No more Royal Rewards free or companion cruises

[RocketMan275]

Great point of view on that and it leads me to this question. Has Royal really had a sale on in the last year? I mean a true sale. Yes I see the BOGO crap but as we all know, they jack up the price first then pretend you're getting a half off price.

 

So has anyone actually looked at one of their sales in the last year and said "WOW what a great deal.". I haven't. Yes we have the NOS booked but that was booked a long time ago before this BOGO crap started and we got a great deal on it. When the BOGO came out, we thought we'd get even a better deal - it went up in price. Next year we're heading to NCL for a while. Time to get away from these deceptive prices. For the record, we had the Getaway booked and NCL came out with a sale a couple weeks later. I thought, "sure, here we go". But to my surprise our price actually was cheaper. I was shocked to see an actual sale when NCL claimed there was one. What a novel idea.

 

I booked two cruises last year on Royal using the BOGO. Both have increased significantly in cost. One would cost me twice as much today as when I booked it. The second is almost up as much. JMHO, but those were great sales prices. Demand for cabins is up so prices will be going up.

 

BTW, go visit the NCL boards. They're aflame with complaints about price increases. They may have good sales, but they are increasing fees, often without notice.

[FloridaPalms]

We got excellent deals when BOGOHO first started for Aug. 2015 and Jan. 2016 FR cruises.

 

I booked two cruises last year on Royal using the BOGO. Both have increased significantly in cost. One would cost me twice as much today as when I booked it. The second is almost up as much. JMHO, but those were great sales prices. Demand for cabins is up so prices will be going up.

 

BTW, go visit the NCL boards. They're aflame with complaints about price increases. They may have good sales, but they are increasing fees, often without notice.

 

Yes, when the BOGO first came out last year, it was a true "sale" and lots of people got great deals. Now, not so much. :(

 

Demand may be up, but I wonder how much is from first time cruisers (particularly families) being targeted by Royal and who may not realize that these newer BOGO promotions come with jacked up prices.

 

Nah, I'll pass on the NCL boards (for now), thank you. But I will be swapping out my BoA Royal Rewards credit card. I'll try to bank the extra cash back. Where I use my money will depend on whether or not I continue to enjoy cruising Royal and at a price point I am comfortable with for value received.

 

~ Judy

[RocketMan275]

Yes, when the BOGO first came out last year, it was a true "sale" and lots of people got great deals. Now, not so much. :(

 

Demand may be up, but I wonder how much is from first time cruisers (particularly families) being targeted by Royal and who may not realize that these newer BOGO promotions come with jacked up prices.

 

Nah, I'll pass on the NCL boards (for now), thank you. But I will be swapping out my BoA Royal Rewards credit card. I'll try to bank the extra cash back. Where I use my money will depend on whether or not I continue to enjoy cruising Royal and at a price point I am comfortable with for value received.

 

~ Judy

 

I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'jacking up' prices. Could you explain why Royal shouldn't price it's product to maximize their profit?

 

In every forum on CC, posters are complaining about prices. You won't find any more happiness on NCL.

 

It's not difficult to save the cash back. Many cards allow you to take the refund when you like. Just wait until cruise time and then take the refund.

[FloridaPalms]

I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'jacking up' prices. Could you explain why Royal shouldn't price it's product to maximize their profit?

 

In every forum on CC, posters are complaining about prices. You won't find any more happiness on NCL.

 

It's not difficult to save the cash back. Many cards allow you to take the refund when you like. Just wait until cruise time and then take the refund.

 

By "jacking up prices", I mean showing fares as say, for example, $1200 per person before taking half off second person. Newbies think they are actually saving $600 with the BOGOHO. Seasoned cruisers know, and past sailings from pre-BOGO days will show, this is not the case.

 

As for pricing "their product to maximize profit", sure, I didn't say they shouldn't. I expect prices to reflect supply and demand. But if gas station A increases their price to $6 per gallon while gas station B only increases it to $4.50, which station will you go to? So gas station A runs this great "sale" offering you half off every other gallon. Smoke and mirrors. But hey, you just saved half off your fill-up, so enjoy. That's not maximizing their profit - that's insulting my intelligence.

 

I'm not interested in NCL but thanks for the tip about some credit cards allowing you to wait on taking the cash back. Good to know you can save it up. When I was in business, I loved banking my miles and redeeming them for personal vacation travel. Any incentive for a little R&R and travel is a good incentive. :)

 

~ Judy

[Stateroom_Sailor]

The Sam's Club CC is worth it regardless. We've been using ours since it was first released last June. Airfare, Hotels, Gas, Excursions, restaurants... Even if the cruise line card was still worth it, I would use Sam's on everything else travel orientated.

