More for less, 2 rooms cheaper than 1.

[irun5k]

I've taken advantage of this before, but I just did it again with the current sale directly on RCCL website:

 

March 2019 5 night Independence sailing:

4 people in standard inside cabin: total = $3,120

2 people in 2 adjoining promenade cabins: total = $2,570

 

That is just nuts (in a glorious way!) and a much more dramatic advantage than I got doing something similar on the Oasis a couple of years ago.   I like to pass along this tip because many people would expect that two staterooms for a family of 4 would be cost prohibitive and thus wouldn't even think to price it this way.  Having two rooms greatly improves the experience in a number of ways (two bathrooms, two dedicated beds, etc.)

 

Best of all, one of the two rooms is the Ben and Jerry's Suite.  I hope this is still a thing after the recent ship refurbishment!  I've heard that there might be some service noise in 6305 but we have two cabins to work with.  Actually I have a question about this room but will post it as a separate topic.

 

 

[cruisegirl1]

Good point about the cabins and worth repeating. Check all options when pricing a cruise. 

 

Enjoy 

Thanks 

[ONECRUISER]

Nothing new. In mid-90's when took my kids were younger during Vacation times was $799-999 for 1st two passengers and $1099 for 3rd and 4th. As said I also always check all options, one or two cabins when my family sails with me. Last few yrs booked a 2bd/2ba that was cheaper then a Balcny cabin and a couple Balcony cabins that were cheaper then OV

Edited December 31, 2018 by ONECRUISER

[HBE4]

 

Also, as an added bonus, the promenade room is slightly bigger (165 sq vs 150 sq) with more seating area. That's 10% more room for less money.

 

The seat by the window is not the most comfortable but it's perfect for kids.

[KmomChicago]

Good info. Depends on the sailing and how they are messing around with various promotions but sometimes the 3rd and 4th passenger sharing the same room cost more than the 1st and 2nd. 

 

Of course when the promotion is specifically for a discount off the additional passengers in the same room, you get a different result. I have seen this same situation on Carnival as well.  Cruises on the same dates, or nearly the same dates, from different ports, with dramatically different pricing schemes.  Always pays to run the numbers before choosing.  For RC I also have found I get better pricing with an online TA rather than at their site - has held now for both of my two bookings.

[irun5k]

1 hour ago, KmomChicago said:

Good info. Depends on the sailing and how they are messing around with various promotions but sometimes the 3rd and 4th passenger sharing the same room cost more than the 1st and 2nd. 

 

Right... they do so many different promotions which all involve raising the base price and then introducing a discount to get back to the same base price- there are bound to be unintended consequences given all the variables.

 

We did the something similar on Oasis a couple years ago for a Boardwalk view room.  In that case it was a wee bit more for two rooms vs. one but still well worth it (something like $100 for the entire week.)

 

Another unrelated thing I noticed is that there is a decent number of connecting cabins on the promenade.  Since they only sleep 2 maybe that was part of the design.

 

[irun5k]

6 hours ago, HBE4 said:

The seat by the window is not the most comfortable but it's perfect for kids.

 

My thought also- maybe a decent spot to watch the parade and all other times serves as another place that isn't the bed to sit things.  There will be cows in the way in one room but the other should have a better view 🙂

[acruisingcouple]

Same thing for us.  Balcony and promenade-view interior on a 4 day Independence of the Seas cruise is less expensive than having 4 of us together in an ocean view. I am so looking forward to only having to share the bathroom with one person instead of three!

[irun5k]

1 hour ago, acruisingcouple said:

I am so looking forward to only having to share the bathroom with one person instead of three!

 

The way this usually goes down for us, in practice, is that one person will get one bathroom and the other three will share the other one.  Not going to mention names or roles in the family, etc., but <cough> I hope my wife enjoys her private bathroom.   LOL.

[brillohead]

FYI, we didn't notice ANY "service noise" when we stayed in the Cow Butt Sweet.  Complete non-issue for us.  Enjoy your ice cream!  

[irun5k]

10 hours ago, brillohead said:

FYI, we didn't notice ANY "service noise" when we stayed in the Cow Butt Sweet.  Complete non-issue for us.  Enjoy your ice cream!  

 

Thank you- we're not very cowcerned about it either based on feedback like yours.  And since we've got the connecting room too, the light sleepers can just moove into the other room if the decibull level is udderly ridiculous when it is time to hit the hay.  I can always depend on my better hoof to tell me who sleeps where.

 

Also looking forward to the short stroll to get my morning calffee on the Promenade (usually get the coffee card.). I'm typically calf asleep until I've had my morning latte!

 

P.S. New Years bucket list item #783 is complete.  (Use an excessive number of cow puns in a Cruise Critic post.)  Bam!

Edited January 1, 2019 by irun5k

[nelblu]

On ‎12‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 3:53 PM, irun5k said:

I've taken advantage of this before, but I just did it again with the current sale directly on RCCL website:

 

March 2019 5 night Independence sailing:

4 people in standard inside cabin: total = $3,120

2 people in 2 adjoining promenade cabins: total = $2,570

 

That is just nuts (in a glorious way!) and a much more dramatic advantage than I got doing something similar on the Oasis a couple of years ago.   I like to pass along this tip because many people would expect that two staterooms for a family of 4 would be cost prohibitive and thus wouldn't even think to price it this way.  Having two rooms greatly improves the experience in a number of ways (two bathrooms, two dedicated beds, etc.)

 

Best of all, one of the two rooms is the Ben and Jerry's Suite.  I hope this is still a thing after the recent ship refurbishment!  I've heard that there might be some service noise in 6305 but we have two cabins to work with.  Actually I have a question about this room but will post it as a separate topic.

 

 

 

A few months ago, I was looking for family cruise for Easter '20 on the Harmony.  Did mock booking for CP balconies and by accident discovered that 2 cabins was cheaper by some $300 as compared to a single quad.  In addition, my TA was promoting prepaid grats for the 1st 2 Paxs in cabin.  Also, RCL was offering $100 per cabin for non-refundable deposits and bottle of wine and lunch for 2 in each cabin at  a SR.  I thought I had hit the lottery.

 

My kids & grandkids will enjoy the Xmas gift(s).