UK cruisers - Tesco and RCI

[sddsddean]

Has anyone had any experience (good or bad) using Tesco vouchers as part payment of an RCI cruise? We've got loads of vouchers, but I did hear if you use them you get none of the freebies like paid grats., free parking, OBC etc.

 

Simon

[Mim Lloyd]

I've used them twice for cruises in the Caribbean and far East. Each time I had £900 which was well over half the cost (excluding flights). There weren't any offers on the go so I didn't miss out on anything. I've never had any problems and the prices with the vouchers have never been more than about £30 or so, which is nothing compared to the savings by using the vouchers.

 

But then six months ago I used £650 of vouchers towards our 14 night cruise on the Explorer this summer in the Med. A month after booking, RCI offered the free drinks and tips package. It was worth about £1100 to us. I rang them and they said that they wouldn't add this deal to my booking and as I part paid with Tesco vouchers they wouldn't give any extra deals and offers on top anyway. I ended up cancelling our original cruise, getting my Tesco vouchers recredited back to my Clubcard and then immediately rebooking in the same cabin and with the free drinks and tips deal. I lost my original £300 deposit and have to pay for the cruise in full, but I've got my vouchers back and overall am still £250 better off.

 

I've now got £901in vouchers and thinking of putting them towards another cruise next summer to the Baltics. I'm going to wait until after Christmas to see whether RCI bring out offers for that region before committing my vouchers. I'm a teacher and can only holiday during school holidays so it's very rare that I'm eligible for deals and offers as I travel during peak times.Tesco vouchers have been great for me.

[sddsddean]

Thanks for that. Definately a case of do your homework and see how the prices compare. We hope to book for next year when the new schedules come out in a week or two, so we'll see how we get on then.

 

Simon

[jvtravel]

We had the same problem. We used the vouchers when booking over 12 months before the cruise, only for them to then bring out an offer including free drinks packages, free parking etc. I spoke to them, but as we had used a small amount of Tesco vouchers (about £300) they were adamant that we could not get the new offer without cancelling and losing our deposit -which as we are a family of 4 would be £600. I will not book using vouchers again, and as this will be our first cruise with RCL it has not been the best of starts !!

I also think there is now a limit of vouchers that you are able to use against any one cruise.

[jvtravel]

Forgot to say, we booked just before the main brochure came out, using a preview brochure. In hindsight this was not the best time for us to book, and the better offers were after the main brochure was issued. Hope this helps.

Edited March 5, 2015 by jvtravel

[sddsddean]

Thanks for that. Definately seems to be a bit of a "caveat emptor" moment!

 

Simon