5 Ways to UPGRADE Your Royal Caribbean Cruise (on a small-ish budget)

[@JourneywithJosh]

Great job on the show. Very well done. I know by some comments it's difficult to know if people appreciate your effort.. I do.

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Aw, Josh. Thank you so much for writing that.

[@Susan-hr5qj]

I got an upgrade on NCL Escape. I paid 1000.00 extra but it was for a two bedroom, two bath cabin. We had our adult daughter with us and the cabin worked out perfect. The cabin door opened to a living room so when she stayed out late we were never disturbed when she came in

[@vickieholm8287]

Sooooooooo love your channel ❤

[@campaignteam]

We are among the cruisers who sail without spending any extra money

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

I find that very interesting! Do you pay for a drinks package, or anything additional in advance, or is it just the base price of the cruise and then you're done?

[@andreagriffiths3512]

Back in 2020 I paid $1300 to upgrade from balcony to mini suite on Pacific Explorer. The cruise then got cancelled, shifted to a different destination and I was refunded the money…BUT my upgraded booking carried through. So I got a mini suite for the price of a balcony on my on my 14 night Melbourne to New Zealand round trip cruise…. and got isolated in for the last day and a half with Covid which they refunded me $700. All up it was absolutely awesome.

[@sarahmoores2724]

We won a Royal UP bid on our first cruise in 2019. Oceanview balcony to spacious Oceanview balcony.

[@bas3q]

I've bid via RoyalUp twice, didn't get the upgrade (and didn't expect to as there were very few of the cabin type I was bidding on). One thing that people don't seem to understand with RoyalUp is that just because you can bid on it, doesn't mean it's actually going to be available. If you do choose to bid, you should look at it as bidding on a cabin IF it opens up. For top-tier suites, for example, the chance that the suite isn't booked or someone has to cancel last-minute is usually very unlikely. Lower level cabins that there are lots of, such as standard balcony ones, may be easier to snag via RoyalUp. So I guess the tl;dr here is set your expectations low in advance so you're not disappointed and it'll be a very nice surprise if you do wind up getting upgraded!

[@MrJJSimonds]

Once on board the Jewel Of The Seas in '09, once on board the ship I went to the Guest Services Desk and inquired about an upgrade from my inside to a balcony. I returned to my room later to see the phone blinking and sure enough, there was one, and they would have someone meet me at the room to allow me to see it. I waited by the room for too long and went to the front desk, told them the situation, and they sent me back up to the room to await someone, who shortly showed up... $400.. which I later won in the casino. Come to find out the ship was very full and the only reason I got the balcony was because someone had a medical emergency just before departure. So... book the inside and ask once on board if there are better cabins available. Booking off season and or repositioning cruises can increase those chances.

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Wow! Sounds like you got really lucky there!

[@lisaanderson8235]

I like all these tips! Especially the one about specialty dining at lunch time. 👍That works on land too! Going out to lunch is a great way to try a new place or a place that might be pricey at dinner. 🍽️

[@SoSueMe876]

I’ve done Royal Up twice, won once. I had an ocean view balcony and got upgraded to a Family Surfside Suite on Icon of the Seas. I knew at the time of booking what the prices were for the different categories and I bid under that for the different types we were interested in. We got the upgrade for less than I would have booked it for originally, plus it came with Star Suite perks. Disclaimer: Cruise points earned are for your original cabin type so I didn’t get double points for being in a suite.

[@MrAadamAbdulAlim]

Yeah, they don’t make the old style magic bands anymore, it’s only magic band + now. On one of our Disney trips when we got to the cruise terminal, I decided to ask if they had an upgrade for our room. I need an accessible cabin and chances are that one would be there was very low. To my surprise, they did say they had one accessible balcony room available , and it was only I believe $800 more. needless to say we took it. We did post it on our channel that we switched rooms.

[@juliewilson3237]

I live in the UK so to hear that your having a heatwave in Germany makes me very jealous as it’s currently raining for last two days . Also we’ve basically had about 10 days of sunshine since April lol 😜. Enjoy yourself in the sunshine, we’re off to Furteventura to get some !!

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Have a great time on Fuerte!

[@juliewilson3237]

@@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides Thanks ☺️

[@Molly-h3j4m]

Mmmm... those buttery shrimpies look so delicious!!

