Any benefit to booking next cruise while you're on a ship

[the6sockos]

I'm sure many of you seasoned travelers have done this- but what are the perks- if any?

[joie1016]

I'm sure many of you seasoned travelers have done this- but what are the perks- if any?

You usually have to only put down a deposit for one person and sometimes shipboard credit is offered. You do not have to pick out your cruise at that time. Some cruise lines give you up to 4 years to decide. I have done it and have had not problems. I would do it if I were you.:)

[first timer with teens]

I'm sure many of you seasoned travelers have done this- but what are the perks- if any?

 

You usually have to only put down a deposit for one person and sometimes shipboard credit is offered. You do not have to pick out your cruise at that time. Some cruise lines give you up to 4 years to decide. I have done it and have had not problems. I would do it if I were you.:)

 

For booking while on board, you will receive an OBC or on board credit for the cruise which you are booking.

 

If you book a specific cruise, you must put down the usual deposit, which depends on the length of the cruise you are booking.

 

If you are booking a NextCruise, which is a certificate to be applied later when you book a specific cruise, you only have to put down $100 pp.

 

The NC certificate never expires.

 

3-5 night cruise - $50 OBC

6-9 night cruise - $100 OBC

10+ night cruise - $200 OBC

[silentbob007]

RCCL has also been cracking down on combing the OBC with other promotions ... so you cannot now receive the OBC and use a Crown and Anchor coupon on the same sailing.

[satxdiver]

It sounds like they are trying to discourage pax from signing up for future cruises while onboard. There has to be an incentive otherwise I would just wait until I get back home and wait for the C&A coupon. :)

[first timer with teens]

It sounds like they are trying to discourage pax from signing up for future cruises while onboard. There has to be an incentive otherwise I would just wait until I get back home and wait for the C&A coupon. :)

There are far more (waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more) cruises that do not have a C&A coupon than those that do.

[smbier]

Why would you put a deposit down if you didn't even know where you wanted to go? What kind of discounts/benefits do you get?

[Tucker in Texas]

If you don't know where you are going but plan to cruise on Royal Caribbean again, you can buy a "Next Cruise" letter for $100, non-refundable. You can only get this while you are on board a ship. When you decide when you want to cruise, the $100 goes towards your deposit and you get OBC depending on the length of the cruise, $100 for a 7 day more if it is longer. You only need one letter because the OBC is per cabin, not per person. If you don't know who you will be cruising with when you buy the letter, you can put down TBD for the second passenger.

 

If you book a definite cruise while on board, you pay the regular deposit and get OBC, again, the amount depends on how long your cruise is.

 

While I have a letter in my file cabinet, the past two times I have booked on board, I knew what cruise I was going to take so I didn't use it as the OBC is the same with the letter as for booking while on board and you can't collect on both. I am saving it for when I don't book on board a cruise.

 

The reason I have booked on board besides getting the OBC, is to get the "camel's nose in the tent" for a cruise I know I plan to take. I have a cabin assigned. Then I monitor it on RCI's web site and if the price goes down, my TA has been successful in getting an adjustment for me.

 

On our upcoming trans-Atlantic in November, we booked it at $900 pp for an assigned inside in April while on board. A month or so later, they had a balcony cabin for $1050. By "upgrading" to the balcony, I got a $100 pp reduction for being a Platinum member (nothing off an inside for being Platinum) so the net difference was only $50 pp. Since the booking, the inside has gone down to around $650 and will probably go lower by sailing date. The last trans-Atlantic in April sailed at $450 pp for an inside guarantee which I switched to and, ironically, ended up in a cabin that was two doors down from the one I had reserved when first booking. My balcony cabin has gone up to $1,400. To me, it is a win/win situation. If the price goes down, I get it, if it goes up, my price is locked in including the fuel charge which seems to be increasing every other month and I have $200 in OBC.

 

Tucker in Texas

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

Can you use these NextCruise certificates and OBC together with the shareholder benefits??:)

[knitpurl]

Is there any benefit to booking on board if you already have a cruise booked? Don't know to book now or wait for the next cruise ( in a few months) ,,would like to book in a particular cabin and rates are good now..

Thanks

[knitpurl]

We are thinking of doing a western transatlantic in the end of November..( 2009)

wondering about the seas at that time of the year...I know how to check temperatures but not how to check the seas so I was hoping a few of you have sailed this route at this time and can help...want to end up in Florida,,,

Thanks so much ...

