RCI Visa rewards on any ship?

[liberiben]

Can you redeem your 125,000 points for a 7 night Caribbean cruise on any ship/any time? Or is it certain ships and certain times?

[redhead621]

Originally Posted by liberiben

Can you redeem your 125,000 points for a 7 night Caribbean cruise on any ship/any time? Or is it certain ships and certain times?

You can use your reward points on any ship at any time. There are no black out periods like airlines. If you are using the 125K for a free cruise, check to see if using 100K for a $1000 isn't of more value.

[newbiecruiser09]

Double check the website-I think that there are certain holiday sailings that you cannot use the points for a free cruise.

[liberiben]

Looking at using it on the Oasis/Allure in May time frame.

[didicruiser]

I just got off the Oasis and used the 125,000 pts. The oceanview room costs $1,200.00 per person and I went for free It has a max value up to $2,500

[QTBabyNurse]

We used our 125k points to book the Allure and we upgraded to a balcony cabin and paid a few hundred bucks difference. Using the free cruise points on the Allure or Oasis will give you the biggest bang for your buck since it is so expensive.

[liberiben]

Thanks for the replies. I assume you still have to pay taxes and port fees.

[QTBabyNurse]

What they do is figure out how much a minimum priced ocean view stateroom costs for two passengers for the sailing you are interested in and they give you a credit for that much off the total cost of your cruise. They cap off the credit at $2500 for the both of you.

[QTBabyNurse]

One other thing..make sure to redeem your Visa points WAY ahead of the final payment due date because it takes a long time to get those points credited. If they do not get credited prior to final payment, they will make you pay the final payment and then you'll have to chase them to get the refund.

[didicruiser]

Originally Posted by liberiben

Thanks for the replies. I assume you still have to pay taxes and port fees.

Yes, you do

[mcgraiha]

Ok, I don't want to be repetitive but would like to clarify. If I have 125,000 points to redeem for a free cruise and book the Allure in which OV rooms are $949 and balcony staterooms are $1,119 I can just pay the upgrade fee and port fees? That would make more sense than using the credit rewards for a cash value amount, right? Do you make the reservation for the room you want (I.e. balcony) then have the free cruise points applied up to their maximum value or do you somehow reserve the trip at the same time of trying to redeem the points? Also, can this be booked using a Next Cruise certificate? Sorry for so many questions but I've only redeemed points for on board credit in the past which is pretty straightforward.

[rae8836]

You've basically got it. The 125000 is credited as 'equivalent cash value' against whatever reservation you might have. You do not have to apply the points at time of reservation; you can choose to apply the points to a reservation you already have in place. They _do_ use the original date of your reservation and calculate the 'equivalent cash value' as of the date of the reservation - this removes price changes in either direction from the calculation.

Using the 'equivalent cash value' on a really expensive trip (say, Oasis or Allure) is the way to maximize the value. The points can be applied to any ship but the reservation must not be during any of the established blackout periods.

I used 125000 points for the May 6 2012 Allure westbound - was credited $2334 against an existing JS reservation - reduced the reservation cost by just about 1/2.

[mcgraiha]

Thanks so much! Now I'm ready to book!!