How Can I get WOW deal

[VPBP Cruisers]

:confused: Hello Everyone - We are new to cruise critic and are loving the site. We are going on our first cruise for our 25ht wedding anniversary with our 2 kids (17+12). We booked May 9th for an Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Royal Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas for Feb13th,2011. We had not intended to book so soon but as we were checking sell-off sites and R.C.I. site we saw the boat was filling fast. We wanted a balcony and inside room directly across from one another. We called R.C.I. directly to see if it could still be done and expressed surprise at how quickly the boat was filling up. Their rep said we should book right away with out telling us about the WOW sale on May17,18 which would give us $200 of credits. I find it hard to believe that because I booked 9 days earlier I cannot take advantage of the sale. One of their reps tells me I am not eligible.

 

Any advice?

VPBP cruisers

[fideauxdon]

:confused: Hello Everyone - We are new to cruise critic and are loving the site. We are going on our first cruise for our 25ht wedding anniversary with our 2 kids (17+12). We booked May 9th for an Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Royal Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas for Feb13th,2011. We had not intended to book so soon but as we were checking sell-off sites and R.C.I. site we saw the boat was filling fast. We wanted a balcony and inside room directly across from one another. We called R.C.I. directly to see if it could still be done and expressed surprise at how quickly the boat was filling up. Their rep said we should book right away with out telling us about the WOW sale on May17,18 which would give us $200 of credits. I find it hard to believe that because I booked 9 days earlier I cannot take advantage of the sale. One of their reps tells me I am not eligible.

 

Any advice?

VPBP cruisers

I'm tempted to suggest that you cancel and immediately try to rebook, but RCI might have a mechanism that would stop you from doing this. maybe someone more knowledgeable than I am can answer this better.

[cherylandtk]

I would gently go up the chain of command, and if you keep getting the 'no', ask if there is any way to qualify, such as upgrading the inside cabin. At this early date, you can always cancel and rebook, BUT the current WOW sale (May 18/19 only) is listed as for NEW BOOKINGS ONLY. You would not be eligible under those terms.

 

It is always a toss-up whether selecting your ideal cabin is better than waiting for the deal. Sometimes you find a great deal, but the cabins are not what you need....so you have to balance those two. In the future, a good TA knows when the sales occur and will let you know the general time frames now and will notify you a week or so before they actually occur.

[janabm81]

Unfortunately, you might be stuck...even if you canceled and rebooked they most likely won't let you have the WOW sale (they keep track of stuff like that) and you also run into the chance that you now won't fine the cabins you need. It's too bad the person you spoke with was too lazy/deviant to tell you about the upcoming sale.

[firefly333]

Well, the wow sale OBC is not combinable with any other OBC, so buy 100 shares of RCL stock, and get your same OBC. You booked two cabins?? You might need two stockholders. There are other ways to get OBC too....and RCL no longer combines OBC, so only get one per booking.

 

On the plus side, if you read the thread on RCL, those who waited to book during the wow sale, cant get price drops after final payment, RCL changed the terms if you booked May 17th, or forward. Since you booked before today, if your price drops you can get the price drop, you are grandfathered in... which could easily be worth more than the OBC you are fretting over.

 

You might turn out to have lucked out.

[printingchick]

The WOW event doesn't give you a whole lot to be fighting for. You get to pay half the normal deposit to book. That is the thing that inspires most of us who have been on the fence about coughing up so much cash. The on board credit - $100 on a week-long cruise - isn't any more than you could get from using a NextCruise certificate, stock-holder benefit, Royal Caribbean Visa points, loyalty perks, a good travel agent, etc. You've already paid your deposit, so IMHO, the biggest benefit of this event is a mute point for you.

 

PS: I actually HAD a NextCruise certificate, which I used for the WOW event. That means I won't qualify for the $100 OBC deal. I purchased the NC in my and my son's name for his graduation cruise next year. (Seems like kind of a waste in light of this deal!) I'd been holding off on using the certificate, waiting for a half-deposit event, since I'll need to book two cabins/four people.

[okimot]

We were on the Independence in December 2009. Booked a cruise on the Vision in September sailing from Copenhagen to Venice. Have got six hundred dollars OBC. This is shown on our invoice from the travel agent.