RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[regg1216]

On 4/8/2022 at 6:14 PM, ZoeyVictoria said:

Update:  I was notified today that I won one of my bids.  Earlier this morning, one changed to “unavailable” and two still showed pending with the option to modify/cancel.  This afternoon, I was upgraded from an inside to an ocean view for $90 total.  There were five other OVs available, and I asked to be moved to a front-facing cabin on deck 10.  

Did they move you.

[RCCL Fan]

I know there's this complicated algorithm to RoyalUp and all....  but I'm trying to figure out this one.

 

On an upcoming cruise, I bid $635pp to upgrade to a GS from a spacious balcony  

 

A friend on the exact same cruise bid $410pp to upgrade to a GS from a spacious balcony.

 

She won, I didn't.    

 

I thought this algorithm was supposed to maximize the money, but in this case it apparently went with the lower offer.  So weird...

[Ourusualbeach]

40 minutes ago, RCCL Fan said:

I know there's this complicated algorithm to RoyalUp and all....  but I'm trying to figure out this one.

 

On an upcoming cruise, I bid $635pp to upgrade to a GS from a spacious balcony  

 

A friend on the exact same cruise bid $410pp to upgrade to a GS from a spacious balcony.

 

She won, I didn't.    

 

I thought this algorithm was supposed to maximize the money, but in this case it apparently went with the lower offer.  So weird...

It also takes onto account non monetary factors like new cruisers they are trying to impress and get to cruise more often.

 

 

[Morecruisesplz]

11 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It also takes onto account non monetary factors like new cruisers they are trying to impress and get to cruise more often.

 

 

So not extra points for C&A status?

[RCCL Fan]

29 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It also takes onto account non monetary factors like new cruisers they are trying to impress and get to cruise more often.

 

 

Really???  I always led to believe it was purely money.    interesting...

[Ourusualbeach]

17 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

So not extra points for C&A status?

Could be but I would bet there are more points the lower you are.  Soemone that is a higher tier has already shown they will sail Royal.  They want to entice the new to Royal or lower tiers to keep them coming back.

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, RCCL Fan said:

Really???  I always led to believe it was purely money.    interesting...

So many posts like yours where money does not factor in that leads me to this conclusion.

[mermaidgal]

Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

Could be but I would bet there are more points the lower you are.  Soemone that is a higher tier has already shown they will sail Royal.  They want to entice the new to Royal or lower tiers to keep them coming back.

 

1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Could be but I would bet there are more points the lower you are.  Soemone that is a higher tier has already shown they will sail Royal.  They want to entice the new to Royal or lower tiers to keep them coming back.

I am a Diamond Plus cruiser and I won 2 Royal up bids last month with minimum bids so I’m not sure that’s the case. I’m on my 46th cruise with RC in two weeks, waiting on my bid result for that cruise….

[cublet]

On 4/9/2022 at 6:29 PM, cublet said:

Hello,

 

Whom should I contact as my RoyalUp bid page is showing me in an incorrect cabin - balcony not JS?

 

It probably isn't that simple but I would presume, should it be corrected, that the various suite bids' costs would reduce by the 'balcony to JS' bid cost.

 

Thanks and Regards,

 

Cublet.

Hello,

 

There was a slight down-time in RCI's website Sunday morning (my time). When normal service was resumed, my RoyalUp options screen correctly showed my cabin as a JS not balcony.

 

Interestingly however, the cost of all the upgrade options were the same then (from a JS) as they had been before (from a balcony).

 

I'm sure Plugrade talk a good game to Royal but I think there's less science behind RoyalUp than there is alchemy.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[tuxieloaf]

What category "poor, fair, etc." would be competitive for bidding on a balcony or oceanview from an interior on a highly booked cruise?

[Cruise a holic]

2 hours ago, tuxieloaf said:

What category "poor, fair, etc." would be competitive for bidding on a balcony or oceanview from an interior on a highly booked cruise?

Fair and above.  All depends upon what is available.  I would "assume" the higher the bid, the more likely you are to actually get the cabin.  

[SRF]

16 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It also takes onto account non monetary factors like new cruisers they are trying to impress and get to cruise more often.

 

Do you actually know the algorithm?  

[Starry Eyes]

19 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

I know there's this complicated algorithm to RoyalUp and all....  but I'm trying to figure out this one.

 

On an upcoming cruise, I bid $635pp to upgrade to a GS from a spacious balcony  

 

A friend on the exact same cruise bid $410pp to upgrade to a GS from a spacious balcony.

 

She won, I didn't.    

 

I thought this algorithm was supposed to maximize the money, but in this case it apparently went with the lower offer.  So weird...

It is really hard to know why such things happen. None of us know the algorithm or the reasons some things happen.  I would point out that sometimes the cruiseline needs to move a passenger to clear a cabin (for example covid-related spacing or perhaps some weird booking issue like a double booking or whatever else happen).  If I were running the show and such a circumstance arose, rather than angering people by involuntarily moving them, I’d look at RoyalUp bids.  If your friend’s spacious balcony cabin were the best way solve such a problem, I’d likely instruct PlusGrade to accept that bid if it were within my power, even if there were multiple higher bids.  That might leave somebody else with a higher bid scratching their head, but the problem (the type of thing that causes multiple pages of outrage on cc if not solved😀) is quietly and quickly resolved.

