NoWorriesVA

Ship - Brilliance of the Seas

Deck - 9

Stateroom # - 9252

Stateroom Category – Obstructed Ocean View Balcony 1E 

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes, very quiet. Almost at the end of the hall, so little foot traffic, and there were staterooms above and below us.

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – *This is an obstructed view balcony - there is permanent window-washing equipment parked on the left-hand side* I've included a number of photos below so you can see what it is like. It didn't bother us; you can see "through" it and we still had clear views looking up, down, out, and to the right.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal

Was wind a problem? - No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - No

Any specific problems with this cabin? - No

Any other comments? - Sleeps 5; there is a pullout double sleeper sofa and a pulldown bed above it. We did not use them so can't comment on how they were. It's a great cabin - we got the extra square footage of a spacious cabin at the regular size obstructed view balcony price. 

Interior:

View looking out:

Full view of obstruction:

View to the left:

View to the right:

Sunrise view from room:

Sunrise from balcony:

1 hour ago, truffles2 said:

Has anyone made, for instance, final payment on a cruise booked before October 2021 and received the credit.  All of our current bookings were made before Oct. 2021 and they told me that it would not qualify.  I am tempted to make final payment with that card just to see....

Didn't want to make a new booking right now.

Our original booking and deposit were made May 2021 (on another card). I paid final payment, gratuities, and deluxe beverage packages on Amex in Nov to meet the threshold, and received credit for the offer. Plenty of other posters have either made final payment and/or cruise planner purchases and qualified. 

1 hour ago, Sayuil said:

Need some urgent advice, I am booking a new reservation and trying to redeem 500$ off 1500$ offer. My booking along with Prepaid gratuities and insurance comes to 1450$. Is there anything else that I can add to my reservation that will move my booking over 1450$

 

Also does 1500$ has to be spent in one transaction or can I process 1450 now and then use rest in the cruise planner to trigger the offer?

 

Thanks in advance

It does not have to be one transaction, you can purchase something in the cruise planner to put you over $1500. I can confirm having done this, as well as others. The only difference is you may or may not get the email that says you used your offer. The credit will still show up on your AmEx account a few days after the purchase that puts you over $1500, once that charge moves out of pending I think.

Thank you to everyone who offered input about cruise planner purchases! At the next sale, I'll experiment with canceling our beverage package (charged to a different card) and repurchasing with the Amex. Between that and final payment and gratuities, we'd have enough spending. Otherwise, may have to put deposit on another sailing 😉

The $500 on $1500 was on my Amex Blue Cash Preferred which we mostly use for grocery spending and occasional AmEx offer

My card had the $500 off $1500 too - thank you so much for the heads up!! It sounds like the total spending can be spread across several transactions. Anyone used these in the past know if Cruise Planner purchases or pre-paid gratuities qualify, or just fare payments?

• Get a one-time $500 statement credit by using your enrolled Card to spend a minimum of $1,500 in one or more transactions on reservations booked at royalcaribbean.com, by phone at 1-866-562-7625 or by contacting your preferred travel advisor by 12/31/2021.
• Enrollment limited. Must first add offer to Card and then use same Card to redeem. Only U.S.-issued American Express® Cards are eligible. Limit 1 enrolled Card per Card Member across all American Express offer channels. Your enrollment of an eligible American Express Card for this offer extends only to that Card. Offer valid on bookings made online at royalcaribbean.com or by calling 1-866-562-7625 or your Travel Professional. Reservations must be booked on US website only. Valid only on purchases made in US dollars. Excludes onboard purchases, e-gift card and physical gift card purchases made online, transfers/transportation to the ship, Royal Caribbean/Universal Resort Joint Vacation, MGM Resort International Joint Vacation and Royal Wedding Packages. Excludes Celebrity Cruise, TUI Cruises and Silversea brands. Offer is non-transferable. Limit of 1 statement credit per Card Member. The enrolled Card account must not be cancelled or past due to receive statement credit. Any benefit earned from this offer is in addition to the rewards (i.e. Membership Rewards or cash back) earned as part of your existing Card benefits, but your ability to earn spend-based rewards for the purchase will be based on the amount after any statement credit or other discount is applied. Statement credit will appear on your billing statement within 90 days after 12/31/2021, provided that American Express receives information from the merchant about your qualifying purchase.