leaveitallbehind

OBC issued by the cruise line is non-refundable and any unused portion at the end of the cruise will be lost.  Refundable OBC is issued by a third party, such as yourself, a friend or family member, or your travel agent, essentially as a gift. Any unused portion at the end of the cruise is issued back as a credit to you. OBC issued by a credit card provider is also refundable and any unused portion will be credited back to the card account. Note that TA issued refundable OBC may be credited back to them and it would then be up to them as to whether or not you receive a credit.  

If both are issued on a given cruise, the non-refundable OBC is charged and depleted first by the cruise line, and the refundable OBC to be charged and depleted last.

Any charges, other than that which would be a deposit made on board for a future cruise, that are credited to your on board account will have OBC applied to the charges as described. Future cruise deposits are charged directly to your credit card and not to the stateroom's on board account. The OBC will be applied as the charges are incurred and cannot be applied discretionarily. 

This is a rather common question. If you think about it, just about everybody reaches their next tier on a given cruise at some point in the cruise. It likely is rare otherwise. Just to echo the above responses, the tier levels are achieved by the total points earned and accrued on a given cruise and next tier advancement is recognized on the subsequent cruise from that on which they were earned.  The only RCCL C & A exception is Pinnacle, which is recognized on the cruise on which it is reached.

Just to add, you can get as many duplicate door cards (same as the others but without CC data, etc., embedded) as needed so that as many passengers traveling together can access each room as needed.

Also, different topic, if CC privileges are included on the primary cards with the children you can have their charging limits set or eliminated altogether if desired per card.

16 minutes ago, babs135 said:

I posted the article elsewhere and was 'challenged' as to whether it was correct. This was based on the fact that the origin of the story is Reddit. As no ship is mentioned in the article, posting it on this forum seemed the only logical way to find out if anyone knew anything.

I'm not sure it matters. Correct or not, true or false, doesn't change the outcome of what can and will happen to those who are late on their own for a port of call departure time.  And just to add, IMO it won't ever likely be successfully painted as anyone else's responsibility other than the passengers'.

True or false? I don't think we will likely ever know all of the facts from all perspectives - only those presented by the writer of the article.  But IMO, I'm not sure that's relevant.  What is relevant is that ships have a schedule to maintain and they will leave based on that, with or without you.  And this is nothing new.

I realize this is a vacation and the cruise ship is the focal part of that, in particular in terms of transportation.  But cruise ships have a schedule which must be kept and delaying that has many ripple effects including potentially incurring extra port charges for delayed departure, compromising the timing with the next port of call, etc., etc. That schedule is maintained at the expense of those who, in particular with independent shore activities, fail to responsibly return to the ship on time. 

Those times, and consequences for missing them, are well published and should be easily understood by all, with return times generally also providing for a 30 minute cushion prior to departure. So if they miss the ship, they are already at least 30 minutes late. It's very unfortunate for those who by failing to return on time are left behind, but it is what it is. Responsibility to be on time lies with the passenger. 

I realize as well that these may be argued as different situations, but airplanes, trains, and buses all leave at their appointed schedule, whether you are on board or not. JMO.

2 hours ago, verizon said:

When I read this it make me wonder.Is 6 coupon drinks per day is better than unlimited and ONE bag of laundry better than unlimited ?

Where is the logic ?

Agree. And to be clear, my comments indicating that RCCL C&A benefits are better than Celebrity CC benefits was for the tier levels up to Zenith. Zenith is stronger with premium beverage package and laundry as you mention.

15 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

Is Liberty in charge of both business? Perhaps it’s to “encourage” people to spend less time on their balconies and more on the pool deck where they are more likely to spend money. 

No he is not. He is the President and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, which is the parent company of RCCL, Celebrity, and Silversea.  In that respect, yes, in theory he is in charge of everyone. But his focus is with the strategic operational leadership of the corporation. To your question, Michael Bayley is CEO of RCCL and Laura Hodges Bethge is President of Celebrity.  Each cruise line is a separate company and operated independently by them.  I would think it very unlikely that Jason Liberty would be too involved in that level of operational concern with either cruise line.  He has much bigger fish to fry.

17 minutes ago, hcat said:

Altho' CoCo Cay may change the picture !

I will be curious over time to see the responses from Celebrity cruisers who are new to CocoCay. Especially as typically every Celebrity itinerary with a stop there will be there with a large RCCL ship.

51 minutes ago, goldfish65 said:

Sounds fishy. Is this coming from a credible source?

 

It's a pretty long thread with a lot of responses from recent cruisers.  Probably have to wade through it all to answer that question.

12 minutes ago, hcat said:

yes, but I believe  many more from Royal C are in the potential crossover pool and push to further Royalize X

 

.Some Royal benefits like the  cocktail hr buffet are better than on X,  but we left Royal yrs ago and  have not been tempted back!

 

 

 

 

 

Cruisers are people, regardless of how experienced they are with one line or another.  Not sure how anyone's presence on board could "Royalize" Celebrity.  Did you have that effect on Celebrity when you left RCCL?  Not sure how one could tell on board what cruise line one has previously sailed with to have that concern - or more importantly should even care!

We cruised RCCL extensively when our family was young as that is their primary target demographics.  When our kids became adults we shifted our cruising mainly to Celebrity as that demographic fit better.  But from time to time for different (sometimes family) reasons we still cruise RCCL.  They fit us both for different reasons.  

But we don't have an attitude about others who may cruise both from time to time...

If it is a legitimate mistake they will make an adjustment.  You can also cancel up to two days before sailing without penalty with a refund to the credit card used in the purchase. On board, typically by 24 hours prior, you will receive an OBC.  I would not be concerned at this point and hopefully it will be corrected prior to boarding.

