Beginning 1/1/09, Shareholder OBC will be combinable with............

[CruisesOnMyMind]

I think OBCs are more complicated then your suggestion of use them or lose them. How would you distinguish a RCI OBC from a TA OBC or a Visa OBC? Also, if I spend $400 in advance of the cruise on extras(excursions, spec rest) wouldn't you have to deduct those from any RCI OBC before your suggestion is put into play? Finally, if a prepayed excusion or specialty restaurant is cancelled during the cruise and credited to my onboard account, would that also have to be spent on board.

 

The truth is, I always prepay for ship excursions and the specialty restaurants and usally the amount prepaid is in excess of any RCI(NC and/or SH) OBC.

 

An OBC is an OBC no matter where it came from. I'm not sure how the prepaid excursions work. If you do cancel a specialty restaurant during the cruise is it reflected as an OBC?....don't know...thought you weren't charged till after the dinner. if so, then yes you have brought up a senario that blows my theory.

All I'm trying to do suggest ways of "combining" that RCCL and cruisers can comprise on. :D

[Morecruisesplz]

All I'm trying to do suggest ways of "combining" that RCCL and cruisers can comprise on. :D

 

Exactly! So the diamond perks are not thrown out with the end of combining of discount offers. (2 different things.) And make the point that it was not until everyone started cashing out their OBC'S and the ships became a bank that someone said: "Hold on a minute here!"

[alphakitty]

And the Platinum, Diamond and Diamond Plus balcony discounts are as follows.................

 

Platinum Balcony Discounts (5 cruise credits)

 

$ 50 for sailings of 3-5 nights

$100 for sailings of 6-9 nights

$200 for sailings of 10+ nights

 

Diamond (10 cruise credits)/Diamond Plus (24 cruise credits) Balcony Discounts are

 

$100 for sailings of 3-5 nights

$200 for sailings of 6-9 nights

$300 for sailings of 10+ nights

\

 

First of all thanks to everyone for the great info on this thread. :)

 

Here's my question:

 

Ok, so I'll become Platinum on a cruise in Oct 09. I am a shareholder and am booked in a balcony on Oasis in Jan 2010. Will I be able to get the Platinum discount for Oasis and combine it with the shareholders credit since I booked before the cruise 12/31/08??

[beachbuddy]

\

 

First of all thanks to everyone for the great info on this thread. :)

 

Here's my question:

 

Ok, so I'll become Platinum on a cruise in Oct 09. I am a shareholder and am booked in a balcony on Oasis in Jan 2010. Will I be able to get the Platinum discount for Oasis and combine it with the shareholders credit since I booked before the cruise 12/31/08??

 

Hi alphakitty,

 

I'd say that as long as it's booked prior to Dec 31st you should be able to combine those 2 things. Just remember, that sometimes it takes RCCL a few months to credit you with a cruise so that Oct 09 cruise might not show up for a few months, but if I were you I'd call them right after your cruise and ask about it and see if they'll give you the platinum balcony discount.

 

Hey, see you on the eats thread...........LOL

 

Patty

[Oville]

An OBC is an OBC no matter where it came from. I'm not sure how the prepaid excursions work. If you do cancel a specialty restaurant during the cruise is it reflected as an OBC?....don't know...thought you weren't charged till after the dinner. if so, then yes you have brought up a senario that blows my theory.

All I'm trying to do suggest ways of "combining" that RCCL and cruisers can comprise on. :D

 

Yes an OBC is an OBC, but the Visa OBCs and TA OBCs are not being paid by RCI so I don't know what legal position the cruise line could take to declare you use them or lose them. Sounds like theft to me.

 

On the prepaid items, yes they are charged to you as soon as you book them so they have long been paid for prior to the ship. Again, RCI could not keep this money if cancellations were made while on a cruise.

 

All OBCs are shown as a single credit on your onboard account.

[Oville]

Exactly! So the diamond perks are not thrown out with the end of combining of discount offers. (2 different things.) And make the point that it was not until everyone started cashing out their OBC'S and the ships became a bank that someone said: "Hold on a minute here!"

