Advantages of booking another cruise while on one.

[GoBucks!!]

Our first cruise is in May. Thanks everyone

[Clarea]

Our first cruise is in May. Thanks everyone

Reduced deposit and on board credit in the following amounts. These amounts are per stateroom, and are also the deposit amounts required:

 

Booking a specific cruise

-------------------------

 

•5-7 night cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $50

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $100

◦Grand Suite and above: $200

 

•8-10 night cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $100

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $150

◦Grand Suite and above: $300

 

•11-14 night cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $150

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $200

◦Grand Suite and above: $400

 

•15 nights or longer cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $200

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $250

◦Grand Suite and above: $500

 

Open Booking

------------

5-7 nights; $25

8-10 nights: $50

11-14 nights: $75

15+ nights: $100

[knittinggirl]

If we booked our cruise at home w/o an open booking, we'd have to come up with $1,000 for a 7-day cruise. Definitely, makes it more attractive to pay the future bookings' rep a visit. I'm a lot happier with them having only $200 of our money.

[GoBucks!!]

Thanks for the info

[Clarea]

Thanks for the info

You're welcome.:)

[MikeBTN]

You can also move the booking if you're within the cancellation period. We booked on in November and recently "cancelled" that booking and moved the deposit to another cruise with no problem.

[island lady]

I still miss the original "next cruise certificates" but the way RCI changed things, those

are now pretty much worthless. Thus unless it is a short cruise, we always book on

board now.

 

Love that OBC! ;)

[jaygee77]

Reduced deposit and on board credit in the following amounts. These amounts are per stateroom, and are also the deposit amounts required:

 

Booking a specific cruise

-------------------------

 

•5-7 night cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $50

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $100

◦Grand Suite and above: $200

 

•8-10 night cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $100

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $150

◦Grand Suite and above: $300

 

•11-14 night cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $150

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $200

◦Grand Suite and above: $400

 

•15 nights or longer cruises

◦Interior/Oceanview: $200

◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $250

◦Grand Suite and above: $500

 

Open Booking

------------

5-7 nights; $25

8-10 nights: $50

11-14 nights: $75

15+ nights: $100

 

Can you no longer put down an open ended deposit if you're currently on a 3 or 4 night cruise? If so, is there any benefit to doing so anymore?

[son3cruisers]

We booked on board and only needed a $65 deposit for a Southern Caribbean cruise next year!

At first I thought it was $65 per person , but it was $65 total!!!!

Sweet!

[molly361]

Can you no longer put down an open ended deposit if you're currently on a 3 or 4 night cruise? If so, is there any benefit to doing so anymore?

 

No it is changed to cruises of 5 nights or more

[shipshape sam]

I think too that you need to have in mind the thought about booking a next cruise.

 

Otherwise, you might be booking without fully doing your research. I know at least for me, I like to check a couple of cruise lines, check itineraries, pricing, etc and that is the LAST thing I want to be doing on, at least in past, slow internet that is costing me $$ and taking away my vacation time.

 

 

We have booked a few cruises onboard and have known we were wanting the cruise. We did book one spur of the moment and we later canceled. Our daughters wedding got in the way.:)

[ColoradoGurl]

The advantage is that you can reserve a cruise for virtually no money, kind of like reserving a hotel room, where you lock in a price and a date, but don't pay until a certain time period before the vacation.

 

We booked a promenade/inside room for $50, and we opted to take the $50 on board credit that went along with the booking, on our current cruise. Doing it that way meant that, while I paid $50 to book a future cruise, I got the $50 back right away because I used it to pay my bill at the end of the cruise, which was $50 I would have paid anyway. You can also choose to save the on board credit for the future cruise if you want, but $50 really wasn't anything for me to get excited about in the future so we used it. The other reason to use it "now" is because if for some reason you don't go on the future cruise, or you forget you booked it and end up losing the deposit because it's passed the cancellation window, you lose nothing.

 

You can also change the cruise date and ship if you want to later on, as long as you haven't reached the cancellation window (I think it's 90 days before the cruise). I read on here that you could only change once, but I found out that is not true, you can change as many times as you want. So, you can keep pushing the cruise further and further out while you save money, or until your vacation time opens up, or until the itinerary or date you want to sail is posted etc. This also allows you to take advantage of the lower prices (presumably) that come with booking further in advance, without having to part with the usual $500-$1,000 deposit that is normally required.

Edited March 28, 2016 by ColoradoGurl

[George C]

I like dealing with someone face to face , rep I talked to was very knowable about the cruise and ship I was interested in, will most likely book a couple more in a few weeks when I sail Liberty

[SC_Floaters]

We were on the Enchantment (3/14-18 2016) and saw a nice 9 Night Alaska Cruise (May 17, 2017, On Raddiance) and wondered if booking onboard would be better than online booking.

 

Here is what I did. I went online and booked the cruise with the cabin I wanted, I got the same 30% discount advertised onboard plus a small $26 OBC. I put it on a 24hr hold.

