NextCruise - Everything you need to know

[cruisenfever]

Thanks, that's very helpful. Especially the part about the $900 deposit. I didn't know there was a set amount. I just checked our documents and I see that our TA has us down for a $900 deposit but only billed our cc for $800. Now I know why. You folks really know your next cruise stuff.

 

Jimmers:)

Glad I could be of help. Since NextCruise is so new, I made a point of asking lots of questions. My contact at C&A has been most helpful.

 

Have a great cruise.

[cruisenfever]

Just an update for those that might not be aware of the OBC changes in reference to # of sailing days.

 

As of December 17, 2007 the OBC for booking on board is now

 

3-5 nights $ 50

6-9 nights $100

10+nights $200

 

As far as Platinum, Diamond & Diamond Plus Balcony Discounts, as of December 15, 2007 they are now

 

3-5 nights $ 50 (D/D+)................$ 50 for Platinum Members

6-9 nights $200(D/D+)................$100 for Platinum Members

10+ nights $300 (D/D+)...............$200 for Platinum Members

[Sunny AZ Girl]

My $200 Platinum Balcony Discount was applied to my April sailing several months ago. So, when I paid my final payment the other day it looks as if the discount was changed to $100. (9 night):(

[cruisenfever]

My $200 Platinum Balcony Discount was applied to my April sailing several months ago. So, when I paid my final payment the other day it looks as if the discount was changed to $100. (9 night):(

I would call C&A and tell them you booked this cruise prior to their changing the discounts...............I would think that you would be entitled to the discount prior to the change.

[FatBaldOldMan]

On board credit question: While on the RCI website, I saw a cruise in 2009 that intrigued me. Since there were only a couple of suites remaining, I wanted to make the booking as soon as possible. However, I also want to take advantage of the OBC. If I make a reservation on line, will I be able to negotiate OBC with a future cruise consultant when I go on my next cruise next month? If I cancel the on-line reservation, can I then make the booking while on board and still get the OBC?

[aqhacruiser]

Just an update for those that might not be aware of the OBC changes in reference to # of sailing days.

 

As of December 17, 2007 the OBC for booking on board is now

 

3-5 nights $ 50

6-9 nights $100

10+nights $200

 

As far as Platinum, Diamond & Diamond Plus Balcony Discounts, as of December 15, 2007 they are now

 

3-5 nights $ 50 (D/D+)................$ 50 for Platinum Members

6-9 nights $200(D/D+)................$100 for Platinum Members

10+ nights $300 (D/D+)...............$200 for Platinum Members

 

These are the correct amounts as of Dec. 2007

They changed the rules in Dec. without any warning. I have several Next Cruises that I bought in June and Oct. 2007 and I now will only receive 100.00 for 9 night cruises instead of 200.00 because I have not booked them yet. But on the two I did book prior to Dec. I am still receiving 200.00 OBC on my 9 night cruises. C & A told me if the Next Cruises were already booked I'd receive the 200.00 but for all the others I will get only 100.00 and I am waiting for the rest of 2009 dates to be released. Friends of mine purchased them on the 12/2/07 cruise and were told they would get 200.00 OBC for 9 nights only to find out when they returned home and booked cruises they would now only get 100.00 for a 9 night. I won't buy any more of them as they can change amounts at any time once again. For the LA and the staff to continue to say people would get 200.00 for a 9 night and to have it changed a few days later was just wrong. :o The amounts posted above are the same for booking onboard also and they reduced a 9 night to 100.00 OBC there as well according to C & A.

[aqhacruiser]

dupe

[aqhacruiser]

My $200 Platinum Balcony Discount was applied to my April sailing several months ago. So, when I paid my final payment the other day it looks as if the discount was changed to $100. (9 night):(

 

All my booked cruises still have my 300.00 Diamond discount as I had C & A check all of them the other day and according to them I will still receive it as they were booked before the change. I would call them and tell them you booked before the change. I just transferred my April 25 one and it shows the 300.00.

[cruisenfever]

On board credit question: While on the RCI website, I saw a cruise in 2009 that intrigued me. Since there were only a couple of suites remaining, I wanted to make the booking as soon as possible. However, I also want to take advantage of the OBC. If I make a reservation on line, will I be able to negotiate OBC with a future cruise consultant when I go on my next cruise next month? If I cancel the on-line reservation, can I then make the booking while on board and still get the OBC?

Unfortunately you only receive OBC's when booking on board.

 

You can talk with the LA while on board next month, but if you cancel the on-line booking you stand a good chance of losing the cabin category.

[scubapro48]

Just an update for those that might not be aware of the OBC changes in reference to # of sailing days.

