The Death of the Coupon Books (Ultimate Value Booklets)?

[kencruisefever]

i'm sure they'll make this work as it's going to save them a lot of $. Cruise lines don't make that much profit so they are going to embrace just about anything to cut costs. The next thing is going to be a smart phone app that allows you to manage all of your activities and reservations, etc. on the ship. They may even do away with phones in staterooms in leu of using your smart phone as a means of communicating. Could also pave the way to complimentary Internet access eventually.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

So... When again is this supposed to begin?

 

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[ctcruiser1721]

i'm sure they'll make this work as it's going to save them a lot of $. Cruise lines don't make that much profit so they are going to embrace just about anything to cut costs. The next thing is going to be a smart phone app that allows you to manage all of your activities and reservations, etc. on the ship. They may even do away with phones in staterooms in leu of using your smart phone as a means of communicating. Could also pave the way to complimentary Internet access eventually.

 

They make quite a profit when I sail. :) And with Sprint, I have horrible service. But now that I have the d+ discount, I call home as needed from my room

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

They make quite a profit when I sail. :) And with Sprint, I have horrible service. But now that I have the d+ discount, I call home as needed from my room

 

What's the regular per minute rate from the cabin phones, and what's the discount you receive?

 

Tom

[ctcruiser1721]

What's the regular per minute rate from the cabin phones, and what's the discount you receive?

 

Tom

 

I think it brings it from $8-9 per min to $3-4. Can't remember exactly what the discount is but it's significant.

[Wilda]

Interesting. This thread is from January, 2013 and when I cruised in December of last year I still had the coupon booklet. Has anyone experienced the coupons being loaded onto their SeaPass card or are we still working with an "RCI very soon" time frame?:rolleyes:

[mommabean]

What's the regular per minute rate from the cabin phones, and what's the discount you receive?

 

Tom

 

It's $7.95 a minute regular price and the D+/Pinnacle coupon brings it to $2 a minute.

 

Gina

[cruisenfever]

Interesting. This thread is from January, 2013 and when I cruised in December of last year I still had the coupon booklet. Has anyone experienced the coupons being loaded onto their SeaPass card or are we still working with an "RCI very soon" time frame?:rolleyes:

We are still working with the "RCI very soon" time frame.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

It's $7.95 a minute regular price and the D+/Pinnacle coupon brings it to $2 a minute.

 

Gina

 

That's a big difference!

 

On Carnival it was $1.99/min flat rate for everyone (Breeze in March). When we first started cruising with Carnival it was something like $7.99 or $9.99/min. In the past few years they've experimented with different rates on different ships ($.99 to $6.99). I think it's now the same across the fleet.

 

I would need to call for a very good reason to justify paying $7.95 - there is obviously a HUGE amount of profit at that price point!

 

On some ships I have had decent service on my cell, but for the most part it's unreliable.

 

Tom

[poncho1973]

We still had booklets on the 4/25 Enchantment sailing.

[SportsFanatic]

Perhaps this is not new news but it was to me. Awesome!

 

From the link below:

 

Our Crown & Anchor Society members are in line for technological benefits in the new year. Crown & Anchor Savings Certificates are already available exclusively online, enabling them to be up to date at all times. And soon the Ultimate Value Booklet of onboard savings will evolve to a paperless format where the offers will be loaded right on to our loyal guests’ Seapass cards for automatic application.

 

http://www.answeritroyally.com/blog/?p=5264

 

If the value booklet is loaded into your Seapass card, how do you know what the coupons are? Is there a kiosk or something that you put your card in to find out what coupons you have or do they give you a paper telling you what coupons you have?

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

If the value booklet is loaded into your Seapass card, how do you know what the coupons are? Is there a kiosk or something that you put your card in to find out what coupons you have or do they give you a paper telling you what coupons you have?

 

Apparently they have not yet implemented the program, so nobody can (fully) answer that question at this time.

 

Tom

[Clarea]

That's a big difference!

 

On Carnival it was $1.99/min flat rate for everyone (Breeze in March). When we first started cruising with Carnival it was something like $7.99 or $9.99/min. In the past few years they've experimented with different rates on different ships ($.99 to $6.99). I think it's now the same across the fleet.

