Royal Eliminates Neighborhood Balcony Perks

[Sunshine3601]

We did our online check in for sailing on Jan 12th on Allure OTS and as soon as I was done the $50 OBC I elected appeared.   It was not on my invoice they emailed me but it is on my cruise planner page.   All good here!   Good luck everyone else!

[yzfmik]

Mine showed up now as well. 

[fletch1027]

Neither of mine have shown up yet. I just got off the phone with C&A and they said that the OBC's are being done "by hand" and taking longer than expected and I should see it by the end of the month. 

 

Understandable that it takes a while if being done manually, but odd that they didn't realize the time it would take before they told everyone that it would be available to use "by October 11th"... 🤔 

 

 

[Anita Latte]

I received this email from Royal yesterday:

 

"

Dear Guest, 

We're in the process of reviewing our DINE - DRINK - DISCOVER survey results and noticed you didn't fill it out. We know life gets busy so, we've re-opened the survey to give you some extra time to fill it out! It'll be available until Friday, November 1^st, 2019. 

Before you fill out the survey, make sure...

• You have your booking number handy. We've added it below for your convenience. (If you enter the incorrect booking number, you'll automatically receive the Onboard Credit.)
• Only one guest fills out the survey per stateroom. If more than one person does or if the same person submits the survey twice, we'll honor whichever result was submitted last.

All you have to do is click here to choose whether you want to keep your DINE - DRINK - DISCOVER amenities or if you prefer the $50 USD Onboard Credit. 

If you don't respond by November 1^st, you'll automatically receive the Onboard Credit and once the survey is closed, no further changes will be made to this preference. Your Onboard Credit will be added to your reservation beginning November 6^th, 2019.

Thanks for your cooperation. We look forward to seeing you onboard soon! 

Sincerely,

Aurora Yera-Rodriguez 

Associate Vice President of Guest Services

Royal Caribbean International"

 

IDK if the click here link will be operational with my cut and paste of the letter. This is the link:

 

https://dinedrinkdiscoverguestsurvey.questionpro.com

[rhuntington3]

Interesting!  Glad they followed up with you @Anita Latte!

[Maplemoose]

Now I am glad I filled out the original form and said I wanted the OBC. Otherwise I would have expected to get it by default as they indicated in first email and would still be waiting. There must have been complaints but this change of date would lead to "where's my OBC"  complaints also. RCCL seems to have a "play it by ear" policy when it comes to these situations. I often wonder what % of passengers look at Cruise Critic. I would think the vast majority book the cruise  and never check anything online until it is cruise time. That can lead to surprises and I am glad I visit here. 

[Grandma Petania]

I questioned my travel agent.  She said she was told that OBC wouldn’t show up until 7 days before sailing.  We have four cruises booked in the next 16 months - all in Central Park balconies.  I followed the link to the first survey that was shown in this thread - and opted for OBC for all four cruises.  Should I wait to see if the OBC shows up, or call RC for confirmation?

[Illbcruzn4life]

31 minutes ago, Grandma Petania said:

I questioned my travel agent.  She said she was told that OBC wouldn’t show up until 7 days before sailing.  We have four cruises booked in the next 16 months - all in Central Park balconies.  I followed the link to the first survey that was shown in this thread - and opted for OBC for all four cruises.  Should I wait to see if the OBC shows up, or call RC for confirmation?

 

I don't think that is correct information. I am booked with a travel agent and I got my OBC last week and my cruise isn't until February.

 

I don't know if RCI will talk to you since you are booked through the TA but give it a shot and see. You have nothing to lose.

 

Good Luck

[EDiamond22]

I guess i must be in the minority but i prefer these over the Ocean view. I did the BW last year and really the only perk we took advantage of was the free JR lunch. The perks were not the reason i booked that room but it was definitely appreciated, booking allure for next year and didn't see the perks listed that's why i came here looking if they went away. hopefully they will implement the new way to enhance my CP balcony by next year 😉   

[Grandma Petania]

On 12/10/2019 at 4:35 AM, EDiamond22 said:

I guess i must be in the minority but i prefer these over the Ocean view. I did the BW last year and really the only perk we took advantage of was the free JR lunch. The perks were not the reason i booked that room but it was definitely appreciated, booking allure for next year and didn't see the perks listed that's why i came here looking if they went away. hopefully they will implement the new way to enhance my CP balcony by next year 😉   

 

I hope you enjoy your CP balcony as much as my daughter and I have.  We have sailed Symphony, Harmony, Oasis and Allure on deck 10 overlooking Central Park.  I love looking out over the greenery, and people watching day and evening.  As for perks or onboard credit, I think you have to have booked by sometime in September 2019 (while the perks were still shown on the website) in order to qualify for the offer to keep the perks or choose $50 OBC.  Fortunately I already had ours booked for March and December 2020, so the $50 OBC will help with gratuities.

 

 The March cruise on Symphony is a treat from my son and son-in-law to celebrate my 80th birthday.  (The treat includes my daughter, who is my usual cruising partner.). They will be flying in from California for their first time on an Oasis class ship.  I’m really looking forward to spending the time with them, and sharing my love of these great ships.  They chose an ocean balcony, but I arranged for them to be across the hall a few doors away from our CP balcony cabin.

