RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[John&LaLa]

4 hours ago, mringenoldus said:

I am currently on the Majesty of the Seas and will continue for the next two sailings. I received the Royal Up email today for the third segment. I went by the Next Cruise desk as I had visited them upon boarding and asked what is available. I was told the same thing on both visits - no availability remaining on December 3, so apparently they are also unable to see any inventory being held by the corporate offices. The Next Cruise agent said he had never seen the email I showed him today.

 

The process looks and works exactly like the NCL bidding game except RCCL contacts at 24 hours in advance of sailing and NCL at 48 hours

 

I will chat with the Loyalty Ambassador at the cocktail hour tonight to see what they have heard. It is disappointing to see this started on RCCL company ships. 

 

I cant imagine NextCruise would have any interest in this

[aflyingbuttress]

I'm tempted to bid on a couple of cabins and see what happens through the RoyalUp Upgrade option. What happens if I bid on both a junior suite and a grand suite at the same time? Is there any chance I get stuck paying double if it does the junior suite and then the grand suite before I turn it off? I'm guessing they have a plan for such things, but I've never done this so I figured I'd ask. 

[RFerrington]

34 minutes ago, Froggy1369 said:

I want an offer. I feel left out! 

I know the feeling.  I was feeling like that too until....

 

I just got an email from my TA with an offer for my upcoming Grandeur Christmas/NY (12 nights) cruise.  We are currently in a GS and the offer suggests opening bids of:

 

$700PP for the Royal Suite

$300PP for the Owner's Suite

 

I doubt we will bid on either of these since all we would really be getting is a bigger room.  Not sure how much value there really is in that on good ol' Lady G.  The higher you go in room category the further forward they shove you and I don't really care for being forward.  We do love the OS though.  Will have to think about it.

[twangster]

14 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Mine is checked, nothing yet

 

I haven't minded not getting any promotional emails because I check my booked cruises often and watch the cruise planner for sales.  Not getting any promotional emails has had zero impact, until now.  They've basically excluded me from this upgrade system.

 

What a charlie foxtrot as RFerrington would say 🙂 

[RFerrington]

19 minutes ago, FLACRUISER99 said:

Funny thing is it works on board with Voom. Go figure?

That IS bizarre.  Oh well...at least one person could see it !

[firemanswife2]

I just received the email. We are on the Oasis of the Seas, March 3, 2019. Currently booked in a Boardwalk Balcony view room. 

Our offer is:     Aqua - 1bdrm $1,000

                          Crown Loft - $900

                          Owner's - $900

                          Grand - $600

                          Jr - $300

 

Not sure what we'll do. Maybe Aqua or Crown Loft. But would need to decide if we're going to stick with the Dlx Bvg pkg or let it go. 

Edited November 28, 2018 by firemanswife2

[dswallow]

10 minutes ago, aflyingbuttress said:

I'm tempted to bid on a couple of cabins and see what happens through the RoyalUp Upgrade option. What happens if I bid on both a junior suite and a grand suite at the same time? Is there any chance I get stuck paying double if it does the junior suite and then the grand suite before I turn it off? 

 

That's mentioned on the page with the offer; making multiple bids on different upgrades can increase the chance you get an upgrade; you'll only get one one them.

 

[RFerrington]

With as many "offers" as they have sent out on this first day, I can't help but believe that this is nothing more than an automated version of the emails that started going out about a month or so ago.  They were asking people if they would be interested in upgrading but then almost nobody actually got called for an upgrade.  I actually can't think of ANYone that got a call.

 

Many of the cruises seem to be pretty much "sold out" even though we all know that just b/c Royal isn't showing anything available on the website does not necessarily mean that the cruise really IS sold out.  I think this seems more like a fishing expedition than any real offers of upgrades.

 

Guess we'll see !

[dswallow]

Just now, RFerrington said:

With as many "offers" as they have sent out on this first day, I can't help but believe that this is nothing more than an automated version of the emails that started going out about a month or so ago.  They were asking people if they would be interested in upgrading but then almost nobody actually got called for an upgrade.  I actually can't think of ANYone that got a call.

 

Many of the cruises seem to be pretty much "sold out" even though we all know that just b/c Royal isn't showing anything available on the website does not necessarily mean that the cruise really IS sold out.  I think this seems more like a fishing expedition than any real offers of upgrades.

 

Guess we'll see !

 

For it to maximize potential revenue for RCCL, they will always need to have a much wider bucket of offers to choose from. There's little if any advantage to them doing any pruning whatsoever of who gets the offer email; all that will be different may be the starting bid amount for each category, as they'll want to have some base value to each cabin category that doesn't get challenged by use of auctioned upgrades.

[aflyingbuttress]

8 minutes ago, dswallow said:

 

That's mentioned on the page with the offer; making multiple bids on different upgrades can increase the chance you get an upgrade; you'll only get one one them.

 

 

Thank you!. I read that, too and totally missed it. haha.

[awestover89]

46 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

On the Q&A page that I tried to post (the link was blocked) it said that you could take any perks that you already had, with you to the upgraded room but no new perks.

 

That would be odd (but not entirely unexpected) since on the upgrade offer page when you get more details it specifically advertises "plus extra perks for suite guests" Personally, I'd be really upset if I bid on an upgrade after seeing that wording and then didn't get any of the suite perks because it was an upgrade and not a regular purchase.

[LuCruise]

One confirmation...if you have 4 in your stateroom and say it is $500 pp to start bidding for JS, then it would be $1000 more right?  If I understood correctly, you pay for 2 people.