9 minutes ago, hcat said:

so now top tier Celeb events will  presumably be even more crowded with Royal Crossovers!  not worth it!

....and visa versa with RCCL.  It works both ways.  Not to mention that the RCCL tier benefits up to Zenith are far better than Celebrity!

We have cruised both lines rather extensively (50+ combined) and while we earned D+ on RCCL, we will be Elite on our own merit with Celebrity after our upcoming June cruise.  In all that time I never saw ourselves or others as "crossovers" to either line.  Just cruisers who for different reasons at different times liked and cruised both.

10 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

If you are saying you just got to Elite Plus on Celebrity and are assuming that also gives you Diamond Plus, I don't think that is correct. I am pretty sure that the reciprocities only go up to Diamond. Similarly, if you got to Diamond Plus on Royal, it only gives you Elite on Celebrity.

No they just changed that effective 6/5.  Tier levels now have equal benefit reciprocity.  So Diamond + now = Elite +, etc., and visa versa.  (Some lowest tier levels have remained combined)

26 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

It was stated that they are removing loungers, not chairs.

Understand the clarification,and thanks. But to me it's the same question and comments.  If they once had them (for many years) why now remove them - assuming they do.  I guess I fall into the camp that doesn't get it.

If it is day of boarding, you can probably just check your luggage into the ship that morning.  Not sure what NCL's restrictions are with check in, but with most cruise lines you can do that around 10:00 or so in the morning.  Maybe earlier.  Check with NCL.

4 minutes ago, Liao said:

Perhaps, but in a fun way IMO.

Agree.  But wonder why they think we would care or need our opinion?  Cruise as one wishes. That's pretty much how we do it. 

More importantly, what is the point of paying for a balcony if you can't sit on it to enjoy the sea view?  The whole thing with either cruise line makes no sense to me whatsoever.  We have an upcoming trans-Atlantic on Odyssey next year with an aft facing balcony.  What else are you supposed to do with a balcony for 14 days if not not able to sit on it?

Guess I will also find out in a few weeks how serious Celebrity is with this concern on my upcoming Eclipse sailing.

If you are concerned about noise, the best option would be to move to deck 11 where you will only have staterooms above (and below) you, versus the pool and other public areas deck.  Your location is under the outer ring of deck chairs and IMO any noise that you may hear would come from the possibility of lounge chairs being moved occasionally during the morning hours and daytime.  But, other than with the crew rearranging them late in the day, I doubt there would be any issues at night. I don't know that this would be a "given", and everyone's experience certainly can vary.

While they may be two cruise lines that are part of the same RCI family, they are independent and managed separately.  As a result they won't necessarily have the same policies as each other relative to this topic.  That doesn't mean that they won't, just not a certainty that they will.

1 hour ago, RTShaker said:

Prime just refers to the location on the ship. It is still a regular veranda cabin in the more desirable location.

As a result, it also typically is the most costly sub-category stateroom of the category,

11 minutes ago, kilndude said:

Sorry for not giving enough info but it is a 4 day cruise out of California

I thought that might be the case.  Not sure what they do on shorter cruises and it might depend on what night Halloween falls. But I would think they would do something.

Are you referring to a future cruise credit, such as that issued by the cruise line during the pandemic cancelations, or other reason?  If so, IMO I would book through a TA and let them handle it on your behalf.  If there are better fares available not published directly through the cruise line to the general public they will be able to provide them for you.  You may also get additional benefits not issued by the cruise line from the TA if they are in a position to offer them.  All they need is the FCC number and they can do the rest.

If you are referring to a future cruise booking that you made on board that also can be booked through a TA with the same on board booking benefits secured when you booked it.

4 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

Been on other Ships, doing longer 10+ Sailings and 25% would Dress up. 6 these Cruises Costume Contest, 3 times had a Haunted House. Other Ships and shorter Sailings not sure though

Good point.  Our last one was on an 8-night cruise.  If this is a short itinerary, not sure what they will do, but I would expect even the shorter ones to have something going on.

RCCL typically has a rather large and fun Halloween party on board.  The extent of which may vary by ship and itinerary length, but since Navigator has a Royal Promenade, I would expect theirs to be good as that is typically where the festivities are held.  Our last one was a number of years ago on Independence and it was a lot of fun. Bring your best costumes!

39 minutes ago, Tom and Ingrid said:

It's not avoidance because clearly logistics, planning, and a whole lot of stuff outsiders like us can't think of.

But the HAL fleet is, as far as i can tell, the same size as the X fleet.  If "they" can do it, "we" can do it!  I've never spent much time looking at HAL, but honestly, I'd hope the cruise lines all try to learn from each other.

Corporate overlap definitely seems to be a potential issue, but X is by far the more logical line vs the RCL ships - especially the new RCL stuff.  To some extent, I am a little confused by X at times when they add the short cruises (say 4 days or the like), and knock off some like that 14 night BA-Valparaiso cruise.  

M or S class for sure for a lot of those with the E class filling the most "exciting" routes. I'd be fine with that.

Good point.  But maybe the HAL itineraries have more to do with their demographics and possibly some of their itineraries are geared towards those with more time and disposable income to do longer or more exotic itineraries away from the more typical oversaturated mass market itineraries.

And although they are different companies, RCCL, Celebrity, And Silversea are all part of the RCI family and each targets a different primary demographic.  As a whole they have more diverse itineraries but within each a lot of repetition and sameness.

I think Silversea has more itinerary diversity away from RCCL and Celebrity which may address the question. We just may have to look outside of Celebrity for some of that diversity.  But they also go where the money takes them.  In this respect HAL is part of the Carnival family, and that parent's cruise line diversity also addresses a wide variety of demographics and itineraries.