RCI not recognising loyalty!

[Mim Lloyd]

RCI have a promotion here in the UK giving $550 OBC for booking a cruise in a suite. So I was going to book one today as the double points would put us very close to becoming Diamond+.  But I found that if I use my Diamond C&A status for the small discount on the booking and the associated C&A points I don't get the $550 OBC. If I DON'T use the Diamond C&A status I'll get the OBC but no points. I'm very disappointed in this, it seems that RCI is not valuing loyalty at all. 🤨

[RFerrington]

Really ?  No C&A points for a suite ?  Are you sure ?  I totally believe that you cannot get both the C&A discount and the OBC but find it difficult to believe that you will not get C&A points.

Edited May 19, 2022 by RFerrington

[neverbeenhere]

No points… hmmm. 
 

but like they say, loyalty is for money already spent. New money is what pays the bills. 

[nelblu]

Never heard of this.  Did you book thru Royal directly or thru a TA.  For some unknown reason, I get e-mails for promos that pertain to the UK.  The following link is for the current WOW promo as it pertains to the UK and nowhere any of what you posted is covered.

 

Promotions & Deals Terms and Conditions | Royal Caribbean Cruises

 

Also, did you try to do a mock booking and see what results you get vis-a vis C&A

balcony discount and the OBC amount(s).

Edited May 19, 2022 by nelblu

[HicksRA]

I’ve never heard of a suite not being awarded double points under any circumstance.  

[la_croisiere_s'amuse]

22 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

I’ve never heard of a suite not being awarded double points under any circumstance.  

Agreed. OP, I think there may have been a misunderstanding/miscommunication. The C&A discount is sometimes not combinable with special offers, but to the best of my knowledge, double points for suites are set in stone. 

[ONECRUISER]

40 minutes ago, HicksRA said:

I’ve never heard of a suite not being awarded double points under any circumstance.  

Don't think it's correct unless it was Upgrade should get the Points

[texmex.ferr]

If you're making a new booking and booking a suite, once you've sailed you will be given the C & A points for staying in a suite (double points), what you're not receiving is the On Board Credit and your current Crown & Anchor discount for being a Diamond member.     You have to work it which is the best deal for your circumstances, either the Crown & Anchor discount or the On Board Spend.      Royal have not been combining C & A discounts with OBC allowances for a number of their sailings recently, whereas they did before Covid.

 

I have seen another scenario that they have given reduced OBC if you use your C & A discount, for certain sailings in the past few months.      My TA normally gives me all options, then I can pick which deal suits us best, and I've always been credited with our points after we've sailed.

[broadwaybaby123]

I don't think you got the correct information.  If you go to the RC website, they award points based on the number of nights spent on the ship and what cabin you're staying in.

[kw1816]

If it makes you feel any better, I priced a Med cruise in 2 suites for next year before this promotion, came to around £6k. With this promotion it now comes to £7k, but with $1k OBC. 😉

 

Rarely do RC’s promotions save you anything really - just move the charges around 🙂. It’s a bit like furniture retailers with endless sales…..

 

You’ll always earn C&A points regardless.

[sowhat]

Looked at booking several cruises sailing from Barcelona  or Southampton,
There is no balcony  discount  for C&A  members,  price is the same for new cruise guests  and diamond members
Rep told us that the promo 1 rate is the best rate and no discount  for passed guests

[little britain]

9 hours ago, Mim Lloyd said:

RCI have a promotion here in the UK giving $550 OBC for booking a cruise in a suite. So I was going to book one today as the double points would put us very close to becoming Diamond+.  But I found that if I use my Diamond C&A status for the small discount on the booking and the associated C&A points I don't get the $550 OBC. If I DON'T use the Diamond C&A status I'll get the OBC but no points. I'm very disappointed in this, it seems that RCI is not valuing loyalty at all. 🤨

You will always get the points.

Some promos are non combinable meaning you either take the balcony discount or you take the obc - which ever is the better deal. 
 

Whoever gave you this info was incorrect. 

[beardedladies]

I think the OP just worded things badly - they’re wanting to book a suite for the points but are complaining C&A discount and OBC are not combinable. 
 

this is indeed annoying and seems to be happening more recently. Even worse that OBC isn’t even a bonus - I’ve been keeping an eye on some sailings to book for next year and surprise surprise the suite price jumped by roughly the £ equivalent of the $550 the day before the promotion. What a coincidence!

