Changes to the Next Cruise Program

[setsail]

I will take whatever they are willing to give , even 25$, its better than 0

[critterchick]

I just called the D+ desk and the rep I spoke with is fully up to speed on the changes. He said that they really want people to commit to specific cruises and not change them. I guess they must have a substantial number of cancellations right at final payment and then have to discount them in order to fill the ships.

 

Princess now has another edge - in addition to allowing one to combine FCC OBC with shareholder and military OBC, if you cancel a cruise that has and FCC associated with it, they just put it back into your Captain's Circle account. The FCC expires in 2 years, but they refund the $100 to your credit card, so it really is a no-risk situation.

 

I wonder if they are really set up to drop the OBC or if it will be like reserving the right to impose a fuel supplement, something they haven't done even though the cost of crude went above $70bbl a few years ago.

 

Of course I'm not happy with the change, but $50 is better than a poke in the eye. I book as soon as a cruise that I like opens up - if I'd waited until our cruise in May to book the Serenade Snowbird cruise, all of the suites, including JS, would gone. So I suppose now I'll book whatever I see that I like using an NCC and then check prices when I go on a cruise. If they haven't changed, I'll book it onboard for additional OBC and move the NCC to something else.

Edited March 14, 2014 by critterchick

[racerxspeedy]

Wow - I purchased 4 certs. on my last trip since they are now transferable.

I had to call numerous times and email to get confirmation that the credits are actually applied with each booking spending hours on hold and getting invoices that still show nothing

 

Sad to see this turn into a minor benefit - not even worth the time unless you move upscale. I guess the new motto should be "it's good to be king", ...........not "loyal to royal".

[critterchick]

We want to book Quantum for Nov 2015 when we're on Grandeur next week. We figured worse case is we'd get a NCC and book when the schedule opened up. Now, because of their tardiness in putting the schedule out, we could lose obc and get screwed? Really?

 

We didn't want to wait til this Nov because just like on EX, it appears suites go really fast and we always book at least a JS.

 

Curious about this part of the T&Cs -

 

"Single occupancy guests paying less than 200% cruise fare will be eligible for a prorated value of the Offer."

 

So what happens to those who qualify for the 150% single supplement ?

 

I've seen that on other offers, but I have always received the full OBC.

Edited March 14, 2014 by critterchick

[travelgoddess1]

Yet another benefit reduced or removed. Wasn't it just "yesterday" that the NCC was the latest and greatest thing since sliced bread? Now, not so much, apparently.

 

Shame on us for buying the NCC's in the first place, we actually believed the hype. :eek:

[cruisenfever]

As long as they don't re-adjust the balcony discounts, the lesser amount of OBC is not a big deal to us.

[internetwhiz]

As long as they don't re-adjust the balcony discounts, the lesser amount of OBC is not a big deal to us.

 

 

Heck the difference between getting $25 obc with the certificate and the $100 obc we get NOW with them is well $75. That's a good bit to me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[cruisenfever]

Heck the difference between getting $25 obc with the certificate and the $100 obc we get NOW with them is well $75. That's a good bit to me.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

And, I'm sure it's a good bit to many other people.:) As I said, it's not a big deal to "us". We would rather have $$$ off a cruise than $$$ to spend on a cruise, but again, that's just us.

[Lady Hudson]

I agree $100 is better than $25. As I said in a previous post -- when I purchased 3 certificates in December I expected $100 OBC for each trip. Don't know that I would have tied up my $300 for such a low amount.

[internetwhiz]

And, I'm sure it's a good bit to many other people.:) As I said, it's not a big deal to "us". We would rather have $$$ off a cruise than $$$ to spend on a cruise, but again, that's just us.

 

 

I'd rather have both. Until now, you could. Lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[travelgoddess1]

I'd rather have both. Until now, you could. Lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Agreed. I do not intend to spend $200 for a NCC to get a $25 OBC. That's a lot of money to spend in order to save $25. :confused:

[Cindy]

Well, I can definitely cross Next Cruise Certificates off my shopping list next month! To me, $25 just isn't worth it.

 

On the other hand, since we get suites, the increased OBC is nice, if I can make a decision and get booked while I'm on the ship. My problem right now is that everything I was looking at really spiked in price with the 3rd/4th sail free promotion.