[@sherrjo]

Hi Morgan, I hope you are having a great Sunday. :) What is the camera you had on the beach walk at 09:18 ? I see many vloggers with these cameras I love tech so would love to get one. We got upgraded to a balcony but it was above the noisy piano bar. BTW it's just a guarantee cabin so when repricing for the bids just check the guarantee price not the pick your own price. Our last cruise on Anthem we got upgraded by Royal without asking or bidding it was a nice surprise.

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Hey, you. That camera is an Insta360. I talk more about it in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qnibcoiijbSBbdE

[@TracyKMainwaring]

One cruise when Allure was new, we got an inside guarantee, even though our last experienced sucked. 3 days before cruise, we finally got our cabin....a balcony!! We bid on our upcoming VV TA but didn't hear anything after a couple weeks ago canceled it. They resent the offers at a tiny bit lower (the prices seen really high even for a 2 week cruise). We know our cabin, it's okay. We'll ask when we get on board if there's anything. That way, we'll also know the cabin before committing

[@timyak3079]

We upgraded on HAL to “above our knowledge of the perks” for $200 each and we were on a upper floor next door to the suite area yet we were not allowed in the special lounge/bar. It was neat yet finding out we missed out on cool upgrade stuff as we were ignorant

[@mickiesadventures]

Upgrade bids has never worked for me, but I can definitely say that when I planned a group vacation years ago 10 of my cabins were upgrades form ocean view to balcony occupied with only couples, and I was upgraded to a JS once.

[@andrewsabol5045]

I got one ! Lowes commercial 😊 We have bid for an upgrade on NCL and got upgraded once. Great video Morgan 👍

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Do you remember how much you bid and what cabin you had originally compared to what you ended up in?

[@andrewsabol5045]

@@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides no, don't remember it's been a few years

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Maybe for an upcoming SofaTime, I'll just read the phone book?

[@kathaag]

Great video! I am currently visiting my daughter in California and it was 107 today!! Tooooooo hot!!!

[@Knightnurse90]

We were offered an upgrade years ago from a connecting balcony room with our kids to - Junior suite for just my husband and I. It was not a great part of the ship so we kept our assignment because we liked having the two bathroom two bedroom situation. But we are going on independence in November for my son, “make it to diamond cruise “lol I did call and they offered me an aft balcony for $98 above what we’re paying for an interior room😮!

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

That is awesome!

[@live2skide1]

nothing better in my opinion than an aft balcony!!!

[@ready2roamrv289]

I try not to spend more than $100 more once I've paid for the booking. I will buy a couple of drinks and spend a little in the casino for "entertainment" (I rarely win my money back, LOL). On my last cruise on Royal, I used on-board credit to purchase the beach cooler with 6 beers. I used those for when I went to Cocoa Cay and to the adult only area pool or hot tub. I'm not a big drinker, so buying the drink package is ridiculously expensive and wasteful. This little "hack" really helped...and that cooler really kept those beers cold! 😉

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Sounds like you are really great at staying on budget!

[@live2skide1]

I try to pay for everything BEFORE the cruise if I can. I sail mostly on Princess, but recently on P&O and Cunard. Princess Plus is the best package around, and covers internet, gratuities and drinks. Compared to what was offered on P&O & Cunard, it was worth the money. We often will have onboard credit (stockholder, military, future cruise booking credits), so will use them for booking things like excursions. I always tell people plan to spend 3 x the base fare when budgeting for a cruise. Princess has been using the medallion in place of a key card since about 2018. Looks like an apple air tag. That's what I pimp; the holder to use. I have some bling holders and probably 5 or 6 other types of holders so I am not wearing a lanyard around my neck. Love my watch style holder. Sadly they don't reuse the medallions, but they make great magnets on my fridge and remind me of cruises. (11 on the fridge right now!)

[@TracyKMainwaring]

I still can't believe they put two mega ships at Coco Cay. It was crowded when we were there on an Oasis ship. We are so frugal. We don't do any of these things LOL. We used to do Chops when our TA gave us on board credit. But back then, the specialty restaurants were $25-$35.