 

As of December 17, 2007 the OBC for booking on board is now

 

3-5 nights $ 50

6-9 nights $100

10+nights $200

 

As far as Platinum, Diamond & Diamond Plus Balcony Discounts, as of December 15, 2007 they are now

 

3-5 nights $ 50 (D/D+)................$ 50 for Platinum Members

6-9 nights $200(D/D+)................$100 for Platinum Members

10+ nights $300 (D/D+)...............$200 for Platinum Members

 

Patti, I just called C & A and the woman said the 3-5 night discount for D/D+ is still $100. She added "don't believe everything you read on CC" ;). OK, who's right???

Mariana

[cruisenfever]

Patti, I just called C & A and the woman said the 3-5 night discount for D/D+ is still $100. She added "don't believe everything you read on CC" ;). OK, who's right???

Mariana

Mariana, I don't believe everything that C&A tells me either. ;)

[Let'sGo!]

Please clear up my foggy memory... do I remember correctly during that big June sale that some TAs were giving OBC with new bookings, but that it couldn't be combined with NextCruise??? Does anyone remember if this was the case?

 

We're definitely going to take advantage of this on AOS next month either way, but I was just curious if it will combine with other OBC deals I might find.

[EmpressofPurple]

I just purchased two NextCruises while onboard my recent Brilliance Cruise. The LA was busy, and we were well cared for by a ship's musician (!) who was doing double-duty working the the C&A lounge.

 

The "$198,999" value is NOT the value of the certificate (that is just the $100 you paid for it)... it is the potential value of the unknown "next cruise" you haven't booked yet! (Yes, it did appear on our receipts)

 

Also, we received 2 Friends & Family Certificates PER NEXTCRUISE without asking for it, and were given all of the paperwork on each one in a separate envelope. (I didn't realize RCI requires the original paperwork.)

 

The new rates were in effect (i.e., $200 obc doesn't start until 10 NIGHT cruises).

 

Differences between loyalty programs:

 

RCI Next Cruise: $100 - never expires - nonrefundable - receive $50-200 OBC PER CABIN depending on length of cruise - must still pay regular cruise deposit (minus the $100 for the NextCruise); "Friends & Family" certificate lets others receive the same benefit when booking within 30 days on your sailing

 

Princess Future Cruise Credit (FCC): $100 - good for 4 years, and fully refundable within that time - receive $25-150 OBC PER PERSON depending on cabin type (inside/outside/balcony/minisuite/suite) - reduced deposit; the $100 FCC deposit is ALL that is required for ANY cruise PER PERSON; "Share the Wealth" coupon lets others receive the same benefit on your sailing (not sure if there is a time limit on when they have to book but probably).

 

I don't have any Celebrity NextCruises -- if I knew I could have bought one while on RCI, I would have! -- but they did tell me it was a different program, and their OBC is based on the COST of your booking (not number of days or cabin type).

 

Interesting stuff!!

[suzepoo]

I will be cruising on the Grandeur in 12 days and was planning to book another cruise while on board in order to receive the OBC.

 

My question is this.....I want to book 8 cabins for a specific ship and date. Will they allow me to do this if I have names and birthdates?? :confused:

 

I called RCCL this morning to inquire about group rates and amenities and was told that they no longer have a Group Department??? When I asked what sort of incentive they have for booking more than 1 cabin, I was told "NONE"??? I've NEVER heard of such a thing as I do Group bookings all the time on Carnival. Anyone have any recent RCCL Group info???:confused:

 

Thanks for all the GREAT info so far!!!:D

[robtulipe]

Differences between loyalty programs:

 

RCI Next Cruise: $100 - never expires - nonrefundable - receive $50-200 OBC PER CABIN depending on length of cruise - must still pay regular cruise deposit (minus the $100 for the NextCruise); "Friends & Family" certificate lets others receive the same benefit when booking within 30 days *on your sailing. *Should be "of your sailing booking date".

 

Princess Future Cruise Credit (FCC): $100 - good for 4 years, and fully refundable within that time - receive $25-150 OBC PER PERSON depending on cabin type (inside/outside/balcony/minisuite/suite) - reduced deposit; the $100 FCC deposit is ALL that is required for ANY cruise PER PERSON; "Share the Wealth" coupon lets others receive the same benefit on your sailing (not sure if there is a time limit on when they have to book but probably).

Just to clarify the above, the RCCI Friends & Family certicate booking must be made within 30 days of the date that the guest, who supplied the certificate, did their booking and must be on the same cruise. It states you must select the same ship and date as the guest.

