RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[SailyaCruise]

On 11/26/2018 at 6:51 PM, ONECRUISER said:

Been cruising 30+ yrs on Royal, made Diamond 20yrs ago, Diamond Plus and should be P by 2020 and never received or offered an Upgrade. Only "Upgrades" got was changing cabins myself from a Balcony to a 2Bd/2BA or Jr Suite on my own when they were cheaper then the Balcony(D1 at the time)...

I’ve been lucky. I’m newly D+ after my Dec 2018 sailing on SOS, but in July 2018 I was offered an upgrade from my GS on the Symphony last December: a choice between (a) an Owner’s suite for an extra flat fee 0f $200 or (b) a Crown Loft suite for free. I was staying solo in a cabin, mother and sis shared an OV. I chose the Crown loft cabin because it has 2 bathrooms in case my sis wanted to use it. Mother is elderly and needs the bathroom often esp in the am. Loved it so much I booked Crown Loft again this time on my own dime. I consider myself lucky that I received that upgrade AFTER I received a $700 price drop on the GS BEFORE I received the upgrade offer. Of course I realize that will NEVERhappen again since they have instituted this upgrade bidding program, which I absolutely REFUSE to do. Either a free upgrade or I stick with what I booked. RCCI is squeezing every dime out of us already and should offer free upgrades especially to folks who have loyally sailed this line for decades. Onecruiser is the perfect example of the loyal RCCI cruiser who should get a free upgrade without having to pay for it. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by SailyaCruise

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, SailyaCruise said:

I’ve been lucky. I’m newly D+ after my Dec 2018 sailing on SOS, but in July 2018 I was offered an upgrade from my GS on the Symphony last December: a choice between (a) an Owner’s suite for an extra flat fee 0f $200 or (b) a Crown Loft suite for free. I was staying solo in a cabin, mother and sis shared an OV. I chose the Crown loft cabin because it has 2 bathrooms in case my sis wanted to use it. Mother is elderly and needs the bathroom often esp in the am. Loved it so much I booked Crown Loft again this time on my own dime. I consider myself lucky that I received that upgrade AFTER I received a $700 price drop on the GS BEFORE I received the upgrade offer. Of course I realize that will NEVERhappen again since they have instituted this upgrade bidding program, which I absolutely REFUSE to do. Either a free upgrade or I stick with what I booked. RCCI is squeezing every dime out of us already and should offer free upgrades especially to folks who have loyally sailed this line for decades. Onecruiser is the perfect example of the loyal RCCI cruiser who should get a free upgrade without having to pay for it. 

Loyalty has long been forgotten by RCI 

[SailyaCruise]

6 hours ago, Ashland said:

Loyalty has long been forgotten by RCI 

Yes my friend. I’ve only been sailing this line every year since 2001 and I’ve seen considerable diminution of services every year since. I note the increasingly inverse relationship between RCCI services and its prices, which eventually will drive me away to all-inclusives or land trips if this continues. I also note a lot of passengers from other lines new to RCCI. Good luck cultivating 10, 15, 20 years or more of loyalty to this line from folks who have sailed other lines and are in a position to intelligently compare with or without bias. Royal is doing absolutely zero to dispel its reputation of priciness. Having said that, I still enjoy the experience of sailing with RCCI but the continuous nickeling and diming is beginning to get to me. 

Edited July 29, 2019 by SailyaCruise

[SailyaCruise]

6 hours ago, Ashland said:

Loyalty has long been forgotten by RCI 

Yes my friend. I’ve only been sailing this line every year since 2001 and I’ve seen considerable diminution of services every year since. 

[seaotter15]

On 7/9/2019 at 2:06 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

So, would you say this final price is cheaper than your original opportunity to purchase a balcony?

Just got back from our trip and finally writing back. Yes, it was $1,000.00 cheaper. The balcony we got was partially obstructed, but it was the window washing ladder, and nothing bad at all. We all LOVED it. Not sure what the big hoopla is about port vs. starboard - we had great views all the time of both land and sea. At Icy Strait Point we could watch the whales from the balcony (with binoculars), but still awesome!

[swdke]

Is it possible to bid for two cabin categories?  This way, if one cabin category is not accepted, maybe another category will?  Or, are you limited to bidding on just the one category?  Thanks!

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, swdke said:

Is it possible to bid for two cabin categories?  

You can bid on all of the ones available in your offer.

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, swdke said:

Is it possible to bid for two cabin categories?  This way, if one cabin category is not accepted, maybe another category will?  Or, are you limited to bidding on just the one category?  Thanks!

 

You can make multiple bids.

[AnnaNicole]

Has anyone had their bid link expire?

