RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[parrotfeathers]

Just got my royal up email for Navigator 4 night.  $100 minimum bid to go from GS to owner's suite.   Should I bid?  Doesn't really matter if I get it or not.  I need to check to see where OS are on Navigator.

[SRV FAN]

8 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

Just got my royal up email for Navigator 4 night.  $100 minimum bid to go from GS to owner's suite.   Should I bid?  Doesn't really matter if I get it or not.  I need to check to see where OS are on Navigator.

 All you'd be gaining is a little more square feet in the room & maybe on the balcony.... now if it gets you better perks, that be different, but it doesn't. 

[Clarea]

10 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

Just got my royal up email for Navigator 4 night.  $100 minimum bid to go from GS to owner's suite.   Should I bid?  Doesn't really matter if I get it or not.  I need to check to see where OS are on Navigator.

 

If you think you might want to use the MDR room service, the OS has a full size dining table inside the stateroom.  Plus the separate shower without the big step up into the bathtub.

[parrotfeathers]

Thanks for replies.  I don't use room service a lot.  Maybe one time each cruise.  Now if it had 2 bathrooms I would go for it.

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

Thanks for replies.  I don't use room service a lot.  Maybe one time each cruise.  Now if it had 2 bathrooms I would go for it.

 

Well, the OS has a bidet if that makes a difference.

[parrotfeathers]

Just checked prices for OS.  Wow almost $5,000 before anything.  Even after grats, ins and fees I paid less that 2,000.  It may be worth $200.  Of course they prob won't accept it.

 

Haha did it just for giggles.  Will keep ya'll posted on this feeble experiment.

Edited August 30, 2019 by parrotfeathers

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, parrotfeathers said:

Just checked prices for OS.  Wow almost $5,000 before anything.  Even after grats, ins and fees I paid less that 2,000.  It may be worth $200.  Of course they prob won't accept it.

 

That's $25 per night per person, right?  I don't think that is a bad price.

[RickAinley]

Just reading elsewhere that someone sailing next week had a RoyalUP accepted. Due to Dorian the cruise has been cut in duration so they decided to take the refund (FCC) however they have refused to refund the RoyalUp payment. That concerns me. 

[ksmommy5]

I placed my bid and there are now 30 days until sailing. Currently, there are no rooms of the bid category left however that doesnt necessarily mean my bid is automatically not approved? 

 

Has anyone placed a bid, saw the ship was sold out, and then their bid had been accepted before sail? 

[Biker19]

Just now, ksmommy5 said:

Has anyone placed a bid, saw the ship was sold out, and then their bid had been accepted before sail? 

Yes, many reports of that.

[Ready2SailAway]

5 hours ago, RickAinley said:

Just reading elsewhere that someone sailing next week had a RoyalUP accepted. Due to Dorian the cruise has been cut in duration so they decided to take the refund (FCC) however they have refused to refund the RoyalUp payment. That concerns me. 

 

Do you mind sharing the link to that post?

 

[John&LaLa]

5 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Well, the OS has a bidet if that makes a difference.

 

Love a bidet

[CKCruising]

3 hours ago, ksmommy5 said:

I placed my bid and there are now 30 days until sailing. Currently, there are no rooms of the bid category left however that doesnt necessarily mean my bid is automatically not approved? 

 

Has anyone placed a bid, saw the ship was sold out, and then their bid had been accepted before sail? 

As long as there is a room in any category above yours, you can still be upgraded.  A room in your category may open up if someone in that category upgrades. 

[barbeyg]

Just got my email. RoyalUp from Jr Suite to Grand Suite, on 9 night sailing in 13 days on Anthem. Bid aggressively for the Grand Suite, on the higher end, since we got our Jr Suite for a bargain, and the total price with the bid was less than 50% of the lowest cost for a Grand Suite.

 

We also bit less aggressively on an Owners Suite and the Sky Loft. 

 

We are very happy with the result of our RoyalUp. At least, I am. I’m going to try to surprise my husband when we board. 🙂

 

 

[jltflrs]

Congratulations!  Enjoy your new stateroom 🙂

[CTCruiser76]

Hi - I have posted in other threads pertaining to GTY bookings and for help with possible RoyalUP upgrades, while everyone has been very helpful, I cannot seem to get the RoyalUP to work for our cruise. 

 

We were assigned our GTY Suite 14 days before sailing, which turned out to be a JS, which we are 100% happy with, but when I looked to see what was still available, there were 13 GS suite available for booking, so I thought we may be able to do a RoyalUP bid to sneak into a GS. 

 

Whenever I enter our last name and booking number, I receive an error saying, "Please ensure your sailing is within the next 30 days - Please ensure there are no errors in the information you entered" - Our sailing is 9 days out...so we are good there and I also spelled our last name correctly. 