I have a Princess on board non specified future cruise booking and the only time noted on the Friends & Family Certificate is that it expires two years from the date of issue.

[suzepoo]

Are you serious? What if you want to give the certificate to a friend who wants to cruise on a different ship and different date than you? They can't do this?:confused: What if you all book, then the original person has to cancel? What happens to the then booked "friends and/or family"???:(

 

I'm telling you one thing right now....when RCCL (or any other cruise line for that matter) decides that it is no longer to their financial benefit to offer group bookings with discounts and amenities, that is just getting down right GREEDY IMHO!!!:mad:

[cruisenfever]

Are you serious? What if you want to give the certificate to a friend who wants to cruise on a different ship and different date than you? They can't do this?:confused: What if you all book, then the original person has to cancel? What happens to the then booked "friends and/or family"???:(

 

I'm telling you one thing right now....when RCCL (or any other cruise line for that matter) decides that it is no longer to their financial benefit to offer group bookings with discounts and amenities, that is just getting down right GREEDY IMHO!!!:mad:

Unfortunately that is the way the Certificates for Friends is set up. Your family/friends must sail on the same itinerary that you book with your NextCruise booking as it is the booking number that is assigned to your NextCruise that links everyone together so that they can be eligible for the appropriate OBC just as the initial person is.

 

You might want to call RCI and ask the question about cancellations, as I do not believe that subject has ever come up here. If you find out any information, please post it here as it might be helpful to others.

[camreesmom]

My question is this.....I want to book 8 cabins for a specific ship and date. Will they allow me to do this if I have names and birthdates?? :confused:

 

I called RCCL this morning to inquire about group rates and amenities and was told that they no longer have a Group Department??? When I asked what sort of incentive they have for booking more than 1 cabin, I was told "NONE"??? I've NEVER heard of such a thing as I do Group bookings all the time on Carnival. Anyone have any recent RCCL Group info???:confused:

 

Thanks for all the GREAT info so far!!!:D

 

Someone definitely told you wrong. I just created a new RCCL group this week without any problems. When you called, did you ask about a group on a specific ship and sail date? If so, it is possible that what they meant to say was that sailing was closed to groups, meaning they were only booking individual reservations for that specific sail date on that specific ship now.

 

Back to the NextCruise subject, we were on the Voyager sailing 1/13/08. We had a few problems with the LA also. Not all of them were her fault but some of them should have been avoided. This poor girl was definitely swamped when she was in her office but that might have been because she was only there from around 9am to 11am and then again from 6 to 8:30 in the evening. This is definitely not enough hours for one person on a ship the size of the Voyager. The smart thing to do would have been to have a stack of blank NextCruise paperwork and a drop box so you could just fill it out and drop it in the box. But this wasn't the case. The LA was also extremely slow in completing a booking. There were times (we waited for her at least an hour on more than one occassion) when I just wanted to shove her out of the way and get on her computer and do it for her! :eek: She definitely was not advertising the NextCruise program either. When we finally did get to speak with her, I asked for a blank NextCruise form and she said, "you do not know which cruise you would like to book?" And I told her maybe but that I wanted to do the NextCruise for the OBC. She said you get OBC if you book a specific ship and date now. Okay that is true but #1, not for $100 deposit and #2, no coupons for friends and family to get OBC also. She was still trying to talk me out of it. I think this may have been one of the reasons she took so long to complete a booking. Couples went to her desk thinking they were just going to get a NextCruise certificate and she was trying to get them to book a specific cruise when in reality, they probably didn't have any definite plans but wanted to have the OBC for making a booking on the ship. I finally just asked her for the forms and told her we would bring them back.

 

The LA was to leave that evening (Friday) at 8:30 so my husband went to her desk and personally handed the NextCruise paperwork to her. One thing not to forget is that you have to submit the NextCruise paperwork no later than midnight the day before your last full day. We were to leave on Sunday so he went on Friday to make sure it was turned in before midnight. We had friends who had a Saturday appt with the LA to purchase their NextCruise coupon and they were pretty upset when she told them she couldn't do it because they should have come in the day before.

 

The next morning, her asst called our cabin and said that they were running behind but they would have our next cruise certificates sent to our cabin later in the day. Dinner comes and goes and we still don't have our certificates. DH said it's not looking good........ We spent the evening walking around the ship and taking pictures late, very late. When we went by her office at 1 am, she was in there so we went to ask her about our certificates and she said that she didn't receive any paperwork from us and that's when DH said "I gave it to you personally." Well, she managed to find it after that. I woke up in the middle of the night and there were two envelopes under our door with our certificates and the coupons that we requested for friends and family. We had actually purchased three next cruise coupons though. Finally when we got up the next morning the other one was under the door. We had spoken to friends of ours earlier in the cruise and they had received their NextCruise certificate but none for their friends and family. You are supposed to receive 2 coupons to share with friends/family for each NextCruise booking you make but apparently, they are not offering them unless you ask. If you want them, don't leave the ship without something in writing because once you're off the ship, you're out of luck.

