ChevyCruiser

I stopped packing a suit/tux for formal nights since the dress code is only a suggestion and there is no enforcement at the door. I wear a nice pair of slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie. The look I go for is I just slipped off my jacket to eat dinner. Trust me, there's always someone who looks like a slob in the MDR, so compared to them I'm dressed to the nines.

Wow, what great tips since I first started this thread. I had no idea it would last this long. Since I started it, I've been practicing many of these tightwad tips with great success and have been able to cruise more often for less money than the sheep who line up and just hand over their charge card.

With the ala cart (nickle and diming) practices adopted by my favorite cruise lines, I am content to let others subsidize my cruise by indulging in the extras. I regularly take long-distance motorcycle trips where I camp out a lot with minimalist camping gear, so I am easily satisfied with the basics on a cruise and don't feel the need for a $100 massage or a "special" steak for an extra $25.

I'd rather find a dark spot on the deck or bow of the ship and stargaze from the middle of the ocean than spend any time in a smoky casino or in a nightclub where the music is cranked up to point of hearing loss or pain.

There's something for everyone.

We Made Enough Noise, RCCL WILL ALLOW US TO COMBINE OBCS

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChevyCruiser

I choose to stand up and be heard. Here's the text of a letter I sent to RCCL:

My wife and I are "Loyal Royals" having cruised exclusively with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. We are Diamond members of the Crown and Anchor Society, Royal Caribbean shareholders, and as young retirees looking forward to many, many more years of cruise vacations. We have introduced several friends and family members to cruising and we frequently book cruise vacations on RCI together.

We are distressed to learn from a cruising friend - we missed the official announcement from RCI - that we will no longer be able to combine Next Cruise on-board credits with shareholder benefits. Luckily, we learned of the change in time to utilize two open Next Cruise certificates that we purchased on the Radiance of the Seas in September and we hurriedly booked two cruises prior to the October 15th deadline. Had we known in September of the changes taking effect in October, we would not have booked two open Next Cruise certificates.

Because of this sudden change in benefits that even had the RCI phone reps scratching their heads in trying to explain the ramifications to the customers, our confidence in RCI has been seriously eroded. We do understand that RCI retains the right to adjust loyalty program benefits, but you must understand that we retain the right to adjust our cruise plans.

With the ill-timed, sneaky, and poorly communicated changes to the RCI loyalty program, we have begun to look elsewhere for cruise vacations and recently booked a two-week cruise with Princess Cruises this winter. Another couple with whom we have cruised with RCI in the past, will join us on the cruise. That represents approximately $10,000 in revenue that RCI has let slip away.

Any wet-behind-the-ears MBA understands that it is much more cost-effective to retain loyal customers than find new ones.

We hope that RCI will reconsider the recent changes to shareholder benefits.

And here's the answer I just recieved from RCCL - the bolding is mine.

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Clampett,

Thank you for your e-mail to Mr. Ian Bailey, VP of our Investor Relations Department. We appreciate this opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience or disappointment this recent change has caused you. After some consideration, we will be allowing the combinability of the onboard credits until further notice. Please feel free to contact me at the number listed below if you wish to discuss this matter further.

Thank you,again, Mr. & Mrs. Clampett, for your feedback. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best Regards,

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

__________________

If you are trying to save money, why would you book a balcony cabin?

Good question. We save money so that we CAN book a balcony. We enjoy sitting and reading on the balcony and watching the sea slide by on sea days and looking at the ports from our balcony while in port. We also like to leave the door open and listen to the sea sounds sometimes, and we like FRESH air and fresh air is hard to come by with an inside or view cabin.

ChevyCruiser !

 

You need to change your title to: Cruising on a Budget 101

 

What you do is neither considered being a tightwad, cheap, or whatever other adjective you might want to put on it. You enjoy cruising, your way, and if more people took your hints they would probable be able to enjoy cruising too.

