RoyalUP? (Bid for stateroom upgrade)

[compman9]

22 hours ago, Starry Eyes said:

I really don’t think it helps us with the algorithm.  The cruise lines do not have to show the public (or travel agents for that matter) every unbooked cabin at every moment in time if the cruise line does not wish to do so.  They could have cabins available, but not entered in public inventory right now.  Or maybe not; you and I just do not know.  Also, if I recall correctly, many cruises are now near final payment (30 days for May, 60 days for June, 90 days for July), and many of these were booked under CWC, so they could be canceled or rescheduled….so this might be a good time for the cruise line to retain some flexibility; unassigned gty’s are one way for a cruiseline to be flexible.  So, listing the gty category only is a way to sell the gty.  Also those who really want to pick their cabin, the temporary disappearance may motivate them to book as soon as the option reappears.  As far as RoyalUp is concerned, currently people in lower categories are being offered RoyalUp offers all the way to top categories, so those folks in an insider OV if they bid high enough might RoyalUp to a JS or higher without a balcony  person “relinquishing” their room.  Or they might move to a balcony and the person in the balcony moves to the JS or higher.  One never knows.

 

I think you're right because there are now 9 balconies and 11 juniors, which is more than there were yesterday

 

The cruise goes in 35 days, so I wonder if travel agents are now returning their cabins to the cruise line, or something

[Starry Eyes]

33 minutes ago, compman9 said:

 

I think you're right because there are now 9 balconies and 11 juniors, which is more than there were yesterday

 

The cruise goes in 35 days, so I wonder if travel agents are now returning their cabins to the cruise line, or something

Don’t May cruises have 30 day final payments?  Then it is not just travel agents, it is probably regular travelers.  Faced with final payment, now is the likely time some people will decide if it is go or no-go.  Some will likely decide no-go before committing more cash.

[FionaMG]

11 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

Don’t May cruises have 30 day final payments?  Then it is not just travel agents, it is probably regular travelers.  Faced with final payment, now is the likely time some people will decide if it is go or no-go.  Some will likely decide no-go before committing more cash.

 

Correct. And now that the protocols are out for departures from several European ports I suspect we may see some more cancellations as folks from across the pond decide there are too many hoops to jump through (can't say I'd blame them).

[ZoeyVictoria]

On 4/10/2022 at 8:38 PM, regg1216 said:

Did they move you.

Sorry for the delay, I do very little interest time on cruises.

 

Yes, after 2.5 hours on the phone they moved us to the deck 10 forward-facing cabin and it had been great.  Large cabin, and that large angled window is visible from the bed.  Stars and the moon, water and horizon, and arriving/departing ports.  We will try to book these cabins in the future, which is one of the reasons RoyalUp exists!

[garywatson]

On 3/19/2022 at 11:48 AM, luckyinpa said:

for a joke i put in the min bid on a royal suite. i heavily use my CC to get my rewards so the available credit may not be enough should the charge go through before my payment is due. if they try and fail to charge a bid do you automatically lose it or do they give you a chance to correct the situation. 

 

You get an email notification if the card is declined and a link asking them to try it again and another link to change the card.  You do lose your place in line, potentially, if more than one person has the same bid.  Otherwise they will try your (new) card in an hour or two.

[garywatson]

I bid $110 pp to go from an inside cabin to a balcony and was notified that I got it today, for a 4 night cruise which leaves Tuesday on Mariner.  An interesting warning - they don't seem to update your luggage tag images right away, so I guess you have to wait until the website gears grind for a day or more before re-printing them.  The boarding pass updates immediately.  You don't really want your bags being taken to the wrong cabin on the wrong deck.

[Morecruisesplz]

Our 2 x $200 RU bid for a Spacious Oceanview Balcony deck 8 on our 13 night Adventure cruise. Original cabin was an inside cabin at $417 each.

[Merion_Mom]

2 hours ago, garywatson said:

I bid $110 pp to go from an inside cabin to a balcony and was notified that I got it today, for a 4 night cruise which leaves Tuesday on Mariner.  An interesting warning - they don't seem to update your luggage tag images right away, so I guess you have to wait until the website gears grind for a day or more before re-printing them.  The boarding pass updates immediately.  You don't really want your bags being taken to the wrong cabin on the wrong deck.

