Advantages of booking future cruise while onboard

What are the advantages of booking a future cruise while onboard versus just booking one from home?

What are the advantages of booking a future cruise while onboard versus just booking one from home?

Not a lot.

We nearly got sucked in last year when on AOS- the seller (very pushy) was not amused when I challenged her, and pointed out how crass the deal was

Reduced deposit my cruise for 3 (in a balcony on 7 nt adventure of the seas) next year is a total deposit of $100.

Small OBC, took the $100 OBC on board at the time.

Basically I gave them $100 they gave me back $100 and I have a reservation for next year.

What are the advantages of booking a future cruise while onboard versus just booking one from home?

Depends on the stateroom category and length of cruise. Below are the OBC amounts, which are the same as the deposits. Not that these amounts are per stateroom, not per person:

•5-7 night cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $50

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $100

◦Grand Suite and above: $200

•8-10 night cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $100

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $150

◦Grand Suite and above: $300

•11-14 night cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $150

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $200

◦Grand Suite and above: $400

•15 nights or longer cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $200

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $250

◦Grand Suite and above: $500

Reduced deposit my cruise for 3 (in a balcony on 7 nt adventure of the seas) next year is a total deposit of $100.

Small OBC, took the $100 OBC on board at the time.

Basically I gave them $100 they gave me back $100 and I have a reservation for next year.

Just be aware that using the OBC for the AOS cruise on the cruise you made the booking on now makes your deposit non-refundable.

What is the current incentive for booking a Celebrity cruise while onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise?

What is the current incentive for booking a Celebrity cruise while onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise?

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/CEL_FutureCruise_Flyer.pdf

One part I'm not sure of is if you can get instant OBC on the Royal cruise when booking a Celebrity cruise.

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/CEL_FutureCruise_Flyer.pdf

 

One part I'm not sure of is if you can get instant OBC on the Royal cruise when booking a Celebrity cruise.

Thanks, You are always helpfull

Just be aware that using the OBC for the AOS cruise on the cruise you made the booking on now makes your deposit non-refundable.

Correct, I spent the $100. No refund but also nothing lost if I do cancel.

Reduced deposit my cruise for 3 (in a balcony on 7 nt adventure of the seas) next year is a total deposit of $100.

Small OBC, took the $100 OBC on board at the time.

Basically I gave them $100 they gave me back $100 and I have a reservation for next year.

One note on the reduced deposit, if you use a travel agent, and I do and always do, when you get back and talk to them they don't recognize the reduced deposit. You have to send them the difference between the reduced deposit and the regular deposit. I think its worth it we pay on our cruise throughout the year anyway. We also get prepaid gratuities and free specialty restaurants.

Just be aware that using the OBC for the AOS cruise ...

Patti, when you refer to AOS, do you mean Adventure, Anthem, or Allure? :p;):D

One note on the reduced deposit, if you use a travel agent, and I do and always do, when you get back and talk to them they don't recognize the reduced deposit. You have to send them the difference between the reduced deposit and the regular deposit. I think its worth it we pay on our cruise throughout the year anyway. We also get prepaid gratuities and free specialty restaurants.

That's not true of all TA's. I've never had to do that with the two I use.

I always look to book another cruise when I'm on board. I've booked RCCL and Celebrity on both cruise lines. Celebrity's obc is more generous.

I really like the reduced deposit, mainly because I'm already out-of-pocket for the current cruise expenses, so it's nice not to be paying out the full deposit for the future one.

I've also booked Azamara while on a Celebrity cruise. Same benefits, BUT if you are a higher tier RCCL Crown and Anchor member, you need to join Azamara's LeClub program before you board a Celebrity or RCCL ship and book Azamara onboard. This is because you get an additional 5-10% off when you book onboard a ship, and you need to point that out during the booking, because not all of the future cruise consultants on RCCL or Celebrity are familiar with the details of booking Azamara.

I consider booking onboard a win-win.

... BUT if you are a higher tier RCCL Crown and Anchor member, you need to join Azamara's LeClub program before you board a Celebrity or RCCL ship and book Azamara onboard.....

Peggy, can we join Azamara's program before we have ever cruised with them?

Peggy, can we join Azamara's program before we have ever cruised with them?

YES, Bob!! I did just that earlier this year, because I had already picked out an Azamara cruise for my bff and I in 2017. Azamara was having a BOGOHO promo, plus I got their CRUISENOW discount (LeClub onboard booking discount). Saved me $1,668.

Here's the link to their FAQ page. I joined by phone and gave them my Celebrity Captain's Circle info. Right now they still add points to Azamara when you take Celebrity cruises, too.

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/int/le-club-voyage/frequently-asked-questions

What are the advantages of booking a future cruise while onboard versus just booking one from home?

Quite frankly I gave up on booking a future cruise on Royal Caribbean after my last experience booking a future cruise on board the Explorer of the Seas. I booked a cabin on the Liberty OTS and was given a price that was $1,000 higher than the current price. I point that out and even had printed proof of same. I was told I was being given the best price there was (which as it turns out was a lie). The cruise was two weeks. When I returned home I contacted my agent. She was able to get me the lower price - $1,000 lower.

I will not trust Royal Caribbean to deal with me honestly as a result. In fact, my next cruise on Royal Caribbean will be my last with Royal Caribbean for a while. I'm Diamond Plus and I believe it is time for me to see what the other lines are up to. I've already booked a cruise on NCL for late 2016. I've been on NCL and Princess before and I would also like to give HAL, Costa and Celebrity a try. And yes, I know Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity. I may book with Royal Caribbean again, but for now it is time to try out some other lines. I'm also platinum with Carnival.

