Federal Law Enforcement Discount?

[Cruzin-K]

I noticed that one of my upcoming cruises now has a law enforcement discount. I'm wondering when Royal Caribbean took the word "federal" out of their restrictions. :confused: That word used to be in there - I searched and found several threads where the old wording was copied/pasted into a CC thread, and "federal" was there. Now it just says...

 

An Active duty or retired member of local or state/province Law Enforcement, Fire Dept. or EMT

 

Local or State/Province Law Enforcement Agency, Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Program Restrictions

.

.

.

.

- At least one guest in the stateroom must be an active employee of a local or state law enforcement agency, fire department or EMS in the United States. Qualified guests must present valid proof of employment (badge or ID) plus a second form of identification when boarding the ship. The offer is not valid where restricted by applicable law.

 

Has anyone recently (very recently) received a law enforcement discount working for a Federal agency? :confused:

[Coralc]

If you are a law enforcement officer and have ID or a badge...I wouldn't worry about the distinction between federal/state/local.. :)

[cruisnseas]

Federal law prohibits the cruise line from giving a discount to some federal employees if they don't offer it to all federal employees so no, you would not qualify. And yes, they do enforce this. The last thing you want to do is claim a discount you don't qualify for, show up at the pier, be unable to verify qualification and end up paying the difference in rates. I saw it happen all too often - it gets ugly.

[Mark_K]

Federal law prohibits the cruise line from giving a discount to some federal employees if they don't offer it to all federal employees so no, you would not qualify. And yes, they do enforce this. The last thing you want to do is claim a discount you don't qualify for, show up at the pier, be unable to verify qualification and end up paying the difference in rates. I saw it happen all too often - it gets ugly.

Costa offers their discount to these groups (MSC is similar):

 

Customs & Border Protection, Border Patrol, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Federal Protective Service, Secret Service, Federal Air Marshal Service, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Bureau of Prisons, US Marshals Service, Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Diplomatic Security Service, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, US Pentagon Police, US Forest Service Law Enforcement & Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs Police, Bureau of Land Management, Office of Law Enforcement

Edited September 1, 2013 by Mark_K

[sjb317]

There is no federal "Law" prohibiting discounts for federal employees, but there is an OPM rule for federal employees prohibiting them from accepting such a discount, unless offered to all. Any cruise line can legally offer a discount, it is up to the employee to decide if they want to take it but perhaps face consequences if caught.

 

It's interesting that they have dropped the word "federal" from the law enforcement discount, as of a few weeks ago, I think it was still there. My husband is retired federal law enforcement (after 34 years!) and during our 12 years of cruising, we caught such a discount only once. It was interesting that they stressed bringing his badge to show at check in, but we were never asked for it. I have found this to be true for state discounts also, we have never been asked to show proof of residency.

 

Sherri:)

[lakelorain]

There is no federal "Law" prohibiting discounts for federal employees, but there is an OPM rule for federal employees prohibiting them from accepting such a discount, unless offered to all. Any cruise line can legally offer a discount, it is up to the employee to decide if they want to take it but perhaps face consequences if caught.

 

It's interesting that they have dropped the word "federal" from the law enforcement discount, as of a few weeks ago, I think it was still there. My husband is retired federal law enforcement (after 34 years!) and during our 12 years of cruising, we caught such a discount only once. It was interesting that they stressed bringing his badge to show at check in, but we were never asked for it. I have found this to be true for state discounts also, we have never been asked to show proof of residency.

 

Sherri:)

 

OPM's rule doesn't apply to retired Federal Employees so this change should not apply to retired personnel.

However, we've never received a discount on any of our cruises.

[philip_g]

well, this is what MY agency has to say about it. I wouldn't ask nor accept, but that's just me. Someone else can be made an example of, I'd like to keep my job thanks.

 

4

Gifts from

Outside

Sources

Title 5 C.F.R. Section 2635.201

-

Overview.