[kruzerci]

Fantastic :rolleyes:. Another perk down the drain.

[velmasue]

We purchased several NCC on our last cruise and have used one to reserve a cruise in April. I looked at the reservation a little closer to see if the amount of OBC was reflected on receipt. It wasn't reflected so I called RCCL to confirm the $100 OBC. It took 1 1/2 hours (including wait time), but finally got it straight.

 

I asked about the new "rules" and she confirmed what is posted here, including the amounts and start date of tomorrow. However, she also confirmed that any NCC purchased prior to tomorrow would follow the "rules" in place at the time of purchase.

 

Good news for current NCC holders, but sounds like they are phasing that out with such a small incentive. The LAs will definitely be a lot busier!9

[UCF_Knight]

Well this sucks.

[seaofwonder]

Ugh, for some reason my iPad won't open the PDF (probably the crappy onboard Internet).

 

Can someone post the details of the changes to both programs?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Addictedtocruising]

Well this sucks.

 

Right! Just found out I could get more than one NCC on our cruise in May as we cruise twice a year and would have used them for 2015, now they are pretty much worthless!

 

I love cruising as much as the next guy and it was all because of the special things and discounts of course but, now it's getting to be a there is no more of this and that oh and good luck finding a "good deal" :mad:

[UCF_Knight]

Ugh, for some reason my iPad won't open the PDF (probably the crappy onboard Internet).

 

Can someone post the details of the changes to both programs?

 

The Open Booking now only gets the following OBC based on cruise length:

 

1-4 nights: nothing

5-7 nights: $25

8-10 nights: $50

11-15 nights: $75

15+ nights: $100

[RedHeadTexan]

I am disappointed with this. Walt and I have stuck with Royal because of the OBC when we book onboard and we like the "product", but the measly OBC for insides and ocean views will make us think twice about booking on our next cruise on the ship. We are platinum, so we do not get the perks that the diamond and above cruisers get. With that said, we will go back to comparing Royal, NCL, and HAL...perhaps Princess as well. Whoever has the best rate for the itinerary we want will win our business. I love Royal, but this really disappoints me.

 

Lisa

[psupa]

As long as they don't re-adjust the balcony discounts, the lesser amount of OBC is not a big deal to us.

 

I sure hope not.

[Cruzin-K]

This is quite disappointing. I too won't be buying any more NCC's on board :mad:

 

I wonder how they will treat cruises already booked. I'd like to think I'll get what I was promised at the time of booking :confused:

 

I wonder what sort of OBC they'll offer during their WOW "sales". I want to stay loyal to Royal because I do like their ships, but it's getting harder and harder to justify the extra expense, and Princess is a great cruise line and I can sail as a solo so much cheaper, get more OBC, stockholder credit, double points...

 

Come on Royal, what are you trying to do? De-perk yourself right out of business?

[dacsmom]

Well this sucks.

 

Well said

[wilsonz6]

Well... I do agree that this sucks, but... I will still purchase simply due to the fact that I have 4 kids and my wife and I. Deposits for our cruises can tie up $1500.00 without one. When the urge comes to book this makes a large difference. While I know I will be paying this at some point anyway, it does allow flexibility in booking plus we usually end up with double the OBC because with 6 of us it is 2 bookings but somehow only 1. Now I've confused myself...:confused:. So the short answer is yes i would prefer $100 but it helps my booking decisions with the reduced deposit. And 25 bucks in my pocket is 25 bucks !!!

[Daghis]

I'm glad to find out about this before setting sail tomorrow. We were considering purchasing another NextCruise/Open Booking certificate or two, but now, it's not as interesting.

[Familygoboston]

So it looks like if you purchased but have not yet converted a NCC you will be subject to these new rules? Is that how you guys interpret this? I'm curious to hear back from those of you converting soon to see if they honor the "old" system (100 OBC for 7 day cruises) for people who purchased NCC before this new "system" took effect.

 

No reason for me to buy one in the future, will not be purchasing NCC again, I like others here held them till the itineraries I wanted are released. Another reason to look around;) Just went through my travel calendars with DH till the end of 2017; and Royal isn't appearing on it very often;)

 

I'm also curious to know if the JS remains in the bizarro world of suite limbo with this "promotion" too. Hope people report back as they convert and book on board

Edited March 15, 2014 by Familygoboston