While there are many ways to save money and indulge in an awesome cruise vacation, these are our favorite ways to get the most bang for our buck on Royal Caribbean cruises. As a general rule, youll find fewer people sailing when school is in session. Michelle Couch-Friedman. While this may dramatically increase your chances of winning, you may spend too much. My husband and I decided that the only suite we would bid on would be the Aquatheater 2 Bedroom suite. And only bid what you can afford to spend. As the 1940s began, the military intelligence world spoke surreptitiously of new kinds of airplanes. Check out these stories first! RoyalUp cannot guarantee a specific cabin location, so if location is of utmost importance to you, it may be better to upgrade a stateroom on your own instead of through the bidding process. Deluxe beverage package. If your stateroom has more than two people, however, youll only be charged the bid amount for 2 passengers in the stateroom category. Cruise Critic members tout their success stories on the message boards, and you can learn some tips from the experiences of others. 84. An upgrade from the Sea Class suites would include Sky Class suites like a Grand Suite, the one-bedroom Aquatheater suites, Crown Loft Suite, and an Owners Suite to name a few. Best card for premium perks while traveling, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, The Business Platinum Card from American Express, Fly round trip to London for as low as $431, Did Norwegian Cruise Line make its new ships too small? By proceeding, you agree to Cruise Critics, Bidding for Cruise Cabin Upgrades: Tips and Tricks, What to Expect on a Cruise: Booking With a Cruise Line, Top 8 Things You Can Do on the Cruise Critic Message Boards to Enhance Your Cruise, Flying to Your Cruise: How to Travel This Summer Amid the Chaos. You can unsubscribe at any time. is a journalist specializing in luxury family travel and the blogger behind The Daily Impressions. That way, you'll also reap the benefits of any perms your agent offers, such as onboard credit or prepaid gratuities. Today I talk RoyalUp a bid-based stateroom upgrade program for @RoyalCaribbean I share my personal experiences, some observations as well as some advice fo. Below, Ill explain in more detail why we chose this suite. While you can spend cash for certain on-island experiences, you can absolutely spend an entire day there and have an amazing time without spending a dollar more than your cruise fare. In just a few simple steps, you could score a fantastic upgrade, from Ocean View and Balcony staterooms to the most expansive suites at sea. If your bid is successful, you'll win better accommodations at a lower price than direct booking. Related: The best time to go on a Caribbean cruise. . Royal Caribbean RoyalUp (Guide to Upgrading Your Cabin), How to Increase Your Chances of Winning the Bed, 2. You can only access the island by cruising on a Royal Caribbean ship that includes it on its itineraries. How much do I bid through RoyalUp if my reservation includes more than 2 guests? If your bid is successful, youll win better accommodations at a lower price than direct booking. That being said, I do want to provide a few tips and even some warnings about the Royal Up process. If you want to get your moneys worth on your cruise, spend some time each night highlighting each activity or show that you may want to check out. A Royal Up upgrade from an inside cabin may include an interior cabin with more square footage. If youre on the fence between bidding and not bidding for a stateroom upgrade through RoyalUp, there are a few key considerations that may help you decide if its right for you. So if a Junior Suite cancels, rather than that cabin be empty, Royal Caribbean's got $300 lined up because they just bumped everybody up one cabin category due to that Royal Up. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. With his successful bid, he . Hand-crafted cocktails. You'll also find multiple beaches, pools, dining options, island excursions and more. Is the Original Upgrading Cost Cheaper? Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Related: How to upgrade your cabin on Royal Caribbean. Once your bid is accepted, you cannot change it. Royal Caribbeans RoyalUp Bid is a bidding program that allows you to upgrade your cabin to a higher cabin category at a lower cost than a traditional cabin upgrade. It allows you to bid a certain amount of money, often as low as $50 per person, to upgrade your current stateroom to an ocean view or balcony cabin or even a suite. The upgrade may come with extra charges. Complimentary in-suite movies. In addition, the cruise line's free mobile app also lists activities. #4,438. The cruise line sets a higher gratuity for guests booked in a grand suite or above. Related: The ultimate guide to Royal Caribbean ships and itineraries. Like the airlines, the cruise lines are not inviting everyone to bid for upgrades. Check if your cruise is eligible for an upgrade. Anything i should know? So, make sure you are willing to utilize the perks even if your friends or family members cant. If you plan to bid on a cruise cabin and you are cruising with friends, make sure you are aware that your friends do not receive the suite perks that you may get in your upgrade. If I am upgraded to a higher category stateroom with RoyalUp, will I have to pay a gratuity amount based on the new upgraded category? Learn more. We'll notify you via email if your request for an upgrade has been approved. Sometimes it's worth a large investment to reap the benefits of a great credit card. Or you can go to Guest Services onboard the ship, and they will remove the extras that your new room includes for free. I've had three Royal Caribbean cruises so far this year and won an upgrade on all of them. While everyone else is eating dinner, you can have that gorgeous hot tub all to yourself! Once you win the upgrade and have your credit card charged, you are automatically switched to the higher-category stateroom. If not, youll keep the stateroom you already have and you wont be charged anything additional. With his successful bid, he paid just more than $9,000 for a nine-day Baltics cruise on Norwegian Breakaway, a savings of $5,000. We will also share the options we received for cabin upgrade opportunities on our sailing with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. Invites to bid for a cruise upgrade may also depend on such factors as how booked up the ship is and which category you originally booked. If not, just leave blank, Royal Caribbean's RoyalUp guide, tips, and tricks, How to upgrade your cabin on Royal Caribbean, The best time to go on a Caribbean cruise. Check if your cruise is eligible for an upgrade. Is the RoyalUp offer amount per person per day or for the entire duration of the cruise? Although, I have never booked this way, so Im not sure if thats accurate. Like what you see? Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Before bidding on an upgraded stateroom category with RoyalUp, contact your travel agent or Royal Caribbean to check how much it would cost to upgrade your cabin outright instead of through RoyalUp. We recommend against this strategy. Sometimes you may discover that the cost to upgrade your cabin without RoyalUp is not unreasonable. Fliers on some airlines can upgrade at a discounted rate to avoid what could be a cramped flight. This was not a surprise as I had been checking the Royal Caribbean website daily to see what rooms were available on our cruise and noticed that almost everything was sold out. Royal Caribbean will let you know when and if your bid is accepted. Heres everything you need to know about the RoyalUp program. Many passengers bid on suites with RoyalUp, as you can often find a lower price through bidding than upgrading to the suite category outright. Posted on February 27, 2023 by how much is tim allen's car collection worth If you booked at a deep discount, don't expect an offer. Breeze through security with CLEAR lanes available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your membership when you use your Card. And theres no guarantee youll win an upgrade, even with a high bid. This will help you have an idea of what types of cabin upgrades are available. Enrollment required. But there was a balcony that bid $200 on a JS (but not a GS), then the JS would get the RS because RC would net $100 more. If you're investing in a Royal Caribbean cruise, here are the best ways to get the most bang for your buck. It does not work for a solo traveler. Cruises during the off-season may have fewer guests onboard, meaning there are more rooms available. While getting an upgrade for a bargain price is exciting, it's still a game of chance. RoyalUp often doesnt guarantee a specific location of the cabin. Royal Caribbean followed in late 2018 with RoyalUp. While its unlikely that your RoyalUp bid will be accepted immediately after bidding, be sure to double check your bid amounts. What happens with the promotions I already have if I am upgraded through RoyalUp? I'm Shari. Seldom travelers may not get enough value to warrant the cost. Just like a Royal Caribbean adventure, the possibilities are endless. The RoyalUp offer amount is per person for the entire duration of the cruise. So, my tips for pre bidding research are: If you are planning to bid on a room in the Sky Class or the Star Class, make sure you calculate the suite benefits included in that room. Don Terris, an Ontario-based travel agent who analyzed the cruise upgrade bidding process in a YouTube video, won a bid at $1,500 on top of his basic fare to stay in a grand suite aboard a Royal Caribbean ship, which he said saved him more than $5,000 over booking the suite outright. Always make a habit of checking the original upgrading price before bidding. If the Offer is accepted, the difference between the original and upgraded No. You should be able to find plenty of articles mentioning undesirable things about the room. Likewise, if you have only one person in your cabin, you will still be required to bid for two people. Knoxville Tennessee. Free mini bar, replenished daily. A few years ago, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity Cruises and MSC Cruises were among the cruise lines that took a page from international airlines (such as Qantas and Aer Lingus) and began offering bidding programs for upgrades. Request was made 8 December 2021. Royal Caribbean offers a pretty cool bid-based cabin upgrade program called RoyalUp. Once accepted, the amount of your offer is automatically charged to your credit card and is nonrefundable. For more details about RoyalUp, click here. The price difference to pay for the upgrade was consistently $3,000, which was the reason I booked the balcony. Hi there! Read More Honest Review of Perfect Day at CocoCayContinue, Read More Royal Caribbean Crown Loft Suite ReviewContinue, Read More Easy Guide to Royal Caribbean Online Check InContinue, Read More Oasis of the Seas Dining Options ExplainedContinue, Read More Are Royal Caribbean Internet Packages Worth It?Continue, Read More Free Printable Cruise Packing List (with Tips)Continue, Your email address will not be published. You may find yourself in a cabin at the ships bow. Your time on the island gets you the most bang for your buck simply because you get all of these cool experiences for free. Browse through the stateroom options available and choose the amount youre willing to pay for each upgrade. RoyalUp bids have a minimum and maximum bid. karmaoryx . If you havent received an email, make sure to opt-in to Royal Caribbean Internationals marketing emails. Whats the best cruise ship cabin for my family? On ship, day of sailing went to our stateroom and without unpacking in hopes of being upgraded then after the Odyssey was well ou. Thats because most families arent able to travel, and many adults arent able to get vacation time off. Bid higher than the minimum. Be sure to check to see what the cost of a (guaranteed) upgrade is before placing a bid through Royal Up. Do you know about when you'd like to sail? Most importantly, you won't be asked to bid unless you have opted to receive marketing emails from the cruise line, so that's a must-do. We were really looking forward to opening the balcony dividers between our three rooms and enjoying one long balcony. However, the ones on the higher decks include tiny balconies. You will be asked to provide a credit card number that will be charged if your bid is accepted. So for a very overly simplistic example, if there are 2 bids for a RS, and a GS bid $600 and a JS bid $500. Since the minimum bid amounts change depending on ship and itinerary, your options may not look anything like ours did though. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to bea useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. There are even more places your Platinum Card can get you complimentary entry and exclusive perks. We'll notify you via email if your request has been approved. Read more at straitstimes.com. The other one was just okay. Under the circumstance that all reservations are upgraded, RCI cannot guarantee that all No, once your bid is accepted, your card will be charged immediately, and the upgrade amount paid is final and non-refundable. A few clicks and you place your bet and wait to see if your bid is accepted. Some bids may be accepted quickly, others only within days of your sailing. Sometimes there is inventory and they just . 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