Military Discount Found!

[Aquahound]

This obviously won't apply to all. But, if you have USAA insurance, you can receive $200.00 onboard credit for cruises booked before the end of February. I called them last night and got the credit applied to both RCI cruises I have booked this year.

 

They also offer this on Princess and Silversea.

 

Apparently, they do this often. So USAA members should check when booking.

[Ollie_WA]

Is this discount for Active Duty only? We have had USAA for over 25 years!!

[Annefran]

This obviously won't apply to all. But, if you have USAA insurance, you can receive $200.00 onboard credit for cruises booked before the end of February. I called them last night and got the credit applied to both RCI cruises I have booked this year.

 

They also offer this on Princess and Silversea.

 

Apparently, they do this often. So USAA members should check when booking.

Wow! I'm a USAA member but not active military. My ex was military and after we divorced, I could stay with USAA. Do you call USAA directly for the discount, how does it work?

[Aquahound]

Is this discount for Active Duty only? We have had USAA for over 25 years!!

 

 

Nope. Just being a USAA member is it. I haven't been active since 2000.

 

Just to elaborate though. The booking has to be through them. All I did was transfer my RCI on-line bookings to them at no cost to me.

 

I never even knew USAA had vacation planners.

[Aquahound]

Wow! I'm a USAA member but not active military. My ex was military and after we divorced, I could stay with USAA. Do you call USAA directly for the discount, how does it work?

 

Yes. Just call them and ask for a vacation planner.

 

I found this out in a magazine I received in the mail from USAA yesterday. The magazine was specifically about cruise travel. It also said you could go to USAA.com for info, but I couldn't find it there.

[CoronaCpl]

All you have to do is transfer the booking? If we are sailing in 2 weeks, will that still apply? Been with USAA since 1975...

[Aquahound]

All you have to do is transfer the booking? If we are sailing in 2 weeks, will that still apply? Been with USAA since 1975...

 

That's cutting it close. It's worth giving them a call for $200.00 ;)

[rednancy1]

We just received our USAA Explorations magazine today. Yes, they have $200 price reductions on SELECT cruises, non of which were ours. Oh well, I've had USAA scince 1978 and it's still the best.

[Petert]

A word of caution! It may be wise to check with RCI and/or USAA about this USAA purchase. RCI lists the qualification as being active duty or retired military (with over2yrs active duty). You must have valid military ID available when boarding the cruise ship. If you are found to be unqualified for this program (no valid military ID) at boarding you must pay the difference in fares before boarding. While USAA may have some agreement with RCI it is best to be sure of the validity of this fare. Some TAs have sold cruise tickets at age 55yrs, and regional fare prices to unqualified cruisers that may not even know that they got fares they didn't qualify for. When checking in at the dock they have recieved an unpleasant surprise.

 

petert

[Aquahound]

Petert, while you are right in what you say, this is an on-board credit offered by USAA, if you are a member. It has nothing to do with the RCI discount.

[montgomeryfamily]

Paul, I called and talked with a "cruise planner" at USAA who was totally clueless about this promotion. The only thing he said he could do is check various dates and see what the promos were for that date. Could you give more information/details about the promo? I can't find where it is mentioned in the USAA magazine or the website. Who is your USAA "travel planner"?

[Petert]

Hi Aquahound,

 

My comments about discount fares related to Murphy5's reference to USAA $200 discount on selected fares and the title of this thread is "military discount found". RCI prohibits TA's from advertising any discounts other than RCI discounts, but TAs can/will offer free insurance, wine etc to gain a competetive edge. It's just a good idea to know what you are actually signing up for.

 

petert

[jlperry]

Does anybody know...if we transfer our reservation to them, can we still keep the $200 onboard credit we have with RCI for booking our cruise while onboard?

 

Thanks for the heads up, AquaHound, this would be great. We have used USAA for our home, auto, and life insurance, as well as our mortgage, car loan, and credit cards. They rock!

[Aquahound]

Thanks for the heads up, AquaHound, this would be great. We have used USAA for our home, auto, and life insurance, as well as our mortgage, car loan, and credit cards. They rock!

 

 

No problem. This also goes for Mont. and Petert...I really don't have the answers for this program. I just learned about it a few days ago when I received a USAA EXPLORE magazine in the mail. Please call them. It might be worth the few minutes if the credit applies to you.

[montgomeryfamily]

Paul, apparently I didn't make it clear that I had ALREADY called USAA after reading your posting and the USAA travel representative had no idea what I was talking about. If you would give me the name of the travel representative you talked with and did your booking with, then I would call that person and at least know that I was talking to someone who knew about the promotion.

 

For me, calling USAA and talking to the travel department was an absolute waste of time because the representative said that he did not know about the promotion and that the only way he even knew what, if any, promotions applied to any cruise, was to check each particular ship/sailing. So I would like to contact someone in the travel dept. of USAA who knows about the promotion. Obviously the person you dealt with did.

[montgomeryfamily]

I went ahead and called USAA travel again today and this time talked with a different travel planner. She was not aware of any such promotion offering $200 shipboard credit for Royal Caribbean any cruises--only up to $200 discount on selected RCCL cruises. She also talked with her supervisor who said the same thing.

 

So Aquahound, it sounds like you actually have a $200 discount rather than shipboard credit. You may want to check to confirm. If you do have $200 shipboard credit, then please post the name of the travel planner you used so that I could contact that person directly.

 

The USAA representative said there was a promotion offering up to $200 shipboard credit on selected Princess cruises. She read me the ships and sailing dates. The promo is $200 for balcony, $100 for oceanview, and $50 for inside.

[CoronaCpl]

I wonder how often USAA rotates their promotions. I went out to the website this afternoon and saw the Princess deals (and others) and that's about it. Would really like to know when they are offering RCCL promos so I can consider them for booking. Been on Princess, but we prefer RCCL.

[Aquahound]

 

So Aquahound, it sounds like you actually have a $200 discount rather than shipboard credit. You may want to check to confirm. If you do have $200 shipboard credit, then please post the name of the travel planner you used so that I could contact that person directly.

 

 

Sorry for taking so long to respond. I'm not trying to ignore. My wife has that paperwork with the agent's name and emp. #, and she is in Ohio w/ a family emergency right now.

 

I did, however, find the advertisement again. USAA just sent out a mailing. It was a magazine called EXPLORE. On page 15 is the RCCL advertisement where it very clearly says $200.00 on-board credit on select cruises booked before Feb 28. There is also a Princess offer, and a Silversea offer on other pages.

 

If you call them again, please refer to that magazine and page number. when I get the agent's name, I'll let you know.

[skypilotks]

I didn't get the mag. but my agent says that is just for cruisetours! Is that what the ad you are seeing says?

[pucarter]

...for those of us who ARE still Active Duty, I saw on USAA's website that the company they work with for travel insurance offers a "Military Leave Cancellation" clause. Good info for future reference!

 

Rebeccah

[CoronaCpl]

FWIW - We haven't received the Explore magazine since the Summer edition. Logged on to the USAA site and went to the Contact Us Link. I completed the online form and ordered the current issue; received notification back saying I will get it in a week or two.

 

Just in case we'e not the only ones who didn't receive it.