RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, dleahy4444 said:

Biker19, I’m new to this board and not sure where to find the roll call thread. Could you help me out? 

At the top of this page there's a link "Find Your Roll Call" - search in there for it.

Edited June 11, 2019 by Biker19

[dodgestang]

9 minutes ago, dleahy4444 said:

Lol! Yes, the Royal Up seems like another opportunity to gamble. But actually the reason I’m hesitating to just book the upgrade now is the price point. I’ve upgraded to GS in the past for less than half than it would cost me now on the Symphony. I do love the suites lounge and the other perks that come with the GS but not sure it’s worth the extra $. 

I feel your pain.

 

The MAX royal up bid to get into the room I want was 1/2 the price of the direct upgrade cost even with casino discounts.  I still paid for the upgrade though because I really really wanted to make sure I got the room I wanted 😉

[dleahy4444]

Thanks for your reply dodgestang.  I’m torn on what to do. The ship is so huge that it would be nice to be in GS or higher to get the VIP seating at the shows and the priority departure as I’ll have a flight to make. But if we are in a suite we usually don’t buy the drink package as we aren’t big drinkers so basically we just meet the people in the suite lounge rather than socialize at other venues. If we stay in the JS we will buy drink packages and hang out more. It’s just my sister in law and I, so it would be nice to meet people and visit the schooner bar etc. Either way I’m sure it will be a great trip. Just want to maximize the potential 

[dleahy4444]

Biker19, found it thanks!

[RFerrington]

47 minutes ago, dleahy4444 said:

 priority departure as I’ll have a flight to make. 

Don't forget that full suites are eligible for complimentary Luggage Valet service so long as your airline is one of the participating airlines and you are sailing from one of the ports that has LV.

[dleahy4444]

I didn’t know that. Thanks for the tip

[ndabunka]

On 6/11/2019 at 8:45 AM, dleahy4444 said:

Ok I’m answering my own question, lol. I called Club Royale and they said that I could still participate in Royal Up. However they told me that people receive the email at random which was news to me. I assumed everyone received the email. I’m sailing on the Symphony of the Seas 8/24/2019. Has anyone received an email yet? I know that it is more likely to receive it closer to the sailing, however I read on this board that other cruisers on other ships have received it months in advance. 

As was pointed out in this thread, you don't have to "wait" for anything.  You can check yourself to see if you will be able to participate in the Royal Up! program on your own.  Just go to the RCI website and locate the Royal Up! page and then navigate (click a button) that reads something to the wording of "Check your Royal Up Status"

The link should look something like this 

upgrade.plusgrade.com/offer

Edited June 12, 2019 by ndabunka

[ndabunka]

On 6/11/2019 at 10:50 AM, dleahy4444 said:

Lol! Yes, the Royal Up seems like another opportunity to gamble. But actually the reason I’m hesitating to just book the upgrade now is the price point. I’ve upgraded to GS in the past for less than half than it would cost me now on the Symphony. I do love the suites lounge and the other perks that come with the GS but not sure it’s worth the extra $. 

Not certain what you mean about the "price point" as there isn't actually any ONE "price point" in the bidding process but rather it is a "range" of prices.  Many here have gotten their Royal Up bid accepted with a MINIMUM bid so you should be able to pick your own "price point" which would be a fraction of the actual costs... As long as you keep that bid under the "Strong" category.

Edited June 12, 2019 by ndabunka

[LadyShiva]

ndabunka, you misread dleahy4444's posts, by the way. We were discussing why they were choosing to bid versus pay RCI's current price.

Edited June 12, 2019 by LadyShiva

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, ndabunka said:

Not certain what you mean about the "price point" as there isn't actually any ONE "price point" in the bidding process but rather it is a "range" of prices.  Many here have gotten their Royal Up bid accepted with a MINIMUM bid so you should be able to pick your own "price point" which would be a fraction of the actual costs... As long as you keep that bid under the "Strong" category.

 

Could be 😉

[John&LaLa]

On 6/11/2019 at 11:13 AM, dleahy4444 said:

Thanks for your reply dodgestang.  I’m torn on what to do. The ship is so huge that it would be nice to be in GS or higher to get the VIP seating at the shows and the priority departure as I’ll have a flight to make. But if we are in a suite we usually don’t buy the drink package as we aren’t big drinkers so basically we just meet the people in the suite lounge rather than socialize at other venues. If we stay in the JS we will buy drink packages and hang out more. It’s just my sister in law and I, so it would be nice to meet people and visit the schooner bar etc. Either way I’m sure it will be a great trip. Just want to maximize the potential 

 

Sounds like the Key may meet your needs at a fraction of the cost

Edited June 12, 2019 by John&LaLa

[dleahy4444]

Thanks for suggesting the Key. I’ll look into that.