This subpar

t contains standards that prohibit an employee from

soliciting or accepting any gift from a prohibited source or given because of the employee's official position

unless the item is excluded from the definition of a gift or falls within one of the excepti

ons set forth in this

subpart.

A gift is defined as

any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, or other item

having monetary value. It includes services as well as gifts of training, transportation, local travel, lodgin

gs, and

meals, whether provided in

-

kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense

has been incurred.

Prohibited source is defined as

any person who: 1) is seeking official action by the employee's agency; 2) does

bus

iness or seeks to do business with the employee's agency; 3) conducts activities regulated by the employee's

agency; 4) has interests that may be substantially affected by performance or nonperformance of the employee's

official duties; or 5) is an organiz

ation a majority of whose members are described in 1 through 4.

Note:

It is frequently prudent for an employee to decline an otherwise permissible gift offered by a prohibited

source or because of the employee's official position.

IMPORTANT:

Unsolicite

d offers of no

-

charge transportation from state or local government agencies may

be approved and accepted as specified in FAA Order 3750.6A (1/13/98) by FAA employees for official travel

required to carry out the agency’s statutory or regulatory duties.

Go to:

[snip]

, then click on Order [snip].

How do I know when I may not accept a gift?

With some exceptions mentioned

later, you may not ask for or accept a gift from anyone who is giving the gift to

you because of your Government job. Ask yourself if the gift would have been offered if you were not working

for the Government. If the answer is no, then the gift is being o

ffered because of your Government position and

you cannot accept it.

Also, you may not ask for or accept a gift from people or organizations that do business with, or seek to do

business with your agency, who seek some official action by your agency, or

who have activities regulated by

your agency. Gifts from these people or groups are prohibited whether or not you deal with them when doing

your job. You must also turn down a gift from someone who has interests that may be significantly affected by

you wh

en you are doing your job

Edited September 1, 2013 by philip_g

[lakelorain]

well, this is what MY agency has to say about it. I wouldn't ask nor accept, but that's just me. Someone else can be made an example of, I'd like to keep my job thanks.

 

I agree. If you are still employed then you must follow the rules. In our case my DH is retired.

A very high ranking RC employee who is a former Fed Law Enforcement employee is checking on this news.

[Trekker954]

This is an interesting topic and frankly I'm quite pissed off about it.:mad: And why just federal law enforcement. Last time I checked the military gets a federal check also.

 

First for the person who is quoting the gift policy. That's BS. My family, DH, DD, DS and I are all feds. There are plenty of places that offer leo discounts. Heck even Computer and software companies gives discounts that appear to be sanctioned by our agency. Gyms, some retail stores, Maui Jim Sunglasses give leos a 40% off coupon. I could go on and on. I can't imagine the push back that would happen if gun stores took up this insane policy.

 

In 2002 the government set a new policy to allow any govt. worker to accumulate our air miles and hotel points while on government travel. So don't go talking about gifts over $25. I racked up a million miles on govt. business since 2006. We can use our miles to upgrade govt. tickets. So I really don't see how on occasion taking a law enforcement discount on a personal cruise is so different. This new rule of theirs is crazy and I'm just wondering why after all these years. Who made that call? Who was behind it? Yes, I know that I accumulate C&A points and obviously since moving to Florida 5+ years ago have cruised a lot and made status.

 

I booked a cruise for early 2014, then saw a police discount on a better cabin and when I called to upsell to it, that is the first I heard about it. I thought clearly the vacation planner didn't know what they were saying. I said, I'm doing a dummy booking from the website and it clearly shows the federal officer is entitled. He gave it to me. Later I researched and found several variations of the description. Some places removed the word retired (which would have affected my husband who is retired if we booked more than one cabin). Finally I wrote to C&A and got that official wording from the Federal Ethics Board. I happened to do another dummy booking this morning for my same cruise and sure enough, the word federal is completely removed.

 

Thankfully I'm over 55 and a Florida resident, so chances are if a ship isn't selling, I usually see the senior discount first, followed by a police and eventually a Florida discount.

