2chiefs

Did you check whether or not the mock booking is before or after the final payment date as I suggested in an earlier post?

No. I'm just checking for 2019 cruises so they are all after final payment date.

Thanks

These perks ARE.NOT.FREE unless there's a special sale. I've brought this to the attention of my X TA, Captains Club, and the Customer Service dept. They could not give me an acceptable answer re the price discrepancy. Any cruise I price online shows the basic cost without perks, then add the perks in and the price changes. However, if there's a 'sale', the price shows the cost of the perk and then shows a deduction of the perks price on my "reservation confirmation printout" which balances the cruise price. None of this shows on the webpage confirming your cruise. I've probably made this as clear as mud; just trying to help the OP.

You have made my point. The website is confusing at best. I guess one just has to do the math manually at the end for comparing cruises and then when a decision is made to book a cruise to ensure the discount is applied.

Here is a screen shot from the website. This particular cruise is on sale and the perk page does say "complimentary" as I've highlighted by the circle below. However, the website still adds the perk costs to the mock booking which why I posted originally. Sorry for the confusion.

<<<SNIP>>>One needs to check which cruises have specials and which do not. If in doubt ring the cruise line

That wasn't helpful and sounds like you are lecturing me. I hope that wasn't your intent. Of course I know which ones offer free perks and which ones do not. If you read my original post quoted here "When I do a mock booking on the Celebrity website for a cruise that includes 2 free perks" you would see that "one" did check "which cruises have specials and which ones do not". I thought this board was for sharing information and asking for help. As far as ringing up the cruise line, I would rather use a TA which I will do in the case of booking a cruise. I was only using the website to compare prices of several different cruises I was interested in before contacting my TA. I would have expected the website to be a little more accurate and less confusing. Calling the cruise line isn't much more helpful than the confusing website.

I must be getting a deal as my "free perks" are $300 a person. I have been doing the same thing as you and the free perks are always an add on.

Thanks keesar,

OK then. I'm not imagining things and I'm not the only one it happens to. I guess I will have to do all my pricing through my TA (as someone suggested) to get the correct price. The website is useless for research.

Are you on the US site? Are you booking an inside cabin as they do not get the perks?

Yes, a US site. No, not booking inside. The page clearly says "free" and then proceeds to add the cost.

Maybe because the free perks aren't really free?

Yep. I'm beginning to believe this one!!

I did check those but there was no discount for those. I'll have to try it again without checking them. Perhaps that will make it work.

I tried it again and it makes no difference. The page comes up with two "free" perks and then proceeds to add $450 per person for those "free" perks.

Have you checked senior, fire/police, etc. or put in a state? Often if one if these is selected you are getting the resident, senior, etc rate which may not be combinable with the 2 free perks promo.

I did check those but there was no discount for those. I'll have to try it again without checking them. Perhaps that will make it work.

Am I missing something?

When I do a mock booking on the Celebrity website for a cruise that includes 2 free perks, it always adds the price of the perks to total. If I un-click the free perks then the cruise calculates at the advertised price. Seems a little strange to me.

<<<SNIP>>>we don't tip the waiters till the last evening, Usually $30.00 dollars or so.

We used to do this until one cruise when the wait staff was changed during the last day or two of the sailing. We felt bad for the folks that (almost) missed out on our intended tip (we sought them out elsewhere on the ship and tipped them anyway). Now we tip by the drink.

We like it. Most of the pros and cons have already been mentioned so it's all about what you prefer and what you're willing to pay for. Seeing the ocean day after day is not something we need or care for so it makes no difference to us. Price, cabin size and convenient location are more important. All Central Park balconies are mid ship and most other categories have up charges for a mid ship location. Since CP balconies seem to be less desirable, they are generally less expensive and have added perks (free bottle of wine and a lunch).

We've done several B2B's. Always easy off and easy on in a group.

Always a nice lunch (once with officers and a couple times with free wine - never in Giovanni's like some lucky person reported earlier). This indicates to me that lunch varies from ship to ship but we always had an exclusive sit down lunch.

We always book them ahead of time with the same room so we have no experience with changing rooms.

Hell that no fury like a sow protecting her babies. And an interesting fact: a piglet picks its teat and always nurses from that one. Pigs are among nature's smartest creatures.

Since they're so smart, perhaps they are trained not to relieve themselves in the "no poop, no pee" section of the bay?

Yes Royal does one way cruises every year as they transition one or two ships between Alaska and Australia.

That's correct. Many lines do. RCI usually has 4 per year. Two ships re-positioning between Australia and Alaska. Alaska bound in Spring and Australia bound in Fall.

Hi Bill, you and I were on the Radiance last year from Oahu to Vancouver 12-day cruise on May 5, 2017. BTW, I will see Gary (Cruise Wizard) again on our upcoming May 6 cruise on the Oasis.

Celebrity is owned by RC. It is often thought to be a little nicer than RC. If you have Crown and Anchor status with RC some parts are recognized by Celebrity.

