Booking Liberty 3-Day - Advice Please?

[swwake]

Ok so I have a dilemma and some questions. I have figured out that I can use Amex points to book the Liberty 3-Day Coco Cay cruise in October. Nothing beats a free cruise, right?

 

So, here's the dilemma. I am currently a C&A Gold with 3 cruise credits. We plan to book either Oasis or Allure for May/June 2011. This is a known. We just haven't decided which sailing.

 

If I book a JS (and pay $500 out-of-pocket for the two of us - still, a $500 cruise for two is cheap cheap, huh?), that would get me to Platinum after this cruise. That would mean that I would receive Platinum benefits for next year's cruise.

 

Also, we are thinking that we might go ahead and book that 2011 cruise while onboard this cruise. That would give us a reduced deposit and some OBC, right?

 

So my question is: Does anyone know how much the "balcony discount" is for Platinum members? And would I be able to book using that discount while on this Liberty cruise, even though I will not have completed that 5th cruise credit until after the cruise?

 

Bottom line is that I'm trying to decide whether it would be worth it for us to do the JS just for the extra cruise credit. The extra space of the JS doesn't really matter to us. The only reason we'd do JS would be for that credit.

 

What do you think?

[amybeth4]

I'd be shocked if they allowed you to use the Platinum discount on the Liberty cruise. My Liberty cruise was my 5th and they considered me Gold until the moment I stepped off the ship. (OK technically it took about a week to turn Platinum.) I couldn't get anything for being Platinum on that cruise at all, because TECHNICALLY I wasn't. :)

[swwake]

Thanks for the input. That actually makes sense. I also think maybe my theory is flawed a little. Our friends who want to cruise next year want us to get adjacent (but not adjoining) balcony cabins. And they want to book this month or next. I think it would be a gamble to wait until late October to book that cruise, because prices may go up more than any OBC benefits we might receive, and cabin availability will surely be lower by then.

[uksimonusa]

Thanks for the input. That actually makes sense. I also think maybe my theory is flawed a little. Our friends who want to cruise next year want us to get adjacent (but not adjoining) balcony cabins. And they want to book this month or next. I think it would be a gamble to wait until late October to book that cruise, because prices may go up more than any OBC benefits we might receive, and cabin availability will surely be lower by then.

 

Book your cabin when onboard Liberty and get a "friends Certificate" for the booking, then if you friends book within 30 days, they get the OBC as well. When you status has been upgraded to Platinum, normally abou 2 weeks after your cruise, call and have the platinum discount ($100 per cabin), for a 7 day, taken from your balance owed

[CVU]

I thought once you reached a level they then applied the Balcony discount to it. So, you could book it and then when making your Platinum call RCL C&A and get the Platinum balcony discount applied when you have completed your cruise and made that level..........? Call and ask them..........