RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[binro01]

12 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I think they really want me to give up my cabin.  I just received an offer to bid $25 pp for a junior suite, $90 for a grand suite.  I have 1388 on the Mariner and plan to stay right there.

I would consider a Grand Suite and stay far away from a JS. Your cabin is basically a little smaller JS but with a much better balcony.

[ZoeyVictoria]

Just now, binro01 said:

I would consider a Grand Suite and stay far away from a JS. Your cabin is basically a little smaller JS but with a much better balcony.

I didn’t even consider the JS (for minimum bid of $25 pp) because I think 1388 is so much better.  Had to think about the GS for a day and a half to talk myself into that one.

[Cruise a holic]

11 hours ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

I didn’t even consider the JS (for minimum bid of $25 pp) because I think 1388 is so much better.  Had to think about the GS for a day and a half to talk myself into that one.

IMO room size is very important.  You spend more time in your cabin then you think.  We enjoy the extra storage and indoor space- We would prefer a larger cabin. Also 1388 on the Mariner has a pool near the bed.  If you get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, can be dangerous!

Edited November 5, 2021 by Cruise a holic

[binro01]

2 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

IMO room size is very important.  You spend more time in your cabin then you think.  We enjoy the extra storage and indoor space- We would prefer a larger cabin. Also 1388 on the Mariner has a pool near the bed.  If you get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, can be dangerous!

1388 is a hard retry large cabin. Almost the size of a JS. I do agree with being below a deck with a pool or noise can be annoying. But I don’t understand how if you get up in the middle of the night it could be dangerous. That makes no sense. 

[FionaMG]

7 minutes ago, binro01 said:

1388 is a hard retry large cabin. Almost the size of a JS. I do agree with being below a deck with a pool or noise can be annoying. But I don’t understand how if you get up in the middle of the night it could be dangerous. That makes no sense. 

It's a typo. It's not "pool"; it's "pole". If you Google the cabin you can see it on pics and YouTube videos.

[atabs12]

Sorry if this has been asked before. I keep checking with Royal Up but when I enter name and reservation number I get a message to check if sailing is within 30 days and check information entered. Does this mean my booking is not eligible for the program? We are 2 people and sail in 24 days in a balcony GTY. I booked this trip a week ago. 

[RFerrington]

33 minutes ago, atabs12 said:

Sorry if this has been asked before. I keep checking with Royal Up but when I enter name and reservation number I get a message to check if sailing is within 30 days and check information entered. Does this mean my booking is not eligible for the program? We are 2 people and sail in 24 days in a balcony GTY. I booked this trip a week ago. 

I have read where others disagree about this, but it is my opinion that this message indicates that your reservation is not (and will never be) eligible for RU.  I have never gotten this message and then, later, been able to bid on a RU.  Maybe others have been able to go back, at a later time, and bid, but that has never happened for me.

 

Why wouldn't your reservation be eligible for a RU ?  I have no idea !  Not all reservations are, for whatever reason.  While this reason does not apply in my case, sometimes the Travel Agent you use can be the problem.  A few of the big box agencies (Costco, for one) do not participate in Royal UP so if you are booked through one of those agencies you will never be able to bid on a RU.

[cynt]

2 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

I have read where others disagree about this, but it is my opinion that this message indicates that your reservation is not (and will never be) eligible for RU.  I have never gotten this message and then, later, been able to bid on a RU.  Maybe others have been able to go back, at a later time, and bid, but that has never happened for me.

 

Why wouldn't your reservation be eligible for a RU ?  I have no idea !  Not all reservations are, for whatever reason.  While this reason does not apply in my case, sometimes the Travel Agent you use can be the problem.  A few of the big box agencies (Costco, for one) do not participate in Royal UP so if you are booked through one of those agencies you will never be able to bid on a RU.

 

I booked directly with Royal. I received this message until about 50ish days until my cruise. I received an email to bid and followed the link to bid. 

[atabs12]

43 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

I have read where others disagree about this, but it is my opinion that this message indicates that your reservation is not (and will never be) eligible for RU.  I have never gotten this message and then, later, been able to bid on a RU.  Maybe others have been able to go back, at a later time, and bid, but that has never happened for me.

 

Why wouldn't your reservation be eligible for a RU ?  I have no idea !  Not all reservations are, for whatever reason.  While this reason does not apply in my case, sometimes the Travel Agent you use can be the problem.  A few of the big box agencies (Costco, for one) do not participate in Royal UP so if you are booked through one of those agencies you will never be able to bid on a RU.

 

37 minutes ago, cynt said:

 

I booked directly with Royal. I received this message until about 50ish days until my cruise. I received an email to bid and followed the link to bid. 

Thank you so much for the reply. I booked directly with Royal. I just received the email to Royal Up…lol. I guess the reservation had to sync with the Royal Up system. 

[RFerrington]

Just now, atabs12 said:

 

Thank you so much for the reply. I booked directly with Royal. I just received the email to Royal Up…lol. I guess the reservation had to sync with the Royal Up system. 

WOOHOO !!!!  Awesome.

[bajathree]

1 hour ago, cynt said:

 

I booked directly with Royal. I received this message until about 50ish days until my cruise. I received an email to bid and followed the link to bid. 

Why would anyone want to bid more than a few weeks prior to sailing....just saying... It's not like the earlier you bid the better the chance and they even often raise and lower initial minimum/maximum bids closer to sail date. Also sometimes as you get closer to sail date...I just had this happen...it became cheaper for me to upgrade myself than to place a minimum bid. 