[Paulette3028]

April fools? No, BOGO fools!

 

With the never-ending BOGO promotions, Royal seems to have effectively abolished using Royal Rewards for free or companion cruises, since they (unfairly) cannot be combined. Oh you can still redeem them but the 2nd person will be charged full fare before application of the maximum value of the Reward points. As we all know, the full fares are jacked way up to cover the BOGO half off.

 

I am so sick and tired of these BOGOs.

 

Earning 2% on all Royal purchases, I used to be able to get an additional 2% return by redeeming say 25,000 or 50,000 points for $500 or $1000 toward a free or companion cruise. Because of the BOGO pricing, the best return now seems to be in taking the 1% redeeming points for OBC.

 

This is a good deal for Royal. And it makes me wonder if this was originally another intended benefit of their BOGO promotions - and another reason they want them to continue, in one form or another, over and over again.

 

Did I mention I am sick and tired of these BOGOs?

 

Soooo, I'm looking to trade in my BoA Royal credit card. Sam's Club has one that offers 5% back on gas, 3% on travel & dining and 1% on everything else, with a maximum of $5000 cash back per year.

 

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

 

~ Judy

 

We try to look at the glass as 'half full' in all circumstances in life.....so here is what we got.

 

We booked Thanksgiving week on Navigator. As Diamonds we got our balcony discount, and BOGOHO second person in cabin and also got a $100 OBC to use. Then we will redeem 50,000 points for a $500 fare reduction. In the end, the cruise will cost us a very, very reasonable amount.

 

I don't expect to cruise for free, but I expect to find good prices and maximize the deals available to me.

 

I could complain, but life is way too short for that....and the stress of disappointments could kill me before my next cruise --- and that is an unacceptable outcome.

[FloridaPalms]

The Sam's Club CC is worth it regardless. We've been using ours since it was first released last June. Airfare, Hotels, Gas, Excursions, restaurants... Even if the cruise line card was still worth it, I would use Sam's on everything else travel orientated.

 

Thanks for the feedback. That's what I'm really leaning toward.

 

~ Judy

[FloridaPalms]

We try to look at the glass as 'half full' in all circumstances in life.....so here is what we got.

 

We booked Thanksgiving week on Navigator. As Diamonds we got our balcony discount, and BOGOHO second person in cabin and also got a $100 OBC to use. Then we will redeem 50,000 points for a $500 fare reduction. In the end, the cruise will cost us a very, very reasonable amount.

 

I don't expect to cruise for free, but I expect to find good prices and maximize the deals available to me.

 

I could complain, but life is way too short for that....and the stress of disappointments could kill me before my next cruise --- and that is an unacceptable outcome.

 

Great post!

 

I'm actually a pretty positive person myself. And my family and I have been fortunate to have enjoyed some wonderful vacations over the years, which included all but one of our Royal cruises.

 

I also don't expect to cruise for free (even when we redeemed points for free or companion cruises, we always upgraded) but I do try to find good prices.

 

We are actually booked on that same Navigator Thanksgiving cruise. After pro-rating the BOGOHO between two of us, I felt that the actual cost of $764pp with $100pp OBC (not combinable with my Emerald discount) was a good deal for our balcony cabin, maximized by another $100 OBC for an old NCC, and then the same all applied for a second adjoining balcony cabin. Not bad at all for a 6 night Thanksgiving cruise. :)

 

I too like to maximize deals. But I probably will not redeem any Royal points toward fare reduction for my NOTS cruise. I'll hold on to what I have for now, get a new rewards card, and hope to catch an open window in between various BOGO promotions where I can maximize the points for a free or companion cruise.

 

I like your outlook (and chuckled out loud at the last paragraph). For some people, complaining relieves stress. For me, I have found no greater stress reliever than a glass of wine, on a quiet night, on my balcony, with stars twinkling above, surrounded by a calm moon-lit ocean. (Okay, a frozen froo-froo drink, on a sunny day, on my balcony, with soft salty breezes, surrounded by gentle ocean waves isn't half bad either ;)).

 

Happy cruising!

 

~ Judy

[Paulette3028]

Great post!

 

I'm actually a pretty positive person myself. And my family and I have been fortunate to have enjoyed some wonderful vacations over the years, which included all but one of our Royal cruises.

 

I also don't expect to cruise for free (even when we redeemed points for free or companion cruises, we always upgraded) but I do try to find good prices.

