RoyalUp - not for everyone

[little britain]

3 hours ago, topnole said:

We just book through Royal.  Never been able to bid.  

Also booked via RCI UK direct.

 

@Big_GTried the ad blocker thingie - no joy! Thanks for suggestion.

[zebra36]

A late bloomer to the smart phone but looks like this is here to stay.

[Mum2Mercury]

8 hours ago, robmtx said:

Bean counters don't manage this program. In fact, it's managed by an outside company altogether ...

Eh, but bean counters work for that outside company, their goal being to maximize room revenue for Royal.  

7 hours ago, parrotfeathers said:

I don't think it's based necessarily on the bid amount, but more on cabin levels the need to fill.  I got upgraded from a GS to an owner's suite for the $100 minimum bid.  I was very surprised.

Exactly ... they want to create a chain in which someone moves from an inside to a balcony, that balcony moves to a Jr. Suite, the Jr. Suite moves to a full suite.  Every person at every level pays something ... and Royal wins.  

7 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

The Royal Up program is not out to get you.

 

Its algorithms on who is able to bid is completely based on supply and demand for that particular cruise.

Right ... but we, the customers, will never fully grasp the algorithm because every cruise is different in terms of how many people reserve the cheap rooms vs. the suites, and that information is hidden from our view. 

[fpcruiser]

I got my email at 70 days and bid right away. My minimum bid was accepted 2 out of 4 times.

[storkington]

This will be our first RCI cruise, so will be interesting to see if we can upgrade. Our cruise is still 189 days out, so assume it is way too early for any upgrades. Although, I did try to get into the RoyalUp website, but alas get the "30 days" message. Fingers crossed for later in the year, although we are quite happy with our current cabin, but you just never know what might be on offer I guess.

[resetjet]

I wanted an owners suite so i bid $1000 each.  We got it.  Free casino cruise anyway.  I think that landed me on the “sucker” list so now i always get to bid. 

[resetjet]

I also think if you are assigned or have picked certain room categories,  ie less desirable or handicap,  you wont be able to bid.

Edited March 2, 2023 by resetjet

[cruisegus]

6 hours ago, robmtx said:

Ok I'm bored today. Here's an example of how a RU decision might be made. I'm using the knowledge someone shared that they went from a GS to OS for $100. I'm also basing this on a similar scheme from another industry (not travel), that generates revenue in a familiar way.

 

It's all about revenue. So let's look at two Royal Up "Tree" scenarios, and why one scenario might get chosen over another, despite someone getting an OS for $100.

 

Accepted Bid Tree
1. Inside RU to > Balcony $200
2. Then Balcony RU to > JR Suite $400
3. Then Jr Suite RU to > GS = $700
4. Finally GS RU to > OS = $100
Total rev generated = $1,400

 

Rejected Bid Tree
1. Balcony RU to > OS = $700
2. Then Inside RU to > Balcony $200 (to fill the empty cabin created by step 1)
Total rev generated = $900

 

So, in this fictional example, the cruise line had an OS available. Rather than just giving it to someone who bid $700, they give it someone who bid $100 because that generated a better revenue stream overall.

Fault in you scenario is Rejected tree does not include the empty JS and GS from the Accepted tree.

 

Comparisons need to be applied to apple and orange to orange, so you have to account for all empty cabins, I'm sure the 3rd parties algorithm looks at all possible scenarios given the parameters from royal.

 

[Wanna Be Retired]

11 hours ago, parrotfeathers said:

I don't think it's based necessarily on the bid amount, but more on cabin levels the need to fill.  I got upgraded from a GS to an owner's suite for the $100 minimum bid.  I was very surprised.

I just got upgraded from a junior suite to a grand suite for the minimum bid and I’m still 23 days out.  I got notified about 3 days ago.

[SNemeth]

12 hours ago, little britain said:

I’m wondering whether the early bidders push up the prices for the 30 dayers?

 

So say the guideline bids now for a balcony are $100-$300 and the early bidders all bid $300… when it opens for all at 30 days; will the guideline then be $300-$500 ? 
 

I’m not seeing any advantages to bidding early as cabins aren’t allocated until sailing and if my theory works, you’re only pushing prices up and you’ll be outbid! 

I am 1 for 1 on Royal Up Bids and was informed my bid was accepted almost a month in advance.  They don't only award room at sailing.  

[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, lme901 said:

Depending on your booking, it might not be eligible. I have two cruises booked through no name Travel and remember seeing they would not be eligible somewhere in the booking process. In both cases, I’m ok with that. We have an extended balcony on one and are traveling with another couple on the other. I’ll happily take the money we saved with no name over Royal up bidding chances. 😊

Yes. The travel agent who you are not allowed to name on Cruise Critic does not participate in RU and you can’t bid. 