Good subtitle. We use the term tightwad as a source of pride. Being retired and on a fixed income, we figure it's easier to save $500.00 by being a tightwad than to generate an additional $500.00 of income. Being a tightwad allows us to cruise three to four times a year, and do pretty well anything else we want, when we want. That's FREEDOM! It all depends on if you want to pay full price and travel less - or be a tightwad and travel more. ;)

Not because the economy is "weak" or gas prices have "skyrocketed" - most of which has been conjured up by the left-wing media - but we tend to cruise on the cheap. We search for off-season or repositioning cruises and then set our sights on a balcony stateroom with the cruise fare saved. We book the next cruise while on-board the current cruise for an OBC, use our C&A benefits for a discount, and use our RCCL stockholder benefits for an additonal OBC. When we have enough RCCL Visa card points accumulated, we cash them in for another OBC. Then, while on-board:

We don't buy the over-priced weak drinks in the smokey bars - but once in a while we'll order the drink of the day - or two - before the show.

We do not buy the art at the auctions - but do sign up and drink the free champaigne.

We don't buy a soda card - but do drink coffee, tea, and juices for free and even make our own "Cafe' Diablo" using their hot cocoa mix, coffee, and creamer.

We don't buy a wine package - but do use our C&A coupon for a free wine tasting.

We don't use any spa "treatments" but do occasionally sign up for a free lecture/sales pitch.

We don't use the laundry service - but do wash out our own quick-dry travel clothing in our cabin.

We don't use the high priced/low speed internet service on-board - but do use our own mobile web service when in port and cell phone service is available.

We seldom use specialty dining - but do order room service dinners or breakfasts and eat on our balcony where it is much quieter.

We DO try to book an excursion or two on-board so that it'll be charged to our sea pass - the one already front loaded with a bunch of OBCs.

The result? Most cruises we have a very small balance on our sea pass at the end of the cruise, and sometimes even have a credit.

Are you a tightwad cruiser too? If so, what do you do

From what I can tell, here's some of the common discount/OBC codes used on the booking invoices:

ADV = Advance Booking Credit

C = RCCL Visa Card Credit/Discount

D = C&A Diamond Level Pre-Cruise Benefit

HA = Savings Certificate for C&A

MX = Promo Booking OBC

P = C&A Platinum Level Pre-Cruise Benefit

From what I can tell, the prefix is followed by the amount of the discount/OBC, such as D200 would be a $200.00 pre-cruise benefit for a C&A diamond level member.

If anyone has any others, please let me know. In the meantime, you can do a cut and paste of this list and put it in your cruise information folder with your important cruise line information.

Will RCCL send this to you even if you booked with a TA? The invoice we get from the TA doesn't show it, but she did show us one invoice from RCCL. I just wondered if we could get them directly from RCCL..................

I book directly with RCCL, and they'll send out a booking invoice anytime I ask. They also send it out if I call in for a price drop. Never used a TA, but some friends did on a recent cruise and RCCL wouldn't talk to them directly. The friends ended up having to go through the travel agent for everything. They are now booking their own cruises.

If there are no others to add, I'll review what we have so far and assemble a list. Looks like a list of prefixes will do it, since there is a pattern to the prefixes - with variations for the exact amount of the applicable OBC. That will give us a list of the codes so that if one is expecting an OBC for a Crown and Anchor benefit, it will be apparent on the booking invoice when it has been applied.;)

Thanks for all who posted here. I was waffling on a junior suite on deck ten, but was concerned about being under the Windjammer (I usually book a deck with passenger decks above and below). The observations posted here helped. I booked the JS. Just another reason I love Cruise Critic:)

Any others?

Looks like there may be a pattern to the prefix of the codes, for example:

SB = shareholder benefit

P2 = Pre-cruise OBC for Platinum members

D2 = Pre-cruise OBC for Diamond members

If you'll keep posting examples from your invoices, I'll continue to tabulate them and see if we can come up with a comprehensive list.

Please keep them coming. If someone doesn't post a comprehensive list, maybe I'll type up what we collect here and then we'll have one.;)

Or know where to find one for the Obsessive Compulsive Cruiser?

I'm stacking up several OBCs for an upcoming cruise and was wondering if there is somewhere to find a list of what the OBC codes mean on my booking invoice. I have a stockholder OBC, RCCL Visa Cards OBC, an OBC for booking on a one-day sale, etc. :D I just want to be sure that the proper amounts have been credited before I board. (I'll be taking my documentation as well)

Thanks!!!