[Cayman1]

5 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

One confirmation...if you have 4 in your stateroom and say it is $500 pp to start bidding for JS, then it would be $1000 more right?  If I understood correctly, you pay for 2 people.

 

That is correct. 

[STANMELB]

37 minutes ago, firemanswife2 said:

 

 

Great price for a Crown Loft. Just made final payment today for this cruise for a L2 Crown Loft, Price was $5863.

[Spunky946]

We got one today for our 12/21 sailing on Navigator of the seas.  We are currently in a verandah, and got one for a bid for a 

jr suite

grand 

royal and an

owners

 

We are a party of 4 and would love the extra room.  we bid on the grand suite and royal suite.  We shall see if anything comes of it.  Funny thing is that the cruise is showing sold out, so I don't know where they would put us.  

[dswallow]

It should've just been shown as an upgrade price for the stateroom. Simple. No need to then always ask about 3rd, 4th, 5th, et. al., people, or wonder about solo travelers or solos with 150% instead of 200% deals, or any other different solo percentage.

[grapau27]

17 minutes ago, awestover89 said:

 

That would be odd (but not entirely unexpected) since on the upgrade offer page when you get more details it specifically advertises "plus extra perks for suite guests" Personally, I'd be really upset if I bid on an upgrade after seeing that wording and then didn't get any of the suite perks because it was an upgrade and not a regular purchase.

Someone posted on the Diamond thread a picture showing the Suite upgrades perks were in line with Sky class benefits.

Are Sky class not JS benefits which are CK access only in which case there are no Suite Lounge access which is the main Suite perk.

[bthodges]

Just got the Royal up email for our adventure 6 night western Caribbean on 12-16-18. The 2 of us are currently in a promonade interior room that we got from a interior guarantee selection for 920$ total from our TA. Our offers are 

 

oceanview-50$/pp

ocean view balcony- 150/pp

panaromic suite- 300/pp

junior suite- 350/pp

 

based on the suite prices are they worth it for those prices? What all do the suites get above the stateroom catergories below it?

[Clarea]

9 minutes ago, bthodges said:

Just got the Royal up email for our adventure 6 night western Caribbean on 12-16-18. The 2 of us are currently in a promonade interior room that we got from a interior guarantee selection for 920$ total from our TA. Our offers are 

 

oceanview-50$/pp

ocean view balcony- 150/pp

panaromic suite- 300/pp

junior suite- 350/pp

 

based on the suite prices are they worth it for those prices? What all do the suites get above the stateroom catergories below it?

 

The majority of suite perks start at the Grand Suite category, which is not listed.  The Junior Suite gives you more space, a bathtub, and a few more minor things, but it's nothing like what you get in the full suites.

[John&LaLa]

39 minutes ago, STANMELB said:

Great price for a Crown Loft. Just made final payment today for this cruise for a L2 Crown Loft, Price was $5863.

 

Well, that is just the opening bid.  😉

[John&LaLa]

39 minutes ago, dswallow said:

It should've just been shown as an upgrade price for the stateroom. Simple. No need to then always ask about 3rd, 4th, 5th, et. al., people, or wonder about solo travelers or solos with 150% instead of 200% deals, or any other different solo percentage.

 

I would agree with all that except STAR.  That is way more than just a room.

[John&LaLa]

19 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

The majority of suite perks start at the Grand Suite category, which is not listed.  The Junior Suite gives you more space, a bathtub, and a few more minor things, but it's nothing like what you get in the full suites.

 

Panoramic Suite is supposed to get Suite perks now.  We have one next year

[mringenoldus]

3 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I cant imagine NextCruise would have any interest in this

Actually, Next Cruise and the Loyalty Ambassador were very interested as they had not been provided any prior information. Ambassadors had their initial conference introducing the program call this afternoon. The ambassador is going to place a call to his support services person to better understand how to address the issue  as to the D+/P complimentary upgrade.

 

There is most definitely is a minimum opening bid and the program presents identically to the NCL upgrade process. I always feel it is important to provide information - as long as it is correct information.

 

 

 

 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

 

That's just great.  I've been watching this sailing for an opportunity to upgrade. 

 

I can't get promotional emails because no one at Royal can get me added to the list.  IT, website support, C&A, my TA - no one can figure it out.   Even if I check it under my profile and the next day it's unchecked again.  

 

A program that uses something that relies on Royal IT as it's foundation is guaranteed to be a failure.  

 

I have had the same issue. I have not received  promotional mailings for the last 3 years and they could not figure it out. You are not the only person affected by their incompetence.  But low and behold after 3 years I got a Royal UP email for my January 13 cruise. I doubt the problem is solved, I expect Royal UP is outsourced to a contractor who has their own server. So you probably will get the Royal UP emails although not the others....

 

My opinion, I don't think the minimium upgrade bid from a balcony to all the higher catagories offered to bid on are a deal. I think if I had booked those catagories when I booked my cabin the fare would have been lower than upgrading now.  Also from what I know of the upgrade auctions on other cruise lines the minimium bids won't win. I am sure the excitement of this program will get quite a few to upgrade who don't do the math. My advice is to do the math. 

[Charles4515]

2 hours ago, molly361 said:

For those that have gotten the offers have others on your roll calls in the same category as you gotten them as well?  Just wondering if everyone booked in a JS would get one for that sailing or they picking certain folks for whatever reason

 

We have a group of about 20 on our sailing, all balconies,  and one inside cabin. Everyone got the Royal UP email.