[@joangroothuis4031]

Great ideas

[@mickiesadventures]

I haven’t been to Labadee since Covid, but If my memory serves me right I was able to use my drink package on there, could things have changed since and if that is so that would not be cool!

[@kimberlyfamoly1963]

I don't have a problem not spending extra money at all inclusive resorts or cruises, however my husband and children always want the extras. I am just happy to relax and enjoy what is offered.

[@dancooper41]

We bid for an upgrade on Virgin Voyages last year, just a little above the minimum bid, and got it. Was well worth the money. Also, just got an offer to bid on an upcoming Celebrity cruise, had some very low opening bid levels, but decided to pass. Traveling with friends & didn’t want to be in a different dining room while they’re still in MDR.

[@TracyKMainwaring]

The opening bid for our upcoming VV cruise is quite high. We've already been assigned our inside cabin, and it's fine. We put in a bid, hasn't heard back after 2-3 weeks, so withdrew. Then they resent the offers with lower starting bids (but only like $10-$20 lower). It's a Transatlantic cruise, so lower occupancy, and I'm hoping we'll just get upgraded anyway

[@704musicent]

Got a trip in April on my first Royal cruise going to Labadee and if the drink package doesn't work there I probably won't even get off the ship

[@snufflesdawg1934]

I don't think it's true that Royal wouldn't offer the upgrade if it weren't available. I think the royal upgrade program is a way for Royal to make more money when cabins open up late usually due to last minute cancellations. I always get offered upgrades, but when I look to see what rooms are available, the ship is always sold out (I cruise during peak times). I have won an upgrade before and the higher the upgrade, the more upgrades occur because they cascade downfield. (ex. suite to higher suite, jr suite to suite, balcony to jr suite, outside to balcony, inside to outside, etc.) Now that ships are pretty much sailing full, these upgrades are harder to get.

[@winterwhitechocolate]

You may not want to get matching WOW bands, as it is assigned to you, not just your room. It is like your sea pass card, it I identifies who bought what, etc. It brings up your picture on the scanners just like the sea pass card and if the pictures don't match, it could cause problems. If they match, you might not know who's is whos.

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Oh! True! That's why it's nice if you can "pimp" them, like at Disney.

[@feelosophy1921]

I don't upgrade my experience once I'm onboard. I add and pay for items in app up until embarkation and resolve to spend no more than my set casino limit once on the ship. So far it's kept me from going nuts and blowing my self imposed budget.

[@kmarshie]

We went on the May 31, 2024 sailing of Symphony of the Seas and initially booked a guaranteed oceanview cabin. I bid $150 total for a Neighborhood Balcony Cabin. We won the bid and was assigned a Boardwalk Balcony Cabin on deck 14 under the sports court . Surprisingly, it wasn't too noisy. Just would hear it when the sports court door slammed shut periodically during the day

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Oh wow. Ya, I guess sometimes the "upgrade" isn't necessarily an upgrade!

[@live2skide1]

@@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides absolutely - picking a cabin location is probably the most important part of booking a cruise.

[@Solo_Traveling]

i bid for an upgrade with the bare minimum and won. I was on a interior cabin was was upgraded to a neighborhood cabin (you know, the ones that have a window to the boardwalk or central park). I was really happy to get some sunlight. I loved my cabin.

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Do you remember how much you bid?

[@Solo_Traveling]

@@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides i think it was about 60 euros. But I traveled solo so that made it 120 in total. Still cheaper than what it would've cost me anyway.

[@Jimmy-Mc]

I bid $400 to upgrade from inside to balcony once, and it was not accepted. I don't do it very often becauase I really like picking my cabin location.

[@lorenadugan6355]

We enjoy lunch onboard.

[@MsKimmy511]

Won a Royal Up. Moved to a MUCH better balcony for the minimum bid of $300.

[@jasonlangdon709]

We have bid up a few times and won a balcony.

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

Do you remember how much you paid?

[@bufbufhk]

*pimp* your cruise 😂😂😂

[@marvinthomas6071]

Royal upgrade has NEVER worked for me! What a waste of time! I hear of all the people it has worked for and it’s disheartening, never trying it again! So much for crown and anchor loyalty. 😢

[@VeryunOfficialTravelGuides]

I heard only the ugly people get upgrades ;-) Never worked for me, either.