 

Also, I don’t know about you, but I have a few friends who like to brag about great deals and gambling wins and stock picks and such, though I’m pretty sure many (if not all) those stories are wildly embellished.  I’d take their stories of RoyalUp wins with a grain of salt.

[Jerseygirl1416]

20 hours ago, RCCL Fan said:

I know there's this complicated algorithm to RoyalUp and all....  but I'm trying to figure out this one.

 

On an upcoming cruise, I bid $635pp to upgrade to a GS from a spacious balcony  

 

A friend on the exact same cruise bid $410pp to upgrade to a GS from a spacious balcony.

 

She won, I didn't.    

 

I thought this algorithm was supposed to maximize the money, but in this case it apparently went with the lower offer.  So weird...

Maybe she paid more for her original cabin so with the lower bid she still ended up paying more than you? I think what you pay for your original cabin has an effect on your bid range amounts.

[Morecruisesplz]

22 hours ago, mermaidgal said:

 

I am a Diamond Plus cruiser and I won 2 Royal up bids last month with minimum bids so I’m not sure that’s the case. I’m on my 46th cruise with RC in two weeks, waiting on my bid result for that cruise….

We are in the same boat! (Not literally.) We are at 42 but also D+,  18 days til our next cruise.

[mermaidgal]

1 hour ago, fredmdcruisers said:

We are in the same boat! (Not literally.) We are at 42 but also D+,  18 days til our next cruise.

I keep checking my email for that Congratulatory bid upgrade! 🤞🏽🤞🏽

[sgmn]

9 hours ago, SRF said:

 

Do you actually know the algorithm?  

They only time we got a free upgrade (before RoyalUp) was on our second cruise. Anecdotally for instance,  it seemed new cruisers in inside or Ocean View got offered a neighbourhood balcony or an inside to ocean view.  This was pre RoyalUp when the upgrade fairy was alive and well 

[MandyMooToo]

So I am curious about something.  I thought that you could only bid one or two categories above your original booking (we booked an interior last year and were offered ocean view and balcony RoyalUps but could not bid on jr suites, etc., for example).  I saw a post today on another site saying they went from an interior guarantee to a GS...

[FionaMG]

2 minutes ago, MandyMooToo said:

So I am curious about something.  I thought that you could only bid one or two categories above your original booking (we booked an interior last year and were offered ocean view and balcony RoyalUps but could not bid on jr suites, etc., for example).  I saw a post today on another site saying they went from an interior guarantee to a GS...

 

That was originally the case. Last September, when we sailed on Harmony in BW Balcony cabins, we were only offered the option to bid as far as a JS. However, for our upcoming cruise on Odyssey, where we have an obstructed balcony cabin, we had the option to bid all the way up to a Royal Loft Suite.

 

[jaygatsby27]

1 hour ago, MandyMooToo said:

So I am curious about something.  I thought that you could only bid one or two categories above your original booking (we booked an interior last year and were offered ocean view and balcony RoyalUps but could not bid on jr suites, etc., for example).  I saw a post today on another site saying they went from an interior guarantee to a GS...

i saw that, too.  A bit of a unicorn.  

[jaygatsby27]

17 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

It is really hard to know why such things happen. None of us know the algorithm or the reasons some things happen.  I would point out that sometimes the cruiseline needs to move a passenger to clear a cabin (for example covid-related spacing or perhaps some weird booking issue like a double booking or whatever else happen).  If I were running the show and such a circumstance arose, rather than angering people by involuntarily moving them, I’d look at RoyalUp bids.  If your friend’s spacious balcony cabin were the best way solve such a problem, I’d likely instruct PlusGrade to accept that bid if it were within my power, even if there were multiple higher bids.  That might leave somebody else with a higher bid scratching their head, but the problem (the type of thing that causes multiple pages of outrage on cc if not solved😀) is quietly and quickly resolved.

 

Also, I don’t know about you, but I have a few friends who like to brag about great deals and gambling wins and stock picks and such, though I’m pretty sure many (if not all) those stories are wildly embellished.  I’d take their stories of RoyalUp wins with a grain of salt.

Yes, it wouldn't surprise me if there was fibbing going on. 

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, MandyMooToo said:

I thought that you could only bid two categories above your original booking

That limitation seems to have been lifted for some/most this year.

[Morecruisesplz]

2 hours ago, Biker19 said:

That limitation seems to have been lifted for some/most this year.

Yes, our next cruise is in 3 weeks. We were offered to bid on everything from an additional cabin of same type to a 2 bedroom Grand Suite. 

[jaygatsby27]

1 hour ago, fredmdcruisers said:

Yes, our next cruise is in 3 weeks. We were offered to bid on everything from an additional cabin of same type to a 2 bedroom Grand Suite. 

me too but i didnt win any of my rather high bids.  So it goes. 

[compman9]

For the fun of those trying to work out the process / algorithms etc.

 

Yesterday there were five balconies left on our cruise. 

This afternoon, there were four.

This evening, it says only guarantees are available, which logic would suggest means they have run out, and this would require RoyalUps to relinquish their balcony rooms.

 

I have no idea if that means anything, just want to join in the speculation 😬