Please correct me if I am wrong but I don't remember hearing (at least recently) anyone winning a RU bid further than about a week prior to sailing.

Edited November 5, 2021 by bajathree

[Biker19]

13 minutes ago, bajathree said:

Please correct me if I am wrong but I don't remember hearing (at least recently) anyone winning a RU bid further than about a week prior to sailing.

That seems to be the current trend but further out wins were reported pre COVID.

[marktwothousand]

2 hours ago, atabs12 said:

Sorry if this has been asked before. I keep checking with Royal Up but when I enter name and reservation number I get a message to check if sailing is within 30 days and check information entered. Does this mean my booking is not eligible for the program? We are 2 people and sail in 24 days in a balcony GTY. I booked this trip a week ago. 

I got this message too and asked my agent. He told me to check back 21 days prior (tomorrow)

[Cardex]

15 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

I got this message too and asked my agent. He told me to check back 21 days prior (tomorrow)

 

I had the same message too. I just message Royal on FB and they said the RoyalUp promo is by invite only. You have to receive the email. Guests are randomly selected and sent email to bid.

[chucknmarilyn]

2 hours ago, RFerrington said:

I have read where others disagree about this, but it is my opinion that this message indicates that your reservation is not (and will never be) eligible for RU.  I have never gotten this message and then, later, been able to bid on a RU.  Maybe others have been able to go back, at a later time, and bid, but that has never happened for me.

 

Why wouldn't your reservation be eligible for a RU ?  I have no idea !  Not all reservations are, for whatever reason.  While this reason does not apply in my case, sometimes the Travel Agent you use can be the problem.  A few of the big box agencies (Costco, for one) do not participate in Royal UP so if you are booked through one of those agencies you will never be able to bid on a RU.

I got the same message on my last two for several days prior to getting an email invite to bid.

[cccult]

We got our offer 43 days out. The subject line in the email was strange. It said, important information about your upcoming….. I initially dismissed it as something to do with COVID or check in. Was going to open it later… That same morning I tried the royalup link to check and it said, “make sure you are 30 days out”. So i was surprised that the email came/worked before the self check link. More surprising was an offer for 2 for one Jr suites… As if my husband and I need 2 rooms. LOL. Placed bids on GS, OS, and RS. There are 5 GS 1bedrooms available on the website, so perhaps we’ll get lucky this time. Haven’t won a RU yet, tried twice both from JR suites moving up.

[barbeyg]

Reminder to all to keep checking the prices on the cruise you are sailing as you wait on your RoyalUp. I caught a drop that allowed me to upgrade to a CLS from our JS without waiting for our RoyalUp and RCI selecting our cabin for us. It was only $20 more than what we had our JS booked for plus our low bid for the CLS. 
 

Since this was the suite we wanted, it was a no-brainer to upgrade ourselves. Glad we caught the drop, it’s gone now. We are sailing in December.

[marktwothousand]

My neighbz and I are on the same cruise with the same agent. We both got the 30 day message originally. My neighbz is now able to get into the upgrade site and has made Bids. I am still unable to 😞

[SkaterJasp]

44 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

Reminder to all to keep checking the prices on the cruise you are sailing as you wait on your RoyalUp. I caught a drop that allowed me to upgrade to a CLS from our JS without waiting for our RoyalUp and RCI selecting our cabin for us. It was only $20 more than what we had our JS booked for plus our low bid for the CLS. 
 

Since this was the suite we wanted, it was a no-brainer to upgrade ourselves. Glad we caught the drop, it’s gone now. We are sailing in December.

I did this too… the price to upgrade was less than the min bid for RoyalUp when I did it. 

[jean87510]

56 minutes ago, barbeyg said:

Reminder to all to keep checking the prices on the cruise you are sailing as you wait on your RoyalUp. I caught a drop that allowed me to upgrade to a CLS from our JS without waiting for our RoyalUp and RCI selecting our cabin for us. It was only $20 more than what we had our JS booked for plus our low bid for the CLS. 
 

Since this was the suite we wanted, it was a no-brainer to upgrade ourselves. Glad we caught the drop, it’s gone now. We are sailing in December.

we did as well for a JS on the 11/17 Adventure sailing.  Cheaper than our balcony plus some OBC

[BLiles1961]

On 11/5/2021 at 2:17 PM, Cardex said:

 

I had the same message too. I just message Royal on FB and they said the RoyalUp promo is by invite only. You have to receive the email. Guests are randomly selected and sent email to bid.

Weird, as this has not been our experience. We have never received the email to enter a bid; I just googled Royal Up Program and followed the link for bidding. We have an offer pending for an upgrade to a Royal Suite for $500 each. 'Twould be cool if we get it!

[ulcards99]

what does "expired" mean on Royal Up offers?

[binro01]

10 minutes ago, ulcards99 said:

what does "expired" mean on Royal Up offers?

It means you are out of luck on that bid.

[RobInMN]

32 minutes ago, ulcards99 said:

what does "expired" mean on Royal Up offers?

 

20 minutes ago, binro01 said:

It means you are out of luck on that bid.

However, the status could change back to Pending at any time. Mine just did today on a cruise leaving this Friday.

[rolloman]

1 hour ago, RobInMN said:

 

However, the status could change back to Pending at any time. Mine just did today on a cruise leaving this Friday.

Maybe this has been asked before...but... while I have not received an email to upgrade (Dec 5th date) I am able to go into the royal up page and put in my info and it says I am eligible. However, it only shows upgrades as high as a Jr. Suite. Looking over the my sailing there are literally tons of crown lofts and various other suites available. I am currently in a balcony so I am wondering why only