 

wow.........sorry this was so long but it seems that everyone is getting a different answer from RCCL concerning this.

[suzepoo]

EXACT SAME STORY from each of them.....NO MORE GROUP DEPARTMENT!! It's not even an option when you call now, so perpahs they just implemented this change after the MLK holiday?? I don't know, but am sure glad you got your group booking made first! I didn't mention a ship or date, just inquired about booking a group when they first came on the line....since the first person could barely speak English, I hung up and called back....but when I got the same story from the 2nd person I was so flustered that I just thanked them for their time and hung up. About 3 hours later after speaking with my other friends I decided to book anyway, so I called back and got a VERY nice and RCCL informed sales person who again informed me that there is NO Group Department any longer and that the lady who sat next to him had been moved to another building since they did away with her "group booking" job???!!!! If anyone else has any further information I'd love to hear it??!!! Also....if you have the contact name and phone number of your "group agent' that you just booked with, could I pleaseeeeeeeee have it???!!!

 

Thanks for the very helpful info on the Next Cruise Certificates, too! Since my cruise on the Grandeur is only 5 nights, I will be sure to take care of this FIRST THING!! Then relax and enjoy the rest of my cruise...can't WAIT!!! WOO HOO!!:D

[cruisenfever]

From what I have been told, the LAs make a commission on each and every booking that they make on board. I believe that they do not make as much for a NextCruise booking as they do for a specific booking.

[sea-cruise]

We had spoken to friends of ours earlier in the cruise and they had received their NextCruise certificate but none for their friends and family. You are supposed to receive 2 coupons to share with friends/family for each NextCruise booking you make but apparently, they are not offering them unless you ask.

We didn't have to ask for the extra Friends & Family Coupons. The LA onboard Explorer was extremely busy, but thankfully she did remember to give us our F&F coupons. I'm glad she was diligent.:)

[cruisenfever]

We didn't have to ask for the extra Friends & Family Coupons. The LA onboard Explorer was extremely busy, but thankfully she did remember to give us our F&F coupons. I'm glad she was diligent.:)

It's nice to hear that the LA on Explorer was diligent. It would be nice if all LAs were on top of their game.

[suzepoo]

I was told that my "Next Cruise" certificate would have to be booked with my original TA that I was booked through on the cruise where I obtained the certificate?:( I guess this means I can't call RCCL directly when I get back to book my "Next Cruise", so it would make sense that the LA would want you to book directly through her. I will be interested to see if she will allow me to book 8 cabins and give ALL of us the $100 OBC then....if so, that is exactly what I will do.:D Otherwise, it will be "Next Cruise" certificates for me regardless of WHO gets the commission, but I sure would prefer to book through RCCL directly, as the only reason we didn't this time was because it was last minute, and RCCL was more expensive and wasn't offering any OBC, and Cruise Deals was. Sooooo, as the story goes....book with whoever has the best deal at the time you are booking!! HAHA I know, however, that booking direct with RCCL (or any other cruise line) makes it much easier to get adjustments if the rates go down, and upgrades if they are available, too. Oh well....so much to watch and learn!!:eek:

[sea-cruise]

It's nice to hear that the LA on Explorer was diligent. It would be nice if all LAs were on top of their game.

They would do well if they had her train others who are incompetent. It means a lot to have someone who is capable of helping us. :)

[suzepoo]

OK....it did not go smoothly onboard the Grandeur last week, so heads up everyone! I went to the area of the ship where you can book your Next Cruise. The lady "seemed" very competent, however....when I received my packet in my cabin....NO Friends & Family certificates were inside my envelope, so a second trip to her desk was necessary. I had also noticed that she had listed the travel agency I had used to receive the future commission, meaning I would have to book through them, which I had specifically told her I did NOT want to do, sooooooooo she had to change that so I would be able to book directly through RCCL, AND issue my Friends & Family Certificates. Thinking ALL was ok now....I called RCCL yesterday to book our next cruise, only to discover that she had NOT included any on-board credits, so now a call to Customer Service is necessary. Not a big deal...just a lot of hassel unnecessarily in my opinion. It might be a good idea to make a "CHECKLIST" of what to make sure you receive for anyone getting ready to cruise that wants to book a "Next Cruise". Hope this helps you all!:D