 

Isn't the cashing in of OBCs more the result of prepaying everything before the trip. Many, including me pay for all our restaurants, tips and excursions before hand.

[cruisenfever]

Yes an OBC is an OBC, but the Visa OBCs and TA OBCs are not being paid by RCI so I don't know what legal position the cruise line could take to declare you use them or lose them. Sounds like theft to me.

 

On the prepaid items, yes they are charged to you as soon as you book them so they have long been paid for prior to the ship. Again, RCI could not keep this money if cancellations were made while on a cruise.

 

All OBCs are shown as a single credit on your onboard account.

I just went over our on board statement from our cruise on Radiance this past September.

 

We had two OBCs............one for booking on board and one from being a shareholder. They are listed separately with different codes.

[Oville]

I just went over our on board statement from our cruise on Radiance this past September.

 

We had two OBCs............one for booking on board and one from being a shareholder. They are listed separately with different codes.

 

Thanks, I think we've gone a bit off topic here. Not sure how many folks take a week long cruise and don't use up most if not all the OBCs RCI has included in the past. Aren't we talking $200 on a 6 to 9 day cruise.

[beachbuddy]

I just went over our on board statement from our cruise on Radiance this past September.

 

We had two OBCs............one for booking on board and one from being a shareholder. They are listed separately with different codes.

 

Patti,

 

Yes, they are listed with different codes, but which ones would they use first?? Actually, I thought the Visa OBC's were use them or lose them as well. I know we used the Visa OBC last year and I thought the certificate even said that they expire, but I could be wrong. We have never cashed out OBC's because we use them and still get a hefty bill at the end of the cruise so not giving cash back to people won't affect me at all........LOL

 

Patty

[cruisenfever]

Thanks, I think we've gone a bit off topic here. Not sure how many folks take a week long cruise and don't use up most if not all the OBCs RCI has included in the past. Aren't we talking $200 on a 6 to 9 day cruise.

No, you only get $100 for a 6-9 day cruise whether you got it from booking on board or are a shareholder.

 

But combined, yes it would be $200 if you had both benefits!:D

[cruisenfever]

Patti,

 

Yes, they are listed with different codes, but which ones would they use first?? Actually, I thought the Visa OBC's were use them or lose them as well. I know we used the Visa OBC last year and I thought the certificate even said that they expire, but I could be wrong. We have never cashed out OBC's because we use them and still get a hefty bill at the end of the cruise so not giving cash back to people won't affect me at all........LOL

 

Patty

Patty, the certificates that you get from BofA must be used within 6 months of their being issued or they do expire.

[beachbuddy]

Patty, the certificates that you get from BofA must be used within 6 months of their being issued or they do expire.

 

Patti,

 

Thanks for clearing that up. We had $300 OBC from the BOA Visa on our last cruise and knew I read something about them expiring.........LOL

 

Patty

[Tucker in Texas]

We completed our trans-Atlantic cruise on December 14. Those credits got us up to Diamond. While on board, we booked the Voyager for the trans-Atlantic next fall (to beat the combinable credits deadline with stockholder benefits) and already had booked the Navigator of the Seas (to use our NC letter for OBC as well as our stockholder's credit) for the spring trans-Atlantic.

 

In less than two weeks my credits for the trans-Atlantic were posted on "My Cruise" site! My TA had no trouble getting the balcony discount for Diamond status on both cruises.

 

Tucker in Texas

[beachbuddy]

We completed our trans-Atlantic cruise on December 14. Those credits got us up to Diamond. While on board, we booked the Voyager for the trans-Atlantic next fall (to beat the combinable credits deadline with stockholder benefits) and already had booked the Navigator of the Seas (to use our NC letter for OBC as well as our stockholder's credit) for the spring trans-Atlantic.

 

In less than two weeks my credits for the trans-Atlantic were posted on "My Cruise" site! My TA had no trouble getting the balcony discount for Diamond status on both cruises.

 

Tucker in Texas

 

That's great!! I just remember that our cruises never showed up on the website right away. Maybe their record keeping has gotten better.

