Starry Eyes

They must have a coordination procedure in place already. After all, on every cruise the very last cabin (s) in many categories is being utilized in the RoyalUp bidding procedure. If New bookings and RoyalUp were not properly coordinated, we would read threads like this regularly…as we do not read threads like this regularly (I do not ever recall seeing one like it), the processes are coordinated pretty well. Something specifically went wrong in this case differs from the norm; that’s why I postulated another party’s GS2 reservation was incorrectly canceled then recovered, dashing the OP’s RoyalUp dreams.

As it is a constant and foreseeable concern, they should have already worked out a system to prevent a new booking and a RoyalUp upgrade for the same cabin from occurring simultaneously. If the system did not generally work, we likely would have heard more reports of issues. Of course Royal IT can always have a glitch.

Since another poster wants to assume a higher bid came in at the last second with no evidence , I’ll postulate something totally different with no evidence. Every now and then we see posts on CC where somebody’s reservation was incorrectly canceled. Typically they get an email about a on board booking find everything mysteriously canceled and call to get it re-instated. It is very frustrating and may take hours of customer or TA time. Bet others have read such threads… not often, but now and then. So, perhaps something like that happened on to somebody in a GS2 on the OP’s cruise. While RoyalUp wanted to auction the incorrectly vacated suite, the person who rightfully belongs in that suite (or their TA) was calling in pointing out the error. Royal Caribbean placed the occupants back in suite they purchased months ago, the separate company that runs RoyalUp then had to abort their bidding process; the OP on this thread thus stayed in his original JS.

Thanks for posting this. Mine more than doubled, but they fixed it with a phone call.

I also anticipating sailing in forward facing Voyager balcony. They have assigned me to a JS for the Christmas cruise.😀

Woohoo, turns out I may be happy to wait to experience the forward facing balcony. They seem upgraded us to a JS for the Christmas 2023 cruise! I hope it’s real, not an IT glitch that will soon disappear.

Like you, I travel with a passport and totally agree that it is the best option. I don’t know if others absolutely cannot travel with their international BC if they also have other supporting documentation. I’d submit that we all have to be responsible for the status of our own documents. People with more complicated situations have to be more proactive, whether those complexities are due to location at birth or our own decisions (name changes, for example).

The question asked citizenship, not birthplace. There are many naturalized US citizens. Plus, children born abroad may receive transmitted US citizenship from their US citizen parent(s). Thus, lots of US citizens have birth certificates from around the globe.

Yeah, I also get hunches sometimes. Get those passports renewed and have your wife get the new BC, just in case. Hope the next cruise booking goes better.

OK, that option is provided, but they are US citizen they might quite appropriately just select USA like the rest of us. If my birth state (not naming the state as way too many people would agree it could happen🤣)discovers it’s records have been overtaken by fraudsters and declares my old BC invalid, it will be duty to get a new valid one. Just as it is my job to make sure I show up with a real BC not hospital record, long form vs short form, etc. We buy annual travel medical insurance and routinely decline other coverage. The only times I have broken that pattern and purchased the cruiseline’s cancel-anytime-coverage there were special circumstances afoot (relative with terminal illness, an odd work situation) that greatly altered my cancellation risk. Looking through the lens of my own behavior makes me wonder if the OP also suspected an increased cancellation risk for this trip.

I’m glad your first guarantee experience was a happy one. We have booked a fair number if guarantees over the years. As we are flexible, not prone to motion sickness and not particularly noise sensitive, they have worked out well for us overall….and sometimes really well.

And if so, are you pleased with it?

Guess I missed that thread… Oh, well, probably best to let it roll off your back, soremekum

Here is a link to some info about the PR BC invalidation law. https://www.ct.gov/ctportal/lib/ctportal/PRBirth.FAQ.pdf

As I recall the government of Puerto Rico invalidated all birth certificates issued before July 2010 (due to extensive theft and fraud). So due to that law, your wife did not present a valid birth certificate. It is a pity she did not hear about the law in time to get a new one.

Have you tried one previously? If not, go in with an open mind; maybe you’ll like it. My husband is very fond of the Central Park Balconies…he finds them peace and likes listening to the musicians from the balcony. I like the activity on Boardwalk better, though CP is a nice change now and then. You might as well ask at GS; worst you will hear is no.

You can ask but odds are really, really low. Personally, I would not waste time or mental energy on the idea. Changing cabins is not difficult; the stewards do a lot of the work.

I believe it is still possible; they simply do not know the % obstruction until you are assigned. On my invoice it says, “ …if your stateroom has an obstructed view, you’ll receive details once your room is assigned”

Yes, and by allowing such swaps sometimes they make multiple parties happy. For example, that just fine cabin assignment you gave up when you swapped may be the location I (or some other cruiser) really wanted on that cruise. Often I want to be on a favorite deck, but on other cruises I’d snap up a cabin on a different deck because it was near travel companions. It is a pity they do not allow people in all markets to enjoy this flexibility.

I have booked quite a few balcony guarantees on Oasis class. The difference with Oasis class is one must know if one is booking neighborhood gty (XN) or oceanview gty(XB). If one books XN, you should expect either a boardwalk or a Central Park balcony. We have received and enjoyed both with XN bookings. Though we enjoy them, not everyone likes these cabins. If Boardwalk and/or Central Park balconies don’t appeal to you, be sure to book XB not XN…and do not book online. To my knowledge there are no badly obstructed oceanview balconies on Oasis class. The biggest concerns people express about Oasis XB is being placed under pool deck or locations too close/too far from elevators…stars concerns for any gty. I am waiting for a XB assignment for Harmony now. We are flexible and not very noise sensitive, so we will be fine with pretty much any cabin. I do have favorites decks and will ask to swap if a cabin I like better is available.

Yes, well said…changing the location of my balcony is a first world problem. We booked the Christmas sailing, so the speculation on this thread that our cruise may be shortened substantially is disconcerting. I am hoping others will share if they discover definitive information.

Same here. I also wanted to try one of those balconies. Wait and see how it shakes out.

If 3rd/4th bunks do become available again for that cruise, you may find the price for that third passenger is high… so high that you might want to consider booking two cabins. You may want to try to think to a compatible fourth person who might wish to share the vacation and cost. Some people book a balcony and the inside across the hall; some try for connecting or adjacent cabins.

I also think many bring it to save a few bucks, I hope they are carrying wine they really like. Also with current supply issues one does not know what wine may or may not be available on your cruise, which encourages people to buy favorite/special bottles on shore rather than counting on ship to have them in inventory. The other poster asked why I thought Royal had that wine policy. I doubt they have to policy to help people save a few dollars on bar bills. I still suspect it is so customer service reps can assure people thinking booking special occasion cruise that they can indeed bring that special bottle of wine on board for that certain night; those may be valuable bookings. What is your theory?

I have not sailed NCL since the restart and per other poster on this thread their newest policies are in flux. So, if check the NCL board if you are serious about sailing NCL in the near future. In old days, corkage even for cabin wine.