 

We are actually booked on that same Navigator Thanksgiving cruise. After pro-rating the BOGOHO between two of us, I felt that the actual cost of $764pp with $100pp OBC (not combinable with my Emerald discount) was a good deal for our balcony cabin, maximized by another $100 OBC for an old NCC, and then the same all applied for a second adjoining balcony cabin. Not bad at all for a 6 night Thanksgiving cruise. :)

 

I too like to maximize deals. But I probably will not redeem any Royal points toward fare reduction for my NOTS cruise. I'll hold on to what I have for now, get a new rewards card, and hope to catch an open window in between various BOGO promotions where I can maximize the points for a free or companion cruise.

 

I like your outlook (and chuckled out loud at the last paragraph). For some people, complaining relieves stress. For me, I have found no greater stress reliever than a glass of wine, on a quiet night, on my balcony, with stars twinkling above, surrounded by a calm moon-lit ocean. (Okay, a frozen froo-froo drink, on a sunny day, on my balcony, with soft salty breezes, surrounded by gentle ocean waves isn't half bad either ;)).

 

Happy cruising!

 

~ Judy

 

I look forward to meeting you on OUR Thanksgiving cruise......we have cruised quite a few times on the weekend following Thanksgiving, and this time decided to do it to include sailing on Thanksgiving Day and with Navigator available from FLL....it was a great fit for us.

 

I generally join the Roll Call for our cruises and will do so for this one, probably when it gets below 200 days to go until we cruise. Since this is a 6 day cruise, Royal won't put together a Meet & Mingle....so people cruising will have to meet each other on their own.....and I look forward to meeting you....I am glad that you liked my outlook (when you read my final paragraph).

 

I am grateful that I can cruise and enjoy every minute of a cruise.

[FloridaPalms]

Paulette - I too will be joining the roll call for our Thanksgiving cruise when it gets closer, sometime before final payment. Right now it is very quiet but it should pick up as we get nearer to sailing. For last year's Thanksgiving cruise on Liberty, someone arranged a meet 'n greet and a slot pull. It was nice meeting everyone and the slot pull was lots of fun.

 

I look forward to meeting you.

 

~ Judy

[Paulette3028]

Paulette - I too will be joining the roll call for our Thanksgiving cruise when it gets closer, sometime before final payment. Right now it is very quiet but it should pick up as we get nearer to sailing. For last year's Thanksgiving cruise on Liberty, someone arranged a meet 'n greet and a slot pull. It was nice meeting everyone and the slot pull was lots of fun.

 

I look forward to meeting you.

 

~ Judy

 

I have no problem organizing our own Meet Up....and if someone want to put together a slot pull, my DH will participate, I am sure.

 

And of course it is very early and the roll call will pick up....it will be fun. Cruising always is.

 

We live in Margate Fl, near Coral Springs -- where are you?

[FloridaPalms]

I have no problem organizing our own Meet Up....and if someone want to put together a slot pull, my DH will participate, I am sure.

 

And of course it is very early and the roll call will pick up....it will be fun. Cruising always is.

 

We live in Margate Fl, near Coral Springs -- where are you?

 

Sounds like a plan. :)

 

You are nice and close to the port. We are over on the west coast, an hour north of Tampa, near Crystal River. We always drive down the day before and stay overnight in a hotel. That way we can get to the port nice and rested - and EARLY. I like to get on board as soon as I can. Can't wait to be back on the Navigator! Haven't been on her since Thanksgiving 2011. I love that ship!

 

~ Judy

[Paulette3028]

Sounds like a plan. :)

 

You are nice and close to the port. We are over on the west coast, an hour north of Tampa, near Crystal River. We always drive down the day before and stay overnight in a hotel. That way we can get to the port nice and rested - and EARLY. I like to get on board as soon as I can. Can't wait to be back on the Navigator! Haven't been on her since Thanksgiving 2011. I love that ship!

 

~ Judy

 

I can tell you that I will be wearing the hat and shirt you see in my picture when I board the ship.

 

For us....we generally leave the house around 10 am; a short drive to the port, park the car and generally onboard by 11:30am, if not earlier depending upon when they start.

 

We are spoiled and we know it.

[Grand PooBah]

Dumped the RC Visa long ago... Take a look at Barclays Arrival MC. First off, 40,000 points for sign up. Then 2 points per dollar on ALL purchases. Redeem for travel purchases, just charge them on the card, then use you points to wipe out the charge, and you get a 10% refund of the points used. BEST CARD out there.

[FloridaPalms]

Dumped the RC Visa long ago... Take a look at Barclays Arrival MC. First off, 40,000 points for sign up. Then 2 points per dollar on ALL purchases. Redeem for travel purchases, just charge them on the card, then use you points to wipe out the charge, and you get a 10% refund of the points used. BEST CARD out there.

