Royal Up - "Ultimate Family Suite" - Icon of the Seas

[FloroidaCruise]

I am flexible on dates and would like to find a sailing that is 5 to 60 days out where the Ultimate Family Suite is still available on Icon of the Seas and book a lesser room with the plan of bidding on the Ultimate Family Suite through the Royal Up program.

 

-What room or category should I book so I have best chance on bidding for Ultimate Family Suite?

-What upgrade prices might I be looking at in order to win?  We will be sailing with 2 adults 2 Children

-Any other advice on how to achieve this based on your experience with Royal Up and how the process might go?

 

[smokeybandit]

There really is no good answer, since all cruises are different.  What may have worked on one cruise could be vastly different on another.

 

[Billy Baltic]

IMO you’re putting too much focus on a royal up happening. Book a room you are happy with. If a royal up works then great. Since there is only one you are likely to be disappointed otherwise. 

[firefly333]

26 minutes ago, FloroidaCruise said:

I am flexible on dates and would like to find a sailing that is 5 to 60 days out where the Ultimate Family Suite is still available on Icon of the Seas and book a lesser room with the plan of bidding on the Ultimate Family Suite through the Royal Up program.

 

-What room or category should I book so I have best chance on bidding for Ultimate Family Suite?

-What upgrade prices might I be looking at in order to win?  We will be sailing with 2 adults 2 Children

-Any other advice on how to achieve this based on your experience with Royal Up and how the process might go?

 

The chances of winning a royal up are so slim it's not a good plan. You could bid so much it would have been cheaper to have booked this suite in the first place. 

[Ken at the beach]

29 minutes ago, FloroidaCruise said:

I am flexible on dates and would like to find a sailing that is 5 to 60 days out where the Ultimate Family Suite is still available on Icon of the Seas and book a lesser room with the plan of bidding on the Ultimate Family Suite through the Royal Up program.

 

-What room or category should I book so I have best chance on bidding for Ultimate Family Suite?

-What upgrade prices might I be looking at in order to win?  We will be sailing with 2 adults 2 Children

-Any other advice on how to achieve this based on your experience with Royal Up and how the process might go?

 

UFS is completely booked.  You will not find a date 5 to 60 days out with it available.  

[FloroidaCruise]

Please only give feedback if you can provide info on how the program works and how I should do this to have the best chance.  Thank you to those who can help with this info!!

 

Please do not provide feedback similar to what was received so far that is obvious and not needed is: book a room you are happy with instead so not disappointed, or the process is always different, or there is nothing in the next 60 days (which is incorrect).  Anything like that is obvious or unhelpful and not needed.  

Edited September 2 by FloroidaCruise
added comment

[Ken at the beach]

41 minutes ago, FloroidaCruise said:

I am flexible on dates and would like to find a sailing that is 5 to 60 days out where the Ultimate Family Suite is still available on Icon of the Seas and book a lesser room with the plan of bidding on the Ultimate Family Suite through the Royal Up program.

 

-What room or category should I book so I have best chance on bidding for Ultimate Family Suite?

-What upgrade prices might I be looking at in order to win?  We will be sailing with 2 adults 2 Children

-Any other advice on how to achieve this based on your experience with Royal Up and how the process might go?

 

 

11 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

UFS is completely booked.  You will not find a date 5 to 60 days out with it available.  

So I looked and there is one available on Oct 26

 

You could book for $90600

 

You could book the Icon loft 2 categories below it ar $21500.  That would give you your best chance assuming that the Royal loft does not bit or another comparable suite does not bid more than you or Royal uses some criteria other than $ to award the bid..

Edited September 2 by Ourusualbeach

[Ken at the beach]

8 minutes ago, FloroidaCruise said:

Please only give feedback if you can provide info on how the program works and how I should do this to have the best chance.  Thank you to those who can help with this info!!

How the program works is a mystery and no one will have a precise answer.  People who have never sailed with Royal before have won bids that they bid less on than other who have sailed prior and bid more.  People who were in a balcony won bids for a CL over people in a JS.

 

There are no guarantees or tricks.  Be prepared to not have your bid accepted.

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, FloroidaCruise said:

Please only give feedback if you can provide info on how the program works and how I should do this to have the best chance.

Welcome to CC where you will get all kinds of feedback even if you specifically don’t ask for it. 

[Billy Baltic]

Just to add to the mystery of royal up ….. We had a JS on OOTS in August. We bid on 1 and 2 bedroom grand suite through royal up. We didn’t win on either and were happy with our JS. However, during the cruise the Next Cruise team did an open viewing on a 2 bed GS. So somewhere in the logic of royal up they prefer to have an empty room than accept a royal up bid with was around 20% above minimum bid. 

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

As others have pointed out, nobody outside of the third-party vendor who manages the Royal Up program can tell you how the program works or how to maximize your chances of a successful bid, since history has proven that the factors one might expect (bid amount, loyalty program status, timing etc.) are not the actual deciding factors. Except for the times when they are. 🤣

 

Based on your response, it appears you don't like that answer. Nonetheless, it is true. Perhaps a public message board isn't the best resource for you, if you prefer not to read through a variety of replies and disregard the ones you didn't want?

 

At any rate ... best of luck and I hope you get a room you are happy with.

Edited September 2 by la_croisiere_s'amuse

[Jetdriver787]

On 9/2/2024 at 4:07 PM, FloroidaCruise said:

I am flexible on dates and would like to find a sailing that is 5 to 60 days out where the Ultimate Family Suite is still available on Icon of the Seas and book a lesser room with the plan of bidding on the Ultimate Family Suite through the Royal Up program.

 

-What room or category should I book so I have best chance on bidding for Ultimate Family Suite?

-What upgrade prices might I be looking at in order to win?  We will be sailing with 2 adults 2 Children

-Any other advice on how to achieve this based on your experience with Royal Up and how the process might go?

 

On 9/2/2024 at 4:07 PM, FloroidaCruise said:

 

I’m curious as to why, even if you find what you are looking for, you don’t believe somebody would simply come along and purchase that top level suite?

 

An invitation to bid doesn’t in any way mean there is an actual product on offer. 
 

Even where there is availability, it doesn’t commit the operator to making that inventory available to this programme.

 

As well as selling on their own platforms, the operator sells into other restricted markets (travel trade etc) at often very different price points. 
 

“Royal up” is a marketing name for an ancillary revenue generation scheme, run by a Canadian company called Plusgrade. They run similar (and different) schemes for over 200 other cruise lines, airlines, hotels and other transport/hospitality organisations.

 

For many people it is worth “taking a punt” on the possibility of an upgrade at a bargain price, knowing the potential pitfalls and that it will cost nothing unless you are successful. At that point, it becomes a binding contract.

 

As a booking strategy it is very poor if it means you are not getting what would satisfy you in the first place.

 

To strictly answer your question, book the room type immediately below the one you seek at this particular apex of the pyramid. Bid top dollar and keep your fingers crossed that nobody else makes a retail purchase (even at a substantially lower price,) and that the suite is actually released to plusgrade.

 

3,11,19, 26, 37, 48

 

I would also recommend using the above numbers in a lottery, as in all honesty I think your chances are better! 

 

[Ken at the beach]

40 minutes ago, Jetdriver787 said:

3,11,19, 26, 37, 48

 

I would also recommend using the above numbers in a lottery, as in all honesty I think your chances are better! 

😂