A chance to vent.

[Thom524]

We will be sailing on the Adventure this Saturday and we are getting daily emails wanting us to bid on an upgrade. What ever happened to rewarding lucky cruisers with upgrades for free? While we usually book a balcony we decided to book an ocean view cabin to just try to save some money and to see if we could tolerate not being able to just step outdoors. We are only platinum members and really don't expect or ever hope for an upgrade but these emails wanting us to bid $500 for a balcony are almost insulting.

[Clarea]

The upgrade fairy is deceased.

[twangster]

Insulting?  If you see them as spam mark them as such and automatically ignore them.

 

Before RoyalUp I never got upgraded.  Merely D then D+.  Many cruises under the old cloudy system that no one knew how it worked and never benefited me.  So far as RoyalUp it has zero impact to me and will introduce new revenue so hopefully they won't cut service in other areas.  

[molly361]

8 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

The upgrade fairy is deceased.

[NHProud]

This past October, we booked a panoramic view cabin on Adventure of the Seas #1803 on deck 12 .  We really enjoyed the large floor to ceiling windows with the two comfy chairs and table facing the windows.  We had the view without paying for a balcony. Fresh air was steps away .  It was a spacious cabin and we really enjoyed it . 

 

Our TA told us that RoyalUp was a gamble as you didn’t know where the stateroom is located. 

Edited January 13, 2020 by NHProud

[Magicat]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

Insulting?  If you see them as spam mark them as such and automatically ignore them.

 

Before RoyalUp I never got upgraded.  Merely D then D+.  Many cruises under the old cloudy system that no one knew how it worked and never benefited me.  So far as RoyalUp it has zero impact to me and will introduce new revenue so hopefully they won't cut service in other areas.  

The way it used to work was some where in the basement of Royal Caribbean a team of people would look at all the reservations that were linked.  They would determine if they were friends or family.  Then by spinning a "Wheel of Upgrades" they would choose one of the linked reservations for an upgrade.  Then they would see how good friends they really were.  Would they stay with their group of friends or ditch them for a category or two upgrade?  All a sinister experiment on the human condition.  And yes we took the upgrade and ditched our friends!🤣

[cb at sea]

They found out people would PAY for "upgrades"....this is why we have so many "for fee" extras...because folks think they're getting something better than others get....even tho they pay a premium for that "extra".....

[BeachChik]

You’re insulted that they gave you the room you paid for? How is it insulting that they aren’t giving you something for free? 

[Thom524]

59 minutes ago, BeachChik said:

You’re insulted that they gave you the room you paid for? How is it insulting that they aren’t giving you something for free? 

You will have to quote me from my post where I said that!

[cured]

3 hours ago, Thom524 said:

We will be sailing on the Adventure this Saturday and we are getting daily emails wanting us to bid on an upgrade. What ever happened to rewarding lucky cruisers with upgrades for free? While we usually book a balcony we decided to book an ocean view cabin to just try to save some money and to see if we could tolerate not being able to just step outdoors. We are only platinum members and really don't expect or ever hope for an upgrade but these emails wanting us to bid $500 for a balcony are almost insulting.

Is $500 the minimum bid or the maximum bid? And are you aware that the per person bid is only for the first 2 people no matter if you have 2. 3, or 4 in your cabin.  Passengers 3 and 4 get to go along with you to the new cabin for no fee.

 

Personally, I am pleased to see a for-profit company maximizing revenue opportunities that don't raise prices for everyone across the board.  Rather, people who want to participate, can bid whatever they want to spend for the chance to upgrade their cabin to a higher category, often still scoring a better cabin for less than it would have cost originally.

 

I also like the idea that everyone gets to participate rather than waiting around for the upgrade fairy to show up.

 

We were lucky. We did choose to bid the minimum and went from a balcony to a Crown Loft suite for far less than it would have cost us to put 4 people in the suite outright.

 

And it was a marketing win for Royal Caribbean.  We loved the suite so much we booked the same one for our next cruise. It was a case of not knowing what we were missing till we experienced it. Royal filled an empty suite, while still making a little bit of money on it, and gained another suite customer.

 

I am not sure how offering you the chance to upgrade to a better cabin for a price you choose is affordable is an insult. The chance of winning is still remote, but at least you have a chance.  With the upgrade fairy, no one has a chance, you just wait to see if they pick you. 

 

If you are happy with your cabin, put the email in your trash can. 

[chiguypaul]

This is typical of the entire hotel industry (as an example). Just what it is. Money rules.

[cured]

49 minutes ago, chiguypaul said:

This is typical of the entire hotel industry (as an example). Just what it is. Money rules.

That is true. We recently flew Lufthansa to Frankfurt and was given the opportunity to bid for the leftover seats in business class. 

[Junkhouse]

We might hate all these promotions to buy add ons, but in the end it makes it more affordable for people on a shoestring budget.

[ONECRUISER]

1 hour ago, chiguypaul said:

This is typical of the entire hotel industry (as an example). Just what it is. Money rules.