On the other hand, you would know where to go and look.  🙂 

[SWACruising]

2 hours ago, garywatson said:

I bid $110 pp to go from an inside cabin to a balcony and was notified that I got it today, for a 4 night cruise which leaves Tuesday on Mariner.  An interesting warning - they don't seem to update your luggage tag images right away, so I guess you have to wait until the website gears grind for a day or more before re-printing them.  The boarding pass updates immediately.  You don't really want your bags being taken to the wrong cabin on the wrong deck.

 

The porters can hand write a tag with the proper room at the pier if it doesn't update. Did this with no issue 3 weeks ago

[Bethipoo]

Can anyone explain why Royal Up keeps cancelling bids? It tells me that they've cancelled my bid due to a change in my reservation.   I also notice that the types of cabins have changed and the starting bids have increased.

 

Customer Service told me they had no clue and gave me email address to ask the Royal Up folks - but I didn't received a response (its been a couple of days).  I didn't even receive a "we've received your email" email from them acknowledging the email.

 

I have had stateroom assignment changes - but it shouldn't effect my bids.  This happened to someone else on my sailing.

[garywatson]

15 hours ago, SWACruising said:

 

The porters can hand write a tag with the proper room at the pier if it doesn't update. Did this with no issue 3 weeks ago

 

Just checked - the luggage tag in edocs has been updated today.  So like I speculated, just had to wait for the gears to grind.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Bethipoo said:

I have had stateroom assignment changes - but it shouldn't effect my bids. 

Of course it will affect the bids - they are based on cabin assignment and when that changes, Royal Up resets everything.

[Bethipoo]

3 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Of course it will affect the bids - they are based on cabin assignment and when that changes, Royal Up resets everything.

oh ok - I didn't know that.  Thanks

[Morecruisesplz]

7 hours ago, Bethipoo said:

Can anyone explain why Royal Up keeps cancelling bids? It tells me that they've cancelled my bid due to a change in my reservation.   I also notice that the types of cabins have changed and the starting bids have increased.

 

Customer Service told me they had no clue and gave me email address to ask the Royal Up folks - but I didn't received a response (its been a couple of days).  I didn't even receive a "we've received your email" email from them acknowledging the email.

 

I have had stateroom assignment changes - but it shouldn't effect my bids.  This happened to someone else on my sailing.

It does change what your bid offers are if your cabin assignment changes. Minimum bids are different depending on where you start from.

[bucfan2]

9 hours ago, fredmdcruisers said:

It does change what your bid offers are if your cabin assignment changes. Minimum bids are different depending on where you start from.

The algorithm used seems impossible to figure out. For our upcoming IoS cruise, our min bid for GS/JS/PS are all lower than the min bid for the couple we’re traveling with….and they’re in a higher category room than us. 

[okiedrifters]

On 4/9/2022 at 12:29 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.

Same thing for me…did you find out anything?  Thanks! 

[SRF]

On 4/15/2022 at 8:22 PM, garywatson said:

I bid $110 pp to go from an inside cabin to a balcony and was notified that I got it today, for a 4 night cruise which leaves Tuesday on Mariner.  An interesting warning - they don't seem to update your luggage tag images right away, so I guess you have to wait until the website gears grind for a day or more before re-printing them.  The boarding pass updates immediately.  You don't really want your bags being taken to the wrong cabin on the wrong deck.

 

I had a late cabin change.  I ended up making my own tag, and bag made it fine.

[Mark_UK]

So I probably already know the answer to this one but feel a need to discuss..!

 

We have a sailing in about 18 days and a number of people found out today/yesterday that their bids were accepted. 

 

Sadly all of my bids bar one (max bid on a JS) are as of today showing expired. The JS says pending and I can't modify/cancel it. No charges to my credit card or email. A number of others are reporting the same.

 

It seems there are only 2 JS cabins now available from about 15+ a few days ago.

 

So I guess I'm wondering if I may now be on a bit of a backup list given others have already been informed and we will be upgraded if rooms become available? 

 

Or does the fact my bid is no longer cancellable and other bids expired mean it's been accepted? Perhaps they just need to wait for the rooms vacated by others upgrading to become available??

 

Never stayed in any form of suite so would be amazing if accepted 🙂

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by Mark_UK

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, Mark_UK said:

No charges to my credit card or email.