[knitpurl]

sorry weong place,,redoing last post,,,

[Laurie12820]

We booked our 2009 Liberty sailing on our 2008 Mariner sailing. We will recieve and OBC on the Liberty. The best thing about it was that the Liberty sailing had just begun booking so prices were at their lowest and we had a large selection of cabins to choose from. I think the biggest perk is that the Loyalty Ambassador has the best access to sailings and cabins. We ended up getting an OV at the front of the Liberty. We have been dying to try one and it's a good thing we grabbed it when we did because there are no more left!

[PudgiPoo]

The biggest benifit for booking onboard, for me, is that I am not so sad having to leave the ship. They won't let me stay :( and knowing I will be back helps. I love to have a future cruise to think about, plus the OBC is nice. I like to have a next cruise letter just incase I see a good deal.

[lovemylab]

The only advantage to booking onboard is the OBC.

 

Personally, I doubt I will ever use the Next Cruise program again. It took the cruiseline over 5 months to transfer it to my travel agent. Between the phone calls that I had to make, the ones my TA had to make plus combined with all the wrong information we were given onboard the OBC is hardly worth it.

[Table 6 UK]

Hi Guys

 

Could you help sort out the best option for us?

 

We will be on the Granduer at the end of October - I had planned to pay a deposit on a possible 5 day Med cruise next April.

 

As I see it- there are 3 stages of discount we might be eligable for :-

 

OBC - if we book whilst on board.

 

10% discount for being platinum?

 

Possible C&A coupon discount if there happens to be one availible for the Med cruise?

 

From what has been said - it looks like not all the discount may apply?

 

What do you think?

 

Thanks allot

 

Kev

[the6sockos]

Thank you so much for all your helpful answers! That was the first time I have posted. I think I will def book a cruise on Navigator for new Year's Eve 2009/2010. That will give me time to save save save and it won't be so hard to disembark this time (yeah right).

happy cruisin'

terri

[Sue L]

The only advantage to booking onboard is the OBC.

 

Personally, I doubt I will ever use the Next Cruise program again. It took the cruiseline over 5 months to transfer it to my travel agent. Between the phone calls that I had to make, the ones my TA had to make plus combined with all the wrong information we were given onboard the OBC is hardly worth it.

 

 

Huh, then something was very wrong, I just did it the other day, 1 fax as per the phone number on the certificate and I got an email confirmation within two hours. Extremely simple.

[starlake]

Table6 UK,

Come over to the meet and mingle page. We have a huge group over there. I don't think I have seen you there.

[CHAMPDDS]

As was pointed out by TUCKER IN TEXAS....It must be stressed that the OBC is per CABIN, and not per person...

 

We did the nextcruise last October while on the Mariner, and just made the booking for the Freedom, for 7 nights and got the $100 OBC.

 

David:D

[bdklein]

Assuming you prebook a cruise when on another cruise, you get some sort of onboard credit. Is that next cruise 100% refundable? If you have spent your OBC, and you cancel the next cruise, do you then get billed or charged for the amount of the OBC??

[Don Pedro]

Assuming you prebook a cruise when on another cruise, you get some sort of onboard credit. Is that next cruise 100% refundable? If you have spent your OBC, and you cancel the next cruise, do you then get billed or charged for the amount of the OBC??

 

You don't get the OBC immediately. When you are actually on the next cruise is when the OBC will appear. The deposit you had to make for the next cruise is non-refundable.

 

We used to make a point to do the next cruise, but since you can no longer use the C & A coupons along with the next cruise OBC the concept has lost some of its appeal.

 

Also, if the fuel supplement increases between the time you make the initial deposit and you book the actual cruise you are charge it does not establish a booking date.

[bdklein]

You don't get the OBC immediately. When you are actually on the next cruise is when the OBC will appear. The deposit you had to make for the next cruise is non-refundable.

 

We used to make a point to do the next cruise, but since you can no longer use the C & A coupons along with the next cruise OBC the concept has lost some of its appeal.

 

Also, if the fuel supplement increases between the time you make the initial deposit and you book the actual cruise you are charge it does not establish a booking date.

 

Thanks for the explanation. I wasn't trying to get some "free" money. It sounded too good to be true.

[NH Cruiser]

Search feature is down, so I can't find this answer. If you used a Next Cruise certificate to book a cruise, then have to cancel that cruise, can you transfer the certificate to another cruise and not lose the money you paid for the certificate?

[Don Pedro]

Search feature is down, so I can't find this answer. If you used a Next Cruise certificate to book a cruise, then have to cancel that cruise, can you transfer the certificate to another cruise and not lose the money you paid for the certificate?

 

That is correct. You would only be out the deposit if you cancelled for good.