from bidding on an upgrade ?

[okiedrifters]

9 hours ago, drsel said:

I think this Royal Up is a very good system that Royal Caribbean has got and I am sure that other cruise lines will also be following a similar system

Other cruise lines already are! And some airlines also…

[Deeliteful]

Not Royal Up but I called Royal to see if there were any aft cabins available on my next cruise, overlooking the wake, there weren’t any but it turned out my balcony had restricted viewing! I didn’t know that so we found a better cabin with unrestricted view and more spacious and it cost me ………£1.50 more 😂

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

Why would your travel agent prevent you from bidding or winning bids?

How would they benefit?

Can a travel agent really control the customer like that and prevent him from bidding on an upgrade ?

Royal up is an option program  Travel agents have the option to opt out of the program.  Customers can decide for themselves whether they want to book with that agent based on whether or not they participate.

 

Discount agencies  rely on as few contacts with the client as possible to save money.  Adding the Royal up into the mix increases not only the number of customer contacts but also the contacts with the cruise line and the paperwork required following up on additional commissions and adjusting invoices

[molly361]

25 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Royal up is an option program  Travel agents have the option to opt out of the program.  Customers can decide for themselves whether they want to book with that agent based on whether or not they participate.

 

Discount agencies  rely on as few contacts with the client as possible to save money.  Adding the Royal up into the mix increases not only the number of customer contacts but also the contacts with the cruise line and the paperwork required following up on additional commissions and adjusting invoices

Whew I'm glad that my TA isn't one of those😇🤣

[drsel]

44 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Royal up is an option program  Travel agents have the option to opt out of the program.  Customers can decide for themselves whether they want to book with that agent based on whether or not they participate.

 

Discount agencies  rely on as few contacts with the client as possible to save money.  Adding the Royal up into the mix increases not only the number of customer contacts but also the contacts with the cruise line and the paperwork required following up on additional commissions and adjusting invoices

In the Royal Up program there is no question of additional commissions or  invoicing.

Your travel agent does not have to get involved. It is directly between you and Royal cruise line.

It is just an extra fee you pay directly to Royal last minute at the time of boarding or soon after, without involving the travel agent at all.

Edited September 4, 2022 by drsel

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, drsel said:

In the Royal Up program there is no question of additional commissions or  invoicing.

it is directly between you and Royal cruise line.

It is just an extra fee you pay directly to Royal last minute at the time of boarding or soon after, without involving the travel agent at all.

The cruise line pays a commission on the additional fee to the agency that requires additional accounting and yes there is paperwork involved on the travel agents end.  The client may not see it but trust me there is additional paperwork (FYI..I am a travel agent)