Just keep watching those - they may not assign all wins on the same day.

[mermaidgal]

34 minutes ago, Mark_UK said:

So I probably already know the answer to this one but feel a need to discuss..!

 

We have a sailing in about 18 days and a number of people found out today/yesterday that their bids were accepted. 

 

Sadly all of my bids bar one (max bid on a JS) are as of today showing expired. The JS says pending and I can't modify/cancel it. No charges to my credit card or email. A number of others are reporting the same.

 

It seems there are only 2 JS cabins now available from about 15+ a few days ago.

 

So I guess I'm wondering if I may now be on a bit of a backup list given others have already been informed and we will be upgraded if rooms become available? 

 

Or does the fact my bid is no longer cancellable and other bids expired mean it's been accepted? Perhaps they just need to wait for the rooms vacated by others upgrading to become available??

 

Never stayed in any form of suite so would be amazing if accepted 🙂

 

You’ll get that JS if you can’t modify it….🤞🏽

[Mark_UK]

16 minutes ago, mermaidgal said:

You’ll get that JS if you can’t modify it….🤞🏽

Fingers crossed! Definitely won't let me edit it, before I used to see the modify/cancel button. 

[Morecruisesplz]

1 hour ago, Mark_UK said:

So I probably already know the answer to this one but feel a need to discuss..!

 

We have a sailing in about 18 days and a number of people found out today/yesterday that their bids were accepted. 

 

Sadly all of my bids bar one (max bid on a JS) are as of today showing expired. The JS says pending and I can't modify/cancel it. No charges to my credit card or email. A number of others are reporting the same.

 

It seems there are only 2 JS cabins now available from about 15+ a few days ago.

 

So I guess I'm wondering if I may now be on a bit of a backup list given others have already been informed and we will be upgraded if rooms become available? 

 

Or does the fact my bid is no longer cancellable and other bids expired mean it's been accepted? Perhaps they just need to wait for the rooms vacated by others upgrading to become available??

 

Never stayed in any form of suite so would be amazing if accepted 🙂

 

They might be waiting to see if a new booking is willing to pay full price.

[kjc852]

With approximately 18 days until our May 7th, Symphony OTS sets sail, we were notified last week that one of our Royal-Up bids was accepted and our credit card was immediately charged.  We were previously in a deck 8 Jr. Suite and are now the excited winners of a 1 bedroom Aqua Theatre Suite with Sky Class Amenities.  Our bid, in the “weak”range, combined with our original payment for the Jr. Suite equates to approximately 55% of what the 1 bedroom Aqua Theatre suite would have cost if booked originally.  
 

We are - Happy cruisers!

[benkon]

16 hours ago, Mark_UK said:

So I probably already know the answer to this one but feel a need to discuss..!

 

We have a sailing in about 18 days and a number of people found out today/yesterday that their bids were accepted. 

 

Sadly all of my bids bar one (max bid on a JS) are as of today showing expired. The JS says pending and I can't modify/cancel it. No charges to my credit card or email. A number of others are reporting the same.

 

It seems there are only 2 JS cabins now available from about 15+ a few days ago.

 

So I guess I'm wondering if I may now be on a bit of a backup list given others have already been informed and we will be upgraded if rooms become available? 

 

Or does the fact my bid is no longer cancellable and other bids expired mean it's been accepted? Perhaps they just need to wait for the rooms vacated by others upgrading to become available??

 

Never stayed in any form of suite so would be amazing if accepted 🙂

 

Same thing happened to us on our last sailing.  Modify/Cancel was disabled about a week before our credit card was charged and we received the upgrade email.  Since their policy is that you may modify/cancel up to 48 hrs. prior to sailing, it would be extremely unethical for them to take that option away from you - unless your bid had been accepted.  I'd say that with 98% confidence.  Good luck!

[benkon]

1 minute ago, benkon said:

Same thing happened to us on our last sailing.  Modify/Cancel was disabled about a week before our credit card was charged and we received the upgrade email.  Since their policy is that you may modify/cancel up to 48 hrs. prior to sailing, it would be extremely unethical for them to take that option away from you - unless your bid had been accepted.  I'd say that with 98% confidence.  Good luck!

Correction: Two hours, not two days.