 

I receive a "bid to upgrade" email in mid-June for my Aug 29 sailing.   I decided not to bid at that time.   I decided to look it over again today and the email link shows as an error on RCI page.  

 

I went to the link someone posted on this thread, but it says sailing must be within 30 days.   I am 31 days out.  

 

I have a balcony GTY that has been assigned, but my account page still show GTY.  My edocs show deck 11; which coincides with the cabin RCI told me was already assigned.

 

Does RCI revoke your chance to bid if you wait a certain length of time to respond?

 

 

[Biker19]

Just now, AnnaNicole said:

Does RCI revoke your chance to bid if you wait a certain length of time to respond?

Don't think so, try again later.

[Murphy]

The Royal Up page is buggy today.  Try a different browser or try later.   I got the error message on my phone but was able to get in on my desktop using Chrome 

[Ashland]

4 hours ago, SailyaCruise said:

Yes my friend. I’ve only been sailing this line every year since 2001 and I’ve seen considerable diminution of services every year since. 

Agree...I've been sailing with them since the late 1980's. I have tried Celebrity (very $$ for a comparable suite) and PCL (not sure what it was but something just seemed off). I guess I'll continue to stick with RCI the familiarity is so comforting.

[slyster]

3 hours ago, swdke said:

Is it possible to bid for two cabin categories?  This way, if one cabin category is not accepted, maybe another category will?  Or, are you limited to bidding on just the one category?  Thanks!

 

I was afraid to do that.  I wouldn't have minded bidding on a junior suite but I was afraid if I went for the JS and GS (upgrading from a balcony), they would grant me the JS and not GS based on my bids. 

 

I wonder how many placed multiple bids, placed similar bids and got the higher grade cabin.  

[Cruiser_1977]

I will admit I have not read all 125 pages of this thread. It appears offers come via e-mail somewhere between final payment and a few days before sailing? When I check the website, it keeps saying 30 days. However, when I look at some posts cruisers have received the e-mail offer long before that. I am VERY happy with my junior suite. But there seem to still be GS and OS available with 53 days to go....

[Biker19]

14 minutes ago, JennyB1977 said:

 It appears offers come via e-mail somewhere between final payment and a few days before sailing? 

No, more likely between final and 60+ days out.

[Biker19]

36 minutes ago, slyster said:

I was afraid to do that.  I wouldn't have minded bidding on a junior suite but I was afraid if I went for the JS and GS (upgrading from a balcony), they would grant me the JS and not GS based on my bids. 

If you want the GS, bid high on it. As @John&LaLa says, bid high and bid often.

[Cruiser_1977]

@Biker19 Thanks....guess I'll just be over here twiddling my thumbs until the e-mail shows up....

[Biker19]

Just now, JennyB1977 said:

.guess I'll just be over here twiddling my thumbs until the e-mail shows up....

or, at 30 days out, go directly to the bidding site.

[slyster]

27 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

If you want the GS, bid high on it. As @John&LaLa says, bid high and bid often.

You can only bid once until they reject it right?  I bid pretty low (not strong bid).  I like the cabin I have. The GS would be a perk though.  

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, slyster said:

You can only bid once until they reject it right? 

You can edit/modify your bid at any time up till the day before sailing.

[Ashland]

28 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

You can edit/modify your bid at any time up till the day before sailing.

Are you notified that your bid wasn't accepted and then given the opportunity to increase it ?

I certainly don't want to bid against myself. I'm still a bit confused on how this all works.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Ashland

[sandebeach]

2 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Are you notified that your bid wasn't accepted and then given the opportunity to increase it ?

I certainly don't want to bid against myself. I'm still a bit confused on how this all works.

No, you do not receive any information about how your bid is doing. But you can go back to your bid and check the strength of your bid, they have a little wheel-type chart that shows “poor” to “good” ranges. 

[Biker19]

5 minutes ago, Ashland said:

I'm still a bit confused on how this all works.

Other than the email acknowledging your bid, you get nothing other than an acceptance email (at any time) or more likely a rejection email the night before sailing

[Ashland]

8 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Other than the email acknowledging your bid, you get nothing other than an acceptance email (at any time) or more likely a rejection email the night before sailing

So, you do get a rejection but not until the night before the cruise? Wow that's cutting it close. I thought it was 2 days?

Edited July 30, 2019 by Ashland

[Biker19]

3 hours ago, Ashland said:

Wow that's cutting it close. I thought it was 2 days?

Up until a few of months ago it used to be noon-ish when the email came in, now it’s 6PM or later on the day before sailing. I think the latest acceptance email reported is about 3 days out.