 

Thanks for your response. karena1 also recommended Barclays. I had liked the idea of 5% back on gas that Sam's Club MC offers (they also offer 3% travel/dining and 1% on rest) but don't like that it's paid by issue of a single check each year. So I just took a look at the Barclay's Arrival Elite MC and it looks pretty good. I like the way you bank it and select what travel transactions it gets applied to. That is also a very nice sign up bonus that I could use to get $400 off my cruise when the charge posts to the account. :)

 

The site I reviewed it on compares the rewards with the pros and cons of some of the most popular credit cards and you can even filter the results to match your needs (for example, I have excellent credit and don't keep a balance.) After looking at Barclay's and several others, I discovered I'll lose hundreds of dollars each year if I were to keep using my pretty Royal branded BoA CC as my primary card since the Royal purchases, on which it gives 2%, makes up such a small portion of my charges.

 

So I'm thinking I may try both Sam's (just for gas and club purchases) and Barclays (for most of the rest) and see how it goes.

 

Thanks again to everyone for your input.

 

~ Judy

[lah66]

We have been saving up our points for free companion fare. Now that we have enough points, we have been unable to use it since we try not to take just 7 day cruises anymore and the BOGOHO incentive going on for so long!

This post helped me decide to use the points for $800 off our fall Liberty cruise and we have decided to dump the RCI card and switch to Barclays. I love the ease of using your points!

Thanks everyone for the great information!

Lauri

[coldflame]

BOGOHO might be terrible for rewards redemption. B1G2,3,4HO is a terrible deal for everyone -- even would-be cruisers. Price difference is $400 more with B1G2,3,4HO than it was with simple BOGOHO :(

[mxylpic]

BOGOHO might be terrible for rewards redemption. B1G2,3,4HO is a terrible deal for everyone -- even would-be cruisers. Price difference is $400 more with B1G2,3,4HO than it was with simple BOGOHO :(

 

It's just another horrible non-sale. Just like half-off or only $50 deposit. Low deposits do not change the cruise bottom line and are meaningless. Really wish the BOGOHO of all versions would just go away.

 

Would much rather see REAL discounts for C&A, resident rate and/or senior rate.

[Paulette3028]

BOGOHO might be terrible for rewards redemption. B1G2,3,4HO is a terrible deal for everyone -- even would-be cruisers. Price difference is $400 more with B1G2,3,4HO than it was with simple BOGOHO :(

 

What exactly is B1G2,3,4HO sale? Put it into words please....I know BOGOHO is Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off.

[FloridaPalms]

What exactly is B1G2,3,4HO sale? Put it into words please....I know BOGOHO is Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off.

 

I think cold flame is referring to the current BOGO of Buy 1, Get 2nd, 3rd and 4th passenger half off for 2016-2017 cruises. When I first read the post, I thought it said "BIG"2,3,4HO.

 

~ Judy

[coldflame]

What exactly is B1G2,3,4HO sale? Put it into words please....I know BOGOHO is Buy 1, Get 1 Half Off.

 

Current "promo" for all Caribbean cruises booked now that take place after 1/2016. You pay one full, then 2,3,4 guests in same stateroom are 1/2 off. But it's a gimmick. Fares are higher than they were with the plain version of BOGOHO

Edited April 6, 2015 by coldflame

[mxylpic]

Current "promo" for all Caribbean cruises booked now that take place after 1/2016. You pay one full, then 2,3,4 guests in same stateroom are 1/2 off. But it's a gimmick. Fares are higher than they were with the plain version of BOGOHO

 

All versions of the BOGOHO are a gimmick. It's best to look at the "average price" on the first page, and forget about what the current "sale" is, it will just drive you nuts.

[FloridaPalms]

coldflame and mxylpic - I agree. Unfortunately, as long as these gimmicks are working for Royal, they'll keep coming up with new ones.

 

~ Judy

Edited April 6, 2015 by FloridaPalms

[Paulette3028]

coldflame and mxylpic - I agree. Unfortunately, as long as these gimmicks are working for Royal, they'll keep coming up with new ones.

 

~ Judy

 

 

 

Thanks for clarifying. We don't worry about what the pricing is called.....we do the arithmetic and if it comes out what we want to pay....it's done. Marketing will always keep themselves up nights trying to do what they do -- 'sale lingo' -- we look beyond it.

[yogimax]

It's just another horrible non-sale. Just like half-off or only $50 deposit. Low deposits do not change the cruise bottom line and are meaningless. Really wish the BOGOHO of all versions would just go away.

 

Would much rather see REAL discounts for C&A, resident rate and/or senior rate.

 

Well said! Deposit reductions are meaningless in the long run!