Dear Royal Up

[CFLRetired]

21 minutes ago, CFLRetired said:

Never bid on one, but it sounds fun to try. When is the earliest you can place a bid?

I found it online.  Thank you

[Biker19]

8 hours ago, 3kidsncats said:

I’m fine with no obc for lower fares after final payment, but don’t like not being able to upgrade anymore at current pricing.

That's a bit unusual - did you try more than once? If the fare you were trying to upgrade to was in the GGG flier I can understand as those are usually for new bookings only (and they sometimes stick to that rule), but you should be able to upgrade to "regular" fares after final.

[PolicromaSol]

Joking aside, I have heard of bids winning mid-cruise. People were talking about it in another thread.

[Biker19]

3 minutes ago, PolicromaSol said:

Joking aside, I have heard of bids winning mid-cruise. People were talking about it in another thread.

Not sure how that's possible - the latest win reported is late at night after sail away  - it could be that the winners didn't find out or move till later, but the win would have come that day. The denials come about 8PM.

Edited October 7, 2022 by Biker19

[Tree_skier]

13 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

We put in a minimum bid (poorest of poor) and got....

 

 

... a 2 story loft to Alaska on the Quantum this year.

Very nice!

[3kidsncats]

5 hours ago, Biker19 said:

That's a bit unusual - did you try more than once? If the fare you were trying to upgrade to was in the GGG flier I can understand as those are usually for new bookings only (and they sometimes stick to that rule), but you should be able to upgrade to "regular" fares after final.

It was just the posted fare on the website — and they will upgrade you.  They just add an additional fee in the $50-200 range over and above the website pricing.  And yes, I was quite taken aback as we have upgraded after final payment several times, and never had this issue.  I called more than once.  It’s a new policy, apparently. But definitely changes the way I will approach future bookings as I’m quite a fan of being able to upgrade with more flexibility.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, 3kidsncats said:

It was just the posted fare on the website — and they will upgrade you.  They just add an additional fee in the $50-200 range over and above the website pricing.  

Again, if the web site fare you saw is a restricted fare, like new bookings only, they could be quoting you the next up fare without restrictions. @Ourusualbeach can perhaps provide some insight.

[3kidsncats]

15 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Again, if the web site fare you saw is a restricted fare, like new bookings only, they could be quoting you the next up fare without restrictions. @Ourusualbeach can perhaps provide some insight.

I did not see any restrictions noted on the fare, and it was much the same as previous cruises when i was able to upgrade.  Both reps told me that the policy had changed.  I generally don’t take what they say as accurate, because there can be a lot of variance in what you are told at any given time, but in this case, it seemed they were all sticking to it.  

[Ourusualbeach]

30 minutes ago, 3kidsncats said:

It was just the posted fare on the website — and they will upgrade you.  They just add an additional fee in the $50-200 range over and above the website pricing.  And yes, I was quite taken aback as we have upgraded after final payment several times, and never had this issue.  I called more than once.  It’s a new policy, apparently. But definitely changes the way I will approach future bookings as I’m quite a fan of being able to upgrade with more flexibility.

I have upgraded 2 clients this past week with no issues.  No additional charges above what the website pricing is.

 

How does that charge appear on the invoice?

 

Also, many people forget that taxes and fees do not get adjusted.  What looks like a lower price on the website turns out to be actually higher because it was the taxes that dropped.

[3kidsncats]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

I have upgraded 2 clients this past week with no issues.  No additional charges above what the website pricing is.

 

How does that charge appear on the invoice?

 

Also, many people forget that taxes and fees do not get adjusted.  What looks like a lower price on the website turns out to be actually higher because it was the taxes that dropped.

I factored in the taxes and fees.  Like I said, I can only go by what info was noted on the website (did not see any restrictions noted) and what I was told by two different reps.  

[Starry Eyes]

6 hours ago, 3kidsncats said:

It was just the posted fare on the website — and they will upgrade you.  They just add an additional fee in the $50-200 range over and above the website pricing.  And yes, I was quite taken aback as we have upgraded after final payment several times, and never had this issue.  I called more than once.  It’s a new policy, apparently. But definitely changes the way I will approach future bookings as I’m quite a fan of being able to upgrade with more flexibility.

Does your booking include FCC’s?  My invoices seemed more complicated and I found it more challenging to figure out upgrade costs or price drops when I had FCC’s.  Phone Reps also sometimes seemed to struggle with them (for example, one rep promised me a refund I later learned I was not due).

[DukeASUGirl]

On 10/4/2022 at 4:04 PM, poocher said:

Funny that Royal up’s happen that close.  Perhaps I don’t understand the concept.  I assumed the program was designed to free up rooms Royal could reasonably expect to be able to sell again while getting a few bucks more for ones they thought they couldn’t.  I would think 2 days before sailing, the chance of selling the lower category room would be slim to none.  I guess, depending on the bid, it’s still more revenue.  But seems kinda pointless.🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

 

When you're just a few days before sailing - or even on sailaway day itself - it becomes statistically unlikely that they'll get any more reservations, so if there are any cancellations for the higher-priced cabins or they would otherwise go unsold, Royal is going to see if they can get any "free money" out of people who are otherwise going. That room would just go empty, so if they can get an extra $100+ per person (or more), why not?

[3kidsncats]

4 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

Does your booking include FCC’s?  My invoices seemed more complicated and I found it more challenging to figure out upgrade costs or price drops when I had FCC’s.  Phone Reps also sometimes seemed to struggle with them (for example, one rep promised me a refund I later learned I was not due).

Nope.  It was a relatively new booking with no fcc.

[orville99]

10 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

Does your booking include FCC’s?  My invoices seemed more complicated and I found it more challenging to figure out upgrade costs or price drops when I had FCC’s.  Phone Reps also sometimes seemed to struggle with them (for example, one rep promised me a refund I later learned I was not due).

Sometimes when they are dealing with FCCs it works in your favor. We had one cruise where the FCCs were applied twice so the cruise ended up costing us virtually nothing.