Royal Up - How Important is Location to You?

[TheHawk1]

I have an opportunity to bid on a royal up for an upcoming Symphony of the Seas cruise.  I'm currently booked in an Ocean View Large Balcony Cabin on Deck 11, which I chose over a year in advance.  I've been on five other Oasis class sailings, including SOTS, so I'm very familiar with the ship and I'm somewhat particular about the location of my cabin, e.g. not too close to an elevator, not too far forward or aft, not on a low deck, etc.

 

While I would enjoy the extra space from bidding successfully on say a Junior Suite, you really have no control over where you'll end up.  While JS are primarily in the middle of the ship, I could end up on Deck 6, which is too close to the water or on the dreaded Deck 14, where I'll listen to the scraping of pool deck chairs at all hours.  Curious if others let those concerns affect their bidding or they would just rather go for a larger cabin at a good deal?

[OCSC Mike]

2 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

Curious if others let those concerns affect their bidding or they would just rather go for a larger cabin at a good deal?

 

It's all about personal preference. Some won't care, some will care so much they wouldn't risk winding up in certain locations.

 

You said yourself that you're "somewhat particular" about your location. Only you can decide if it's worth the risk for you. If you feel being in any of the JS locations you mentioned (deck 6 or 14) would ruin your cruise, it doesn't seem worth the risk to me, but only you can decide that.

[Scottdalfonso]

I don't mind TOO much, being near an elevator to me is actually a plus, and being higher is a plus to me, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker to me. I just got my royal up offers for my upcoming cruise, but I'm happy where I am, and not interested in spending that much on the possible upgrade. If I had the extra money, I may do it just to do it, but again- that's totally up to you if you want to chance it

[Jetdriver787]

To me the question would be simple. Would winning a bid in that cabin in any possible location enhance my vacation? If the answer is “yes” then play. If not, then don’t. 

 

In the last 8 months I have had 2 successful upgrades. One with Virgin voyages to a “Rockstar” suite and the second with Royal Caribbean for a Grand suite for a 14 night Southern Caribbean cruise. Both of these changed a great experience to a fantastic experience, more so since both offers were pretty much “floor level” bids! 
 

If you are happy with what you have booked, and any potential win could make you less happy, then honestly it isn’t worth doing.

[OCSC Mike]

5 minutes ago, Scottdalfonso said:

being near an elevator to me is actually a plus, and being higher is a plus to me

 

Same for us, although I understand not wanting to be directly under the pool area.

 

Our general preference is near an elevator/stairs, fairly high, but I like to be somewhat in between the pool deck and promenade so I can take the stairs in either direction during busy times (and not feel like I'm dying like when I walked up from 6 to 17 after an aqua show last month b/c the elevators were stupid crowded, lol). I'm not overweight but exercise is not my thing.

 

Again, it's personal preference. The only location I would truly hate would be a very low deck but some people prefer them.

[pghflyer]

I would rather keep a balcony and sleep good then to pay extra for the best room on the ship and then proceed to listen to pool and deck chair noise all night.  I suppose if you are happy or already sleep with earplugs, maybe a different calculation.........

[bigmoose7563]

1 hour ago, TheHawk1 said:

I'm somewhat particular about the location of my cabin, e.g. not too close to an elevator, not too far forward or aft, not on a low deck, etc.

 

You are extremely particular about location and should never pick a GTY or Royal Up if all these possibilities are issues for you

[Scottdalfonso]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

Same for us, although I understand not wanting to be directly under the pool area.

 

Our general preference is near an elevator/stairs, fairly high, but I like to be somewhat in between the pool deck and promenade so I can take the stairs in either direction during busy times (and not feel like I'm dying like when I walked up from 6 to 17 after an aqua show last month b/c the elevators were stupid crowded, lol). I'm not overweight but exercise is not my thing.

 

Again, it's personal preference. The only location I would truly hate would be a very low deck but some people prefer them.

Yeah, our next cruise is on Oasis, deck 14... we were closer to being underneath the basketball court area but the TA talked us into moving to the other side, so we are directly below the mini golf now, which I don't think will produce much extra noise unless someone is banging a club against the ground, lol. 

[The Grumpus]

I only bid on JS/suites, so on Oasis Class there aren't any bad suite locations, which makes bidding on an Oasis Class ship pretty safe.  I don't really care what deck I'm on if I'm getting an upgrade for little costs compared to booking it outright.  I would be way more apprehensive to bid on JS's on Freedom Class given there's a good chance of getting one of the four aft JS's with no view on deck 6.

[TheHawk1]

1 hour ago, bigmoose7563 said:

You are extremely particular about location and should never pick a GTY or Royal Up if all these possibilities are issues for you

I wouldn't say extremely 😁.  I just know what I like when I'm on vacation.  The appeal of a Royal Up is a potential suite at a lower price.  But I would never choose a GTY. 

[OCSC Mike]

31 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

I wouldn't say extremely 😁.  I just know what I like when I'm on vacation.  The appeal of a Royal Up is a potential suite at a lower price.  But I would never choose a GTY. 

