First Time - Royal Up Bid

[slyster]

Hi there...first time doing a Royal Up Bid.  I got an email from RC.  Any tips on bidding?  In terms of the "meter" from weak to strong, are there recommendations?  I know it's all subjective, but for those of you who have won bids, especially multiple times, is there any advice you can share?

[bigmoose7563]

Compare the price to upgrade if available then bid accordingly. Also be sure you are fine with your room being moved to anyplace on the ship. Then forget about it. Don't expect it to happen, just be happy if you get it.

 

Half the people get mad when they don't win the bid and the other half complain about location.

[slyster]

8 minutes ago, bigmoose7563 said:

Compare the price to upgrade if available then bid accordingly. Also be sure you are fine with your room being moved to anyplace on the ship. Then forget about it. Don't expect it to happen, just be happy if you get it.

 

Half the people get mad when they don't win the bid and the other half complain about location.

Totally get that.  We want to bid on the Crown Loft Suite and Grand Suite on Allure.  We are happy with any of those locations.  I wouldn't necessary want to be AFT facing in CLS, but heck if i win that bid, I'll take it happily! 

[Norwich Cruiser]

We’ve been lucky enough to bid on two occasions both minimum bids and each time we’re successful and we were very happy with the position.

 

A family member actually bid only last week to upgrade for a forthcoming Anthem cruise again bid the minimum and heard earlier today that there bid was accepted.

 

This was from an inside to OVB.

 

[GetToLivin]

We only bid on suite upgrades so we know we'll be happy wherever we're placed. I keep track of pricing from time to time so I know what I would have paid had I booked outright, then I come up with the number that won't make DH have a heart attack once it's charged to the card should we win 😉 I did successfully win an Aqua Suite upgrade over a NYE cruise last year and even though it didn't show you could book it on the site, someone obviously canceled so we won that two weeks out from the trip. Good luck!

[sowhat]

Deleted 

Edited June 29, 2023 by sowhat

[Jbluebird]

12 minutes ago, GetToLivin said:

We only bid on suite upgrades so we know we'll be happy wherever we're placed. I keep track of pricing from time to time so I know what I would have paid had I booked outright, then I come up with the number that won't make DH have a heart attack once it's charged to the card should we win 😉 I did successfully win an Aqua Suite upgrade over a NYE cruise last year and even though it didn't show you could book it on the site, someone obviously canceled so we won that two weeks out from the trip. Good luck!

We're currently in a balcony and got the Royal Up email.  Even though I could have bid on Spacious Ocean View Balcony rooms, I felt the same.  I didn't really like the locations, plus the rooms aren't that much bigger than a regular balcony. So I only bid on 2 different suites.  So far Junior Suites aren't showing as available, but your response makes me hopeful that someone will cancel!

[slyster]

Thank you.  So there seems to be some success with minimum bids. I got the price difference per person to help me figure out my bid.  Right now on my upcoming cruise, the Crown Loft Suite is actually about $15 cheaper than a Grand Suite.  I'm kicking myself because six months ago, a Grand Suite was $2200 a person and now it's just over $4000 a person.  

 

Thanks for your help.  

[Anton]

Don’t forget that cruise points are based on the original cabin category you booked so if you get moved from the balcony to the suite you won’t get the extra points for it.  But you will get the other suite perks and the opportunity to pay the higher gratuities.  

[ajtaylor29]

5 minutes ago, Anton said:

Don’t forget that cruise points are based on the original cabin category you booked so if you get moved from the balcony to the suite you won’t get the extra points for it.  But you will get the other suite perks and the opportunity to pay the higher gratuities.  

are you sure about that? I thought that we had upgraded from a balcony to a suite before and got double points, maybe not....? 

[ajtaylor29]

1 hour ago, slyster said:

Totally get that.  We want to bid on the Crown Loft Suite and Grand Suite on Allure.  We are happy with any of those locations.  I wouldn't necessary want to be AFT facing in CLS, but heck if i win that bid, I'll take it happily! 

FYI, we've had 2 CLS's (both on Symphony) and one was rear facing/one on the side. While i definitely like the ocean-facing suite better, we had a blast on the rear facing - people watching! - and those cabins are so wonderful that i'd take one wherever it faced if given the chance!!!

[Scottee25]

One thing I have noticed is that people are always more likely to bid (more) on suites than on lower categories so you will more than likely need to bid more than the minimum to better your chances at getting a suite. I have used Royal Up twice and won bids both times. First was minimum bid ($150pp) to move from an Oceanview to an Balcony on Vision and the second was maximum bid ($3500pp) to move from a Jr Suite to Grand Loft Suite on Odyssey.