Quite frankly I gave up on booking a future cruise on Royal Caribbean after my last experience booking a future cruise on board the Explorer of the Seas. I booked a cabin on the Liberty OTS and was given a price that was $1,000 higher than the current price. I point that out and even had printed proof of same. I was told I was being given the best price there was (which as it turns out was a lie). The cruise was two weeks. When I returned home I contacted my agent. She was able to get me the lower price - $1,000 lower.

 

I will not trust Royal Caribbean to deal with me honestly as a result. In fact, my next cruise on Royal Caribbean will be my last with Royal Caribbean for a while. I'm Diamond Plus and I believe it is time for me to see what the other lines are up to. I've already booked a cruise on NCL for late 2016. I've been on NCL and Princess before and I would also like to give HAL, Costa and Celebrity a try. And yes, I know Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity. I may book with Royal Caribbean again, but for now it is time to try out some other lines. I'm also platinum with Carnival.

Although I have never had the pricing problem you had on RCCL, I think you will enjoy HAL and Celebrity. It's been so long since I've been on Costa that I can't comment.

Celebrity will give you the same great perks that RCCL does, and their onboard booking obc is more generous.

We really enjoyed our HAL cruise. HAL has some wonderful longer itineraries. We sailed from Sydney to Seattle for 28 nights on HAL. Great cruise. It was an identical itinerary to one with RCCL, and we got off the RCCL ship in Sydney, stayed overnight, and then took HAL over to Seattle. It was $400 cheaper per person than RCCL, and it was a longer cruise. Enjoy!

YES, Bob!! I did just that earlier this year, because I had already picked out an Azamara cruise for my bff and I in 2017. Azamara was having a BOGOHO promo, plus I got their CRUISENOW discount (LeClub onboard booking discount). Saved me $1,668.

 

Here's the link to their FAQ page. I joined by phone and gave them my Celebrity Captain's Circle info. Right now they still add points to Azamara when you take Celebrity cruises, too.

 

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/int/le-club-voyage/frequently-asked-questions

Thanks for this!:)

One note on the reduced deposit, if you use a travel agent, and I do and always do, when you get back and talk to them they don't recognize the reduced deposit. You have to send them the difference between the reduced deposit and the regular deposit. I think its worth it we pay on our cruise throughout the year anyway. We also get prepaid gratuities and free specialty restaurants.

This must be something unique to the TA you are using. Our TA has always recognized the reduced deposit and has never asked for anything additional until final payment is due.

Patti, when you refer to AOS, do you mean Adventure, Anthem, or Allure? :p;):D

LOL all of the above.:)

One note on the reduced deposit, if you use a travel agent, and I do and always do, when you get back and talk to them they don't recognize the reduced deposit. You have to send them the difference between the reduced deposit and the regular deposit. I think its worth it we pay on our cruise throughout the year anyway. We also get prepaid gratuities and free specialty restaurants.

That's not true of all TA's. I've never had to do that with the two I use.

Same here. My TA has never asked for additional deposit.

One note on the reduced deposit, if you use a travel agent, and I do and always do, when you get back and talk to them they don't recognize the reduced deposit. You have to send them the difference between the reduced deposit and the regular deposit. I think its worth it we pay on our cruise throughout the year anyway. We also get prepaid gratuities and free specialty restaurants.

Not true, my TA has never had a problem with honoring the reduced deposit.

We mostly cruise with DCL (8), so when I went to OBB on RCI, I expected something similar to the 10% off, $200 OBC for 7 days or more, $100 for shorter, etc. They charged my credit card $200 (she said $100 per adult for two OBB) for an open booking. I got a whopping $25 extra OBC above what Costco could give me, and they only credited $100 to the sailing. So I basically lost $75. After three phone calls to Costco (who then have to get on the phone with RCI), they finally gave me my $100 back.

My time is not worth $25, so i won't do it again.

We mostly cruise with DCL (8), so when I went to OBB on RCI, I expected something similar to the 10% off, $200 OBC for 7 days or more, $100 for shorter, etc. They charged my credit card $200 (she said $100 per adult for two OBB) for an open booking. I got a whopping $25 extra OBC above what Costco could give me, and they only credited $100 to the sailing. So I basically lost $75. After three phone calls to Costco (who then have to get on the phone with RCI), they finally gave me my $100 back.

 

My time is not worth $25, so i won't do it again.

It sounds like they sold you an open booking. I agree that those were not worth it when you bought it. I believe they are gone now.

It sounds like they sold you an open booking. I agree that those were not worth it when you bought it. I believe they are gone now.

Yes, it was an open booking. I didn't know they are gone now. I'm not really mad about the $25 part -- something is better than nothing. But the ripping me off $100 part was really irritating. We are on B2B for the holidays, so perhaps I shall look into OBB an actual cruise and see what they can do.

Yes, it was an open booking. I didn't know they are gone now. I'm not really mad about the $25 part -- something is better than nothing. But the ripping me off $100 part was really irritating. We are on B2B for the holidays, so perhaps I shall look into OBB an actual cruise and see what they can do.

If you look at post #4, you can see that the OBC amounts for booking a specific cruise are much better than those from the most recent version of the open booking.

One note on the reduced deposit, if you use a travel agent, and I do and always do, when you get back and talk to them they don't recognize the reduced deposit. You have to send them the difference between the reduced deposit and the regular deposit. I think its worth it we pay on our cruise throughout the year anyway. We also get prepaid gratuities and free specialty restaurants.

That has not been an issue with my travel agent.