[nelblu]

4 hours ago, sowhat said:

Looked at booking several cruises sailing from Barcelona  or Southampton,
There is no balcony  discount  for C&A  members,  price is the same for new cruise guests  and diamond members
Rep told us that the promo 1 rate is the best rate and no discount  for passed guests

 

Reps are not always right.  Did you try a mock booking.  When I'm interested in a sail, I initially do a mock on cabin type, deck level, etc. and then either call my TA or Royal.

 

I had an experience recently, I booked a future cruise on board while on Allure in January.  I also had  promo code DP340 (single supplement) and a Casino credit.  The agent on board could not apply multiple promos  and was told that I had to call CS.  Well, when I called CS they  were not familiar with the DP340 code and also kept getting confused with the casino credit and the $100 OBC for booking on board.  After spending some 30 minutes and the agent going back & forth with no solution, I gave up and decided to call the Casino desk.

 

Surprisingly, I got thru to the Casino desk with a minimal time of waiting.  The Agent was very knowledgeable and was able to take care of all my promos.  However, when I received a corrected invoice the on-board booking credit was reduced to $62.  Called the Casino desk and again got thru pretty quickly.  Told the Agent that the 2 transactions are totally separate and distinct.  One is the award for the booking on-board and the other was based on play in the casino.  After conferring with Revenue, he came back and told me that a corrected invoice was on it's way reflecting the $100 in OBC.

 

Bottom line, got a nice reduction in the basic fare due to the single supplement, my C&A balcony discount was reduced from $250 to $188 (was familiar with this reduction), and got both my Casino credit and the total OBC.

 

A little perseverance goes a long way.

 

 

[John&LaLa]

5 hours ago, kw1816 said:

If it makes you feel any better, I priced a Med cruise in 2 suites for next year before this promotion, came to around £6k. With this promotion it now comes to £7k, but with $1k OBC. 😉

 

Rarely do RC’s promotions save you anything really - just move the charges around 🙂. It’s a bit like furniture retailers with endless sales…..

 

You’ll always earn C&A points regardless.

 

You won't see a real sale until they discontinue price match

[cruiseguy1016]

Usually, Diamond discounts and special sales are not combinable so that part is probably true. But, as others have mentioned, there might have been some confusion between you and the booking agent. Booking a suite will earn you double points. The Diamond discount on the room is $225, the OBC is $550. Take the $550 and be happy. The double points will show up after the cruise. 

[Mim Lloyd]

Thanks for all the replies folks, I really appreciate your input. I did a dummy booking on the RCI site and I quoted my C&A number and got a £181 reduction on the suite price but no OBC. I then did a dummy booking NOT quoting my C&A number and although I didn't get the £181 suite discount I got the OBC of $550. My TA rang RCI and they confirmed that if I didn't quote my C&A number I would get the $550 OBC but not the points. They said that unless my C&A status was recorded when booking the cruise I wouldn't get the points. I was actually considering a B2B so the points are 28 and the OBC would be $1100. I would happily forgo the C&A discount on the suites if I could get the OBC and points. Would it be worth getting my TA to try again with RCI? I really don't know what to do at the moment! 

[neverbeenhere]

You can get your points… either wait until the booking is final then TA adds your c&a number OR keep your cruise card, booking paperwork and turn it into Royal C&A team and they will credit you with your points. 

[Mim Lloyd]

Great, thank you!

[cruiseguy1016]

19 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

You can get your points… either wait until the booking is final then TA adds your c&a number OR keep your cruise card, booking paperwork and turn it into Royal C&A team and they will credit you with your points. 

 

^^^ This ^^^ I find it hard to believe (wait! no I don't) that RCI's customer Service Reps don't know how things work. 

[Jimbo]

Find a travel agency that will give you the Royal Caribbean Balcony Discount and  $550 OBC from the travel agency. 🙂  They are out there, you just have to hunt for them.

Edited May 21, 2022 by Jimbo

[paul_uk]

RCs website will always show the cheapest price available for a booking based on the info it has, and will present whichever rate (C&A discoiunt or the current headline promo) has the lowest invoice price (ignoring the value of the OBC). It's possible that the booking system your TA uses behaves similarly.

You can see this in action when there is a promo running that discounts the price rather than adding the OBC - for some cabins the C&A discount is bigger and this is what you get offered, whereas for other the promo discount is bigger and you don't get the C&A discount

If the OBC is more imortant to you than the headline price, book without including the C&A details and call your TA/RC after the booking is confirmed to add the  number.

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by paul_uk