 

Thing to keep in mind is the algorithms used will calculate how much did you pay for your cabin (category), how much your bid is in relation to what you paid & how many bids and how much those bids + what they paid of anyone who may get upgraded to your current cabin (and this is recursive of who may move into their cabin and so on). The desired outcome is to maximize the amount of money Royal earns for the sailing. Since you don't know who you are bidding against and how much they have paid and are bidding or who is bidding to move into your cabin and how much they bid and paid for their cabin, some of it is simply luck as to whether or not you win the Royal Up bid. You could still bid the maximum and yet never win a Royal Up bid. 

[Scottee25]

10 minutes ago, ajtaylor29 said:

are you sure about that? I thought that we had upgraded from a balcony to a suite before and got double points, maybe not....? 

 

You do NOT get double points if you are upgraded to a suite and your original cabin was not a Jr Suite or higher category.

[rockmom]

15 minutes ago, ajtaylor29 said:

are you sure about that? I thought that we had upgraded from a balcony to a suite before and got double points, maybe not....? 

From the Royal website under Royal Up FAQ's 

[dunrobbin]

50 minutes ago, ajtaylor29 said:

are you sure about that? I thought that we had upgraded from a balcony to a suite before and got double points, maybe not....? 

No, No extra points.

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, GetToLivin said:

... I keep track of pricing from time to time so I know what I would have paid had I booked outright ...

Yes, paying attention to the cost of upgrading makes sense.  Without doing your homework, your bid is just a stab in the dark.  

56 minutes ago, Scottee25 said:

One thing I have noticed is that people are always more likely to bid (more) on suites than on lower categories so you will more than likely need to bid more than the minimum to better your chances at getting a suite ...

Interesting.  So, by that logic, you'd have a better chance /less competition if you were trying to move from an inside to a balcony.  And it'd be harder to move from a balcony to a suite; that also makes sense because fewer suites exist.  

56 minutes ago, Scottee25 said:

Thing to keep in mind is the algorithms used will calculate ... The desired outcome is to maximize the amount of money Royal earns for the sailing ... 

Yes, and I've read that Royal's goal is not just to look at your specific bid; rather, their goal is to create a "chain of upgrades" ... for example, they want to create a chain in which someone moves from an Inside to a Balcony, that Balcony moves to a Junior Suite, that Junior Suite moves to a Grand Suite.  From their point of view, one upgrade is good, but 3-4 are better.  Better being defined as more money for them.  

 

Oh, and -- yes -- last minute miracles do happen!  Once we were forced to cancel last minute (sick child).  I've always wondered who got to the port and was given a last-minute upgrade to a prime aft-cabin, the kind you reserve the day the dates become available.  

Edited June 29, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[The_Big_M]

53 minutes ago, Scottee25 said:

One thing I have noticed is that people are always more likely to bid (more) on suites than on lower categories so you will more than likely need to bid more than the minimum to better your chances at getting a suite. I have used Royal Up twice and won bids both times.

 

I don't think it's a case of people being more likely to bid. Just the numbers involved - there are hundreds of balconies, so more chance of either having one/some spare, plus those getting upgraded, whereas there are only 10s of suites - and much more limited chance of them being emptied from upgrades (since there isn't much above them).

 

Basically, more supply of one than the other.

[slyster]

I feel like we got a really good deal on our junior suite.  $3000 for 2 of us.  The junior suites are now showing as $3393 a PERSON and that's only for junior suite guarantee.  It kind of had me thinking they can make a heck more on the suite I'm in, if I bid enough to satisfy it on their end.  

[DrProfessor]

1 hour ago, slyster said:

I feel like we got a really good deal on our junior suite.  $3000 for 2 of us.  The junior suites are now showing as $3393 a PERSON and that's only for junior suite guarantee.  It kind of had me thinking they can make a heck more on the suite I'm in, if I bid enough to satisfy it on their end.  

 

This is how we ended up winning a bid on an owner's suite this past Feb.  We had a junior suite and when we bid, it wasn't a couple of days and we were awarded the upgrade.  This was about 30 days before the cruise when it was awarded.  We had never been in anything above a JS, so we were spoiled a bit by that cruise.  The next one we went on just because we needed 3 points to make diamond and we did an inside room - one extreme to the other.

[BecciBoo]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

I've always wondered who got to the port and was given a last-minute upgrade to a prime aft-cabin, the kind you reserve the day the dates become available.

Sweet

[slyster]

14 minutes ago, RCFirstTimer said:

 

This is how we ended up winning a bid on an owner's suite this past Feb.  We had a junior suite and when we bid, it wasn't a couple of days and we were awarded the upgrade.  This was about 30 days before the cruise when it was awarded.  We had never been in anything above a JS, so we were spoiled a bit by that cruise.  The next one we went on just because we needed 3 points to make diamond and we did an inside room - one extreme to the other.