[alphakitty]

Hi alphakitty,

 

I'd say that as long as it's booked prior to Dec 31st you should be able to combine those 2 things. Just remember, that sometimes it takes RCCL a few months to credit you with a cruise so that Oct 09 cruise might not show up for a few months, but if I were you I'd call them right after your cruise and ask about it and see if they'll give you the platinum balcony discount.

 

Hey, see you on the eats thread...........LOL

 

Patty

 

Thanks Patty! Happy to hear that should work out for me. :) Talk to you soon.

[Tucker in Texas]

When we booked while on the TA in November, we were eligible for Platinum but would qualify for Diamond at the completion of that cruise as I mentioned in the earlier post. I specifically asked the loyalty lady whether I should take my Platinum balcony discount now and run or would I be able to apply for a Diamond discount later. She told me as long as I booked prior to December 31st, I was eligible to get Diamond, stockholders and OBC for booking while on a cruise. She, also, mentioned that "a decision had not been made yet" about combining stockholder and other OBC's.

 

Tucker in Texas

[RosieRoo]

Tucker, I have 3 upcoming RCCL cruises booked. After my Med cruise in May we will have reached Diamond status. I have the Platinum balcony discount already applied to the other two sailings as well as the Stockholder credit and the Next Cruise credits (all bookings completed before 12/31/08). Does that mean that I should have no problem getting the Platinum discount ($100) which has already been applied changed to the Diamond discount ($200) once the May cruise is completed? Thanks for any insight you may have. And thanks to everyone else for trying to keep us updated on all these changes!

[Clarea]

Tucker, I have 3 upcoming RCCL cruises booked. After my Med cruise in May we will have reached Diamond status. I have the Platinum balcony discount already applied to the other two sailings as well as the Stockholder credit and the Next Cruise credits (all bookings completed before 12/31/08). Does that mean that I should have no problem getting the Platinum discount ($100) which has already been applied changed to the Diamond discount ($200) once the May cruise is completed? Thanks for any insight you may have. And thanks to everyone else for trying to keep us updated on all these changes!

We are in a similar situation. We completed the cruise that should make us Diamond about 10 days ago. We have some cruises booked with Platinum discounts, NC, and shareholder OBC's. I've called C&A to get the Platinum discount changed to Diamond in hopes of getting this done before 12/31, to keep all the OBC's. C&A says they can't give us the Diamond discount now because their system has not updated our C&A level to Diamond yet. However, C&A says that as soon as their system updates our status to Diamond (another week or two), we can change the Platinum discount to Diamond on the booked cruises, and not lose the other OBC's, even if this occurs after Jan 1. The way they explain it, if you already have the balcony discount, changing the discount from Platinum to Diamond will not remove the other OBC's, even after Jan 1. I don't know how reliable this info is, but that's what I've been told by 2 different C&A reps.

[RosieRoo]

clarea, thanks for sharing this. Hopefully it won't be a problem for either of us!

[torpeedo]

OK, here's another crazy question that I hope somebody can help with. Getting more confused everyday it seems..

We wanted to get our last stockholder discount in so booked a cruise today. There was a $150 C&A savings certificate. We also have our diamond discount. We faxed in the stockholder certificate to their fax number. Faxed in the C&A savings certificate. Received the Diamond discount when we booked.... Will all that work???? I sure hope so! That's a total of $450 discount. :)

[Leafpeeper]

I bought a future cruise certificate last February on our Explorer cruise. We ended up using it to book a 10 night cruise in Jan 2010 and got a $200 OBC.

 

The current cost of this cruise has gone up $500pp so I would have to pay an additional $1000 if I rebooked to get any additional discounts.

 

Next time I will have to read these boards before I book anything.

[dfishner]

Not sure how to make a long story short so I will try.

I am very upset at what RCL has done with the benefit program not so much that I would never cruise them again but enough to stray away and look at other options.

 

Yesterday I booked the NCL Pearl for next November and received $400 of OBC and $100 off the cruise rate by my TA and the mini suite I booked cost less then our E2 on Freedom a few weeks ago. As much as it pained me to look at other lines I felt good about the decision we made. Will we like NCL whose knows but am willing to give it a try. Between the OBC and cruise discount that is $500 never ever got that much from RCL. I was happy to get our balcony discount and our next cruise OBC and really did not want anything more. Straying was an eye opener for me.

