Sky Class (Golden Balcony) post an accepted RoyalUp offer - Should I cancel "TheKey" now?

[xlairways]

Hi,

We have The Key booked for our Spectrum of the Sea cruise from Singapore that we booked as soon as we could add it.

 

Today we found out our cheeky low bid to go from a GTY balcony to a Golden Balcony (Sky Class) cabin was a winner.

As far as I can tell there is now no point in having The Key, but could I see if anyone has any experience that means we should still keep the key?

 

As far as I can see we will now get Voom with the Sky Class cabin and priority boarding/disembarkation in Singapore.

Embarkation Key lunch seems less tempting when we will have all day access to Golden Dinning room (Costal Kitchen by another name).

 

Any thought would be apricated before I hit the refund button.

Thank you
Dom 
 

[topnole]

If you have sky class, I would assume the key is pointless.  Just make sure you indeed have a sky class cabin.  I’ve never heard of a golden balcony so I don’t know what that means.  

[A&L_Ont]

6 minutes ago, topnole said:

If you have sky class, I would assume the key is pointless.  Just make sure you indeed have a sky class cabin.  

 

Agreed.  

 

6 minutes ago, topnole said:

I’ve never heard of a golden balcony so I don’t know what that means.  

 

Me neither, but there is a shower joke here somewhere. 

[Biker19]

49 minutes ago, topnole said:

I’ve never heard of a golden balcony so I don’t know what that means.  

That's a Spectrum thing.

[topnole]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

That's a Spectrum thing.

What’s it mean?   

[Biker19]

Just now, topnole said:

What’s it mean?   

They rename things which are known by other names on the rest of the fleet. As the title says - Golden Balcony is same as Sky class, though usually that sort of renaming was for only the China sailings.

[topnole]

28 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

They rename things which are known by other names on the rest of the fleet. As the title says - Golden Balcony is same as Sky class, though usually that sort of renaming was for only the China sailings.

Gotcha.  Just a name for the Asian market I guess.  

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, xlairways said:

Hi,

We have The Key booked for our Spectrum of the Sea cruise from Singapore that we booked as soon as we could add it.

 

Today we found out our cheeky low bid to go from a GTY balcony to a Golden Balcony (Sky Class) cabin was a winner.

As far as I can tell there is now no point in having The Key, but could I see if anyone has any experience that means we should still keep the key?

 

As far as I can see we will now get Voom with the Sky Class cabin and priority boarding/disembarkation in Singapore.

Embarkation Key lunch seems less tempting when we will have all day access to Golden Dinning room (Costal Kitchen by another name).

 

Any thought would be apricated before I hit the refund button.

Thank you
Dom 
 

Curious as to what the cabin number is you got the Royal Up  is?  this will give us a better idea in the American Market as to what category cabin you have. Then we would have a better idea if you got Sky or not?

Edited February 20, 2023 by Jimbo

[DaKahuna]

I also do not think that the free Zoom that comes with purchasing a Sky Duite vs Royal Up is included either.  It might be worth keeping the Ket for the Internet. You would need to price it out and see. 
 

[cruisetorelax44]

13 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

I also do not think that the free Zoom that comes with purchasing a Sky Duite vs Royal Up is included either.  It might be worth keeping the Ket for the Internet. You would need to price it out and see. 
 

that is incorrect. if you win a royal up bid, you win all of the benefits that go along with it. so if you have a sky suite now, you receive internet, early boarding, etc. the only thing you don't get is double points.

i would cancel the key.

[DaKahuna]

3 hours ago, cruisetorelax44 said:

that is incorrect. if you win a royal up bid, you win all of the benefits that go along with it. so if you have a sky suite now, you receive internet, early boarding, etc. the only thing you don't get is double points.

i would cancel the key.

That’s good to know.  Not sure why I thought the internet, along with points, did not come with the royal up. 
 

[clairebearinaus]

I have a related question - so sorry to hijack this thread with it but I didn't want to post a new one on a very similar topic.

 

I've heard it's possible (though unlikely) that a Royal UP offer could come on embarkation day.  Does anyone know if RCL would allow such a late cancellation and refund of any DBP, Key etc that would become unnecessary as the result of an upgrade?

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, clairebearinaus said:

Does anyone know if RCL would allow such a late cancellation and refund of any DBP, Key etc that would become unnecessary as the result of an upgrade?

Yes, most planner purchases can be cancelled on board for OBC.

[Coralc]

37 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Yes, most planner purchases can be cancelled on board for OBC.

Refundable OBC. 

[clairebearinaus]

Thank you both!

[ARandomTraveler]

14 hours ago, topnole said:

What’s it mean?   

 

14 hours ago, Biker19 said:

They rename things which are known by other names on the rest of the fleet. As the title says - Golden Balcony is same as Sky class, though usually that sort of renaming was for only the China sailings.

 

14 hours ago, topnole said:

Gotcha.  Just a name for the Asian market I guess.  

On the Spectrum, they have a lot more "class" separation on the ship. The solarium, a couple floors of the ship (I think 15 and 16, or maybe it's 16 and 17) and a couple dining rooms are reserved strictly for people in "star" and "sky" class, which on the Spectrum, are also sometimes called "silver" and "gold" class. 
 

The Asian market values class separation much more than the American/European/Canadian markets, and being acknowledged for their higher class status is really important, so they're able to make a lot more money on these cruises by charging money to be part of these classes. 
 

It's similar to paying for a suite on an Oasis Class ship and having star or sky class benefits, but a little more on steroids, and a LOT more expensive.

 

For example, on Spectrum, you can book a regular balcony, but you can also pay an upgrade and get a "Sky" balcony, which is just a regular balcony that you pay $12,000 extra dollars for, and now you can "unlock" an extra dining room and access to 2 more areas on the ship than the plebes that only paid $6,000 for their regular old balcony 😂.

 

You can also book a Junior Suite (on my 12 day Spectrum cruise, the cost is $10,000 for 2 people). But the junior suite only gets you a larger room and 2 loyalty points per night. If you want actual suite benefits, and you want to go to the special dining rooms and stuff, you'll pay an additional $8,000 for the "Sky" Junior suite. The regular JS might be star class, I'm not sure, but the description under the room just says "enjoy a great view from your spacious balcony," while the Sky JS says "Indulge in a comfortable suite and enjoy the extra perks."

 

It's so stupid. I can't imagine paying that much money for what I feel are really minimal perks. But people obviously do it. The ship is almost sold out. 

Edited February 21, 2023 by ARandomTraveler

[The_Big_M]

The above is true, but it also needs to be changed as it doesn't actually have the same inclusions as when operating elsewhere. When they didn't have the name separation it created confusion as the benefits and hence expectations were different on the different sailings, so people would get annoyed. Having them separated like this helps with branding and also means people don't argue that x should be included because they got it on a different ship.

[acuprulez]

1 hour ago, The_Big_M said:

The above is true, but it also needs to be changed as it doesn't actually have the same inclusions as when operating elsewhere. When they didn't have the name separation it created confusion as the benefits and hence expectations were different on the different sailings, so people would get annoyed. Having them separated like this helps with branding and also means people don't argue that x should be included because they got it on a different ship.

Can I get clarification on this?  I've heard mixed reports as to whether star class on spectrum is actually star class.  I even see genies listed for spectrum on the star class FB page so presumably star class must still be a thing onboard?

[LisaLisa87]

Here is the list of Sky class perks from Royal's website, including notes specific to Spectrum:

 

 

And here is a link to the page, which also includes the Sea and Star class perks:

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-royal-suite-class