30+ years & 60+ Cruises on Royal, never scored an upgrade. But in 90's, 2000's and all way to this yr for $50-100 went from Main Cabin to First Class on dozens Flights....not complaining

[ONECRUISER]

42 minutes ago, Junkhouse said:

We might hate all these promotions to buy add ons, but in the end it makes it more affordable for people on a shoestring budget.

Got that right. Cruise base price is lot cheaper(half) now then 25-30yrs ago. Back then week at Disney Food/Hotel inc was cheaper, now the Cruise is

[icsys]

We have never received a RoyalUp email. If we did, I'm not sure we would participate anyway.

Best just to ignore them rather than feel 'insulted'.

 

10 hours ago, twangster said:

So far as RoyalUp it has zero impact to me and will introduce new revenue so hopefully they won't cut service in other areas.

 

This is a 'for profit' company so we can all be 'hopeful', but I feel we may eventually become disappointed.

 

7 hours ago, cb at sea said:

They found out people would PAY for "upgrades"....this is why we have so many "for fee" extras...because folks think they're getting something better than others get....even tho they pay a premium for that "extra".....

 

As long as people are willing to pay, and many people seemingly are, the upcharges will proliferate.

 

Edited January 14, 2020 by icsys

[grapau27]

11 hours ago, Thom524 said:

We will be sailing on the Adventure this Saturday and we are getting daily emails wanting us to bid on an upgrade. What ever happened to rewarding lucky cruisers with upgrades for free? While we usually book a balcony we decided to book an ocean view cabin to just try to save some money and to see if we could tolerate not being able to just step outdoors. We are only platinum members and really don't expect or ever hope for an upgrade but these emails wanting us to bid $500 for a balcony are almost insulting.

Personally I am happy if we are offered Royal Up or speciality restaurants discounts on board.

This gives us the opportunity to say yes or no.

 

Edited January 14, 2020 by grapau27

[LilBlackDress]

I never got a visit from the upgrade fairy and I for one was happy that I didn't. We normally try to book as soon as the itinerary is released so we can pick the cabin we want. 

Now with the RoyalUp option I don't have to worry about getting kicked out of my room by the Upgrade Fairy! If we do book late and don't get the category/room I prefer, I can decide if I want to bid or not... 

 

@icsys you can sign-up fir the Royal Up if you don't get an email but would like to participate...
Royal Up Offer

 

 

[Esmerelda]

We just book the cabin we want from the get go and watch for price drops. LOL.  We received at least 5 emails before we sailed on the Allure last September.  I believe the minimum was $200 pp to bid on a Jr. Suite FROM A an ocean view balcony (sorry, I don’t have email in front of me).  RC is a business and they want money, money, money. This is why the drink packages, the unlimited dining, the better seats at the shows, etc..  It’s all about the dollar.  I don’t care so much about the Royal Up program but the constant pushing of other packages while onboard drives me nuts. I just want to enjoy my vacation. 

[Ocean Boy]

I received two upgrades in the past before the Royal Up program was invented. I appeciated the upgrades but I doubt  that I would ever participate in Royal Up. I book a cabin that I will be happy in. If I get a better one for free that is great but I'm not paying any more to get one.

 

And back when I used to book two cabins next to each other I would not have even wanted a free up grade. It was more important to me to have cabins next to each other.

 

As to the original complaint, I don't really find Royal Up e-mails to be annoying at all. It takes little effort to click the delete button.

[BerlinLink]

does anyone know if those who book guaranteed cabins get these emails too? It would be kind of ironic IMO - I book a guarantee minimum ocean view for example. Now I can pay extra to get a guarantee balcony. In both cases, I don't know exactly what I get or get to pick my room.

 

Our very first cruise we booked a guaranteed (Costa, not RCL) inside cabin for cheap. We ended up getting an ocean view room and were very happy with it.

[waterbug123]

On 1/13/2020 at 4:53 PM, Thom524 said:

What ever happened to rewarding lucky cruisers with upgrades for free?

 

The same thing that is happening on airlines that used to give relatively last minute comp upgrades to first class to their most frequent flyers.....they figured out that they could make a ton of money by offering those seats for an "upgrade" price to others instead.  Now cruise lines are jumping on the same bandwagon. 

By the way, if you think $500 is insulting to upgrade to a balcony cabin for an entire week, try getting an offer from an airline to upgrade for $547 for a flight that is only 42 minutes in the air. 

[mskaufman]

We had the same thing on our December cruise.  Emails asking us to bid on an upgrade.  I thought the minimum bid was expensive and didn't do it.  However, I realize that RCI is running a business and are looking for a way to increase their bottom line. I'm OK with that as long as they deliver what I paid for.

[nadinenurse1]

Gotta tell ya I did bid and the suspense is killing me we board in 29 days lol And I check twice daily I am pathetically obsessed 

[deliver42]

Celebrity, NCL, and MSC are also doing the bidding process. I guess it works for them, but I've seen that a lot of people are unhappy the minimum bids offered.