Good to know.  There are a ton of CLS available on my cruise.  Only a handful have been taken.  I see the owner's suite bid is the same as the CLS suite bid, so I'll probably put an offer in on that too.  

 

I'm not crazy about deck 6 or 7 for a Grand Suite, but if I get it at the price I bid, I'll happily take that.  We currently have a JS on deck 8.

 

I am wondering what happens if the price of my cruise comes down, and I take a CLS or even a GS before a bid win.  Does the upgrade nullify any bids you make on that class and lower?

[Starry Eyes]

 

8 minutes ago, slyster said:

Good to know.  There are a ton of CLS available on my cruise.  Only a handful have been taken.  I see the owner's suite bid is the same as the CLS suite bid, so I'll probably put an offer in on that too.  

 

I'm not crazy about deck 6 or 7 for a Grand Suite, but if I get it at the price I bid, I'll happily take that.  We currently have a JS on deck 8.

 

I am wondering what happens if the price of my cruise comes down, and I take a CLS or even a GS before a bid win.  Does the upgrade nullify any bids you make on that class and lower?

On Oasis class deck 6 is my favorite with deck 8 a close second.   There are nice things on both decks.  Understandably other people rank them in the other order. I’d be happy to be assigned a GS on deck 6.

 

If you pay for an upgrade, I suggest you cancel/ modify any inappropriate bids. The system should nullify them, but why take a chance.  Also your idea of higher and lower category may differ from RoyalUp’s definition of higher and lower category, so take control of your bids.

[slyster]

18 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

 

On Oasis class deck 6 is my favorite with deck 8 a close second.   There are nice things on both decks.  Understandably other people rank them in the other order. I’d be happy to be assigned a GS on deck 6.

 

If you pay for an upgrade, I suggest you cancel/ modify any inappropriate bids. The system should nullify them, but why take a chance.  Also your idea of higher and lower category may differ from RoyalUp’s definition of higher and lower category, so take control of your bids.

True about deck 6. I remembered I thought about deck 6 or 8.  It’s not a bad deck at all. 
 

I didn’t realize I could cancel the bid once I submit it.  I just submitted the bid and received a follow up email to modify or cancel.  Good to know. Thank you!

[PhillyFan33579]

Not counting cruises for the year or so after the post-COVID restart, from my experience bidding 75% of the maximum bid more often than not will result in an upgrade. Of course there are always exceptions and lower bids often result in upgrades too, but that varies from one cruise to another. I always do a mock booking for the cabin category I am interested in before submitting a bid. On several occasions I have seen the maximum bid price, if accepted, would end up costing me close to what it would cost calling RCI directly and upgrading my cabin. I think the bottom line is bids/upgrades can significantly vary from one cruise to another. 

[Jbluebird]

3 hours ago, Scottee25 said:

One thing I have noticed is that people are always more likely to bid (more) on suites than on lower categories so you will more than likely need to bid more than the minimum to better your chances at getting a suite. I have used Royal Up twice and won bids both times. First was minimum bid ($150pp) to move from an Oceanview to an Balcony on Vision and the second was maximum bid ($3500pp) to move from a Jr Suite to Grand Loft Suite on Odyssey.

 

Thing to keep in mind is the algorithms used will calculate how much did you pay for your cabin (category), how much your bid is in relation to what you paid & how many bids and how much those bids + what they paid of anyone who may get upgraded to your current cabin (and this is recursive of who may move into their cabin and so on). The desired outcome is to maximize the amount of money Royal earns for the sailing. Since you don't know who you are bidding against and how much they have paid and are bidding or who is bidding to move into your cabin and how much they bid and paid for their cabin, some of it is simply luck as to whether or not you win the Royal Up bid. You could still bid the maximum and yet never win a Royal Up bid. 

So in thinking about this, I was able to get a Guaranty Regular Balcony (we already got the room number) for less than $1500 per person for a 12 night cruise.  I just happened to call before final payment and was able to get a lot of discounts (not sure how that happened, but I'm not questioning).  Grand Suites are now going for $17,000. Junior Suites are currently not available.  I have a Grand Suite bid in for $30 over minimum, which I can modify and a Junior Suite bid in for $100 over minimum, which I can't modify (I think because there aren't any available right now).  I'm thinking, if any become available, my Junior Suite bid may work because they could definitely get more money for my current regular balcony. I may up my bid slightly for the Grand Suite because it's still way cheaper than the current pricing even with the increase in gratuities.