RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[crbonfiber]

They should name it Royal Up Yours...LOL

[KiwiGal117]

Well... at the risk of being accused a cheer leader - no one is forcing you to submit a bid. If you are happy with your cabin choice - no need to bid!

[John&LaLa]

6 hours ago, grapau27 said:

When you got a free upgrade I could understand RC not giving you the extra C&A points.

With the new bidding lottery where people appear to be bidding mega money for suites I think the suite benefits and double C&A points should be given.

 

Who said anyone was bidding mega money?

Bid how you see fit

[scorpluvsdolphins]

Leaving tomorrow and got 2 emails today, one at 1:19 and the other at 1:20 saying my bids for tomorrow’s cruise on the Rhapsody was unsuccessful. 

[grapau27]

6 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Who said anyone was bidding mega money?

Bid how you see fit

My point is free upgrades are for a better cabin but paying for an upgrade especially where RC set a minimum bid should include all that cabins benefits including extra C&A points if applicable.

[John&LaLa]

3 hours ago, grapau27 said:

My point is free upgrades are for a better cabin but paying for an upgrade especially where RC set a minimum bid should include all that cabins benefits including extra C&A points if applicable.

 

Fair enough, but that's not the program Royal has chosen to put out there.  

[LB_NJ]

6 hours ago, grapau27 said:

My point is free upgrades are for a better cabin but paying for an upgrade especially where RC set a minimum bid should include all that cabins benefits including extra C&A points if applicable.

 

 

Some of the airlines give different amounts of points depending on how much you pay for a ticket.  Maybe RC is going that direction.  Pay full price get the extra points, pay discounted and you don't.

 

Anyway, they are upfront about how the system works.  If you care about points don't bid or bid less knowing there are no extra points available.

 

Again as everyone has said, buy the cabin you want when you first book the cruise.  This system is for selling unsold cabins after last payment and to handle last minute cancellations.

[island lady]

19 hours ago, grapau27 said:

When you got a free upgrade I could understand RC not giving you the extra C&A points.

With the new bidding lottery where people appear to be bidding mega money for suites I think the suite benefits and double C&A points should be given.

 

I agree...after all...you really are paying for the upgrade.  Plus...you cannot choose your cabin location.  😮 

[island lady]

12 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Who said anyone was bidding mega money?

Bid how you see fit

 

Have you seen the minimum bids on some of the suites....eeeooouch!  😮 

[island lady]

12 hours ago, scorpluvsdolphins said:

Leaving tomorrow and got 2 emails today, one at 1:19 and the other at 1:20 saying my bids for tomorrow’s cruise on the Rhapsody was unsuccessful. 

 

I got two emails two weeks ago for our Rhapsody cruise we are on one week from today.  First one was original offer, then second one was "reminder" to bid.  Anything JS and above on this cruise has been showing sold out for many weeks on several cruise websites.  This is more of a test I think, to see how many will bite.  

[grapau27]

1 hour ago, island lady said:

 

I agree...after all...you really are paying for the upgrade.  Plus...you cannot choose your cabin location.  😮 

Thanks,RC seem to be getting a very good deal and people are paying a lot of money especially for suites upgrades.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

 

 

Some of the airlines give different amounts of points depending on how much you pay for a ticket.  Maybe RC is going that direction.  Pay full price get the extra points, pay discounted and you don't.

 

Anyway, they are upfront about how the system works.  If you care about points don't bid or bid less knowing there are no extra points available.

 

Again as everyone has said, buy the cabin you want when you first book the cruise.  This system is for selling unsold cabins after last payment and to handle last minute cancellations.

As D+ I am not interested in the points.

We have had 49 cruises and booked 46 balcony or higher grade cabins that I personally choose.

I will not bid for an upgrade because I have paid for the cabin I want.

 

[crusinthrough]

2 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Thanks,RC seem to be getting a very good deal and people are paying a lot of money especially for suites upgrades.

The program is a win win for RC and just a win for passengers.  RC gets more $ (in some cases more than they would have priced the cabin), doesn't over saturate the loyalty program by giving double points for suites, gets marketing data for future pricing and some people will book the upgraded category in the future based on their experience. 

 

The consumer only gets a better  room at a lower cost.  This is still a win but in the long run a lot less of a win than what RC received. Those that bid the max bid or over, which in most cases more than the last selling price of a sold out category, actually lost and RC won more.

 

The system is designed to get you to bid more than the minimum with the prompt that says the minimum is a "weak bid" and the max is a "strong bid".  Human nature in a competition encourages people to bid higher to win and to see the word "strong" vs "weak".  