 

Then went to the Future Bookings Onboard and showed her my Reservation on hold. She entered a similar cabin booking and it was the same cost as the one I booked online plus an additional $100.

 

I cancelled my booking on hold, that released the cabin I wanted and the Future Reservations Agent made my booking for that cabin. In addition to the extra $100 OBC the $26 OBC transfered to the onboard booking, plus the deposit was only $100...

 

I can cancel that reservation up to 90 days prior to sailing without any Cancellation Charge.

 

Dennis & Sue

[island lady]

Before I book on board, as I did this last cruise on Serenade, the DH and I sit down at one

of the ship's computers and do research. We already have an idea of when we want to cruise,

just need to check pricing and itineraries. Then with info in hand, and a cabin choice selected,

we proceed to the next cruise desk office. Quick booking makes it go smooth and frees up that

agent to help the next person.

 

We received OBC to use on the ship we booked, AND OBC to use on current ship Serenade. :)

Edited March 29, 2016 by island lady

[Bookish Angel]

I have a Canada/NE trip booked when the sailing first came out - a very good price and a $100 OBC from my TA. While on a RCI cruise this January, I spoke to a rep to see if I could improve my price. Even the rep told me to stay with what I'd booked as his price for the same cabin was $400 higher.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Bookish Angel

[ade1982]

Can you combine the open booking OBC with any offers you get from the TA? Or do you have to book through RCI?

 

We are in the UK, if it makes a difference?

[Clarea]

Can you combine the open booking OBC with any offers you get from the TA? Or do you have to book through RCI?

 

We are in the UK, if it makes a difference?

The open booking OBC can be used and combined whether you book through a travel agent or direct.

[champagne123]

We were on the Enchantment (3/14-18 2016) and saw a nice 9 Night Alaska Cruise (May 17, 2017, On Raddiance) and wondered if booking onboard would be better than online booking.

 

Here is what I did. I went online and booked the cruise with the cabin I wanted, I got the same 30% discount advertised onboard plus a small $26 OBC. I put it on a 24hr hold.

 

Then went to the Future Bookings Onboard and showed her my Reservation on hold. She entered a similar cabin booking and it was the same cost as the one I booked online plus an additional $100.

 

I cancelled my booking on hold, that released the cabin I wanted and the Future Reservations Agent made my booking for that cabin. In addition to the extra $100 OBC the $26 OBC transfered to the onboard booking, plus the deposit was only $100...

 

I can cancel that reservation up to 90 days prior to sailing without any Cancellation Charge.

 

Dennis & Sue

This sounds like a great plan, but didn't they do away with the 24 hour hold. I could be wrong...I thought I read it here somewhere. Would love to try this on our next cruise.

[The Fun Researcher]

IMO the benefits of booking onboard is pretty much nil. In our experience you can find similar, if not better, deals and prices by watching the promotions on the regular 'ol RCI website.

 

Dan

[island lady]

IMO the benefits of booking onboard is pretty much nil. In our experience you can find similar, if not better, deals and prices by watching the promotions on the regular 'ol RCI website.

 

Dan

 

When I book much more than six months in advance on board, and most times even

a year or more in advance, I continually check current promos and price drops for that

cruise. When the price drops, I call to have my booked cruise pay off lowered. So I

get the latest pricing, the cabin choice I want, AND the OBC.

 

Works for me. ;)

[The Fun Researcher]

When I book much more than six months in advance on board, and most times even

a year or more in advance, I continually check current promos and price drops for that

cruise. When the price drops, I call to have my booked cruise pay off lowered. So I

get the latest pricing, the cabin choice I want, AND the OBC.

 

Works for me. ;)

 

Hmm, I thought you lost your OBC if you rebooked.

 

Dan

[tserface]

Not if you get the OBC from booking on board. If you get OBC from a special they are running that's a different matter. We were told we could move the reservation to another ship or another time or just about anything and keep the on board booking benefits. There's not much to lose except a small deposit which you will get back if you cancel.

 

Tom

 

Hmm, I thought you lost your OBC if you rebooked.

 

Dan

[island lady]

Hmm, I thought you lost your OBC if you rebooked.

 

Dan

 

Nope, not rebooking the cruise. Just adjusting it the same one, same reservation number. Have

done it many times, and never lost any OBC. I also watch price drops after final payment to see if a

higher cat cabin becomes available at little to no cost over what I paid for current booked cabin.

That has happened before also. ;)

Edited March 30, 2016 by island lady

[Bobal]

I have a question about OBC which hopefully someone can answer. We recently booked a cruise whilst onboard but always with the intention to move it to a different cruise once the new schedules are released next week.

 

We understand that the promotion will change (we got the 30% off and that ends before the new schedules are released). However, the cruise we booked is a 7 night - i.e. $100 OBC - but the cruise we want to change to is a longer cruise. Will we get the relevant extra OBC once we switch cruises?

Edited March 31, 2016 by Bobal