We went on Celebrity Reflection once and liked it. We booked it again. Is it nicer? Not in our opinion. Probably depends on what you want out of your cruise. Perhaps a little more upscale in terms of decor. The plus for us was less kids and a little more adult oriented. We didn't think the food was better but service was maybe a step up. It's generally a little more expensive as well. We like both RCI & Celebrity and intend to cruise both.

For the first time in a long time.....Celebrity is offering a 15-night Hawaii round trip from Los Angeles in October of 2019. Only 4 days in Hawaii and 10 sea days but shorter flights

We just went on a Hawaii cruise on Radiance last year. Five days at sea from Hawaii to Vancouver was way more sea days in a row than we care for. The round trip on Celebrity would be way too many sea days for our preference. Sea days can be boring to some but it all depends on what you want out of your cruise.

Another consideration is the number of days spent in each port. We were lucky to have a cruise that spent 2 days each in Kauai, Maui and the Big Island. We flew to Oahu a few days early so we could spend some time on Oahu as well.

 

 

when conversations about removing tips or such comes up the first thing I see is "well if you can't afford tips you shouldn't be cruising: all day long. So it applies to the $50 bag situation of packing extra bags.... of course you won't think so,:rolleyes: but it's actually true.

Now you read minds?

I think it's nice to have the option. With the airlines charging for extra bags, etc, people are enjoying packing a little lighter.

It's nice to see people dressed up formal as well so I like the fact that RCI calls formal night "suggested". Many people dress formal so by all means dress formal if you want to (and leave your husband's ties at home if he doesn't want them).[/quo

 

I would only say, If you can afford to cruise you can afford an extra bag, isn't that the argument they use for tips??

What does "affording" have to do with it?

I think it's nice to have the option. With the airlines charging for extra bags, etc, people are enjoying packing a little lighter.

It's nice to see people dressed up formal as well so I like the fact that RCI calls formal night "suggested". Many people dress formal so by all means dress formal if you want to (and leave your husband's ties at home if he doesn't want them).

Well the Adventure does....Does anyone know what time their Munster Drill is scheduled for>

 

Thanks

Are they showing re-runs of the Munsters now?

Not necessarily. They just did some kind of “savenow” sale with $200 off cruises from San Juan through December. My cruise is in November. The special price was for new bookings only. If I had waited, I could have saved $200.

 

 

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Do you have a refundable deposit? If so, just cancel and re-book. (I think this is why they changed their policy on refundable deposits).

We always try to book while on board when possible as they generally have better perks and reduced and refundable deposits.

I've never sailed on Royal Carribean before and am looking to book a cruise out of San Juan Feb 2019. Is the current sale a good one for that or is it better to wait?

 

TIA!

Usually when one sale ends, another starts. I'm not an expert but most of the time the prices stay very close from one sale to the next. Prices seem to rise and fall depending on how the ship is booking up rather than the sale itself in my opinion. We have been able to lower our booking price when the prices have dropped but sometimes the extra perks like On Board Credit can change. With the recent change in Refundable vs Non-Refundable deposits, I'm not sure how that affects asking for the newer, lower price when they drop.

San Juan cruises seem to be very nicely priced compared to other ports and have the best Caribbean itineraries (in our opinion). Of course you need to fly (unless you live in PR) but if you have to fly anyway, then it's not a big deal.

If you do book now, just watch the pricing closely up until final payment and ask for an adjustment if they go down.

Cheers

We thought the Oasis food on our last trip was a step up from all our other cruises. Not a big step but we thought it was better.

We hated the Windjammer however. Not because of food but because of layout and people flow. It just seemed crowded even when it wasn't.

Try it. You might like it a lot. Having said that, we have cruise Oasis and have booked another but our favorite is still the Voyager and Freedom class ships.

As another poster suggested, you might try Celebrity. We went on a short 4-day cruise on Reflection out of Ft Lauderdale in December to check it out. We liked it so much that we booked a 14-day cruise on the Reflection this coming December. They do the Southern Caribbean routes a lot. While we are on one of their last 14-day cruises (I think the last 14-day is January 2019), the Reflection has lots of 11 or 12 day cruises out of Ft Lauderdale doing the Southern Routes. The Reflection is a Solstice class ship and I think carries about 3000 guests which makes it a large ship but not a mega ship.

 

Keep in mind that Celebrity is more laid back if that's your style. You won't find zip lines, flow riders, etc..(less kids!)

Some folks say Celebrity is a step up from Royal but we didn't feel that way. We didn't think the food was better. The fares seem a little higher but reasonable in our opinion.

 

We like both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and will probably cruise both in the future.

One other suggestion since you are from Canada and have to fly anyway. The Royal cruises out of San Juan are generally less expensive than those out of Miami or Ft Lauderdale and since the cruises start further south, they have some very nice itineraries on Southern routes. The Adventure of the Seas is there now. Recently renovated, it is a large ship but much smaller than the new mega ships. We love it. She will be replaced in San Juan by Freedom of the Seas later which is a little larger than Adventure but similar in layout. The Canadian folks we befriended on our cruises out of there generally booked 2 cruises back to back with different itineraries. (two cruises for one flight).