Edited December 29, 2018 by crusinthrough

[Biker19]

6 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Have you seen the minimum bids on some of the suites....eeeooouch!  😮 

Still well under the list upgrade price, though for the uninformed, the max could be more than the list price.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, crusinthrough said:

The consumer only gets a better  room at a lower cost. 

Maybe not always - when a category is sold out and one can't look up the list price, one could easily overbid (bid more than list).

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, crusinthrough said:

The program is a win win for RC and just a win for passengers.  RC gets more $ (in some cases more than they would have priced the cabin), doesn't over saturate the loyalty program by giving double points for suites, gets marketing data for future pricing and some people will book the upgraded category in the future based on their experience. 

 

The consumer only gets a better  room at a lower cost.  This is still a win but in the long run a lot less of a win than what RC received. Those that bid the max bid or over, which in most cases more than the last selling price of a sold out category, actually lost and RC won more.

 

The system is designed to get you to bid more than the minimum with the prompt that says the minimum is a "weak bid" and the max is a "strong bid".  Human nature in a competition encourages people to bid higher to win and to see the word "strong" vs "weak".  

Very well described.

[island lady]

16 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Still well under the list upgrade price, though for the uninformed, the max could be more than the list price.

 

I still prefer the upgrade fairy...the free one.  😉 Though I don't think we will see her any longer now with this new program.  😞 

 

Most of my upgrades have been through watching price drops and doing a self upgrade for little cost, or in some cases...no cost.  Those are the most fun!  🙂 

[Clarea]

23 hours ago, island lady said:

 

I still prefer the upgrade fairy...the free one. ...

 

 

I think she is deceased.

[LuCruise]

23 hours ago, island lady said:

 

I still prefer the upgrade fairy...the free one.  😉

Did this actually happen before?  On our last Mariner cruise, we got an upgrade offer...but it would have cost us money to move "upgrade" (which we never went for as it wasn't an upgrade in my mind)

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, LuCruise said:

Did this actually happen before?  On our last Mariner cruise, we got an upgrade offer...but it would have cost us money to move "upgrade" (which we never went for as it wasn't an upgrade in my mind)

 

We've had two free upgrades, but those were years ago.

[island lady]

25 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I think she is deceased.

 

I think you are right.  Her evil sister, the $$$ fairy,  shot and killed her...then threw her body overboard.  Sigh....  😞 

[island lady]

18 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Did this actually happen before?  On our last Mariner cruise, we got an upgrade offer...but it would have cost us money to move "upgrade" (which we never went for as it wasn't an upgrade in my mind)

 

I have my upgrade profile set to "automatic upgrade".  When I went in 2 years ago to print up my luggage tags on Serenade, I noticed the cabin number had changed.  Upgrade fairy had pulled us out of our D1 balcony into a JS.  That ship had been sold out for weeks, so that JS must have been a cancellation.  Loved the extra room for no extra cost, and what a nice surprise.  And yes...no cost to us at all.  😄 

 

However, the sweet upgrade fairy has not been seen by us since then.  😞 

[island lady]

20 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

We've had two free upgrades, but those were years ago.

 

I now take over as the upgrade fairy.  😉  I have several times upgraded for no cost when I noticed the higher cat cabins price drop, below what I paid for my current cabin.  A quick simple phone call, and it was done.  I have also upgraded for very little cost as well.  The fun starts after final payment has come and gone.  🙂 

[dam64]

Hi New to Royal but not new to cruising. So tell me what's this whole upgrade program about? It's on Anthem OTS. I just got the email and not sure if we should bid or not. Whats the chances it gets accepted if I put minimum bids on certain rooms. What was your experience like with this upgrade offer? Thank you kindly.

[3bzmom]

Booked on Liberty for 2/17 sailing and received the email today. Currently booked in an Oceanview room. Minimum is for a balcony is $100, Junior Suite for $250, or panoramic suite for minimum $250. Can’t afford to upgrade higher.

 

We booked well over a year ago, and I’ve watched prices. We got a good deal, and we are financially a little better off, So bidding makes sense for us.

 

I’m not familiar enough with a Jr Suite to know what other benefits you get. Any?  We have also booked The Key. If I got a Jr Suite, should we cancel The Key?

 

The website shoes all balcony and and suites sold out for that sailing, so none of this makes sense. I’d love a balcony room, but I’m afraid if we get a Jr Suite (assuming we won) my first-time cruiser husband will never cruise in anything less haha

Edited January 5, 2019 by 3bzmom