[Trekker954]

I agree. If you are still employed then you must follow the rules. In our case my DH is retired.

A very high ranking RC employee who is a former Fed Law Enforcement employee is checking on this news.

 

 

A very high ranking RC Manager's husband is a recently promoted to a very high ranking FED, so maybe this is why this has come about. Again, speculation. Can we all say conflict of interest.

[jakenashleysmom]

There is no federal "Law" prohibiting discounts for federal employees, but there is an OPM rule for federal employees prohibiting them from accepting such a discount, unless offered to all. Any cruise line can legally offer a discount, it is up to the employee to decide if they want to take it but perhaps face consequences if caught.

 

It's interesting that they have dropped the word "federal" from the law enforcement discount, as of a few weeks ago, I think it was still there. My husband is retired federal law enforcement (after 34 years!) and during our 12 years of cruising, we caught such a discount only once. It was interesting that they stressed bringing his badge to show at check in, but we were never asked for it. I have found this to be true for state discounts also, we have never been asked to show proof of residency.

 

Sherri:)

 

I always check, but never have been able to use this discount. It is unfortunate they have eliminated the "federal" if this is true.....we generally use federal/government discount at hotels and they NEVER check even so we always have a badge with us. DH is also military but never have caught a discount here either! maybe when we retire.....;)

[trefilov22]

I am a police officer and claimed a LEO discount, and was never asked for any ID whatsoever when I checked in. So I guess it just depends whom you get helping you. Heck most of them probably wouldn't even know what they were looking at anyways.

 

Federal law prohibits the cruise line from giving a discount to some federal employees if they don't offer it to all federal employees so no, you would not qualify. And yes, they do enforce this. The last thing you want to do is claim a discount you don't qualify for, show up at the pier, be unable to verify qualification and end up paying the difference in rates. I saw it happen all too often - it gets ugly.

[bchalker]

There is no federal "Law" prohibiting discounts for federal employees, but there is an OPM rule for federal employees prohibiting them from accepting such a discount, unless offered to all. Any cruise line can legally offer a discount, it is up to the employee to decide if they want to take it but perhaps face consequences if caught.

 

It's interesting that they have dropped the word "federal" from the law enforcement discount, as of a few weeks ago, I think it was still there. My husband is retired federal law enforcement (after 34 years!) and during our 12 years of cruising, we caught such a discount only once. It was interesting that they stressed bringing his badge to show at check in, but we were never asked for it. I have found this to be true for state discounts also, we have never been asked to show proof of residency.

 

Sherri:)

 

Same here. NEVER been asked to show badge or id.

[ZoeyVictoria]

I work for county law enforcement and we are not allowed to accept anything from businesses in our own county. Anything out of county is permitted. Shortly after 9/11, Busch Gardens in Tampa offered free admission to LEOs and their families, which was allowed, and we are frequently provided info on law enforcement discounts at out-of-county hotels. I believe the principal behind the rule is that accepting discounts within the county could leave us open for accusations of preferential treatment of the places that gave discounts, which would be impossible out of county.

 

That being said, I have received law enforcements discounts on cruises a total of three times, and none were for a lot of money.

[Cd24747]

Hmmmm. How do I go about getting this discount? I am active.

[Clarea]

Hmmmm. How do I go about getting this discount? I am active.

The discount is not available on every cruise or category. All you can do is use Royal's website to price the cruise, making sure that you check the "Law Enforcement" box. This will apply the discount (if any) to the price you see. If that price is less than what your price is, and it is before final payment date, then you can call whoever booked your cruise and ask for a price adjustment.

Edited January 20, 2014 by clarea

[Cd24747]

The discount is not available on every cruise or category. All you can do is use Royal's website to price the cruise, making sure that you check the "Law Enforcement" box. This will apply the discount (if any) to the price you see. If that price is less than what your price is, and it is before final payment date, then you can call whoever booked your cruise and ask for a price adjustment.

 

 

Gotcha. I'll look into it. Thanks.