Royal UP

[cvasto]

Has anyone ever made a bid on Royal Up that was accepted? Curios to learn about others who have successfully used this program and what their experiences have been. 

[Biker19]

Just now, cvasto said:

Has anyone ever made a bid on Royal Up that was accepted?

Existing thread:

 

 

[firefly333]

There have been various threads you might look for. The last 2 asked people to post who were not happy with the new cabin. Several posted about bad locations. As capacity fills dont count on being able to move.

[love to cruise 2017]

hi we have done it twice and been upgraded once. we have just bid again on our Alaska cruise in aug. we shall see. they will not tell you until 30days before...they want to sell as many as they can at normal price.  check your booking to see if cabin number has changed...

 

watch out we had friends who were in a great location but upgraded and got a room full of noise and bad views...not good. i always bid on couple of upgrades not too much in regards to money...you never know...what will happen. 

[cvasto]

I guess I am wondering if everyone bids minimum? Is there a suggested level to bid at? I know they have this meter there and I'm sure it is a gimmick to get you bid more. Just curious if bidding the minimum or slightly over works

[orville99]

2 minutes ago, cvasto said:

I guess I am wondering if everyone bids minimum? Is there a suggested level to bid at? I know they have this meter there and I'm sure it is a gimmick to get you bid more. Just curious if bidding the minimum or slightly over works

We always bid minimum, always bit at the last possible opportunity (usually within a week or two of the sailing), and only bid on categories where we can see the available cabins on the RCL website. We have "won" with this strategy four times so far. If we get an upgrade, great, if we don't, also great.

[Dewaldcruiser]

Know one here really knows.  The company that administers the RoyalUp program for RCI has never published their algorithm.

 

Immediately after cruising restarted and ships were running at less than capacity, smaller bids had a good chance at an upgrade.  Now that ships are close to 100% full, it may take a larger bid.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Dewaldcruiser

[jbklyn88]

6 minutes ago, cvasto said:

I guess I am wondering if everyone bids minimum? Is there a suggested level to bid at? I know they have this meter there and I'm sure it is a gimmick to get you bid more. Just curious if bidding the minimum or slightly over works

I bid on May 3rd for our June 17th sailing on Freedom on a few categories. We originally booked an interior. Bid on Panoramic Suite, Ocean View Balcony, Spacious Ocean View, and Junior Suite. Bid all a few "notches" over the minimum (ie $50 minimum, I bid $75). On Monday we got the email our bid on the balcony was accepted!

[cvasto]

Thank you everyone, these replies have been helpful and are inline with the strategy I am using for my cruise on the 24th on the Oasis. 

[OCSC Mike]

25 minutes ago, orville99 said:

We always bid minimum, always bit at the last possible opportunity (usually within a week or two of the sailing), and only bid on categories where we can see the available cabins on the RCL website. We have "won" with this strategy four times so far. If we get an upgrade, great, if we don't, also great.

 

Thanks for sharing this. This is my first time bidding and meant to ask what strategies people had. I bid very early and just slightly over the minimum but we're also not bidding on anything fancy as this is meant to be a cheapo cruise so when I say slightly I mean $5-20 on an already small amount. We're not suite people (unless my in-laws are paying, lol) and we don't use our balcony when we have one. I did make sure there were quite a few cabins available for what we bid on at least and didn't bid on anything with a possible location we don't want.

[RFerrington]

We have never won a RU bid so there's that...

 

...But my advice to anyone bidding for a RU is NOT to bid for what might appear to be an upgrade within the category that you are already in.  IOW, if you are already in a balcony cabin of ANY kind, do not bid on another [advertised as an upgrade] balcony category.  I have read WAAAYTOOO many accounts of people who were already in a balcony and bid on some kind of spacious balcony only to find out that the upgrade was really no upgrade at all.  So, if you are already in a balcony, START your bidding at JS and above.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

There have been various threads you might look for. The last 2 asked people to post who were not happy with the new cabin. Several posted about bad locations. As capacity fills dont count on being able to move.

 

I can bid on multiple suites for Indy this coming weekend, but passing because my balcony is right next to elevators 😁

 

Don't want to risk being further away

[OCSC Mike]

4 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

I can bid on multiple suites for Indy this coming weekend, but passing because my balcony is right next to elevators 😁

 

Don't want to risk being further away

 

Well played. Extra walking to elevators = less time to eat.

[John&LaLa]

1 minute ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Well played. Extra walking to elevators = less time to eat.

 

Stumble home from bars😉

[HicksRA]

One RU offer I got recently was for two junior suites. We were already booked in a JS. Couldn’t figure out why you’d want to bid from one to two JS’s. So you could both go to the bathroom at the same time?  

[smush21]

Jumping in here…. Is everyone offered a chance to bid for Royal Up or how does it choose who can bid?

[nferr]

Bid up from an inside to a balcony on the Anthem. Was fine.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, smush21 said:

Jumping in here…. Is everyone offered a chance to bid for Royal Up or how does it choose who can bid?

Most can bid. Some travel agents don't participate and if you booked with them you can't bid.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Biker19

[smush21]

7 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Most can bid. Some travel agents don't participate and if you booked with them you can't bid.

Thanks for this. Booked with TA but havnt been offered it, that might explain it.

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, smush21 said:

Booked with TA but havnt been offered it, that might explain it.

It could be other reasons as well. All of the Voyager sailings in Europe this year have received offers, so timing is not it (usually within about 75 days of sailing). Sometimes only the first person listed on the booking gets the offer - if two different last names are listed on the booking, try the other one. Go directly to the site and try it.

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, HicksRA said:

One RU offer I got recently was for two junior suites. We were already booked in a JS. Couldn’t figure out why you’d want to bid from one to two JS’s. So you could both go to the bathroom at the same time?  

 

Some JS's have two bathrooms 

[Jimbo]

3 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Stumble home from bars😉

You aren't going to have time for that cabin, best to just sleep in a corner some where close to the food. Heck it's only a 3 day cruise, I'm not even sure I know why you have a cabin?

[smush21]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

It could be other reasons as well. All of the Voyager sailings in Europe this year have received offers, so timing is not it (usually within about 75 days of sailing). Sometimes only the first person listed on the booking gets the offer - if two different last names are listed on the booking, try the other one. Go directly to the site and try it.

Thanks but no joy. We are on voyager this summer..Happy with our cabin anyway so it dosnt matter.

[John&LaLa]

17 minutes ago, smush21 said:

Thanks but no joy. We are on voyager this summer..Happy with our cabin anyway so it dosnt matter.

 

Tempted with 2 bed GS, but it's wayyyyyy aft

 

 

[Biker19]

39 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Tempted with 2 bed GS, but it's wayyyyyy aft

I assume a very low min bid?