 

If you bid on a certain suite via RU it's virtually the same thing as a GTY, just at a better price.

Edited July 20, 2023 by OCSC Mike

[bigmoose7563]

34 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

I just know what I like when I'm on vacation.  The appeal of a Royal Up is a potential suite at a lower price.  But I would never choose a GTY. 

Just saying if you have a list of preferences, which you did, odds are you will not be happy if you win the bid (long shot anyway). Remember these are most likely rooms nobody else liked the location.

 

Me personally I could care less about the location if the price is right

 

 

[Jerseygirl1416]

I’m too picky about location to bid on any category that I’m not totally in love with that’s also in my price range. That said I would only do a RU for an OS on Oasis class. You could get a connector one or one on 14 which I wouldn’t be totally happy with but the suite would help me get over that. Any other suite wouldn’t be worth the risk for me. And I’ve been in an OS on 14 and you hear much more than just chairs. Thankfully it’s usually just during the day.

[TheHawk1]

1 hour ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

If you bid on a certain suite via RU it's virtually the same thing as a GTY, just at a better price.

True, but if I know I'm comfortable paying for an an ocean balcony category when I'm initially booking a cruise, then I want to choose my cabin location.  I would never let Royal do that for me just to save a few bucks.

[OCSC Mike]

1 minute ago, TheHawk1 said:

True, but if I know I'm comfortable paying for an an ocean balcony category when I'm initially booking a cruise, then I want to choose my cabin location.  I would never let Royal do that for me just to save a few bucks.

 

Do whatever works best for you. We all have our preferences.

 

I'm not trying to convince you one way or the other, but that's exactly what you would be doing if you bid on a RU... letting Royal pick your location to save a few bucks.

[loman]

I have an opportunity to RU on Harmony  , but i have a great oceanview balcony right now and there is no way i will risk getting a deck 14 cabin i will regret . And pay thousands more for it.

I want to pick my cabin to avoid things i dont like.

[Scottdalfonso]

1 hour ago, bigmoose7563 said:

Remember these are most likely rooms nobody else liked the location.

This isn't true...yes if there are any rooms left,they put them up...but royal up is mostly cabins from cancelations or people who upgraded

[bigmoose7563]

4 minutes ago, Scottdalfonso said:

This isn't true...yes if there are any rooms left,they put them up...but royal up is mostly cabins from cancelations or people who upgraded

Oh ok then I'm sure they will be delighted with any room they get

[LisaLisa87]

2 hours ago, Scottdalfonso said:

Yeah, our next cruise is on Oasis, deck 14... we were closer to being underneath the basketball court area but the TA talked us into moving to the other side, so we are directly below the mini golf now, which I don't think will produce much extra noise unless someone is banging a club against the ground, lol. 

 

My sister and I were recently in room 14320 on Oasis, and we didn't hear a thing above us. We booked an ocean view balcony GTY and were initially concerned about the location. We ended up loving it because of the proximity to the pool deck, El Loco Fresh, and Portside BBQ. Some people prefer not to stay so far aft, but we didn't mind. I needed all the extra steps I could get!

[OCSC Mike]

4 minutes ago, LisaLisa87 said:

We ended up loving it because of the proximity to the pool deck, El Loco Fresh, and Portside BBQ.

 

That's our general logic for location preference... being in a good spot relative to areas we frequent.

[island lady]

I never do Royal up for just that reason....location.   Not where...but which cabin ....since we do almost exclusively B2B or more.  I don't want to risk changing cabins.  

[GetToLivin]

I used to care, but when I won an Aqua Suite, that all went out the door. Initially, I was like, oh man, I hope we like being in the very back of the ship, what a long walk, the shape of the room is weird, blah blah, blah. Then I experienced the room and honestly, if I ever get the opportunity to sail in that room again, I'll do it. I ended up loving the huge deck, being "a part" of all the shows/activities going on below, and the extra space in the room.

 

SO...there's my reasoning. When it comes to extra space, I now know I could care less about location. We actually spend a lot of time IN the cabin, so we'll always opt for more space + suite perks when possible. 

[Starry Eyes]

RoyalUp is not for everyone just as gty is not for everyone.  Better to think it through before you bid.  

Honestly, if you would not book a gty (in this case a JS gty/ suite gty), then you should not bid on a RoyalUp to a JS.  

 

Either way one risks getting assigned the worst (for your tastes) cabin in the category; your odds of swapping a “poor” RoyalUp assignment are, I think, even lower than your odds of swapping a gty assignment.  That “poor” assignment may in the eye of the beholder; I’d be delighted to be assigned a JS on deck 6 on Oasis class while the OP would be bummed.   

[TheHawk1]

Thanks for all the feedback, I think I will stick with my original choice and be happy knowing I like the location of where I’m booked. If I really want to be in a suite on a future sailing, I will reserve one from the outset, to ensure I get a location that I’ll like… which, at today's suite prices, will take a lot of saving up 😆