 

 

[EDiamond22]

1 hour ago, Grandma Petania said:

 

I hope you enjoy your CP balcony as much as my daughter and I have.  We have sailed Symphony, Harmony, Oasis and Allure on deck 10 overlooking Central Park.  I love looking out over the greenery, and people watching day and evening.  As for perks or onboard credit, I think you have to have booked by sometime in September 2019 (while the perks were still shown on the website) in order to qualify for the offer to keep the perks or choose $50 OBC.  Fortunately I already had ours booked for March and December 2020, so the $50 OBC will help with gratuities.

 

 The March cruise on Symphony is a treat from my son and son-in-law to celebrate my 80th birthday.  (The treat includes my daughter, who is my usual cruising partner.). They will be flying in from California for their first time on an Oasis class ship.  I’m really looking forward to spending the time with them, and sharing my love of these great ships.  They chose an ocean balcony, but I arranged for them to be across the hall a few doors away from our CP balcony cabin.

 

 

that's awesome, sounds like you'll have a wonderful time. the way i see it there is a ton of places you can just sit and watch the ocean if that's what you were looking for. i really enjoyed sitting on the BW balcony watching the divers practice, kids play on the BW and the general hustle and bustle. looking forward to a different version of that  with the CP. not to mention Oasis class is the only class you even get this option so why not take try something new! 🙂 
Happy floating 

[Cruise a holic]

We also enjoy the CP cabins.  Had a couple with balconies and a couple without-  Deck 9 have a little seating area overlooking the park.  The cabin is actually a little larger then the balcony cabin overlooking the park- but really nice and peaceful.  You get the outside light and rain if it does!  However a little weird not seeing the water.  The ship is so smooth, you do not know if you are docked.

 

But who cares!  

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, EDiamond22 said:

that's awesome, sounds like you'll have a wonderful time. the way i see it there is a ton of places you can just sit and watch the ocean if that's what you were looking for. i really enjoyed sitting on the BW balcony watching the divers practice, kids play on the BW and the general hustle and bustle. looking forward to a different version of that  with the CP. not to mention Oasis class is the only class you even get this option so why not take try something new! 🙂 
Happy floating 

This is what makes CC interesting. Some people complain that there is nowhere to see the ocean on Oasis class ships and others who find tons of places to watch the ocean.🤔 Personally, I'm with you. I've never had trouble finding a view of the ocean when I want one.

[EDiamond22]

15 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

This is what makes CC interesting. Some people complain that there is nowhere to see the ocean on Oasis class ships and others who find tons of places to watch the ocean.🤔 Personally, I'm with you. I've never had trouble finding a view of the ocean when I want one.

right i didn't seem to struggle especially on sea days me and the GF enjoy laying out so we spent a good amount of time up on the top catching rays and watching waves, but hey if the majority doesn't like the neighborhood balconies that keeps the price lower for us that do, so im not complaining as long as everyone enjoys what they enjoy about their cruise 😄

[Grandma Petania]

I was on two Oasis cruises with my other daughter, son-in-law and grandson, before Allure was even finished.  DSIL needed an accessible cabin, and DD chose connecting ocean balcony cabins for the four of us.  He wasn’t at all interested in any of the entertainment, and only wanted to sit on the balcony in his wheelchair overlooking the ocean, reading and posting on Facebook.

 

Even HE got “chased inside” on several days when the afternoon sun was too bright and hot.  With the CP balconies, if the sun hits the balcony, it is usually only for an hour or two.  Some people complain about the proximity of people on the balconies on the other side of the park.  We haven’t found this to be an issue.  They certainly aren’t close  enough to hold a conversation.  Having never lived in a big city, I enjoy the feeling of a city neighborhood around a park.

 

We appreciated the park even more after an informative tour by the master gardener, Lazlo.  We got a new tour when the Harmony was put into service under his guidance.  I think he may be on Symphony now, and we hope to reconnect with him in March.  It is a huge project to choose (and keep alive) so many different trees and plants in this unique environment.  If Lazlo is on a ship, you’re likely to spot orchids in the trees.  He sometimes rescues them from celebrations onboard, and nurtures them in the park.

 

So glad that the Oasis class ships offer the many different types of balcony cabins, but I am definitely sold on Central Park.

[doones2]

Grandma Petania you are so right about the CP balconies.  We never felt like we were being observed by the people across from us.  We also loved having breakfast on our balcony while watching Central Park come to life for the day and in the evening listening to music while having a cocktail on our balcony.  The lights at night were magical.

[toothy26]

We absolutely loved our CP balcony on Symphony! I would choose it over and over again. I loved people watching, the lights at night, the music. It was wonderful!

[Cruise a holic]

21 minutes ago, toothy26 said:

We absolutely loved our CP balcony on Symphony! I would choose it over and over again. I loved people watching, the lights at night, the music. It was wonderful!

Another important point about the CP cabins-with or without balconies, they are cost effective!

[P.A.]

Just curious. We have a Boardwalk Balcony on our upcoming cruise in Feb on Allure of the Seas, is there room enough on the balcony for 3 adults to sit? There will be 3 of us in this cabin. 

[soremekun]

46 minutes ago, P.A. said:

Just curious. We have a Boardwalk Balcony on our upcoming cruise in Feb on Allure of the Seas, is there room enough on the balcony for 3 adults to sit? There will be 3 of us in this cabin. 

Certainly you can with one of these:

(credit to @John&LaLa)