Sandypop

While on Allure of the Seas in Caribbean in Sept 2014, we booked a 12 night Med cruise for Sept 2015. We were told we were getting a good "Buy One Get 2nd person 1/2 price" deal as we were booking on the ship, i.e $9000 for the two of us, instead of presumably $12,000. Got home, checked the RCCL website. Anybody could have got that deal, in fact it was cheaper to book online. Rang RCCL. Their response: "Bad luck!" Could have cancelled but wanted to do the cruise so we begrudgingly wore it.

A month later got an email from Cruise Critic about price drops. Could now get same class cabin for 2 people for $6300. Rang my TA who cancelled original booking and secured another, in same class cabin in a better position on the ship. Wonderful!!

Moral of the story:

1) Don't trust RCCL (and maybe any other cruise line) with their talk of great deals. Do the research yourself before booking anything.

2) Register on Cruise Critic for notification of price drops and keep an eye on the price yourself.

We recently finished our second cruise on the Allure and had a ball. However, their BOGOHO specials may sound great but make sure you are, in fact, getting a good deal. We, and another couple, recently booked a 3rd cruise whilst on our 2nd cruise. We were lured in by the "because you're a gold member you'll get the 2nd passenger 50% off and $300 on board credit" spiel! Imagine our surprise and dismay to find on our return home that you can book online for the same cruise, in the same class cabin, not only for exactly the same price but also get $500 on board credit, even if you're not a gold member. The response from RCC was basically "bad luck!" So much for loyalty to their 'frequent flyer' loyal customers! If this is any gauge, how would they treat their platinum or diamond members?