[storkington]

45 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes. The travel agent who you are not allowed to name on Cruise Critic does not participate in RU and you can’t bid. 

It had never occurred to me that we might not be able to participate in RU due to having booked via a TA. Have emailed them to find out if that is the case for our cruise this September. Thanks for the info!

[Morecruisesplz]

5 minutes ago, storkington said:

It had never occurred to me that we might not be able to participate in RU due to having booked via a TA. Have emailed them to find out if that is the case for our cruise this September. Thanks for the info!

No, we get offers after using a TA. But not everyone is invited every cruise. During a B3B in January we were only offered to bid on one week. Friends had 2 out of 3.

[storkington]

Just now, fredmdcruisers said:

No, we get offers after using a TA. But not everyone is invited every cruise. During a B3B in January we were only offered to bid on one week. Friends had 2 out of 3.

How did you receive these offers, via your TA or email directly from RCI? Thanks!

[ReneeFLL]

13 hours ago, parrotfeathers said:

I don't think it's based necessarily on the bid amount, but more on cabin levels the need to fill.  I got upgraded from a GS to an owner's suite for the $100 minimum bid.  I was very surprised.

How long ago was this?

[Morecruisesplz]

12 minutes ago, storkington said:

How did you receive these offers, via your TA or email directly from RCI? Thanks!

Email from Royal Up.

[cruiseboy89130]

21 hours ago, little britain said:

Our cruise is 50+ days away.

 

Some people have received emails inviting them to RoyalUp. 
Some people are able to access the website ( they have not received the email) and submit bids.

Some people cannot access the website and get the error message about trying within 30 days. 
 

I assume that the bean counters only look at those who offer to pay the most so early submissions don’t really have any advantages?
Otherwise this seems unfair?

It only depends on how and with whom you booked and what category.

Those that are locked out will likely never be able to bid - the message is the default everyone sees!

[Truluv]

I've been cruising solo (in a JS) since widowed and have never received a Royal Up offer.  I've always been able to look at the Royal Up options by inserting my reservation number though. I've just made several bookings to travel with family in the Fall, including a cabin for one "kid" with a young family & a cabin for a couple in their 30's.  It will be interesting to see if any of the reservations get a Royal Up offer.  I don't know if it matters at all, but I'm almost diamond-plus and my "kids" are emerald (approaching diamond).  Hmmmm.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Truluv

[easyqueasy]

I’ve received Royal Up offers as far as 75 days out from sailing. Other times I didn’t receive it but was able to bid going through their website once within 30 days of sailing. The odd thing is there’s a couple times I’ve sailed with a friend and he’ll be the one to receive the emails for Royal Up even though I’m the one that booked the trip. My email address and loyalty number is entered and only his loyalty number is used for him when booking. His name is alphabetically before mine and he is a higher loyalty member than I, but I don’t know if either of that matters.

[Biker19]

42 minutes ago, easyqueasy said:

His name is alphabetically before mine and he is a higher loyalty member than I, but I don’t know if either of that matters.

It seems like the order of the names on the booking is what matters - the first person listed on the booking gets the offer, the second may not. That's why if you ever don't get a RU offer and have different last names on the booking, try the other one.

[Morecruisesplz]

7 hours ago, cruiseboy89130 said:

It only depends on how and with whom you booked and what category.

Those that are locked out will likely never be able to bid - the message is the default everyone sees!

Wrong

[BND]

We've received two offers so far on our April 8 cruise.  We didn't bid, but here's the rub.  It's on EN over Easter and has been sold out for a while.  We have only bid one time just for the heck of it last summer.  Most of our cruises now are b2b in the same cabin so no way we'll bid for those.  We always pick the cabin we want also.  We have been back to cruising after restart since Nov 2021 and have received RoyalUp's for every cruise since they started offering.

 

Also, a lot of people don't seem to understand that you need to have that you want to receive emails turned on in your profile or you'll never get anything.  

[lakelorain]

For our May 1 cruise, many confirmed upgrades were sent out by email 60 days prior to the cruise.  I believe they were all for balcony cabins.  

[cruise1957]

On 3/2/2023 at 12:09 PM, topnole said:

We just book through Royal.  Never been able to bid.  

we book through royal and won our RoyalUp bid to an owner's suite on our last cruise.

[jacelyn]

20 hours ago, cruise1957 said:

we book through royal and won our RoyalUp bid to an owner's suite on our last cruise.

did you save any money by bidding over just reserving it?