Best way to book 3 couples traveling together

[Gaijin_Mom]

What's the best way to book three cabins for three couples traveling together. We may be looking at getting three balcony cabins in a row next to each other, or insides near a balcony. Can I call, find out room availability and hold all three cabins, each in a different name? And then the other couples call and make payment arrangements and such? Or should I just book all three and then have the friends pay me for the down payments, etc? (Wouldn't mind all the extra points on my RCI Visa! ;)) Any advice would be appreciated. We've only cruised once and that was just me and dh. So this is new territory for me! Thanks!

 

Lynnette

[espmass]

We almost always travel with two other couples and will be doing so again 1/23. I call the TA and have him hold three cabins and then each couple calls him and makes their own payment arrangements. Whether you charge all three and get reimbursed is a personal choice but I prefer not to get involved in the financial arrangements. The TA links all three bookings together so that we have the same table at dinner etc. We don't always necessarily choose to have three cabins together; one couple generally prefers an inside cabin to the other two of us prefering a balcony. Sometimes we get three together with the inside one across the hall from the balcony ones and sometimes we prefer to stay in different areas of the ship.

[Cruise_Couple]

We have booked 3 side by side cabins for our last 2 cruises. We host a "cruise booking party" with a cruise theme. We haul out and decorate with all our Royal Caribbean stuff... the glasses, coasters, the bags, etc., etc... even the RCCL beach towels!!! We serve "cruise drinks" based on our destination. We invite everyone over, and during the party we place a call to Royal Caribbean on speakerphone and make the arrangements. Everyone gives their own credit card info and booking info to the rep once we settle on the cabins. The reps have seemed to enjoy it as much as we did! (although maybe they get a commission and that's why:D) Any excuse to host a party!

[Magicat]

We've dealt direct with RCI vacation planners to book/hold 3 rooms that we like and have the other 2 couples either call or contact via email to arrange payment or deposit. You can find some pretty nice and helpful vacation planners at Royal.

[Happy ks]

The last couple of times we booked more than one cabin we were on a cruise already. We reserved the cabins all in a row, with one being an inside close to us, paid the deposit for our own cabin and the other cabins were held for the other parties for a week. We turned the reservations over to a TA to let them handle all the others deposits, no way did we want to be financially responsible for the others.

[TEXASMUNK]

to using only your credit card....friendship.

 

Who gets angry is a deposit or final payment is late or not forthcoming?

Who picks up the tab is something goes wrong and one couple demands a credit or any other potential problem.

Getting the points might be alluring, but the headaches that lurk out there might convince me to avoid that scenario.

We have done the multiple booking thing. Best way, everyone has their won CC, use a speaker phone....be sure all 3 reservations are linked for dining purposes.

 

Bon Voyage!

[Gaijin_Mom]

Thanks for the replies! I figured you could probably hold the rooms, just wasn't sure how to do it! LOVE the idea of a cruise party, but since we're in Japan right now and the other couples are in AZ and NE, that won't be possible -- one of the reasons we're planning a cruise together! But, I'd definitely go for that if we could! Thanks for all the advice!!!

 

Lynnette