 

The only thing I was thinking is that this was booked as a GTY through a TA, and not with RCCL - could this be the issue ? or Does anyone have any thoughts on what to do next ? 

 

Not that its a big deal, but if the $$ is right - we would absolutely love a GS....plus with Dorian here.....our cruise could possibly be light on people so.....just wondering.

 

Thanks 

[Biker19]

Just now, CTCruiser76 said:

The only thing I was thinking is that this was booked as a GTY through a TA, and not with RCCL - could this be the issue ? or Does anyone have any thoughts on what to do next ? 

Royal Up doesn’t depend on how you booked. Not all sailings and people are allowed to bid. Enjoy your JS and accept the fact you won’t get to upgrade via Royal Up. 

[SRV FAN]

12 minutes ago, CTCruiser76 said:

Hi - I have posted in other threads pertaining to GTY bookings and for help with possible RoyalUP upgrades, while everyone has been very helpful, I cannot seem to get the RoyalUP to work for our cruise. 

 

We were assigned our GTY Suite 14 days before sailing, which turned out to be a JS, which we are 100% happy with, but when I looked to see what was still available, there were 13 GS suite available for booking, so I thought we may be able to do a RoyalUP bid to sneak into a GS. 

 

Whenever I enter our last name and booking number, I receive an error saying, "Please ensure your sailing is within the next 30 days - Please ensure there are no errors in the information you entered" - Our sailing is 9 days out...so we are good there and I also spelled our last name correctly. 

 

The only thing I was thinking is that this was booked as a GTY through a TA, and not with RCCL - could this be the issue ? or Does anyone have any thoughts on what to do next ? 

 

Not that its a big deal, but if the $$ is right - we would absolutely love a GS....plus with Dorian here.....our cruise could possibly be light on people so.....just wondering.

 

Thanks 

 

Several posts have been made prior saying that you are not eligible for the Royal up Bidding if you booked with a TA.   

 

IDK for sure as we have had no problem bidding (never winning) for an upgrade we never use a TA... 

[Clarea]

12 minutes ago, SRV FAN said:

 

Several posts have been made prior saying that you are not eligible for the Royal up Bidding if you booked with a TA.  

 

Unfortunately, those posts were in error, but people will still see them and be confused.

[John&LaLa]

6 hours ago, SRV FAN said:

 

Several posts have been made prior saying that you are not eligible for the Royal up Bidding if you booked with a TA.   

 

IDK for sure as we have had no problem bidding (never winning) for an upgrade we never use a TA... 

 

I book thru a TA and I have bid several and won one

[irishgal432]

We use a big box ta and are not eligible. Ta have to opt into the program. This is what the royalup people told me when I asked why I couldn’t bid and confirmed by the big box ta. 

[Clarea]

27 minutes ago, irishgal432 said:

We use a big box ta and are not eligible. Ta have to opt into the program. This is what the royalup people told me when I asked why I couldn’t bid and confirmed by the big box ta. 

 

Someone else reported that too.

[reverie4401]

14 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Royal Up doesn’t depend on how you booked. Not all sailings and people are allowed to bid. Enjoy your JS and accept the fact you won’t get to upgrade via Royal Up. 

 

13 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Unfortunately, those posts were in error, but people will still see them and be confused.

 

7 hours ago, irishgal432 said:

We use a big box ta and are not eligible. Ta have to opt into the program. This is what the royalup people told me when I asked why I couldn’t bid and confirmed by the big box ta. 

 

7 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Someone else reported that too.

We are currently booked on a TP from Honolulu to Sydney.  Aussies are posting that they are receiving bids for RoyalUP.  But, of course we are not.  I checked the RoyalUp qualification page and I get the dreaded  "Please ensure your sailing is within the next 30 days Please ensure there are no errors in the information you entered."

Clearly, we are within 30 days and I submitted our correct booking number.  It appears that RoyalUp is selectively omitting some cruisers or focusing on one nationality.  BTW, I booked the cruise through Costco. 

 

I sent an E-mail to Royal for clarification.  If the problem is that the TA needs to opt into the program, Royal and RoyalUp needs to clarify that.  

 

Any advise?  

 

David

 

 

 

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, reverie4401 said:

...

Any advise?  

 

David

 

 

 

 

Your travel agent has opted out of the program.  I'd contact the travel agent.

[reverie4401]

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Your travel agent has opted out of the program.  I'd contact the travel agent.

You are absolutely correct.  Here is an FAQ from Costco Travel.

 

"Does Costco Travel participate in any cruise line bid-to-upgrade programs?  No. Costco Travel does not participate in any bid-to-upgrade programs, such as: RoyalUp with Royal Caribbean® or MoveUp with Celebrity Cruises. "

 

I would guess there is a cost to travel agents for working with RoyalUp.  Seems that Royal and Celebrity should note that exclusion in their advertising the RoyalUp program.  David