[notladjr]

On 6/12/2019 at 9:56 AM, ndabunka said:

As was pointed out in this thread, you don't have to "wait" for anything.  You can check yourself to see if you will be able to participate in the Royal Up! program on your own.  Just go to the RCI website and locate the Royal Up! page and then navigate (click a button) that reads something to the wording of "Check your Royal Up Status"

The link should look something like this 

upgrade.plusgrade.com/offer

This is good to know. Something I did not. I did learn when I found that link that you have to be within 30 days of your cruise to inquire if you can bid under the Royal Up program.

[dleahy4444]

Yes, I tried that. I’m 72 days out so that link is not working for me right now. I had read on this board that some cruisers had gotten an email Royal Up offer up to 100 days out on other ships  so I was just wondering if anyone had received anything for my 8/24 sailing on the Symphony. So far no one has responded. I’m in a JS now and I was hoping to upgrade to a GS or better, but the upgrade price was high for me so I was thinking maybe I’d get lucky a Royal Up bid. ( I couldn’t upgrade now on my own anyway, the category is sold out). Fingers crossed that I’ll get the opportunity to bid. If not the JS will be perfectly lovely and may even be a better option in some ways

[STANMELB]

Sailing on the Allure June 30, 2019. Booked a Junior Suite on June 6, 2019 for $2668 for the 2 of us. Bid for an upgrade for a Grand Suite, Crown Loft and Owners Suite when we received our invitation to bid. Our bid of $800 per person was accepted today for a Crown Loft. This will be the 4th time we have sailed in #1722 this year on an Oasis Class ship.

[dleahy4444]

Wow! Congratulations! Thanks for posting. It gives me hope! 😃 Have a wonderful time!

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, dleahy4444 said:

I had read on this board that some cruisers had gotten an email Royal Up offer up to 100 days out on other ships  so I was just wondering if anyone had received anything for my 8/24 sailing on the Symphony. 

Where did you read about anyone getting an offer 100 days out? That’s highly unlikely as that is before final payment. I think the furthest out I remember anyone mentioned was about 75-80 days and most are much closer in than that. 

[dleahy4444]

Very true. That was my recollection but the number was probably closer to 90 and I just generalized and rounded up. I guess I should have been more precise 

[ndabunka]

2 hours ago, notladjr said:

This is good to know. Something I did not. I did learn when I found that link that you have to be within 30 days of your cruise to inquire if you can bid under the Royal Up program.

I don't think you can access it if you have not paid your FINAL fees but if you have already paid "final" and still can't see it then you may not be offered the option to bid.  Seems that Royal decides on who they are going to offer it to as soon as you pay your final fees.

[rockwallroses]

Wow that acceptance was fast---we are waiting anxiously for our cruise this Sunday !!

[Ourusualbeach]

11 minutes ago, ndabunka said:

I don't think you can access it if you have not paid your FINAL fees but if you have already paid "final" and still can't see it then you may not be offered the option to bid.  Seems that Royal decides on who they are going to offer it to as soon as you pay your final fees.

If you access through the link it will not be available until 30 days from sailing. 

[ndabunka]

12 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If you access through the link it will not be available until 30 days from sailing. 

NOPE!
That DEFINITELY was NOT the case for us.  We got ours 59 days from sailing.  We booked and paid in full on April 7th.  We got our invitation to bid on April 17th.  We sail this Sunday so we got our offer to Royal Up! so naw, the 30 days shown is probably just a "standard" page for those who were not originally offered the opportunity.  Never know though, you could still get an invite.

Edited June 13, 2019 by ndabunka

[ndabunka]

1 hour ago, STANMELB said:

Sailing on the Allure June 30, 2019. Booked a Junior Suite on June 6, 2019 for $2668 for the 2 of us. Bid for an upgrade for a Grand Suite, Crown Loft and Owners Suite when we received our invitation to bid. Our bid of $800 per person was accepted today for a Crown Loft. This will be the 4th time we have sailed in #1722 this year on an Oasis Class ship.

CONGRATS!
It seems that the offers in JS are far more competitive than those who originally booked Balconies are receiving. It looks like your "last minute" booking (less than 30 days from cruising) saved you a boatload & then paired with a competitive Royal Up got you into the OPPOSITE of the "Cheap seats".  ENJOY!

Edited June 13, 2019 by ndabunka

[STANMELB]

26 minutes ago, ndabunka said:

I don't think you can access it if you have not paid your FINAL fees but if you have already paid "final" and still can't see it then you may not be offered the option to bid.  Seems that Royal decides on who they are going to offer it to as soon as you pay your final fees.

 

For our July 21, 2019 Allure cruise, we received our bid e-mail on May 23 ,2019. Final payment was made April 17, 2019

[Ourusualbeach]

39 minutes ago, ndabunka said:

NOPE!
That DEFINITELY was NOT the case for us.  We got ours 59 days from sailing.  We booked and paid in full on April 7th.  We got our invitation to bid on April 17th.  We sail this Sunday so we got our offer to Royal Up! so naw, the 30 days shown is probably just a "standard" page for those who were not originally offered the opportunity.  Never know though, you could still get an invite.

You received an e mail and therefore were able to access it earlier.

 

You now do not need to receive the e mail however without the e mail you cannot access the Royal up bid program until 30 days prior to sailing.