 

I would need to call for a very good reason to justify paying $7.95 - there is obviously a HUGE amount of profit at that price point!

 

On some ships I have had decent service on my cell, but for the most part it's unreliable.

 

Tom

We've had good cell service on ships while at sea. The cost varies by carrier, but for AT&T the cost for a voice call while at sea is $2.49 per minute.

[cruisenfever]

If the value booklet is loaded into your Seapass card, how do you know what the coupons are? Is there a kiosk or something that you put your card in to find out what coupons you have or do they give you a paper telling you what coupons you have?

Apparently they have not yet implemented the program, so nobody can (fully) answer that question at this time.

 

Tom

A letter will be left in each stateroom according to C&A Level listing the coupons that have been loaded.

[manmtnmike]

Apparently they have not yet implemented the program, so nobody can (fully) answer that question at this time.

 

Tom

 

Hey Tom,

Just curious...How did you get Diamond status with only 2 sailings with RCCL?

 

BTW: Have you been on Grandeur OTS yet?

 

Thanks!

Mike

[Ocean Boy]

Interesting. This thread is from January, 2013 and when I cruised in December of last year I still had the coupon booklet. Has anyone experienced the coupons being loaded onto their SeaPass card or are we still working with an "RCI very soon" time frame?:rolleyes:

 

"RCI very soon time" is sort of like "Island time" on valium.

[Paulxyz2004]

Hey Tom,

Just curious...How did you get Diamond status with only 2 sailings with RCCL?

 

Celebrity Elite gains RCI Diamond automatically.

[Elizanessie]

Freedom of the Seas 5th May sailing is meant to be the first sailing with the C&A coupons loaded into the sea pass.

 

The next ship then to get them is the Grandeur on the 19th May.

 

All ships should have them by October.

 

Don't know why they are not doing it all at one time but the above info is what I was given this week.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Hey Tom,

Just curious...How did you get Diamond status with only 2 sailings with RCCL?

 

BTW: Have you been on Grandeur OTS yet?

 

Thanks!

Mike

 

Celebrity Elite gains RCI Diamond automatically.

 

Yep, that's what did it.

 

We sailed on the Sovereign OTS a few years ago. It was a 3 night cruise for which we somehow received 15 credits/points for when they made the conversion. We managed to hit Elite with Celebrity after 5 sailings, then all it took was a call and we were "Diamond" with RCCL. We still, however, have to earn the full number of points to hit D+, so that will take some time! :D

 

No, we have not sailed on the Grandeur OTS.

 

We were lucky enough to get a sample of the Oasis class via a 3 night sailing on the Allure in February... thanks to Chik-fil-A chartering a 4-nighter. Hopefully we'll have a bit more time to explore the ship this trip!

 

Tom

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Freedom of the Seas 5th May sailing is meant to be the first sailing with the C&A coupons loaded into the sea pass.

 

The next ship then to get them is the Grandeur on the 19th May.

 

All ships should have them by October.

 

Don't know why they are not doing it all at one time but the above info is what I was given this week.

 

That would mean that the Oasis will not have them next Saturday. That works for me, as we have some leftover coupons from the Allure that would then not go to waste.

 

Tom

[Ocean Boy]

That would mean that the Oasis will not have them next Saturday. That works for me, as we have some leftover coupons from the Allure that would then not go to waste.

 

Tom

 

Just be sure to check the version number on the coupons when you board. On our recent sailing on Indy the number had changed from the left over coupons that we had.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Just be sure to check the version number on the coupons when you board. On our recent sailing on Indy the number had changed from the left over coupons that we had.

 

I'll do that - thanks! Ours is version 17.

 

Tom

[Clarea]

I'll do that - thanks! Ours is version 17.

 

Tom

Same version being used on Explorer 2 weeks ago.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Same version being used on Explorer 2 weeks ago.

 

Hopefully they won't be printing a new version, since they are soon to be done away with.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

[cruisenfever]

Same version being used on Explorer 2 weeks ago.

Same version on Enchantment last month.