 

About a week ago I sent a letter to Richard Fain and told him how disappointed we were and felt as Platinum members RCL really was turning there backs on their repeat customers and shareholders and could not understand why they were doing that.

 

Anyway this afternoon I received a call from his office which really surprised me and had a fantastic conversation with this nice woman from his office. I told her I did not understand what RCL is doing and why. I also told her I booked another cruise line last night something that I would of never done in the past. So she asked me what do I think they could of done better...hmmm what an opening. I told her I felt that RCL does a bad job of communicating to its regular customers and gave her the example of the non combining of benefits as a good example. I asked her how was that communicated? she did not have an answer I told her I found out about it on Cruise Critic and not from RCL. She again asked me how they could improve the communications and told her they could use their website to communicate what is happening more effectively or even send out a newsletter to its regular customers.

I told her I felt RCL was doing a number on their repeat customers with the benefits and I personally felt that RCL did not value us.

 

The next thing she told me grab me. She told me that all though the combining of benefits will end on 12/31 they are coming up with something new and improved of course she did not tell me what that was. This is suppose to be rolled out sometime in 2009 it is suppose to a much better and a fairer way with how they dispense with benefits and offers. So I said how come RCL has not stated that in the very beginning they could of stopped all this confusion and frustration we all have felt about their decision. Again I said you communicate very badly. We are all being told that this is going away and now your telling me that RCL is working on a different type of program to roll out. She told me she was taking notes on our conversation and would pass them on and they do value their customers. I told her just by her phone call I know that.

 

I thank her we wished each other a happy new years and said our good byes. .What they intend to roll out I have no idea but it does seem they are finally listening. If they make a change it is not going to be until late 2009 and we will all have to wait and see I do believe they do something but I will not even venture to guess.

 

I have Oasis booked for 11/10 will see what they come up with to make me stray back to our two cruises a year on RCL.

[Tucker in Texas]

I asked the Loyalty person if I took the Platinum discount when I booked could I "upgrade" it to Diamond when the status change came through and she told me I could. She, also, told me that as long as I booked prior to 1/1/2009, that I could keep the multiple OBC even if I didn't apply for them until after 1/1/2009 (as in the Diamond discount "upgrade" on the balcony). I decided to trust her and would wait until the Diamond status came through to apply just the one time rather than hassle my TA to go after the difference later. I never dreamed the status would come through within two weeks and before 1/1/2009.

 

I think as long as you are booked prior to 1/1/2009, you are o.k.

 

Tucker in Texas

[pmshirl]

I have been lurking on this thread topic!

 

Dfishner: I find your discussion with RC interesting. You stated your piece to them in regards to how they need to improve their commication skills! You explained how changes with their company are found out through CC threads.

 

Now they are anticipating another type of program to roll out in late 2009. By the time they implement that new program how many Loyal pax will have moved on to other Cruiselines? Once a company looses customers it's hard to get them back , if they like the competitors product!

 

I too am one cruise away from Dia+ and have not booked any future cruise's ( except the ones I have booked now) with RC since I heard about the 12/31/08 deadline of combining OBC's.

 

I have cruised with Princess and preferred RC over them. I do get discounts with Princess ( not as good as RC's were), and I would have no problem cruising with Princess for my future cruising!

 

Are there other Loyal pax that may feel the same way I do? If so, this may hurt RC in the long run, due to loosing some of their Loyal customers, the economy situation hurting their Business, the lack of communicating with their customers.

 

The total amount of the cruise does play a factor in my decision, when booking cruises. I have been cruising 3-5 times a year for the past several years ( all 7 night or longer cruises) and have been with RC for 14 years.

 

We shall see what the future holds for the Loyal pax! If anything!:rolleyes:

[FL_Cruiser64]

 

We shall see what the future holds for the Loyal pax! If anything!:rolleyes:

 

Oh yes there will be. And I bet you will be one of them benefiting. ;)

 

Just give it some time.