Booking on board, benefits?

[danoconnl]

Are there any real benefits anymore to booking on board?  We looked at it once and the price didn't seem very good, but we do know that we will be taking a mar 2020 cruise and have a 2019 cruise booked right now and I'm wondering if we should book it while on board.

 

If you do this and they run a good sale, can you rebook?

 

Dan

[Clarea]

On board credit for the future cruise and a reduced deposit if you opt for a non-refundable deposit.

 

If there is a price drop, you can normally get the lower price if it is before final payment date.

 

By the way, there has not been a good sale since May 2014.

[Biker19]

4 minutes ago, danoconnl said:

If you do this and they run a good sale, can you rebook?

No need to rebook, just ask for the price drop.

[danoconnl]

5 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

On board credit for the future cruise and a reduced deposit if you opt for a non-refundable deposit.

 

If there is a price drop, you can normally get the lower price if it is before final payment date.

 

By the way, there has not been a good sale since May 2014.

ok, better sale 🙂

[karena1]

We always book our longer on a ship to get the OBC. 

[mugtech]

Tried to rebook for the same price but additional credit for increased C&A status, was told I would lose my booking onboard OBC but I would not have to increase the deposit.

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Tried to rebook for the same price but additional credit for increased C&A status, was told I would lose my booking onboard OBC but I would not have to increase the deposit.

 

Cruise would have been repriced too, right?

[mugtech]

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Cruise would have been repriced too, right?

Correct, except it had not changed, was not long after I got off the ship.

[Bookish Angel]

In 18 years of cruising, I have never seen a better price on a ship that is equal to or better than what our travel agent gives us with her cash OBC. We book early with the cruise line for the best price and any cash incentive then transfer the booking to our travel agent for all the cruise lines' perks plus our agent's cash.

 

We use our cash back credit card for all travel and almost everything else.

[Arzeena]

19 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

On board credit for the future cruise and a reduced deposit if you opt for a non-refundable deposit.

 

If there is a price drop, you can normally get the lower price if it is before final payment date.

 

By the way, there has not been a good sale since May 2014.

I was told ( by the rep at Crown and Anchor ) that Royal has done away with the onboard booking OBC. Is that true or yet to come? I trust your answer more than theirs.

 

[Clarea]

14 minutes ago, Arzeena said:

I was told ( by the rep at Crown and Anchor ) that Royal has done away with the onboard booking OBC. Is that true or yet to come? I trust your answer more than theirs.

 

 

Royal has done away with an extra $100 OBC they used to give for booking non-refundable over 6 months in advance.  The other OBC amounts are still in force, at least as of today.

[matj2000]

Big waste of time.

 

You site on the other side of a computer while some guy punches in numbers and gives you a price.  No real way to compare.

 

They are always in a hurry.

 

No real benefit except some lame OBC.

 

You can come home and get a better deal..

[truckswain]

9 hours ago, matj2000 said:

Big waste of time.

 

You site on the other side of a computer while some guy punches in numbers and gives you a price.  No real way to compare.

 

They are always in a hurry.

 

No real benefit except some lame OBC.

 

You can come home and get a better deal..

Not a waste of time.  On Anthem in October, booked Anthem for 2020 while on board $100 deposit and $300 OBC.  Can't get that from a TA or by booking online.

[matj2000]

1 hour ago, truckswain said:

Not a waste of time.  On Anthem in October, booked Anthem for 2020 while on board $100 deposit and $300 OBC.  Can't get that from a TA or by booking online.

Actually you can do better with the right online TA.....

[mugtech]

For people who like to book their own cruises, as long as you know what you want booking onboard works best.  The only drawback to not waiting is if you are booking a balcony or above and the current cruise will increase your C&A rating and perhaps lower your bottom line.

[Valiamo]

On 12/7/2018 at 1:10 PM, Host Clarea said:

 

By the way, there has not been a good sale since May 2014.

 

 

And what a good sale that one was!   We upgraded to a Junior Suite from a small balcony on the Oasis for $100 per person for a B2B cruise, the hardest thing was our next cruise booking in "just" a balcony.

[Bee Guy]

8 hours ago, mugtech said:

For people who like to book their own cruises, as long as you know what you want booking onboard works best.  The only drawback to not waiting is if you are booking a balcony or above and the current cruise will increase your C&A rating and perhaps lower your bottom line.

I'm not sure what you are saying here.   Can you please elaborate?

[mugtech]

Depending on your loyalty status you can get additional price reductions.  The cruise you are on does not add points to your C&A total until the cruise is completed.  By not booking on the cruise but waiting until after your cruise and the earned points are added, you may jump to the next loyalty level and get a slightly better price.  The way they do that second passenger 50 or 60 % off seems to decrease the actual value.

[Bee Guy]

15 minutes ago, mugtech said:

Depending on your loyalty status you can get additional price reductions.  The cruise you are on does not add points to your C&A total until the cruise is completed.  By not booking on the cruise but waiting until after your cruise and the earned points are added, you may jump to the next loyalty level and get a slightly better price.  The way they do that second passenger 50 or 60 % off seems to decrease the actual value.

 That's true, on the other hand folks that book early often run into the same situation.  I currently have 9 cruises booked.  I will be D+ after the second one.  I plan to request the D+ rate after I reach that status.

[vacationlover_mn]

Note, in our experience they aren’t great at helping pick a good room... so I fully research exactly which cruise/room we want beforehand, and tell them exactly which room we want.  I do a quick check online before we walk in, to make sure the room is still available.

[mugtech]

If you request an additional benefit after achieving D+ status, then those other 7 cruises will be subject to current pricing as opposed to the price and other deals you got in your original booking. 

[Bee Guy]

3 minutes ago, mugtech said:

If you request an additional benefit after achieving D+ status, then those other 7 cruises will be subject to current pricing as opposed to the price and other deals you got in your original booking. 

Good point!  That may be true, but we have realized significant savings (sometimes nearly 50%) by by booking early, so I feel that I have come out ahead.   It is what it is.  

[BillieJeanKaraokeKing]

Options given on board for future cruises are poor, imho. I've also personally never really seen a low deposit as any kind of a benefit. For me, it's go away, take your time, look for the best deal, book, jobs a good un.

[Ourusualbeach]

25 minutes ago, Bee Guy said:

 That's true, on the other hand folks that book early often run into the same situation.  I currently have 9 cruises booked.  I will be D+ after the second one.  I plan to request the D+ rate after I reach that status.

 

Your room would be repriced at the current rate.

[mugtech]

Booking early seems to work for pricing and cabin selection.  I waited once until I was onboard to book 2 cruises with $200 deposit each instead of $900.  It wasn't a long wait and I got the same price and cabins I wanted